After seeing Chen Xiaoxi off, Lin Zhi closed the courtyard gate.
When she returned to the house, she found the twins looking utterly aggrieved. The moment she stepped closer, both of them threw themselves into her arms.
Lin Zhi quickly caught them. Instead of lifting one in each hand as usual, she wrapped both arms around them and carried them straight into the house.
The two brothers had their lips puckered, crying so hard they were hiccupping. Lin Zhi didn’t know whether to be annoyed or amused.
They had seemed so calm just now—she had thought they hadn’t taken the insults to heart. Turns out they had just been holding it in.
“Alright, alright. I already got revenge for you. What are you still crying for? If you’re still angry, we’ll go smash their windows tonight.”
Lin Zhi had absolutely no awareness that she might be setting a bad example. Seeing the twins’ red, tearful eyes, she secretly regretted not hitting harder earlier.
Little He Ze wasn’t crying because he’d been bullied. He simply hadn’t expected Lin Zhi to stand up for them.
Most people in the family compound treated them well, but a few would secretly curse them. Since no one had ever backed them up, they had never dared to argue back.
This time, they had thought that if someone wanted to curse, then so be it. They could just pretend not to hear it like before.
But she had come—not only that, she had brought a big broom and given the bad person a good beating. Fierce and scolding, Lin Zhi had, at that moment, finally looked like a real mother to Little He Ze.
He wiped his tears, lifted his chin stubbornly, and looked at her. Forcing himself to sound steady, he asked, “Will you always be like this from now on?”
If she would, then he would acknowledge her as his mother.
Lin Zhi didn’t know what was going on in his mind. She froze for a few seconds before realizing what he meant. Then she nodded decisively.
“Of course. I’ll always be like this. You’re my children. No one but me is allowed to bully you.”
“If anyone dares to curse you again, don’t be afraid. Curse them back boldly. If you can’t out-curse them, hit them. If you can’t win in a fight, come back and tell me—I’ll fight for you.”
As she spoke, she even flexed her chubby arms with a proud look on her face. “See? I’ve got plenty of meat on me. They can’t beat me with words or fists.”
In the entire compound, there wasn’t another person as plump as she was. Being noticeably bigger than everyone else gave her quite the persuasive presence in front of the twins.
Little He Ze looked at her arm, then at his own. His attention suddenly shifted. “Mom, I want to grow that fat too.”
The soft “Mom” hit Lin Zhi like a thunderclap, piercing through thick clouds and striking her straight in the heart.
Though they weren’t her biological children, that single word suddenly gave her a sense of belonging.
Her heart, which had felt unsettled ever since she arrived in this unfamiliar world, finally came to rest.
Warmth surged into her eyes. Lin Zhi lifted her head and blinked rapidly to push the tears back before reaching out and pinching Little He Ze’s cheeks twice.
“You little brat, what do you know about being fat? I’m not fat—I’m… just pleasantly well-rounded. Forget it, why am I even explaining this to you? You don’t understand anything.”
“Just remember this: I’m not fat. Whether at home or outside, you’re not allowed to call me fat. If anyone says I’m fat, you must argue back. This is called healthy. Healthy, got it?”
Facing their two pairs of confused, wide eyes, Lin Zhi sighed. Forget it. Let them say what they wanted. It wasn’t like a few words would actually make her gain weight.
After all that commotion, she no longer felt like fixing clothes or quilts. She took the twins to brush their teeth and go to bed.
As they lay down, Little He Ze suddenly remembered something. He bolted upright, startling Lin Zhi.
Before she could speak, he blurted out, “Mom, my little brother isn’t mute. He can talk.”
He still remembered Old Madam Hu calling his brother a “little mute.” “I’ve heard him talk before.”
As for when, he couldn’t remember. But he was certain his brother could speak.
Lin Zhi had read the book. Though she had skimmed through it rather hastily, she remembered that Little He Run was perfectly normal.
She pulled Little He Ze back down and patted his little head. “I know, I know. Your brother just doesn’t want to talk. When he feels like it, he’ll speak.”
Her tone sounded rather perfunctory, but since Little He Run refused to talk, Little He Ze had no proof to argue otherwise. He lay down again, still harboring a bit of frustration.
The three of them lay flat on the bed. Little He Run slept on the innermost side. Though he wasn’t far from Lin Zhi, it was still just out of reach when he stretched out his hand.
He nudged Little He Ze’s shoulder and groped around between them, signaling that he wanted to sleep next to Lin Zhi too.
Not understanding what he meant at first, Little He Ze sat up again and let Little He Run move on his own.
Once Little He Run lay in the middle, Little He Ze pouted unhappily but said nothing. He shifted over and lay down where his brother had originally been.
Finally, they quieted down. Lin Zhi let out a long breath and closed her eyes to sleep.
But going to bed too early had its consequences. Before dawn even broke, Lin Zhi was already awake.
After lying there for half an hour without falling back asleep, she gave in and slowly climbed out of bed.
Today she didn’t plan on having porridge. No matter how delicious something was, eating it for days in a row would make anyone tired of it. She decided to switch to noodles for breakfast.
The grocery store had plenty of tube-packaged egg noodles. They only needed a few minutes of boiling—very convenient.
The kitchen cabinet was already full; there was no more room to take anything else out. After some thought, Lin Zhi went to move the small cabinet from the twins’ room.
The cabinet had been made by He Ting. Since the twins couldn’t reach the big cabinet and there were leftover wooden boards in the backyard, he had built one especially for them.
Now that the twins’ clothes had been moved into the large cabinet, the small one was empty—perfect for storing things.
With her rather clumsy craftsmanship, Lin Zhi nailed a lock onto it. She tore the noodle packaging open, put the noodles into a cloth bag, and stored them inside the cabinet.
She also took out items like soybean paste and fermented bean curd from the grocery store and transferred them into different bottles.
They said that having grain in hand brought peace of mind, and it was absolutely true. Just looking at the cabinet and rice jar filled to the brim made Lin Zhi feel incredibly secure.
While she had some free time, she watered the vegetable patch and fed the chickens. Then she began preparing food to bring up the mountain.
If there were a lot of mushrooms today, she didn’t plan to come back for lunch. She would just make do with a meal up there.
But the twins couldn’t just make do. After thinking it over, Lin Zhi decided she might as well cook on the mountain. Everything she needed was in the grocery store anyway—it wouldn’t be much trouble.
Once she made up her mind, she acted on it. She took a large bamboo basket, placed a small clay pot inside, added two handfuls of rice and a handful of greens, planning to start a fire and cook on the mountain.
She didn’t take out bowls, chopsticks, or water. Carrying too much would be too heavy. She planned to “smuggle” them out from the grocery store instead.
After arranging the basket and covering it with a cloth so no one could see what was inside, Lin Zhi clapped her hands in satisfaction.
As expected, she really was good at stirring things up. Other than her, who else would think of cooking a meal on the mountain?