She replaced the straw on the bed frame with a palm mat, then laid down a thick layer of cotton padding before spreading out her own sturdy, soft bedding.
She wiped down the surrounding area and pasted old newspapers on the walls to keep off the dust.
There were people around the whole way, so she couldn't enter the Spatial Dimension.
She had taken a big gulp of Spirit Spring Water earlier, and now she was full of energy, tidying up with ease.
She also took some firewood from the Spatial Dimension, lit the stove, boiled a pot of water, and made herself some fried flour tea to eat.
After going into the Spatial Dimension to wash herself thoroughly, she settled down to sleep peacefully.
The next morning.
Hearing the commotion outside, Yu Lian got up to wash up.
Director Niu had said last night that they could take a day to rest and start working in the fields tomorrow.
Following the direction from her dream, Yu Lian found the dilapidated warehouse.
She didn't dare go up to it, afraid of being hit by the He family. She had come in the morning just to see her son.
But after a while, no one came out. Just as she was about to give up, she saw the door open.
The little bean sprout rubbed his eyes, calling out for grandma and auntie.
Making that decision back then had been agonizing for Yu Lian, but if she hadn't scraped clean the last of the He family's money and ration tickets, they still wouldn't have been able to take him away.
Better to give it to her—she could buy plenty of supplies and bring them over.
"An'an~ An'an~"
She hid behind the wall, calling out softly to her son.
She wasn't sure if her son would respond to her, but she had heard from Li Mengyao about the food here, and with the He family having no money on them, An'an definitely hadn't been eating well.
In his drowsy haze, He Ning'an heard his mother's voice.
He thought he was hallucinating.
He Ning'an walked over and poked her.
"Mommy, did you come to find me in my dream?"
"Yes, Mommy will take you to eat milk-soaked biscuits, okay?"
He Ning'an nodded. "Mommy, I missed you so much."
His eyes couldn't open, but his hands firmly wrapped around his mother's neck.
"Mommy misses An'an too. Mommy didn't mean to leave An'an behind. Don't blame Mommy."
Yu Lian wasn't sure if He Lin had told his family last night that she had taken An'an away. If they made a fuss in a moment, it wouldn't end well.
Yu Lian had boiled water and made milk early on, and now she broke some biscuits into it.
"Eat, An'an."
The three-year-old little bean sprout, who had suffered for three months, knew from the first bite that he wasn't dreaming.
He immediately put down the bowl and stopped eating, whined as he glanced at his mother, then ran off.
"Hey! An'an isn't eating anymore?"
Yu Lian took a taste—it was quite good. The milk was made from milk powder mixed with Spirit Spring Water, fragrant and rich, and the biscuits were normal too.
"This kid isn't suddenly holding a grudge, is he?"
Yu Lian drew in a sharp breath. This really wasn't going to be easy to handle.
Back at the warehouse, He Ning'an burst into loud crying.
Li Ying had just brought a bowl of porridge and a bun for the child, and she hadn't even realized her grandson had run off from the partitioned room.
"An'an, why did you come in from outside? Did you fall?"
He Ning'an cried loudly, "Bad mommy! Bad mommy!"
Li Ying's heart ached as she picked up her grandson, assuming he had dreamed about his heartless mother again.
"An'an, why is there a white ring around your mouth? What did you eat?"
An'an stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. The milk was really tasty.
"Milk and biscuits."
"Who gave them to you?"
"Mommy gave them. Mommy carried me to eat milk-soaked biscuits, but I got mad and ran back."
Li Ying's eyes were vacant, and she looked frantically at her husband and son who had reached the doorway. "It's over, it's over. An'an is talking nonsense. What do we do?"
He Lin let out a sigh. "An'an isn't talking nonsense. Yu Lian is at the Educated Youth dormitory."
He Xinglan, who had been fetching water, heard this and nearly dropped her bucket.
She thought she was hallucinating. A moment ago, she'd seen a woman in the distance wave and greet her—it looked a bit like her sister-in-law.
"What is she here for?"
"She's an Educated Youth sent to the countryside."
No one would believe that. An Educated Youth sent to the countryside, coming here? And by coincidence ending up in the same place as their family?
"What scheme is she cooking up this time? Our family has no money left."
As Li Ying said this, she didn't notice the father and son exchange a glance.
"Ah, we'll take it one step at a time. She can't possibly cause trouble in a place where she doesn't know anyone."
"That's true."
He Ning'an, who had been crying, slid down from his grandmother's lap.
"Grandma, I want to see my mom."
"No, you can't go. Have you forgotten that bad woman abandoned you?"
"But…"
He Ning'an hesitated, then walked toward the partition.
"Mom, let An'an go. It's normal for a child to miss his mother."
"An'an, come out. Auntie will take you."
He Xinglan's thoughts differed from her mother's. Since the child's mother had come, and had even specially come to give the child good food, she might as well let him go.
Over the years, although she had used the child to extort quite a bit of money, she had never mistreated An'an.
You could tell from the child's attitude—An'an was happy when he was with his mother.
He Ning'an didn't dare look at his grandmother, afraid she wouldn't let him go.
He trotted on his short little legs to his aunt's side and was scooped up in her arms as she left.
He Ning'an gave directions, and He Xinglan quickly found the place.
She knocked lightly on the door. It opened, and a wave of warmth rushed out to meet her.
"Sister-in-law, the child wants to see you. If you're free today, could you watch him for a while?"
Yu Lian didn't say anything. She pulled her sister-in-law inside and locked the door.
"Do you have work today?"
After winter set in, there was less work than before. Once the snow stopped, they'd have to go chop firewood.
"Yes."
"If it's not urgent, then sit with me for a while. Oh, right…"
She turned and dragged two boxes out from under the bed.
"Here, I have two cotton-padded jackets. One for you and one for Mom. And that military coat behind the door—it's too big for me, so take it. You can give it to Dad or your brother to wear."
He Xinglan was stunned. What was her sister-in-law trying to do?
Yu Lian naturally understood that her sudden change of character might be hard for He Xinglan to accept.
But she didn't offer an explanation on her own. Instead, she soaked two bowls of milk biscuits for them.
"Eat up. Careful, it's hot."
The little bean who hadn't said a word since coming in finally softened at the sight of the milk-soaked biscuits.
"Thank you, Mom. But Mom, I haven't forgiven you yet."
Yu Lian ruffled her son's hair. "I know. I'll wait for you to forgive me."
"Eat, Lanlan. I went to take a look earlier… the food at the canteen is truly not fit for human consumption. Those people are truly admirable—it's no small feat that they've endured all these years."
He Xinglan numbly picked up the bowl and took a sip. The warmth reached her heart.
That sweet, fragrant taste—she hadn't felt anything like it since coming here.
"Eat more. I brought a lot of food with me. In a bit, take some back with you. I know Mom, Dad, and He Lin probably don't want to see me."
"Sister-in-law, you didn't come here by coincidence, did you?"
Yu Lian shook her head and said without mincing words, "I came here precisely for all of you."
He Xinglan quickly explained to her, "Sister-in-law, our family has no money left, I'm not lying to you. When we came, we had a few dozen yuan, but it's all been scraped clean. You can't leave now, so just settle down and work."
Hearing her sister-in-law's heartfelt words, Yu Lian couldn't help but laugh.
"Lanlan, if I hadn't taken the money, would it have come back anyway?"
As she spoke, she pulled the envelope out of her own pocket.