A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

By the dim light of the snow, Su Xiulan could make out the child's features—

Her clothes were tattered, her face was bluish-purple, her lips were black, and her bare little hands were covered with shocking frostbite and bloody cuts.

Whose child is this? Why is he left here?

Su Xiulan quickly reached out to check the child's breath, and to her surprise, the child was still breathing.

She hurriedly pulled open her tattered, patched cotton-padded coat and wrapped the child tightly in her arms, using her own body heat to warm the cold, stiff little body.

"What a terrible thing! Who was that heartless killer?! He's worse than an animal!"

"Leaving a child here in this heavy snow is practically murder!"

Su Xiulan's eyes instantly reddened. She wrapped the child tightly in her arms and stumbled back.

The snow on the mountain was deep, and she fell countless times along the way. Su Xiulan held the child tightly, afraid that she would fall.

After finally arriving home, the child, who had been frozen stiff, began to feel warmer and warmer.

She kicked open the door and was about to go inside when a stick struck her.

She quickly dodged to the side, taking a solid hit to her left shoulder.

"What time is it? Why aren't you cooking? Do you want me to starve to death?"

There were no lights on inside the house, and the snow outside barely illuminated the old woman standing in the doorway.

His hair was completely white, his body was thin and hunched over, and his hair was combed back meticulously.

Upon closer inspection, he had triangular eyes, a scruffy nose, pale lips, and a face full of wrinkles.

The old lady's eyes were fierce as she looked down into Su Xiulan's arms.

"You, surnamed Su, are you crazy! You didn't gather firewood in this snowy weather, why did you bring back a debt collector?"

"The third son is half-dead in bed, a bottomless pit. The family is so poor they can't even afford to eat. Even mice avoid them. And you're still bringing home illegitimate children?"

"While no one's outside, hurry up and throw him out."

As the old woman spoke, she made her move, her withered hands reaching towards Su Xiulan's arms.

Su Xiulan quickly turned around, tightly protecting the child: "No!"

"Mother, it's freezing cold outside. If we leave the child out there, he'll die."

"If we don't abandon them, our whole family will starve to death!"

The old lady spoke in a very aggressive tone, angrily tapping her cane. Unexpectedly, Su Xiulan dared to retort and reached out to snatch it away.

Su Xiulan dodged again, and said urgently, "Mother, don't send her away. She's so young, if you throw her out, she'll really die."

"She won't eat much food even if she keeps it; at worst, I can just save a bite from my own food for her later."

"Look how much she looks like Da Ya! Her eyebrows and eyes are exactly the same as my Da Ya's."

"Da Ya?"

The old lady's hand paused, her body stiffened slightly, and she subconsciously took a step back, almost losing her balance and falling backwards.

"Yes, it's such a pity about my eldest daughter... I risked my life to give birth to her, but I only had time to see her once."

"That's just an unlucky person, why are you bringing up that bad luck!"

The old woman raised her voice, turned around and ran into the house, her steps unsteady and her figure disheveled.

"Stay or leave, it's up to you! Your whole family deserves to starve!"

The door slammed shut, the wooden door rattled, and through the heavy door, the old woman's cursing could be heard.

Su Xiulan didn't have time to argue and quickly carried the child to the east room.

There was only one kang (a heated brick bed) in the room, where her husband slept, having been in a coma for more than half a year.

The two sons had already gone to sleep, pressed tightly against the wall.

Su Xiulan lifted the blanket and carefully tucked the child inside.

The little guy's face was red from the cold, and his breath was scalding hot.

Just as Su Xiulan was about to touch the child's forehead, the little guy suddenly convulsed and his teeth clenched so hard they made a grinding sound.

Without thinking, Su Xiulan pried open the little girl's mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue.

It took quite a while for the little guy's body to stop moving.

This won't do; the child's fever is too high, we must get medicine.

But my family was too poor.

She remembered that she had a few cents left.

She frantically searched the bottom of the wooden chest where she kept clothes, under her bedding, and in the old, tattered basket she usually used for mending. After searching for a long time, she only found a few small bills.

Fifty-six cents.

This was all their family's possessions. They had long since run out of food and were originally planning to buy cornmeal to make a few more days.

Su Xiulan clutched a handful of small bills tightly, looked at the little guy on the kang (heated brick bed) whose whole body was burning red from the fever, gritted her teeth and went out.

As soon as she stepped out of the inner room, she saw Old Mrs. Gu peeking in from the doorway. She grabbed Su Xiulan's wrist, her nails digging into her flesh. "Su, what do you think you're doing!"

Grandma Gu stared intently at her with her triangular eyes. "This is the family's grain money. What will we eat after that?"

"Are you trying to starve Da'an, Xiao'an, and me to death together?"

Su Xiulan's wrist ached, but when she turned to look at her child, who was burning up with a high fever and barely breathing, her expression remained resolute.

"I can't leave them alone!"

This child always inexplicably reminded her of her daughter who died young.

"This is our family's lifeline. If you use it, what will we eat, with so many mouths to feed?"

The old lady was so angry that she gripped Su Xiulan even tighter, wishing she could slap her twice to bring her to her senses.

Su Xiulan was also feeling bad. Fifty-six cents could buy five or six pounds of cornmeal, which could be cooked into a porridge and allow her family to survive for another ten days or so.

But if we don't buy the medicine, the child might not be able to hold on tonight.

Su Xiulan's gaze fell on the child's exposed little hands, which were covered in chilblains and bleeding profusely.

She gritted her teeth and forcefully pulled her hand away. "Mother, I'll go buy medicine first. I'll try to borrow money to buy food tomorrow!"

This is a life! She can't just stand by and watch someone die!

Without waiting for Grandma Gu's reaction, he opened the door and rushed out into the wind and snow.

"This is outrageous!"

"That spendthrift! Her own family isn't even getting enough to eat, and she still has the nerve to meddle in other people's business!"

The old lady was so angry that she beat her chest and stamped her feet, banging her cane on the ground with a deafening sound.

Su Xiulan braved the wind and snow and finally made her way to the clinic, only to find it already closed.