Upon hearing this, Shen Miao became quite angry.

"You know you shouldn't have thrown a rock at your older brother, right? His head isn't as hard as a rock. If you had hit him hard, Da Bao would have been in big trouble today! Er Bao, it's okay no matter how naughty you are usually, but you'd better remember this from now on, and never do it again, understand?!"

Her voice was more serious than ever before.

Erbao had never seen her like this before and was a little frightened.

Shen Miao showed no sign of backing down and gave Erbao a severe scolding. Even Qingchen from next door couldn't help but knock on the wall to ask what had happened.

"It's alright, you go and rest," Shen Miao replied.

There was no sound from the other side. Erbao's head was hanging low, and his teeth were tightly biting his lip.

"You're not convinced?"

Having been here for so long, Shen Miao has roughly figured out the personalities of the children. Da Bao is calm and mature, with the demeanor of an elder brother, though he can be a little naughty at times.

Sanbao is a little foodie with no particular personality; he loves following his two older brothers around.

Xiao Sibao is a soft and cuddly little girl.

Erbao, on the other hand, has the most prominent personality. Despite his young age, he is incredibly bold and a little rebellious. He has a rather sharp personality and his own ideas.

Fortunately, he usually respects Da Bao, and the two brothers have never had any conflicts. Today's incident was probably just an accident.

Erbao whispered, "No, Mother is right."

Shen Miao's expression softened slightly, and she said to Er Bao, "You hurt Da Bao, what should we do now?"

"Apologize to Da Bao and ask for his forgiveness."

"Go."

Erbao climbed onto the stone bed and obediently said to Dabao, "Brother, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thrown the stone at you."

Da Bao turned his head away and snorted.

Shen Miao watched from the side and thought that Da Bao was probably hurt by Er Bao as well. His younger brother, whom he protected so much, actually attacked him. No wonder he was angry.

Erbao looked helplessly at Shenmiao, her voice trembling with tears: "Dabao is ignoring me."

Shen Miao sighed inwardly, called both children to her side, and comforted them. Erbao had no intention of hurting them, and Dabao could forgive him this time, but Erbao had to promise that he would never lay a hand on his brothers again.

The two little ones had a good relationship, and Da Bao couldn't bear to ignore Er Bao anymore, so the two kids talked it out and made up.

When Shen Miao went next door to check on Qing Chen, the four little ones were already making a ruckus on the bed, their laughter carrying far.

Shen Miao closed the door and entered Qing Chen's room.

On snowy days, Qingchen suffers the most. He is injured, and the cold air seeps into the broken parts of his legs, causing him excruciating pain.

He was woken up by the pain at night and couldn't sleep well all night. His face was very pale, as if he had been seriously ill again.

Seeing Shen Miao enter, Qing Chen immediately suppressed her discomfort and tried to remain calm as usual, asking, "Why aren't you next door with them?"

Shen Miao said calmly, "No need to accompany them, they're having fun on their own. How do you feel?"

Qingchen raised the corners of his mouth and said casually, "What can I do? It's fine."

"Yeah."

Shen Miao's gaze swept over Qing Chen's lips. If he hadn't bitten his lip so hard it almost bled, she might have believed him.

Qingchen sensed that Shen Miao was acting strangely, but she didn't say anything. Qingchen didn't know what she was thinking, and he didn't have the energy to think too much, because he needed to save his energy for dealing with the pain.

After sitting in Qingchen's room for a while, Shen Miao left.

She took the beast crystal and went to the beast farm.

Actually, she wasn't sure if the animal arena would even be open in this weather; she was just trying her luck. Fortunately, she was quite lucky.

Although there weren't many people in the arena, it was open.

In particular, she saw what she wanted most in the animal enclosure: charcoal.

The orc selling charcoal was huddled behind bundles of charcoal, his hands tucked inside, trying to avoid the cold wind. Hearing the crunching sound of his footsteps on the snow, he looked up and called out to Shen Miao, "Buying charcoal?"

"Hmm." Shen Miao stopped and asked, "What about the charcoal?"

Seeing that a customer had arrived, the orc selling charcoal perked up, stood up, and quoted a price.

Upon hearing the price, Shen Miao knew that the orc was asking for an exorbitant sum.

This price could normally buy a month's worth of meat.

She complained that the charcoal was too expensive and tried to negotiate with the charcoal orc. He smiled and said, "No, this is the price. I can't sell it for less, and it's not worth it for me. Everyone knows how difficult it is to make charcoal. Don't make things difficult for me."

Shen Miao couldn't help but say, "The price is usually half, but you're charging twice as much."

“Look at this weather, it’s hard to do business in this snowy weather,” the charcoal orc said eloquently.

Shen Miao was speechless. She knew the other party was just trying to raise the price, but there was nothing she could do.

She had to buy the charcoal, otherwise Qingchen didn't know how many days she could last.

In the end, Shen Miao still spent a lot of money to buy the charcoal.

She carried the charcoal home and put a charcoal brazier in Qingchen's room. The fire burned brightly, and the room immediately became warm, no longer as cold as an ice cellar as before.

Qingchen watched her actions in silence, without saying a word.

It wasn't until Shen Miao finished lighting the fire and prepared to leave that she arrived.

She was busy all the time, so even though it was snowing heavily, she was covered in sweat. When the wind blew, she shivered from the cold.

Qingchen finally spoke and called out to her, "Chen Miao."

Shen Miao turned around: "What is it?"

"There are some things I want to tell you."

Shen Miao closed the door, walked back in, sat down beside the stone bed, and raised her chin: "Speak."

Qingchen seemed to find it difficult to speak, opening his mouth several times but failing to utter a word.

Shen Miao didn't urge him, and waited patiently.

"Shenmiao, from now on, don't buy expensive items like charcoal anymore," Qingchen said.

Shen Miao said "Oh," and replied, "Why not buy it? I need to keep warm."

Qingchen gave her a complicated look, knowing that she was doing this mainly for her own sake, but she refused to admit it, and Qingchen couldn't force her to admit it.

"I know my physical condition. I'll die sooner or later. There's no need to waste too much on me. Think about the children and yourself." Qingchen said to himself.

Shen Miao smiled and said, "That's funny. Why do you always try to make yourself look good? I already told you, it wasn't bought specifically for you."

Qingchen ignored her, saying, "I might not make it through this winter."

Her legs started to hurt again, and Qingchen was already somewhat numb.

Ignoring the waves of excruciating pain, he said in a heavy voice, "If I don't make it through, please, you must take good care of the four babies."

Shen Miao lowered her eyes, intently tending to the charcoal brazier. The charcoal fire burned brightly, casting a holy glow on her face.

She neither said she was willing nor unwilling.

The two of them were like this, one lying down and the other sitting.

There was no further communication.

The snow was still falling softly outside the window, and the world was utterly silent.