He Shitou and Zhao Wanzi led Zhao Xiaocao in together.

Zhao Xiaocao was quite embarrassed, as she had been going to her second aunt's house every day for the past few days and had received quite a few good things.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, hello..." Zhao Xiaocao greeted them awkwardly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pot of fragrant stewed pork ribs on the table and couldn't help but swallow.

When He Tiantian saw Zhao Xiaocao's expression, she knew something must have happened. After all, to put it bluntly, Zhao Xiaocao was quite thick-skinned and had never acted like this before.

Zhao Wanzi asked Zhao Xiaocao to sit next to her, "Xiaocao, did your mother hit you again?"

Zhao Xiaocao hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Have you eaten yet?

Zhao Xiaocao shook her head.

Zhao Wanzi sighed, got up and went to the kitchen to fetch a bowl of rice. She then placed it in front of Zhao Xiaocao and handed her chopsticks.

"Then you should eat first, and we can talk about it after you finish eating."

The others didn't ask any further questions and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

Zhao Xiaocao's bowl was piled high with food, and everyone was worried that the child was too shy to eat, so they gave Zhao Xiaocao a lot of vegetables and meat.

Zhao Xiaocao ate several mouthfuls of rice before she could suppress the craving in her stomach.

Throughout the meal, her mouth was stuffed full, and she ate with great relish.

This was the first time she had eaten such a formal meal at her second aunt's house, and she hadn't expected the food to taste so delicious.

Zhao Xiaocao only regretted her bad luck, wondering why she hadn't been born into her second aunt's family.

After the meal, everyone went about their respective tasks.

Only He Tiantian and Zhao Wanzi stayed in the room to keep Zhao Xiaocao company.

Zhao Wanzi was always very direct in her questions. She guessed, "Sister Xiaocao, you didn't run away from home, did you?"

The room fell silent. Seeing Zhao Xiaocao's evasive manner, Zhao Wanzi was even more certain of her suspicions.

"Then you had nowhere to go in the village, so you came to my house," Zhao Wanzi continued, revealing her guess. "But aren't you afraid your mother will come looking for you? If she finds out you're not going back, she might beat you..."

"Even if you hit me, I won't go back. I want to live on my own. I don't want to go back to that home!" Zhao Xiaocao said defiantly.

He Tiantian felt that this matter was not simple. Zhao Xiaocao was very stubborn and was angry right now.

If she decides to run away from home and not return, then she won't care about what Cheng Shi and Xiang Nan think.

Moreover, if she hadn't taken the child in for the night, who knows where the child would have gone in this freezing weather.

Thinking of this, He Tiantian asked, "Xiaocao, tomorrow is your second brother's wedding day. Are you going?"

Zhao Xiaocao nodded, "Of course I'll go. I also want to see what my second sister-in-law looks like."

He Tiantian smiled and said, "Okay, let's all go together tomorrow."

She didn't plan to persuade Zhao Xiaocao to go home and apologize to her parents, because He Tiantian knew that Zhao Xiaocao's current state was largely due to her parents' lack of affection for her.

Sometimes she couldn't understand why, if the Cheng couple didn't like their daughter, they didn't just give her away in the first place.

Perhaps Zhao Xiaocao wouldn't be in such a miserable state now.

There weren't many rooms in the house to begin with, and Zhao Wanzi insisted on sleeping in the same bed with Zhao Xiaocao that night.

So Zhao Xiaocao squeezed into the room with the lantern and meatballs, carrying her quilt.

The quilt was very thick and heavy; Zhao Xiaocao had never seen such a thick and warm quilt before.

She was overjoyed and cherished the blankets immensely, making the bed with utmost care, afraid of damaging them.

Seeing her like this, Zhao Denglong didn't know what to say. He just reminded her, "Little Grass Sister, you can sleep next to Wanzi later."

Zhao Xiaocao nodded, her heart brightening. "Thank you, Sister Lantern."

Zhao Denglong will be ten years old after the New Year, or twelve if we use the traditional Chinese age reckoning. Zhao Wanzi will be seven years old, and Zhao Xiaocao will be two years older than Zhao Wanzi, so she will be nine years old after the New Year.

The three girls slept together at night, and they had endless topics to talk about.

Maruko has always been straightforward. She snuggled into her warm blankets and stared at the dark ceiling.

"Sister Xiaocao, I want to ask you a question." Zhao Wanzi's tone was quite formal.

Although Zhao Denglong didn't interrupt, he was listening attentively.

"What's up?"

"Then you must tell me the truth."

Hearing Zhao Wanzi being so mysterious, Zhao Xiaocao also had her doubts.

She doesn't seem to have any secrets to share, especially given her impoverished background.

"Yes, go ahead and ask." Zhao Xiaocao felt she was being very frank.

"Do you like Brother Zhao Yan?" As soon as Zhao Wanzi finished speaking, she could clearly feel the people lying on either side of her breathing rapidly.

Zhao Denglong was so surprised by the question that he couldn't speak, while Zhao Xiaocao wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

Fortunately, it was nighttime, and no one noticed her embarrassment and awkwardness.

"I...I don't know either..." Zhao Xiaocao stammered.

Was she making it obvious? But she had been trying to keep a certain distance from Brother Zhao Yan these past few days.

Zhao Wanzi said definitively, "No, you know. I noticed it before; the way you looked at Brother Zhao Yan was different..."

Seeing that the two younger sisters' conversation was inappropriate for children, Zhao Denglong promptly interrupted.

"Wanzi, don't talk nonsense. Xiaocao, don't overthink it either. You're both so young, how do you know what likes and dislikes are?" Zhao Denglong lectured in an older sister's tone.

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