Taking advantage of the time before the village chief arrived, Lu Yao sat down openly and casually.
She noticed several remaining flatbreads lying on the Song family’s bundle cloth.
Without hesitation, she grabbed one and stuffed it into her mouth. Then she picked up the rest and tucked them into her clothes.
This time, Old Madam Song could no longer endure it.
She lunged straight at Lu Yao.
Those flatbreads were her family’s entire food supply for the day, and this little bitch had taken every last one of them. How were they supposed to survive now?
Old Madam Song was famous for being sharp-tongued, stingy, and miserly. To her, taking her food was no different from killing her.
Before she could even touch the corner of Lu Yao’s clothing, Lu Yao’s walking stick pressed firmly against her chest.
Old Madam Song flailed both arms desperately forward while kicking her legs backward against the ground.
She looked exactly like a frog struggling in a pond.
Combined with her naturally broad forehead and pointed chin, the scene was unexpectedly comical.
Lu Yao burst out laughing without restraint.
Even the eldest son’s wife and third son’s wife were struggling so hard to suppress their laughter that their faces turned red.
But Lu Yao seemed determined to make a scene.
Clutching her stomach as she laughed, she looked at the two women and said,
“If you want to laugh, then laugh. Why suffer holding it in?”
“If you end up with internal injuries from suppressing it, your wonderful mother-in-law certainly won’t pay for your treatment.”
Old Madam Song’s face had already turned the color of pig liver.
Turning her head, she roared,
“You two useless disasters! Are you just standing there?”
“Help your mother up!”
The two daughters-in-law didn’t dare talk back.
They hurried over and helped her to her feet.
The moment she stood up, Old Madam Song vented her anger on them, pinching each woman hard.
Tears instantly sprang to their eyes.
Just then, the village chief arrived.
Lu Yao dusted off her clothes and stood.
After greeting him respectfully, she said,
“Village Chief Uncle, I’ve asked you here to be a witness.”
“Today, I am severing all ties with the Song family.”
“From now on, whether I live or die, prosper or suffer, I will have absolutely nothing to do with them.”
The village chief had just opened his mouth to persuade her when Old Madam Song interrupted.
“Wonderful!”
“If you’re cutting ties with our family and leaving with nothing, then the Song family wholeheartedly agrees!”
Lu Yao’s eyes shifted slightly, and a smile curled her lips.
After a pause, she said,
“However, I have one condition.”
Immediately suspicious, Old Madam Song demanded,
“What condition?”
“If you’re thinking of taking any of our belongings, don’t even dream about it!”
“Not through the door—and not through the window either!”
Ignoring her completely, Lu Yao turned to the village chief.
“Village Chief, I don’t want a single thing that originally belonged to the Song family.”
“But my husband’s compensation money must be given to me.”
“If they refuse, then from now on I’ll continue eating and using everything alongside the Song family.”
The village chief believed that money rightfully belonged to Lu Yao.
Old Madam Song had secretly swallowed it up, which was clearly wrong.
Still, he had no desire to argue with her.
Instead, he looked sternly at Old Man Song.
“Second Brother Song, you’re the head of the household.”
“Give us your answer.”
“Will you agree or not?”
Song Lizhong remained silent.
He only kept looking toward Old Madam Song.
Just as she was about to explode again, Lu Yao casually pulled out one of the flatbreads she had taken and began nibbling on it.
Old Madam Song’s arrogance immediately deflated.
After careful consideration, she concluded that she absolutely could not allow this woman to remain attached to the family.
Silver couldn’t buy grain nowadays anyway.
A family of four consumed a significant amount of food every day.
It would be better to give Lu Yao some money and finally be rid of her.
As for the amount…
That would be up to her.
Having made her decision, Old Madam Song said,
“Fine.”
“I’ll give you the compensation money.”
“But only five taels.”
“The compensation wasn’t just for you.”
“We old folks need money for our retirement too.”
“So we’ll split it equally.”
A victorious smile appeared on Lu Yao’s face.
“Deal.”
Old Madam Song turned around and rummaged through the bundle for quite a while before finally pulling out five taels of silver.
She handed the money to the village chief.
The village chief then passed it to Lu Yao.
However, Lu Yao did not accept it.
Instead, she said,
“Village Chief Uncle, I’d like to draw up a written agreement.”
“Do you happen to have paper and a brush?”
The village chief’s youngest son had passed the county-level examinations, so there were not only brushes and paper in his home but books as well.
The village chief nodded.
He understood exactly what Lu Yao intended.
Earlier, his eldest son had told him that Lu Yao was a capable woman.
The Song elders truly were blind and foolish.
With a sigh, he turned and left to draft the document.
It didn’t take long before he returned carrying three copies.
Lu Yao, Old Man Song, and the village chief each pressed their fingerprints onto the documents.
One copy belonged to Lu Yao.
One belonged to Old Man Song.
The village chief kept the third copy for safekeeping.
Once the fingerprints were applied, all ties were officially severed.
Taking the five taels of silver, Lu Yao thanked the village chief and returned to where the children were resting.
