When Qian Chunhua brought the three children home, the Zhao family had already finished dinner and was chatting in the main hall.

She paid them no mind and led the children straight into the west wing.

Since the kitchen hadn’t been built yet, there was no hot water in the house. Fortunately, the children had already washed up at the Qian household, so they could go straight to bed.

Qingfeng excitedly threw himself into Chunhua’s arms. “Mom, what story are you telling us tonight?”

Not just Qingfeng, but Qingsong and Xiaoling were also staring at her with eager eyes, full of anticipation.

Qian Chunhua thought for a moment, and then remembered the story of The Ugly Duckling. She cleared her throat and began:

“Tonight, let me tell you the story of The Ugly Duckling.

A mother duck sat in her nest hatching eggs. Crack! Crack! One by one, the eggs broke open, and out popped fluffy little ducklings.

The mother duck was overjoyed.

Just as she was about to stand up, she noticed one large egg had yet to move, so she sat down again and continued waiting.

After a very long time, the big egg finally cracked, and out crawled a large, ugly duckling…”

As she told the story, the children listened intently.

But suddenly, a knock came at the door.

The four of them looked at each other in surprise.

Who could it be at this hour?

“Stay here,” Chunhua said.

She climbed out from under the blanket and got dressed. “I’ll go see who it is.”

She picked up an oil lamp and called out loudly, “Who is it?”

“Second sister-in-law, it’s me,” came Sun Meiping’s voice from outside.

Qian Chunhua sighed in relief—it wasn’t someone from the Zhao eldest son’s family.

“Meiping, just a moment.”

She opened the door and was hit by a gust of cold air. Sun Meiping was shivering on the doorstep.

“Come in, quick!” Chunhua welcomed her inside.

“Third Auntie!” the three children called out in unison.

Sun Meiping smiled warmly in response.

The second household’s children were clearly more well-mannered—even though they hadn’t been to school, they were far more polite than Zhao Qingshui or Zhao Xiaojun.

“The room’s a mess, hope you don’t mind,” Chunhua said, pulling out the only chair and inviting Sun Meiping to sit.

Meiping glanced around. It was messy.

The small room was packed with various things.

“Second sister-in-law, what’s all this?” she asked curiously.

Chunhua smiled. “I plan to build a heated bed in the next room. This winter’s going to be bitter cold. This room will be a study in the future.”

Sun Meiping was stunned.

She hadn’t expected the usually quiet Chunhua to have such foresight.

Their family had only learned today that this winter might be unusually severe. But Chunhua had already started preparing a heated bed.

Meiping nodded approvingly. “Heated beds are a good idea. They’ll keep you warm at night.”

Chunhua was curious about the visit.

From the original owner’s memory, she and Meiping hadn’t interacted much—just a few words over a shared dinner table.

“Second sister-in-law, I came to tell you that things outside are getting unstable. If you have the chance, you should stock up on grain, charcoal, and firewood.”

Meiping glanced around cautiously. “And… it’s best if you get something for self-defense too.”

Chunhua smiled.

She hadn’t expected this—the third sister-in-law turned out to be a genuinely good person. In a time of strict information control, she still took the risk to come warn her.

This was what family should be like—far better than the Zhao eldest son’s family.

Chunhua nodded. “Thank you, Meiping. I’ll go buy some grain tomorrow.”

Meiping replied, “The granaries were already cleaned out today. I don’t know if there’ll be any left tomorrow, but the price is sure to go up.”

She hesitated, then added, “Even if the prices rise, your life is more important than silver. As long as you’re alive, there’s hope. Your three children are counting on you.”

So that was what Meiping was worried about—that Chunhua, seeing the high prices, would be unwilling to buy.

Chunhua quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry, Meiping. I still have some silver. I’ll make sure to stock up. The kids won’t go hungry.”

Hearing this, Meiping finally relaxed.

She had feared Chunhua might be as foolish and shameless as Zhao Yongqiang’s family.

With that out of the way, Sun Meiping happily turned to the children. “What were you all doing just now?”

Qingfeng beamed. “Mom’s telling us a story—The Ugly Duckling!”

Meiping looked at Chunhua with surprise.

Who would’ve thought that the quiet second sister-in-law knew how to tell stories?

“Go on, second sister-in-law—I want to hear the rest.”

Chunhua smiled and picked up where she left off:

“Luckily, a farmer saw him and brought him home, handing him over to his wife. The children wanted to play with him, but the ugly duckling thought they were going to hurt him. In his panic, he jumped into the milk bowl, splashing milk all over the place…”

“…The ugly duckling was so happy, because everyone said he was a beautiful bird.

He flapped his wings, stretched out his long neck, and cried out from the bottom of his heart, ‘When I was just an ugly duckling, I never dreamed I could be this happy!’”

When the story ended, not only the children, but even Meiping was completely engrossed.

Qingsong was deep in thought.

After a while, he looked up with shining eyes.

“Mom, are you telling us we should never give up on ourselves?”

Chunhua nodded, deeply pleased. “That’s right. Life is full of hardship and setbacks. These are inevitable. We can only face them with strength. Only by holding on can we become beautiful swans.”

Hearing her words, Qingsong’s expression grew even more determined.

Though still young, he suddenly seemed more mature.

Qingfeng and Xiaoling, though not quite understanding, chimed in, “We’ll be strong too, Mom!”

Chunhua laughed and hugged them both. “Yes, our whole family will be strong.”

Their joyful, heartwarming scene made Meiping both envious and amazed.

At first, she thought it was just a simple story, but clearly she was too shallow—these children understood its meaning better than she did.

Chunhua… truly deserved a second look.

With her education, these three children could very well grow up to be just as accomplished as Zhao Qingyun from the eldest branch.

For the first time, Sun Meiping began to take Qian Chunhua seriously.

“Second sister-in-law, I heard you’re planning to send Qingsong to school?” Meiping asked.

Chunhua looked at her in surprise. She hadn’t told anyone. How did Meiping know?

But she didn’t avoid the topic. People would find out sooner or later.

She nodded. “That’s the plan.”

Meiping smiled. “It’s good to study. Of all trades, reading is the highest.”

Chunhua shook her head slightly. “It’s nothing lofty. I just want the child to learn to read, to gain a little knowledge. That can’t be a bad thing. Better than going through life blind.”

Meiping nodded, though she didn’t completely agree. Most people sent their kids to school with dreams of becoming scholars, not just to learn a few words. But she didn’t argue.

After a few more words of small talk, Meiping saw it was getting late.

Before leaving, she said sincerely, “Second sister-in-law, if you ever need help, come find me. I’ll help if I can.”

Chunhua felt a warm glow in her heart. There were still good people in the Zhao family.

Zhao Mother and Sun Meiping—weren’t they both good people?

She nodded earnestly.

One more name added to her Good People List.