My parents' backyard is quite large. There's a pigsty on the left, a chicken coop on the right, and the middle area has been converted into a vegetable garden where we grow scallions, garlic, cilantro, and other common vegetables.

Xiao Yunying touched the cilantro leaves; so there was cilantro here.

The Xiao family members are all clean and hardworking. It's unavoidable that the pigsty has a bit of a smell, but it's not as muddy as she imagined. The two pigs are also quite clean, so it must be cleaned regularly.

Xiao Yunying walked closer curiously to look at the two live pigs; it was the first time she had ever seen live pigs in person.

The two pigs, not knowing why they weren't eating, also looked up at her.

Hmm... pigs have really long eyelashes.

Mu Lianrong said, "How about it? These two pigs are fat, aren't they? They'll be delicious when we slaughter them for the New Year. Remember, don't buy any meat before the New Year; have your dad deliver it to you."

"Okay."

Xiao Yunsong came to the woodshed in the backyard to fetch firewood, boil water, and kill chickens. He said with a smile, "Why is our pig not moving when it sees Little Sister? Is this the first time it has seen one of its kind standing up?"

Mu Lianrong pretended to hit him: "I'll beat you up, you unreliable bastard, daring to call your little sister a pig."

Xiao Yunsong chuckled and ran off with the firewood in his arms. Xiao Yunying also laughed and pulled Mu Lianrong aside, saying, "Mother, Big Brother was just joking."

"Now that he's a father, he's never serious."

Xiao Yunying knew her older brother meant no harm. If a stranger had said those words, she would have thought it was a sarcastic remark about her weight. But since it was her loving family member saying it, she wouldn't be angry.

"Mom, let's pick some vegetables and prepare a meal. Dad and my brother have been running around on the mountain all morning, they must be hungry."

Mu Lianrong picked two scallions and said, "These are the vegetables we have at home: scallions, ginger, garlic, coriander, radishes, cabbage, red-rooted vegetables, pumpkin. The cucumbers are too old to eat, so they can only be used to feed the chickens. There are also potatoes in the cellar, as well as some dried mushrooms and dried vegetables."

Red root vegetables?

Xiao Yunying matched the vegetable with its name; it was a type of red-rooted spinach.

Coriander should be cilantro.

"Mom, how about we make mushroom stewed chicken, stir-fried shredded potatoes, and a spinach salad for lunch?"

"Okay, you're in charge of cooking, you're in charge."

Xiao Yunying wasn't sure how many people she was cooking for at once, so she had her mother pick a sufficient amount of vegetables and return to the kitchen.

Mu Lianrong called her to the room where the grain was stored and opened several cloth bags on the wooden shelf: "Take a look and see what kind of mushrooms you want to use."

There were five or six kinds of mushrooms. Xiao Yunying grabbed two handfuls of shiitake mushrooms and soaked them in warm water. She also looked at the other dried vegetables, asking what they were if she didn't recognize them. She started to plan what dishes she could make in the future.

Xiao Yunsong worked quickly and soon finished processing the pheasant, chopping it into small pieces and taking it into the kitchen.

Her mother's family also had two pots, so Xiao Yunying would start stewing the chicken while her mother was making steamed buns, and then she could stir-fry the vegetables later.

As Xiao Yunying washed the spinach, Mu Lianrong chatted with her: "Why are your three sons crying to you? Did they tell on you that I hit them?"

"No, he did something wrong and he's afraid I'll hit him."

Mu Lianrong snorted: "Didn't complain? At least he has some conscience and knows he said the wrong thing."

Xiao Yunying carefully chose her words: "Mother, if they do anything wrong that makes you angry in the future, you can spank them on the bottom, but don't hit their faces, or you'll break their ears."

"What do you mean? I'm not the kind of person who always hits children. If he hadn't cursed you in front of me, would I have hit him?"

Xiao Yunying quickly comforted her: "I know, Mother is the best. She would never lay a hand on a child. But Luo Li is young and may have done something wrong unintentionally or said something unpleasant that made Mother angry. He didn't mean it, so please don't take it to heart."

Mu Lianrong kneaded the dough in her hands vigorously: "Feeling bad about it? I just wanted to teach him a lesson and scare him a little. I didn't use much force, I held back, it won't hurt him."

After she finished speaking, she softened her tone and said earnestly, "Yunyun, actually you are too. I think you understand the principles, so please stop hitting them all the time."

Children need to be taught what they don't understand. No one is born knowing everything. It's okay to make mistakes, but you need to tell them where they went wrong and give them a chance to correct them.

Now that their parents are no longer around, you are their stepmother, so you have to take on the responsibility of raising them. The word "raising" implies that education comes first, followed by nurturing. You can't just hit them every time they do something wrong; they won't understand what they did wrong and will continue to make the same mistakes.

Xiao Yunying's face was burning up, almost as hot as when she had a fever a few days ago. She was screaming in her heart: It wasn't her who hit the child!

All he could say was, "I know, Mother, I haven't hit them in a long time."

"Just keep it in mind, that Luo Sheng..."

"Mother, let's not talk about that scoundrel."

Mu Lianrong was somewhat surprised by her daughter's attitude towards Luo Sheng, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized that since he was never coming back, her daughter's attitude was the right one.

It's better than foolishly waiting for him to come back like before.