"Xiao Yu." When only the two of them remained, Song Xinran put down the things in her hands and crouched in front of Song Yu, bringing herself to his eye level.
Song Yu's gaze was somewhat flustered, looking left and right but never daring to meet her eyes.
Knowing he had a difficult childhood and was introverted by nature, Song Xinran didn't force him. Softening her voice, she asked: "What would Xiao Yu like to eat today? Mommy bought lots of groceries."
This topic made Song Yu less nervous, as it was a frequent conversation at his aunt's house. Usually, his aunt would ask Cai Yang: "What would little Yang like to eat today?"
Cai Yang would then say: "I want steamed eggs, chicken drumsticks, and braised pork!"
No one had ever asked Song Yu this question before, but he could imitate Cai Yang's response.
However, eggs, chicken drumsticks, and meat were too expensive…
Song Yu said quietly: "Let's have potatoes."
His aunt's family grew many potatoes. He had also dug up many from the hillside and carried quite a few home in a small bucket until his palms turned red from the effort.
Potatoes didn't cost money – they were very cheap.
Unaware of the child's thoughts, Song Xinran assumed he simply liked potatoes. She patted his small hand and said: "Alright, Mommy will make braised pork with potatoes today."
Song Yu opened his mouth, wanting to say that meat was expensive, but he felt too embarrassed to speak up. He could only lower his head and press his lips together tightly.
Song Xinran stood up, preparing to pick up the bags on the ground, but doing so would mean she couldn't hold Song Yu's hand anymore.
Song Yu proactively let go of her hand and used both hands to lift one of the bags with great effort, his small face turning red from the strain.
Song Xinran wanted to stop him – these things were too heavy for a child – but she saw Song Yu had already lifted it with both hands. He looked up at Song Xinran with a smile that made his eyes curve into crescents.
Song Xinran felt a pang of heartache. She stroked the child's soft hair and praised: "Xiao Yu is so amazing, able to lift such a heavy bag."
Song Yu couldn't hide his smile. Huffing and puffing as he carried the items, he happily murmured: "I can carry even heavier things at home! I can carry ten corn cobs and even bring back grass for feeding the pigs!"
But Song Xinran's heart suddenly grew heavy. In her previous life, her relative's three-year-old child couldn't even dress themselves, and simply eating one meal with a spoon would earn praise from the entire family.
Song Yu's life had been too hard. She reached out and took the bag from Song Yu's hands: "It's too heavy. Let Mommy carry it."
The weight suddenly disappeared from Song Yu's hands. Looking at his empty little hands, the smile faded from his face.
But at that moment, a bag of eggs was placed in his hands.
Song Xinran said: "Xiao Yu can help Mommy carry this instead."
Hearing this, Song Yu immediately brightened up. Carefully cradling the bag of eggs with both hands, he pulled it closer to his chest, letting the fragile eggs rest against his body so they wouldn't easily get damaged.
Song Yu knew the value of eggs. His aunt's family only kept two hens, and sometimes they wouldn't lay even one egg all day. Whenever a hen laid an egg, his aunt would carefully collect it and store it in a jar, either boiling or steaming it for Cai Yang to eat.
Cai Yang always ate with such relish, making loud smacking sounds. Song Yu would always carefully pick at the rice in his bowl, not daring to look or scoop any of the steamed egg custard. But he could always smell it – it was so fragrant it nearly made him drool.
Auntie had mentioned that eggs sold for thirty cents each in the market, so Song Yu held them with extreme care, feeling a joyful sense of importance welling up inside him.
He nodded vigorously and gave a firm "Mm-hmm" in response.
He would definitely protect the eggs!
Seeing his earnest little face, Song Xinran couldn't help but smile.
The mother and son had only walked a short distance when a woman with rolled-up trousers and rubber shoes hurried toward them—clearly just back from the fields.
"Xinran, why are you back at this hour without letting me know in advance? And carrying so much stuff! You should've asked your sister to pick you up—it would've been easier. I only found out when Xiao Yang ran over to tell me you'd returned," the woman chattered while taking the bags from Song Xinran.
Her gaze then fell on Song Yu. "Why let a child carry eggs? They break so easily. You really shouldn't have—we have eggs at home anyway."
In that instant, memories surfaced in Song Xinran's mind. This woman was the original host's older sister, Song Xinwen.
Their mother had passed away early, and their father worked long hours, so the two sisters had grown very close.
Later, Song Xinwen married, and their father died within two years. The original host was only sixteen at the time, so Song Xinwen took her in.
