However, disturbing Madame Xia’s sleep last night actually messed up her own sleep as well. She yawned: I’m so tired! I’m such a sleepyhead at this age.
Thus, she walked to Madame Xia’s room as she yawned again. She nestled into the blankets and slept soundly on the couch.
When Madame Xia, who left in order to avoid the little girl, came home only to find that, her eyes turned dark with anger.
Those few days were a nightmare to Madame Xia. While she could still wake up from her nightmares, the girl was like caramel stuck to her and was challenging to get rid of.
Meanwhile, it was exactly what Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er wanted, “It just so happens that I am wanted back at the academy earlier, so I’ll be going there straight in two days.”
“Business is good this season, I’ll need to go home to work soon as well.” Tong Yu Er added.
Lu Xiao Shu was happy, but she put up an act that betrayed her thoughts. Only God knew how she made that face with her eyes round and teary as she looked at Madame Xia longingly, “But… I don’t want to leave yet! This madame is so nice. I want to stay and accompany her!”
Just as she finished speaking, Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er tried their best to keep their faces straight while Madame Xia’s face turned sour. She hastily replied, “You should go home! I’m busy, and I need to go visit my relatives tomorrow!”
Lu Xiao Shu replied with an “oh” disappointedly and grinned, “I’ll come to visit you whenever you’re free!”
Madame Xia had a sullen face, but she did not say anything. However, Lu Xiao Shu could not care less about it! She thought to herself: You better not have any ideas about bullying my auntie. Otherwise, heh, heh heh, just wait for me to come “spend time” with you both!
After they had their breakfast the next day, Miao Chu He carried Lu Xiao Shu on his back, and the three went home.
Lu Xiao Shu leaned on her uncle’s back and sighed in relief, “We’re finally going home! Hooray! I miss Father, Mother, Brother, and Sister so much!”
Tong Yu Er chuckled and teased her, “Oh, you’re willing to go home now? Didn’t you want to stay a few more days to keep the lady company?”
Lu Xiao Shu blinked and smirked, “Auntie, you shouldn’t tease me. I was purposely trying to scare that old woman!” Unbeknown to them, ‘madame’ became an ‘old woman’.
Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er both laughed at that.
“You’re just a little girl, yet you have so many naughty ideas up your sleeve!” Tong Yu Er chuckled.
Once they reached the entrance of Feng Ye Village, Lu Xiao Shu did not want to be carried anymore. She struggled to get down and walked with her hand holding onto Tong Yu Er’s. As they passed by Aunt Li’s house, Xiao Yu was playing with the branches on the fence. She smiled and called out “Xiao Shu” when she saw them.
Lu Xiao Shu invited, “Come on. Let’s play at my house!”
“Okay!” Xiao Yu agreed and followed them. Then, Lu Xiao Shu let go of Tong Yu Er’s hand and chatted happily with Xiao Yu on the way back.
Back then, Xiao Yu had been frightened by her and Aunt Li urged her daughter to get revenge. However, Xiao Yu was so scared of Lu Xiao Shu that she did not dare to do it. She cried if her mother said anything about it, making Aunt Li very frustrated. She stopped urging her daughter as she pitied the girl, so she strictly forbade her daughter to spend time with Lu Xiao Shu and Lu Xiao Xue. As time passed, Aunt Li completely forgot about the incident.
As for Xiao Yu, she forgot about it way quicker than Aunt Li since she was a child anyway. In the end, she got used to playing with Lu Xiao Shu and her sister. She had gotten over her fear and naturally, they hung out together as if nothing had happened. At least she learned her lesson not to be arrogant, especially in front of Lu Xiao Shu. Instead, she learned to be friendly and careful around them in order to get along with them.
Coincidentally, Miao Cui Lan emerged from the house, and her eyes landed on Lu Xiao Shu and the others. She happily called out for her daughter while Lu Xiao Shu ran into her embrace, greeting her mother. Miao Cui Lan lifted her daughter in her arms and kissed her cheeks, “Oh, my baby. I’ve missed you. Did you miss me?”
“I do, I miss you a lot too!” Lu Xiao Shu hugged Miao Cui Lan and kissed her on the cheeks as well. Miao Cui Lan laughed as she invited Miao Chu He and his wife into the house.
When Lu Qi and Lu Xiao Xue saw them home, they were very excited. While the adults were chatting, the siblings merely stayed in the house for a moment before going out to have fun with the other kids in the village.
Before that, Miao Cui Lan made sure to check if they had everything that was needed and reminded Lu Qi to watch out for his sisters. Only then, she went back inside the house.
“There isn’t a moment of silence when that girl is around! The house felt so empty without her in the past couple of days. The moment she’s back, the house becomes so noisy again!” Miao Cui Lan sighed.
Miao Chu He grinned, “Why are you so strict even during the New Year? Just let them have fun!” As he spoke, he asked where his brother-in-law went.
