Cooking for herself in the small barbershop was a bit impractical. The room had heating, but no stove, and she regretted not getting a rice cooker voucher; buying one would have been much more practical.

We can only take it one step at a time for now, just make do and not let the children suffer.

She looked around and saw that they were selling electric stoves. She remembered seeing people use them when she was in hairdressing school. They were made by coiling heating wire, which would turn red-hot when electricity was applied. You could put a kettle on it to boil water or cook noodles in a small iron pot.

Qin Xiaoyu bought an electric stove, but didn't dare get one with too high a wattage, fearing the circuit breaker wouldn't be able to handle it. Then she saw a locksmith and bought five. She went back and changed all the locks on the windows and doors to prevent the landlord from causing trouble while she was away.

Qin Xiaoyu bought two jin of eggs and several packets of noodles. Then she took her two children to the dry goods counter.

Back then, children would be overjoyed at the sight of snacks, but Hanhan and her younger sister were different. Having seen so much, they found these snacks commonplace, and with their minds preoccupied, they were indifferent and didn't want them.

This surprised the sales clerk, and upon closer inspection of the mother and her two children's attire, someone recognized them.

"This is... Widow Tang!"

"Yes, yes, it's her! She's so rich, buying so much stuff!"

"That's right, they make their money easily."

"Hehe..." Several female sales clerks huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Some curious customers followed to inquire.

Qin Xiaoyu ignored them and focused on buying things. She bought more this time so that they wouldn't come every day and gossip about her.

Biscuits are the best to store, and milk powder is also suitable. Some things require coupons, but Qin Xiaoyu is usually quite carefree and leaves all the shopping to Tian Tian, ​​who has nothing but cash.

Finally, they bought another three pounds of apples, and their hands were already full. Hanhan took the initiative to help, taking over a few of the lighter bags, and the little sister insisted on sharing half of the load with her brother. Only then did the mother and her two siblings head home.

From afar, Qin Xiaoyu saw her cousin standing at the door pushing his bicycle, so she quickened her pace.

"You open the door and come inside first, I'll tidy up," my cousin said in a low voice.

Qin Xiaoyu then noticed that something had been splashed on the door and window panels, and a sour smell wafted from them.

Looking at the garbage heap not far away, there were a few rotten vegetable leaves thrown on it. Who dumped these out of their sauerkraut jar? That's pretty disgusting.

She pulled the two children inside, knowing it was wrong to keep them locked up, but it was too dangerous to leave them outside.

“This quilt was brought over by your sister-in-law. She said your blankets were too thin. Dr. Zhou brought it over when we were hospitalized last time. We didn’t eat much of it, so we brought it to you.” The cousin carried over a tin bucket.

Seeing the familiar military green color, Qin Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat, and her eyes welled up with tears.

That's the color of Zhou Xing.

The tin bucket contained compressed biscuits. Qin Xiaoyu was curious and tried one. It was salty and sweet, with a peanut flavor.

This thing arrived just in time; she'll find it useful.

The three of them were bored being locked in the house. The younger sister's cold was getting better, and she was more energetic, but her mood was becoming increasingly irritable.

"Come on, let Mom teach you how to draw!" Qin Xiaoyu saw the ink in the drawer and had a sudden inspiration.

She pulled the chair against the wall aside, revealing a large mirror. When she opened the hair salon, she had placed mirrors on three walls to make the room appear larger and to allow customers to observe the hairstyle from multiple angles.

Now it came in handy. Qin Xiaoyu poured out the ink from the fountain pen, found three small, nearly worn-out brushes, and gave one to each of them.

She dipped her pen in ink and started drawing on the lens. Although the strokes were clumsy and the ink kept dripping down, the little duck she drew was still quite cute and endearing.

The two children immediately became interested and started drawing.

Fortunately, water was readily available, and it was raining outside, so the water from washing was quickly washed away by the rain. Laughter filled the little house, and life seemed to be going well.

Qin Xiaoyu cooked noodles on an electric stove and cracked four eggs into it. She picked out two of the eggs and put them in Hanhan's bowl, because he was at a stage of rapid growth and couldn't be neglected.

In the short time it took to turn around, Hanhan picked up the eggs and went to eat them on the side with the bowl. Qin Xiaoyu was both annoyed and amused, so she could only break the eggs into three pieces.

"Mom, how long are we going to stay here?" Hanhan asked cautiously.

"I don't know either, we'll see. It shouldn't be long." Qin Xiaoyu didn't know what Bai Weiwei was planning to do.

It seems that she has already put Qin Xiaoyu in a deadly situation. Without her intervention, Qin Xiaoyu has been automatically isolated by the crowd like a deadly virus, and it is feared that she will have no chance of making a comeback.

That night, Qin Xiaoyu went to bed early with her two children in her arms. The sounds of wind and rain outside filled her ears. She hadn't slept well in a long time, and her body was utterly exhausted; she drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

CRACK! CRACK!

Two loud bangs rang out, and Qin Xiaoyu sat up abruptly. The room was pitch black, and she looked around blankly before realizing her situation.

Bang!

Another loud crash, like a stone hitting the door. The windows rattled violently.

"Is anyone there?" A man's voice came from outside; it sounded somewhat familiar.

“She must be here. I didn’t dare take the window panel down during the day. That little wench is scared.” It was the landlord’s voice.

They've already given her money, why is she still causing trouble? It's like a tiger fallen into the plains being bullied by dogs. Having learned from her experience at the Tang family's house, Qin Xiaoyu was determined not to open the door. Going out would only lead to her being taken advantage of, and with no one to take care of the two children, who knows what kind of serious trouble might occur.

The door panel was made of thick wooden planks nailed together, firmly attached to the window and door. People outside knocked for a while, but it didn't budge.

Both children woke up with a start, each clinging tightly to Qin Xiaoyu's arm.

Qin Xiaoyu wanted to put on a few more layers of clothing just in case, but the two children wouldn't let go, and she couldn't move.

"This door is sturdy enough, why didn't you get a key!" the man outside complained.

“I have the key. This little wench is cunning; she changed all the locks!”

"What should we do? I can't open it." The voice came from a stranger, so there seemed to be quite a few people outside.

Qin Xiaoyu slowly calmed the two children down and stepped off the bed. She tiptoed to the window, wanting to peek outside through the crack.

Before she could even press her eyes against it, there was another sound. Something outside had struck the windowpane, causing the window frame to shake and dust to fall.

She no longer had the courage to approach the window and slowly backed away. These people wouldn't give up until they opened the door. It was nighttime, and if they could hold out until dawn, maybe her cousin could come and save them. She just had to endure it.

Time seemed to slow down, almost frozen, and Qin Xiaoyu's heart pounded. The people outside tried several methods, but none could open the door. They started looking at the lock. Someone found a screwdriver, intending to remove the door latch.

But it was pitch black, and the people outside didn't look like they were working. One of them had even cut his hand and it was bleeding, but they still couldn't remove it.

"If that doesn't work, let's use fire! I bet she'll come out once the house is on fire!" someone else suggested.