"Aunt, I understand what you said. I have thought it through now. I will be good to these children. I know I have done many wrong things in the past, and I will do my best to make up for it."
"Okay, okay, it's a good thing that you think this way. Your mother-in-law loves you like her own daughter. Even though these children are not your own, as long as you treat them well, they will take care of you when you are old."
Aunt Qiuping from next door spoke frankly, but she also had her own selfish motives, thinking that this way the children's situation would be better and their lives would be easier.
"Aunt, I will take everything you say to heart."
"Okay, by the way, is there any food at home? I still have some. Wait a minute, I'll get it for you."
Li Qiuping ran back to her home at a quick pace and filled the kitchen with a small bag of brown rice and a handful of green vegetables.
Life is not easy at home, and these are the only things we can offer.
"Lin Shuang, take these, don't be disgusted." Li Qiuping stuffed them into Lin Shuang's hands.
Lin Shuang looked down at the cloth bag in her arms. It was heavy and contained a bunch of vegetables.
He frowned. Aunt Qiuping was really kind-hearted. She gave him food just because of a few words. He looked up at Li Qiuping, who was looking at him nervously.
"Lin Shuang, these are for you and the children. Go back quickly."
After saying this, Li Qiuping went back because she saw her daughter-in-law had returned.
Lin Shuang looked at Li Qiuping's hurriedly speaking figure, pursed her lips, and was about to go back to the kitchen. Before she even stepped into the kitchen, she heard a quarrel across the street.
"Mom, you've been bewitched by her family, right? Why do you always give them our food? Don't you know what kind of person Lin Shuang is?"
"Is this your first day meeting her? She's such a jerk. She ate them all by herself. The children were starving to the point of being skin and bones, and their bodies were covered in marks of beatings."
"You could give it to anyone else, but you had to give it to her. Don't you know what life has become for your family?"
"We are still eating wild vegetables every day, but the children at home are not growing." Li Qiuping's daughter-in-law started crying as she spoke.
In fact, she was reluctant to leave those children, but she was in a difficult situation now and could hardly save herself, so how could she care about so many things?
"Xiao Cui, it's my fault, but your uncle and aunt Xiao have been very kind to our family, and we can't forget our roots."
Li Qiuping wiped her tears silently and spoke with a choked voice.
Liu Xiaocui lowered her head in silence.
Lin Shuang stood there for a long time, feeling a little uncomfortable. It was really hard for people at the bottom of society to survive in this era.
The four children hid in the house and watched Lin Shuang quietly. This bad woman took the food from Grandma Li again.
"Brother, why does this bad woman want Grandma Li's things again? She will definitely not give them to us." Xiao Jingyu said with grievance and resentment, covering his injured face.
"Third brother, that's not true. My stepmother just gave me some fragrant rice porridge and spicy and sour shredded potatoes. They were delicious."
"My stepmother has changed now. She has promised me that she will treat us well and not beat us. Oh, and she also said that she will raise us to be plump and white."
Nan Xin counted on his fingers as he described every detail, his face full of longing and anticipation for the future.
Xiao Jingyu felt very sad when he saw Nan Xin speaking for that bad woman Lin Shuang. His little sister had been bribed by that bad woman.
"Little sister, don't forget, we have our own mother. She is not our mother, and she is not worthy of being our mother."
"She treated you just a little bit nicely, and you were bribed by her. Have you forgotten how she beat us? The whip marks on our bodies are the best proof of her viciousness."
Xiao Jingyu was almost about to burst into a curse, saying these words viciously, his chest heaving up and down with anger.
Xiao Nanxin had never seen his third brother like this before. She was so scared that she didn't dare to say a word. When Xiao Jingyu finished speaking in one breath, she burst into tears in grievance.
"Third brother, look, my little sister is crying." Xiao Ce, as the eldest brother, was only nine years old.
"Brother, you betrayed me just like me." Xiao Jingyu looked around in disbelief, feeling that everyone had betrayed him. The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, so he turned and ran out.
"Third brother."
Lin Shuang listened outside for a while and then saw Xiao Jingyu running out of the house.
When the two passed each other, Xiao Jingyu looked at Lin Shuang hatefully, as if she was his enemy.
"Where are you going?"
Lin Shuang turned around and shouted.
"What does it have to do with you, a bad woman?" Then she ran away without a trace.
Lin Shuang thought that these children were very young, Xiao Ce was 9 years old, Xiao Wangshu was 7 years old, Xiao Jingyu was 5 years old, and Xiao Nanxin was 5 years old. The two were twins, a boy and a girl.
Looking back, I saw three children standing at the door staring at Xiao Jingyu's receding figure.
Tears were hanging on Xiao Nanxin's face, falling one by one. His clothes were tattered, and his hair was uncombed, like a mess. His little face was sallow, and his facial features were outstanding. He looked like a little beggar who was bullied among a group of beggars.
Looking at the other people, like Xiao Nanxin, Xiao Ce's clothes were even more tattered. The three of them looked like refugees.
Lin Shuang walked up with the things in her arms, put them all in the kitchen, and turned back to walk towards the three people.
"Nan Xin, please stop crying. Mom will catch you a rabbit to play with this afternoon. Come on, let's go and boil the pot together."
Lin Shuang squatted down and gently wiped the tears from Xiao Nanxin's face with her sleeve. Seeing that Xiao Nanxin's eyes and nose were red, she felt a little pitiful. She spoke in a softer voice, gently took Xiao Nanxin's hand, and walked towards the kitchen.
Xiao Nanxin came back to his senses, "Mom, can you catch rabbits?" He asked curiously with his big eyes shining.
Lin Shuang lowered her head and looked at her. She knew at a glance that she liked rabbits. After all, who could resist the power of a furry rabbit?
"Of course, I know a lot. Does Nan Xin like rabbits?"
"I like it." Xiao Nanxin nodded heavily. Of course he liked rabbits. Rabbit meat was so delicious.
"That afternoon, Nan Xin, do you want to watch how mother cooks all the rabbits?"
"Catch them all at once!" Xiao Nanxin's eyes were full of disbelief. She thought it was just one, but she didn't expect her stepmother would catch them all at once.
After being shocked, he clapped his hands and said, "Great, this way we can have plenty of meat to eat."
Lin Shuang was stunned for a moment, then laughed. She thought Nan Xin liked furry rabbits, but she didn't expect that he liked to eat rabbits.
Xiao Ce and Xiao Wangshu in the back stared blankly at the two people in front who were talking and laughing. This stepmother had become so unpredictable and strange.
"Second sister, do you think your stepmother is weird?" Xiao Ce's voice brought Xiao Wangshu back to his senses.
"Well, but I won't forgive her." Xiao Wangshu lowered his head and looked at his exposed toes.
She will never forget that her stepmother pushed her into the water and drowned her. If her eldest brother had not arrived in time, she would have probably gone to see the King of Hell by now.
Xiao Ce stopped talking for a moment because he didn't want to forgive Lin Shuang either.
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