Miao Cui Lan explained that he had to run an errand at Mr Wu’s place. She sighed at him, “Strict with her? I would love to, but it’s such a pity that I can’t handle her. I would be grateful as long as she doesn’t cause me any trouble. If you don’t believe me, you can ask your wife how naughty that little girl can be.” She casually brought up all of Lu Xiao Shu’s great moments and her many mischief.
She once climbed someone’s roof to catch sparrows, stabbed a beehive under someone’s roof and caused their kids’ faces to be stung into a swollen pulp, and picked vegetables from someone’s garden and made a mess. She even went catching roosters from someone’s farm, using the feathers she plucked to make shuttlecocks. It did not end there, as there were more instances when she caused trouble…
“Every time I see any adults coming to our house, I would feel worried, and I bet that most of them were here to complain about her!” Miao Cui Lan felt dizzy at the thought of it. Miao Chu He was slightly startled, but he could not help laughing.
“To be honest, you can’t blame Xiao Shu,” Tong Yu Er said as she held back her laughter, “Catching sparrows wouldn’t damage their roof, and those kids should’ve run when she stabbed the beehive. Xiao Shu did not go alone to pick those vegetables, and I bet Xiao Shu isn’t that insensitive. It must be some other kids who trampled the garden. As for the rooster, it was just a few feathers for a shuttlecock…”
Miao Cui Lan was mad, but she found it amusing, “That girl isn’t as honest as you think she is. How could you believe everything she says? Anyway, didn’t she start everything herself? Or else why did everyone come looking for her whenever something happens? That little girl would one day land me in big trouble!”
Miao Chu He chuckled, “You overthink. Xiao Shu isn’t that insensitive. Even when she was up to something, she never went out of line. To think of it, we should thank her for her shenanigans. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be home so soon.”
Tong Yu Er nodded along and sighed in relief.
With that, Miao Cui Lan ended the previous subject and hastily asked, “I was just about to ask you how the past two days went. Did Madame Xia make things difficult for you both? Not to mention there’s that useless scoundrel, Miao Tian Bao.”
“No, she didn’t. It was all thanks to Xiao Shu!” Miao Chu He said as he mustered a straight face before spilling everything that happened since the day they left.
Miao Cui Lan chuckled before getting frustrated, “Madame Xia is too greedy! You have never asked a penny from her for your studies. How dare she drag me into their nasty plans when all our family’s properties are in her hands? What does her son’s wedding have to do with me, who’s an outsider? She wants you to borrow money from me? Just listen to how pleasant it sounds!”
Miao Chu He sighed, “To be honest, I’ve owed you too many times. If not for you and your husband, who knows what else I would have to endure from her?”
“What do you mean? We’re a family!” Miao Cui Lan smiled, “Just stay here happily these two days. We’ll have a reunion dinner together, then after that, you can go back to your academy and finish your studies in peace. Once this year ends, your exams will be around the corner next year! You better keep it up and make us proud! Don’t worry about things back at home. As long as Yu Er is here with me, no one can bully her! As for Miao Tian Bao’s wedding…”
Miao Cui Lan smirked, “You shouldn’t even be bothered about it! Just ignore what Madame Xia says. If she doesn’t let it go,” she scoffed, “You could just go and tell our third great uncle about it and have them sell the land.”
“You’re right!” Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er both laughed.
At noon, thick clouds unexpectedly blocked the blazing sun. The sky was silvery grey, making the atmosphere solemn and down. Not long after, snow blew down in a blur.
The three siblings were chatting as they tended the fire in the house. They were utterly oblivious to what was happening outside. When Lu Zhong and Mr Wu stepped in covered with snow, they shook off the snow on their clothes and rubbed their hands together. They laughed as they shivered, “It’s such heavy snow. Gosh, it’s so cold!” That triggered the three kids to leap onto their feet in excitement as they ran outside to admire the snow.
Tong Yu Er hurriedly brought hot steaming tea with a smile and offered them to Lu Zhong and Mr Wu as they greeted each other.
Meanwhile, Miao Cui Lan suddenly yelped and stomped her feet, “I wasn’t paying attention for a few minutes, and it snowed? No way! I need to get those three back in here or they might catch a cold! I must say, that Lu Qi only knows how to play. Now that he’s older, he should’ve kept Xiao Xue and Xiao Shu from leaving the house!”
Miao Cui Lan nagged as she grabbed the umbrella, changed her shoes, and put on a coat before leaving the house. As she left, Tong Yu Er called out in a haste, “Cui Lan, wait for me! I’ll come with you!” And she caught up with her.
The snow fell heavily this new year. When Miao Cui Lan and Tong Yu Er found a group of ten kids in the middle of a flat snowfield, they saw the kids having the time of their life and could hear their happy laughter from afar.
Miao Cui Lan looked around and called out, “Lu Qi, Xiao Xue, Xiao Shu! Come over here this instance! We’re going home!”
“Mother!” Xiao Xue, being the most obedient kid, was laughing at her peers as she watched them play. When she heard her mother call for them, she was the first to rush over.
That startled Miao Cui Lan and she worriedly cautioned, “Slow down! Don’t trip and fall!” She moved forward and lifted Xiao Xue up.
