Title: Chapter 4 – Mother Is So Kind
The little girl blinked her bright, watery eyes as she looked at Pei Luo. Although she didn’t know whether Pei Luo’s words were true, she still nodded out of habit.
“Xiao Man believes Mother.”
Pei Luo smiled at her, and two faint dimples immediately appeared on her face, making her look very beautiful.
“Then let’s make a pinky promise. Whoever breaks their promise will turn into a puppy.”
Pei Luo hooked her slender little finger with the little girl’s finger and then sealed the promise. Xiao Man watched her curiously and couldn’t help smiling slightly.
After comforting the little girl, Pei Luo carried the basket into the kitchen.
Originally, Pei Luo planned to simply stir-fry the herbs and locust flowers she had gathered, but after looking around she discovered that the house didn’t even have oil, soy sauce, vinegar, or anything else—not even the most basic salt. The herbs already had a slightly bitter taste, and without salt they would be almost impossible to eat.
Pei Luo looked around the house and then checked herself, only to realize there wasn’t a single valuable thing left. Even if she wanted to exchange something for salt, she had nothing.
Thinking that Aunt Li next door was an easygoing person, Pei Luo had no choice but to shamelessly go next door and borrow a little salt, planning to repay her later when she had something.
In this era, salt was a very precious commodity, especially refined salt. Ordinary people like them couldn’t afford it at all, so they usually used coarse salt.
Pei Luo hastily stir-fried two dishes. There was no staple food, but filling their stomachs first was the only thing that mattered.
They say even a single coin can defeat a hero. Who could have imagined that she—who once ate Western and French cuisine every day, and had grown tired of eating rich meats—would one day end up filling her stomach with herbs and locust flowers?
The two children stared at the dishes on the table, swallowing their saliva, but neither of them dared to move. They didn’t even dare to sit down.
Seeing this, Pei Luo pulled the two little ones to the table and handed them chopsticks.
“Eat.”
The two children looked at each other. Only when they saw Pei Luo start eating did they cautiously pick up a small piece of locust flower and put it into their mouths.
Xiao Chen was still young and couldn’t resist the temptation of food. After a few bites without being beaten, he immediately began eating in big mouthfuls.
Xiao Man, however, ate slowly in small bites. She was afraid that eating too much would make her stepmother angry. She wanted her younger brother to slow down as well, but he had probably been starving for too long and didn’t notice her hints at all.
Afraid he might choke, Pei Luo said gently, “Xiao Chen, don’t eat too quickly, or you’ll choke.”
Xiao Chen looked up at Pei Luo and quickly nodded.
“Okay. Xiao Chen will eat slowly. Mother’s cooking is delicious.”
The little boy spoke timidly, and his words were still slightly unclear. Hearing such sweet words, Pei Luo quickly responded,
“Then Mother will cook delicious food for Xiao Chen every day from now on, alright?”
Xiao Chen nodded repeatedly.
“Okay! Mother is so kind.”
Pei Luo sighed softly.
After being beaten for so long, just giving them some food and showing them a little kindness was enough for them to forget all the pain they had suffered.
After dinner, Pei Luo cleaned the kitchen, and by then it was already dark.
Starting tomorrow, she would work hard to earn money and raise the children. In her previous life she had managed to thrive; there was no reason she couldn’t survive in ancient times.
She had already made up her mind. Tomorrow she would enter the mountains and explore deeper areas to see if she could dig up some valuable herbs. With such a huge mountain behind the village, how could she shrink back just because of a little danger?
In her previous life, her fighting skills had been fairly good. She wasn’t a master, but self-defense was no problem. Even if she encountered wild beasts in the mountains, if she couldn’t fight them she could still run.
However, she still needed a suitable weapon.
She picked up the bow and tested it. It was somewhat similar to the crossbow she had used in her previous life. Fortunately, her aim was still good. One arrow flew out and struck the crooked tree in the yard.
After putting the bow away, Pei Luo returned to the room. The two children had already fallen asleep together on one of the plank beds.
She walked in quietly and tried to cover them with a blanket, but when she looked down she noticed that Xiao Man’s exposed calves were covered in bruises. There were also many old and new scars.
Her small hands were rough and worn, and when Pei Luo gently touched them she could feel thin calluses. Those were injuries from chopping firewood and carrying water under the original owner’s orders. Washing clothes and cooking had also been the little girl’s responsibility. If the food tasted bad, she was beaten. If the clothes weren’t washed clean, she was beaten.
At such a young age, she had already endured so much.
Looking at those wounds, Pei Luo almost wished she could drag the original owner back and beat her severely. That woman had truly been heartless.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have any medicinal herbs right now. Otherwise, she could have prepared medicine to remove the girl’s scars.
After covering the children with the blanket, Pei Luo lay down on her own plank bed.
Honestly, she had never slept on such a hard bed in her entire life. Without exaggeration, even prisons in her previous life had better conditions than this.
What a miserable fate.
Weren’t transmigrators in stories supposed to have special golden fingers or cheats? Why was it that when it came to her, she became a stepmother sleeping on a wooden plank bed in an empty house—and on top of that, her husband was absent?
In novels, transmigrators were always heaven’s favorites, dominating everything with powerful abilities. Did that mean she was some kind of illegitimate child of fate?
Or perhaps she had done something unforgivable in her previous life, so heaven was deliberately playing with her?
While Pei Luo was complaining in her heart, she suddenly felt something pressing against her neck.
Reaching inside her collar, she realized there was a red string around her neck.
She looked confused.
She didn’t remember the original owner having something like this.
Pulling it out, she looked at it—and the next moment—
“What the—?!”
Wasn’t this the family heirloom jade from her previous life?
She sat up suddenly on the bed and examined it again and again.
It really was her jade pendant—exactly the same.
In her previous life, she had accidentally broken this jade pendant, and that was how she ended up transmigrating to this strange place.
Did that mean that if she shattered this jade pendant again, she could return to her original world?
Without thinking, Pei Luo raised the jade to smash it.
But when she saw the two children sleeping on the bed, her raised hand froze.
If she went back… what would happen to them?
Their father wasn’t here. If she left as well, those two children would probably soon be sold by Old Madam Lu to traffickers—especially Xiao Man. The old woman favored boys over girls and would definitely sell the girl.
Thinking about the possible fate waiting for Xiao Man, Pei Luo hesitated.
She frowned and gently rubbed the jade pendant in her hand. The strange pattern carved on its surface seemed almost alive, as if it were slowly moving across the jade.