Because Liu Jiandong was there, the villagers gave her even more things. Guan Lian and Chen Junliang carried the cloth bag and trudged through the snow.

"...You and me?"

Chen Junliang walked quickly, even though he was waiting for his mother, he was still a few steps ahead of her. In addition, a sudden gust of wind blew by, and Guan Lian's already soft words were instantly scattered in the wind and snow.

"Mom, what did you say?"

Guan Lian shook her head, thinking that she must be overthinking things. These two children used to have such a good relationship. She guessed that the boy had grown up and was not as emotionally expressive as before.

"It's nothing. I was just saying that your brother seems preoccupied these past few days. I've seen him spacing out several times." Guan Lian sighed deeply as she said this.

She has two sons, with a significant age gap between them, so she naturally knows that at different stages, children will become less talkative to their mothers. But her son is growing up too fast; he's only just started elementary school.

When they arrived home, Chen Junsheng was sitting at the table studying. Guan Lian tidied up the things and planned to fry some hazelnuts for them.

"Mom, weren't you going to write a letter to Grandma?"

Guan Lian paused, her hand still. She hadn't been sleeping well for the past few nights, worried about her family. She even borrowed the factory's phone to call home, but no one answered.

The snow has been heavy these past few days, so even if she sent the letter, it would have to stay at the post office, so she didn't write it.

"Then find me some stationery, I'll go and get the things from outside first."

Chen Junliang originally wanted to go downstairs for a walk. He hadn't been able to go anywhere these past few days and had explored almost the entire neighborhood. When he heard that his mother wanted to write a letter, he silently withdrew his feet and walked to the table to sit down.

"I think there are still two envelopes left from the last time I brought them back. I'll go find them, but we're out of stamps. We'll put the stamps on them when we mail them."

Guan Lian rummaged through the cabinet, while Chen Junsheng sat quietly at the table. After a while, he cautiously raised his head and saw his older brother staring at him.

"……elder brother?"

"I'm in school now and can write, right?"

"Your brother is in second grade this year. Think about whether you could write this when you were in second grade."

"Then let him write it for us."

"No need, I'll write it myself. He doesn't know many words, and his handwriting is ugly, like chicken claws."

But it's similar to how you used to be; I had to correct you for a long time before you finally wrote beautiful handwriting.

Guan Lian sent her two brothers to knock on hazelnuts, and wrote a letter home to inquire about their recent situation and whether her ex-husband's family had caused any trouble.

As she wrote, her eyes reddened. Her parents were getting old, and she always made them worry.

Now she's over 30, but she's moved to a different city with her child. It's hard for her to even see her parents, let alone be filial to them. Although her parents have complained about her going so far away, they always try to help her out.

They were afraid that she wouldn't be able to make a living alone with her child in another city.

When Xiao Liang came over this time, her ex-husband's family must know that it was her parents who helped.

Chen Junliang turned his face away from his mother's reddened eyes, while Chen Junsheng remained sitting there with his head down.

Finally finished writing, Guan Lian put the letter away and tucked it into an envelope, then dripped a few drops of wax on it to seal it.

"Mom, how about I mail it for you? I know where to mail it."

Guan Lian thought she might as well just let him make the trip. It was cold outside, so he could wear more clothes. She still had to cook. She was about to hand over the letter.

Chen Junliang stood up abruptly. He was much taller than Chen Junsheng and quickly took the letter.

"I'll go!"

He left as soon as he finished speaking, and Chen Junsheng didn't even get a good look at the words on the front of the envelope.

Guan Lian smiled. These two kids were still the same as before; they always wanted to do things themselves, just so they could wander around outside for a while.

She packed everything away, only to find her youngest son sitting expressionlessly at the table.

"Oh dear, how old are you? You're still getting angry with your brother over this. Next time, Mom will let you go."

Just as she was about to leave, her youngest son called out to her in a low voice, sounding somewhat flustered.

"Mom, does my brother not like me?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, child? Just because your brother took your job doesn't mean he doesn't like you. Don't forget who took care of you before."

Why doesn't your brother remember you? He spent all his saved allowance on you.

The two children are eight years apart. She went back to work at the factory when her younger son was only a few months old. Her mother-in-law was unwilling to take care of him, so her older son would bring him to the factory every day to breastfeed him. When he stopped breastfeeding, her older son would feed him rice cereal.

The eight- or nine-year-old child took excellent care of his younger brother, and later he followed him everywhere he went.

"Don't overthink this little thing. You've grown up now, so naturally you won't get along the same way you did when you were little, but you're brothers, both born of the same mother."

After Guan Lian finished speaking, she went outside, and Chen Junsheng bit his lip.

He could indeed read, but not many. He hadn't asked his mother for the address since he arrived, though he had heard people at the factory mention it, but he couldn't match the characters.

I was just about to look at the words on the envelope when my brother reached out and snatched it too quickly.

Chen Junliang didn't return for a long time after he left. When he got home, he told his mother that he had already sent the letter.

"Then come and eat."

The next day, Guan Lian went to work very early. Her youngest son was a bit slow, so before she left, she reminded him to hurry up and not to take advantage of the school's proximity to go there every day.

"I understand, Mom."

He finished his porridge in two gulps and was about to leave with his schoolbag when he saw Chen Junliang climb out of bed, put on his clothes, and look at him coldly.

"elder brother?"

"Mom could only take one person with her back then, and you begged to go with her. If you don't want to go back, tell Mom as soon as possible, don't hide it from her."

Chen Junsheng was startled and didn't know where to put his hands.

"Brother, what do you mean? I don't understand."

Chen Junliang stopped talking and just stared at him coldly.

"Don't try to be clever."

When his mother was determined to get a divorce, she even said at the beginning that she didn't want the two of them. He knew that his mother didn't want the two of them to become bargaining chips for his father to threaten her.

But the younger brother didn't know that later their father could only take one child from each of them, and Chen Junsheng cried and begged him to let him go with their mother.

Chen Junliang had thought so too. He was already grown up, and it would be better for his younger brother to stay with their mother. He would go find them when he was able to earn money.

Not long after the divorce, her mother found a job here. She didn't tell anyone except him.

Chen Junliang was afraid that his mother would leave him there alone, but he kept telling himself that his mother had said she would bring him over later.

But his younger brother came to tell him that his mother's salary could only support one person, so she left him there and hoped he wouldn't hate his mother.