Chapter Sixteen Settling Down

  Ling suddenly felt that knowing this was not just a casual remark.

  The two children brought back by their mother looked at her with a timid expression, not daring to speak due to the argument between her and her mother. They looked pitiful, pursing their lips and remaining silent, waiting to see what their mother would do next.

  "What can we do? Can't drive them away again, now they really have nowhere to go, daughter what do you think?"

  Lingnuo threw the question back at Zhi Xiao.

  You know the way of the heart, you brought him back yourself, why come ask me, what does it have to do with me?

  Anyway, she's going to see how this girl does it this time and then decide whether or not...

  She doesn't care, so many years have passed anyway. Starting a new life with someone else isn't anything special either. At least it's better than being stabbed in the back by someone one day. She won't harm others, but she needs to be on guard.

  Knowing how to ignore and turn a blind eye.

  "Stinky girl, you'd better say something. Others haven't eaten yet, how about eating on the mountain first?" Lan Niang asked for her daughter's opinion.

  It's been a long time since he passed by, and Zhi Xiao didn't respond to his words. He stood upright in front of them, not even looking in their direction, silent as can be.

  Lan Niang seems to have seen something, it's not the first time this has happened, as long as she is slightly better than other children, she will be jealous, won't she be like that this time too? Lan Niang wondered and asked tentatively:

  "Understand, Mother saw that they were helpless and just wanted to help. Don't misunderstand, really, Mother isn't deceiving you." Lan Niang stared at her daughter's face without blinking.

  "So I'll ask you." With a serious and solemn gaze, he stared into Lanyu's eyes, not missing any subtlety, "If one day, I did something wrong, would you believe me or choose to believe others, even if I might not have done anything wrong?"

  Ling was confused by her somewhat convoluted words, but she still understood the meaning. She didn't know what this girl was thinking in her mind, but she didn't think much about it either.

  "There's no need to say that, you're my daughter, not someone else's. I naturally believe in my own child, why would I go and believe an outsider?"

  "Remember, even if I'm wrong, you have to believe me. Otherwise, we'll be living separately."

  She gazed at Ling'er with a nonchalant expression, not minding saying this out loud. It wasn't a warning or an omen; after all, she was no longer the original owner of this body. To be honest, she didn't have much affection for this woman either. As long as she treated her well, she would also feel grateful. But if it happened again... She wouldn't mind hurting others to alleviate her own pain.

  Can't beat you, can't scold you, but I'll make sure you're dead and broken. Don't believe me? Just try it out.

  Knowing that she had calmed down and suppressed the resentment from her past life, she was really afraid, but now no matter how she acted, it seemed like she was being petty and intolerant.

  Turning her head to look at the brother and sister, she slowly pulled away with a sense of estrangement:

  "Live with me on the mountain, don't go back down the mountain with my mother, otherwise I won't agree."

  After listening to their words, she reluctantly agreed to let them stay for a few days, but also had to keep them under her close surveillance, watching to see what tricks they could come up with.

  She knew in her heart that if they had any evil intentions, she would be the first to show no mercy and deal with them in a tough manner.

  Don't blame her for being narrow-minded.

  But she also doubted whether she could really do something at that time. In the past, she was so weak, and now suddenly became strong all at once?

  "Ah, you stinky girl, are you planning to let them stay on the mountain? But where can they live on the mountain?" Lan Niang saw that Zhi Xiao had relaxed and didn't mind her little thoughts.

  Zhi Xiao was unhappy: "Why not? You and Father can just move down the mountain."

  "Qian Niang thought of living with you on the mountain... This isn't going to separate from her daughter again, last time separating made this girl knock herself unconscious and lose her memory. Lan Niang has decided that from now on she will accompany her daughter to live on the mountain and keep a close eye on her so as not to let anything unexpected happen again."

  She can't afford to have another unexpected experience with her daughter, this time because she didn't take good care of herself and ended up losing her memory. If something more serious happens again, what will she do? This is the only flesh and blood sister in the world.

