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

The third wife's family is very strange. She's the kind of person who responds to gentle persuasion but not force. Now that we can't take her by force, we can only try to be gentle.

"We don't have the money right now, but we just need to figure out how to coax that brat out of here."

Zhang Aidi's eyes were fierce, and she gritted her teeth, "Kids are all greedy, and that girl loves candy the most."

But... glancing at the empty house, there was no sugar left, and even the salt shaker was gone. What could I use to coax that little girl?

Zhang Aidi gritted her teeth, got up, dusted herself off, and said, "Mother, I'm going back to my parents' home!"

Grandma Gu spat out angrily, "Going back to your parents' home? Your parents' home that only takes in and never gives out? We're so poor, and you still want to take things from there?"

Zhang Aidi quickly explained, "No, I went to borrow something!"

She leaned closer to Old Mrs. Gu and lowered her voice, "My nephew Gou Dan has the most snacks. Go over and ask him for some. With those, how could that brat not take the bait?"

My older brother is a lazy bum, so it's a good idea to call him over to help. But I have to offer him some benefits, otherwise he won't do it.

Zhang Aidi made up her mind, wrapped her tattered cotton-padded coat tightly around herself, and went out. The wind was strong outside, and it stung her face, but she walked very fast.

Dazhang Village is not far away, only three or four miles away, but her mother's home was also very dilapidated, and few of the family members were hardworking.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw my younger brother, Zhang Dabao, lying on a rattan chair sunbathing, with a dark cornbread in his hand.

My son, Gou Dan, was playing with a tin frog, with a candy in his mouth, his chubby cheeks puffing out.

"Oh my! Second sister's back?"

Zhang Dabao raised his eyes and saw that Zhang Aidi's hands were empty. Too lazy to get up, he said, "Why did you come back empty-handed? You're nowhere to be seen all year round, and you don't even bring a grain of rice with you?"

Zhang Aidi felt wronged. In the past, when had she ever returned empty-handed? Her younger brother had never been so cold to her.

She suppressed the urge to curse and forced a smile. "Dabao, didn't my house get robbed...?"

"Been robbed?"

Zhang Dabao suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze fierce. "Sis, this is wrong of you! You'd rather let thieves take your things than give them to me? Is this how you act as a sister?"

"That's right!"

The curtain was lifted, and an old woman with a hunched back and a face full of wrinkles walked out; she was Zhang Aidi's mother.

"Zhang Aidi, have you forgotten what your mother taught you?"

Zhang Aidi quickly said, "Mother, I've been married for so many years, when have I ever come back empty-handed? This time it's just that I had no choice. But this time I'm back with some really great news, and I want to discuss it with my brother."

"You can make a lot of money!"

Hearing that she could make money, the old lady's expression softened. Zhang Aidi quickly embellished the story of the kidnapper, adding that she would give her family one hundred yuan after the deed was done.

"One hundred dollars?"

Old Mrs. Zhang and Zhang Dabao both cried out at the same time.

"Sister, you're not kidding me, are you? A little girl is worth so much?" Zhang Dabao jumped up from the rattan chair, and the cornbread in his hand no longer tasted good.

"Let's not talk about it anymore. As long as we hand the person over, they'll pay us in cash."

"Damn!" Zhang Dabao slapped his thigh. "So, how do we do it?"

"I need to borrow Dog Egg's things."

She pointed to the tin frog in Gou Dan's hand, and then gestured towards the house.

"Also, Mother, pour me some of that malted milk powder you've been saving at the bottom of your drawer. That girl's never seen anything like it; she's completely captivated by the smell!"

Old Mrs. Zhang felt a pang of pain on her face, but when she thought of the hundred yuan, she gritted her teeth and agreed.

"Okay! If it can be exchanged for money, this little bit of stuff is nothing! But let's get this straight first, give me the money as soon as you get it, I'll keep it for you, so you won't suffer at your in-laws' house!"

Zhang Aidi cursed the old bastard in her heart, but agreed aloud.