Only after everything was finished did Old Madam Song suddenly say to her husband,
“Why do I feel like we’ve been tricked?”
“Since when has that little bitch been so easy to deal with?”
Old Man Song glanced at her.
“You spend all day imagining things.”
“Stop talking nonsense and bring out the food.”
“I’m starving.”
“What, are you planning to starve us all to death so you can keep the grain for yourself?”
Old Madam Song looked at the now-empty bundle cloth.
Remembering the flatbreads she had lost, she silently cursed Lu Yao all over again.
Suddenly, something landed on her neck.
She reached up and touched it.
Bird droppings.
Instantly enraged, she began cursing at the birds in the trees.
The onlookers burst into laughter.
Lu Yao had no time to concern herself with any of that.
She hurried back to the children.
Seeing that all three had obediently remained where she left them, she felt deeply gratified.
These children were simply too well-behaved.
Too sensible.
So sensible it hurt her heart.
The moment Song Ziyu saw Lu Yao return, she stretched out both tiny arms and asked to be held.
“Nang… Nang…”
she babbled indistinctly.
Lu Yao’s heart instantly melted.
The little girl was trying to call her “Mother.”
She had only fed the child half a carton of milk, yet the girl already knew who treated her well.
Lu Yao quickly took her from Song Zixuan’s arms.
Song Zixuan muttered quietly,
“You little ungrateful thing.”
“Half a day, and you’ve already mistaken a thief for your mother.”
“Just wait until you suffer for it later.”
Ignoring him, Lu Yao hugged Song Ziyu close.
With her back turned, she secretly fed the girl another half carton of milk.
Then she slipped a milk candy into Song Ziyu’s mouth.
Next, she quickly stuffed two fruit candies into Song Zixuan’s and Song Ziyang’s mouths.
The boys froze.
A moment later, Song Ziyang jumped up in excitement.
Realizing he had made too much noise, he immediately crouched down and whispered,
“Mother, is this candy?”
Lu Yao smiled.
“Is it sweet?”
Song Ziyang nodded vigorously.
His black gemstone-like eyes sparkled brilliantly.
The more Lu Yao looked at him, the more adorable he seemed.
Unable to resist, she kissed him on the cheek.
Startled, Song Ziyang quickly dodged away.
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, surprise and delight spread through his eyes.
Soon his eyes curved into crescent moons as he smiled.
Although Song Zixuan already knew that Lu Yao had truly changed, he still maintained a stern expression.
Like a little adult, he sat upright to one side, watching the happy scene before him.
Lu Yao then pulled out the five taels of silver she had obtained.
“Look.”
“I’ve officially severed ties with the Song family.”
“This is the silver I got from them.”
“From now on, the four of us won’t have to worry about starving.”
Only then did Song Zixuan seriously examine both the silver and the written separation agreement.
He took the document, read it briefly, and returned it.
Lu Yao suddenly realized something.
“Zixuan…”
“Can you read?”
Before Song Zixuan could answer, Song Ziyang eagerly showed off on his brother’s behalf.
“My big brother is amazing!”
“He could recite the Hundred Family Surnames and the Three Character Classic when he was three.”
“When he was four, he could already recite the Analects.”
“And he writes beautifully too!”
“My father—”
“Song Ziyang!”
Song Zixuan immediately cut him off.
Realizing he’d said something wrong, Song Ziyang instantly shrank back in silence.
Lu Yao became even more certain that these children had extraordinary origins.
A man like Song Hongyi could never have fathered children like them.
However, since the children clearly didn’t wish to discuss their past, she pretended not to notice.
“Oh my!”
“Our Zixuan is a little prodigy!”
“Will you teach us how to read too?”
Song Zixuan let out a bitter laugh.
“We can barely feed ourselves.”
“What’s the point of studying?”
Lu Yao’s smile disappeared.
Looking at him seriously, she said,
“Song Zixuan.”
“Difficulties are temporary. They aren’t forever.”
“If a small hardship like this can defeat you, then what will you do when you face even greater setbacks?”
“Give up on living?”
“Whether we’re in hardship or prosperity, we must never abandon ourselves.”
“We must continue learning.”
“Only through learning can we break through obstacles and overcome difficulties.”
“You should know that there is no end to learning.”
Song Zixuan’s face flushed red.
He had never expected to receive such a lesson from someone he once looked down upon.
Standing up, he bowed respectfully to Lu Yao.
“Thank you for your guidance.”
Only then did Lu Yao smile again.
“I didn’t guide you.”
“You were simply trapped in your own thoughts.”
“I heard the village chief mention that his son is a scholar.”
“He brought many books with him while fleeing.”
“If you’d like to read them—”
Before she could finish, Song Zixuan interrupted.
“I’d like to.”
“Thank you for worrying about me, Mother.”
The sudden word Mother brought tears instantly to Lu Yao’s eyes.
Once he had spoken it aloud, Song Zixuan realized it wasn’t difficult after all.
Lu Yao pulled Song Zixuan and Song Ziyang into her arms, one on each side.
In a soft voice, she said,
“We will carve out a place of our own in this world.”
Those words were spoken not only to the two boys—
but also to herself.