Chen Yunyun was talking to the children when someone peered out from the gate. It was Aunt Li from next door.

"Aunt Li is here." Chen Yunyun took out a few fruit candies from her bamboo bag and stuffed them into her hand. "I bought some candies from the supply and marketing cooperative this morning. They're for your grandson to enjoy."

Aunt Li was shocked. She had agreed to babysit someone's child that morning, but the next morning, Xu's second daughter had been bullied. Aunt Li felt somewhat embarrassed by what had happened.

She touched her nose, accepted the candy anyway, and then slowly explained her purpose, "Jing'er's mother, has Zhijun sent you any money?"

Although Chen Yunyun was smiling, her eyes had turned cold. She took out the money from her pocket, counted it carefully, and handed it to Aunt Li, who counted it twice more.

"Five yuan and sixty cents, that's the amount." Aunt Li took the money, tore up the IOU, and said, "Then I'll head back now. My grandson is waiting for dinner at home."

After seeing Aunt Li off, Chen Yunyun looked rather grim. She shook her head; neighbors and acquaintances couldn't be trusted, and she should try to have less contact with the villagers in the future.

After closing the door and entering the courtyard, Chen Yunyun took out all the things she had bought on the street.

Besides a few bolts of cloth, there was also cotton.

She also wanted to directly exchange for the thick, warm cotton-padded clothes in the system store, but when she thought that the clothes and styles were too conspicuous in this era, she decided to honestly make them herself.

Stuff cotton into the clothes and sew them up with fine stitches so the cotton won't move around. Use several layers of fabric to make them thicker, so that when children wear them out to play, they won't easily get snagged on stones or branches.

Soon, she finished making a cotton-padded coat for the little one, which fit the third child perfectly.

She took another old, worn-out garment, covered it with the outer layer, and sewed it up. To the untrained eye, it would just look like a tattered piece of clothing, nothing special, but the inside was brand new, stuffed with cotton.

Just as Xu Jingrun finished making clothes for the child, he returned, dragging a bundle of firewood, which was larger than himself, with great difficulty into the yard.

Despite the freezing weather, the child was sweating profusely.

"Niu Niu, call your brother over here."

Xu Jingrun stood in front of Chen Yunyun, his hands hanging at his sides. His summer clothes barely covered his body, and his exposed skin was covered with a mix of old and new wounds.

Chen Yunyun pulled a thin wooden stick from the pile of firewood he had collected.

When they saw their stepmother holding a stick, Niu Niu and Sanwa shrank back, while Da Wa stood straight.

"Stretch out your hand."

Xu Jingrun raised his arm, palm up, expressionless.

His stepmother never needed a reason to beat him.

Last night's meat had given him some unwarranted desires, and now it's time to wake up from that dream.

The stick fell, striking twenty times in total, the left hand was hit and then the right.

A tingling and swelling sensation came from his palm. Xu Jingrun lowered his head, overwhelmed by intense hatred.

"Alright, go to the kitchen and start the fire." Chen Yunyun put away the wooden stick, which she tossed aside with a dull thud as it hit the ground.

Xu Jingrun was stunned. Was it really over just like that?

He looked up and met Chen Yunyun's gaze. He heard his stepmother say, "Hitting you isn't the goal. What I want is to teach you a lesson through punishment."

“I told you not to go out this morning before I left. This beating is the price for disobeying. If you disobey again next time, I will punish you by not letting you eat.”

Chen Yunyun turned to look at Niu Niu in the corner, "And you, for the past two weeks, you two have been doing all the housework together."

Xu Jingrun thought to himself, this is hardly a punishment. Niu Niu's expression was almost the same as Da Wa's, both wondering what their stepmother was up to.

The two little ones went to the kitchen together; Niu Niu started the fire, and Da Wa added water to the pot.

Chen Yunyun brought the three children in, closed the kitchen door tightly, and blocked the chimney so that no one outside could smell anything.

She took a chicken out of her basket, saying she bought it on the street, but in reality, she had exchanged it with the system.

"We're having firewood-cooked chicken for lunch today, and the eldest son kneaded the dough."

After handing the flour to the eldest child, Chen Yunyun focused on preparing the chicken.

Chicken feathers can be easily removed by scalding with boiling water, and then the chicken meat can be cleaned by singeing it with fire.

She cut the chicken into pieces, washed and peeled the taro, and the white taro looked extremely cute.

Heat the oil and add the chicken to the pan. Add garlic and ginger dug from the ground to suppress the fishy smell. After the chicken is colored, add taro and stir-fry. Add water and seasonings and simmer.

Knead the rested dough into small flatbreads and stick them to the edge of the iron pot.

Simmering slowly over high heat, the aroma of chicken fills the entire room.

The third child's drool dripped onto the collar of his new cotton coat, making Chen Yunyun both amused and exasperated. She thought to herself that she would have to make him a bib.

After Niu Niu extinguished the fire, they called over Da Wa, who was bundling firewood in the yard, and the four of them ate lunch in the kitchen.

The staple food is flatbread, which is crispy and fragrant on the side stuck to the iron pan, but soft and sweet on the inside when you tear it open.

Chicken stewed in an earthen stove has a soft and tender skin, and the meat inside is not dry at all. Instead, it is delicate and tender, and the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes, making your mouth water.

The taro inside is incredibly tender and delicious, soft and flavorful; with just a gentle touch, the taro melts on your lips and tongue.

A bite of sweet flatbread, a bite of spicy and flavorful wood-fired chicken—the group ate with great relish.

Chen Yunyun was the first to put down her chopsticks. She patted her round belly, thinking how comfortable it was to live such a leisurely life...

Sanwa had been fed formula before, and Chen Yunyun was worried about the child's digestive system, so she strictly controlled Sanwa's diet, and he didn't eat much.

The rest was devoured by Da Wa and Niu Niu. They still felt like they hadn't had enough, so Chen Yunyun quickly stopped them from trying to lick the plates clean!

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!