Because it was so unexpected, Lin Yue's tone rose and her voice grew louder. The three youngsters, already fearful of their stepmother, shrank back, frightened, with the little boy bravely shielding them behind himself. He looked at Lin Yue with a hint of hostility, "You are the third wife Father married. You are originally our third mother."
The little boy argued loudly and righteously, and although he appeared bold, there was a tremble in his voice. It was clear he wasn't without fear, but as the eldest brother, he felt he had to stand in front to protect his younger siblings. Deep down, the boy felt somewhat guilty; after all, their father had instructed them that morning to address the new stepmother as "Mother." But this woman, who didn't seem much older than him, was certainly not their birth mother. Furthermore, their previous second mother had not treated them well, and they had heard all sorts of rumors in the village. They had developed a prejudice against the very idea of a stepmother and naturally were disinclined to call this stranger "Mother." To even call her "third mother" was already being polite.
"My brother's not wrong. You are indeed our third mother. It doesn't matter what you think; we're not afraid of you!" another, slightly older child among the three little 'turnip heads' supported the little boy's statement, defiance written all over his face. It was as if Lin Yue had bullied him, the words filled with resentment, yet he seemed even more composed than his brother.
Lin Yue had no time, nor did she feel it necessary, to bicker with children. Her mind was in complete disarray, knotted up like a mess of tangled yarn—everything felt illogical and overwhelming. She had thought the plot of the story was melodramatic enough, but reality proved to be even worse. An older man marrying a younger woman was one thing, but to also have four little burdens attached to the arrangement was another. Even a birth mother would find it challenging to raise four children, let alone her, a non-biological parent. Throughout history, when had the role of a stepmother ever been easy? Not only was it exhausting and worrisome, but it also thankless, and just looking at the four children staring back at her with eyes full of hostility made Lin Yue's head spin.
"Brother, look at her. She's not saying anything. Could she be sick again?" Dalang remarked, unsettled by how Lin Yue stared at them silently with a dazed expression.
"Possibly," Dalang replied with a 'grave' expression, nodding his head. Only then did he remember that this woman, their stepmother, was a patient and that before their father went out to work, he had repeatedly instructed them to take good care of her. Now, if they had made their stepmother sick with anger, their father would definitely punish them upon his return.
"What do we do now? Father will beat us when he comes back." Children without mothers tend to mature early. Erhu, already six years old, understood some basic principles—his father doted on this new stepmother, providing her with chicken soup and white-flour buns that even they didn't get to enjoy. His father favored the new stepmother more, and if he found out they had angered her to illness, he would surely not spare them. The more Erhu thought about it, the more frightened he became, his eyes welling up with tears.
"Don't be scared. If anything happens, your brother will take the blame," Dalang reassured Erhu with a sense of responsibility. Although they were not birthed by the same mother, they were now all children without mothers. They lived their daily lives together, relying on each other for food, play, and companionship. The bonds between the brothers were strong, with the younger ones especially depending greatly on their eldest brother. Hearing what Dalang said made them feel less afraid.
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"Have you all eaten yet?" Lin Yue brought the pancake to her lips and, seeing the children's eager eyes fixed on her pancake, salivating, she asked. Although the kids all said they had eaten, Lin Yue still tore the pancake into pieces and distributed them among each of the children. At first, the children hesitated to take it, but seeing their stepmother being pleasant and unable to resist the temptation of food, they took the pancake and ate it with relish.
Lin Yue hadn't eaten much the previous night and was feeling terribly hungry now. She started eating her small piece of pancake, but it was tough to swallow, being flavorless and both dry and hard, almost choking her on the first bite. However, seeing the children enjoying it so much, she figured that this pancake must be considered a delicacy in this household and felt embarrassed to show any dislike. She finished it slowly with the help of the chicken soup, taking small bites, while the children had already devoured their pieces, looking at her with satisfaction, yet seeming to wish for more.
They say that one is beholden to those who feed them, and after eating Lin Yue's pancakes, although the children were still wary of her, their attitude softened considerably. They took the initiative to talk, mentioning that their father had gone to work in the fields and left them behind to look after her. Lin Yue took the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the situation here. The kids were forthcoming, but their knowledge was limited; there were some things the adults wouldn't let them know. Lin Yue managed to understand the Zhao Family's situation but still knew nothing about the body owner's maternal family.
Outside, the weather was clear, and the warmth of the sun felt exceptionally comforting. Lin Yue, stepping out of the house for the first time since arriving in this ancient era, finally saw the full extent of the house. It was a stand-alone farmhouse, built of adobe and green tiles, which looked somewhat worn due to age and lack of maintenance. It was spacious, with a main house and a kitchen, plus three other rooms: one they were living in, another occupied by the children, and the last used for storage. There was also a surrounding wall, including the house itself, totaling about three acres of land—quite a large space. According to the kids, this was because the place was near the mountains, and their father had built the wall for safety, fearing wild animals might break in.
For Lin Yue, these conditions were quite satisfactory; at the very least, there was a proper house on farmland—it wasn't a thatch-roofed hut, so there was no fear of the roof being blown away in a strong wind. In fact, Zhao Erhu struggled to find a wife due to his reputation of being overly thrifty, but his personal circumstances weren't bad. He was young and strong, skilled at hunting, and his house was considered one of the better ones in the village. Fortune smiled on him once when he killed an injured bear in the mountains and sold it for nearly a hundred taels of silver. He spent most of that Silver Coin on building the house. The only inconvenience was its distance from other houses in the village, but Zhao Erhu chose to build here to avoid the gossip and chatter of the villagers, seeking a quiet and solitary life.
From then on, this would be her home. Without any mental preparation, she became a full-fledged farmwife, her previous dreams of love, flowers, and romance dissipating like mist. Lin Yue sighed, feeling a twinge of unwillingness, but real life wasn't like writing a novel. Now that her situation was fixed, what could she do? In this unjust feudal society, the feasibility of running away from a marriage was too low, not to mention perilous. One false step could lead to a dreadful punishment, and she thought better of it. She resolved to live honestly, to be a good farm wife.
Lin Yue was always a woman of action. Once she made up her mind to live her life well, she started busying herself. One could imagine what a household without a woman would look like; in Lin Yue's words, it resembled a pigsty—dirty and messy. She had to clean, tidy, and organize everything little by little.
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