Older brother Gu Weiguo took Pingan to the mountains early in the morning, saying that he would try his luck and see if he could hunt some game to improve their food.

  The house of Zhengs widow in the south of the village collapsed under the heavy snow, and Gu Weifu, as the team leader, naturally went to offer condolences and help, to show that he was a team leader who did practical things for everyone.

  So the whole Gu family was left with only Old Seconds family of three sons and Gu Anans sister and brother.

  Wang Da Ying couldnt bear to scold her own children, so An An and her siblings became the target of her anger. Meanwhile, not a single person from the Gu family next door, who were just a wall away, came out to help.

  Gu Anan glanced at Wang Da-ying, slowly got up, picked up the quilt that was covering the kang, felt its warmth and put it on just right. "Second Aunt, what did you call me for?"

  Wang Da Yings eyes were about to pop out, "You good-for-nothing, its already noon and the sun is scorching your butt, what are you yelling for? Which girl is as lazy as you? Are you waiting for your elders to cook for you?" In Gus Village, being called a "white-eater" was one of the worst insults, meaning someone who was gluttonous and lazy. For a 16 or 17-year-old girl, this was a devastating insult, especially since she was approaching marriageable age. With the label of "white-eater" on her head, no family in Gus Village would want to marry such a girl.

  Gu Anan smoothed out her clothes, comforted the frightened Gu Dongdong, and then looked up, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Second Aunt, this is quite a biased statement. Have you ever even touched the firewood in our familys woodshed? I was the one who went to the mountain to chop it all by myself."

  "The sauerkraut foam stuck to the pot brush is the snow red I brought back from the mountain when I was picking frost flowers, my hands were frozen bright red. Second Aunt, have you ever helped pick a single snow red?"

  "Outside the self-retained land, there are still half of the radishes and Chinese cabbages left. Second Aunt, is that land turned over by you? Are those radishes and Chinese cabbages planted by you?"

  Wang Da Ying wanted to refute, but was glared at by Gu An An with a cold eye, interrupting her, "Lets talk about home again. The meals at home have always been the responsibility of my elder sister-in-law to cook, Im in charge of washing dishes. As for household chores, its me who sweeps several rooms alone. Even on extremely cold days, I would carry your second aunts clothes to the riverbank, break the ice on the surface, wash them clean and bring them back. Second Aunt, when you said I was eating without contributing, didnt you feel a pang of guilt?"

  "Or should I say, this family, Second Aunt, what have you actually done?"

  Wang Da Ying was speechless after being scolded by Gu An An, she threw the pot brush to the ground and sat down, wailing "Im so dead, Im so dead. Now even young girls are starting to look down on me, Ive never seen anyone as disrespectful to their elders as you."

  An An helped Dong Dong, who had woken up from sleep, to get dressed. She gave a cold glance at Wang Da Ying, who was sprawled on the floor, and held Dong Dong in her arms. "Since Second Aunt is displeased that I and Dong Dong are eating for free at home, well go eat elsewhere. We dont dare trouble Second Aunt anymore."

  After finishing, taking advantage of Wang Da Yings daze, she put Gu Dong Dong on the ground and led him out. She lowered her head to Dong Dongs ear, "Dong Dong, once were out, if you see anyone, cry and say that Second Aunt is biased against us for eating our fill."

  Gu Dongdong rolled his eyes, obviously still sleepy, but he took his sisters words as a sacred decree and immediately left the Gu family courtyard.

  She met Zhao Guifang, who had just returned from washing clothes. Zhao Guifang and Wang Da Ying were from the same village and both married into Gus Village, but Wang Da Ying was married to the son of the village head.

  Zhao Guifang, however, married Kuaijiacuns accountant, Gu Xiangqian.

  Zhao Guifang and Wang Daying, before they got married, liked to compare with each other. After getting married, Wang Daying relied on being the captains wife and often spoke sarcastically to Zhao Guifang.

  Zhao Guifang can also endure, smiling in front of someones face while stabbing them in the back.

  The appearance of Gu An and her brother gave Zhao Gui Fang a knife, which stabbed Wang Da Ying.

  She put down the wooden basin and wiped her hands on the apron around her waist, teasing Gudongdong who was crying, "Hey, why is Dongdong crying like this?"

  Gu Anans eyes turned red instantly when Zhao Guifang asked the question, and she was a bit flustered. She hurriedly covered Dongdongs mouth, "Dongdong, dont say..."

  Dongdong finally understood his sisters meaning, he opened his sisters hand and cried with sobs, "Second Aunt scolds us for eating without working, doesnt give us food to eat, and says my sister doesnt do chores."

  Zhao Guifangs heart was filled with joy, but her face showed concern, and her voice rose a few degrees, "You two are also not good things, bullying children like this."

  Winter rubbed his tear-stained eyes and asked, "Aunt Zhao, the firewood in our home was all chopped by my sister on the mountain, the pickled vegetables at home were also picked by my sister from the snow-covered mountains, even the ones in the self-cultivated land outside were taken care of by my sister. Just a few days ago, my sister helped Second Aunt wash clothes by the frozen river. My sister is obviously very diligent, but why did Second Aunt say shes lazy and also said shes freeloading?" The innocent words of a child are always the most sincere, and more and more people gathered around.

