"Da Lang and Er Lang! Open the door. I'm your aunt. Have you eaten? I steamed some brown rice buns. Come out and get them!"

The door slowly opened, and seeing Sanlang and Si Niang crying, He Dasao asked in surprise:

"Why are you two crying? Is it because I'm late and you're hungry?"

As he spoke, he took out the brown rice steamed bread covered with gauze from the basket and handed it to the two children. He then said to Dalang and Erlang:

"I don't know when the third wife will be back. You can come to the old house for meals in the next few days. She left me some copper coins to buy food and asked me to take care of the food for the four of you."

Dalang looked up in shock, "She left money for you?"

Didn't you abandon them and run away secretly?

Mrs. He nodded, and seeing the twins chewing the steamed bread with big mouthfuls and forgetting to cry, she murmured in a low voice:

"Your stepmother is exactly the same as your father. She is thicker-skinned than the rammed earth under the city wall. I have only saved a few coins, but I don't know how much more I will have to pay to deal with you four mouths."

"She has been gone for four days, and I don't know how long it will take for her to come back. It is not easy to enter the deep mountains. If a weak woman like her is..."

Having said this, she realized that the four children were staring at her with wide eyes, as if they were going to bite her if she dared to say anything bad about their stepmother. Mrs. He quickly stopped talking.

She tutted, stuffed the remaining two steamed buns in the basket to Dalang and Erlang, and reminded them again: "Come to the old house to eat in the morning and evening. I don't have time to bring it to you every day. There is a lot of work to do at home."

He muttered softly, "He's still very protective of her," and then quickly left with the empty basket.

There was indeed a lot of work to be done at home, and she was so busy that she almost forgot about the four mouths to feed in the third child's family, which is why she came late.

As soon as Mrs. He left, the four brothers and sisters, who had sad faces just now, immediately put on smiles. They munched on the warm brown rice buns in their hands, thinking that their stepmother had not abandoned them and she still asked their aunt to take care of them.

"Brother, she will definitely catch prey and come back." Erlang looked at the clear sky, which was so blue that it made people feel hopeful. He said confidently, "She is so strong, she will definitely be able to do it."

"Yeah." Dalang looked up at the endless rolling mountains in the north, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

"Eat quickly. After eating, boil some water and wipe your face. It's so dirty." Dalang urged his younger brothers and sisters.

The three little ones laughed at him. They had been burning a fire in the house before, and their faces were covered with black smoke, like cats.

Si Niang finished eating first. After that, she sat obediently on the doorstep, waiting for her brothers to boil water so that she could wash her face first.

The little girl crossed her legs and raised her face so that her big brother could clean her, mumbling:

"A Niang likes clean and well-behaved babies the most. Si Niang, listen to A Niang and be a clean and well-behaved baby."

Dalang cleaned up the two little ones and told them to stay in bed to prevent them from catching a cold.

Although the sky was clear, it was still a bit cold outside.

After cleaning themselves up, they saw that the open-air stove was dirty from rain and fallen leaves, so Dalang and Erlang silently picked up the brooms and began to clean the house.

In the past, no one taught them to pay attention to hygiene, so they were all dirty.

But now someone tells them that they should rinse their mouths and wash their faces every morning and evening, wash their feet before going to bed, wipe their eating bowls clean every time, and keep the stove clean, so that they will not get sick from eating.

She also taught them how to weave straw ropes, and would explain anything new to them.

It was also from her that they learned that taro was not a terrible poison, but a life-saving food.

She is like the backbone of this family. They feel at ease with her around.

Dalang paused in his cleaning, surprised to find that his stepmother had only been there for a few days, but he was already thinking of relying on her.

He didn't even remember his biological father who was taken away.

For a moment, he even thought, if only life could go on like this forever.

It’s good that that man... doesn’t come back.

"Brother?" Erlang called his brother. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He called him several times but he didn't respond.

"Are you thinking about your stepmother too?" Erlang asked a little awkwardly.

Dalang came back to his senses and nodded randomly. He was afraid that his dark thoughts would be discovered by his younger brother.

Then, I was filled with self-blame, thinking that I was very unfilial and should not have such thoughts.

Erlang whispered, "I don't know how my stepmother is doing now."

The setting sun dyed the whole sky red, and Dalang looked towards the north mountain again.

“A-choo!”

Qin Yao, who was riding on the tree, couldn't control herself and sneezed violently.

The knife in her hand trembled so much that she was almost snatched away by the black bear when it stood up.

Fortunately, the fighting instinct she had trained in the apocalypse was still there. The moment the bear's paw swung over, her body subconsciously made a dodging motion.

However, it was just this dodging that caused the black bear, which had been controlled by her under the tree, to suddenly jump up onto the tree. The man and the bear stood on a tree branch, less than two meters apart, staring at each other in surprise.

Qin Yao didn't hesitate at all, took the arrow, drew the bow, and quickly shot an arrow!

People say that shooters can't fight in close combat, but that's just because they haven't been trained fast enough.

The mutated animals and plants in the apocalypse don’t care about how far away you are; they will suddenly appear in front of you when you least expect it.

With ammunition in short supply, Qin Yao learned to use the bow close up. Although its power was not as strong as long-range shooting, it was enough to slightly resist the enemy's advance.

Moreover, when the enemy is a human, this close-range bow often catches the opponent off guard.

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