“Third Sister-in-law, if you plan to cook porridge in the morning, don’t make it so watery. Make it thicker—after all, the children are growing and need nourishment.”

“Yes, yes, I understand now. I’ll do it next time,” Wang Xiuying replied cheerfully.

She had noticed something—Jianxiu said “the children,” which meant she included her own two kids as well.

With the words put like that, how could she not be happy?

“Fourth Sister-in-law, do you need my help with anything?”

“That would be great. Third Brother, could you help me rent Li Zheng’s ox cart?” Jianxiu asked with a smile.

The legs of that mother and son were already useless, so they naturally needed the ox cart to take them to the county.

Relying on them to walk? That was impossible.

“Alright, I’ll go now!”

“Jianxiu, I’ve changed their clothes for them, but they seem to be awake now. Knowing that you’re sending them to the county, they’re probably going to make a fuss again,” Wang Xiuying said, clearly troubled.

When she changed their clothes earlier, their attitudes showed no sign of giving up.

Thinking about it, Wang Xiuying started to worry for Jianxiu.

“Haha, they’re quite amusing!” Jianxiu chuckled upon hearing this.

She had expected this—they probably thought she was scared.

But that was fine. Weren’t they waiting for her to beg for mercy?

She would let them wait.

Jianxiu was not a heartless person, after all.

Not long after, Zhang Zifu arrived at the courtyard entrance with the ox cart.

“Fourth Sister-in-law, I’ve got the ox cart. Do you want to…?”

“Thanks, Third Brother. Could you go inside and watch over Zixuan for me? I’ll handle things here,” Jianxiu said, pointing to the house.

She didn’t want Zhang Zifu to see her mother locked up in the pigsty.

Zhang Zifu didn’t think much of it and turned to head inside.

Standing outside the pigsty, Jianxiu didn’t even want to step inside.

Inside, Zhang Zihua had already known since yesterday that this wretched woman planned to send them to the county.

It was obvious—she was probably afraid something would happen to them, so she was in a rush to get them to a doctor.

So the moment he saw Jianxiu, Zhang Zihua arrogantly declared, “Jianxiu, my leg—”

“I’m already being kind enough to take you to the county in an ox cart. What more do you want?” Jianxiu interrupted him, pretending to compromise.

“I’m not going! I refuse to go! I want you to bring the doctor here instead!” Zhang Zihua shamelessly demanded.

He was certain—Jianxiu was scared.

That’s why she was so eager to take them to the county doctor.

So why should he cooperate?

Yesterday, she was so arrogant when she hit them.

Why was she acting weak today?

Since he was in control now, he saw no reason to go along with her plans.

And besides, calling the doctor to come over would be much more expensive than going to the doctor.

Why should he let this wretched woman off easily?

He was going to make sure she spent a fortune—no, he was going to make her suffer.

Next to him, Old Madam Liu didn’t dare speak, but her meaning was clear—she refused to go as well.

“Are you sure you’re not going?” Jianxiu asked calmly.

She was offering to take them there out of goodwill, but if they refused, it was no skin off her back.

Hearing her words and seeing her expression, Zhang Zihua suddenly had a bad feeling.

But he quickly dismissed it.

He wasn’t going, and what could she do about it?

So he stiffened his neck and said again, “I’m not going! I refuse!”

“Alright. Just don’t regret it later,” Jianxiu replied coldly.

Then, turning to Zhang Feixuan and Zhang Feiyi inside, she called out, “Are you two ready? It’s time to leave.”

“All set! We’re coming!” the brothers answered in unison.

They emerged carrying a blue bag slung across their shoulders.

The bag was a crossbody satchel, which Jianxiu had designed from memories of her past life.

It was made from the coarse blue fabric Wang Xiuying had last night.

Originally, Jianxiu had planned to buy fabric from the county in a few days and make proper bags for the brothers.

But as it turned out, Wang Xiuying already had some fabric on hand.

“Mother, does my school bag look nice?” Zhang Feixuan asked with a grin.

“It looks great! Now hurry onto the cart!” Jianxiu said with a smile.

The bag had been carefully sewn by Wang Xiuying the night before. Judging by the stitching, she had put in a lot of effort.

And she had woken up so early today.

Thinking about this, Jianxiu looked at Wang Xiuying with gratitude.

Jianxiu had never been good at sewing.

She had originally planned to just stitch something together roughly for the brothers—anything would be better than carrying a basket on their backs like the others in the village.

Meanwhile, Zhang Zihua and Old Madam Liu exchanged bewildered glances inside the pigsty.

Because Jianxiu didn’t seem worried at all.

More importantly—had they heard correctly?

Was she sending those little brats to school?

And why were they still locked up in the pigsty while she was leaving?

At that moment, the two were completely lost.

“Who am I?”
“Where am I?”
“What am I doing?”

Yet no matter how confused they were, no one was paying them any attention.

Inside the house, once Zhang Zixuan confirmed that the others had left, he turned to Zhang Zifu and said,

“Third Brother, could you bring me that blueprint over there?”

“You mean the one I took from you earlier?” Zhang Zifu asked curiously.

“Jianxiu? What about Jianxiu? Did she see it?” Zhang Zixuan’s eyes widened in shock.

It wasn’t surprising that he reacted so strongly—after all, the reason he got beaten up by Zhang Zihua in the first place was that he had tried to protect that blueprint.

He didn’t want anyone discovering Jianxiu’s secret.

If those people from the old house found out, the consequences would be unthinkable.

“Yeah, Jianxiu saw it. She took it from me herself. Why? Is there something wrong?” Zhang Zifu asked, puzzled.