Li Lan’s concern for her made Song Wanning nod heavily. She had been right to tell Li Lan—she really was willing to help.
After finishing that conversation, they stopped discussing the matter and instead talked about becoming godmother and goddaughter.
Li Lan and Wang Jianguo had actually come over for that very reason. However, when they arrived, Song Wanning wasn’t home, and the gate was only half-closed. They assumed she had gone out and were just about to leave when they saw her carrying Xu Lanjiao back after rescuing her.
“Your Uncle Wang and I have both agreed. From now on, you’re our goddaughter. If anyone in the village dares to bully you, come tell me or your Uncle Wang. From now on, we’re your parents, understand?”
“Okay. Thank you, Aunt Li.”
“And why are you still calling me Aunt Li?”
“Call me Godmother. Godmother!”
Hearing Song Wanning call her “Godmother,” Li Lan’s smile instantly stretched from ear to ear.
“Ahahaha! Hearing such a sweet little girl call me ‘Godmother’ sounds wonderful!”
Li Lan had dreamed of having a daughter her entire life, and now her wish had finally come true.
Seeing Wang Jianguo and the educated youths carrying the stretcher come out of the room, she happily jogged over to him.
“Jianguo! Wanning called me Godmother! It sounds so nice!”
Seeing his wife so happy made Wang Jianguo happy as well.
Nothing mattered more to him than his wife’s happiness.
Song Wanning walked over to Wang Jianguo and called him “Godfather” as well.
Wang Jianguo immediately beamed and answered cheerfully.
“Good girl! Come to our house for dinner tonight. I’ll make braised pork for you.”
Li Lan wanted to celebrate with a proper meal that evening.
“Okay.”
When Li Lan remembered that Song Wanning had once said she had never eaten meat in all her life, her heart ached.
Song Wanning did not refuse and gladly accepted.
Li Lan had helped her so much now, and she would repay her kindness in the future.
She suddenly remembered that in another month and a half, a torrential rainstorm would arrive.
It would rain continuously for two whole months.
Wangjiawan Village lay against the mountains. After such prolonged rain, the mountain behind the village would collapse in a mudslide, and the road leading to the county town would be completely blocked.
Because of that storm, the entire row of houses built against the mountain would become extremely dangerous.
The collapsing mountainside and mudslide would sweep through the houses, destroying them all.
It would happen in the middle of the night while everyone was asleep.
Many people would be buried beneath their homes, and quite a few would be injured.
The crops in the fields would also suffer poor harvests because of the relentless rain.
No one could go out to earn work points, so everyone would be forced to stay home, living off whatever food they had left.
Many villagers would also be injured during the disaster.
Back then, Song Bao, Liu Cuihua, and several others had all been seriously injured.
It had been Song Wanning who had carefully nursed them back to health.
When medicine ran short, she had even risked her life climbing the mountain to gather medicinal herbs and had nearly fallen off the mountainside herself.
Now that fate had given her another chance at life, she would never allow the tragedy of her previous life to happen again.
In her previous life, the very house she was now living in had been destroyed by the mudslide.
If she had been sleeping inside that night, she would have been buried beneath the collapsed house. Whether she lived or died would have depended entirely on luck.
Coming back to her senses, she knew she had to come up with a believable excuse to warn Wang Jianguo in advance so preparations could be made without arousing suspicion.
Looking toward the entrance, she saw that Li Lan and Wang Jianguo had already left.
She returned to Xu Lanjiao’s room to check on her condition.
Xu Lanjiao was now fully awake.
When she saw Song Wanning walk in from outside, she tried to prop herself up and sit on the bed.
“Don’t move. You’ve injured your head. Just lie down.”
Hearing that, Xu Lanjiao stopped trying to get up.
In a soft voice, she said,
“Song Wanning, thank you for saving me. Once I’m feeling better, I’ll leave. I’m sorry for troubling you.”
“It’s fine. I might be having dinner at Godmother Li’s house tonight. If you get hungry, wait until I come back and I’ll cook something for you. Don’t try to get up by yourself.”
Xu Lanjiao nodded gratefully.
After chatting with her for a while, Song Wanning left the room.
As soon as she came out, Li Lan returned once more, bringing over all of Xu Lanjiao’s belongings.
Her clothes, bedding, washbasin, and other daily necessities had all been moved over.
After everything was settled, Song Wanning informed Xu Lanjiao before following Li Lan back to her house.
When they arrived at the Wang family home, Song Wanning saw Wang Ziqi, Wang Ziwen, and Li Lan’s youngest son, Wang Zixu, all playing in the courtyard.
Li Lan had three sons in total.
Wang Ziqi and Wang Ziwen were both nearly twenty years old and still unmarried.
Wang Zixu was much younger, only ten years old.
“You three, come here.”
“From now on, Wanning is my goddaughter, which means she’s your little sister.”
“If you ever see anyone bullying her, you must protect her, understand?”
“And Zixu, come here and call her ‘Big Sister.'”
After speaking, Li Lan waved Wang Zixu over.
Wang Zixu obediently walked over and sweetly called out,
“Big Sister.”
Song Wanning smiled happily.
“Good boy.”
She gently rubbed his head.
Compared to Song Bao, Wang Zixu was much more lovable and well-behaved.
Hearing Wang Zixu call her “Big Sister,” Wang Ziqi and Wang Ziwen also came over and greeted her.
Song Wanning smiled back at the two brothers.
She didn’t stay in the courtyard for long and instead went into the kitchen to help Li Lan cook.
Back at the Song family, she had always been the one responsible for cooking.
She was also the best cook in the family.
Meanwhile, over at the Song household, dinner was also being prepared.
This time, however, Song Miaomiao was the one cooking.
When Song Wanning had still lived there, all of these chores had been her responsibility.
Now they had all fallen onto Song Miaomiao’s shoulders, making her extremely irritated.
Moreover, there was hardly any food left in the house.
They had borrowed a little grain from others—only a little over ten jin of rice.
With so many mouths to feed, everyone had to eat sparingly.
That evening, she once again cooked a pot of thin rice porridge along with some sweet potatoes.
When the family returned and saw the meal on the table, no one said anything.
Everyone knew exactly how bad their situation was.
But Song Bao thought differently.
The moment he came back and saw the food, he immediately threw a tantrum.
He strode over and swept the bowls of porridge and sweet potatoes Song Miaomiao had just served onto the floor.
“I don’t want this!”
“I want eggs!”
“I want meat!”
“Mom, cook me some meat!”
“Hmph! The food she cooks tastes awful!”
“I want to eat the meals that Big Sister makes!”
Song Bao plopped onto the floor, crying and rolling around in another fit.
Seeing him throw away the dinner she had worked so hard to make, Song Miaomiao’s anger finally exploded.
She marched over, grabbed him by the collar, and slapped him hard across the face.
“Song Bao!”
“If you don’t want to eat, does that mean the rest of us shouldn’t eat either?”
“Don’t you know all of our food has been stolen?”
“What else is there to eat at home?”
“If you like Song Wanning’s cooking so much, then go find her!”
“Why are you still staying here?”
Song Bao was completely stunned by the slap.
When he finally came back to his senses, he burst into loud sobs, rolling around on the ground again.
“Mom!”
“Big Sister hit me!”
“My face hurts so much!”