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

The little mouse was terrified; it was completely bewildered.

[Squeak squeak squeak! You human brat, can you even understand what a mouse is saying?]

Nuannuan nodded with a smile, "Nuannuan understands, little mouse, can we be friends?"

As Nuannuan spoke, she stretched out her little finger and gently tapped his forehead.

The little mouse is still in a daze, its two front paws cradling the cornmeal, having forgotten to eat it.

"Don't you like Nikki?"

The little girl looked disappointed. "Nuannuan still wants to be your best friend!"

[Okay, okay! As long as I get food, I'll treat you like royalty!]

Nuannuan tilted her head, her little mouth pouting so much it could hold a soy sauce bottle, "Nuannuan doesn't want to be a boss, she just wants to be a friend! Nuannuan has lots of delicious food here, can you do Nuannuan a small favor?"

The little girl even held up a tiny finger and pinched off a small piece, saying, "Just this small favor!"

The little mouse squeaked.

[What's the matter? You don't want to eat the hamster, do you?]

Nuannuan shook her little head like a rattle-drum, "Mice are too small, they're not tasty! Nuannuan's chimney is blocked, can you help my mom clear it?"

"Nuan Nuan hasn't eaten yet, her little tummy is all hungry!"

The little mouse swallowed the cornmeal on the ground in a few bites.

"That's all? No problem! We mice love digging holes... I mean, chimneys! I'm going to call my second uncle and third cousin; they're the best at digging!"

After saying that, the little mouse scurried back into its hole.

Soon after, there was movement at the entrance of the cave.

The little mouse led two larger black mice out.

The two large rats stared at the cornmeal on the ground, their eyes practically glowing green.

[Are you really going to give me food?]

Nuannuan quickly grabbed another handful of cornmeal, mixed in a few grains of rice, and put it on the ground.

"If you clear the chimney, there's even more!"

The three mice looked at each other, squeaked a few times, and reached an agreement.

Su Xiulan was worried when she turned around and saw her daughter talking to herself in front of the corner of the wall and scattering grain on the ground.

"Nuan Nuan, what are you doing?"

Nuannuan turned around, her eyes sparkling, "Mommy, we don't need to climb the roof anymore! I have help!"

She pointed to the three mice on the ground, "The little mice say they can help us clean the chimney!"

Su Xiulan almost dropped the firewood stick in her hand.

"What? Mice are helping?"

Even Gu Jianguo was stunned. Was the child starving and confused?

Rats only damage crops; they're not going to help people with their work.

Before the adults could figure it out, Nuannuan waved her little hand at the three mice.

Go for it! Good luck!

Whether the three mice understood or not, they lined up and climbed up the wall to the stove, then plunged into the dark chimney.

Su Xiulan stared wide-eyed, unable to utter a word for a long time.

"This... they really went in?"

The room fell silent, with only the sound of splinters falling from the chimney.

Less than ten minutes.

With a "whoosh".

A large clump of black ash mixed with bird nests and grass stalks fell out of the stove opening.

Three grayish mice crawled out of the stove, shook off the black ash, and all looked at Nuannuan.

Nuannuan kept her promise and pulled out two large handfuls of corn kernels from her pocket and piled them in the corner.

"Thank you, please eat!"

Three mice pounced on the corn, their cheeks bulging, before Nuannuan wagged her tail and scurried back into her hole.

The room fell silent immediately.

Da'an looked at the stove, then at his sister, and uttered a single word: "God."

Xiao An swallowed hard and whispered, "Is our sister... a goddess descended from heaven?"

Gu Jianguo's expression turned serious.

"This matter must remain a secret, and no one is allowed to tell anyone! Do you hear me!"

His daughter's abilities are too extraordinary. If word gets out, she might be mistaken for a monster and captured. He must protect her.

Su Xiulan was startled, but even happier.

"No matter how it was made possible, as long as it's working, that's fine. Quickly start a fire!"

This time the fire was very strong, and the room stopped leaking smoke; gradually, the heat started to pick up.

The rice was put into the pot and soon began to simmer and steam, but the window was still drafty.

The paper window covering was long gone, leaving only a wooden block, and cold wind kept pouring in. Gu Jianguo's legs ached, and Xiao An was also hunched over, looking for something to block the wind.

Nuannuan looked at the drafty window, then at the people in her family. They would freeze to death if they stayed up all night like this, and Nuannuan felt sorry for them. She suddenly remembered something she had picked up from the recycling center last time; it looked like some kind of cloth.

[Little Greenie, hurry and check if there's anything to block the wind!]

Little Green started searching and actually found it.

"Big brother, second brother, come quick! Nuannuan has something good."

With a wave of her warm little hand, a large pile of dark, unsightly items appeared on the ground.

Xiao An quickly went over and picked it up. "This looks like..."

Hearing the commotion, Su Xiulan ran in, touched it, and said excitedly, "This is good stuff! It's a kind of plastic sheet, even stronger than newspaper."

"Hurry up, Da'an and Xiao'an, you two nail the window shut."

Without saying a word, the two brothers picked up the plastic sheeting and went outside to nail the window shut. Since they didn't have nails, they used wood to weigh it down, and then added stones.

The roof was drafty, and the two brothers couldn't climb up. Nuannuan immediately called Xiaohei for help and took some food to find the little mouse.

Su Xiulan and the others were at a loss for words. The crow and the mouse helped cover it with plastic sheeting and weighed it down with stones. Who would believe such a thing if they told others?

Finally, the room stopped leaking air, and the temperature rose rapidly.

"Xiulan, have you eaten?"

There was another sound outside the courtyard. Sister Hongxia ran in, looking chilly. She stamped her feet and then took a cloth bag out of her pocket.

"These are cornbreads I made at home, and a packet of pickled vegetable dumplings. The cornbreads are still warm, you should try them!"

Sister-in-law Hongxia looked around the house, her face full of worry. "It's so cold, and the house is so dilapidated. How are you all going to survive?"

Su Xiulan's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the steaming pancakes; this was a timely help in her time of need.

"Sister-in-law, the two children just covered the hole, and it's not cold inside anymore. You've already helped us so much, and now you've brought so much food. I don't know how to thank you enough."

"No need to thank me!" Sister-in-law Hongxia said sternly. "Quickly give the child a couple of bites to fill his stomach, and you two eat too, don't go hungry."

"Now that you're finally free from that family ties and no longer burdened by them, your lives will only get better and better."

Su Xiulan nodded with tears in her eyes, "Absolutely."

I have already severed ties with Grandma Gu. After completing the formalities at the commune, as long as I give her ten yuan alimony every year, we will have no further relationship.

The two were talking when they suddenly heard a loud crash, like something hitting the ground.