The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

But the ticket clerk couldn't help but glance at the two children again, her eyes full of disdain.

Ling Heping ignored her and led Qi Weiwei and the two children to a table in the corner.

That table was against the wall, a bit far from the other tables, so it wasn't too conspicuous.

After sitting down, Qi Weiwei hugged the two children to her sides and asked softly, "What would you like to eat?"

The two girls looked timidly at the price list hanging on the wall—the names and prices of the dishes were written in chalk: shredded pork noodles for 12 cents, stir-fried cabbage for 8 cents, braised pork for 3 cents…

"We," the older one whispered, "we...we want to eat shredded pork noodles."

The younger one nodded, her eyes sparkling: "I want shredded pork noodles!"

Qi Weiwei was taken aback: "Why is it shredded pork noodles?"

The older one lowered his head, his voice even softer: "Xie Chunqiao... often brought back noodles with shredded pork from the state-run restaurant for her younger brother. She ate the leftovers herself..."

The younger one added, "But we never got to eat a single bite. We could only secretly fill our lunchboxes with water to rinse them while washing them, and then drink the oily water."

Her voice was calm, as if she were talking about something very ordinary.

Qi Weiwei's tears welled up instantly.

The older one continued, "Once, my silly little brother dropped a piece of meat on the ground, and we secretly picked it up and hid it in our hands. Then..."

She paused, her voice choked with emotion, "Then we took turns chewing it, you chew for a while, I chew for a while... We chewed all day, reluctant to swallow. In the end, there was still no meat left..."

Qi Weiwei bit her lip hard to keep herself from crying out loud.

She held her two children tightly, her whole body trembling.

Ling Heping has already gone to the window to order food.

Soon, he returned carrying the tray.

On the tray were four steaming bowls of noodles—large bowls of shredded pork noodles, each bowl piled high, topped with lush green vegetables, tender white tofu, and plenty of shredded pork.

What's even more surprising is that each bowl of noodles comes with a small dish with extra shredded meat—this was Ling Heping's special request, paid for at extra cost.

"Here, eat it while it's hot." Ling Heping served the noodles to everyone.

The two girls' eyes lit up instantly, staring intently at the shredded meat in the bowl, their throats involuntarily swallowing.

But the older one is very sensible.

She stood up, went to the window and asked for another empty bowl, then returned to the table, picked up her own bowl of noodles, and carefully poured half of it into the empty bowl.

"Here you go," she pushed the half-bowl of noodles in front of her sister, "you eat it."

Then she looked at Qi Weiwei and Ling Heping: "You...you eat too."

Qi Weiwei felt her heart breaking as she watched her eldest daughter's sensible actions.

She brought over the untouched bowl of noodles and scooped half into each of the two children's bowls.

"Eat up," she said softly, "finish it all."

The older one hurriedly shook his head: "We've had enough...really enough..."

The younger one muttered softly, "I...I can finish it..."

Qi Weiwei looked at her youngest daughter's longing eyes and felt a pang of sadness: "Eat. Eat it all, and ask for more if you're still hungry."

As she spoke, she subconsciously raised her hand—wanting to pat the child's head.

But this action made both girls flinch and try to dodge.

That was a conditioned reflex formed from being beaten for a long time.

Qi Weiwei's hand froze in mid-air.

Her heart was completely broken.

"I'm not afraid..." Her voice choked, and tears finally fell. "Mommy won't hit you... never..."

The older one looked at her, her eyes reddening. She put down her chopsticks and suddenly burst into tears.

"Why are you so late? Why didn't you come sooner? Waaah..."

The younger one also cried, stuffing noodles into his mouth between sobs, and mumbled, "Mom...we're suffering so much...it's really so hard..."

You wretched girl, you lowly girl.

How could such a name not bring sorrow?

Qi Weiwei could no longer hold back and hugged her two children, the three of them embracing and weeping bitterly.

Ling Heping sat opposite him, watching silently.

His hands clenched into fists under the table, his knuckles cracking.

After the mother and her two daughters had finished crying and calmed down a bit, their faces had already turned a little cold.

Qi Weiwei wiped away her tears and wiped the children's faces: "Eat quickly, the noodles won't taste good if they get cold."

Only then did the two children pick up their chopsticks again.

They ate slowly and with great care.

Every noodle must be chewed carefully, every piece of vegetable must be savored, and every strand of meat must be held in the mouth for a long time, reluctant to swallow.

The younger child, while eating, suddenly looked up at Qi Weiwei and asked, "Mom, is this real? Am I dreaming?"

"It's not a dream," Qi Weiwei said, stroking her head. "It's real. Mom really came."

The meal took a long time to finish.

Finally, the two children drank all the soup in their bowls, leaving not even a single scallion.

After finishing their meal, Ling Heping paid the bill, and the group went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The commune's supply and marketing cooperative was small, with only three storefronts.

The shelves were stocked with a limited selection of goods: fabrics, daily necessities, canned goods, biscuits, and candy.

Qi Weiwei led the two children inside.

The two children looked around curiously, but were also timid, clinging tightly to Qi Weiwei.

"Comrade, I'd like to buy clothes for my child," Qi Weiwei said to the sales clerk.

The saleswoman was a young woman in her twenties. She frowned when she saw the two children looking dirty, but still took out a few pieces of clothing from behind the counter.

"These are the most fashionable items right now," she said, unfolding a red floral cotton-padded jacket.

Qi Weiwei looked at them and shook her head: "I need something thick and warm. From the inside out."

The salesperson then brought out several more items: cotton-padded jackets, cotton-padded trousers, thermal underwear, socks, cotton-padded shoes, and even scarves and gloves.

Qi Weiwei picked out outfits one by one, choosing one for each of her two children.

They are all dark-colored, dirt-resistant, but the material is good, with thick cotton filling.

"Try it on to see if it fits," she said.

The salesperson immediately yelled, "No trying them on! You can only try them on after you pay! They're filthy!"

The older one immediately lowered its head: "We're dirty...we'll get the new clothes dirty...we don't want the new clothes anymore..."

The younger one said, "We can wash it clean..."

Qi Weiwei felt a pang of sadness.

These two children, despite having suffered so much, are still so sensible.

Ling Heping walked over: "I have a solution. These clothes are only too big, they'll fit."

He paid the money, picked up the clothes, and led the three of them out of the supply and marketing cooperative and into the commune bathhouse.

There was a queue of moderate length in front of the ticket window.

Ling Heping walked straight to the ticket window, took out his identification, and said, "Comrade, I'm from the military, on a mission. Please cooperate—we need three bath tickets."