"Auntie Wei, we don't really need to blame them for pretending. If they can keep pretending, that's good. Some stepmothers don't even want to pretend, and they get upset when they see their stepchildren."

"Don't even mention Comrade Xiao Shen. It seems that even as a mother, she has never paid much attention to her two children. She is in poor health and always has stomach problems. I haven't seen Lan Linxiang say anything about buying her a thermos."

"I think, to be fair, Comrade Xiao Shen has done a pretty good job as a stepmother."

…

Aunt Wei listened to what everyone said, snorted coldly, lowered her head and continued knitting her sweater without saying another word.

Xiao Yutang had sharp ears, and he heard some of what the group said under the big locust tree, but he didn't turn around and looked as if nothing had happened.

After a lot of effort, the adult and four children returned to the Xiao family yard and saw Zhang Guifen and Xiao Shanhe sitting at the stone table in the yard picking vegetables.

Zhang Guifen stood up when she saw Shen Huanxi coming back.

"You're back, how's it going?"

"It went smoothly. I have the letter of introduction in hand. What do you think the primary school will say?" Shen Huanxi said, looking at Xiao Shanhe.

"If you have a hukou, you can just go and register. In recent years, due to family planning, it's hard to recruit students, so there aren't that many requirements."

"knew."

Zhang Guifen also felt relieved and walked towards Shen Huanxi and the others.

"Let me help you."

"No need, mom. It's just a little stuff, and a few kids can carry it. You continue to work. I bought some snacks and we'll eat together later."

"Oh, we're still buying snacks. Okay, kids, go help your mother." Zhang Guifen instructed.

Shen Huanxi smiled and carried the things into the kitchen, followed by the four children. Xiao Yutang whispered, "She is not my mother," and Shen Huanxi pretended not to hear.

After putting things away in the kitchen, Shen Huanxi found a small bamboo basket the size of a lunch box that he usually used to hold steamed buns, put some snacks in it, and asked the children to take it to the yard to eat with Xiao Shanhe and Zhang Guifen.

She went to boil some water. The newly bought thermos had to be soaked in hot water before use. Xiao Yutang did not go out with his brothers and sisters, but stayed behind.

"You are pretending, just like what Aunt Wei and the others said just now, right?" Xiao Yutang was also a direct person and asked right away.

Shen Huanxi: “…”

"no."

"So you want to buy us off? Because you want to live in our house and don't want to be targeted, so you buy us off, right?"

"…I am just fulfilling my responsibilities as a parent. I can't just sit there and watch my child have a stomachache and not get to drink hot water in time. My stepchild is also a child."

"It's up to you. You can never be better than my mom anyway. My mom is a college student and you are just a high school student. She is better than you..."

Zhang Guifen came in with a basket of picked vegetables and interrupted Xiao Yutang.

"Hello, your mother took all the money in the family and left you no money. She never thought about how you would live. If your father hadn't had the pension, you two would have starved to death long ago!"

Xiao Yutang frowned, still stubborn.

"She is also a college student, she must have her own difficulties. How can a mother not love her own children? Just like stepmothers will never really treat stepchildren well!"

"Xiao Yutang, you are really getting cocky and you want to say anything, right? Your mother happily married a rich man, what difficulties could she have? She..."

Shen Huanxi had just lit the fire in the stove when her ears were buzzing with the quarrel between the mother-in-law and grandson. Reorganizing a family is troublesome and conflicts can easily arise.

She quickly pulled Zhang Guifen.

"Mom, stop talking. It's normal for a child to love his mother more. It's called love and loyalty. It's wrong if a child forgets his mother.

Oh, mother, stop talking. I went back to the village early this morning to do so many things, and I’m very hungry. Let’s cook quickly. I want to eat. "Shen Huanxi said while covering his stomach and acting like he was starving.

Zhang Guifen looked at Shen Huanxi apologetically, put down the vegetable basket in her hand, then used a gourd ladle to scoop out half a ladle of rice for lunch today.

Before going out to wash rice, she passed by Xiao Yutang, without saying anything, stretched out her hand and tapped Xiao Yutang hard on the forehead before leaving.

Xiao Yutang covered the bag that popped out of his forehead and looked at Shen Huanxi.

"Why aren't you angry? Are you not angry?"

"Hmm?" Shen Huanxi added half a piece of honeycomb coal to the stove. "Why should I be angry? Didn't I just say it? It's normal for you to be closer to your mother. You are not wrong."

"..." Xiao Yutang looked at Shen Huanxi in silence for a while, then went over and snatched the fire tongs from Shen Huanxi's hand.

"Aren't you a country woman who didn't receive much education? You can't do your work well. It makes me anxious. I'll do it. You stay aside."

Shen Huanxi stood up and followed him.

She just didn't expect that her education would be looked down upon. You know, a high school student is a high level of education in that era. In the village, everyone said that she had been to school and had a scholarly air.

Forget it, Xiao Yutang’s biological mother is a college student. She is just a high school student, she definitely can’t compare to her.

