Yu Lian knew she couldn't avoid this, but if she said something too nice, the He family might not accept it.
"Mom, just eat in peace. You're not as well-off as I am right now anyway. Just think of it as me doing this for An'an."
She was open and honest, with no hint of scheming. Li Ying nodded. "Mm, thank you. From now on, save these for you and the little one. An'an is at the age where he needs to grow. As long as you take good care of the child, everything in the past is water under the bridge."
What the He family valued most was their descendants. By this generation, they'd finally managed to have a daughter, and she'd nearly lost her life in the process.
So for their only grandson, An'an, Li Ying doted on him like he was the apple of her eye.
"Mom, little sister, eat up. I've saved some for Dad and He Lin. Today, we eat until we're stuffed."
Not only was there cured meat, but also pickled vegetables.
The adults and the child all ate their fill.
"Sister-in-law, it's been a long time since I've eaten this much. Thank you."
"Hey, don't stand on ceremony with me."
As they ate, night fell outside without them noticing.
When they opened the door, the snow outside had piled up to the steps in front of the eaves.
"Lanlan, you two take the pot. Mom, use the flashlight to light Lanlan's way. An'an will sleep with me tonight."
"Alright, sorry for the trouble today."
Outside was pitch black, and with the heavy snowfall, the flashlight could barely illuminate the path at their feet.
The two followed the direction they remembered, walking all the way back to the warehouse.
As soon as they returned to the warehouse, the howling wind seemed to settle right on top of the roof, especially loud.
Judging by the clothes by the door, the father and son had probably returned.
Li Ying placed the soup pot on the stove and added a few pieces of firewood.
"Why didn't you two add firewood when you came back?"
He Jianguo came out, and one look from Li Ying told her that the father and son had probably been discussing something.
"Alright, let's eat."
He Xinglan took the initiative to explain: "It was brought by sister-in-law. An'an wants to sleep with his mom, so he's not coming back."
He Jianguo turned to look at his son, remembering what he'd just said.
Though he wasn't sure how Yu Lian had found out, he didn't dare accept someone like her. What if, years later, the He family had another incident…
"Don't touch it. We're returning it tomorrow morning. I'll say this once—don't have too much contact with her. From now on, we go our separate ways. As long as she treats An'an well, let An'an stay with her. At least he won't suffer. But keep an eye out—I'm afraid she might use the child…"
He Jianguo spoke in a low voice for a long stretch, making the mother and daughter exchange glances, feeling guilty.
Who knew He Jianguo would take this attitude.
But they'd already eaten; they couldn't exactly spit it out.
"Got it, Dad."
He Xinglan set the stew and steamed buns she'd brought on the table off to the side.
But the savory aroma was right there—smelling it without being able to eat was pure torture.
"You two really won't eat? It's meat sister-in-law went to the trouble of bringing."
He Jianguo, afraid he hadn't made himself clear, reiterated: "From now on, aside from matters concerning An'an, you're not allowed to have any contact with her. Understood?"
He Xinglan nodded. Her father was warning her, because of this family, she'd been the most lenient toward Yu Lian.
The warehouse was poorly insulated to begin with, and this incident sent He Xinglan to bed in the partitioned room early.
On the other side, in Yu Lian's small dormitory.
After washing up with her son, she even had the leisure to tell him a story to lull him to sleep.
"Mommy, will you still be here when I wake up tomorrow morning?"
Yu Lian let out a soft laugh. That's what she thought—this child was usually fast asleep by this hour, so why was he still awake tonight?
"Go to sleep, An'an. Tomorrow morning, Mommy will make you red date steamed cake, okay?"
"Mommy, can Grandpa, Grandma, Daddy, and Auntie have some too?"
"Of course they can."
Speaking of this, Yu Lian felt troubled. She couldn't possibly conjure up delicious food every day. Even if the He family didn't suspect anything, others would.
Early the next morning.
The sky hadn't even brightened yet. Yu Lian glanced at her watch.
Only five o'clock.
Yu Lian touched the jade pendant on her chest, and in the next second, she stepped into the warm Peach Blossom Spring.
She cooked breakfast for her son in the kitchen attached to the bamboo cottage.
The Peach Blossom Spring flowed at a different pace than the outside world. Spending several hours inside might mean only a few seconds had passed outside.
This was something she had discovered after many attempts at entering.
With plenty of time, Yu Lian took out a mixing bowl.
