"Admit your mistake?" This only confused Jiang Nuan more. "Admit what mistake? What did you do wrong?"
“Mother,” Xie Shi said guiltily, hugging Jiang Nuan’s arm. “It’s all my fault. I didn’t insist that you don’t cook. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have collapsed from exhaustion.”
“I was wrong too,” Wang said, bowing her head. “I should have stopped Mother.”
"I thought it was something serious," Jiang Nuan waved her hand dismissively. "It has nothing to do with you, so don't blame yourselves."
She wasn't tired from cooking yesterday, but rather from being too tense and on edge while rescuing people. Once she was sure the person was alright, she relaxed, and her body couldn't handle it anymore.
“Mother,” Xie shook Jiang Nuan’s arm, her eyes a little red, “You don’t need to make excuses for us. It’s all our fault that we made you collapse from exhaustion.”
“Mother, from now on you just need to rest well,” Huang Lao Er added. “Just let me know if you need anything, but don’t overwork yourself again.”
Huang Xiaosi cleverly brought out a stool. "Mom, sit down and talk. Standing is too tiring."
After saying that, he looked at Jiang Nuan with pleading eyes, looking pitiful yet touching.
Jiang Nuan lived up to everyone's expectations, sat down, and explained to the people gathered around her, "I'm really fine, you don't need to worry. What happened yesterday has nothing to do with you, you don't need to take it to heart."
She was both amused and exasperated; was such a trivial matter really worth making such a fuss about?
The whole family apologized to him; how could she be so shameless?
However, Jiang Nuan's words only amplified everyone's guilt.
Even though it was their fault for not serving them well, they kept comforting them and telling them not to worry about it.
I was moved, truly moved.
As a result, the Huang family members served him even more attentively.
Wang wet a cloth with warm water and wiped her face, Xie helped her comb her hair neatly, and Huang Xiaosi brought breakfast to the room...
All morning, Jiang Nuan only moved her mouth.
She refused, but each time she refused, a group of people looked at her with pitiful eyes.
It was as if she had done something to offend them.
In the end, I reluctantly accepted it.
After finishing her meal, she was finally free. Jiang Nuan sat in the courtyard waiting for the sun to rise.
Looking at Xiao Si beside her, she asked, "Xiao Si, how is the child? Is he feeling any better?"
“Mom, Fatty is alright now,” Huang Xiaosi said with a smile. “He ate a steamed bun and drank two bowls of porridge this morning.”
"That's good," Jiang Nuan squinted her eyes, feeling the cool spring breeze. "He's been hungry for too long, so he shouldn't overeat. From now on, give him half a steamed bun and a bowl of porridge every hour. Five or six days should be enough."
"Oh, I'll remember." Huang Xiaosi said this somewhat absentmindedly.
He had something on his mind and wanted to find an opportunity to talk about keeping Fatty, but when the time came, he chickened out.
He stayed close to Jiang Nuan, but hesitated to speak.
Jiang Nuan assumed he was too frightened yesterday and ignored him, closing her eyes to rest on her own.
After much hesitation, and seeing that Jiang Nuan was about to fall asleep, Huang Xiaosi finally gritted his teeth and asked, "Mom, can we keep Fatty at our house?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan, who was half asleep, was instantly awakened. "Leave Fatty in our house? You mean we'll raise him?"
“Yes, Fatty is my sworn brother, and you’re her godmother.” After saying the first sentence, Huang Xiaosi completely relaxed and persuaded her with a grin.
"Will this work?" Jiang Nuan had a headache.
It's not that she can't raise them, or that she can't afford to; she's confident she can support her family.
However, if she remembered correctly, ancient times placed great importance on male offspring, and there were many taboos in this regard, so it wasn't something she could raise as she pleased.
As for Huang Xiaosi's talk about becoming sworn brothers, Jiang Nuan didn't care at all. Children are still immature, and their words shouldn't be taken seriously.
“Why not?” Huang Xiaosi grabbed Jiang Nuan’s arm pitifully. “Fatty is so pitiful. His Ninth Uncle and Ninth Aunt are gone. If it weren’t for the clan helping to repair the shack, he wouldn’t even have a place to live, and he wouldn’t be able to fill his stomach. He’s been forced to eat clay. If this continues, he’ll definitely die.”
“Little Fourth,” Jiang Nuan expressed her concerns, “It’s not that I don’t want to raise him, but it’s not something that can be done just because our family agrees. There are other people in their lineage, and if they don’t agree, he can’t be raised.”
"How could this happen?" Huang Xiaosi's face fell. "They won't let us raise Fatty if they don't want to?"
“This is just one possibility,” Jiang Nuan continued. “We’ll talk about this tonight. When your older brother and the others come back, we can discuss it as a family and see if there’s any way to resolve it.”
“Alright then,” Huang Xiaosi nodded dejectedly. “Mother, continue resting. I’ll go check on Fatty.”
"Go ahead," Jiang Nuan waved her hand.
After she was left alone, she began to cultivate her skills. Although the effects were diminished without being in the spatial realm, she was still able to slowly repair her body.
Yesterday's events served as a reminder that, right now, the most important thing is to take good care of her health.
Without good health, I dare not do anything freely. If I collapse from exhaustion like yesterday, it will drive my whole family crazy.
Huang Xiaosi's room.
"Fatty, I want to ask you a question."
"What's the problem?"
"Has the mute old woman in the village come looking for you?" Huang Xiaosi pursed his lips and continued, "The mute old woman has no children, and her husband has been dead for many years. She had wanted to adopt a child from the clan to take care of her in her old age, but no one agreed. Given your situation, it's impossible for her not to be tempted."
There was a long silence.
The fat man looked out the window before speaking, "We've looked."
My parents had just passed away, and she wanted to have me adopted.
"Why didn't it work out?" Huang Xiaosi cautiously probed. "Was it because you didn't agree?"
The fat man shook his head.
"No, the clan didn't agree," the fat man said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Otherwise, how do you think I get five catties of mixed grains every month?"
After a pause, the fat man said softly, "Xiao Si, I appreciate your kindness. I'm very happy to have a good brother like you. I've rested enough, so I should go now."
The bed was warm, the steamed buns were delicious, and the porridge was also very tasty; he really didn't want to leave.
But this isn't his home, so he can't be greedy.
"No, you can't leave," Huang Xiaosi grabbed the fat man's arm tightly. "Things aren't settled yet, you can't leave."
“Is there anything else that’s not confirmed?” the fat man shook his head. “You’ve helped me enough; I can’t cause you any more trouble.”
“Why should we brothers argue about these things?” Huang Xiaosi said hurriedly. “I’ve told my mother to leave you at home.”
"Oh!" The fat man turned his head away as if he didn't care, but his hands were clenched tightly behind his back.
“My mother said it’s useless for our family to raise you,” Huang Xiaosi’s face fell, “we need your family’s consent first.”
After confirming the news, Huang Xiaosi felt utterly disheartened.
He didn't understand why he needed other people's permission if he wasn't eating their rice.
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