Looking at the five children kneeling in a row in front of her, Wan Shu understood everything.
Damn it! The original owner of this body was so awful! Not only did she betray us and skimp on our food, but she also committed domestic violence!
How could she possibly do such a thing to five such pitiful children?
Wan Shu took two deep breaths to suppress her anger. She forced a smile and tried to speak gently.
"Dazhu, Erya, Sanshun, Siya, Wuping, I have already made it very clear that I have nothing to do with the Su family anymore. I will not abandon you, nor will I hit you again. Get up now."
The five were not comforted by Wan Shu's words; instead, they became even more frightened.
Because this had happened several times before, my mother would first speak to them gently, and then suddenly change her expression and beat them up.
They knelt on the ground, not daring to move, for fear of angering Wan Shu.
Wan Shu: "..." It seems that taking the gentle approach won't work.
Wan Shu was a shrewd businesswoman. She immediately learned from the original owner of this body and scolded with a stern face: "Get up when I tell you to! Don't you listen to your mother anymore?!"
Sure enough, when she got fierce, all five of them immediately stood up.
Wan Shu breathed a sigh of relief, maintaining her cold expression as she continued, "I said I have nothing to do with the Su family anymore, so I really won't contact Su Fan again. From now on, our family will live a good life together."
Hearing Wan Shu say this, the five finally believed him.
They were overjoyed, yet also puzzled.
Liang Dazhu asked cautiously, "Mother, why did you suddenly..."
Wan Shu knew they would be surprised by her transformation, and she had already prepared an excuse.
She deliberately put on a sad expression: "Half a month ago, the Su family almost beat me to death. In the end, it was you who came to Xinghua Village to save me. After this incident, I am heartbroken. I finally know who is truly good to me. Instead of clinging to the Su family, let's live a good life together as a family."
This statement is actually full of flaws.
If she had truly lost heart towards the Su family, the original owner would have changed her mind when she woke up a few days ago, instead of waiting until today.
However, these five people are, in the end, just five underage kids.
The eldest, Liang Dazhu, was 16 years old, which would be considered a naive middle school student in modern times. Coupled with the fact that he had been abused by the original owner of the body for a long time, he dared not question her words at all. Without much thought, the five of them believed her.
All five were in high spirits, their eyes sparkling, and they kept making promises.
"Mother, don't worry, we will definitely be obedient and live a good life!"
"Yes, we promise to listen to Mother in everything!"
"If Mother tells us to go east, we absolutely dare not go west!"
"Brother, you're lying! You can't tell east from west at all!"
The room was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
Although the original owner was a stepmother, when she married into the Liang family, the eldest son, Dazhu, was only four years old and had almost no memory of his birth mother. He completely regarded the original owner as his birth mother.
So even though the original owner of the body constantly abused them, they still deeply admired and longed for the original owner's love.
Wan Shu had never liked children, finding them noisy and disruptive. But after seeing the five children in the Liang family, she realized that she didn't dislike all children.
Children who are quiet, sensible, and obedient like this are not only easy to dislike, but also incredibly endearing.
She happened to be an orphan in the modern world and had never experienced the feeling of having a family. Since she had taken over this body, she decided to make the best of it, take the place of the original owner, and be a good mother to these children.
"Gurgle, gurgle—" Wan Shu's stomach suddenly growled twice out of hunger.
Um... but you have to eat your fill before you can become a mother.
"What food is left at home?" Wan Shu asked.
"We've sold all our remaining grain to pay for Mother's medical treatment." Liang Dazhu looked distressed. "There's absolutely nothing left to eat in the house now."
Worried that Wan Shu would be angry because there was nothing to eat, Liang Er Ya quickly said, "Mother, if you are hungry, I will go to the mountain to dig for wild vegetables and fruits right now!"
"Second sister, I'll go with you." Liang Siya patted her chest and promised, "Mother, I'm really good at digging wild vegetables. Just wait at home, I'll make sure you have a good meal!"
There was no food left in the house, and to be frank, it was all because of her. She couldn't bear to just lie at home doing nothing.
"Never mind, I'm not that hungry. I'll just have some water. I'll go with you guys to dig for wild vegetables."
"The water's all gone." Liang Dazhu looked embarrassed again, pointing to the water vat that Wan Shu had just used up by washing her hands. "There's a severe drought now, it hasn't rained for three months, and the well water is almost dry. To ensure everyone has water, the village headman has stipulated that we can only fill half a vat each time. Once that half vat is used up, we have to queue up again. There are a lot of people queuing up, so if you want water, Mother, you might have to wait a while."
Reminded by Liang Dazhu, Wan Shu searched through the original owner's memories and then remembered that the Great Sheng Dynasty was currently experiencing a year of famine.
Last year, locusts ravaged the land, and the government managed to eradicate them with great difficulty. But today, we are plagued by drought and insect infestations.
Drought is easy to understand; it simply means no rain and arid conditions.
As for the insect plague, since the original owner never worked in the fields and only focused on pleasing the Su family, she only knew that the insects in this plague were not locusts, but a kind of ferocious red worm that lived in the water.
Oh dear, she's so unlucky. She has five babies crying for food, and then she has to go through a year of famine.
In the end, Wan Shu didn't even drink any water before going up the mountain with Er Ya and S Ya to dig for wild vegetables.
As for Dazhu, Sanshun, and Wuping, the three of them were not idle either. Sanshun and Wuping went to the fields to pull weeds and catch red worms, while Dazhu lined up to fetch water.
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