Before us lay a sizable valley, surrounded by massive rocks, with a concave depression in the center.

The sunlight hung high in the sky and shone directly into the valley, scorching the very center of the valley, leaving it withered and lifeless.

But there are also places where the sun doesn't shine.

These places, blocked by huge rocks and rarely seeing sunlight, are home to many trees with lush green leaves and various other green plants that are now rare to see at the foot of the mountain.

Ye Wenxue told the children to rest where they were, and then quickly surveyed the valley with a wood-chopping knife in hand.

No traces of human habitation or past were found, but some animal tracks and a nearly dried-up spring were observed.

She thought for a moment, then poured spiritual spring water into the spring until it overflowed.

Ye Wenxue looked at the clear spring water, then turned and found the five little ones:

"This place is deserted and quite safe, and there's even a small spring inside. Let's stay here."

Dazhuang, holding Yuanyuan, sat on a pile of dry grass, carefully feeding her water. Hearing this, he nodded.

"I'll do whatever Mother says."

Putting everything else aside, the mere fact that it has water is enough to tempt him.

Moreover, the place is surrounded by towering mountains, and the way in is well hidden.

If he hadn't suspected something was wrong with the goose honking incessantly at the cliff face, and hadn't searched carefully back and forth several times, even kicking stones a few times, he probably wouldn't have found this path.

Shuangshuang and Siwang were picking grass for the geese when they heard they didn't have to travel anymore, and their faces lit up with joy.

"Okay!"

Sanyuan was a man of action; after listening, he went to tidy up his belongings, carrying out earthenware pots, small stools, cloth, and so on.

Finally, I can settle down and make a home!

Ye Wenxue wasn't idle either. She found a patch of flat ground that was partially exposed to the sun, cleared weeds and cut down trees, and cleared out an open space.

There are quite a few trees and vines in the valley, perfect for building a wooden house.

She glanced at Shuangshuang and Siwang, who were happily carrying baskets on their backs and holding small hoes as they ran off to dig for wild vegetables, and called out a few words of advice.

Dazhuang, carrying Yuanyuan, followed behind Ye Wenxue and spoke up to remind her:

"Mother, no need to trouble yourself. I just noticed a few shallow caves over there. Why don't we stay in the caves?"

Ye Wenxue also noticed the cave hidden behind a pile of plants that were half a person tall.

She shook her head: "No, the cave is too damp. Staying for a few days is fine, but staying too long is bad for your health."

Moreover, this place looks like a paradise, but there may be dangers.

Insects, ants, snakes, and the like...

"ah!!!"

The screams of both of them carried over from a great distance.

Ye Wenxue's expression hardened, and she quickly turned and ran away.

After a few breaths, Ye Wenxue and Shuangshuang stared at each other with wide eyes.

She looked confused: "What's wrong?"

With slightly red eyes, she pointed pitifully into the haystack:

"A rabbit just darted around and bumped into me. I wasn't careful and fell to the ground, getting a big cut that's bleeding."

Ye Wenxue stepped forward and examined the wounds on both hands, her lips twitching.

She really wanted to say, 'That's it? The wound will be healed in a few more minutes.'

It's not that she's cold-blooded or heartless.

Ye Wenxue was taken to a research institute at the age of six. She was subjected to various experiments with blood drawn every day and her bones were broken countless times, but she never cried.

Seeing Shuangshuang's eyes well up with tears just from a minor scrape from the fall, she couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation.

The cold words swirled in her throat, but as Ye Wenxue looked into the pair of red eyes, her heart softened.

This child never cried when his family suffered misfortune, never cried when he traveled for several days in a row, never cried when he was almost captured by villains, and never cried at his parents' graves.

It seems that Shanqing Village was terrified that night and hasn't recovered yet.

Sanyuan and Siwang probably don't understand what would have happened to them if Ye Wenxue hadn't fought back and killed the villains that night.

Dazhuang and Shuangshuang knew it perfectly well.

Shuangshuang was a girl, so she was even more frightened.

Now, she's probably not crying because of her wounds, but because after finally being able to settle down and make a home, all the grievances, fears, and anxieties suddenly welled up in her heart, and she couldn't help but cry.

Ye Wenxue softened her voice: "Let me see... It's still bleeding, does it hurt?"

Hearing her question, both of them felt a surge of grievance, pouted, and tears streamed down their faces: "It hurts."

It doesn't actually hurt.

It hurts when the blisters on the soles of my feet are popped before I've even been traveling for days on end.

But she couldn't find a better reason to explain why she was crying.

Siwang paced anxiously nearby.

Sanyuan kept a close eye on the rabbit darting around, plotting revenge for his sister.

Da Zhuang, who caught up right behind him, also had tears welling up in his eyes.

He clenched his teeth and didn't make a sound, burying his head in the little round swaddling clothes, not raising his head for a long time.

Ye Wenxue had spent so many days with the children and had developed some affection for them.

She patted Shuangshuang's shoulder reassuringly, picked up the small hoe that had fallen to the ground, and put it into Shuangshuang's hands:

"Keep working hard, Mom will make snake meat for you tonight!"

Do more work, pull more weeds, and when you're exhausted, you won't have time to feel scared or cry.

They both gripped small hoes, looking up blankly: "..."

These words... don't sound like they're meant to comfort her, do they?

When Ye Wenxue saw that Shuangshuang had stopped crying and looked up, she realized that she was quite good at calming the children down.

Turning her head again, she saw Dazhuang, who seemed to want to bury his head in his swaddling clothes, and couldn't help but remind him:

"...Dazhuang, don't wipe your snot on the round swaddle, it's not clean."

Da Zhuang froze, then slowly raised his head to look at Ye Wenxue before discreetly going to change Yuan Yuan's swaddling clothes.

But when he turned his back, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

Seeing that Shuangshuang had stopped crying, Sanyuan took the initiative to speak:

"Mom, there's a rabbit under the tree! Let's catch it quickly, we'll have rabbit meat for dinner!"

Let it bully my sister!

Ye Wenxue smiled and agreed, then led her cubs to surround the thin rabbit. Seizing the opportunity, she grabbed its ears and tucked it into Shuangshuang's arms.

"Here, you can keep them for fun for now. We'll set aside a place for them to stay tonight, and then we can eat them when there's no more meat."

Shuangshuang stroked the rabbit that was quietly crouching in her arms, and together with Sanyuan and Siwang, they cheered, "Great!"

At noon, we heated up some wild vegetable buns and ate them, which the children enjoyed very much.

Little Yuanyuan cooked steamed egg custard separately, which made her laugh and clap her hands.

After dinner, Ye Wenxue assigned tasks to each of the children:

“Dazhuang, you come with me to continue weeding and clearing trees. Besides the land for building the wooden house, we also need to clear a piece of land to grow vegetables and crops.”

Dazhuang placed the sleeping Yuanyuan in the empty basket and nodded emphatically after hearing this.

Ye Wenxue looked at Shuangshuang, who had just finished treating her wounds:

"Let's go and clean up a cave. We'll sleep in the cave until the wooden house is built."

As I always say, work more and overthink less.

Shuangshuang had no idea what sinister intentions her mother was harboring. After discussing with Ye Wenxue which cave to clean up, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

She still remembers how embarrassing it was when she cried.

I have to regain face in front of my older and younger brothers!