After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

Lin Yulong, who was following behind, was in a daze the whole way. He would look up at his sister in front of him from time to time, and then look back at the road they had come from. He felt like he was dreaming.

"Sister," he asked cautiously, "have we really... separated?"

Lin Qianqian turned around and looked at her younger brother's incredulous expression. Her heart ached, but she smiled and said, "Yeah, they really broke up."

Ding Xiaohu chimed in, jumping up and down, "They've broken up! It's just that this old house... is too far away. It'll take forever to get here to visit you guys."

"Brother Tiger, you're welcome to come to my house anytime!" Lin Yulong's eyes lit up.

"Really?" Ding Xiaohu perked up as well.

"Of course it's true." Lin Qianqian chimed in, looking at her partner who had just stood up for them, her tone becoming more serious. "If you're willing, you can even live with Ah Long."

"Then I'm not leaving!" Ding Xiaohu patted his chest, making Lin Yulong laugh.

Lin Qianqian smiled and said softly, "Tiger, thank you for today, and please thank Aunt Ding for me. If it weren't for you two standing up for me, I'm afraid..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but Ding Xiaohu understood. He scratched his head, a little embarrassed: "Sister Qianqian, what I told my mother was the truth! It was her fault after all."

"Tiger is a true friend!" Lin Yulong put his arm around his shoulder, and his earlier gloom dissipated considerably.

The three children chatted and laughed, and the road beneath their feet seemed to shorten.

But when they stood at the entrance of the old house, their laughter stopped abruptly.

This is so dilapidated!

The courtyard gate hung crookedly, with cracks in the wooden planks wide enough to fit two fingers; it looked as if kicking it would cause the entire gate to collapse.

Lin Yulong swallowed hard and followed his sister through the door.

The weeds in the yard were ankle-deep, and the windows of the main house were just a few dark holes, letting the wind in from all directions.

Cobwebs piled up in the corners, and patches of thatched roof peeked out from under a few dark beams. Inside, there was a heated earthen bed, which was nice, but covered in a thick layer of dust.

There was a broken water vat lying on the floor of the outer room. The vat was cracked in several places and could not hold much water, but it could still be used after wiping it.

"This..." Ding Xiaohu stammered, his mouth agape, before finally managing to utter, "This is just too shabby!"

Lin Qianqian looked around and breathed a sigh of relief: "If we tidy it up, it'll definitely be better than the woodshed."

She recalled the drafty woodshed where rats scurried around at night, and then looked at the old house in front of her, which, though dilapidated, was at least a proper house, and felt a sense of peace.

"There are rats in the woodshed at night," Lin Yulong said, shrinking his neck.

"Hmm, big and fat, the kind that'd dare to steal your steamed bun," Lin Qianqian said, already rolling up her sleeves. "Alright, stop standing there, get to work!"

The three children got right to it.

Lin Qianqian found a worn-out broom, first sweeping the dirt off the kang (heated brick bed), then spreading the straw mat she had brought from the Lin family on top—the mat was a bit too small, revealing half the edge of the kang, but it was still better than a bare earthen kang. She could just add another mat later when she had time.

Lin Yulong and Ding Xiaohu were not idle either. The two of them worked together to move the broken water vat to the yard, cleaned it with the remaining water, and then drew half a bucket of water from the well and poured it in—although the vat was cracked, it was still usable with half a vat of water.

They cleared out the rotten wood, broken things, and junk that had accumulated for who knows how many years.

A small pile of junk was stacked in the yard, making it look messy, but the house was much more spacious and clean.