Little Bei seized this opportunity. “See that, Mommy? My older brothers also think that you favored Xiao Wu.”

  As soon as Little Bei finished speaking, she heard Shao Nan’s voice. “Little Bei, she’s been quite good to you too.”

  “That’s true.” Little Bei concurred.

  Mu Jingzhe: “…”

  So long as there were two or more children, the problem of being biased would exist. She hadn’t expected to encounter such a situation herself, let alone with five children.

  Most importantly, she had to admit that she was indeed biased.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t like Shao Dong, Shao Xi, and Shao Nan, but they were older and could take care of themselves. Furthermore, due to their personalities, she wasn’t as close to them as she was to Little Bei and Xiao Wu.

  Due to fate and chance, she had grown closer to Little Bei and Xiao Wu. The two of them were more obedient, likable, and attached to her.

  Thus, she was indeed a little biased and cared more for them.

  Mu Jingzhe gave the five of them an egg each and promised, “I’ll try my best to be fair in the future.”

  Upon hearing this, Shao Dong and Shao Xi looked a little embarrassed and stopped talking.

  After all, they felt like they were grown up, and a real man shouldn’t behave like this. Besides… the two little ones had called her ‘Mommy’. They weren’t like Shao Dong and the rest.

  *****

  Everyone in the village knew that Little Bei had shot an advertisement and even danced on TV.

  Then, the full marks essay of the elementary school students was finally published. The school received a sample from the publishing house for Shao Xi.

  The principal and the form teacher were both very excited. They even specially publicized this matter during the flag-raising ceremony and presented him with a merit award, as well as three sample books.

  The school had kept two sample books for students to read so that everyone could learn from them in the future and strive to get their work published in the book as well.

  The children of the Shao Family had all made something of themselves. These pitiful little children, who used to have no one to take care of in the past, had become role models other parents were now asking their kids to learn from.

  After Shao Xi brought home the three sample books, he pretended to be calm and gave one to Mu Jingzhe.

  “Take it if you like.”

  “Wow, thanks, Shao Xi. That’s awesome.”

  Mu Jingzhe felt that Little Shao Xi exuded the air of a domineering CEO. She put it away carefully and said, “I’ll cherish it. You have to keep yours too. You can leave one for everyone to read, but the other one you’ve got to store properly.”

  The corners of Shao Xi’s mouth curled up. Though he had already decided to listen to her, he said, “There’s no need to be so excited. There will be more in the future.”

  “Mm, I believe you!” Mu Jingzhe nodded vigorously.

  \r \r \r

  Shy Shao Xi: “…”

  What could he possibly reply to this?

  He touched his nose and handed the essay that he had promised to write about their trip to the city to Mu Jingzhe.

  Shao Xi’s essay didn’t mention meeting Shao Qihai, only his wish.

  Shao Xi’s true wish was hidden in his words.

  He wanted his name and books to resonate throughout the world. In the future, he wanted to become a famous author and appear in newspapers and television shows. He wanted everyone to know his name and make it difficult for Shao Qihai to ignore it even if he wanted to.

  He had to show Shao Qihai how outstanding and impressive he was and make him regret it.

  Other than Xiao Wu, who hadn’t written the essay, Shao Dong and his siblings’ essays didn’t mention Shao Qihai either. After Mu Jingzhe read them, she felt that their essays were similar in some ways.

  For example, Little Bei had written that she wanted to appear on television more frequently in the future so everyone would get to know her.

  “It’s quite similar to their future paths in the novel.”

  The Dragon Boat Festival would be taking place on Wednesday.

  Mu Jingzhe had wrapped all the salted and sweet dumplings and tied them with a five-colored thread.

  The five-colored thread had been bought previously. It was said that it symbolized the five-colored dragon and could subdue demons and ghosts. It was also known as the ‘longevity thread’. One would tie it on their wrist and pray to suppress evil and avoid poison, allowing one to live a long life.

  “Left for male, right for female. Little Bei, tie it on your right hand. Shao Dong, Shao Xi, Shao Nan, and Xiao Wu, tie it on your left hand.”

  Mu Jingzhe followed the order. “I’ll braid it for you so that it won’t get caught on other objects.”

