“Then you must come to town at least once a month so I can see for myself that you’re doing well. Only then can I be at peace,” Wang Xiaoyan said worriedly, fearing that she might be too busy with work to come back and visit them.
“Alright, I promise.” This time, Shen Danyun did not refuse. She knew Wang Xiaoyan was genuinely worried about them. Besides, the village wasn’t far from town, and since she planned to go to town to sell things and earn silver anyway, dropping by to see Wang Xiaoyan would be a breeze.
By the time they saw off Wang Xiaoyan and her husband, twilight was fast approaching. Shen Danyun barred the main gate and headed to the kitchen to boil water so the two little ones could bathe.
“Sister, let me help you.” Sensible little Shen Danyue followed her inside, with a tiny shadow trailing closely behind her, and walked over to the hearth to start the fire.
Shen Danyun praised her, “Our Danyue is so capable.” They always said that children from poor families grew up fast; even though she was only seven years old, Shen Danyue was already an expert at household chores.
“It’s nothing, I’m just used to doing it routinely.” Flustered by her sister’s praise, Shen Danyue lowered her head, her cheeks flushing a rosy pink as she focused on adding firewood into the hearth.
Seeing his second sister get praised, young Wentao also hurriedly stuffed a piece of wood into the hearth and piped up, “Big Sister, I know how to tend the fire too!”
“Our Wentao is wonderful too! But fire is very dangerous, so you must never play with it when you’re by yourself. Do you understand?” Fearing he might get burned, Shen Danyun immediately seized the moment to teach him a safety lesson.
“I understand, Big Sister. I won’t touch the fire when I’m alone,” Shen Wentao replied obediently.
“What a good, sweet boy!” Shen Danyun smiled and stroked the little guy’s head. She turned to go outside, found a large wooden bath tub, and filled most of it with spiritual spring water from her spatial dimension.
Both children were covered in wounds, and the spiritual spring water was exactly what they needed to heal their damaged bodies. Shen Danyun mixed in some medicinal powder before grabbing a wooden bucket and heading back into the kitchen to scoop the hot water.
Once she adjusted the water to the perfect temperature, Shen Danyun was about to bathe the two little ones one by one when Shen Danyue spoke up, “Big Sister, let me give Wentao his bath.”
“Alright then, you wash him while Big Sister goes to the kitchen to cook some dinner for you two.” Having never bathed a child herself in her past life, Shen Danyun was more than happy to hand over the task.
Shen Danyun retrieved two fresh towels from her space and handed them to Shen Danyue. Watching her skillfully bathe Shen Wentao, she confidently headed into the kitchen. From her space, she brought out high-quality rice, fresh green vegetables, minced lean pork, a few eggs, and a fish.
She finely chopped the vegetables, tossed them into the rice along with the minced pork, and simmered it all into a savory porridge. Then, she steamed the fish and eggs alongside it. In no time, a light, nourishing dinner was ready.
By the time the two little ones had finished their bath and changed into clean clothes, Shen Danyun was carrying the dishes to the table.
“It smells so good! Sister, what did you cook that smells this amazing?” Shen Danyue asked, her nose twitching at the aroma.
Shen Danyun’s eyes lit up. She hadn’t realized it when they were filthy like little beggars, but now that they were clean, she could see that they were absolutely exquisite, with beautifully delicate and lovely features. It was a pity that chronic malnutrition had left them as thin as matchsticks, making their dark, grape-like eyes look extraordinarily large.
“Your stomachs are still too weak right now, so you can’t eat anything too greasy. Sister steamed a fish and a few eggs, and made lean pork and vegetable porridge. Once we nurse your digestion back to health, I’ll cook even more delicious things for you,” Shen Danyun said with a warm smile.
The moment little Wentao saw the food on the table, he couldn’t wait. He took off on his short little legs, running over with pitter-patter steps. He gripped the edge of the stool with his tiny hands, huffing and puffing as he tried to scramble up, but he ended up almost toppling himself and the stool right onto the floor.
“Careful!” Shen Danyun, who had been watching him with a smile, reacted with lightning speed. She caught both the stool and the boy, lifting him up securely to sit.
