In reality, they had a chance to get together every year. Even when they were working elsewhere, they almost always came home at the end of the year.

But back then, there was an invisible rift between them during those gatherings. That, combined with other people being around and various other factors...

How should I put it?

It just wasn’t as warm as it was now.

Qin Zhonghui looked at his wife and daughters, saying guiltily, "It’s all my fault. I failed to give you a good life."

"No, it’s not. What happened in the past wasn’t your fault." After she spoke, Su Yun sighed. "Actually, maybe it is a little your fault, for being too honest. But then again, if you weren’t so honest and dependable, with a character I could trust, I never would have fallen for you in the first place."

’Sometimes, it was really hard to tell if a person’s quality was a flaw or a virtue.’

Qin Jiao popped a grape into her mouth and savored it.

’Mmm, so sweet.’

Before bed that night, Qin Jiao took out some spring water from her space and gave a cup to her mom, her dad, and Xiao Shi.

She hadn’t given it to them before because they were in the process of splitting from the extended family and needed to look as miserable as possible.

But not anymore.

Qin Jiao’s greatest wish now was for her family to be healthy, safe, and sound.

The next day, Su Yun and Qin Zhonghui went out to buy a breakfast cart and some supplies. Qin Jiao took her little sister, Xiao Shi, and carried a large burlap sack with her.

Xiao Shi didn’t ask any questions, simply following her older sister obediently. When they got to the vegetable market, Qin Jiao picked a corner, took all the vegetables out of the burlap sack, and arranged them in a neat display.

Qin Jiao was surprised that Xiao Shi didn’t even ask where the vegetables came from.

When she asked Xiao Shi out of curiosity, her sister replied, "Sis knows magic!"

Qin Jiao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She reached out and started braiding Xiao Shi’s hair. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Once everything was set up, Qin Jiao started to call out to potential customers. When hawking goods for the first time, it’s natural to be embarrassed. Someone who is too shy wouldn’t be able to make a sound.

But Qin Jiao had already lived two lifetimes and experienced matters of life and death. Why would she care about something as trivial as losing face?

Before long, many shoppers were drawn over. Seeing the fresh, dewy vegetables, they started asking about the prices.

"This one is twenty cents a bunch, and that one is thirty cents a bunch."

It wasn’t exactly cheap, but the vegetables were exceptionally fresh, some even still dotted with dewdrops. One older woman bought three bunches at once. She asked, "Child, there are no mountains around here. Where did you forage for these?"

"My dad and his friends picked them early this morning. They’re as fresh as can be! You should buy some more, miss."

The woman, who was in her forties, was so delighted to be called "miss" by a teenage girl that she broke into a wide smile and bought two more bunches.

In less than half a day, the entire sack of vegetables was nearly sold out.

Qin Jiao packed everything up and took Xiao Shi to the nearby stationery store. There, she bought a small red bookbag, a pencil case, pencils, an eraser, and the like.

She said, "In just a little while, our Xiao Shi will be an elementary school student!"

Xiao Shi blushed, stroking the bookbag and new stationery as if they were treasures. "But Sis... I never even went to preschool. Xiao Tao used to call me a dummy."

’Xiao Tao might be in preschool already, but she guessed he probably couldn’t even write the word ’dummy’.’

Qin Jiao said gently, "Don’t worry about it. Preschool is just for learning the alphabet, some simple words, and basic addition and subtraction. I’ll teach you when we get home!"

"Okay!" Xiao Shi’s eyes sparkled.

When Qin Jiao brought Xiao Shi back home, Xiao Shi gingerly took out her bookbag and school supplies, looking them over again and again.

Qin Jiao smiled faintly. She then took out one of her own books and began to read.

The attic wasn’t large. Besides an old, one-and-a-half-meter wooden bed, the remaining floor space had been wiped clean. Qin Jiao had spread a mat on the floor, placed a small square table in the middle of it, and the two sisters sat there reading together.