Hu Jiaojiao came from a rural family. Growing up in poverty, she had been doing farm work from a young age, and she is very good at these things.

She first took the pot to the river and washed the rice twice. After fetching the water back, she placed it on the stove and used a flint she found on the shelf to easily light the fire.

While the rice was cooking, she began to prepare the pork belly.

Hu Jiaojiao planned to make braised pork.

Maybe it was because the original owner hadn’t eaten well in a long time, but the mere thought of fragrant white rice paired with braised pork made her mouth water.

By the time Hu Jiaojiao had finished cutting the pork belly, the rice had cooked.

She scooped out the rice, placed it in a container to drain, and poured the remaining rice water into a bowl, making a pot of rice soup.

Half an hour later.

The sun had already set, and the sky was painted with streaks of red from the sunset.

The braised pork was ready.

However, it was quite a challenge to serve several dozen pounds of meat, so she decided to take another pot from her space. She swapped the meat pot and poured the drained rice into the new pot, leaving it to simmer on low heat.

“How strange. Why aren’t the little ones back yet? Could those bullies have returned to harass them?”

After finishing the cooking, Hu Jiaojiao looked up at the sky and realized it was nearly dark, but there was still no sign of the cubs.

She became a little worried, covered the meat with a lid, and headed out to search for them.

Not far from home, she spotted a few small figures huddled under a tree.

There were many trees around the wooden house, making it hard to notice anyone hiding behind them unless they made noise or you got close.

The evening breeze blew gently.

“Growl…”

Behind the old tree, the cubs stomachs rumbled in protest as the rich aroma of meat filled the air. Their mouths watered, and their bellies roared with hunger.

“Big Brother, the food made by the vicious female smells so good!” Long Linger couldn’t hold on any longer.

The other children also looked pale but managed to resist.

They knew very well that the vicious female wanted nothing more than for them to die. She couldn’t possibly be so kind to them.

If there was any kindness, there could only be one explanation—it was bait!

Long Yu, the eldest, spoke up, “Let’s go farther away. We won’t smell it then.”

Just as the cubs were about to leave, they heard Hu Jiaojiao’s voice.

“So here you are, hiding! Come on, dinner’s ready.”

Hu Jiaojiao stood behind the tree, relieved to see the cubs safe and sound.

The cubs froze in place, their faces filled with fear.

Why was she here? Was she going to catch them?

When they didn’t move, Hu Jiaojiao extended her hand, intending to lead them back home.

But to the cubs, this gesture looked like the hand of a demon, filling them with terror.

“Run!”

“She’s going to catch us!”

Even though Hu Jiaojiao had a smile on her face, the cubs were overwhelmed with fear. The nightmares of beatings from their memories flooded back, and they instinctively ran.

Hu Jiaojiao: “…”

Was she really that scary? She wasn’t going to eat them.

“Ah!”

Long Linger, running last, tripped on a rock and fell to the ground.

She had been holding her younger brother, Long Yao, in her arms. Because her hands were busy protecting him, she landed on her back, the pain shooting through her bones.

“Linger!”

Long Yu and the others stopped in worry when they saw Long Linger fall.

Before they could rush over to help her, they saw Hu Jiaojiao frown and approach Long Linger, reaching out her hand.

It’s over! Linger is going to be beaten!

Long Linger closed her eyes in fear, clutching Long Yao tightly to her chest. But instead of the expected pain, she felt a pair of warm hands lifting her waist, helping her to her feet.

Hu Jiaojiao gently patted the dust off Long Linger and softly asked, “Did you hurt yourself? Let Mommy take a look. Are you injured anywhere?”

Noticing her clothes were soaking wet, Hu Jiaojiao frowned even more.

Long Linger opened her eyes in surprise, staring at Hu Jiaojiao in disbelief.

Was she imagining this? Why was the vicious female being so gentle, even more gentle than the mother she dreamed about?

After checking and finding no wounds, Hu Jiaojiao took Long Yao from Long Linger’s arms and held her hand, leading her back home.

“Your clothes are soaked. Let’s go home, change into dry clothes, and then have dinner.”

Hearing the gentle voice, Long Linger’s legs instinctively followed Hu Jiaojiao.

Hu Jiaojiao knew the children were united, so as long as she could get Long Linger to go back with her, the others would follow.

Sure enough, when the others saw Long Linger being taken away, they exchanged nervous glances and reluctantly followed.

If the vicious female dared hurt Linger, they would not forgive her!

When they arrived home, Hu Jiaojiao quickly realized the house had no extra clothes for the children.

No wonder they’d rather stay outside in wet clothes than come back.

Hu Jiaojiao immediately went inside and took out scissors from her space, cutting the fur blankets into four pieces.

Though they had a bit of a smell, the original owner had taken good care of herself, and the blankets were clean, likely new.

She returned to the courtyard with the cut blankets, only to find the four cubs standing stiffly, their eyes locked on the pot on the stove, licking their lips.

Even though they were starving, they didn’t dare touch anything that belonged to Hu Jiaojiao.

Long Yao, in his animal form, was warming himself by the stove. Besides food, the cubs also needed warmth, which was why Long Linger had held him in her arms the whole time.

Hu Jiaojiao approached, “Come, take off your wet clothes. Use these for now. Mommy will dry your clothes, and you can change back into them later.”

The five children took several steps back, their eyes filled with fear and disbelief.

This was the vicious female’s most prized fur. Normally, she wouldn’t even let them touch it. Now she had cut it up and was offering it to them?

Seeing their wary expressions, Hu Jiaojiao sighed helplessly and focused on the easiest target, Long Linger.

“Linger, come here. Let Mommy help you change. Once you’re dressed, we can eat dinner.”

She smiled warmly, trying to appear as kind as possible.

Hearing about dinner, Long Linger hesitated.

As a female cub, she wasn’t as resilient to hunger as her brothers, and her body was nearing its limit.

Glancing at the large pot, and then at Hu Jiaojiao’s gentle smile, she couldn’t resist any longer and took a step forward.

Seeing Long Linger walk toward her, Hu Jiaojiao smiled in satisfaction and gently helped her out of her wet clothes, wrapping her in the blanket.

The large fur, cut into four parts, fit the children perfectly like a bathrobe.

“All done. Linger is such a good girl.”

After changing her clothes, Hu Jiaojiao lovingly patted Long Linger’s head and showered her with praise.

Long Linger, having never been this close to Hu Jiaojiao, was at a loss.

“Are you hungry, Linger? Mommy made something delicious. Do you want some?”

Taking advantage of this rare moment when the child wasn’t rejecting her, Hu Jiaojiao tried to build rapport.

Long Linger swallowed her saliva, glanced at the large pot, and nodded. “I do… Can I really have some?”

“Of course you can. I made plenty. Not just today—Mommy will make you food every day from now on.”

Hu Jiaojiao smiled sincerely at her.

Long Linger’s nose tingled with emotion. No one had ever been so kind to her before. She choked up, asking, “Mommy, is that true? You won’t hit us anymore?”

Perhaps it was because she had the simplest mind or because she was starving, but Hu Jiaojiao’s kindness made her momentarily forget all the past beatings.

“It’s true. Mommy was wrong before. I’m sorry. I won’t hit you again.”

Hu Jiaojiao raised her hand in promise.

“Linger, how can you call her ‘Mommy’! Have you forgotten that she once beat you so badly just for touching her fur that you couldn’t walk for half a month?!”

Long Zhong yelled angrily from behind.

His words were like a cold bucket of water thrown over Long Linger, and her fear of Hu Jiaojiao began to return.