  "Hey, Mu Tian come over quickly and thank Zhi Xiao sister." Er Ni pulled her little brother in front of Zhi Xiao.

  From just now until now, she has been watching the tense standoff between the mother and daughter, which has knotted her heart into a ball.

  Erni doesn't care where she lives as long as there is a nest.

  The little boy called Mu Tian slowly walked forward, murmuring in a low and reluctant tone, his voice as faint as the hum of a mosquito.

  Knowing it was none of his concern, he lightly responded and only then took a closer look at the two children.

  The girl was slightly older than herself, with curved eyebrows and a delicate face that had been blown white by the cold wind, revealing a hint of red. Her features were refined, already showing the appearance of a young maiden. Next to her was a boy who looked quite young, about six or seven years old, short in stature, with a round face and bright eyes. Both of them looked good, but they were both wearing tattered clothes, carrying small bundles in their hands, looking at her with a hint of tension and unease, their faces still bearing a faint smile.

  "These two people seem to be afraid of me." Zhi Xiao muttered to himself, then turned around and thought: It's good that they're afraid, since I'm the boss here, everyone has to listen to me.

  My mind was thinking about how to deal with them two in the future.

  Lan Niang led the two into the house, Zhi Xiao followed behind her, and her mother's gaze fell on her, "Daughter, is it okay for Er Ni to sleep with you in bed?"

  "Hmm." She didn't agree, but there was nothing they could do about it, the house was just that small.

  "Let's just put a bed on the couch in the living room and make do for now."

  Watching Mu Tian nodding, the problem of sleeping was solved, and Lan Niang began to look for Zhi Xiao's father to give him a shout.

  Three people were left staring at each other in silence, no one spoke up.

  Erni and her brother had just arrived, still not adapted, and a bit cramped. She knew that she should go out to the courtyard outside to weed out a piece of wild vegetables, but now there were strangers in her house, so she had to stay behind to take care of the house.

  Zhixiao thought so and did so. She pretended to cough, sat down, and asked them to sit down as well. The three of them sat around the table without saying a word, staring blankly at each other. After half a beat, Zhixiao felt uncomfortable and spoke up first.

  "Have you eaten when you rushed out?"

  Everyone shook their heads and didn't say a word, got it, knew what to think, still had to get him something to eat.

  On the stove, I found two steamed buns that Lan Niang had baked in the morning and took them out. Then I took another two roasted flatbreads that Father had bought at noon and gave them to the two of them to eat first.

  He stared at the food, his eyes shining brightly. Heaven knew that since his mother left, he and his sister hadn't had a full meal. Now, seeing the whole village shunning him, afraid of him, and yet someone was offering him food with a fierce expression, he couldn't believe it at first. After all, this person had snatched from his hands the sugar his mother had specially bought for him before. Seeing that he still didn't take it, she got a bit angry.

  "Eat up, I don't care if you're starving." Zhi Xiao handed it over to them.

  Erni's eyes turned red, she took it over, choked and said thank you, then handed it to her brother. After seeing him eat, she slowly lowered her head and nibbled on it quietly.

  "Sister's buns are really delicious, especially those made with white flour." Murong Xiaozi devoured them voraciously.

  Knowing he was coming, she poured him a bowl of tea, "Slow down, there's more."

  Now that they knew, the two of them couldn't stir up much trouble, a weight was lifted off her mind, and she felt slightly more grounded. She also put away the thorns on her back, composed herself, and gradually, the three of them began to communicate slowly.

  Liu Jian brought back the fish he caught online in the morning with Lan Niang. The fish had already been killed and cleaned.

  After knowing the trick, put all the fish into a basin and sprinkle some salt to marinate. In this way, after the flavor is absorbed, when cooking and eating, there will not be any fishy smell at all.

  Planned to eat at night, now two little ones have come home, the dishes are not enough, just add a fish, I guess Dad is also thinking this way, otherwise he would not kill the fish, and will wait until tomorrow to take it to the market together.

