Zhan Mo’s eyes sharpened, and without looking further, he swiftly turned and left.
Early in the morning, the villagers of Qingshan Village rose early—some fetching water to irrigate vegetables, others sweeping courtyards, scrubbing pots to cook, or shouldering hoes to head to the fields. Everyone was bustling with activity.
Inside the thatched cottage, the four children had already woken up. It was their biological clock to rise early every day, tidy the house, prepare breakfast, and boil hot water.
If Jiang Xia woke up and found anything unsatisfactory, she would beat and scold them.
Jiang Yinan finished folding the blankets and looked at Jiang Xia, who was still sound asleep, unable to resist sneering, "What change? Isn’t she still sleeping in?"
Jiang Xiangbei glanced over, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
Last night, Jiang Xia’s earnest care had given him a genuine illusion—that she had truly changed.
But waking up this morning, it was clear she hadn’t.
Life remained the same as before.
Jiang Xiangbei said, "Stop talking, let’s get up quickly."
Jiang Linxi, however, stared longingly at Jiang Xia before turning and whispering in defense, "Could she be unwell, sleeping so long?"
Jiang Yinan snorted coldly, "Unwell? With all the good food and clothes she has, how could she be unwell?"
Jiang Linxi pouted, unsure how to argue back.
Yet deep down, he still felt Jiang Xia shouldn’t be like this.
When she called his name yesterday and held him, there was no pretense in her eyes.
Even if everyone else disliked Mother, his own affection was enough.
He really, really liked Mother.
Jiang Linxi muttered softly, "Even if Mother sleeps in and doesn’t get up, Little Xi still likes Mother. As long as Mother doesn’t hit Little Xi, Little Xi will like Mother…"
Though his voice was quiet, his two older brothers heard it.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew tense.
Just then, Jiang Yangdong, who had gone to the outhouse first, returned with a few pieces of clothing in his hands. "Big Brother, Second Brother, Fourth Brother, come look—there are new clothes here."
The others immediately climbed down from the kang and gathered around Jiang Yangdong at the door.
Jiang Xiangbei picked up the clothes. "New clothes?"
Jiang Yangdong wondered, "Who left these clothes here? They’re brand new."
Jiang Yinan remained silent, as if he had already guessed something.
Jiang Linxi picked up the smallest one and held it against himself. "It’s new clothes for Little Xi! They fit perfectly!"
Seeing this, the other three also picked up clothes and held them against themselves—all perfectly sized.
Jiang Linxi ran outside. "Look, there’s even thread and needles here! Mother made these! Mother made clothes for us!"
Jiang Linxi’s words stunned the three brothers.
They seemed unwilling to believe it, yet looking at the clothes before them, they had no choice but to accept this as the only possibility.
Jiang Yinan, however, still refused to admit it, pursing his lips. "How can you prove she made them?"
Jiang Linxi grew unhappy. "Second Brother, then where do you think the clothes came from? Could they have flown here by themselves?"
As he spoke, Jiang Linxi happily held up his clothes, bouncing with joy. "So happy, so happy! Mother made clothes for Little Xi! Mother made new clothes for Little Xi!"
Jiang Linxi’s voice woke Jiang Xia, who was still asleep.
Jiang Xia frowned and opened her eyes, seeing that the children had already picked up their clothes. She smiled tiredly and said, "You've all got your clothes? Try them on quickly and see if they fit."
Except for Jiang Linxi, the other three were somewhat resistant.
Jiang Linxi quickly changed into hers and twirled around for Jiang Xia to see. "Mommy, look! Does it fit Little Xi?"
Jiang Xia was very pleased. "It looks great! Our Little Xi is so pretty, and the clothes make her look even prettier!"
As she spoke, she hugged Jiang Linxi's small frame and gave her a loud kiss on the cheek.
Jiang Linxi happily snuggled into Jiang Xia's arms, acting coquettishly.
This scene made the other three brothers feel quite uncomfortable.
Jiang Yangdong also changed into his new clothes. He actually wanted Jiang Xia's praise too, but he felt he couldn't bring himself to twirl around in front of her like Jiang Linxi did.
So, he could only awkwardly fidget with the hem of his clothes.
Just then, a warm touch came from above his head.
Jiang Yangdong looked up and saw Jiang Xia smiling as she sat in front of him, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Dongdong looks great too!"
Jiang Yangdong's heart suddenly felt as warm as a river's surface breaking through the ice in early spring.
He lowered his head, hiding his shy smile.
After speaking, Jiang Xia turned to the other two. "Why aren't you two changing? Don't you like them?"
Jiang Xiangbei pursed his lips and said, "I still have work to do today. I'm afraid I'll ruin the new clothes, and that would be a waste."
Jiang Xia looked at Jiang Yinan. "What about you?"
Jiang Yinan remained silent, seemingly sulking.
Jiang Linxi laughed loudly. "Mommy, Second Brother must be too embarrassed because he misunderstood you earlier."
Jiang Yinan snorted coldly. "Who said I'm embarrassed?"
Though he said this, deep down, Jiang Yinan still felt ashamed.
After all, he did feel somewhat guilty.
He had mocked her earlier, thinking she was still sleeping in, only to find out she had stayed up all night making new clothes for the four brothers.
He had indeed wronged her.
Jiang Xia looked at Jiang Yinan and smiled. "So you don't like it? That's fine too. Give me the new clothes, and I'll alter them for Little Xi and Dongdong to wear."
As she spoke, she made a move to take the new clothes from Jiang Yinan's hands.
But Jiang Yinan was quicker, swiftly dodging Jiang Xia's hand and putting on the new clothes in a few hurried movements.
"One for each person. How can you give mine to them to wear?"
Jiang Yinan said with clear displeasure.
Jiang Xia examined Jiang Yinan, her face full of satisfaction.
She had long known that her second son was tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
Jiang Xiangbei asked, "Where did this fabric come from? Our family shouldn't have the money to buy such things."
Jiang Xia replied casually, "Your father had someone send it over. I thought it looked nice, so I stayed up all night to make clothes for you. It's getting cold now, so you need to wear thicker clothes."
Although Jiang Xiangbei had already guessed that Zhan Mo had sent someone with the fabric, he hadn't expected Jiang Xia to admit it so frankly.
In the past, Zhan Mo had sent things over before. At first, he sent money, but Jiang Xia quickly squandered it all.
Later, Qingzhu only sent daily necessities, but Jiang Xia always found a way to pawn them off, using the money for her own food, drink, and enjoyment.
Now, she hadn't sold the fabric but had instead made clothes for them.
She really had changed.
Jiang Xiangbei thought to himself quietly.
Jiang Linxi blinked her eyes and looked at Jiang Xia, "Mother, Little Xi and Big Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother all have new clothes, why doesn’t Mother have any?"