9 Everything is Changing

Glancing at Sun Yiming, Han Qiao said steadily, "I'm throwing out all the trash."

"But those are my clothes."

Han Qiao nodded. "Yep, it's your clothes. What I'm throwing out is indeed your clothes. Not just your clothes, I'm throwing out everything that belongs to you."

"From now on this house belongs to me. I don't want to see anything that belongs to you."

Sun Yiming was a person who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

When he hit Han Qiao for the first time, he panicked. But when it was clear Han Qiao wasn't going to offer any resistance, nor go back to her family to complain, he felt emboldened enough and hit her a second time, a third time, and so on.

Now that Han Qiao had beaten him, tied up like a dumpling and thrown into the study for a night–not to mention all the other threats–what little willpower he had left was all gone.

He opened his mouth, dying to speak.

"You better not try me, or else I'll sell all your clothes and you can go around naked." Han Qiao's voice was fierce yet cold.

Sun Yiming was so scared that he stepped back and didn't dare to say anything.

"Have you eaten?" Han Qiao asked.

"..." Sun Yiming was silent.

"If you're done eating, go copy Thousand Character Classic for me. If you don't finish making ten copies by nightfall, don't even think about eating tonight," Han Qiao shouted in a gravelly voice.

"I haven't finished eating yet."

Sun Yiming stumbled back to the kitchen to finish his porridge.

Sneering coldly, Han Qiao continued to get rid of everything in the house. Whether it was Sun Yiming's or Han Qiao's, it was all thrown into the yard: the straw mats on the bed, the straw pillows, everything. When they had all been thrown out, she leant against the door to catch her breath.

Seeing that Sun Yiming was still dawdling around, she roared, "Sun Yiming, do you want to die?"

Sun yiming trembled. "I'll…I'll go write it now."

In his heart, he cursed that shrew.

He would divorce her one of these days.

"And you better write seriously. If you write a bunch of nonsense to fool me..." Han Qiao said, then paused for a moment.

She took the hemp rope into the study and hung it from the beam of the room.

"If you dare to fool me, I'll hang your head on this hemp rope like a dog."

After saying these harsh words, Han Qiao went out to fetch water to clean the house with.

She didn't care about Sun Yiming at all.

Sun Yiming looked at the hemp rope that fell on the roof beam. His heart trembled.

Sullenly, he took a seat at the desk, ignoring the pain in his butt, he began to write out copies of Thousand Character Classic.

It had been a long time since he had written anything. When he wrote the first copy, he was still inexperienced, but by the time he got around to the second, the quality had improved considerably. His handwriting became much smoother as well.

Han Qiao meanwhile cleaned the house and wiped up all the dust with a rag. The paper in the window frame had turned yellow, so she tore it off and carefully washed it.

She made sure not to leave out the wardrobe and table.

Aching from head to toe, Han Qiao was so tired that she was panting.

She remembered to go back to the study to see if Sun Yiming was seriously writing.

When he saw her enter, Sun Yiming felt a little flustered. He was so nervous that he forgot how to write for a moment.

He warily stared at Han Qiao.

If she raised her hand, he feared she would slap him.

But Han Qiao completely ignored him. After checking that the Thousand Character Classic he had copied was correct and neat, she left the study and continued to tidy up.

"Phew." Sun Yiming heaved a sigh of relief.

Looking at the empty study, Sun Yiming couldn't fight back the prickles of melancholy.

Once upon a time, this was his study room. There were books of all sizes, and even if they were not valuable, at least they were neatly arranged.

"..."

The veins on the back of his hand that was holding the brush were bulging. The hands themselves were trembling. A moment of silence passed, then he sighed and continued writing.

"Mother, Mother, we're back."

The sound of knocking on a wooden door rang out. Han Qiao rushed to open it.

The three daughters' faces were brimming with joy. The corners of their eyes and brows betrayed thick smiles.

Sun Xiu was carrying a basket in her hand. It was covered by an old blue cloth.

"Come in quickly," Han Qiao said.

One after another, the three daughters entered the courtyard. But just as Han Qiao was about to close the door, she saw Heng Yi walk by, a slovenly look on his face.