  In the past, during the Dragon Boat Festival, they basically hadn’t been able to afford to eat expensive food like dumplings. Now, their stomachs were full from eating so much.

  Although Mu Jingzhe said that eating too many dumplings wasn’t good for digestion, they ended up eating to their heart’s content—sweet dumplings, salty dumplings, as well as meat.

  When had they ever had such a good holiday? Even Shao Dong ate merrily until his little tummy puffed up.

  He looked at the five-colored thread, curiosity flashing in his eyes, but said, “Hmm, no need. I’m a guy…”

  “You’re a guy, which is why you’re wearing it on your left hand. Hurry up.”

  “Hurry up, Brother!” Little Bei couldn’t wait. She loved this the most.

  In the past, she used to only tie Shao Xǐ’s leftover threads. They weren’t even five colors, and Shao Dong and the other boys simply hadn’t tied any thread at all.

  “You guys have never tied a thread before. Now, you have Mommy to help you tie it. How wonderful is that…”

  Shao Dong stretched out his hand. “Thank you for the trouble.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s no trouble at all.”

  Mu Jingzhe helped each of them tie it, then even tied one around Little Bei and Xiao Wu’s necks.

  This was a custom in Great Eastern Village and its vicinity. Little Bei and Xiao Wu were delighted, but Shao Nan awkwardly said he did not want to tie it around his neck.

  Mu Jingzhe didn’t force him.

  When they went to school in the afternoon, they would see everyone show off their five-colored thread and see whose thread looked better.

  However, it only lasted for two days.

  Soon, the five-colored threads would get dirty.

  Before Little Bei’s five-colored thread got dirty though, she made another trip to the county.

  This time, it wasn’t to shoot an advertisement but to do the voiceover of an animated show.

  Previously, Little Bei had done an excellent job mimicking advertisements, and she could also speak a foreign language. These were all points in her favor. Thus, now that there was an opportunity to do a voiceover, she had naturally come to mind.

  Though the remuneration wasn’t much, it was nonetheless a good opportunity to develop her capabilities. Mu Jingzhe took her there again.

  This time, she didn’t bring the boys with her. While they were gone, Shao Dong and his siblings stayed in the county to continue their foreign language lessons before going to the county library to read.

  The entire school was vying to read Shao Xi’s elementary school essay.

  Shao Xi, Shao Dong, and the others also read it. Xiao Wu, who hadn’t officially gone to school yet, was eagerly watching from the sidelines.

  The thirst for books was undoubtedly reflected in these voracious readers, and Mu Jingzhe belatedly realized that there was a scarcity of books in this era.

  The school in Little Eastern Village didn’t have any extracurricular reading material other than books.

  The same applied to other villages. Even in towns, there were very few schools and no libraries at all. The conditions of that era paled greatly in comparison to the modern age.

  Reading habits and how much a child read were crucial to them. Mu Jingzhe went to inquire after realizing this.

  There was a library in the county that had a modest collection of books.

  Mu Jingzhe thought of a way and asked Ji Buwang to help her apply for a library card.

  With a library card, they could enter the library to read and even borrow books.

  The five kids liked it a lot. To them, this was like opening the door to a new world.

  However, there were some books that weren’t suitable for them to read, and Mu Jingzhe had pointed those out to them.

  When Mu Jingzhe brought Little Bei back, Xiao Wu ran over and clung to Mu Jingzhe.

  “You’re finally back, Mommy. We missed you so much.”

  Shao Dong and the rest didn’t say anything, but they didn’t deny it. Upon seeing their sparkling eyes, she could tell that they had really missed her.

  Unknowingly, the children’s attitude toward her had changed. Needless to say, Little Bei and Xiao Wu were now intimate with her and dependent on her. She had also grown much closer to the other three kids.

  At first, she had simply thought of taking care of them.

  However, when one faced these young and pitiful children, it was impossible to ignore them.

  The main reason was that she could empathize with them. She used to be an orphan as well and had gone through the same thing. After suffering through that pain herself, she knew how terrible it was, so she couldn’t bear to let them suffer.

  Changes always went beyond plans. Their attitude toward her had changed, and so had her attitude toward them.