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

"Really?"

Nuannuan sniffed, nuzzled her little head against Su Xiulan's collar, tears still welling up in her eyes, but she tried to open her eyes wide to look at Su Xiulan, looking just like a wounded kitten.

"Of course it's true! When has Mom ever lied to Nuannuan?"

Su Xiulan lifted the light little dumpling and strode home.

Nuannuan nestled her head in the crook of Su Xiulan's neck, the rough cotton collar rubbing against her cheeks and making her feel a little itchy, but she felt incredibly at ease.

The words those aunties had just spoken pierced her heart like needles.

"Gone" means dead, as my aunt also said.

But the new mother said no.

She is willing to trust her new mother.

Back home, the house was cold and quiet. Su Xiulan carried Nuannuan back into the house and carefully placed her on the warm earthen bed.

The little one hadn't recovered from the emotions just now. His head was down, his two little hands were clasped together, and tears were still hanging on his long eyelashes.

"What's wrong?"

Gu Xiaoan sidled up like a little monkey, his dark eyes darting around Nuannuan's face. He reached out a finger, wanting to poke his sister's red, frostbitten cheeks, but then quickly pulled it back, afraid of rubbing the dust off his hands.

"Why is my little sister crying?" Xiao An's eyes darted around, and she pulled her cheeks out with both hands. "Hehehe, shame on you, where did this crybaby come from?"

Nuan Nuan was amused by him and burst into laughter through her tears. A snot bubble popped out of her nose with a "pop".

The little girl quickly covered her nose, her shy face turning bright red.

Da'an, who had been huddled in the corner as if isolated from the world, stopped whittling wood when he heard the noise.

He slowly raised his head, and his usually calm eyes seemed to be looking at the two of them.

As Su Xiulan watched this scene, her heart warmed. Since Nuannuan arrived, this dilapidated home had surprisingly gained some vitality.

Everyone in the village said that Da'an was a fool, but she, as his mother, didn't believe it. She thought her son just didn't care about anything outside...

As for Xiao An, this mischievous boy is usually timid and submissive outside, but now that he has a younger sister, he's starting to act like a big brother.

"Nuan Nuan, you are truly the apple of your mother's eye, our little lucky star. Let's not listen to those gossipy mouths outside."

Su Xiulan patted Nuannuan's little head. What a good child. She wondered how that family could bear to abandon her. They'll regret it later.

"That's right, Nuannuan, you're my precious little sister, not a burden. If anyone dares to say anything bad about you, your brother will bite them!"

Xiao An grinned, revealing two small dimples.

"Nuan Nuan, haven't you been wanting to eat big meat buns? Mom will make you some in a bit."

The little girl immediately perked up, "Really?"

"Gurgle..."

Her stomach growled in agreement, and she couldn't help but swallow hard; she had almost forgotten what meat buns tasted like.

"Of course it's true, but we don't have any flour right now. How about Mom cooks some rabbit meat for Nuannuan first?"

The little girl nodded vigorously, her stomach protesting again. She covered her rumbling tummy tightly with both hands, her cheeks turning even redder.

"Don't make any noises, or I won't want you anymore."

These words made Su Xiulan laugh. "This tummy is really disobedient. Mom will spank its little bottom later."

Nuannuan covered her bottom with both hands in a panic, blinking her big eyes, "Mommy, maybe you shouldn't hit it anymore, just feed it well."

Hahaha……

Xiao An laughed so hard she almost fell off the kang (a heated brick bed). Nuannuan's little face turned even redder, and her big, watery eyes made her even more adorable.

"Alright, stop teasing your sister. I'm going to deal with the rabbit now."

Su Xiulan walked to the basket on her back, and Xiao An ran over after her, asking, "Mommy, are there really rabbits?"

How long has it been since we've had any meat at home? When Dad was in good health, he used to eat meat often, but Grandma ate most of it, and she secretly gave some to my second aunt's family.

He didn't understand before, but his father said that she was his grandmother and that he should be more accommodating to her.

Later, my father fell into a coma. My second uncle's family ate so much oily food that they couldn't even lift the pot lid, but my grandmother never cared.

Xiao An witnessed once again what an ungrateful wretch who can never be truly fed is like.

