Zhang Lili, who had been strutting about arrogantly, felt a sudden pang of panic upon hearing Han Xiaorui’s self-assured words. “Han Xiaorui, don’t get ahead of yourself. The child in my belly is smart—it’s a boy—and it’s not something your two foolish daughters can compare to.”
In the past, every time Zhang Lili used the two “foolish” children to provoke Han Xiaorui, she could always make Han Xiaorui lose her temper. But this time, her gamble failed.
Han Xiaorui glanced sideways at Zhang Lili’s belly. “Save some virtue for the child in your womb. The bad karma you’ve accumulated through your words might just fall upon your own child.”
“You…” Zhang Lili clutched her belly, swallowing the barrage of curses that had been on the tip of her tongue.
Han Xiaorui scolded her coldly, “Don’t come looking for trouble with me; you wouldn’t want to see the price of provoking me.”
“It would be best if you hid whenever you saw me from now on. Even though I’m divorced, since I’m living right here, I’ll be seeing Yang Jianming constantly. I’m better-looking than you; if I really put my mind to it, I could always win him back.”
Zhang Lili was indeed quite pretty, but she didn’t compare to how Han Xiaorui used to be. The first time she ever saw Han Xiaorui, Zhang Lili had been so stunned she was consumed by jealousy. It was only because Han Xiaorui had been driven to irritability by the torment of raising two special-needs children, leading to endless arguments with Yang Jianming, that Zhang Lili had found her opening. If Han Xiaorui were truly determined to seduce Yang Jianming, even if he were married to Zhang Lili, he would still cheat.
Like a turtle pulling its head into its shell, Zhang Lili immediately retreated home and slammed the door shut with a loud thud.
Han Xiaorui smirked. If Zhang Lili ever became this arrogant again, she would handle her just like that.
“Don’t be afraid, no need to be scared anymore. The bad person was scared away by Mommy,” Han Xiaorui soothed her daughters softly. “Mommy is going home to make you delicious prawns. After we eat, let’s plant some vegetables together at home, shall we?”
Although it was mostly Han Xiaorui talking to herself, she observed closely and could see that the children were responding to her words. This was huge progress!
As they reached the doorstep, Han Xiaorui saw someone squatting by the entrance. “Xiaojing?”
Han Xiaojing had been waiting so long she was about to fall asleep. Hearing her sister’s voice, she quickly opened her eyes and stood up. “Sister! Where did you go? I’ve been waiting for you all morning!”
“Xiaojing!” Looking at the Han Xiaojing before her—identical to her sister from her previous life—Han Xiaorui hurried over, embraced her, and burst into tears. In her past life, that sister had been injured by a mutated, toxic rose while trying to save her and had died in her arms; she had lost her last remaining family member. It was as if the heavens were compensating her, letting them reunite here.
Seeing her sister crying, Han Xiaojing quickly said, “Sister, I wanted to say… if Yang Jianming bullies you, let’s not stay with him. I’ll take you away, we can go find work elsewhere and make enough money to support ourselves.”
Hearing her sister’s comfort, Han Xiaorui wiped her tears. “Xiaojing, I’ve divorced Yang Jianming.”
“You really divorced?” Han Xiaojing blinked, unable to believe it. No matter how she had pleaded before, her sister had refused to divorce, acting so distraught she had tried to commit suicide several times.
Han Xiaorui nodded. “Yes, it’s done!”
Seeing their mother cry, Pingping and An’an didn’t understand why, and their eyes turned panicked, their faces full of tension and fear. Han Xiaorui quickly wiped her tears, composed herself, and took her children’s hands. “Xiaojing, let’s talk inside.”
Under Han Xiaorui’s soothing, Pingping and An’an gradually calmed down as they opened the door and entered the house.
“Sister, if we bring the children along… sigh, I imagine it will be quite difficult. But if we don’t, Pingping and An’an will have a miserable life.” Han Xiaojing touched her nieces’ little faces, feeling conflicted; she couldn’t bring herself to tell her sister to abandon the children.
