At that moment, she remembered what Aunt Wu had just said.
Jiang Huan was a constable in the county yamen of Changshan County. He had been promoted to chief constable only a month ago. His parents had both passed away, and he had only one younger sister, who was already married.
According to the original host’s memories, she and Jiang Huan were from neighboring villages. Xu Anyan had fallen in love with him at first sight. After learning that he worked as a constable in the county office, she became even more interested. In her mind, working for the government meant being an official, and marrying him would also fulfill her dream of living in the county town. So, she begged her mother to hire a matchmaker to bring them together.
After making inquiries, the original host’s mother learned that Jiang Huan’s parents were dead and that he only had one married sister. If her daughter married into his family, she wouldn’t have to serve her in-laws and could immediately become the mistress of the household. She was very pleased.
Moreover, Jiang Huan was honest and dependable, and he worked for the government. He was considered an excellent son-in-law, and she couldn’t have been more satisfied.
So, she spent a considerable amount of money to hire a famous matchmaker from town to arrange the marriage.
After being persuaded by his uncle, Jiang Huan spent six months getting to know the original host and found her quite suitable. The two naturally became engaged and then married.
Who would have thought that less than six months after the wedding, the original host would reveal her true nature? All her gentleness and sweetness disappeared, replaced by arrogance and a spoiled temper.
Only after looking into it more carefully did he discover that while she was at home, she had been thoroughly spoiled by her parents. She never did any work, had lofty ambitions but little ability, and whenever things didn’t go her way, she would make endless trouble.
Even more infuriating was that her good reputation outside the family had all been fabricated by her parents to trick someone into marrying their daughter.
Unfortunately, by then, the original host was already pregnant. Jiang Huan had no choice but to endure it, hoping that once she had children, she would become more restrained.
But judging from the current situation, things had clearly gone in the opposite direction.
Thinking of this, Xu Anyan couldn’t help but laugh.
This family of the original host really had found one sheep and kept shearing its wool.
“Mother, what are you laughing at…?”
Just as she was lost in thought, a childish voice sounded beside her ear. She turned her head and saw that two little children had somehow appeared by the kang.
Taking a closer look, Xu Anyan realized they were her two “bargain” sons—a pair of three-year-old twins.
The elder was called Dabao, and the younger, Xiaobao. Neither had a proper given name yet.
Both were adorable, like little dolls carved from jade. Although they were twins, they looked completely different. Xiaobao resembled his mother, while Dabao looked like his father.
“Brother… why isn’t Mother talking to me?”
Dabao’s little face was serious.
“Grandma Wu said Mother hit her head. Brother Xiaohu said that when people hit their heads, they become stupid.”
Xiaobao immediately looked like he was about to cry.
“Waaah… Brother, I don’t want Mother to become stupid.”
Xu Anyan was speechless.
Were these really her biological sons?
“Stop crying. Your mother hasn’t become stupid yet. Come here and let me have a look at you two.”
Hearing this, Xiaobao’s expression changed faster than a Sichuan opera face-changing performance. He had been sobbing a second ago, but now his face bloomed into a bright smile.
“Mother isn’t stupid! Brother… Mother isn’t stupid!”
The more Xu Anyan listened, the more her chest tightened.
After hearing her words, Dabao turned around and ran off with a patter of little footsteps.
Seeing his brother leave without him, Xiaobao hurriedly called out,
“Brother…”
Then he turned back to Xu Anyan.
“Mother, Brother left…”
Xu Anyan knew that Dabao had gone to get a stool, so she gently coaxed him.
“Brother will be back in a moment.”
This was so difficult. Fortunately, she had helped take care of her best friend’s child before. Imitating what she had seen should work well enough.
As soon as she finished speaking, Dabao came back, struggling to drag a small stool behind him.
The moment Xiaobao saw it, he immediately ran over to help his brother drag the stool to the side of the kang.
Then Dabao helped Xiaobao climb onto the stool. Xiaobao shakily climbed onto the kang.
By the time the two little ones had finally made it up, they were both panting with exhaustion, lying on the kang and breathing in little puffs.
Looking at them, Xu Anyan noticed that they were still wearing split-crotch pants. It was already autumn, and their little bottoms had turned bright red from the cold.
