"Sister, I'm almost better," Shen Xiaoming opened her eyes and said to Shen Xiaoyan in a slightly spoiled tone.
Shen Xiaoyan chuckled and gently patted Shen Xiaoming's head, "Xiaoming, do you blame me?"
Shen Xiaoming looked confused, "Blame me for what?"
"I didn't ask for your consent to move your household registration. From now on, everything in the Shen family might have nothing to do with you."
Shen Xiaoyan didn't say it explicitly. In fact, it wasn't "might not," but it was certain that Shen Xiaoming would no longer have anything to do with the Shen family.
Madam Xu would never let Shen Xiaoming return to the Shen family.
Unexpectedly, Shen Xiaoming laughed, "Sister, I don't resent you. If you hadn't gone, maybe I would have… Besides, I don't care about their things anyway."
Shen Xiaoyan recalled Shen Xiaoming's appearance when she first saw him yesterday. If she had been any later, she really might have...
"You should thank Wu Dagang for this. If he hadn't come to notify me, how could I have arrived so promptly?" Although Shen Xiaoyan decided in her heart to repay the Wu Dagang family well in the future, Shen Xiaoming also needed to know who saved him. One must be grateful.
Shen Xiaoming nodded vigorously upon hearing this, "I know, sister. When I'm better, I'll go thank him. When I learn hunting from brother-in-law, I'll definitely catch more game and send it to him."
As she said this, Shen Xiaoming's eyes sparkled with light, showing her yearning for hunting.
"You sit here, I'll go dig up some wild vegetables. Shall we have wild vegetable porridge for lunch?" Shen Xiaoyan asked for Shen Xiaoming's opinion.
When Zheng Wei left, he took a few scallion pancakes and said he wouldn't be back for lunch.
Shen Xiaoyan also knew that the amount of game he could catch in half a day was limited, so it was understandable that he wouldn't return.
Although Shen Xiaoming was much better now, it was still best for him to eat liquid food.
Last night, before she made the braised pork, she saved some lean meat, which was just enough to make porridge again at noon.
Shen Xiaoming stopped Shen Xiaoyan's question and immediately nodded in agreement.
Perhaps it was because he was sick, but he felt that his sister's cooking had improved.
Shen Xiaoming entered the kitchen, took a small shovel and a basket, and went to a place farther from the thatched hut to dig for wild vegetables.
While digging for wild vegetables, Shen Xiaoyan continued to ponder the problem she had been thinking about that morning.
The biggest problem they faced now was money.
Although they could eat their fill with the three of them relying on Zheng Wei's hunting, they couldn't expect to have rich meals every day.
Moreover, she wanted to send Shen Xiaoming to school.
Although Shen Xiaoming was already nine years old, which was two years later than Shen Bing and Shen He who started school at seven, she didn't want Shen Xiaoming to delay any longer.
Even if Shen Xiaoming couldn't achieve any official position, he shouldn't grow up illiterate.
Most importantly, she also hoped that Shen Xiaoming could teach her what he learned at school when he returned home every day. She absolutely did not want to be illiterate.
With something on her mind, Shen Xiaoyan's movements were not fast. Several times, she even dug up weeds into the basket.
Seeing that the area in front of her was already devoid of wild vegetables, Shen Xiaoyan stood up and moved her basket forward.
"Meow!"
As Shen Xiaoyan squatted down, she heard a weak cat's meow.
Her movements paused. Was it Luoluo?
"Luoluo, is something wrong?" Shen Xiaoyan asked in her mind.
"This cat is naturally fine," Luoluo's voice finally came after a while.
Shen Xiaoyan also noticed something was wrong. The meow just now did not come from her mind, but from her ear.
Understanding this, Shen Xiaoyan immediately stood up and looked around.
The vast field was in plain sight. Apart from the wild grass and wild vegetables on the ground, there were only pebbles.
"Meow!"
The weak meow of the kitten came again. Shen Xiaoyan noticed that the sound seemed to be coming from outside the fence.
She walked out the door and indeed saw a cat lying on the ground outside the fence.
The cat was pure white, and judging by its size, it should be a kitten that had just turned one month old.
Seeing it lying there weakly, its eyes looking tearfully at Shen Xiaoyan.
Shen Xiaoyan's heart instantly melted. But where did this cat come from?
She looked around. Except for a few people passing by on the nearby official road, there was no one nearby.
Shen Xiaoyan picked up the cat and walked towards the official road.
Two elderly women were walking slowly on the official road. Seeing Shen Xiaoyan approaching, they both stopped, "Xiaoyan, is something the matter?"
These two were from Baiyun Village, and Shen Xiaoyan knew them all. One of them was Deng, the mother of Wu Dagang.
Shen Xiaoyan said to Madam Deng, "Aunt Ma, I haven't thanked you yet for what Dagang sent yesterday. This time, it's all thanks to Dagang, otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't have seen Xiaoming again."
These words came from the bottom of Shen Xiaoyan's heart. She finally had a relative, and one who treated her sincerely, so she naturally cherished him dearly.
Madam Deng smiled kindly, "Poor child, you and Xiaoming grew up in front of me since you were young, just like my own children. In my heart, you are all like Dagang. Before, I couldn't help much, but now that you've come out, if you need anything, just let me know, alright?"
Shen Xiaoyan nodded. She could tell that Madam Deng's words were sincere. From her memories, she also knew that Madam Deng often secretly asked Wu Dagang to bring food to her and her brother when they were young. She would remember all these kindnesses.
"Aunt, I know. If there's anything, I definitely won't be polite to you. And you shouldn't be polite to me in the future either," Shen Xiaoyan said with a chuckle.
"That's right, Auntie will not be polite. By the way, where is Xiaoming? Why are you holding a cat?" Madam Deng asked, looking at the cat in Shen Xiaoyan's arms.
"Xiaoming is basking in the sun in the yard. He's much better now. I found this cat outside the yard just now. I was just coming to ask if it was someone's lost cat," Shen Xiaoyan said, holding the cat up to Madam Deng and the other woman.
Madam Deng looked carefully and finally shook her head, "I haven't heard anyone in the village say their cat has kittens. This might be from a wild cat in the mountains. If you don't want to keep it, then..."
Madam Deng said this and then suddenly stopped.
Seeing Madam Deng's hesitant expression, Shen Xiaoyan suddenly remembered that Wu Dagang's father disliked cats. It seemed Madam Deng had wanted to say she could take it back but hadn't said it out loud.
Shen Xiaoyan quickly said, "Since it's not someone's lost cat, then I'll keep it. I really like cats."
Shen Xiaoyan wasn't lying. She did love cats the most. That's why even though Luoluo was sometimes grumpy and proud, she still liked it very much.
After bidding farewell to Madam Deng and the other woman, Shen Xiaoyan walked back with the cat.
Watching Shen Xiaoyan's figure disappear, the woman next to Madam Deng, who had been silent, finally spoke, "This Shen Xiaoyan, why does she seem so different from before?"