But with Song Xinwen's life shifting focus and a brother-in-law in the household, the original host often felt uncomfortable.
She lived with her sister for less than a year before being introduced to her future husband. She married at seventeen.
Later… her husband died unexpectedly, and left alone with a child, she couldn't earn enough. After much deliberation, she asked Song Xinwen to look after the child, and Song Xinwen agreed.
The original host had always been grateful to Song Xinwen, so she strained to send more money home each month, living frugally herself.
Had Song Xinran not known Song Yu's future fate, she too would have felt deeply thankful.
But now, she merely glanced at Song Xinwen with a complicated expression, called her "Sis," and said nothing more.
Song Xinwen caught that unexpected look and felt a jolt of unease. Why was Xinran back so suddenly today? And why that strange look?
She bent down to take the eggs from Song Yu. "A child shouldn't be carrying these—let Auntie do it."
Song Xinran raised a hand to stop her. "Let Xiao Yu hold them. He does plenty of chores at home—he can manage this."
Her tone sounded ordinary, but Song Xinwen flushed, suddenly realizing that Xinran thought she was mistreating the child.
"Xiao Yu is a sensible boy," Song Xinwen said. "He dresses and feeds himself, and even helps set the table and take out the trash."
Country children mature early—a four-year-old can already help with small tasks like sorting vegetables, sweeping, or taking out garbage. Having Song Yu do some chores was meant to teach him responsibility, not hardship.
Clutching the eggs, Song Yu murmured, "I can do all that. I can even shuck corn, carry sweet potatoes, and tend the fire."
His little face wore a bashful expression, as if embarrassed to boast but eager to show his mother how capable he was.
After all, Auntie always praised him when he did these things.
Song Xinran used her free hand to pat his head. "Mm, Xiao Yu is amazing. Only three years old and already helping with so much work."
Song Yu's lips twitched upward, unable to suppress a smile.
Song Xinwen's face flushed even more deeply as she mumbled, "The two kids at home, Xiao Yu and Xiao Yang, love running up the hillside."
Then noticing the pig lungs Song Xinran was carrying, she expressed surprise: "Xinran, why did you buy pig lungs today? They're hard to clean, turn smelly and fishy when stir-fried, and waste oil. Last time your brother-in-law brought some home, we ended up throwing them away."
Song Xinran replied, "I'll clean them myself later. If washed thoroughly, they won't have any odd smell when cooked."
Song Xinwen hesitated slightly. She knew her sister better than anyone – this younger sister of hers hardly knew how to cook properly. It would just end up wasting water and oil.
But remembering Song Xinran had been in low spirits earlier, she smiled and said, "Alright then, I'll taste your cooking."
When they reached the front yard, Song Xinran spotted Cai Yang. The child held a grudge, immediately turning his face away upon seeing her.
Song Xinwen chided, "Xiao Yang, greet your aunt! Why do I still have to remind you at your age?"
Cai Yang shouted, "I won't call her! She hit me earlier!"
Song Xinwen said, "If Aunt hit you, you must have done something wrong."
Cai Yang wailed, "I didn't! I didn't!"
Song Xinran admitted frankly, "I did hit him."
Cai Yang's eyes immediately lit up. Hiding beside Song Xinwen, he glared at Song Xinran with resentful little eyes: "See! See!"
Song Xinran looked at Song Xinwen, her tone gentle: "Xiao Yang said Xiao Yu stole something. Since it sounded serious, I looked into it briefly. Turns out Xiao Yang loves candy and wanted to eat Xiao Yu's portion too. Sister, you should have told me earlier – I could have bought some candy for Xiao Yang when I returned, so the brothers wouldn't quarrel over such a small matter."
Unable to understand complex sentences, Cai Yang only picked up what he liked hearing – Aunt would buy him candy! He immediately demanded: "Where's the candy? I want candy!"
With a sharp "smack," Song Xinwen unceremoniously slapped Cai Yang's head and grabbed his arm: "Eat, eat, all you think about is eating! Xiao Yu is your brother – apologize to him now! What's this about stealing? Your mouth just spouts nonsense!"
Song Xinwen could roughly guess what had happened. The candy was what Song Xinran had bought for Song Yu during her last visit, though she'd given half to Cai Yang too.
After Cai Yang quickly finished his share, he went looking for more and set his sights on Song Yu's portion. Song Yu had given him a few pieces. Since it was just children's business, Song Xinwen hadn't inquired further.