She remembered that although the original host was spoiled and unreasonable, she had never beaten the two children. She simply didn’t care much about them and would scold them whenever she was in a bad mood.
Yet the two little ones still depended greatly on their mother, constantly trying to stay close to her in hopes of gaining her attention.
Looking more carefully, she saw patches sewn onto both of their clothes. Though they were adorable as little dolls, they were rather thin and small.
That was also because the original host never cooked. She often bought food outside instead, and the two little beans ended up eating one full meal and then going hungry the next. The fact that they hadn’t starved was only thanks to Jiang Huan asking Aunt Wu next door to look after them and feed them every day.
After catching his breath, Xiaobao crawled over to Xu Anyan first.
“Mother… Father wouldn’t let me come over. He said you’re sick.”
“Grandma Wu said you hurt your head. I’ll blow on it and make it better…”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaobao brought his little mouth close to the bandaged spot on Xu Anyan’s head and blew at it randomly.
After a short while, he couldn’t blow anymore. His little face turned red.
“Mother, I can’t blow anymore.”
Then he turned to Dabao.
“Brother, you continue blowing on Mother’s head…”
As soon as Dabao heard this, he also crawled over, preparing to continue.
Seeing this, Xu Anyan quickly stopped him.
“Alright, that’s enough. Don’t blow anymore. Mother doesn’t hurt now.”
The moment she finished speaking, she realized that she had called herself “Mother” so naturally and smoothly.
Oh no. These two adorable little buns had completely influenced her.
“Have you two eaten yet?”
Dabao answered first.
“Yes. We ate at Grandma Wu’s house.”
Xiaobao nodded his little head vigorously.
“At Grandma Wu’s house.”
Just as Xu Anyan was about to say something, she heard Aunt Wu’s anxious voice from outside.
“Dabao, Xiaobao, are you two here?”
Xiaobao immediately shouted back,
“Grandma Wu, I’m here!”
Only then did Xu Anyan realize that the two had snuck out.
A moment later, Aunt Wu hurried in, her voice full of worry.
“Oh my! I only looked away for a moment and you two disappeared. You scared me to death.”
Dabao lowered his head and said softly,
“Grandma Wu, I’m sorry. My brother and I missed Mother.”
Xiaobao also quickly lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
“Grandma Wu, we won’t run around anymore.”
Seeing this, Aunt Wu hurried over.
“It’s alright. Grandma Wu isn’t blaming you. Just don’t run off again next time.”
Dabao lifted his little head and nodded vigorously.
As soon as Xiaobao heard that, a smile immediately reappeared on his little face.
Xu Anyan spoke at the right moment.
“Aunt Wu, we’ve caused you trouble. Once my leg gets better, I’ll bring them back.”
“It’s fine. Just focus on recovering. Little Jiang already told me that during this time, Dabao and Xiaobao will sleep at my house.”
Only then did Xu Anyan let out a sigh of relief.
With her current condition, even going to the outhouse was difficult. Taking care of two toddlers would be even harder.
She remembered that Aunt Wu’s family was simple. There were only her son, daughter-in-law, and a grandson. They were all kind-hearted people.
That was why Jiang Huan gave Aunt Wu money every month to help take care of the twins.
At that moment, Xu Anyan remembered the clothes the children were wearing and quickly said,
“Aunt Wu, please help them change into something else. The weather is getting cold, and it’s no longer suitable for them to wear split-crotch pants.”
After hearing this, Aunt Wu noticed the children’s little red bottoms and said in annoyance,
“Look at me, being so careless. I completely forgot about that.”
Then she turned to Xu Anyan.
“Madam Xu, where are their clothes? I’ll go get them.”
A memory flashed through Xu Anyan’s mind.
“They’re in that short cabinet over there.”
Aunt Wu walked to the low cabinet against the wall and opened it.
The moment she did, she sucked in a sharp breath.
Inside, clothes and shoes had been tossed around in complete disorder. She couldn’t even tell which clothes were clean and which were dirty.
Seeing the strange expression on Aunt Wu’s face, Xu Anyan asked tentatively,
“Aunt Wu, what’s wrong?”
Coming back to her senses, Aunt Wu forced a smile.
“Nothing. I’ll just keep looking.”
Madam Xu’s temper was unpredictable. It was better not to say too much.
Hearing this, Xu Anyan didn’t think much of it.