Cen Huai’an’s eyes widened in amazement, his earlier grievances gone, replaced by an indescribable feeling, as sweet as when he tasted the milk candy.

“Did Black Dog’s mother come to find me today? Did I fight with her?” Chu Xia asked.

Cen Huai’an shook his head.

“So I didn’t suffer any loss, did I? Not at all. In fact, I even made Black Dog’s mother the subject of everyone’s criticism. Of course, it helped that she’s generally disliked by many people, which is why others spoke up for me. And an important reason is that, thanks to your father, the factory will definitely stand by us.”

Cen Huai’an furrowed his brow, carefully considering Chu Xia’s words and her performance in front of everyone.

“Did you want me to pretend to cry?”

Chu Xia chuckled, “Is that all you noticed? I wasn’t pretending to cry. I was just using my advantages fully.

I’m not strong enough to confront Black Dog’s mother directly; otherwise, I’d have used force.

Sometimes showing weakness doesn’t mean you’re actually weak or suffering; it’s a way to achieve your goals.

Similarly, leveraging a situation is a strategy. Just like when you fought with Black Dog, if you could overpower him and make him think twice before bothering you again, it would have been worth it.

But if you can’t make him submit through force, you need to find other ways to achieve your objectives.”

Chu Xia broke down each word to explain the reasoning to Cen Huai’an.

She didn’t want her son to be someone who only relied on brute strength.

Even though the books described him as a cunning villain, calculating everyone’s thoughts, it was after countless schemes and struggles that he learned such skills.

Since she was his mother now, he shouldn’t have to go through such hardships to learn these lessons.

She wouldn’t teach him to harm others but would teach him how to protect himself from being hurt.

Cen Huai’an fell into thought.

Maybe he didn’t fully understand Chu Xia’s words now, but that was okay.

As he grew older and learned more, these lessons would come into play.

“Alright, think it over slowly. Take off your clothes so I can wash them. Go brush your teeth, wash your face, and get ready for bed.”

Cen Huai’an stiffened when he saw his once clean little shirt now dirty with mud and torn in places.

He felt a pang of heartache, continuously touching the torn parts, feeling deeply upset.

“Mom, I shouldn’t have fought.”

Chu Xia paused, her hand still holding the aluminum kettle, her eyes widening in shock.

Cen Huai’an actually called her ‘Mom’?

She sighed internally: Is this what it feels like to suddenly become a mother?

It felt like carrying a heavy burden, and it was one she hadn’t expected.

But since she had unexpectedly taken on this role, she would do what she needed to.

Chu Xia quickly adjusted her mindset. Being called ‘Mom’ was a dream for many, after all.

The water in the aluminum kettle was warm, just right for washing the face.

She beckoned Cen Huai’an, “Since the fight has already happened, there’s no need to dwell on it. Black Dog’s insults were deserving of a punch.”

Cen Huai’an felt less distressed suddenly.

He had never brushed his teeth before; Chu Xia taught him and instructed, “You need to brush your teeth every morning and night and rinse your mouth after meals.”

Cen Huai’an nearly gagged during his first attempt at brushing his teeth, but he held it in and nodded.

Chu Xia brushed her teeth along with him.

After cleaning up, she checked Cen Huai’an’s wounds to see if the red medicine had been washed away, applied another layer, and sprinkled some medicinal powder in his mouth.

“Go to sleep now,” Chu Xia patted his back and went to wash the clothes.

Cen Huai’an lay in bed but couldn’t sleep.

He couldn’t hear the sounds from the water room; his mind was occupied with thoughts of his mother’s appearance today and the things she had said.

If only Mom could always be like today.

The pancakes were so delicious; I wonder if we’ll get to eat them again tomorrow.

By the time Chuxia finished washing all the clothes in the water room and hanging them outside the window, Cen Huaian still hadn’t fallen asleep.

Chuxia didn’t notice that when she went to bed, Cen Huaian had his eyes tightly closed, and his body was rigid.

Chuxia felt exhausted from tidying up. Being a housewife was truly a great job.

She missed the convenience of a fully automatic washing machine.

The weather was very hot at this time of year.

Chuxia’s room didn’t have a fan, but fortunately, it was on the second floor.

The surrounding tall and lush trees helped keep the house cooler at night.

She hugged Cen Huaian closer and covered both of them with a thin blanket, quickly falling asleep.

Cen Huaian didn’t know when he fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, he suddenly felt as if he was being wrapped up, feeling hot and tight all over.

He opened his eyes and saw his mom, who was originally quite far from him before bed, now holding him tightly in her arms, with her leg pressing down on his.

It was too hot, so Cen Huaian tried to push Chuxia away.

Chuxia murmured and turned over, which made Cen Huaian feel a bit relieved.

