No matter what Jiang Meng had done, Jiang Yan simply couldn’t bring herself to cruelly crush such a tiny glimmer of hope in a child.
Looking at Huo Wenjin, Jiang Yan solemnly promised, “I agree to take care of you and your little brother. I also promise I won’t mistreat you, and I’ll make sure you have enough to eat!”
Huo Wenjin had never expected his stepmother to agree so readily. He was extremely grateful.
“Stepmom, from now on, you’re my real mom!”
Jiang Yan pulled a disdainful face. “Don’t you dare. I’ve agreed to raise you two, but you have to listen to me, and you have to work!”
In the apocalypse, even six-year-old children were capable of killing zombies. Jiang Yan didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about making children work.
“I’ll definitely work hard! Stepmom, I’ll go clean the courtyard right now!” Huo Wenjin eagerly promised.
Once he reached the courtyard, Huo Wenjin picked up a broom that was longer than he was tall and began sweeping with all his might.
Xiao Xi came running over, tilting his head up adorably.
“Big Brother, what are you doing?”
“Xiao Xi, from now on, we’re going to live with Stepmom. We don’t have to go to Grandma Zhao’s house anymore.” Huo Wenjin excitedly shared the results of his negotiations with his little brother.
Huo Wenxi blinked in confusion.
“Big Brother, does that mean we’re not kicking Stepmom out anymore?”
Actually, he didn’t want to kick Stepmom out either. He still wanted to eat the tomato noodles she made. But Grandma Zhao had said Stepmom was a bad person who would sell children, and Xiao Xi couldn’t help worrying.
“Big Brother, if we don’t kick Stepmom out, what if she sells me to human traffickers? Grandma Zhao said human traffickers are really evil. They eat children! Xiao Xi doesn’t want to be eaten!”
Huo Wenjin desperately suppressed the uncertainty in his heart.
“She won’t. Stepmom won’t sell us to human traffickers. Grandma Zhao was lying to us.”
Xiao Xi looked as though he only half understood.
“Why would Grandma Zhao lie to us?”
Huo Wenjin gritted his teeth.
“Because if Stepmom leaves, then we’ll have no choice but to let Grandma Zhao take care of us. That way, she can keep asking Dad for money to feed us!”
Xiao Xi didn’t quite understand. He simply stared at Huo Wenjin with a slightly blank expression.
Huo Wenjin continued, “Besides, if we stay with Stepmom, we can eat our fill. If we stay with Grandma Zhao, we’ll just have to keep going hungry!”
Xiao Xi covered his stomach, his face filled with alarm.
“Xiao Xi doesn’t want to go hungry!”
The next second, he looked at Huo Wenjin expectantly.
“Big Brother, can I still eat tomato noodles? I still want them!”
“Of course. As long as we stay with Stepmom, we’ll always have tomato noodles!”
Xiao Xi was happy now and stopped worrying about it.
“Okay! Then we won’t listen to Grandma Zhao. We won’t kick Stepmom out!”
Grandma Zhao had also told him that when Dad came home, he should tell Dad that Stepmom had hit him and refused to give him food.
Hmm…
He decided not to say anything.
Their stepmom was a good stepmom. She wasn’t like Wang Duofu’s stepmom from the compound!
Seeing that he had convinced his little brother, Huo Wenjin had him help clean the courtyard.
*Hmm. If we work harder, Stepmom won’t think we’re a burden.*
……
Jiang Yan had been standing behind the door of the main room the entire time.
She had heard the entire conversation between the two little ones. The corners of her lips lifted slightly.
*At least these two little brats know how to behave!*
For dinner, Jiang Yan made stir-fried cured pork with green peppers. She had bought the meat at the black market, and there had only been one piece available, so she cut off a large chunk and fried it all.
She had specifically prepared it as a reward for the two little ones.
When Xiao Xi saw the huge plate piled high with meat, he swallowed repeatedly, his eyes shining.
“Big Brother, there’s meat!”
Huo Wenjin was excited too, staring at the stir-fried cured pork without blinking.
The last time they had eaten meat had been more than half a year ago, when their father had returned from a mission and brought home some braised pork from the mess hall.
But no matter how hungry they were, neither child reached out to grab the food.
They were both polite children.
Jiang Yan was satisfied.