She drew a bucket of Spirit Spring Water.
She had grown up poor. Originally, with her father's substantial pension and the government job he'd secured, her family could have lived well.
But she and her younger sister were very young then, and her mother was weak-willed. Before much of the money could be spent, it was seized by her uncle's family.
When she grew up, she took back the money and the job.
At that time, her sister's illness was severe. She poured all the money into it, but it still couldn't fill that bottomless pit. Desperate and cornered, at the urging of a classmate, she had schemed against He Lin.
While preparing breakfast, Yu Lian used her spare time to pick some fresh vegetables from the fields.
For lunch, she would make her son his favorite spiced chicken.
Everything in the Peach Blossom Spring had the property of regeneration.
Though there were only five or six chickens in the small coop, after waiting a day, the flock would return to its original number.
For the past three months, Yu Lian's heart had been warm—not only because she had obtained the rare treasure left by her father, but also because of the faint worry lurking behind it.
She thought she had been too hasty yesterday. This secret couldn't be known by a second person.
Everyone was going hungry right now. If this secret were discovered, she would immediately become a target for everyone.
Before long, the red date steamed cake was done. Yu Lian also steamed a bowl of egg custard for her son.
She carefully left the Peach Blossom Spring and placed the food on the table.
She checked the time. She could still sleep a bit more.
At this hour, only the cooks at the canteen would be awake.
Last night, no sooner had He Xinglan and Li Ying left than Li Mengyao braved the snow to come over for a visit.
When she saw there really was a child in the room, she was so startled she couldn't react for a moment.
She asked a silly question: "Can your suitcase fit a child this big?"
Yu Lian had come here not only to improve the He family's material conditions, but also to prevent the spiritual humiliation of each struggle session from a political standpoint.
So she hadn't hidden her marital status.
She fabricated a story, making Li Mengyao believe that the outwardly cold Yu Lian was actually a communist fighter full of fervor.
And a woman of loyalty and righteousness.
Her husband's family had been toppled. Knowing it would implicate her, she had still resolutely followed them—not only to share their hardships, but also to carry out political reform and ideological education for her husband's family.
However one looked at it, she was no different from those little red armbands.
Li Mengyao was somewhat wary of people like that. After offering a few words of encouragement, she quietly left.
She had originally come to chat, but Yu Lian had scared her off.
Li Mengyao admired people like this, but at the same time felt they were a bit obsessive, and that it was best to stay as far away from them as possible.
Yu Lian watched Li Mengyao flee in a fluster and breathed a sigh of relief inside.
After all, she didn't want to build close relationships with anyone on the farm. If people kept coming to find her, it would be inconvenient for her to use the Spatial Dimension.
At half past six, it was almost time to start work.
There had been no snow this morning, so everyone would have to go repair the irrigation ditches.
This stretch of farmland had only been reclaimed recently, and many areas lacked irrigation systems, which meant heavy crop losses during the dry season.
She gently shook her son: "An'an, time to get up. Do you want to go work in the fields with Mommy today?"
Earlier, while her son was still asleep, she had drunk a bowl of milk powder mixed with Spirit Spring Water.
Now she felt full of energy.
She had already picked out their clothes in advance.
Back home, she had also made him several plush hats. The wind here was strong, and it was bad for a child's skin.
In just a few minutes, Yu Lian had dressed her son up like a little black sesame dumpling.
A set of dark cotton jacket and pants, plus a scarf, and a small black fur hat tied snugly over his head, leaving only his eyes visible.
Once the child had eaten his fill, she packed the dry rations for lunch.
"Mommy, I'm full. Let's go."
The little bean sprout took the initiative to hold his mother's hand.
After locking the door, Yu Lian led her son out.
In the small farm, word that Yu Lian was the He family's daughter-in-law quickly spread to everyone's ears.
Seeing her come out holding her son's hand was no surprise.
What people remarked on most was: "It's good for a child to be with his mother."
The He family members all had heavy, grueling work on their shoulders—how could they have time to take care of a child?
It was better when the biological mother took care of him. In just one day and one night, the child had completely changed.
No wonder she had arrived carrying two leather suitcases—she had brought new clothes for her son.
Without even trying, Yu Lian had earned herself the reputation of a good mother.
After receiving her farming tools, Yu Lian was stopped by Director Niu.
He had already heard about Yu Lian's situation that morning, so he wanted to have a talk with her and see what her attitude was.