Just as Lin Wanqiu poured the thick millet porridge into a rough porcelain bowl, she heard a series of light footsteps outside the courtyard gate, along with Lin Moli's signature high-pitched, coquettish question: "Is Sister Wanqiu home? I heard that Nian'an hasn't been feeling well these past few days, so I specially made some rice porridge to check on her."
Her spoon paused, a flash of coldness crossing her eyes. She'd just seen this "pure white lotus" fail miserably yesterday, and now she was back again.
"Come in," Lin Wanqiu called out, subtly covering the two freshly baked white pancakes on the stove with a cloth. These pancakes were made with refined flour from her spatial storage, golden and crispy, steaming hot. If Lin Moli saw them, she'd probably start making sarcastic remarks.
The curtain was lifted, and Lin Moli walked in, leaning against the doorframe. She was still wearing the same faded floral blouse, but her hair was slicked back and shiny, and she had applied some face cream from who-knows-where, filling the room with a sweet, cloying fragrance. In her hand, she carried a chipped, rough porcelain bowl, half-filled with thin, watery rice porridge, barely a grain of rice in sight.
"Sister Wanqiu, look at your room, why is it still so cold and deserted?" Lin Moli looked around as soon as she entered the room, her eyes scanning the stove, bedside and other places like a searchlight. "Where is Nian'an? The child has just recovered, she can't get cold."
"She's asleep in the inner room." Lin Wanqiu leaned against the stove, arms crossed, her tone indifferent. "Thank you for your trouble. I'll accept the rice porridge. If you're busy, you should go back first, so as not to delay your work."
Her dismissal was obvious, and Lin Moli's smile froze for a moment before quickly returning. She walked to the door of the inner room, gently lifted the curtain and peeked inside. Seeing Shen Nian'an sleeping soundly wrapped in a blanket, she turned around and sighed, "Sister Wanqiu, I know it's not easy for you to raise a child alone."
Seeing that she didn't respond, Lin Moli took two more steps forward and lowered her voice, saying, "Sister Wanqiu, I heard my mother say yesterday that the brigade is going to assess impoverished households recently, and they can receive two jin of relief grain. Look at your family's situation, and Nian'an is so thin. If you go and talk to the brigade secretary, maybe you can be assessed."
Her words, though seemingly concerned, were actually malicious. At that time, being labeled a "poor household" was no good thing. Being designated one meant being gossiped about by the villagers, receiving pitifully small amounts of relief grain, and having to be subservient to the brigade cadres. More importantly, Lin Moli knew that Zhao Jianjun had been eyeing Lin Wanqiu, and if Lin Wanqiu went to the brigade secretary for help, she might be harassed by Zhao Jianjun.
Lin Wanqiu could easily see through her thoughts, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Thank you for reminding me, but you don't need to worry about my family's affairs. I have hands and feet, would I let Nian'an go hungry? As for you, you should think more about your own affairs. I heard your mother has been trying to find you a husband again recently?"
These words struck a nerve with Lin Moli. The color drained from her face instantly, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. In the end, she could only give an awkward smile and say, "Sister Wanqiu, look at my memory. My mother is waiting for me to go back to work, so I'll be going now."
After saying that, he left in a hurry without waiting for Lin Wanqiu's reply, even forgetting to take the bowl of rice soup with him.
Lin Wanqiu watched her disheveled figure, pursed her lips, and poured the bowl of rice porridge into the pig feed bucket. This stuff wouldn't even be willing to eat, let alone be given to Nian'an.
Just as she finished cleaning the stove, she heard Shen Nian'an's movements from the inner room. The little guy woke up whimpering, his voice still nasal from just waking up: "Mommy..."
Lin Wanqiu quickly went over, lifted the blanket, and picked up the child: "Niannian, are you awake? Are you hungry? Mom made you some millet porridge and some white flour pancakes."
Shen Nian'an rubbed her eyes, rested her little head against Lin Wanqiu's chest, smelled the faint scent of rice on her, nodded, and said softly, "Hungry..."
Lin Wanqiu carried him to the outer room, placed him on a small stool, brought over some millet porridge, then took out a white flour pancake, tore it into small pieces, soaked it in the porridge, blew on it to cool it down, and then fed it to him: "Eat slowly, don't burn yourself."
Shen Nian'an ate the food in small bites, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lin Wanqiu. Suddenly, she whispered, "Mom, the biscuits are delicious."
Lin Wanqiu felt a warmth in her heart and patted his head: "Eat more if you like it. Mom has more here. Niannian can eat delicious food every day from now on."
The little one nodded vigorously, ate a few more bites, then suddenly looked up at Lin Wanqiu and whispered, "Mom is amazing."
These four words were spoken softly and gently, yet they were like a pebble thrown into the lake of Lin Wanqiu's heart, stirring up ripples. She froze for a moment, and tears instantly welled up, blurring her vision.
Since transmigrating, she's faced a barrage of difficult demands from her demanding in-laws, a life of poverty and lack of food and clothing, and the constant worry about Annie's frail and thin appearance. Every day, she carefully uses the resources from her spatial storage to improve their lives and fend off relatives who try to take advantage of her, all in the hopes of providing a better life for herself and her child. But she never imagined she would hear the words "Mommy is amazing" from the mouth of this timid and cowardly four-year-old child.
She remembered that when she first transmigrated, Shen Nian'an would hide whenever he saw her, his eyes filled with fear and timidity, and he wouldn't even dare to speak to her. Over the past month, she had cooked delicious food for the child every day, talked to him, and told him stories at night. Only then did the child slowly become willing to approach her, and now he even said that she was amazing.
Lin Wanqiu sniffed, wiped away her tears, and hugged Shen Nian'an into her arms, her voice choked with emotion: "Niannian, Mom will always protect you, make sure you eat well and dress well, and never let anyone bully you again."
Chen Nian'an snuggled against her, her little arms tightly wrapped around her neck, and whispered, "Mommy, I'll protect you too."
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