"You didn't have to bring anything, just coming is enough. Your family is large, no need for such formalities, Auntie."
"It's all just family stuff, it didn't cost much. Auntie, where is San Ya?"
Compared to a few months ago, Zhou family's daughter-in-law was now wearing a newer jacket. Both husband and wife looked healthier. The man seemed to have gotten a bit darker, but perhaps with more confidence, he looked much more spirited.
"She's inside," Liu Cui called towards the house. "San Ya, your parents are here, come out."
Zhuo Yan appeared at the doorway holding a baby. She looked at her birth parents without any hint of surprise.
The Zhou couple walked over. Liu Cui put down her shovel and followed them. Sitting in the warm room, the first thing the couple did was observe their daughter.
After a few months, Zhuo Yan had integrated quite well with this body. At just a few years old, she should have been adorable and sweet. However, her disposition was rather cool and detached. Wearing the small flowered jacket that Liu Cui had made from fabric she bought herself, it accentuated her fair, tender, and slightly chubby face.
Clearly, she hadn't suffered much.
But Mother Zhou couldn't help but cry.
"This is your... younger brother. Here, let me see him."
Zhuo Yan gently handed the baby to her. "Hold him like this, don't press his feet."
"Mm," Mother Zhou's voice was clearly choked. "I know how to hold a baby. This child is so good-looking, so fair. He looks older than your brother."
The Zhou's youngest son was about seven or eight months old. But compared to Chong Yan, he had likely not had a good day since birth.
Just as the mother's nutrition was insufficient and there was no breast milk, Chong Yan was fed milk powder. He could only drink corn gruel. If not for the one hundred catties of grain and five yuan given by the Ran family, it was uncertain if the child would even live to grow up.
"You've been looking after him? Is he well-behaved?"
"He's very well-behaved," Zhuo Yan added. "He's very good."
The baby usually didn't like to be held by others. Liu Cui had spent a long time coaxing him before he would allow someone else to hold him, and even then, only if Zhuo Yan was in sight.
His mother, having paid little attention to him, could barely hold him now. He would start crying as soon as he was picked up.
Now, handed to a stranger, he merely looked around anxiously. Upon seeing Zhuo Yan, he immediately showed her a smile.
"Oh, he smiled! So handsome."
Zhuo Yan reached out and touched his face. Her finger was immediately grabbed by the baby.
Mother Zhou also reached out to touch Zhuo Yan's hand. Her intention was to feel the thickness of her daughter's clothes, but she was surprised to find the small hand very warm.
Zhuo Yan looked at her with a hint of surprise and tried to withdraw her hand.
Mother Zhou noticed her daughter's distant attitude and her expression became a little forlorn.
Fortunately, Liu Cui came in to smooth things over.
She and her daughter-in-law prepared lunch and invited the Zhou couple to eat at their home. During the meal, they also inquired about each other's situations.
It turned out that after they exchanged the hundred catties of grain, Zhou Shugen had made arrangements at home and left to work with the villagers, digging coal over a hundred kilometers away from their home.
Although it was dangerous, and they had heard of people being buried alive before, the family's situation was too difficult. One hundred catties of grain wouldn't last two months. Rather than letting the whole family starve to death, it was better to try. Zhou Shugen gritted his teeth and went. He worked hard in the coal mine for four months and earned over three hundred yuan before returning home.
That's why Mother Zhou could wear new clothes and bring gifts to see her daughter.
They knew that their daughter had been given away and was now someone else's, but by showing their sincerity, the Ran family would not treat their daughter as a mere servant. Even among child brides, there were different ranks.
"Three hundred and some yuan in four months? That's quite profitable?"
Zhou Shugen seemed a little proud. "It's quite profitable. A shift in the mine can earn over ten yuan."
Liu Cui clicked her tongue.
Ten yuan could cover a family's expenses for a month.
Their Ran family was considered well-off in the village, owning land and houses, but they couldn't easily come up with several hundred yuan at once.
"But it's dangerous too," Mother Zhou quickly added. "I heard people were killed before. It's dark and dim in the mine, accidents are easy to happen. I don't want him to go again."
"If there's money to be made, it's better than starving to death."
Liu Cui thought of her own son and was reluctant to agree.
The couple quickly changed the subject. Zhou Shugen spoke of his experiences outside, while Mother Zhou asked Liu Cui about her daughter or simply stared at her.
Seeing Zhuo Yan holding the baby with one hand while eating, it was clear she was used to the action. Her heart ached.
Her daughter was only a little over six years old, a child herself, yet she had to take care of a baby.
"San Ya, let Mom hold him. You eat first."
Zhuo Yan dodged slightly and said, "No need, I can eat like this."
The baby was actually very well-behaved. He didn't fidget and watched her eat intently, unlike other children who would try to grab chopsticks and bowls when they saw food.
Seeing her daughter's distance, Mother Zhou's eyes dimmed.
Zhuo Yan quickly finished the food in her bowl. In truth, it wouldn't have a significant impact on her if she didn't eat now, but since she occupied this person's body, not eating would seem too strange.
The milk powder she had prepared for the baby before eating had cooled down a bit, making it suitable for him. She picked him up to feed him.
The baby ate his food while looking at his favorite sister. When he got tired, he would stop and watch her, giving her a cute, sweet smile, which delighted Zhuo Yan.
He's so cute!
"What's the baby eating?"
"Milk powder," Liu Cui pouted. "The baby is picky. He doesn't eat his mother's milk, only milk powder."
"It's your daughter who spoiled him," she thought to herself. She believed that her grandson not drinking breast milk was due to Zhuo Yan spoiling him. Initially, there was no milk, and later when there was, he wasn't used to it and refused to eat. Liu Cui thought that if she starved him for a couple of meals, he would eventually eat.
However, Zhuo Yan disagreed.
When Liu Cui tried to stop her from feeding him, Zhuo Yan looked at her with an even fiercer gaze. When she stared at Liu Cui, Liu Cui was so startled that she forgot what she wanted to say.
Reluctantly, she had to let it be.
Mother Zhou thought to herself, this child is truly pampered.
"Yaa, ah!"
The baby reached out to grab his sister. Zhuo Yan offered him her finger. His little hands were a bit cold, so Zhuo Yan placed him on her lap and helped to warm his hands.
His soft little hands were held by her. Feeling the warmth, he didn't struggle at all, and obediently smiled at his sister, babbling something in his mouth.
"Eat, eat."
She handed him the milk bottle, and the baby started eating again.
After a few bites, he would look up at Zhuo Yan, his mouth stretched into a wide, happy grin. His tender pink lips moved, saying something inaudible, never staying still.
"Yi, ya... ya!"
Every time Zhuo Yan saw his incredibly cute little actions, she felt that the world wasn't entirely devoid of good things.
At least this little fellow was unprecedentedly adorable.