Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

Song Tingting pushed open the door, and the room was lit by a dim light bulb.

Chang Ping and Mao Qiaozhen sat on the edge of the bed, wrapped in their coats, staring longingly at the doorway.

Upon seeing Song Tingting return unharmed, the two maids pounced on her.

"Tingting, have you caught the thief yet?" Mao Qiaozhen stamped her foot anxiously.

Song Tingting took off her coat and draped it over the back of the chair. "We caught two. Comrade Lei is very skilled; he took them down in no time. The police interrogated them overnight; these two thieves also have a murder case on their hands."

Upon hearing the words "murder case".

Mao Qiaozhen shuddered and grabbed Chang Ping's arm. "Sister Ping, come sleep with me. I'm scared."

She used both her hands and feet to climb up to Chang Ping's lower bunk.

She shivered as she burrowed into the covers. "Sister Ping, let's go buy five more big iron locks tomorrow and seal the door shut."

Song Xianglan rolled over. "Even ten locks won't stop someone with malicious intent. Stay away from things like this. Money is secondary; human life is the most important thing."

"In the future, there will be no shortage of burglaries and thefts. You two need to remember this."

The two huddled under the covers and nodded repeatedly.

*

It was bright.

Song Xianglan got up and went out of the house; the aroma of chives wafted through the courtyard.

Mao Qiaozhen gets up early.

A batch of chive pancakes has already been made, golden brown on both sides, sizzling and steaming hot.

After washing up, Song Tingting grabbed a chive pancake and took a big bite.

"Qiaozhen, this is amazing! Thin crust, big filling." She gave a thumbs up, quickly finished one, then grabbed two more, eating as she ran out, "Mom, I'm going to school."

"Don't come back if you're busy."

"Um."

After Song Xianglan finished getting ready, she called over Aunt Wu from next door, and the two of them went to the market together.

We exited the alley.

Then a series of heart-wrenching howls were heard.

A crowd gathered in front of the hardware store.

A large gap was pried open in the iron roller shutter on the door.

The proprietress sat on the ground, slapping her thigh and crying, "Damn thief! All the most expensive tools in my shop are gone. May the pickpocket's whole family die a horrible death!"

The lock on the door of the clothing store across the street was also dangling.

They said the clothing store owner hadn't arrived yet.

Song Xianglan stepped forward. "Sister, don't cry. Our shop was broken into last night. We caught the thief in the act and he's already been taken to the police station."

The hardware store owner's eyes widened in surprise.

"They caught him? When did that happen?"

"They were caught in the middle of the night. You should go to the police station to report it right away; maybe you can still get your things back."

The hardware store owner slapped his thigh, turned around, and shouted to his wife:

"Watch the shop, I'm going to the police station."

The man took off running.

Song Xianglan pulled the hardware store owner up from the ground. "Hurry up and go inside to take inventory. Make a list of everything that's missing. That way, you'll know what's going on when the police ask."

The proprietress wiped away her tears.

I stumbled and ran into the store.

The snack shop owner also came over.

"Sister Song, last night that thief broke into my house and only got halfway through, but I don't know why he stopped."

Song Xianglan glanced at it and said, "We came back last night just in time to disturb them."

Everyone gasped.

Everyone was relieved that the thief had been caught.

Looking at the onlookers, Song Xianglan raised her voice, "Don't be too happy yet, everyone. There will only be more of these kinds of things in the future."

The crowd fell silent, staring at Song Xianglan.

"Think about it, how many jobs can be arranged for so many educated youth returning to the city?"

People from other places are still flocking to the city, and the number will only increase in the future. They're willing to do the dirty and tiring jobs that city dwellers are unwilling to do.

With too many people, there's no work and no food. What can those with crooked minds do? They'll just hit it off and either steal or rob.

Song Xianglan glanced at the female shopkeepers and said, "Be careful when you go out. Take off any gold pendants on your ears or gold chains around your necks if you can."

If you encounter two people riding bicycles on the street, and the person on the back suddenly reaches out and grabs your earring and runs away, that's called a biker gang. Even if they tear your ear off, you still can't catch them.

The noodle shop owner got goosebumps listening to this.

She hurriedly took off the gold earrings from her ears and stuffed them into her pocket.

"Oh dear, I'll never wear that again."

An older woman carrying a shopping basket rolled her eyes in the crowd.

"Boss Song, what you're saying is too far-fetched. How can someone rob you in broad daylight? There aren't that many bad people. Human nature is inherently good; according to you, there are no good people in the world."

Song Xianglan snorted coldly:

"I'm a good person. But you can't be too careful. If you think the world is at peace, feel free to wear your gold earrings and necklace."

If you experience something like this even once, you'll never be able to get over that mental hurdle for the rest of your life.

The woman was left speechless after being rebuked.

They slunk out of the crowd.

People lost interest in running the shop and gathered together to whisper among themselves.

Before long, the snack shop started to get its morning business.

Workers gradually came to buy breakfast.

The people at the noodle shops and snack stalls quickly dispersed and went back to their work.

Song Xianglan took Aunt Wu to the vegetable market.

The two of them went around in a circle.

Song Xianglan stopped in front of the live poultry stall and picked out a black and glossy chicken.

"Why are you buying this black-feathered chicken?" Aunt Wu asked, watching the stall owner kill the chicken. "It has little meat and is expensive."

