After all, in Jian Yue’s memory, when blood flowed and tears fell, only she herself wiped them away.
And how could he possibly get close to her, let alone help wipe her—and this little brat, wasn’t he afraid of her being covered in blood?!
Perhaps it was because this little brat’s father had been a hunter, so seeing wounds or blood on someone was probably normal to him, and not being scared made sense.
“I’ll do it myself.” Jian Yue shifted to a clean part of her sleeve and roughly wiped the blood from her face.
After avoiding the little brat’s small hand, she stood up fully, looking at the wild boar on the ground that was already dead and said, “It’s getting dark soon, we need to head back.”
“Okay.” Being avoided by Jian Yue, Ye Xixing snapped back to reality and felt inexplicably guilty. He hid the hand stained with blood behind his back.
This was his stepmother!
Thinking of the stepmother’s earlier actions, and his own just now, Ye Xixing felt as if he had fallen into a dilemma.
“Mother…” At that moment, the second child, Ye Xihua, walked over carrying the already asleep youngest, Ye Xile.
He had seen what happened under the tree more clearly from up in the tree. The fact that his stepmother had appeared and saved his eldest brother was something he had never expected.
No matter what the stepmother had been like before, this matter was something he should thank her for.
Otherwise, their eldest brother would have…
So he, who had always disdained calling her “mother,” stood at a bit of a distance holding his younger brother and called out softly.
But the word “thank you” that was on the tip of his tongue just wouldn’t come out.
Also, what the stepmother had said earlier—not letting him come down… was that concern for him?
He, Ye Xihua, wasn’t afraid of being neglected or beaten or scolded, but he was afraid of sudden concern from others…
“Mm, let’s head back first.” Jian Yue looked at the two brats, one big and one small. Seeing that he had already come down with his younger brother, she didn’t say anything—if he could climb up, coming down wouldn’t be much of a problem.
Jian Yue was about to lead them back, but thinking of that thatched hut that couldn’t be any poorer, with nothing good to eat, her gaze fell on the dead wild boar.
Why not take it.
“You three stay here, don’t run off, wait for me for a bit.” With that, she headed off to a certain place.
“Big brother…” Ye Xihua watched Jian Yue’s retreating figure, pursed his lips, and finally asked the question that had been churning in his heart.
“Is she really our stepmother…”
“…Let’s head back first and talk about it later; it’s not safe at night.” Ye Xixing shook his head, neither confirming nor denying.
The stepmother’s change caught them off guard, and they needed to think it over.
Ye Xihua didn’t press the issue, just tightened his grip on his younger brother.
Watching the direction where Jian Yue had disappeared, he asked, “Do we wait here for her?”
The “her” in the second child’s mouth didn’t need further explanation; the eldest, Ye Xixing, understood.
“Let’s wait a bit.” Thinking of that warm embrace, even if brief, he still remembered it. So… for now, he’d tentatively trust her.
Hearing this, Ye Xihua didn’t continue speaking, his gaze falling on the dead wild boar.
Thinking of such a huge wild boar dying at the hands of a stepmother he remembered as rarely doing any work, he fell into thought.
It wasn’t until Jian Yue returned that Ye Xihua snapped out of it.
Jian Yue had used some larger tree branches and vines to fashion a simple makeshift raft.
She pushed the nearly two-hundred-jin wild boar onto the raft, holding two thick vines in her hands.
This way, the friction between the boar and the ground was greatly reduced, making it much easier for her to haul it back.
“Let’s go.” Jian Yue gauged the strength needed in her hands and said as she pulled the boar along.
The entire process left nine-year-old Ye Xixing and eight-year-old Ye Xihua dumbfounded.
At their age, they were no longer children who knew nothing.
They knew that a wild boar this big couldn’t possibly be dragged by just a young woman.
Not to mention a young woman—even a strong, able-bodied man would need considerable effort to pull this boar, and it wouldn’t be as effortless as Jian Yue made it look…
“Walk faster, it’s getting dark and the road is hard to traverse.” Walking ahead, Jian Yue couldn’t bother with the two little brats’ racing thoughts behind her, so she just urged them on.
The eldest and second child exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock and confusion in each other’s eyes. They tacitly said nothing, quickened their pace, and followed step by step.
By the time Jian Yue and the little brats made it down the mountain, the sky had gone completely dark.
Fortunately, the moon in the sky was somewhat clear, casting light on the ground so it wasn’t too pitch black.
Along the way down, the eldest and second child took turns carrying the youngest. Though the youngest was malnourished and frail, looking no older than two, he was still a child of about three years with some weight to him. Carrying him for too long made their arms ache, so they had to trade off along the way.
This also made them admire their stepmother’s strength even more. The two of them followed behind, watching the stepmother dragging the wild boar, and they deeply realized a problem.
It seemed that their stepmother’s strength was quite impressive—from the mountain all the way down to the foot… they hadn’t seen her take a single break.
While the two were lost in their wild thoughts, they had already reached their thatched cottage.
Jian Yue finally set down the rattan rope in her hands and took a moment to loosen her wrists, but her gaze quickly met the two little brats on the other side.
Two pairs of round, gleaming eyes showcased their weakness and cuteness.
She felt that children of the “little sprout” type were too fragile—break at the slightest touch—and she preferred to keep as much distance as possible.
But now, she had inexplicably come to this world, inexplicably become the original owner, and inexplicably gained five of them!
This really tested her heart.
Suddenly, the door of the thatched cottage opened, and two children who looked quite similar walked out. Now all five children were gathered together.
One, two, three, four, five—enough to go up the mountain and take down a tiger.
Five… each one smaller than the last.
Jian Yue clutched her chest, feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed.
Imagine—she had always been around tough, hardened men, and suddenly she was with a bunch of soft, adorable, frail little sprouts. She…
“Mother… I and my brother each ate two eggs, and, and there are three left. We can’t eat any more. Can we… can we save them for my older brother and younger brother to eat?”
Ye Xiqi still spoke with some fear, remembering the stepmother’s words—that if they didn’t eat the eggs, she would hit them.