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

The woman's embrace was warm, and she carried the familiar, comforting scent of soapberry.

"Warm and sweet, my darling, grow up quickly..."

"Mom made you your favorite big meat buns. Look, they're made of white flour, and they smell so good..."

The woman smiled, took out a steamed bun from behind her back, and held it to her mouth.

Nuannuan opened her mouth, but couldn't bite it no matter what she did.

She anxiously reached out to grab her, but the woman's figure became increasingly blurry and farther away.

"Mommy! Mommy, don't go!"

Nuannuan cried out in her dream, her hands clasped in the air.

"Mother……"

Tears streamed down the little girl's face as she slept, and she clutched the already cold steamed bun in her hand even tighter.

At night, Su Xiulan was not a sound sleeper, and she heard Nuannuan crying.

She opened her eyes and, by the moonlight streaming in from the window, saw the little one beside her, frowning in her sleep, with tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Mommy...Mommy, don't go..."

Nuannuan's hands flailed in the air, she mumbled incoherently, her body curled up in a ball, still clutching the cold meat bun from the evening.

Su Xiulan felt a pang in her heart, and her nose stung with tears.

This child seems carefree and cheerful all day long, but he's still only five years old. How could he not miss his mother?

She moved closer and carefully pulled the little girl and the cold bun into her arms.

"Nuan Nuan, be good. Mommy's here. Mommy won't leave."

Su Xiulan spoke softly, patting Nuannuan's back.

"Mommy is here. From now on, I will be Nuannuan's mommy. Mommy will never leave Nuannuan."

The little one in her arms felt comforted, her furrowed brows relaxed, she smacked her lips twice, and fell asleep again. She rubbed her little head against Su Xiulan's chest, her little hands still clutching the hem of Su Xiulan's clothes.

Su Xiulan held her like that, not daring to sleep deeply all night.

The next day, before dawn, Su Xiulan got up.

She glanced at the three sleeping men and women on the kang (a heated brick bed), tucked them in, and then gestured for Da'an to be quiet.

We're out of firewood. We burned most of it yesterday. If we don't get some today, we'll freeze tonight.

Without alerting anyone, the mother and son carried a rope and an axe on their backs and headed into the mountains against the cold wind.

In the pot, Su Xiulan left some warm corn porridge and a few meat buns.

When Nuannuan woke up, she was awakened by the sound of voices in the yard.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, seeing her father leaning on his cane, solemnly instructing her second brother.

"Xiao An, listen to your father. We're going there to reason things out, not to fight. No matter what, we can't be the first to hurt someone, otherwise we'll lose our right."

Gu Jianguo was filled with anxiety. It was a good thing that his son had become stronger, but he was also afraid that the boy was young and impulsive and might cause trouble.

He knew he couldn't stop his son today, and he just hoped nothing bad would happen.

Xiao An nodded sullenly, "Dad, I know."

Nuannuan got dressed and ran over with her short legs, "Daddy, second brother, let's go eat breakfast!"

After breakfast, Gu Jianguo gave a few more instructions before the brother and sister went out.

Before leaving, he told Nuannuan to keep an eye on her brother. The little girl solemnly agreed.

The entrance to the forest farm was bustling today.

A crowd gathered, even larger than at a market day.

Most of these people had been rejected during the previous trial period for temporary jobs, and they all looked resentful.

"Why? I clearly carried fifty that day, but the work recorder only counted thirty!"

"Exactly! There's definitely something fishy going on here! We deserve to have worked a whole day for nothing!"

"I heard that the second son of the Gu family was just lazing around at the foot of the mountain that day, and he still got elected. His uncle must be quite something!"

The buzzing of voices was filled with suppressed anger.

The news of Gu Xiaoyong becoming a worker spread throughout the village yesterday, and his smug attitude angered the villagers.

The forestry manager probably heard rumors and, in order to silence everyone, decided to announce the list and everyone's scores today.

As soon as the brother and sister squeezed into the crowd, a middle-aged man in a cadre uniform walked up to the platform with a dark face.

He is Director Wang of the forest farm.

Factory Director Wang cleared his throat, picked up the list, and read aloud, "This selection process for temporary workers was completely transparent, and all data was recorded! Now I announce the six selected comrades and their scores!"

He started reading from the first name, and for each name he read, he would say a number.

Those whose names were called looked happy, while those whose names weren't called looked unlucky, and the atmosphere in the crowd became increasingly tense.

"...Sixth place, Red Star Brigade, Gu Xiaoyong! He performed exceptionally well during his probationary period, moving 120 logs! He is hereby hired!"

Factory Director Wang emphasized his words and gave an approving look to Gu Xiaoyong, who stood tall and proud in the crowd.

Gu Xiaoyong proudly raised his chin, enjoying the attention of those around him.

One hundred and twenty!

The moment this number was announced, the crowd erupted in uproar.

"One hundred and twenty? You must be exaggerating! I worked my butt off and only managed to carry sixty the other day!"

"Exactly, don't we know what kind of person Gu Xiaoyong is? How could he possibly have that kind of strength?"

At that moment, a voice filled with anger rang out.

"No! This number is wrong!"

Xiao An stepped out from the crowd, her thin frame standing straight beside the stage, looking at Director Wang without fear.

"Those 120 logs, I moved them! Not Gu Xiaoyong!"

The entire room fell silent, and everyone looked at Xiao An.

Gu Xiaoyong's face turned pale instantly.

Factory Director Wang's face also darkened. "Who are you? What nonsense are you spouting here!"

"My name is Gu Xiaoan, and I'm also on the trial period," Xiaoan stated clearly. "That day, we were all working on the same hilltop, and many people saw it. Gu Xiaoyong slept for most of the day; how could he possibly have moved 120 logs!"

"Yes! I saw it! Xiao An worked like crazy that day, from morning till night!" someone in the crowd chimed in.

"I also saw Gu Xiaoyong dozing off under the tree!"

In a short time, voices supporting Xiao An grew louder and louder.

Gu Xiaoyong panicked. He didn't expect that Gu Xiaoan, this sickly girl, would dare to confront him in public.

At this moment, a thin-faced man squeezed out from the crowd and pointed at Xiao An's nose, cursing.

"Gu Xiaoan, stop making baseless accusations! You and Xiao Yong have a grudge, and you're just jealous that he got elected, so you're deliberately causing trouble!"

The speaker was Zhang Sandong, the group leader of the forest farm and also Gu Xiaoyong's uncle. He was in charge of the trial assessment at the time and made things difficult for Xiao An quite a bit.

He then turned to a few acquaintances and asked, "Don't you agree?"

The others chimed in, "That's right! They have no ability themselves, so they resort to slandering others. How shameless!"

Those guys all followed Zhang Sandong, so they definitely wouldn't dare to disagree.

Seeing that someone was speaking up for him, Director Wang's expression softened somewhat. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "This is utter nonsense! The selection data was all recorded by the work recorders, it's all in black and white, how could it be fake? I think you're just deliberately trying to disrupt the order!"

He waved to the two security guards at the door.

"Guards! Arrest this disruptive element and take him to the police station!"