After seeing everyone off, Old Man Ning, feeling embarrassed, frowned and stared at Chen Guixiang, who was still sitting on the ground, and said:
"The person has already left, so why are you still sitting here making a scene? Who are you trying to impress?"
Chen Guixiang suddenly spat on the ground:
"Pah, I'm throwing a tantrum. I regret marrying this jinx. Look at the chaos she's caused in our house since she came in. I'm in so much pain I can't get up. Come on, old man, help me inside to lie down."
Seeing that Chen Guixiang was in too much pain to care about herself, Jiang Yuwei got up, dusted herself off, and went straight into the inner room.
As soon as she entered the house, she saw two thin, pale-faced children squatting in the corner. They were wearing patched clothes with the sleeves and trousers too short, and they stared at Jiang Yuwei with wide eyes.
These must be Ning Laoda's two children, right? Jiang Yuwei smiled and knelt down in front of the two children, saying softly:
"From now on, I will be your mother. What are your names?"
The girl seemed to tremble slightly upon hearing this, and she huddled closer to the boy, pressing herself against him. The boy stretched out his arm to shield the girl and whispered:
“I…I am Ning Zhao, and she is my younger sister, Ning Wan.”
Jiang Yuwei smiled and patted Ning Zhao's head, helping them both up and pulling them to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). She took out a piece of flatbread from her bosom, cut it in half, and handed it to them.
Ning Wan stared intently at the pancakes in Jiang Yuwei's hand, hesitant to take them, only swallowing repeatedly. Ning Zhao glanced at Jiang Yuwei, then looked down at the pancakes, seemingly mustering her courage before finally taking the two pancakes, whispering:
"Thank you... thank you."
He then handed another piece of bread to Ning Wan, nodded to her, and the two of them began to wolf it down.
Looking at the two children in front of her, Jiang Yuwei naturally knew that Chen Guixiang had not taken good care of them. Thinking of her own childhood when she was hungry, she couldn't help but clench her fists.
Now that she has become someone else's stepmother, the task of taking care of these two little ones will fall on her shoulders. She has already realized that the Ning family is not a kind person since she entered the house today. Now she can only take it one step at a time and make plans slowly.
Seeing that the two had finished eating, Jiang Yuwei smiled and carried them onto the kang (a heated brick bed). She took off their tattered shoes, found a handkerchief, wet it, and used it to wash the children's dirty faces and hands. She also fetched a basin of water for them to wash their feet.
The two had never been treated like this before, and they stood there dumbfounded, letting Jiang Yuwei do as she pleased.
After Jiang Yuwei finished tidying up, she clapped her hands and said:
"Alright, let's go to bed early. Tomorrow, we'll go find some straw rope to weave new shoes for you."
Seeing that the two little ones were obediently going to bed, Jiang Yuwei extinguished the candles on the table and went to bed as well. After a long day of fussing, she was really tired and soon fell into a deep sleep.
In her dream, she walked to a thatched hut and instinctively pushed the door open to go inside. She found the place empty, without even any furniture. Jiang Yuwei then came out.
Seeing a small stream near the entrance, I suddenly felt thirsty, so I knelt down by the stream and drank a few mouthfuls of water. After a few sips, I immediately felt refreshed, and my headache seemed to lessen.
Jiang Yuwei got up again and walked to the back of the thatched hut. She saw an open space, and then looked up to see a line of words floating in the air:
"Welcome to your private space, host. I'm gifting you a plot of fertile land and a spring of spiritual water. Start cultivating it now!"
Jiang Yuwei froze. Could this be the legendary space?
As she was pondering, she suddenly heard a loud bang, and her consciousness was abruptly pulled out of the space.
"You good-for-nothing! The sun is high in the sky and you're still asleep. Get up and go cut some pig feed. Can't you hear the pigs in the yard squealing with hunger?"
Jiang Yuwei slowly opened her eyes and saw the door that Chen Guixiang had kicked open and Chen Guixiang standing by the kang (a heated brick bed) with her hands on her hips, holding a feather duster and looking angry.
The two children lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) were also startled awake. They hurriedly got up and frantically dressed, while Ning Zhao kept muttering:
"Grandma, don't be angry. We'll get up and go cut pig feed right away."
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei stretched, yawned lightly, and smiled, saying:
"Don't rush, Mom will help you get dressed. You can't even get a good night's sleep. It looks like we'll have to put a lock on this door today."
Chen Guixiang raised an eyebrow angrily, grabbed a feather duster, and quickly banged it against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) while shouting:
"You slut, you're still pressing the door lock? I think you've really gotten smarter. What are you dawdling for? Trying to slack off?"
Jiang Yuwei ignored the furious Chen Guixiang standing to the side, slowly dressed Ning Zhao and Ning Wan, then put on her own clothes and smiled at the two children, saying:
"Go eat first. It's okay for a pig to go hungry for a while, but you two are at the age where you're growing, so you can't go hungry."
In her previous life, she tolerated her parents and spoiled her younger brother, swallowing all her grievances alone. This time, she was determined not to let herself and her two little ones live such a stifling life again.
Seeing that Jiang Yuwei dared to disobey her, Chen Guixiang grabbed a feather duster and was about to hit Jiang Yuwei.
Jiang Yuwei, of course, wasn't one to suffer a loss. She immediately grabbed the feather duster that was about to fall, stared at Chen Guixiang, and sneered:
"What? Didn't you hurt yourself enough when you fell yesterday?"
After saying that, he snatched the feather duster from Chen Guixiang's hand and calmly swept the inside and outside of the kang (a heated brick bed).
Chen Guixiang looked at Jiang Yuwei in front of her, gritting her teeth in anger. Her face turned pale and red in turns. She also reached out to touch her tailbone, which she had just broken yesterday, and couldn't help but hiss.
"You unfilial little slut! You dare to disobey your mother-in-law on your very first day in the family! This is the greatest act of filial impiety! Since you are heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless. My dead son had such a miserable life; even in death, he still had to marry a jinx like you!"
As she spoke, Chen Guixiang spat a mouthful of thick phlegm onto the ground.
Jiang Yuwei felt nauseous at the sight and said with a look of disgust:
"Can't you be a little more hygienic? Don't spit out your phlegm on the ground! Go outside to spit it out!"
Chen Guixiang was so angry that she pointed at Jiang Yuwei and kept stammering "you you you..." for a long time without being able to utter a complete sentence.
After tidying up the kang (a heated brick bed), Jiang Yuwei ignored Chen Guixiang's exasperated state, put on her shoes, pushed aside Chen Guixiang who was blocking the doorway, and walked towards the kitchen.
As soon as Jiang Yuwei entered the kitchen, she saw the Ning family sitting happily at the table eating, while the two little ones were made to squat under the stove, watching them eat with longing eyes.
He couldn't help but frown. This family was truly inhumane, mistreating even such a young child!
Jiang Yuwei took three steps at a time, stepped forward and pulled the two children up with one hand each. She then took a rice scoop and shoveled rice porridge into their hands.
The two children looked at the rice porridge in front of them, a glimmer of light appearing in their eyes, but it dimmed in an instant. Neither of them dared to reach out and take it. Instead, they tilted their heads and looked timidly at Chen Guixiang, who had followed them in.
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