Chapter 15: New Clothes

Withdrawing her gaze from the village, Jin Yu turned around and walked expressionlessly toward where the helicopter had landed.

He wouldn't let go any of the bastards responsible for drugging him.

"Young Master Jin… are you all right?" Huzi was directing people to search for Jin Yu when he turned around and saw Jin Yu approaching, and he hurriedly went up to meet him.

Jin Yu's face was void of emotion, and he squeezed out two words through his clenched teeth, "I'm fine."

The one who was hurt was the woman he had injured.

This was the first time Huzi had ever seen such an ugly expression on Jin Yu's face.

Usually, Jin Yu wasn't like this.

＊

When Xu Niannian returned home, it was already close to evening; she had left in the morning.

Otherwise, being discovered would have spelled trouble.

Realizing she was actually thanking that person, Xu Niannian slapped her face, speechless. Damn it, she was thanking him for nonsense, her thoughts were not right.

Luckily, when she left in the morning, she had left a note saying she had something to do and had to go out for a while.

Xu Dawei had studied up to the second grade and recognized some simple characters.

So when Xu Niannian returned home, the family didn't react with exaggerated curiosity, only Yang Cuihua asked where she had been.

Xu Niannian vaguely answered, "Oh, I went to a classmate's house."

Yang Cuihua didn't pursue the matter further. Xu Niannian had already graduated from high school and occasionally would go out to see her classmates. Yang Cuihua wasn't suspicious of her.

Back in her room, Xu Niannian threw herself directly onto the bed, exhausted.

To say she wasn't upset would definitely be a lie.

Even though he was a top-tier handsome guy, it couldn't alleviate the loss in Xu Niannian's heart.

In her dreams, she always thought she would marry a man she liked.

She hadn't expected that fate would not favor her calculations, as she still hadn't found a man she liked.

Luckily she hadn't met someone she liked, otherwise her mindset wouldn't be as good as it was now.

Life had to go on, and the only reason Xu Niannian used to comfort herself was that the other party was handsome and well-built; not a bad deal after all.

Looking at the two pieces of clothing she had placed on the side, Xu Niannian sighed.

These were the clothes she made last night for Xu Duoyu and Xu Zhicheng, but she hadn't had the chance to give them yet.

She had planned to give them tonight, but she wasn't in the mood now; she needed to first mourn her own sorrowful feelings.

Recalling the hateful face of that man in her mind, Xu Niannian grit her teeth, hoping she would never meet him again.

The next day, Xu Niannian indulged in a lie-in, as she had insomnia until late the previous night.

After sleeping off her feelings, the sadness and grief had also passed.

Xu Niannian didn't intend to dwell in sadness forever. Life had to go on, and she couldn't be defeated by this.

She still needed to make money, strive for wealth, ensure her family could live a better life, and value the beautiful life with her loved ones.

After coming to this realization, Xu Niannian was filled with fighting spirit, determined to visit the forest again tomorrow; by then, that man would definitely not be there anymore.

＊

Today it rained, so Xu Zhiqiang and Yang Cuihua didn't go to work, and the whole family stayed at home.

Xu Zhiqiang was feeding the chickens outside while Yang Cuihua was picking beans at home, with Xu Duoyu and Xu Zhicheng helping by her side.

The two had run around in the yard that morning, their trouser legs covered in mud and their clothes a bit damp.

But there was nothing they could do; they each had only one set of clothes.

Before Xu Niannian even got out of bed, she had already forced herself to forget everything about yesterday. Life had to go on, and she couldn't keep dwelling on those unhappy events.

With clothes for Xu Duoyu and Xu Zhicheng in hand, Xu Niannian stepped out of her room to see her mud-covered younger brother.

"Duoyu, Zhicheng, take these clothes and change into them so you don't catch a cold," Xu Niannian said.

Upon hearing her voice, Xu Duoyu and Xu Zhicheng simultaneously lifted their heads to gaze blankly at the clothes in Xu Niannian's hands.

Yang Cuihua, puzzled, asked, "Niannian, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I saw that Duoyu and Zhicheng only have one set of clothes each. I have a few in my closet that don't fit me anymore, so I thought I'd give them to them."

Xu Niannian had several items of clothing and pants she could no longer wear, and Yang Cuihua had suggested giving them to Xu Zhicheng and Xu Duoyu since their daughter couldn't wear them anyway.

But at the time, Xu Niannian had refused immediately, crying and making a fuss, accusing Yang Cuihua of not loving her anymore.

The former Xu Niannian was extremely domineering, never willing to give away even the clothes she no longer wore, especially the two items she still liked. She was even more reluctant to part with them.

Yang Cuihua, doting on her daughter, couldn't bear to see her upset. She soothed Niannian, saying, "If you don't want to give them away, then don't," and never brought it up again.

Now seeing Xu Niannian taking the initiative to offer her clothes to Xu Duoyu and Xu Zhicheng, Yang Cuihua wondered if something had upset her daughter.

"Niannian, what's wrong? Don't scare Mom!"

Seeing Yang Cuihua's anxious look, Xu Niannian hastily said, "Mom, I'm fine. I was just being childish before. Since I can't wear these clothes anyway, it's better to give them to Duoyu and Zhicheng."

While saying this, Xu Niannian purposefully winked at Yang Cuihua.

Yang Cuihua immediately remembered the weird dream Xu Niannian had told her about and suddenly understood why her daughter was doing this.

"Hurry up and take them; your sister is giving you clothes." Seeing her two dumbstruck sons still staring at their sister, Yang Cuihua gave each of them a slap on the back.

Xu Duoyu and Xu Zhicheng looked incredulously at Xu Niannian, blankly accepting the clothes she handed to them.

The reason Xu Niannian told Yang Cuihua those things was naturally to avoid her mother's suspicion when she was kind to her brothers in the future.

Receiving new clothes, Xu Duoyu and Xu Zhicheng cherished them like treasures. Xu Zhicheng, afraid that the dirt on his hands would stain them, rubbed his hands on his pants before carefully touching the new clothes.

Although they were Xu Niannian's hand-me-downs, to the brothers they were as good as new—especially since they had no patches.

Xu Zhicheng's eyes suddenly grew warm, turning red as he stammered, "Thank you, sis."

This time, his thanks were heartfelt.

Mom's eyes were only ever on Niannian, and each year the family's cloth coupons were used only to make clothes for her. He and Duoyu had been wearing the same set of clothes for several years, patched over patches, until the original fabric could hardly be seen.

Xu Duoyu, being younger, was simply happy to have new clothes and didn't feel the same overwhelming emotion as Xu Zhicheng, who was nearly moved to tears.

Watching this scene, Xu Niannian's eyes grew slightly teary. What good children they were; she resolved to give them a better life.

Yang Cuihua, struggling to contain her emotion, quickly said, "You'd better remember your sister's kindness. Look at her, sacrificing her own clothes for you two. You've got to be good to your sister in the future, or Mom won't let you off the hook."

"Mm, Duoyu will be good to sis," Xu Duoyu said, joyfully holding the new clothes. He agreed with whatever Yang Cuihua said, his big round eyes filled with happiness.

Yang Cuihua looked at Xu Duoyu with satisfaction, glad that her care for the little rascal wasn't in vain.