The next day, the weather was clear after the rain.
After breakfast, Xu Anyan went to the cloth shop and bought a bolt of fine cotton fabric and some cotton stuffing. Since she didn’t yet have a stable way to earn money and had some free time, she decided to make winter padded jackets for the two children.
At that moment, the two children were standing side by side on the heated bed, watching their mother measure them repeatedly.
Mother said she was going to make them new clothes.
After finishing the measurements, Xu Anyan decided to make the clothes a little larger, noticing that the two children had actually grown slightly taller.
She planned to make winter padded outfits consisting of short jackets and trousers, which would be both practical and quick to sew. After deciding, she immediately began cutting the fabric.
Dabao and Xiaobao were clumsily holding brushes, doing the homework their mother had assigned them—writing from one to ten.
Seeing how focused they were, Xu Anyan finally relaxed. At least she had found something to keep them occupied.
The small table on the heated bed had been specially ordered by Jiang Huan from a carpenter, specifically for the children to practice writing.
Peaceful days like this… she was gradually beginning to like them.
With that thought, she gathered herself and returned to sewing.
Half an hour later, her waist was sore, her eyes were tired, and her head was spinning. She got off the bed and stretched her limbs.
Just as she was about to let the two children rest, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.
Curious, she walked out and opened the door—and saw an elderly woman, a man, and a young boy standing outside.
The elderly woman wore plain coarse clothes but looked energetic. The man had a decent appearance but was thin and dark-skinned, also wearing patched coarse clothing. The little boy looked lively and clever, though also thin and in patched clothes.
Beside them were three large baskets covered with black cloth.
For a moment, Xu Anyan couldn’t remember who they were and quickly searched her memory.
Then the elderly woman stepped forward first and hugged her excitedly, full of concern.
“My dear Yan’er, Mother came to see you. How have you been? You look like you’ve lost weight!”
At that moment, Xu Anyan’s memory clicked into place.
This woman was the original host’s mother, Tian Xiuying. The man was her second brother, Xu Yan, and the child was her nephew, Xu Zhou.
It had come too suddenly. Recently, life had been too peaceful, and she had almost forgotten about the original host’s family. Mainly because the original host didn’t visit home often, making their presence feel very faint.
Seeing her daughter not respond for a long time, Tian Xiuying thought she was angry. She knew her daughter didn’t like them coming to the county to see her, but she hadn’t been home in three months—she missed her.
“Yan’er, don’t be angry. Mother just missed you and came to see you. I brought you a lot of mountain goods, and pears you like.”
Hearing this, Xu Anyan snapped back to reality and immediately adapted to the situation.
“Mother, I miss you too. Let’s go inside first—it’s cold outside.”
Then she turned to Xu Yan. “Second brother.”
Xu Yan nodded. “Mm, younger sister.”
She silently thought: concise. Very few words.
Then she looked at her nephew. “Damao, do you miss your aunt?”
“Damao” was the child’s nickname, the same one the original host used.
Xu Zhou showed a bright smile. “Aunt, I miss you too.”
The three of them worked together to carry the four large baskets into the courtyard.
At that moment, Dabao and Xiaobao also came out from the main room. Seeing so many people in the courtyard, they froze for a moment. Then, after recognizing Tian Xiuying, they immediately called out loudly:
“Great-grandmother!”
Tian Xiuying quickly hugged the two children, her face full of wrinkles from smiling. “Oh, my good grandsons! Do you miss Great-grandmother?”
Dabao obediently replied, “I do.”
At that moment, Xiaobao spotted Xu Yan and his eyes lit up. “Second uncle!”
He immediately wriggled out of Tian Xiuying’s arms and ran toward Xu Yan.
Xu Yan quickly stepped forward and caught him. “Slow down, don’t fall.”
The atmosphere was warm and lively.
Xu Anyan pulled Xu Zhou over and introduced him. “Dabao, Xiaobao, this is your cousin Zhou.”
The three children had met a year ago, but they were too young then and had long forgotten each other.
Hearing this, the two children greeted in unison, “Hello, Brother Zhou.”
Xu Zhou lowered his head shyly. “Hello, little brothers.”
Xu Anyan said, “Mother, let’s go inside. It’s cold outside.”
So they all went into the main room. After drinking some hot water, the cold in their bodies gradually faded.
Looking at them, Xu Anyan didn’t know where to begin.
The original host’s maternal family was poor, living off fifteen mu of farmland and occasional odd jobs by the two sons.
The father, Xu Shan, was a licentiate scholar but hopeless at farming. He had one younger sister and had been the family’s hope, sent to study in a private school. After years of examinations, he never became a scholar and couldn’t do any farm work.
So the family relied heavily on Tian Xiuying, who was strong and capable, and her two sons.
The original host had three brothers: the eldest Xu Ze, the second Xu Yan, and the youngest Xu Zian.
Xu Ze was an honest farmer, already married to Li Yuegui, with a five-year-old son Xu Zhou and a daughter over two years old.
Xu Yan was quiet and reserved, twenty-two years old, not yet married but engaged. However, the marriage had been repeatedly delayed due to various family complications involving the original host and Xu Zian.
Originally, the engagement was set to proceed three years ago, but the bride’s mother passed away and her father fell ill, leaving only a young brother to care for. The two families agreed to delay the marriage by a year.
But when it was time to proceed, the original host came back and took five taels of silver, and shortly after, Xu Zian needed school fees. The money was gone, and the engagement fell through again. As a result, Xu Yan was now older, and the bride had also been delayed until age twenty.
As for Xu Zian, in the original host’s memory, he was clever and more interested in business than studying, but only the original host knew this—he did not want to study.
Thinking of this, Xu Anyan felt speechless. The whole family was supporting one person, but that person didn’t even want to study, instead causing hardship for everyone else.
It seemed she not only had to improve her own household, but also lift up her maternal family. And since Tian Xiuying knew the original host well, she would need to be very careful and have solid explanations for everything she did.
“Yan’er, what are you thinking about? Xiaobao said you were sick recently. What happened?”
Tian Xiuying looked at her anxiously, grabbing her arm and checking her over.
Xu Yan said nothing, but his eyes were also full of concern.
Xu Anyan glared at Xiaobao. The little traitor immediately turned his face away, not daring to look at his mother.
She gently pulled her arm back. “Mother, I’m fine. I just fell while walking, but I’m already better now. Look.”
She even turned around to show she was fine.
Only then did Tian Xiuying relax.
She led Xu Anyan outside and uncovered the black cloths on the baskets one by one.
Xu Anyan’s eyes widened.
Did they bring all the good things from home?
One basket was full of pears, one was full of cabbage and radishes, and the third had a bundle on top—with something underneath that looked like a sack. No one knew what it was yet.