It was the Winter Solstice three years ago.
Pei Qinhuai was only twelve years old.
Born into poverty and never favored by his father, he endured a brutal winter.
Heavy snow fell, and the cold seeped into his bones. For several nights in a row, he was frozen awake. Eventually, he couldn’t sleep at all and went outside to gather some firewood.
By the time he reached the foot of the back mountain, Pei Qinhuai had already fallen into hypothermia and collapsed into the snow.
He thought he would freeze to death there.
But by chance, Song Shiyu happened to pass by in her sedan chair. Seeing a body about to freeze to death by the roadside, she suddenly felt compassion for reasons unknown. She ordered her servants to carry Pei Qinhuai onto the sedan chair and brought him back to her family estate. With medicinal soups, tonics, and burning charcoal to warm him, they managed to save his life.
Because of this, Pei Qinhuai kept Song Shiyu in his heart.
After the Song family fell into ruin, he spent all of his savings—thirty taels of silver—to buy Song Shiyu back from the estate owner.
Once she was brought back, Song Shiyu naturally became part of the Pei household.
To outsiders, Pei Qinhuai claimed that Song Shiyu was his betrothed wife.
With the Song family destroyed and nowhere else to go, Song Shiyu reluctantly stayed in Pei Qinhuai’s home.
However, she naturally did not want to marry someone from such a poor family.
In her heart, she constantly planned to seek out her distant cousin Wen Yingxing and ask her aunt to take her in.
…
“Song Shiyu: …The original host really was naive to the point of ignorance! The Song family has already collapsed. If that aunt or cousin truly cared, they would have come to take her away long ago! Would they really let her stay in the Pei household for nearly three months without a single word?”
“Song Shiyu: Original host, oh original host… how could you be such a silly, innocent fool?”
After sorting through the scattered memories and summarizing her current situation, the newly arrived Song Shiyu sighed. She stood up, walked to the stove, and washed the bowl she had just finished eating from.
The original host’s family had fallen, and she herself had lost all status. One could say she had no future.
Relying on others to survive would collapse sooner or later.
The Song family residence had already been auctioned off. The servants had either been sold or dismissed, and almost no one remained.
Given her current circumstances, life would not be easy without relying on Pei Qinhuai.
For now, she could only bow her head—survive first, and think about the future later.
Thinking this, Song Shiyu turned her gaze toward Pei Qinhuai and little Pei Jin’an, who had just entered the room.
The elder one was still manageable. After all, there was still the life-saving favor between them.
But the younger one, Pei Jin’an…
Song Shiyu opened her mouth slightly. He was not easy to get along with.
They had already fallen out before.
Repairing their relationship in the future would likely not be easy.
Everything is difficult at the beginning.
Song Shiyu clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.
She would give it her all.
…
In front of the worn-out tables and chairs in the main hall,
Pei Qinhuai was teaching Pei Jin’an how to read.
Pei Jin’an was absent-minded. He glanced toward the kitchen and lowered his voice.
“Third Uncle, what do you think Second Miss Song is doing in the kitchen?”
Pei Qinhuai lowered his eyes. The finely polished wooden stick in his hand paused briefly over the sand tray. He did not respond.
Pei Jin’an snorted.
“There’s no need to think about it! It must be nothing good! Someone like her only knows how to bully me and my sister.”
As he spoke, Pei Jin’an slapped the table and suddenly stood up.
“Ah! There are still a few eggs laid by the backyard chickens in the kitchen! Oh no! I forgot to put them away!”
“Don’t tell me Second Miss Song is going to…”
His face instantly turned pale, and his body swayed nervously.
Smack!
Pei Qinhuai extended his large hand and pressed it slowly onto Pei Jin’an’s head, speaking coldly.
“Sit down.”
Pei Jin’an opened his mouth, glaring at him in dissatisfaction. But he had always admired his third uncle, so he could only swallow his anger and sit back down unwillingly.
Grinding his teeth, he muttered,
“Third Uncle, you’re blinded by beauty! You don’t even care about me and my sister anymore!”
Pei Qinhuai bent his finger and flicked Pei Jin’an’s forehead lightly.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Continue writing. If you can’t learn these two characters today, you’re not allowed dinner.”
Pei Jin’an: “…”
Everything about his third uncle was good—except he was too strict.
Just as the two of them continued practicing their writing, the door suddenly opened.
A slender figure walked in carrying steaming buns.
The rich aroma of fried eggs immediately attracted the attention of both of them.
Pei Qinhuai narrowed his eyes and looked up. Seeing Song Shiyu dressed like this caused a brief moment of distraction.
Meanwhile, when Pei Jin’an recognized her, he immediately stood up, his gaze wary.
“Second Miss Song, what are you doing here?”
Without saying a word, Song Shiyu walked forward, placed the plate of scrambled eggs on the table, and turned to leave.
Pei Qinhuai: “…”
Pei Jin’an: “???”
Children were simple-minded after all, and he quickly chased after her with another question.
“What are you trying to do?”
Song Shiyu turned around slightly, her red lips curving into a faint smile. She did not look at Pei Jin’an, instead fixing her calm gaze on Pei Qinhuai.
“Nothing.”
“Eat it or don’t. Up to you.”
The uncle and nephew froze.
Was she saying that all the time she had spent busy in the kitchen… was just to cook for them?
Before they could figure it out, Song Shiyu had already returned to the kitchen and brought out the leftover plain porridge from breakfast.
“Plain porridge has no taste, so I added salt, scallions, and tofu. Eat it together with the scrambled eggs.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve already eaten. I’m not hungry for now.”
After setting the food down, she turned and left again.
When she reached the doorway, she suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned back with a small smile and spoke calmly,
“Oh right. Just put the bowls back in the kitchen after you finish eating. I’ll wash them.”
…
A gentle breeze drifted in from the window.
The weather was quite nice today.
But the Pei family members were completely stunned.
Pei Jin’an was still young and couldn’t resist temptation for long. After stubbornly resisting for quite a while, he finally chose to reluctantly take a bite.
The soft and fragrant eggs melted in his mouth. The taste spread across his tongue while the aroma filled his nose, rushing straight to his head. Pei Jin’an was completely speechless.
The cold disdain he had worn earlier cracked slightly.
After a long pause, he forced out a sentence.
“The bad woman sure knows how to cook.”
Beside him, Pei Qinhuai took a sip of porridge.
His crow-feather-like eyelashes trembled slightly, and his eyelids twitched as if he wanted to say something—but he didn’t.
Instead, he simply tightened his grip on his chopsticks and naturally picked up a few more pieces of egg.
…
Back in her room, Song Shiyu didn’t pay attention to their reactions.
She picked up a small wooden stick and began drawing and writing on the ground.
Survival was the first priority.
And survival required skills.
The Pei family needed to be befriended. Trust was difficult to build, so she would endure a little loss herself. As long as she worked harder and did more, such things could be overlooked.
Now, it seemed there was only one important task left.
Making money.