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

Nuannuan raised her head, shrank back, and didn't say a word.

Zhang Aidi didn't pay attention, took something out of her pocket, and waved it in front of Nuannuan.

It's a green tin frog that you can wind up and jump; it's a rare thing these days.

At the supply and marketing cooperative, they cost two yuan each, which is almost the price of two kilograms of meat.

"Nuan Nuan, look what nice things your second aunt brought you!"

Nuannuan's eyes were fixed on that thing.

[Hmph, you think you can fool your little princess with something like this?]

Little Green was very disdainful.

Nuannuan silently hummed in her heart, but her lips turned down, and she stretched out her little hand, "I want...I want a frog..."

Seeing that she had taken the bait, Zhang Aidi's smile deepened, but she put the frog away. "Want it? Come with your second aunt. Your second aunt will not only give you this, but also buy you candy."

As she spoke, she took out a milk candy wrapped in oil paper from another pocket, unwrapped it, and a sweet, milky aroma wafted out.

Nuannuan sniffed hard and swallowed.

She knew it was a trap, but the candy smelled so good!

【Baby, you can't go! She's like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken—she's up to no good!】

"I know, Little Greenie, I'm not going. I just wanted to trick her into giving me some candy."

Nuannuan comforted Little Green in her heart.

She stretched out her little hand, pointed at the candy and frog in Zhang Aidi's hand, and said in a childish voice, "Give it to me first, and I'll go with you."

Zhang Aidi hesitated for a moment, afraid that the girl would take the things and run away. But she didn't believe that a three-year-old could escape her grasp.

With a determined look, she shoved the frog and candy into Nuannuan's hands. "Here you go! Now you can go with your second aunt, right? There are even more delicious things at the town's supply and marketing cooperative. Your second aunt will take you to buy some!"

Nuannuan popped the candy into her mouth, her eyes squinting from the sweetness. She gripped the tin frog tightly with her other hand and nodded indistinctly, "Let's go..."

Zhang Aidi was overjoyed and quickly took Nuannuan's little hand, leading her towards the edge of the village.

She figured that as long as she led the girl to the crooked tree at the village entrance, Zhang Dabao would be waiting there. Once she handed the girl over, she'd have five hundred yuan!

"Nuan Nuan, you have to be good when you see your uncle later."

"Uncle?" Nuannuan looked up, her face blank.

"Yes, your second aunt's brother, that's your uncle. He dotes on you and has prepared lots of good things for you." Zhang Aidi made up a story on the spot.

The two had just arrived at the village entrance and hadn't even reached the crooked tree when a woman carrying a basket walked towards them.

The woman paused when she saw Zhang Aidi. Then, seeing that the little child Zhang Aidi was holding was Nuannuan, her brows furrowed immediately.

"Zhang Aidi! Where are you taking the maid from the third wife's household?"

The visitor was Liu Hongxia, the brigade leader's wife, who was known for her warm heart and loud voice. She had a good relationship with Su Xiulan and often helped her out.

Zhang Aidi's heart sank, cursing her bad luck inwardly, but she still forced a smile: "It's Sister Hongxia. I... I just felt sorry for the child and wanted to take her to town to buy some food."

"Buying food?" Liu Hongxia looked her up and down. "Your house was burgled yesterday; they stole all the pots and pans, not even firewood was left. You still have spare money to take your niece shopping?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Aidi's face froze.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a coherent sentence for a long time. "I...I went back to my parents' house and borrowed some..."

"Going back to your parents' home to borrow money to buy things for your niece? Zhang Aidi, when did you become so kind?" Liu Hongxia didn't believe it at all. She knew very well what kind of person Zhang Aidi was.

She took a few steps forward, grabbed Nuannuan from Zhang Aidi's arms, and hugged her tightly.

Nuannuan reacted quickly, hugging Liu Hongxia's neck and bursting into tears, sobbing, "Grandma... I'm scared..."