Just as he was about to fall asleep again, Chuxia’s leg pressed down on him once more.

Cen Huaian pushed her away again.

Before long, Chuxia’s hand draped over him.

Cen Huaian thought: Did he really not remember his mom being so restless while sleeping?

Eventually, Cen Huaian was too tired to care and just let his mom sleep however she wanted.

The next morning, Chuxia woke up to the sound of birds chirping.

The outside sky was already bright.

Chuxia instinctively reached for her phone but only found a fuzzy little head.

Oh right, she was in the book.

In the 1980s, there were no smartphones, and she didn’t even have a watch, let alone check the time.

In the morning, it wasn’t suitable to eat something too greasy.

Chuxia felt like her mouth was bland and didn’t want plain congee.

So, she kneaded some dough and made hand-cut noodles.

Without eggs or tomatoes (she had forgotten to buy them yesterday), and with the oil running low, she needed to go to the market today.

Therefore, other than some chopped scallions and salt, she didn’t add anything else to the noodles.

Even so, they smelled very good. A little sesame oil would have made them perfect.

Cen Huaian woke up to the smell of the noodles.

He climbed out of bed, holding his rumbling stomach.

On the bedside was another set of his new clothes, already dry and smelling of soap.

But his mom was not in the room.

Cen Huaian felt a pang of panic.

He quickly put on his clothes and shoes and ran outside.

As he opened the door, he saw his mom standing by the coal stove, smiling and looking at him. “You’re up. Go brush your teeth and wash your face, then come eat.”

It felt like a scene from a dream.

But this time it wasn’t a dream—it was real!

Cen Huaian felt a sudden rush of excitement and couldn’t describe the feeling.

He just wanted to run fast.

And he did run, quickly grabbing his toothbrush and basin and rushing to the water room, with Chuxia calling after him to slow down.

At the table, Chuxia first warned Cen Huaian not to eat like he was in a state-run restaurant.

“The noodles are very hot. If you burn your mouth, there won’t be any good food left for you!”

This threat was very effective.

Cen Huai’an immediately slowed down his actions and decided to blow on his noodles before eating them.

The noodles were made simply, without broth or even a single vegetable, and only a small amount of salt was used.

Yet, they were very fragrant, with a light saltiness and the natural wheat aroma of the noodles.

They were chewy and springy, and both Chu Xia and Cen Huai’an enjoyed them very much.

“Our household chores need to be divided,” Chu Xia said. “I’ve cooked and cleaned the pot. You need to wash the bowls. Can you manage that?”

There were only two bowls, so Cen Huai’an nodded, picked them up, and went straight to the washroom.

Outside, there were neighbors sitting in the corridor eating their meals, joking, “Chu Xia, can a five-year-old really wash dishes? I hope he doesn’t break the bowls.”

“He won’t,” Chu Xia replied calmly. “Even if he does, we can just buy new ones. Children can’t learn to be lazy.”

As usual, they had to prepare and take medicine twice a day, and a single packet of medicine could be used for two doses.

It was still as bitter as ever, and they couldn’t add sugar for fear of affecting the medicine’s efficacy.

Cen Huai’an was too young to be in elementary school, but the Textile Factory had a Red Star Class for young children, and many children from the family quarters were sent there.

Especially for working parents with no one to look after their kids, they sent them as early as one year old.

It was a necessary arrangement.

The original owner had also considered sending him there, but her mother said that the Red Star Class was useless, just a place to watch the kids.

She suggested giving her money directly instead.

Later, when Cen Huai’an could remember, he knew his grandmother was unkind to him and refused to go with Wang Yulan.

The original owner’s money was taken away by Wang Yulan using various excuses, and sending him to the Red Star Class was no longer feasible.

However, Chu Xia planned to send Cen Huai’an to the Red Star Class today.

She hadn’t gone to work at the factory yesterday, and if she didn’t go today, it would be unreasonable.

It wasn’t practical to take the child with her, and she couldn’t leave him at home alone either.

If Wang Yulan came back, Cen Huai’an would definitely suffer against an adult.

So it was better to send him directly to the Red Star Class.

The fee was two yuan, and there were no winter or summer vacations.

The class would be closed when the factory was on holiday, as it was organized by the factory for the convenience of the workers.

When Chu Xia took Cen Huai’an there, the staff said they charged quarterly even if he joined in the middle of the term, with no deduction for the missed time.

Chu Xia agreed, and the Red Star Class accepted Cen Huai’an.

Cen Huai’an had once envied the children in the Red Star Class, thinking they must be very happy there.

But when his mother brought him in and he heard the constant crying of other children, which the teachers couldn’t soothe, he found it very frightening and no longer envied the children in the Red Star Class at all.

