After sweeping the snow, An Moxue took the local delicacies she had bought in Haiyi Province, put the two little ones inside the house, locked the door, and headed towards Village Chief Guo.

An Moxue arrived at the village chief's house and saw that the gate was open. She walked into the yard and heard the sound of children playing. She called out, "Uncle Guo, Aunt Guo, are you home?"

"Yes, come in!"

An Moxue entered the house. Village Chief Guo was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and Aunt Guo was sitting on the kang. When she saw people, she called out, "Uncle Guo, Aunt Guo." She put her things on the cabinet and then sat down on the edge of the kang.

Uncle Guo asked, "When did you get back?"

An Moxue said, "I didn't get home until midnight yesterday."

Aunt Guo said, "Just let your uncle know you're back. Why did you take those things? Take them back."

Village Chief Guo also said, "Just come back on time, and keep the food for yourselves."

An Moxue said, "Uncle, Aunt, there's not much. My friend said these pastries are local ethnic minority snacks from over there, and they're very delicious. I'm just trying them out for the first time. I'm not taking them back."

She turned around and looked at the three children on the kang (a heated brick bed). They were all quite young, ranging from six or seven to ninety years old. When they saw An Moxue come in, they all fell silent and obediently sat around the kang to play.

An Moxue looked at them, and the youngest girl among them secretly glanced at An Moxue before quickly lowering her head, her eyes full of cunning.

Both Village Chief Guo and Aunt Guo saw it, and they both tried to suppress their laughter.

Aunt Guo said to the three children, "Qingsong, Cuibai, Duoduo, quickly call Aunt An."

The three children all looked at An Moxue and greeted her in unison, "Hello, Aunt An."

"Hello." An Moxue reached into her pocket, took out six fruit candies, and handed them to them.

But no one took it; they all looked at Village Chief Guo, who said, "Aunt An gave it to you, take it!"

The three children took the candy and thanked her in unison, "Thank you, Sister An."

An Moxue asked Aunt Guo, "Auntie, are these your grandchildren?"

"Yes, they were on holiday, so their parents sent them back. These are your eldest brother's two sons and your second brother's daughter."

"So well-behaved."

"Oh dear, they're being naughty! It snowed yesterday, and I was worried they'd get their shoes wet and have nothing to wear, so I kept them from going out. Otherwise, they would have disappeared long ago."

"She's already very well-behaved. So polite!"

"You're quite the little devil!" Aunt Guo said with a big smile.

"Mo Xue, what's the situation outside this time you went out?" Village Chief Guo asked.

An Moxue thought for a moment and said, "The places I went to always seemed more severe than here. Red Guards were running rampant in the streets, and there were people being sent down to labor camps in the countryside. By the way, why don't we have that here?"

"It's coming soon. I went to a meeting the day before yesterday, and the town said they would send someone over! It might be before the New Year. I turned down all the previous ones and asked for a few more educated youth to replace them, but this batch probably won't work. Our village has been selected as an advanced village, so we can't avoid it. Sigh! It's worrying. What should we do when they come?"

"Yes, that's true. However, I think we should just follow the requirements. The self-criticisms and criticism sessions should all be done according to the requirements. The only thing we can do is to keep the villagers from going too far, especially if there are any radicals. We need to be careful, because it would be terrible if someone were killed. If those people had done something heinous, the country would have sentenced them to death long ago. Why keep them alive? Since the country is asking them to repent and start anew, we should also actively reform them. What do you think?"

Aunt Guo said, "I think Mo Xue makes a good point."

Uncle Guo tapped his pipe, filled it with tobacco, and said, "I'll go talk to the village officials about this. Mo Xue, you stay here and sit with your aunt for a while."

As Village Chief Guo came out of the house, Aunt Guo said, "This morning, when the child came back, I wouldn't let him smoke, and he finally found an excuse to slip away! What a jerk."

An Moxue, being a junior, couldn't respond to that, so she changed the subject, saying, "Auntie, I've been away from home for the past few days, has anything new happened?"

"Nothing much has happened these past few days! What about you? Anything interesting happening over there?"

"Auntie, let me tell you, it really happened. It happened on the train I was on. A very pretty and spirited young woman, about my age, was being called 'young lady' by a short, stocky middle-aged woman with triangular eyes, who insisted on dragging her off the train..."

As An Moxue continued her storytelling, she noticed that the three children had stopped playing and were listening to her, so she became even more focused.

After she finished speaking, the three children still looked at her expectantly. She asked them, "If you were her and encountered a criminal like that, what would you do?"

Qingsong was the first to speak: "We need to find the master."

An Moxue asked, "What if you're all alone, without any adults around?"

"Find the police," Cui Bai said.

Duoduo said, "Brother is so silly. Of course, we should try to avoid this human trafficker first, and then find someone who can help us!"

An Moxue praised, "What you've said makes sense, but the most important point is that children shouldn't go out alone; it's too dangerous. Having an adult with them can avoid a lot of danger, don't you think?"

The children were a little discouraged. Duoduo asked, "Auntie, why are there so many bad people? We're too scared to go out and play."

The two children nodded, and Aunt Guo took the opportunity to say, "Will you still sneak out on your own in the future? It's okay in our countryside, there are fewer bad people. But if you go back to the city and get kidnapped, where will you find your parents then?"

The little girl spoke first: "I'll be good and won't run around. Grandma, could you make something delicious for Duoduo and her brother this afternoon?"

Aunt Guo pretended to be a little embarrassed and said, "Then it depends on your performance!"

The three children rushed to answer: "I'll be good." "I'll be good." "Me too."

The three children all looked at Aunt Guo, who said, "Whoever behaves the best will get their favorite dish made this afternoon."

"Oh yeah! Grandma, you're the best grandma!" The little girl hugged Aunt Guo and kissed her.

Aunt Guo's eyebrows curved into a smile, and she couldn't stop smiling.

An Moxue watched for a while, then said goodbye to Aunt Guo. Before leaving, the little girl said, "Aunt An, come again tomorrow! I love listening to your stories."

An Moxue said, "You must be obedient, I will come tomorrow."

As An Moxue left the house, she could still hear the little girl lecturing her two older brothers: "Brothers, you must be good! If you're not good, Aunt An won't tell you a story tomorrow, and I'll cry."

"Don't worry! Aunt An isn't coming tomorrow, I'll tell you."

"No, what you say isn't as good as what Aunt An says. I don't want what you say."

......

An Moxue walked out of Aunt Guo's courtyard and could no longer hear the laughter and chatter inside.