Han Xiaorui smiled, a bright, radiant smile. “Xiaojing, even though I’m divorced, I’m not going anywhere. Shen City is the fastest-developing place in the country and has the best medical conditions. This morning I took the children to the hospital for intervention therapy. As long as we put in the effort, Pingping and An’an’s condition can improve.”
“Sister, if they can really be treated, then we will treat them. I’ll work more overtime at the factory; I can earn eighty yuan a month.” Han Xiaojing thought about it and decided they couldn’t let the children’s treatment be delayed. Her “overtime” didn’t mean an extra hour; it meant working fourteen hours a day, adding six hours of overtime daily.
Han Xiaorui was moved; this sister’s sincerity toward her and her nieces was genuine. “I don’t need your money. Besides, I didn’t leave the marriage with nothing.”
“The house, the boat, and the mountain hillside next to us have all been transferred to me. Furthermore, Pingping and An’an’s grandfather is providing two hundred yuan a month for living expenses and five hundred yuan for medical treatment.”
“Ah?” Han Xiaojing couldn’t believe it, her pretty eyes wide as saucers. “Sister, if that’s the case, then you definitely don’t need to leave.”
Han Xiaorui held her sister’s hands. “Xiaojing, stop working at the factory. I want to hire you to help me take care of Pingping and An’an, and take them to their hospital sessions. I’ll pay you a salary of one hundred yuan a month.”
Upon hearing this, Han Xiaojing teased, “Sister! You just got divorced; it’s hard for one person to handle two children alone, so me coming to help is the right thing to do. I’m your sister; helping you during your time of need is only natural. If you pay me, I’ll be angry and won’t help you with the kids!”
These few short sentences made Han Xiaorui love this sister even more.
Han Xiaorui was deeply touched. “Let’s not talk about that between us sisters! Go play with Pingping and An’an; I’ll go cook. We’ll talk while we eat.” Having her sister take care of the children would free her up to go out to sea and fish.
“Okay, Pingping and An’an like me.” Han Xiaojing played with the two children in the courtyard. Although it was mostly Han Xiaojing doing the talking, the children sometimes listened, responding to her with simple actions.
Seeing her sister provided Han Xiaorui with immense psychological comfort, even if it wasn’t the “same” person from her past. In high spirits, she hummed a song as she put two bowls of rice into the electric rice cooker—any leftovers could be used for egg-fried rice or shrimp-fried rice tomorrow.
She quickly cleaned the large prawns, using scissors to snip off the legs and heads, squeezed out the organs, removed the veins, and butterflied the backs. She cut the scallions and ginger into segments and minced the garlic.
She poured a bit of lard into the pan, tossed the prawns in until they turned yellow, then removed them. Without cleaning the pan, she added a bit more lard and sautéed the minced garlic until golden—releasing a rich, fragrant aroma—then added two spoonfuls of light soy sauce and a spoonful of her own homemade oyster sauce, stirring well. She poured the prawns back in, tossed them, and added enough water to cover them. With a simple seasoning of half a spoonful of salt and a spoonful of sugar to enhance the umami, she brought it to a high-heat boil for three to five minutes to let the flavors absorb. Then, she added the other half of the minced garlic, allowing it to fuse into the shrimp meat. Finally, she added a little starch to thicken the sauce, turned up the heat to reduce it, sprinkled on some charming chopped scallions, and did a final quick stir.
The garlic-scented, savory prawns were ready. Today, Han Xiaorui was in a good mood and didn’t mind the trouble; the prawns she made with heart were rich and flavorful.
Pingping, who was playing nearby, smelled the fragrance and ran to the kitchen, staring longingly at the freshly cooked dish. Han Xiaorui felt immense satisfaction; the fact that the child wanted to eat was the greatest affirmation of her cooking.