But since the money was already paid, he had no choice.

At five years old, Cen Huai’an was placed in the middle class with slightly older children, so there weren’t as many cries, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Chu Xia looked at the middle class kids, and the teacher pointed to an empty seat in the middle row and said, “This will be Cen Huai’an’s seat in the future.”

“Alright, thank you, teacher.”

Before leaving, Chu Xia slipped a handful of candy into Cen Huai’an’s pocket and whispered to him, “Remember to share the candy with the other children.”

Cen Huaian nodded in response, but he didn’t really hear what his mom said.

His mind was completely on the candy.

Candy, all the candy!

As soon as Chuxia left and didn’t enter the daycare, Cen Huaian quickly shoved a piece into his mouth.

As for sharing with the other kids, he didn’t hear. even if he heard it he wouldn’t even anyways.

After Chuxia left for work, she went straight to her job.

The textile factory workers had different duties.

Chuxia worked in the fine spinning workshop, where she had to handle various intersecting threads while the machines were running.

Her hands had to be quick.

This job sounded difficult and was easy to burn your hands, requiring a lot of patience and attention to detail.

To be honest, all textile work was tough, just varying in intensity.

Chuxia immediately knew she couldn’t handle it.

She had the original owner’s memories but lacked their skills.

She tried once and couldn’t even join the threads correctly and nearly burned her hand.

The nearby worker looked at her strangely. “Chuxia, what’s wrong? You didn’t come yesterday, and now you’re here but can’t even do the work?”

Chuxia rubbed her fingers, giving her a weak smile. “I’m not feeling well, still recovering.”

She then went to ask the team leader for leave; otherwise, her lack of skill would be exposed.

The team leader looked displeased but approved her leave, including for yesterday.

“If you skip work tomorrow and ask for leave, I won’t approve it. You’ll have to see the factory manager!”

Standing outside the workshop, Chuxia worried.

She couldn’t handle textile work; not only was the skill required beyond her, but her body couldn’t endure the physical demands.

Normal workers were exhausted by the end of the day, and she was even less able to cope.

But if she couldn’t be a textile worker, what else could she do?

The original owner had graduated high school, and despite her mother’s preference for sons over daughters, both she and her older sister had attended high school.

This was because Mrs. Wang Yulan hoped to sell her daughters at a good price.

With high school diplomas and their good looks, Mrs. Wang Yulan believed she could marry them off to better families, which would help support her own family.

Chuxia’s older sister and her husband did indeed turn out as Mrs. Wang Yulan had hoped.

Chuxia married Cen Zhengnian due to her father’s connections.

Mr. Luo, a retired soldier who served with Cen Zhengnian’s father, saved Cen Zhengnian’s father’s life.

Mr. Luo lost a hand in the process and had to retire early.

Owing to this life-saving grace and some strategic planning, when the Cen family returned to their hometown to pay respects, Chuxia met Cen Zhengnian, got engaged, and married within a year.

Now, Chuxia was grateful that the original owner had a high school diploma; at least she could choose to pursue higher education.

She knew that this was actually the best time to start a business.

In the future, with economic openness, places like Yangcheng and Shenzhen would offer countless opportunities.

But Chuxia also knew she didn’t have the capability to run a business.

Being tactful, networking, and being able to protect oneself were essential for women in business during that era. It was tough.

Moreover, there was a crackdown on speculation and profiteering.

Engaging in such activities could lead to arrest and charges of speculation and profiteering if one drew too much attention and competed with state-owned enterprises.

This was beyond her capability.

With her frail body, she might not even make it to Yangcheng and could collapse along the way.

Not to mention the danger of petty theft and local bullies.

This was the best and the most chaotic time.

So, after thinking it through, the only thing she could do was pursue a university education and stick to her original profession.

However, after being overworked in her past life and dying from multiple surgeries, Chuxia no longer wanted to study Western medicine.

She didn’t want to work herself to death.

She just wanted to live well, earn a bit of money in this era, buy a few more properties before prices rise, and then relax and wait for the rent.

She planned to study traditional Chinese medicine, take her time, and focus on improving her health.

Having made up her mind, Chuxia prepared to find someone from the factory’s personnel department to see if she could transfer to a lighter department.

If she couldn’t, she would think of other solutions. If necessary, for the sake of her health, she might even have to quit.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard a bright female voice call out, “Chuxia! Wait!”

Chuxia turned around to see a woman in her thirties, wearing a white shirt and dark blue pants, with a somewhat square face, quickly walking towards her.

The woman grabbed her wrist and said warmly, “I’m glad I caught you. No need to go to the workshop. Chairman Zheng wants to see you. Let’s go to the union and have some tea.”