After buying everything they needed, the group returned to the village.

When the three children returned, Xiao Yunying formally introduced them to each other.

Zheng Yunwan came out to eat dinner with them. While Xiao Yunying was cooking, she explained the flavors and methods of various vegetables and seasonings to her and asked her to help out.

Zheng Yunwan sat next to Luo Xin during the meal.

Zheng Yunwan was a little reserved at first.

After waiting for a while, I found that the children were eating very calmly, occasionally talking about things that happened at school. They didn't seem uncomfortable with me, an outsider, around, so I relaxed a lot.

After the meal, Zheng Yunwan insisted on clearing the table, while Xiao Yunying let the children do whatever they wanted, whether they wanted to rest or study.

She would steal glances every now and then at Luo Chen, who was watching Luo Li play with the two dogs.

The child hasn't said much since reading that letter yesterday, and I don't know what he's thinking.

"mother."

"Why?"

Luo Yang poured hot water into her cup and said, "Mother, you don't need to worry about my eldest brother. He has some resentment towards Father, but that's between the two of them. Let them resolve it themselves when Father comes back."

Xiao Yunying held the cup with both hands: "You child, you are really good at reading people's minds. You can guess what I'm thinking."

Luo Yang refilled the other empty cups with water: "Mainly, it's easy to guess what Mother is thinking. All her expressions reveal it, and the worry in her eyes is obvious at a glance."

Xiao Yunying... well, this isn't the first time Luo Yang has brought this up.

I can't seem to shake the habit of spacing out and not being able to control my facial expressions when I'm thinking.

——————

The next day was the children's day off, so Xiao Yunying stayed home and made fried chicken and egg tarts, which the children loved.

Just then, Mu Lianrong came to deliver freshly steamed buns to her and saw Zheng Yunwan helping her in the kitchen. Curious, she asked her about it.

"Yunyun, whose daughter is this? She looks unfamiliar."

Xiao Yunying was scooping out fried chicken when Zheng Yunwan took the steamed bun first: "Auntie, I'm Yunying's new maid."

"Yunyun, you've even bought a maid?"

Xiao Yunying plated the freshly fried chicken and said, "What maidservant? I don't need Yunwan to serve me. I just hired Yunwan to help me take care of the house. That Liu Ge is always hanging around my house. I don't feel at ease if there's no one at home. With one more person, I can take better care of Xin'er."

Mu Lianrong agreed, saying, "You're right. You'll always be distracted when you're alone. With someone looking after Xin'er, you can do things with more peace of mind."

Xiao Yunying took off her apron and washed her face with the warm water that Zheng Yunwan had prepared in advance: "Mom, I made fried chicken and egg tarts. Let's take some back for our nephews to eat."

Mu Lianrong said, "I can just take it back with me, you don't need to make another trip."

Xiao Yunying wiped the water off her face: "I have something I want to tell you."

She wanted to inform her family in advance that Luo Sheng was coming back soon, in order to avoid any conflict between the two sides if Luo Sheng returned in a different capacity.

Luo Sheng's family members were just ordinary people, and he could only suffer losses when it came to restoring his status.

"Yunwan, pour the oil out of the pot. Be careful not to burn yourself. Eat the fried chicken with the kids first. I'll cook two dishes for lunch when I get back."

After giving her mother some instructions, Xiao Yunying gave her a plate of fried chicken, picked up an egg tart for herself, and they headed towards her mother's house.

On the way, she briefly told Mu Lianrong about Zheng Yunwan, and Mu Lianrong sighed repeatedly as she listened.

"She looks like a nice girl, but she has suffered so much."

Xiao Yunying said, "I only did it because I felt sorry for her. We were short of someone to take care of Xin'er at home, and I was thinking of buying a maid. But this happened, so I had her sign a contract to stay."

Mu Lianrong knew that the things her daughter was doing needed to be kept secret and couldn't be easily learned by outsiders, so she instructed, "That indenture needs to be kept at the government office to change the girl's household registration, do you know that?"

“I know, but I didn’t go. After all, she signed a contract of servitude. Whether she went to the government office to change her registration or not, she doesn’t know. It’s enough to keep her from having any improper thoughts.”

In this world, it is already difficult for women to live alone. If they are changed from slaves, even if they are later restored to free status, they will still be considered inferior and looked down upon.

Mu Lianrong understood her daughter's thoughts: "My Yunyun is kind-hearted."

Xiao Yunying smiled slightly: "Of course. Mother can understand my thoughts, which shows that Mother is also a kind-hearted person. I am Mother's daughter, so naturally I have inherited Mother's kindness."

"Go away, stop trying to fool me."

There were few people on the road, but in the distance, I saw two people hurrying towards the village entrance.

Mu Lianrong muttered, "Why are they all rushing to the village entrance in such a hurry?"

Xiao Yunying never liked to join in the fun: "Mom, let's go back quickly. If anything happens, it will spread by the afternoon. This fried chicken won't taste good if it gets cold. Let's go back and eat something first."

Mu Lianrong knew her daughter didn't like joining in the fun, and she herself wasn't exactly a busybody: "Then let's go back."

The two returned home, and Xiao Yunying gave the fried chicken and egg tarts to her nephews and nieces before sitting down to chat with her family.

Just as she was struggling with how to tell her family that Luo Sheng had been brought back, Fang Rou's voice came from outside the door.

After greeting the Xiao family, Fang Rou said, "Yun Ying, the village chief wants you to go home quickly. The two children who went missing in the village have been found. The officials who brought them back said that it was thanks to you that you found the clues that they were able to find the bandit's den and rescue the children. Both families are at your house and want to thank you."

Mu Lianrong said, "They've been found? That's good. Old Mrs. Lin hasn't been eating or sleeping well these past few days. I went to see her yesterday, and she looked completely listless. It's good that she's been found."

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