Chapter 377: Chapter 373: What’s There to Be Afraid Of?

Xiao Chenxing was about to happily grab clothes for Bao Wenxuan when she realized something was wrong and exploded.

"Aaaaah! What do you mean by that?"

Bao Wenxuan: "..."

Oh no, she got happy and let her true feelings slip.

Ever since she started putting up a facade with her parents, she’d become quite adept at lying without a change in expression.

"Ah?" Though she was panicking inside, her face remained eerily calm.

Her face even had a touch of perfectly-timed bewilderment, "What do you mean?"

"You said my clothes fit just right, what did you mean?"

"I meant that while you have a slender figure, you like baggy clothes. They hang loose on you, but fit me perfectly."

Faced with Bao Wenxuan’s obviously more sincere answer, Xiao Chenxing’s anger quickly dissipated.

She glanced at Bao Wenxuan, mumbling, "Ah, well then, that’s fine."

Once Xiao Chenxing went to fetch her things, Bao Wenxuan finally let out a sigh of relief.

Alright alright, nearly bluffed my way through.

Wen Ran: "..."

Looks like Bao Wenxuan is quite the trickster at home too.

Look at her lying without batting an eye.

Tsk tsk tsk, clearly a seasoned expert.

"Nice one," Wen Ran elbowed Bao Wenxuan with a grin, "You really know how to sweet-talk people now."

Bao Wenxuan: "...Don’t tease me, I have to blend in and get by at your place now."

"Alright," Wen Ran waved her hand, "Don’t be so uptight. Besides, it’s not like you haven’t freeloaded at our place before.

Even though people haven’t changed, it’s the same folks just in a different place, so you don’t need to be so awkward."

Now that Bao Wenxuan was cleaned up, after Xiao Chenxing brought her clean clothes and she changed into them, Bao Wenxuan was taken by Xiao Chenxing and Hongguo to their room to live.

Shen Yueyue didn’t have any objections either, after all, in a certain sense, she shared the same status as Bao Wenxuan.

Sigh~

Just like that, the little family expanded further.

With more people at home, Xiao Chenye had time to do what he wanted.

Mr. Xiao was impressive; while making little beds for the twins, some folks passing by saw his craftsmanship, liked it, and already paid to reserve three.

If calculated this way, besides Wen Ran’s freeloading, Mr. Xiao brought a good start to the Xiao Family, earning the first pot of gold.

Mr. Xiao had his own plans for this money: half would go to the children, which in essence went to Wen Ran, while the remaining half was split into two parts.

One part was handed over to Mrs. Xiao, and the other part was used by Mr. Xiao to purchase another batch of wood.

He considered this matter quite seriously.

In his view, people spent money to buy his craftsmanship.

He must present them with the best stuff, otherwise, he’d ruin his reputation for nothing.

Mr. Xiao cherished his reputation.

Wen Ran had no objections to this. In life, one must find a hobby to pursue; only then can they sustain themselves through the long journey of life.

Otherwise, besides three meals a day, there’s nothing to do.

Just staring blankly every day, such a life would be quite pointless.

Ding and Mr. Xiao fiddled with wood while Mrs. Xiao and Bai Zhenzhu started working on the yard.

Mrs. Xiao knew that in the Capital City, even to eat a garlic shoot they would have to pay.

On this, she couldn’t change things, so she found some bricks to stack in the corner of the wall, then went with Bai Zhenzhu to the outskirts to bring back mud.

Indeed.

Mrs. Xiao believed that the soil in the yard lacked fertility and insisted on getting mud from the outskirts.

Wen Ran wasn’t against this, just...

Could you two wait till spring for your activities?

Going to the outskirts now, aside from freezing to death, the shovel hits the ground with a trembling hand.

Bringing back a cart full of frozen mud, they got chilled to the bone, but it paid off; they stopped their foolish activities.

They started researching growing sprouts, mung bean sprouts.

Believe it or not, they actually succeeded.

Since then, the family’s dishes were inseparable from sprouts.

Stir-fried sprouts, stewed sprouts, steamed sprouts, even steamed buns had sprouts stuffed inside.

Wen Ran almost felt like she was turning into a sprout.

Looking at sprouts, there was no love, only hatred.

After their initial excitement wore off, the family meals slowly returned to normal.

Wen Ran let out a great sigh of relief; honestly, if the diet continued like this, she felt she might run away from home.

Time passed quickly, soon it was time for school to start. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

If following usual times, this would mark the end of the winter break, welcoming the second semester.

But for these pioneers, this was the first semester.

Since, after reporting, the school repeatedly mandated that freshmen must live on campus, once home, Mrs. Xiao began preparing school supplies for the children.

Including, but not limited to, bed sheets, quilts, washbasins, towels, thermos flasks...

They all looked insignificant individually, but gathered together, they were quite impressive.

During this, Bao Wenxuan hid away, quietly crying for a while.

She truly hadn’t expected that she’d have a share of these things.

Mrs. Xiao wanted to comfort her, but Wen Ran held her back, tugged on Mrs. Xiao’s sleeve, and whispered, "Don’t bother her, let her have time alone to calm and digest.

We already see her as family, so in time, she’ll come to understand this.

There’s no need for us to repeatedly confirm that what we have, she has too."

"Sigh," Mrs. Xiao sighed, "Tell me, what are her parents thinking?

Such a good kid, yet still bullied. No one’s college education is more promising than their own child’s.

Why is their vision so short-sighted? So narrow-minded, only seeing the land right in front of them.

This is clearly not just a college opportunity; it’s an incredible chance for one person to rise and lift the whole family’s status."

Wen Ran nodded, "Exactly! Absolutely!"

"If Wenxuan makes a mark in school, what if her shameless parents come begging, what should Wenxuan do?"

"Worrying about future issues now is a bit premature.

Why, mom, are you afraid she’ll suffer?

If they come, let them be prepared to face the consequences."

She, Wen Ran, is petty and holds grudges.

Bao Wenxuan is already her good friend; anyone trying to bully her, they’d better check if Wen Ran would allow it.