Han Qiao robotically shut the door.

The three sisters looked at the pile of clothes and other odds and ends lying on the ground. They were quite shocked.

"I'm tidying up this place. I want all these things taken care of. Come and help me after dinner."

She then asked the three girls what they had bought.

"We bought pork, leeks, and green onions. We also bought some caramel for Ke," Sun Xiu said as she handed the remaining money back to Han Qiao.

"I spent 32 cash coins on pork, 10 on leeks and green onions, and 80 on the caramel."

Han Qiao had given them 100 coins. Now 50 were left.

She said nothing more, only took it and put it in her old purse.

"Mother, I'll go chop the meat and make noodles," Sun Xiu said as she took the basket with her back into the kitchen.

"Dear Xiu," Han Qiao stopped her. "The caramel is not only for Ke; it's for you and Yi too. You three share it."

Sun Xiu and Sun Yi's eyes showed just how pleased they were.

Sun Ke followed. "Big Sister, Second Sister, let's eat the candies!"

It's not hard to please children, after all.

Even Sun Xiu and Sun Yi–sensible and obedient though they were–were more than happy to shove a piece of caramel into their mouths.

"It's so sweet. Not just for the tongue, but for the heart, too," Sun Yi murmured.

Sun Xiu smiled at Sun Yi.

"I'll make the noodles, you chop the pork, and Ke can pick the leeks and onions. We'll make the dumplings now and help Mother wash the clothes later."

Sun Yi agreed.

Sun Ke took a piece of caramel and ran off to find Han Qiao, who was busy cleaning the house. "Mother, Mother, try some caramel, it's so sweet!"

Han Qiao opened her mouth and plopped the candy in. It was very sweet indeed.

"Now, go play."

Sun Ke ran off again.

Savoring the sweet flavor that still lingered in her mouth, Han Qiao glanced at the window. All she saw was this old house. The bed, the table, the wardrobe–everything was old.

As long as she was still alive, the three children were her responsibility.

She had to take good care of them and bring them up properly.

Of course, neither of those would be easy.

Fortunately, the three children obeyed her every word and did not complain. That saved her a lot of trouble.

Sun Ke's youthful voice was pouring through the walls. "Sister, how are the dumplings?"

"Which one do you think is better? The egg and leek dumplings or the pork dumplings?"

For these children who had never before eaten well, just the thought of food was enough to make them hungry.

"They're both good. You'll know when you try them." Sun Xiu pinched her younger sister's nose, wearing quite a cheeky smile.

She cast a glance over at the study door, and not without some apprehension.

It was shut tight. She didn't know what was going on inside. That may have worried her, but it wasn't enough to rain on her parade; she was happy.

And, she was very hopeful for the future.

Her mother had money now. She could protect herself and her sisters. Even if they were kicked out, at least she wouldn't have to sleep on the streets or become a beggar.

"Then, I'll have two more."

Sun Ke tried counting with her fingers, but she did not know how many she would eat.

Sun Yi finished chopping the meat. "Big sister, I'll leave the rest to you. I'm going to go help Mother clean the house."

"We'll come join you in a while."

These words snagged Sun Xiu's attention.

In her heart was an indescribable feeling. What was once pure numbness was returning to warmth.

A moment later, she nodded. "Got it."

Sun Yi washed her hands in the basin, then dumped the water out of the kitchen.

When her foot crossed the threshold of the center room, her eyes were dragged in the direction of the study door. It was shut, so she couldn't see what was going on inside.

That laid to rest a few of her fears.

She kept walking, now a bit faster, and found Han Qiao bent over wiping down the bed. "Mother, let me help you."

Han Qiao looked up at Sun Yi. "You've finished chopping the meat?"

"Yes, it's done. Big Sister hasn't finished preparing the dough, though. When she's ready to start making the dumplings, I'll go help her."

Sun Yi saw that the water in the bucket was a little dirty. "Mother, I'll take out the bucket of water."

She carried the bucket of water out of the house with steady and agile footsteps.

Han Qiao grabbed onto the bed and pulled herself to her feet. The world's softest smile showed itself on her face.