Seeing her brother almost fall, Shen Danyue also rushed over in a panic and said, “Wentao, be careful! Don’t fall!”
“He’s fine now. Danyue, sit up here and eat too. You two start with some porridge.” Shen Danyun ladled two bowls of lean pork porridge and set them in front of the children. Completely unfazed by the heat, the two grabbed their spoons and dug right in.
“Eat slowly, don’t burn yourselves,” Shen Danyun said dotingly. She meticulously picked out the fish bones and placed the tender meat into their bowls.
“Big Sister, this is incredibly delicious!” The rice and fish were both products of her magical space, and enhanced by the spiritual spring water, they tasted phenomenally fresh and sweet. Shen Danyue felt as though she had never tasted anything so divine in her entire life; she ate so eagerly she felt she might swallow her own tongue.
“Mmhmm! Yummy, so yummy!” Little Wentao nodded his head like a chick pecking at grain, his cheeks puffing in and out continuously like a little hamster. The sight completely melted Shen Danyun’s heart.
“If it’s good, eat a lot. Eat your fill so you can grow up big and tall,” Shen Danyun said affectionately, placing a peeled boiled egg into each of their bowls.
“Sister, you eat too. Have this egg, I have plenty to eat already.” Although Shen Danyue was young, she was deeply sensible. She pushed the egg back toward Shen Danyun; being able to eat fish and rice porridge was already more than enough to satisfy her.
“Sister… we don’t have much grain left, do we? Yue’er is full just eating this much. Keep the egg for yourself.” Shen Danyue was terrified of going hungry like they used to. She wanted to restrict her own portions so their food supply would last longer.
“Big Sister, you can have my egg too.” The little guy’s eyes were practically glued to the egg, yet he reluctantly pushed it back toward Shen Danyun anyway.
Shen Danyun felt a sharp pang of sorrow in her nose. Thinking of the wounds on their bodies, she realized just how much misery these two little things must have endured to be forced to become this mature at such a tender age, unable to bring themselves to eat even a single egg.
Suppressing her swirling emotions, Shen Danyun said to them gently, “There is one egg for each of us—Sister has one too, so eat without any worries. Sister promised you that I would never let you go hungry again, and I mean what I say. Don’t worry about a thing, just eat up.”
Forget the fact that she possessed a magical space; even without it, relying solely on her skills and her transcendent medical expertise, raising two children would be an absolute walk in the park.
“Sister, we really have enough grain? We truly won’t go hungry?” Shen Danyue looked at her sister, still seeking reassurance.
“Mmhmm. Sister will earn money to provide for you. We will never be hungry again.” Shen Danyun smiled and nodded firmly at her.
“That’s wonderful! Thank you, Big Sister!” Her sister wasn’t foolish anymore, and they finally had someone to rely on. Just the thought of it made Shen Danyue beam with joy, her eyes crinkling into beautiful crescents.
“Oh! We won’t be hungry anymore!” Little Wentao cheered along, waving his spoon excitedly. His tiny feet kicked wildly beneath the table, nearly causing him to slip off his seat again.
Shen Danyun quickly steadied him and said, “Alright, watch out or you’ll fall to the floor. Eat your food quickly.”
Once his belly was full, Shen Wentao could no longer fight his drowsiness. His little head began to nod off, bit by bit.
Fearing he might drop to the floor, Shen Danyun quickly wolfed down the remaining food in her bowl and carried him into the bedroom.
As she laid him down on the bed and unbuttoned his clothes, looking at the shocking, heartbreaking welts and bruises on his tiny frame, Shen Danyun felt a fierce urge to go out right that second and slaughter the entire Liu family.
Forcing down the burning rage in her heart, she took out some disinfectant to clean and sanitize his wounds before applying the medicinal powder. Feeling the sting even in his deep sleep, little Wentao mumbled in a daze, weeping softly, “It hurts… don’t hit Taotao… Taotao won’t do it again… wuu wuu wuu…”
“Taotao, be good. It will be over in just a moment. Don’t cry, don’t cry… Big Sister is right here, no one dares to hit you.” Shen Danyun gently patted his chest to soothe him. Gradually, his whimpers faded, and the little guy drifted back into a deep, peaceful sleep.