Song Xianglan paid the money.

"A few days ago, Qiaozhen got her period and was in so much pain that she was rolling around in bed. I had her boil ginger water to soak her feet, and that helped her recover. Now that her period is over, she's really weak and needs to be properly nourished."

Aunt Wu smacked her lips:

"That girl just got her period, right?"

"Yes, they said they came once at the end of last year, and only twice this year in total." Song Xianglan took the chicken weighed by the stall owner and put it into the net bag.

Grandma Wu sighed, thinking of her granddaughter.

"Hey sister, is my Changping obedient in your shop? If she does anything wrong, you can scold or beat her if you want."

These days, even city dwellers have a hard time finding street sweeping jobs. For a country girl like her to get this job is incredibly lucky.

"Don't worry about things you don't understand. These two girls are good-natured, smart, and love to learn."

Song Xianglan carried her shopping basket and bought some more vegetables and a block of tofu. "I'm planning to send them to night school so they can learn more. I'll pay for the tuition first, and then deduct it from my salary later."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wu quickly waved her hand.

"No way, I'll pay for Changping's tuition. I've been working at the night market these past few days and have saved up a bit of money."

This money was originally intended to help children who were struggling financially.

It's said that parents are biased; both children are their flesh and blood, but the back of the hand is thinner, so how can a mother not favor the thinner child?

Song Xianglan wholeheartedly agreed.

"Treating everyone equally is something only a god can do. As parents, if we can stand behind our children when they can't take it anymore and give them enough emotional support, then we've done right by them."

However, while teaching is important, some people are born with selfishness in their bones; that's something that genes can't overcome no matter how much you teach them.

Aunt Wu nodded repeatedly, picking out cowpeas from her basket as she walked.

"That's right, your former landlady in our courtyard, Sister Tian, ​​her son is a real debt collector."

Driven by his get-rich-quick scheme, he squandered all of the elderly couple's savings, even forcing them to sell their house. He borrowed money from all their sisters and relatives, and has already bought a truck to start a transportation business.

"The elderly couple, Sister Tian and her husband, are reluctant to sell their house; their children are just a source of debt."

Song Xianglan stopped and said, "Auntie, next time you meet Sister Tian, ​​please remind her of this."

Running a sports car is a job that puts your head on the line.

"Poor and remote areas breed unruly people. Tell her son not to go to certain places, no matter how much money they offer. If something happens, it's better to lose the car than to lose his life."

Aunt Wu was stunned.

"Girl, the way you're talking, it's like you've experienced everything."

Song Xianglan continued walking forward, "Auntie, in our hometown, there are eight parts mountains, one part water, and one part farmland. Since ancient times, we've been risking our lives to make a living."

Just like Chen Zui's ancestors who went to Southeast Asia, boatloads of people set sail, only to be swallowed up by the sea when storms struck. Whether they survived or not depended entirely on fate.

Aunt Wu felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this.

He dared not reply.

The two returned to the alley entrance and bumped into several policemen standing in front of the clothing store that had been looted.

The clothing store owner collapsed to the ground, crying her heart out.

All the clothes in the store were gone; they even took the hangers.

Song Xianglan glanced at it.

He sighed, turned around, and went back to the tenement.

"Aunt Wu, lend a hand."

Aunt Wu rolled up her sleeves and came over to help.

Song Xianglan took a small bowl, killed a chicken, collected its blood, and deftly scalded and plucked its feathers.

She cut open the chicken gizzard, shook out the undigested chicken feed inside, and peeled off the yellow skin inside.

Next, use scissors to cut open the chicken intestines and rinse them clean under the tap.

Aunt Wu stared wide-eyed. "You still kept the chicken intestines?"

"It's delicious stir-fried with chicken gizzards and livers and pickled cabbage or pickled bamboo shoots." Song Xianglan put the cleaned offal into a bowl.

Wash your hands.

Song Xianglan turned and went into the house, taking out a small cardboard box.

Peel off the wax seal and take out two dark pills.

Aunt Wu leaned closer and sniffed: "Are you stewing Chinese medicine again?"

"It's our local custom to always add Chinese herbs when making soup."

Song Xianglan took out a large bowl and placed a black chicken and white phoenix pill at the bottom. Then she took a small bowl, placed it upside down on the pill, and arranged chopped pieces of black chicken around the small bowl.

Finally, sprinkle with ginger slices, pitted red dates, and a handful of goji berries.

Another Wuji Baifeng Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine) was placed upside down at the bottom of the bowl in the same way.

Aunt Wu stared at the large bowl for a long time. "Not going to put water in it?"

"No water, just steam it."

Song Xianglan picked up the large bowl, "These two pills, when steamed, yield two bowls of essence, one for Changping and one for Qiaozhen."

Aunt Wu's eyes reddened.

She wiped her face, turned around and ran back to her house without saying a word, then came out carrying her own coal stove.

"Ping'er has met a good person. Use my stove, put both stoves in the yard and steam them together."

The coal briquettes were burning brightly, and blue flames licked the bottom of the pot.

The heat gradually rose.

Song Xianglan stared at the steaming pot, her heart pounding with tension.

The thief has been caught.

These days, if you want to make some money peacefully, you have to be extra careful.