  Everyone is watching the excitement without fear of being affected.

  "Anan is not lazy at all, in the whole village, Anan is a good hand at doing chores. Go ask around, which girl can be like Anan, with good grades, quick work, and filial to elders." Zhao Gui Fang heard the last sentence and couldnt help but raise her voice, "What? Wang Da Ying that woman, even her clothes are washed by Anan by the river?"

  Gu Dongdong nodded, "The ice in the river was still chiseled with the help of stones by me."

  "Wang Da Ying is really something else."

  "Its really shameless, a person in their several tens letting a niece who lives next door help with laundry,"

  Someone asked, "Whats wrong with this? This is meal time, where are you all going?"

  Anan and Dongdong chimed in unison, "When we went to Huazi Shus house for dinner, Er Bao Niang didnt give us anything to eat."

  After finishing, the two of them glanced at each other and looked around the nearby courtyard, An An bid farewell, "Everyone, uncles and aunts, Dong Dong didnt say anything, lets just pretend we didnt hear it, were going to Huazi Uncles house now."

  The onlookers felt increasingly sympathetic towards Anan and her brother, "These motherless children are easily bullied."

  "When she said this, Tang Lanxi was at home and didnt see Anan being taken care of."

  "Its not okay, Anan this child is so pitiful!"

  An An led Gu Dongdong for a long time, and the two of them looked at each other, holding their stomachs in laughter. They stood under a soapberry tree, taking a break. By then, the sun had come out, and the snow on the ground had melted, making the road difficult to walk on.

  The two of them leaned against the soap tree, and Gu Dongdongs big eyes were filled with excitement, his whole body jumping up, he cheered, "Sister... sister, how did you become so smart!"

  The two words "changed" made Anans heart skip a beat, after all, it was her younger brother who had been with her for a long time. She remained calm and asked, "Dongdong, do you think sister has changed for the better or for the worse?"

  Gu Dongdong tilted his head, thought for a while, and responded with a crisp tone, "Of course its good, sister has become smarter, and Second Aunt cant bully sister anymore."

  With a relieved smile, she said with a hint of pride, "This is called killing with a borrowed sword. You see how Second Aunt always bullies us. Lets let the publics gossip kill her and see if she dares to bully us again." If Second Uncle finds out about this, hell definitely scold Second Aunt to death, given his concern for face.

  Gu Dongdong seemed to understand and yet not understand, "Sister, what are the masses?"

  An An fainted, at this age, havent the two words "masses" been popularized yet?

  "It means uncle and aunt."

  "Sister, this method is good. From now on, if anyone dares to say in front of me that Im a child without a mother, Ill tell Uncle and Auntie, and let the adults scold him severely."

  An An didnt have any illusions about corrupting children, she nodded her head with a look of "children are teachable".

  "Winter is indeed very clever."

  This is the first thing Gu Dongdong learned in his life. When his martial arts skills were not enough, he learned to use roundabout methods to defeat his enemies.

  An didnt notice that her honest younger brothers eyes were shining with an astonishing light, obviously having learned the trick inside and wanting to try it out.

  After the two of them walked far away.

  Two young men jumped down from the soapberry tree, one of them was about twenty years old, wearing a camouflage uniform, with a straight posture and sharp facial features, his face had a faint smile, his eyes were bright and clear, he muttered to himself, "What an interesting little black head."

  Next to him was a little black boy with a small flat head, who jumped down from the tree and patted his butt. "Hey, Im also dark-skinned, why dont you praise me?" As he said this, he stroked his chin, looking in the direction where Anan and her brother had disappeared. "This sister is quite interesting, but isnt she afraid of spoiling the little kid?"

  "Intelligent and tight." The handsome young mans voice was extremely low, the black boy next to him dug his ear, curiously, "Head, what did you say?"

  "Nothing! Keep up."

  Anan didnt know that in the soapberry tree where they had just rested, two people were hiding.

  She had already arrived at the gate of Gu Hua Zis house.

  It was already past nine in the morning, and in the countryside, every household had already eaten breakfast, but if you came to Huazai Shus home, there would definitely be some left.

  Because Hua Zis uncles family has a big lazy worm, lazier than An An, named Gu Ban Xia. This name was given when Hua Zis aunt gave birth to the child, and Hua Zis uncle brought back a basket of Chinese medicine Ban Xia from the mountain.

  Hua Zis uncle slapped his thigh and said, "Alright then, my daughter will be called Ban Xia."

  Dont be fooled by Gu Banxias nice-sounding name, shes actually a chubby girl.

  In this day and age, being able to be plump despite lacking clothes and food is truly a fortunate thing.

  Gu Banxia had a weak physique since childhood, Gu Huazi hated that he couldnt pluck the stars from the sky for her. She was his only daughter, and all the good things went into Gu Banxias belly.

  When youre young, its okay to be chubby and people will call you cute.

  But if a big girl gets fat, its no longer cute.

  But Gu Banxia, who had become a big girl, couldnt lose weight no matter what, and for so many years, she was nicknamed Gu Sanbai.

  Fat face, fat waist, fat legs.