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

Song Xiangmei quickly wiped away her tears and went to get the cloth.

The two pieces of fabric that Song Xianglan brought, one light gray and the other navy blue, were breathable and perfect for making long-sleeved shirts and trousers for early autumn.

Nie Erhua pulled a yellowed measuring tape from a drawer and walked over to Wen Tao and Wen Qiang. "Stand up straight and extend your arms horizontally. I'll take your measurements. This fabric will be just the right amount to make one outfit for each of you."

When Wentao heard that he was going to make clothes for them, he immediately backed away.

"No need, no need. Second Aunt, we can wash and wear this outfit again, let's not waste the fabric."

"Can you even wear this? Look at your cuffs, they're all frayed. Your wrists are sticking out, it looks like you're wearing a ghost costume. And the patches aren't even the same color."

Erhua grabbed Wentao's arm and draped the measuring tape over his shoulder.

Random thoughts:

"I am your second aunt. When you return to the Nie family, I will make you two sets of clothes. This fabric was brought by your third aunt. Remember your third aunt's kindness in the future."

Song Xianglan sat on a bench to the side.

Seeing the two brothers awkwardly holding hands, he spoke up.

"Listen to your second aunt. This cloth will attract bugs if left out for too long. Let's use these two pieces of cloth to make one set of clothes for each of you. After lunch, I'll take you to town to buy two sets of ready-made clothes."

Wen Qiang stood behind, his lips moved as if he wanted to refuse, but Wen Tao quietly tugged at the corner of his clothes with his hands behind his back.

The two then stood up straight obediently.

He let Nie Erhua use a soft ruler to measure his body back and forth.

After taking the measurements, Nie Erhua wrote them down inside a torn cigarette pack.

Over in the kitchen.

Song Xiangmei has already started boiling water.

As soon as Wentao and Wenqiang finished measuring the clothes, they immediately found the wood-chopping axe in the corner of the yard.

Without waiting for instructions from the adults, the two dragged the dry log to the well.

Wentao held the wood in his hand, while Wenqiang swung the axe.

With a few "cracks," the thick firewood was split into even, straight pieces, and soon piled up into a small mountain.

The eyes of these two boys are full of life.

Song Xianglan moved a small stool to sit by the well, took a basket, and slowly began to pick out water spinach.

Inside the main room, Nie Erhua held a piece of chalk and traced lines on the fabric with a few quick "snip" sounds. She then cut along the lines with scissors.

Shredded cloth lay scattered on the ground.

She sat down, stepped on the sewing machine pedal, and the sewing machine started to clatter.

"Third Aunt," Erhua called out as she pressed down the stitches, "Fangfang is now selling taro balls with me at our stall. We earn quite a bit every day. It's hard work, but the pay is higher than working in the factory. Fangfang's life is going well now."

Song Xianglan plucked the withered leaves off the water spinach.

"As long as she can make money, that's fine. She shouldn't look for anyone for now; we'll talk about it later."

"Fangfang said she's not looking for anyone else and will raise her three children alone. Xiaoying and Erying are both in school. Sanying has been nagging me to carry her schoolbag these past few days, so we'll send her to school in a couple of years when she's old enough."

Nie Erhua sighed, pushing the fabric in her hand forward. "If you ask me, Xiaoying's temper is nothing like Fangfang's. She's completely different from both me and Fangfang."

"They are definitely different."

"This girl has big ideas in her mind and is surprisingly bold." Nie Erhua pressed down the thread. "A while ago, Fangfang's ex-husband, that old woman, came to the stall to cause trouble and cursed at us horribly."

Fangfang and I were so scared we could only cry. Then Xiaoying grabbed some dirty dishwater from the nearby sink and splashed it on the old woman. She then grabbed a broom and chased the old woman away.

When Nie Erhua said this, her tone carried a hint of pride, yet also a touch of self-deprecation.

"When Fangfang and I were young, we were bullied and didn't dare to raise our voices. We were cowards our whole lives. Xiaoying isn't the type to take things lying down."

Song Xianglan stopped what she was doing and threw the picked vegetable leaves into the basin. "You think she was born brave? It's because she understands that there's no one behind her who can stand up for her."

The sound of the sewing machine stopped for a moment.

"Fangfang can't handle things, and you're like a dough ball, always running away from problems. The Gao family is a mess too." Song Xianglan's words were like knives to the heart.

"If Gao Xiaoying hadn't become someone else's support when she was young, she and her daughters would have been devoured by the Gao family long ago, leaving not even bones behind."

The main room was so quiet that only the sound of the wind blowing through the fabric could be heard.

Nie Erhua lowered her head and placed her hand on the sewing machine table.

My eyes are sore.

He couldn't utter a single word for a long while.

Yes.

It's all because she failed to provide a safe haven for her child.