Now hearing Song Xinran's words, she felt somewhat unsettled. What had happened to her sister this visit? Her eyes had changed, she spoke more, and now she was even making an issue of such trivial matters.
Cai Yang widened his small eyes in disbelief, staring at Song Xinwen – his mother who usually doted on him actually wanted him to apologize!
He stiffened his neck and declared, "I did nothing wrong!"
With a burst of effort from his chubby body, he cleverly broke free from Song Xinwen's grasp and dashed away quickly.
Song Xinwen looked somewhat embarrassed: "Xiao Yang can be quite mischievous."
Song Xinran smiled and said, "Children should be lively – it means they're healthy."
After all, it wasn't her child. If parents don't teach them, society will.
While cooking, Song Xinran didn't let anyone help, preparing the ingredients herself.
She started by cooking porridge and simply marinating the fish slices. The fish came from free-range ponds and weren't very fishy, so Song Xinran didn't use cooking wine for marination. While cooking wine effectively removes fishiness, it can spoil the fish's flavor, especially when cooking porridge.
She first added some scallion water, then put in scallion leaves and ginger slices, mixing them evenly to remove the gaminess. After waiting about ten minutes, she would pick out the scallions and ginger, then add starch, white pepper powder, and sesame oil to marinate.
During this time, Song Xinran took the pork lungs to the faucet in the yard, preparing to clean them thoroughly.
While she was working, Song Yu stood at the kitchen door, watching her timidly. Whenever she went in or out, he would hide to the side, as if afraid of getting in her way.
Now, seeing her standing by the faucet, he finally seemed to find something to do. He picked up the small stool from the house with both hands, his short little legs running swiftly as he hurried over to Song Xinran. Placing the stool behind her, he wiped it with his small hands to brush off the dust.
Then he took two steps back, obediently tilting his head up to look at her.
Song Xinran sat down and praised him, "Xiao Yu, how did you become so capable? You knew Mommy needed to wash things and brought a stool."
Song Yu felt a little embarrassed but couldn't hide his happiness at being praised. He quickly ran back home and brought out a cup of water for Song Xinran, holding it out to her with both hands.
Song Xinran took it, drank a sip, and patted his little head. "Thank you, Xiao Yu. You worked hard helping Mommy carry the eggs back. Go rest for a while."
Song Yu softly hummed in agreement, took the cup, and ran back inside. Not long after, he ran out again, this time holding a stainless steel basin for her to put things in.
The child was so sensible and perceptive—Song Xinran should have been happy, but she couldn't feel any joy no matter what. Song Yu was still so young, just three years and three months old.
She said, "Xiao Yu, go get a stool and sit by yourself, right next to Mommy. I'll call you if I need anything."
Hearing that he could help, the child nodded excitedly, quickly ran back to get a stool, and obediently sat down beside Song Xinran.
Song Xinran turned on the faucet and began flushing the pork lungs to clean them.
Just then, Cai Yang, who had slipped away earlier, came running back with heavy footsteps. Song Yu's repeated trips in and out had caught his attention, and he was curious to see what was happening. However, he stopped a few meters away, afraid of getting beaten.
But he was also drawn to what Song Xinran was holding and asked curiously, "What are you all doing?"
Song Xinran couldn't be bothered to answer him.
But Song Yu, being too well-behaved, stood up, turned around, and said to him, "Mommy is washing things."
Cai Yang asked, "No candy today?"
Song Yu pressed his lips together and didn't speak.
Song Xinran raised an eyebrow, thinking Cai Yang was really bold to still dare ask about candy at a time like this.
She turned her head, picked up the nearby knife, and gestured with it, saying to Cai Yang, "Go get me a dinner fork. If there's no fork, bring toothpicks."
Toothpicks could be used to poke small holes in the surface of the pork lungs to help drain the water and make them easier to clean.
Cai Yang lifted his chin, holding a grudge. "I'm not getting it."
Song Yu immediately stood up. "I know where they are. I'll get them."
Song Xinran stopped him. "Xiao Yu, don't go. Let Cai Yang do it."
Song Yu was an obedient child. Though a little confused, he stayed put.
Hearing this, Cai Yang grew even more displeased. At home, it was always him resting while Song Yu did the work—why was it reversed today!
"I'm not going!" he said even louder.
Song Xinran smiled. "If you don't do any work, don't eat anything I make."
The little fatty stiffened his neck. "Fine, I won't eat! I'll ask Mom to steam eggs for me!"