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

Ah Long wanted to help his older sister, but Lin Qianqian said no, the cane her father made was quite useful.

She took a couple of steps with her cane, the bottom of which was wrapped in cloth and landed silently. She looked down at it; the cane was polished smooth, without a single thorn, and felt comfortable to the touch.

She entered the house leaning on her cane, with Ah Long and Hu Zi following behind her, one on each side, their eyes fixed on her feet, afraid she might fall.

Lin Qianqian sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and A Long helped her take off her shoes and leaned her cane aside.

Lin Qianqian felt a warmth in her heart as she watched her younger brother squatting on the ground to take off her shoes; she was finally enjoying his service.

Ah Long put his shoes away, turned around and saw the cane leaning against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and reached out to touch it.

The cane is smooth, and your fingers won't scratch it when you slide over it.

He turned it over to look at the fabric underneath. The stitches were a bit crooked, but quite dense, with many needle holes, probably because it had been unraveled and re-sewn. "I never knew Dad had this skill."

Lin Qianqian didn't reply, but just glanced at the cane.

Lin Guozhu stayed up all night and only slept for a short while after dawn before going off to collect snails.

At first, the pieces were a bit uneven in length, so he took them apart and re-stitched them, then took them apart again and again, doing it several times. He also sewed the bottom covering fabric several times, as he was really not good at mending.

When I got home, I didn't know if it was because I was tired or because I was in a good mood from drinking, but I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Ding Yuxiang always hid in Lin Yuanyuan's small courtyard, and even when she went out to buy groceries, she would be heavily guarded.

She was afraid the Ding family would come looking for her, and even more afraid the Sun family would come looking for her. She didn't know that the Ding family had already compensated the Sun family with money.

She now has fifty taels of silver left by Lin Yuanyuan, along with some jewelry and clothes made by Lin Yuanyuan. Life is better than before; sometimes she even buys some meat to treat herself.

She plans to find someone else to live with. A woman always feels insecure living alone.

She planned to sell the house, get the money, hide it, and not tell anyone.

Ding Yuxiang was doing quite well, but the Ding family was facing difficulties.

Her nephew's marriage was completely ruined, and the family even had to give all the money they had saved up to the Sun family.

Her brother and sister-in-law argued about money every few days, and her mother suffered along with them.

Ding Yuxiang's mother sat at home every day scolding her for being a troublemaker.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. The snail business remained unchanged, bringing in four hundred coins every day.

Lin Qianqian's foot has healed and she can walk again, but she still can't do heavy work or go up the mountain. Fortunately, she can walk around.

The Ding brothers and their father went to the mountains every day to collect snails. Lin Qianqian's father made a new wooden bucket that was big enough to hold a lot.

Lin Qianqian has been raising a lot of snails at home, and she changes their water every few days.

The weather is getting colder day by day, and the river water is getting cold too.

After touching them today, Lin Qianqian didn't want them to do anything else; the animals at home could still last a few more days.

No matter how much money you make, it won't matter if you catch a cold; no amount of money is worth it.

The work of going up the mountain to collect snails has stopped.

Lin Guozhu would come over from time to time to help with this and that.

When there's no work, she gathers firewood. Lin Qianqian's yard is now half full of firewood, enough to last until next winter.

"Dad, there's no need to gather any more firewood, there's too much." Lin Guozhu was about to go up the mountain again when Lin Qianqian quickly stopped him.

Lin Guozhu then returned, looked at the pile of firewood, and pondered that he should build a shed.

"How about we build you a shed here, so you won't have to worry about snow?" Lin Guozhu said, pointing to the pile of firewood.

"Building a shed is a good idea," Lin Qianqian said after thinking for a moment. That way, they wouldn't have to worry about the wood getting wet in the rain, and they could also put things inside to dry.

"I'm going to get some wood, I'll get back and get it ready." Before Lin Qianqian could finish speaking, Lin Guozhu had already turned and left the yard, his steps quicker than usual.

Tiger stood there stunned, watching Lin Guozhu's figure disappear through the courtyard gate before turning around and saying, "Sister Qianqian, have you noticed? Uncle Lin seems to have changed."

"Mmm." Lin Qianqian hummed in response, her eyes still fixed on the direction of the courtyard gate.

"If he really changes, can you accept him?" Tiger asked, his voice lower than usual.

Lin Qianqian was silent for a while. The pile of firewood in the yard was neatly stacked, most of it chopped by Lin Guozhu with his axe. She thought of the cane, and the steps he took when he carried her to change her bandages.

"Tiger, you asked me if I could accept him, then let me ask you," Lin Qianqian looked up at Tiger, her voice low but each word clear, "if someone put a knife to your neck and you almost died, and then he put the knife down and even brought you a bowl of water, would you drink it?"

Tiger opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

"You drank it because you were thirsty. But you can't forget the cut on your neck just because you drank that bowl of water," Lin Qianqian said. "He's changed, I've seen it. I didn't stop him from helping, and I won't ignore him if he's in trouble. But I don't have the right to say 'it's all in the past' on behalf of Ah Long or myself."

She paused, her voice lowering slightly: "You know how my mother died, how much suffering Ah Long endured at such a young age. These things can't be erased by him chopping a few bundles of firewood or making a walking stick. This forgiveness is not something I should offer."

She didn't say anything more. Some things were better left unsaid.

She was merely a lonely soul residing in this body. She hadn't personally experienced the beatings the original owner suffered, the hardships her mother endured, or the torments Ah Long endured, and she had no right to speak for them about letting go. That forgiveness should be done by them themselves.

Tiger didn't say anything more.