After returning home, Mother Jiang went to cook, while Jiang Banyue sat on the sofa to rest for a while.
Recently, she had been feeling severe soreness in her lower back, and even walking a little made her exhausted.
Voices came from outside. A young man and woman opened the door and walked in. Jiang Banyue turned to look.
“Big brother, big sister-in-law, you’re here.”
“Banban, Mom said you got divorced?”
“Yes.”
Li Mei sat quietly on the side, listening to the siblings talk.
“Banban, what are you going to do in the future?”
“What do you mean, what am I going to do?”
Jiang Banyue poured tea for her brother and sister-in-law and looked up at him.
“I mean your divorce. You can’t possibly raise the children alone, right? Is Shen Yunhe just going to do nothing?”
“Brother, I’m divorced from him. I’ll take care of the children myself. It has nothing to do with him.”
Jiang Chenggong took a sip of water and patiently advised her:
“How are you going to manage that? You’re a young woman, you have to earn money and take care of the kids at the same time. It’s not as simple as you think. I think unless there’s something truly fundamental wrong, you should consider remarrying. Even for the children—you can’t let them be born without a father.”
Jiang Banyue lowered her head and said nothing.
A father? With a father like that, it would be better not to have one at all. If it weren’t for him marrying Liu Juan, the three children wouldn’t have ended up like that. Thinking of the children’s fate in the book made her heart ache with anger—she almost wanted to kill Liu Juan.
“Brother, stop trying to convince me. I will not remarry him!”
Jiang Chenggong couldn’t help but add:
“You could at least treat Shen Yunhe as free labor and a money source!”
Li Mei looked at her husband in surprise.
Jiang Banyue said firmly, “Brother, I don’t want anything to do with him.”
“Is it really beyond repair?” Jiang Chenggong didn’t want his sister to divorce—life would be hard for a divorced woman with children.
“Yes.”
“Alright. I respect your choice. I won’t say anything more.”
“Thank you, brother.”
..
Two months later.
The shop renovation was completed. A large sign hung above the door: “Sweet Little House.”
Jiang Banyue had custom-made furniture and even ordered three small beds, slowly building the home for her and the babies.
At the end of the month, the twins Jiang Qingfeng and Jiang Qingyue came home for vacation. Mother Jiang happily cooked a large table of food. Jiang Qingfeng ate hungrily, as if starving.
“Slow down, how long have you not eaten? Every time you come home it’s like you’ve escaped from famine.”
Jiang Qingyue sat next to Jiang Banyue, leaning against her and curiously touching her belly.
“Big sister, you’re pregnant! I’m going to be an aunt!”
“Yes, three babies.”
“Wow! Amazing!”
..
Six months later, the triplets were born.
Because the original owner had died from difficult childbirth, Jiang Banyue prepared in advance and was hospitalized early. She had regular checkups, and her mother carefully took care of her.
The delivery went smoothly. Two boys and one girl were born.
Jiang Banyue named them: Jiang Huaijin, Jiang Huaiyu, and Jiang Huarou.
Mother Jiang adored them endlessly, holding one then another. Jiang Qingfeng and Jiang Qingyue each held a baby and softly coaxed them.
“So cute!”
Jiang Qingyue pressed her face against the baby in her arms. The baby opened its eyes and looked at her blankly.
“Oh, the baby woke up!”
Three days later, Jiang Banyue returned to “Sweet Little House” holding her three babies.
Mother Jiang took a one-month leave to help with the postpartum care, and Jiang Qingyue would also come whenever she was on break to help take care of the children.
The babies changed every day. From wrinkled newborns, they gradually became soft and fair within a month. The family also began to notice their personalities:
The eldest was very quiet and rarely cried, only humming softly when hungry or uncomfortable.The second was lively and constantly moving, sleeping very little.The youngest was delicate and clingy, liking to be held and waking up whenever put down.
“Daughter, I’m going back to work in a couple of days. Can you really manage three children alone? Maybe I should take another month off.”
“No need,” Jiang Banyue said while holding one baby. “Mom, I’ve found two nannies to help.”
“Are you sure they’re reliable?” Mother Jiang worried.
“It’s fine. I’ll still be watching them. They’ll only come during the day, and I’ll take care of them at night myself. During the day I’ll also make cakes downstairs.”
“Alright then. If you can’t handle it, tell me—I’ll take leave and come over.”
“Okay.”
Two days later, the nannies arrived. Mother Jiang briefly spoke with them before rushing back to work.
Jiang Banyue set up a small room in the corner of the shop, laying thick blankets on the floor. During busy hours, the three babies would sleep there, with the two nannies watching them.
From early morning, Jiang Banyue was busy making cakes. A family in the county had ordered a three-tier birthday peach cake for an elderly person’s 80th birthday and had already paid a 10-yuan deposit. This was the largest cake she had made since opening the shop.
In this era, people had just begun to have enough food to eat. Very few were willing to spend money on birthday cakes. Only wealthy families would do so. Most of her income came from selling small pastries.
One day, a mother and daughter entered the shop. They were simply dressed, carefully looking at the beautifully displayed cakes.
Jiang Banyue smiled and greeted them.
“Hello, what would you like to buy?”
The woman smiled awkwardly. “Can we buy a small piece of cake? It’s my daughter’s birthday today. She’s never had cake before. I… I don’t have much money. I’m not sure if I can afford it.”
Jiang Banyue looked at the little girl, about eight or nine years old, thin and shy.
“Yes, we have sliced cakes in the cabinet. You can take a look.”
The girl chose a strawberry cake slice, priced at 1.5 yuan. The woman hesitated for a long time, holding a wrinkled one-yuan bill.
“Can we not have the strawberry on top? I’ll give you one yuan instead. Is that okay?”
Jiang Banyue paused, then smiled.
“I marked the price wrong. This strawberry cake is one yuan, not one and a half.”
She opened the cabinet, took out the cake, and handed it to the girl.
“Here you go. Strawberry cake tastes best with strawberries.”
“Thank you, Auntie!” the girl said happily, taking it.
The woman also smiled and handed over the money.
“Thank you.”
Jiang Banyue accepted the yuan, took out two small spoons, and said,
“You’re welcome. There’s a small table by the window—you can sit and eat there.”
The mother and daughter sat down. The girl carefully fed a bite of cake to her mother, but the mother smiled and shook her head.
“You eat. Mom doesn’t like sweets.”
The girl insisted, “No, Mom eats first. Today is my birthday, but it’s also the day you suffered. If you don’t eat, I won’t eat either.”
“Alright, Mom will eat.”
The mother gently took a small bite. It was sweet.
The girl only then happily began eating her own share.
Watching them, Jiang Banyue’s eyes turned slightly red. She turned to look at her own three babies and smiled softly with happiness.