  Liu Jian had just roughly understood some of the situation from Lian Niang, and now he asked more questions in detail. Only then did he know that although he knew his grandmother's and uncle's address, he had never met them before, but only heard about them from his mother. Now, having no other choice, he wanted to find a place to settle down and rely on someone for protection.

  "Mother was driven out of the house by Father when I was five years old, and Mother didn't know she was pregnant with my younger brother at that time. By the time she found out, she had been drifting outside for more than two months. My mother never wanted to go back and suffer from that again, so she brought me and my younger brother to rent a room and gave birth to him there. I don't know why my mother was willing to suffer outside rather than going back to her mother's place, maybe she was afraid of being criticized and affecting others, or maybe..."

  Erni lowered her head and didn't finish speaking, but everyone understood what she meant to say next. Perhaps her mother's family was unwilling to accept them, and she would rather suffer outside than bring her children back to face the cold eyes of their own relatives again.

  This is also a woman with backbone, but she still took a wrong step in the end and married such a burdened man, and troubles will not be reduced for many years.

  "At that time, my mother was living with me and my younger brother in a neighborhood where the neighbors often bullied us. This made my mother want to find a safe haven for us. She also feared that because of her own situation, we would be discriminated against forever. In the end, she had no choice but to come up with this plan to remarry here."

  After listening to this, both Zhi Xiao and his father felt a great deal of headache.

  Lan Niang's eyes were already red, and she had mixed with them as one.

  Suddenly Erni knelt down with her brother: "Uncle Liu, Auntie, I brought my brother to stay here."

  Knowing that he was unwilling, but now someone had knelt down in front of him, Knowing was taken aback by this sudden kneeling, and was a bit dazed.

  She had never encountered such a thing before, and she wouldn't deliberately try to win sympathy, but looking at the softness in Han's and Liu Jian's eyes, it seemed that they were indeed moved.

  The heart that knows is getting tangled up again, what's going on here.

  Erni's eyes were exceptionally firm, tightly grasping her brother's hand, which had turned pale, showing how extremely nervous she was.

  "We went to find our grandmother as a last resort. Even if we found her after traveling thousands of miles, it's been so many years, she may not recognize us siblings."

  Erni took out a silver note from her collar and continued: "Uncle Liu, Auntie, my mother secretly left some money for me and my brother. We won't be freeloading here. I can do some embroidery to make up for it on ordinary days. We can also accompany Zhi Xiao's sister in the mountains, and whatever work I can do, I'll do..."

  Erni wiped away a tear and begged: "We won't trouble you, Uncle Liu, Auntie, please...".

  Two little people hugged each other and cried endlessly.

  A family of three, all a bit stunned. Lan Niang quickly pulled up her siblings who were kneeling on the ground, and with tears in her eyes, shook her head and said: "It's okay, you two have no place to live, just stay here. Your mother left early, it was hard for both of you."

  Liu Jian couldn't bear it either and sighed, saying: "Just stay here, with us having one mouthful, you'll have one too. Life may be bitter, but it's better than drifting outside and suffering."

  Knowing that her parents had agreed, she could only agree reluctantly. Annoyed, her heart was still too soft. In fact, she could have made a fuss, but...

  Zhi Xiao shook her head, what could she do? Her temperament didn't seem to be the kind that could become ruthless overnight. However, now under her own close surveillance, based on her past experiences of being hurt, she should be able to handle it.

  If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have softened up. Now she's the only one who's annoyed, and both Lan Niang and Liu Jian are showing a pitiful and extremely sympathetic attitude.

  The room is not big, and with two more people, the already limited resources become even scarcer.

  Lan Niang continued: "With you all on the mountain accompanying Zhi Xiao, I am at ease knowing that he is being taken care of. However, you also know why Zhi Xiao was driven to the mountain."

  Zhī xiǎo listened and couldn't help but roll her eyes. This woman didn't understand the situation, they were now at a dead end. She didn't need to listen to know what they would say.

  Lazy to listen, knowing to go outside and continue the activity from earlier, digging holes to plant wild vegetables.