"Of course, this is all thanks to your sister."

"Xiulan, are you home?"

A loud, cheerful voice interrupted the mother and her children.

The curtain was lifted, and a woman in her forties walked in. She was slightly plump, wearing a bright red floral cotton-padded jacket with black polyester pants. A long, thick black braid swayed as she walked, making her look very capable. She was Sister-in-law Hongxia from the brigade leader's family.

"Xiulan, I heard you found a baby last night. My husband asked me to come and see what's going on."

Hongxia had a pair of shrewd phoenix eyes. She entered the room, glanced around, and her gaze fell on the little girl. "Is this the child? Oh dear, the poor thing, she's suffered so much!"

"What's your name? Which village are you from? Where are your parents?"

Hongxia reached out and touched Nuannuan's rosy cheeks, her tone softening.

Nuan Nuan shrank back in fright and instinctively moved closer to Xiao An.

"Sister-in-law Hongxia, her name is Nuannuan, that's all I know."

Su Xiulan briefly recounted what happened last night: "We found it at the bottom of Ghost Head Cliff. It was buried in a snow pit, and when we dug it out, it was almost frozen solid!"

Su Xiulan's nose tingled as she spoke, "This child is incredibly lucky; he pulled through all by himself."

Hongxia's eyes reddened as she listened, and she slapped her thigh, "What a tragedy! Leaving a child there in the middle of snow, isn't that murder?! Damn it!"

"That's right. I'm destined to have this child; she'll be my daughter from now on."

Hongxia was stunned. She looked around the bare walls of the house and the bottomless medicine pot. Her tone was hesitant. "This... Xiulan, have you thought this through? Your whole family is struggling to make ends meet. You can't even feed yourself. Are you really planning to add another mouth to feed?"

"Sister-in-law, she's so small, how much can she eat? I'd rather save every last penny than watch the child starve to death."

Hongxia sighed, "But your child's father still needs to take his medicine, and then there's your mother-in-law..."

Mentioning this, everyone in the village shakes their heads. Before, the third son's family lived a good life, and she enjoyed it with them. But now the third son's family can't even afford to eat, and you're still lingering without helping them? Isn't this just asking for their lives?

"She went to live with her child's second uncle's family because she complained that she couldn't get enough to eat at my house."

"Good riddance. You'll shut up and suffer less."

Sister-in-law Hongxia was also very straightforward. "But it's the dead of winter, food is scarce, how are you going to get through this?"

Su Xiulan smiled mysteriously and picked up the basket from the wall.

"Sister-in-law Hongxia, my daughter is so lucky! I took her out for a walk today, and she just found two big, fat rabbits!"

Su Xiulan removed the hay and took out the rabbit; it was quite heavy.

"My goodness!" Hongxia's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "What? You're saying where these rabbits came from? They've all been hibernating, you can't even see a single hair on them. And you actually found two!! And they're so fat!"

Even the best old hunter in the village hasn't opened for business yet!

"It really was Nuannuan who led me to pick it up; I saw her knock herself unconscious against the tree stump. That's why I say my Nuannuan is a little lucky star."

Sister-in-law Hongxia...

"Sister-in-law Hongxia, you know my family's situation. I'd like to trade some grain with you, is that alright?"

"Okay, my grandson's been clamoring for meat all the time. This rabbit's pretty fat, probably six or seven pounds. I'll give you twenty pounds of cornmeal, okay?"

Su Xiuyun was surprised that she could exchange it for twenty jin; she thought it would only be fifteen or sixteen jin.

"Middle, Sister-in-law Hongxia, I know you take the best care of us, mother and children, and I appreciate your kindness, but..."

Su Xiuyun rubbed her hands awkwardly. "Could you... exchange it for one pound of wheat flour, just give me three pounds less cornmeal?"

"White flour? With so many mouths to feed in your family, you want to switch to white flour?"

Hongxia raised her voice in alarm, "Girl, don't you care about making a living? This whole family is starving, what do you need that expensive stuff for?"

"It's Nuannuan. This girl suffered so much, and when she woke up, she was still thinking about the big meat buns her mother made. I just felt so sorry for her."

"This is the only thing this child wants, and as her mother, I have to make sure she gets to eat it!"