Fangfang is like her doughy personality, while Lanlan is just like Yan Ergou.

More than an hour passed.

The aroma of meat wafting from the kitchen filled the entire yard.

The two shirts in the main room were also ironed.

"Wentao, Wenqiang, wash your hands and come try on these clothes." Nie Erhua shook out the clothes.

The two brothers washed the sawdust off their hands by the well, dried their hands on the hem of their clothes, and then went into the inner room.

When I came out wearing the new clothes, the timid and hesitant feeling I had before had dissipated considerably.

The light gray and navy blue clothing covered their thin shoulder blades, finally giving them a more youthful appearance.

Wen Qiang tugged at his sleeve, his heart pounding.

This was the first time he had ever worn new clothes.

He didn't sleep well at all last night after returning to Niejiazhuang with Chunxia and the others.

He was afraid that the people here would look down on them, and that the people back home wouldn't want them to stay.

In their stepfather's house in that neighboring county, the two brothers lived worse than even the farmhands.

Wenqiang longed for life outside.

He worked on construction sites in the county.

After working as a laborer for six months, the contractor ran away, and he didn't get a single penny.

This incident instilled in him a fear of the outside world. But if he stayed in that remote mountain valley any longer, he could only imagine the end of his life.

"It fits perfectly." Song Xianglan glanced at it.

"Time to eat."

Song Xiangmei invited everyone to sit down at the table.

Song Xianglan bought two jin of pork belly, which was then cut into pieces the size of half a matchbox, and made a full plate of braised pork.

It's glossy and reddish, with a thick sauce that makes your mouth water.

Next to it was a plate of stir-fried blue crab with ginger and scallions.

The oyster omelet was sprinkled with sweet chili sauce.

The remaining shrimp, snails, and squid were all blanched and served on three large plates, accompanied by a bowl of garlic and vinegar dipping sauce.

The dish served in the very center was a pot of old hen soup.

The soup contains jujubes, red dates, poria cocos, and morel mushrooms, and the broth is simmered until it is clear and transparent.

There was also a dish of water spinach and pan-fried ribbonfish on the table.

As soon as they sat down at the table, Chunxia's daughter, Lele, couldn't sit still.

The little girl can't speak fluently yet, but she's incredibly greedy.

Song Xiangmei pulled over a bamboo chair and sat down, holding Lele on her lap.

She took a small spoon and scooped up some steamed egg custard to feed her. "Come on, open your mouth, Grandma will feed you."

Lele turned her head and slapped Song Xiangmei's hand away.

The little hand reached straight for the spoon on the table.

"No, stinky...stinky girl, eat it."

"You don't eat properly, it'll all be smeared on your chin later." Song Xiangmei moved the bowl back.

Lele kicked her legs in frustration and kept babbling incoherently.

He leaned forward, determined to grab the spoon in his hand.

"Don't worry about her, let her eat by herself. Put a scarf on her." Song Xianglan distributed the bowls and chopsticks. "If she gets dirty, it's just a matter of washing some clothes. Wentao, Wenqiang, sit down and eat."

The two brothers pulled out stools and sat down. In front of them was a large bowl filled with tightly packed white rice.

The two looked at the large amount of fish and meat on the table, but neither dared to put any into their plates.

It was even more lavish than what we ate during the Chinese New Year.

"What are you staring at? Eat your meat." Nie Erhua stood up, picked up two pieces of succulent braised pork, and a large piece of oyster omelet, placing them on top of each other's bowls. "Young men need to grow, their bellies need some oil and fat."

The two brothers then picked up their bowls and began to eat their rice in silence.

The two ate very quickly, swallowing large clumps of rice in just a few bites without making any smacking noises. Their chopsticks were also focused on a piece of meat, never rummaging around in the plate.

Nie Erhua then served food to the two of them.

"Wentao, what grade are you in?" Song Xianglan dipped a boiled shrimp in garlic vinegar and picked it up.

"I stopped going to school in fourth grade." Wentao swallowed the food in his mouth. "My dad over there said that they have a lot of land but lack labor. Sending me to school would be a waste of money."

Wen Qiang then spoke:

I was in fifth grade.

"All the farm work for the Da Tian family has fallen on your shoulders?" Song Xianglan peeled the shrimp and asked coldly.

Wen Qiang nodded, his fingers gripping the chopsticks so tightly that his knuckles were clearly visible.

"My brother and I did all the work in the fields. I went to the county to do odd jobs with people from the same village, but I didn't get paid for six months. When I came back, I was scolded for half a month. I was so scared that I never dared to mention going to work again."

Linxian County is all mountains, isolated from the sea.

Farming is entirely dependent on the weather, the locals are inflexible, and their economic situation is vastly different from that of the coastal villages in Qingyang.