After lunch, Shen Huanxi went to the household registration department to wait and transfer her household registration to the Xiao family. The next day, she had to go to the best elementary school nearby, Taoyuan Experimental Elementary School, to register her four children.

Nowadays, there are many public elementary schools in the city that have kindergartens, such as Taoyuan Experimental Elementary School.

Shen Huanxi registered Changan for the first grade, and Xiao Yuzheng and Changning for the kindergarten class. Xiao Yutang had already been in the first grade of this elementary school, but he still had to register for the second grade.

She planned to complete the registration of all four children in one day.

Zhang Guifen was still a little worried before leaving.

"Can you take care of the child by yourself? Or should I accompany you?"

"No, it's not dangerous in school. There are a lot of people signing up today, and I don't know when I can come back. What if I come back late? Someone has to cook at home."

After hearing this, Zhang Guifen did not follow him out.

"Dashan gave you all his savings books, right? Is the money in it enough? If not, I have more."

"That's enough, go back now."

After Shen Huanxi finished speaking, he took his four children to Taoyuan Experimental Primary School.

After walking a few steps, Xiao Yutang stared at Shen Huanxi and spoke.

"I was wondering why you bought so many things for the family recently, including fruits, vegetables, snacks, and a kettle. It turns out that my dad's passbook is in your hands, and you are spending my dad's money."

Shen Huanxi didn't say anything. She just took the passbook out of her bag and handed it to Xiao Yutang.

"The money in the passbook has not been spent. See for yourself."

In those days, there were no bank cards. When people went to the bank to deposit or withdraw money, they used passbooks, which clearly recorded the deposit balance and deposit and withdrawal records.

Xiao Yutang looked through the passbook carefully and found that apart from the pension money that was deposited at the beginning of each month, there was no record of any withdrawals.

"You...didn't spend our family's money?"

"I spent it." Shen Huanxi took the passbook back from the boy. "I spent my own money. You and I are a family now, so when I spend my money, I am spending our family's money."

These words left Xiao Yutang speechless.

Not long after, Shen Huanxi brought the four children to Taoyuan Experimental Primary School.

Today is indeed the first day of registration. The campus is packed with people and parents with their children everywhere.

Shen Huanxi found the security guard and asked about the registration point. He found out that it was in the teaching building, so he took his child there.

Xiao Yutang studied at Taoyuan Experimental Elementary School for one year. The little guy looks like Xiao Shanhe and is very handsome. He has a strong presence in the school and many teachers recognize him.

Before Shen Huanxi and her child reached the teaching building, they saw a female teacher in her twenties who recognized Xiao Yutang.

"Xiao Yutang, are you here to register? Why are you so far away from your mother? Don't run around when there are so many people around. Your mother is over there." The female teacher pointed in the direction of the teachers' office building.

After he finished speaking, he noticed Shen Huanxi and couldn't help showing confusion.

"Xiao Yutang, this is..."

"Thank you, Teacher Zhou! I'll take my brother to find my mother!" After saying this, Xiao Yutang took Xiao Yuzheng's hand and ran towards the teachers' office building.

It had not been long since Xiao Shanhe and Lan Linxiang divorced, and the teachers at school might not know about it.

After all, there are not many people getting divorced in this era. Perhaps Xiao Yutang did not want others to know so he did not explain it to Teacher Zhou.

Of course, the more important reason is that Lan Linxiang has never come back to see her children since the divorce, and the children must miss her.

Xiao Yuzheng was weak and usually panted after walking a few steps. But when he knew Lan Linxiang was here, it was like a car that had just been filled with gas. He ran towards the teachers' office building with his short legs without Xiao Yutang pulling him.

Shen Huanxi didn't chase after the two children, nor did she call them. They were going to find their mother, and she had no right to interfere.

She never expected the two children to be close to her, and she knew very well in her heart that children would always be closer to their own mother.

Of course, she was not surprised to know that Lan Linxiang was here.

In her previous life, Lan Linxiang was a well-praised stepmother. Her two twin stepsons, Su Qiangwen and Su Qiangwu, are attending Taoyuan Experimental Primary School. They are seven or eight years old this year, the same age as Xiao Yutang, and should be in the same grade.

On such an important day as school registration, how could Lan Linxiang, a good stepmother, not do it herself and bring her stepson to school?

Shen Huanxi took Chang'an and Changning to the teaching building to register and pay the tuition.

On the other side, Xiao Yutang and Xiao Yuzheng ran for a while and arrived at the teacher's office building, where they saw Lan Linxiang as expected.

Lan Linxiang is about 1.67 meters tall and has a well-proportioned figure. She wears a red dress made of suit material, a white suit jacket, a pair of white high-heeled boots, and a small red leather bag in her hand. Her waist-length hair is curled into big waves, and she looks as fashionable as a magazine cover girl.

When Xiao Yutang and Xiao Yuzheng saw their biological mother, their eyes became moist.

"Mom! Mom!" Xiao Yuzheng ran towards Lan Linxiang, shouting loudly, and Xiao Yutang also shouted.

When Lan Linxiang heard the voices of the two children, her body suddenly stiffened.