Now, Zhang Aidi was completely speechless.

Seeing this, Liu Hongxia's anger flared up instantly. Pointing her finger at Zhang Aidi's nose, she yelled, "You heartless wretch! You even lied to such a young child! What were you thinking? Let me tell you, I'm going to take care of this today! I'm taking the child back right now to talk to Xiulan!"

Zhang Aidi turned pale with fright when she realized her scheme had been exposed. If that crazy woman Su Xiulan found out, she would definitely fight her to the death.

She didn't dare linger, and after saying "You're talking nonsense," she quickly ran away.

Liu Hongxia, holding Nuannuan, stormed back to the Gu family home.

Su Xiulan had just taken a nap inside the house and was about to come out to look for her daughter when she opened the door and saw Liu Hongxia standing in the yard holding Nuannuan, who was crying her eyes out.

"What...what happened?" Su Xiulan's legs went weak.

"What's wrong? How dare you ask!" Liu Hongxia put Nuannuan on the ground and yelled at her, "What kind of mother are you? You almost let someone kidnap your child!"

She recounted everything that had just happened at the village entrance.

Su Xiulan broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. Looking at her daughter's red, swollen eyes, she felt both angry and heartbroken, and lightly tapped Nuannuan's forehead with her finger.

"You dared to run around like that! You dared to disobey! If you got kidnapped by bad guys, where would your mother find you?!"

Nuannuan sobbed, her little hands outstretched, revealing the tin frog in her palm and half a piece of candy in her other hand.

"Mom...she gave Tangtang..."

Seeing her daughter crying pitifully, Su Xiulan lost all her anger, leaving only heartache. She pulled her into her arms, tears streaming down her face.

This is unbearable.

Does she deserve to be bullied like this just because she doesn't have a man to back her up?

Liu Hongxia sighed and advised her, "Xiulan, don't blame the child. It's Zhang Aidi who's a terrible person. You two have to keep a closer eye on the child from now on; I don't think her wicked intentions will ever die!"

"It's lucky she ran into me today. If she had actually taken her away, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Su Xiulan nodded repeatedly, tightening her grip on her daughter's arm. "Sister-in-law Hongxia, thank you so much for today. If it weren't for you..."

"Alright, stop being so polite with me." Liu Hongxia waved her hand. "I just came to tell you that I saw Zhang Aidi, that woman, running towards her parents' house on the east side of the village. Her brother isn't a good person either, so you'd better be careful!"

One sentence made Su Xiulan's heart sink even further.

This shows they haven't given up their thieving intentions and are still looking for accomplices.

After seeing Liu Hongxia off, Su Xiulan carried Nuannuan into the house.

Gu Jianguo, sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), had a face so dark it could drip water. He had been in the inner room and heard every word of what was being said outside.

That pent-up anger flared up again, and he clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.

"Xiulan, it's my fault..." His voice was hoarse.

Su Xiulan gently shook her head, put her daughter on the kang (a heated brick bed), found a clean cloth, and gently wiped away Nuannuan's tears.

"Honey, how can this be your fault? You can only blame their whole family for being inhuman."

Su Xiulan was furious. She had already said she wanted to separate the family, but the other side was still scheming against her daughter.

Seeing her parents' self-reproachful expressions, Nuannuan felt a tightness in her chest.

"Dad, here's a frog for you to play with."

Nuannuan handed the frog to Gu Jianguo, her eyes sparkling.

Looking into their daughter's cunning eyes, the two suddenly realized something.

This girl was crying her eyes out just now, but she started laughing as soon as people left. Could she have done it on purpose?

Was it a deliberate attempt to frame Zhang Aidi?

This idea startled both of them.

Can……

"Mommy, Little Greenie said this is worth a lot of money. Shall we sell it and buy some delicious food for Nuannuan?"

Nuannuan stuffed the frog into Gu Jianguo's hand. Suddenly, some white things appeared in her little hand, like... something skinny?