“Go ahead and eat!”
Only after hearing Jiang Yan give permission did the two children pick up their chopsticks and wolf down the food.
Even so, they still couldn’t eat as fast as Jiang Yan.
Food without pollution really did taste amazing!
The cured pork went perfectly with rice. Jiang Yan polished off ten bowls of rice, feeling completely satisfied and in an excellent mood.
The two little ones were stuffed too. Their faces were filled with happiness as they sighed inwardly:
*Having a stepmom is wonderful.*
After dinner, the two children even volunteered to wash the dishes.
Jiang Yan, meanwhile, stretched out on a reclining chair in the courtyard to enjoy the cool evening air, gazing up at the vast starry sky and breathing in the unpolluted air.
*What a comfortable life!*
Jiang Yan narrowed her eyes, looking thoroughly content.
“Stepmom, have some water…”
Xiao Xi came over carrying a ceramic mug emblazoned with the large red characters *Serve the People*.
Jiang Yan glanced at him, took the cup, and praised him.
“Good boy!”
Xiao Xi eagerly went off to fetch a small stool, then came running back with a palm-leaf fan that had already split at the edges.
“Stepmom, I’ll fan you!”
His little hands gripped the fan as he worked hard to create a breeze.
Jiang Yan didn’t refuse. She calmly enjoyed the little guy’s service. She couldn’t dampen a child’s enthusiasm for working, but she couldn’t exploit child labor too much either.
After a while, Jiang Yan stopped Xiao Xi.
“All right. Stepmom isn’t hot anymore. Go play by yourself.”
“Okay!”
Xiao Xi was an obedient, good child. After currying favor with his stepmom, he went looking for his big brother.
“Big Brother, I brought Stepmom water and fanned her, and Stepmom said I was a good boy.”
His little mouth chattered nonstop as he reported everything that had just happened to Huo Wenjin.
Huo Wenjin nodded in satisfaction.
“Xiao Xi, remember this. From now on, you have to do more things to please Stepmom. Whatever you do, don’t make her angry!”
“Xiao Xi knows!”
*Stepmom isn’t our real mom. If we don’t work, she’ll dislike us. And she might sell us!*
Later, Jiang Yan lounged in the courtyard for a while. When drowsiness came over her, she went to the kitchen to heat some water for a bath.
She had to bathe every single day in this era!
Jiang Yan even kindly helped the two little ones wash themselves clean before sending them off to bed.
After watching them cover themselves properly with their blankets, Jiang Yan finally turned around and went back to her own room to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Jiang Yan was sleeping soundly when she vaguely heard movement in the courtyard.
There was the swishing sound of running water.
Jiang Yan initially thought it was raining.
Wait.
That wasn’t rain.
There was someone outside!
Jiang Yan abruptly rolled out of bed and headed outside, crouching low and deliberately keeping her footsteps light.
When she reached the entrance to the main room and saw the scene outside, she froze completely.
H-Huo Zhanting.
And Huo Zhanting was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.
He was standing beside the well, rinsing himself with cold water.
He was nearly six feet three, with broad, full chest muscles, a solid eight-pack, powerful-looking arms, and long legs.
His sexual appeal was off the charts.
*Gulp, gulp…*
Jiang Yan unconsciously swallowed.
Hmm.
She was a little thirsty.
Her assessing gaze grew increasingly bold, eventually settling on *that* particular area.
With every movement Huo Zhanting made as he rinsed himself, it swayed back and forth.
There was definitely something substantial there.
*Wasn’t Huo Zhanting supposed to be impotent in the novel?*
*That certainly doesn’t look like a man who can’t perform…*
Ah!
“Who’s there?”
The moment Huo Zhanting spoke, he shot toward Jiang Yan.
Seeing that Huo Zhanting was about to strike with a grappling move, Jiang Yan hurriedly blurted out her identity.
“It’s me! It’s me! We’re on the same side! Don’t misunderstand!”
Once he saw who it was, Huo Zhanting withdrew his hand and asked, “Why are you in my house?”
“Ahem!”
Jiang Yan cleared her throat.
“I’m your wife, Jiang Yan!”
What?!
Huo Zhanting was stunned.
The next second, he frowned and asked, “I remember my fiancée’s name is Jiang Rou.”