C8 Zhao Pengcheng Come Out!

The three younger ones, seeing their older brother run off, were too scared to move. They ate and drank as they were told, not daring to even glance around, behaving perfectly.

Jiaojiao found it amusing.

"Can you really hold a grudge against kids? By the way, what are these four kids' names? I still don't know."

Only then did Pengcheng remember he had forgotten something so important:

"The one who ran off is the oldest, Zhibing, he's 7. The second is Zhihong, 5. The twins, Guohua and Guomin, are 3 this year."

Wow, four kids in a row, either already in school or about to be. Even though Jiaojiao really liked kids, she was starting to feel overwhelmed.

Raising kids these days isn't easy, and feeding them is a big challenge. Jiaojiao couldn't help but envy those who have a little extra help, like a secret stash or some magical advantage. Just having those would save so much money and trouble, especially when it comes to meals.

Seeing that everyone had finished eating except for Zhibing's bowl, Jiaojiao said, "Go find him. He's still a kid; he can't go hungry."

Pengcheng, still upset, replied, "Let him be! If he wants to eat, he will!"

Despite his words, he didn't object when Jiaojiao saved some food for Zhibing.

After tidying up the kitchen, Jiaojiao went to organize her belongings. She had noticed earlier that the Zhao family home had five rooms in the main hall, with two bedrooms partitioned off on each side.

The west side had two bedrooms, each with a couple of built-in beds and some cabinets. The east side had just one bedroom, with a wooden staircase leading to the second floor by the door.

The east bedroom seemed to have been occupied before, as it contained a bed, a table, and a chair, all covered in a layer of dust, suggesting it hadn’t been cleaned since it was last used. Considering the Zhao family had five members, and a year ago the two youngest were just toddlers needing constant attention, it made sense they all stayed in the west rooms. The older kids, having lost their mother, likely needed the comfort of being together.

Jiaojiao gave the east room a quick clean and asked Pengcheng to move her trunk there.

Pengcheng looked puzzled. "Uh..."

Jiaojiao asked, "What's wrong? Can't lift it? I'll help you carry it."

Pengcheng wanted to ask if she wasn’t supposed to stay with him, but seeing Jiaojiao’s confused expression, he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Meanwhile, the three kids were thrilled that Jiaojiao wouldn’t be sharing a room with them.

Guohua quietly tugged on his sister’s sleeve, "Sis, she's not staying."

Zhihong beamed, "Yeah, let's keep it that way."

Yuan Guomin tugged at his little eyebrow, "Candy!"

Then his siblings all stared at him.

The little guy shrank back a bit but still pointed insistently at Yuh Jiaojiao, "Candy."

She has candy, siblings!

Zhao Pengcheng wasn't interested in the little ones' schemes, while Yuh Jiaojiao found it amusing.

The Yuh family had gifted a new double cotton mattress and quilt, both about five feet wide and six and a half feet long.

The advantage of this new bedding is that it's very warm. The downside is that it looks thick but is actually quite thin. If you put it directly on the bed frame, well, it's not much different from sleeping on the frame itself, except it's a bit warmer and quite uncomfortable.

While Yuh Jiaojiao was pondering this, Zhao Pengcheng went upstairs and brought down a straw mat.

"This straw mat is less than two years old. I aired it out after the weather warmed up, so there are no bugs."

Although Yuh Jiaojiao felt a bit uneasy, since straw can easily attract bugs, this was their main source of warmth. Some families with fewer resources even stuffed their winter quilts with straw. "Is this made from millet stalks? It's woven pretty thick."

Zhao Pengcheng almost laughed, "Yeah, I made it. Since we didn't have a felt mat, I made it a bit thicker."

Yes, the straw mat, felt mat, woven mat, mattress, and sheet were the essential five-piece bedding set at the time.

Just finished tidying up the bed and was about to organize other things when I heard the front door being kicked open. An older woman was yelling in the yard, "Pengcheng, Pengcheng, get out here!"

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