He Xiaoying tugged at the corner of her clothes helplessly. The only cotton-padded jacket she was wearing that was still presentable was the one given to her by Jiang Mengxue, and she was still wearing her own cloth shoes with several holes in them.

In fact, she has become accustomed to this kind of life. She always feels that she is inferior to others. When she walks on the street and sees everyone wearing neat clothes, she always walks close to the wall, as if she is afraid that getting too close to others will dirty their clothes.

So after receiving Jiang Mengxue's great kindness these two days, He Xiaoying felt very helpless.

He Xiaoying stammered, "No, no, that's fine. Any place I can sleep is fine. I used to sleep in the woodshed when I was at home."

Jiang Mengxue couldn't imagine how she had lived the past eighteen years. Before she got married, she was treated differently by her stepmother in her parents' home, and after she got married, she was bullied by everyone in her husband's family. What was rare now was that her character had not changed for the worse.

Li Cuiying was worried about others sleeping with Jiang Mengxue, so she said, "It's okay. The other kang in the side room is empty, and there's no quilt at home that can cover two people. Your quilt is too small for two people."

As soon as he got home, Gu Zhenjiang was instructed to light up the kang in the side room first. Li Cuiying went back to the room to find a quilt and a pair of cotton shoes she had taken off, which were also quite old and she couldn't wear them now.

"Xiaoying, come over here and try these shoes on. Can you wear them? I don't know what size your feet are. If they're too big, I'll find you two pairs of insoles.

I also have autumn clothes and cotton pants, they are all my old ones, so please don’t be disgusted by them.”

Li Cuiying's conditions were quite good, and she certainly wouldn't compromise herself in life. Whenever she saw a style or fabric she liked, she would buy it and make clothes herself. She wouldn't even put patches on the clothes she no longer wore.

However, she has kept these clothes for a long time and hasn't worn them for many years. Now she can make full use of them.

Although these were old clothes that Li Cuiying no longer wore, He Xiaoying looked no different from new clothes. She had never worn such good clothes until she was eighteen years old.

Seeing He Xiaoying standing by the kang, carefully looking at the new clothes but not daring to touch them, Li Cuiying sighed.

In fact, He Xiaoying is only eighteen years old this year. If you count, Li Cuiying's daughter is ten years older than He Xiaoying. If her daughter were alive and lived such a life, she would be able to jump out of the coffin even if she died.

"Don't worry, kid. I'm old, and the fabrics I've bought lately are all colors worn by older people. They make a young girl like you look old-fashioned. But as long as the clothes can keep you warm, it's fine. Hurry up and put them on so I can see them."

Because He Xiaoying has been malnourished for many years, she is not as tall as Li Cuiying. When she changes all her clothes, she looks a bit like a child wearing adult clothes.

But it is really warm. After putting it on, He Xiaoying realized for the first time that winter can be so warm. Even the chilblains on her hands and feet didn’t feel itchy anymore.

Now that I’ve put on new clothes, I feel like a new person. This is a good start.

"Not bad, although a little big, but the sleeves and trouser legs can be adjusted inwards, and if the shoes are too big, I can just put insoles.

The Liu family is really heartless. Who would let you wear only pants and shoes in the middle of winter? You are so cold at such a young age. You will definitely suffer from health problems in the future.

He Xiaoying lowered her head with tears streaming down her face, and secretly reached out to touch it.

Unconsciously, she cried, "It's okay, Director Li. I've escaped now. I have my own hands and feet and can always support myself. Even if I have to dig wild vegetables and eat tree roots in the wild, it's better than living in his house."

Li Cuiying laughed: "How can we, the leaders of the street, go out and meet people? Now you have a city hukou and a house. Logically, the street should assign you a job, but it's hard to find a job now, so we have to take our time.

Besides, your physical condition doesn't allow you to work right away. You still need to rest for a while. You are still young and your future life is still a long way to go. You can't ruin your body now."

He Xiaoying held back her tears, thinking about her bright future, which would always get better and better.

"I understand, Director Li. I will take good care of my health during this period. Only when I am in good health can I stop causing trouble to others and work better to support myself."

Li Cuiying nodded with satisfaction: "That's right, your good days are still ahead."

After helping He Xiaoying change her clothes, Li Cuiying took out two quilts from the box and made the bed in the side room.

Li Cuiying has saved quite a bit of cotton over the years. Apart from the cotton she and her husband use to make clothes, most of the remaining cotton is made into single quilts. She was planning to take out the quilt and replace it with new cotton to make a new quilt for Gu Qingbei when he gets married.

But Gu Qingbei had prepared everything himself, so the quilts she prepared were completely useless.

But it's a good thing that these quilts are still there, and they are put to use now. When there are fewer people at home in a while, she will use the cotton to make a few wider quilts, so that Gu Qingbei and Jiang Mengxue can use them when they come to live with her in the future.

Jiang Mengxue and Xie Sheng went to the kitchen to serve the dishes and placed them on the kang table. The room was warmer so they didn't have to worry about the food getting cold quickly.

Xie Sheng lit a pot and Jiang Mengxue fried tofu and it took only a few minutes to prepare the last dish. Fortunately, she usually cooked more food so that she could have it for the next meal even if she couldn't finish it. However, she couldn't accept that everyone would only eat until they were 70% or 80% full.

Maybe it's a habit brought over from later generations. How can the table be empty when no one is full? Even if someone is a little full, they can't miss a bite. So tonight, if there is one more person, we can ensure that everyone is 70% to 80% full.

At this time, Li Cuiying and He Xiaoying had already started collecting the dried sweet potatoes in the yard, and they would steam them again tomorrow morning.

After they finished their work, they worked together and quickly cleaned up the yard.

During the meal, He Xiaoying sat on the kang very reservedly and didn't take many dishes. There was a bowl in front of everyone, and Li Cuiying directly took her bowl and filled it with all the dishes for her.

"Don't be polite when you get home. Eat what you want. My aunt's family doesn't lack this. I'll take you to take a bath after dinner. Soaking in hot water will make you feel more comfortable, so you can sleep well tonight."

He Xiaoying had just given birth to a baby the day before and had not washed her body properly. Today, such a big thing happened. Normally, she should not take a bath during the confinement period, but it would be more hygienic for her to take a bath now.

When she said that, Jiang Mengxue remembered that she hadn't taken a shower for several days.