He came empty-handed, but left with a bag of milk candy wrapped in oil paper, a handful of roasted peanuts, and a tin frog in his pocket, before hurrying out of Dazhang Village.

With these things, she was confident she could catch that greedy girl.

The house in the third room of the Gu family was warm and cozy.

Su Xiulan cleaned the pheasant, chopped it into small pieces, and put it into an earthenware pot to stew.

Only salt was added to the pot, and the aroma of the pheasant, mixed with the steam, filled the room.

Nuannuan sat on a small stool, resting her chin on her hand, staring intently at the earthenware pot, swallowing hard.

"It smells so good..."

Xiao An, who was standing next to her, still had injuries on her face. She swallowed several times as she smelled the delicious aroma.

Gu Jianguo leaned against the pile of quilts, looking at his two children's greedy expressions, and felt a tightness in his chest.

"Nuan Nuan, come here." He beckoned.

Nuannuan ran over and buried her face in his big hand, rubbing it against him.

"Daddy, Nuannuan's here?"

Gu Jianguo lowered his voice, and his face darkened.

"Nuan Nuan, remember this. From today onwards, you can't accept food from anyone other than your family, and you can't go out to play with anyone. Do you understand? Especially your second aunt and your grandma."

The fact that the second wife's side had lost money but remained unusually quiet made him uneasy.

Nuannuan blinked and nodded.

"Don't worry, Daddy, Nuannuan knows! Little Green said that bad people pretend to be good people to deceive children."

[Little Green, is that wicked second uncle's family up to something again?]

Inside the space, Little Green was idly poking at Little Gold's leaves.

[Nonsense. I smell a terrible idea. That woman just went to another village; she's definitely going to get reinforcements. Baby, be careful, don't get sold out and still be counting the money for them.]

Nuannuan snorted.

[Hmph, trying to sell Nikki? They're dreaming!]

When it was almost done stewing, Su Xiulan lifted the lid of the earthenware pot.

The rich aroma of meat filled the entire room.

"The chicken stew is ready! Kids, come and have some soup!"

As soon as the children heard that they could eat chicken, they all sensibly went to get bowls and came over to help.

Several little faces gathered around the stove, swallowing hard.

Seeing how greedy they looked, Su Xiulan steadied herself a bit more when holding the bowls. She filled each child's bowl with meat, only picking out some bones from her own.

Two large chicken drumsticks were given to Nuannuan and Gu Jianguo. The two sons swallowed hard and had no objections.

Nuannuan held the bowl, sipped the soup, and used a spoon to scoop the largest piece of meat in the bowl to her mother.

"Mom, eat meat, eat meat and you'll grow tall."

Su Xiulan felt a lump in her throat and put the meat back into her daughter's bowl. "Mom isn't hungry. Nuannuan, eat. You need to eat more so you can grow taller."

After finishing a pot of chicken soup, the children's mouths were all greasy.

After the family finished eating, the snow outside stopped.

The fire inside was burning brightly, making the house warm and cozy. Nuannuan's little belly was round from eating, and she was starting to doze off, but when she looked at the thick white snow in the yard, she perked up again.

"Daddy, Mommy, can Nuannuan go out and play in the snow?" She clung to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her little face full of anticipation.

Su Xiulan was worried. "It's cold outside, so you can play in the yard. Don't go outside the gate, understand?"

"Okay!" Nuannuan replied crisply, then ran to put on her little cotton-padded jacket and hat. She looked round and chubby, and pushed open the door to run out.

The village was completely white after the snow and very quiet.

Nuannuan trudged through the snow in the yard, her feet sinking deeper and shallower with each step. She stretched out her little hands to catch the snow water dripping from the eaves; it was cool and refreshing, and she found it very fun.

"Baby, another villain is trying to harm me."

Little Green stretched in the space.

Nuannuan's little ears twitched; it seemed to be... her second aunt, Zhang Aidi.

She didn't look up, continuing to build the snowman with her head down.

The courtyard gate was pushed open a crack, and Zhang Aidi poked her head in, her smile stiff and unsettling. "Nuannuan, playing alone?"