From Broken Family to Life Winner: A Reborn Mother's Journey

Grandma Wu still had some flour on her hands. It seemed she was inside cooking and had rushed out when she heard Wu Sheng’s voice.

”It’s me, Grandma! Did you miss me?”

Wu Sheng walked forward with a smile. Before Grandma Wu could say anything, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from inside the house.

The next second, several people poured out of the house.

”Is that Wu Sheng?”

”Cousin?”

A series of surprised cries and names rang out, filled with disbelief and delight.

”Yeah, it’s me, Little Aunt.”

Wu Sheng replied with a wide grin, looking at the round-faced, middle-aged woman behind Grandma Wu.

This was Wu Sheng’s little aunt. She was in her forties, with a medium build, and dressed in a floral-print outfit, giving her a simple and honest look.

She looked quite a bit like Grandma Wu standing beside her.

”Why didn’t you let us know you were coming back?”

His aunt was both shocked and overjoyed to see Wu Sheng. Still holding a spatula in her hand, she started swatting his arm. She was smiling, but her eyes were filled with tears.

”I was planning to surprise you, wasn’t I? Wasn’t Mom always like this? Aren’t you all used to it by now?”

Wu Sheng said, pointing to the spatula in her hand, ”It’s a good thing you’re holding a spatula and not a cleaver, Little Aunt. Otherwise, I’d be in real danger.”

After taking a couple more swats from his little aunt, Wu Sheng turned and hugged his grandmother, who had been watching him the whole time.

”Grandma, are you so happy you’re stunned? You see your darling grandson and you don’t even know to give him a hug.”

Grandma Wu’s hair was completely white, her face was covered in wrinkles, and most of her teeth were gone. But she was still hale and hearty, patting Wu Sheng on the back.

”I thought you all weren’t coming back this year.”

”How could we not come back? I’ve been dreaming of coming back.”

Wu Sheng retorted, ”And I even brought back that granddaughter-in-law you’ve been longing for!”

He chuckled, noticing his cousins staring blankly ahead at Su Li and Little Tang Mo. He turned back, pulled Su Li over, and began the introductions.

”Let me make a formal introduction. This is Su Li—your future granddaughter-in-law, Grandma. And your future cousin-in-law!”

After introducing her, he pulled Little Tang Mo forward. ”This is Little Mo. He’s our adopted son.”

This time, he directly stated that Little Mo was adopted.

”Su Li, this is my grandma, this is my little aunt, and these are my cousins.”

Su Li bowed. ”Hello, Grandma. Hello, Aunt.”

Wu Sheng patted Little Tang Mo’s head. ”Call her Great-Grandma, and Grand-Aunt.”

Little Tang Mo obediently greeted them, ”Great-Grandma, Grand-Aunt.”

Grandma Wu and the little aunt were stunned for a moment before it suddenly clicked.

”Oh, oh... come in, quick, come in and sit down.”

They ushered them in hurriedly, still a little flustered. ”Quick, come sit.”

Wu Sheng carried the luggage as he, Su Li, and Little Tang Mo were ushered into the house, surrounded by the family.

”Aren’t you going to greet her?” Wu Sheng didn’t forget to glance at his younger cousins.

”Cousin-in-law.” Wu Sheng held a lot of authority with his cousins, and they all immediately and obediently greeted her.

Since she’d already greeted the grandmother and aunt, Su Li had no qualms about accepting the title.

”Sit, quickly, sit down.” Once inside, the little aunt hurriedly put down the spatula, wrung her hands, and started giving orders to her daughter.

”Little Chun, hurry and pour your cousin-in-law some water.”

”Wu Xia, hurry up and get back to cooking.”

The arrival of Wu Sheng and Su Li completely livened up the Wu family home.

”Little Aunt, don’t be nervous, and don’t go to so much trouble. We’re not hungry. We’ve been eating the whole way here. I even picked some plums to eat.”

Wu Sheng pointed to his cousins.

”Their names are easy to remember: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Wu Chun and Wu Xia are my female cousins, and Wu Qiu and Wu Dong are my male cousins.”

Su Li nodded, her head spinning a little.

They were Wu Sheng’s cousins, but except for the youngest, Wu Dong, all of them were older than her.

But because Wu Sheng was older than them, they called Su Li ”Cousin-in-law.”

In the Wu family, Grandpa Wu had passed away a few years ago, leaving only Grandma Wu.

Grandma Wu had three children: two daughters and one son. The son was Wu Zhuangshi, who had passed away at a young age.

When Wu Zhuangshi died, half of Grandma Wu’s full head of black hair turned white overnight.

After Grandpa Wu also passed away, Grandma Wu’s hair turned completely white, with no black left at all.

After Wu Zhuangshi’s death, both the elder and younger aunts married one after the other, and their lives were reasonably good.

However, the little aunt’s husband had passed away a few years prior. Because his family was difficult to get along with, she brought her four children—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—back to her maternal home.

She came back for two reasons: one, to take care of Grandma Wu, and two, to farm Grandma Wu’s land.

After Grandpa Wu passed, Grandma Wu couldn’t manage all the family’s farmland by herself.

They considered Wu Sheng a child of the Wu family, but he wasn’t a farmer. In a way, the little aunt’s return was like bringing a son back into the fold.

Among the four children, Wu Chun was already married and just happened to be visiting her maternal home today. Wu Xia was also engaged and would be married by the end of the year.

Wu Qiu was getting on in years and was in the process of having a marriage arranged. Barring any surprises, he would take a wife by next year at the latest.

As for the youngest, Wu Dong, ”Wu Dong took the college entrance exams this year. He’s pretty confident and says he wants to go to school in the Imperial City. He’s just waiting for his acceptance letter.”

Wu Sheng noticed that Grandma Wu and his little aunt were a bit reserved around Su Li and Little Tang Mo. To break the ice, he turned to his youngest cousin.

”Little Wu Dong, do you know what your cousin-in-law does for a living?”

Wu Sheng’s tone was boastful. ”She’s from Huaguo Communication University and is going to be a reporter. You’ll be able to see her on TV in the future.”

As soon as Wu Sheng said this, it wasn’t just Wu Dong who looked at her with adoration; everyone’s gaze on Su Li was filled with curiosity and wonder.

”Wow, that’s so impressive.”

Wu Dong’s reaction was even more exaggerated. ”Cousin-in-law, how are you so amazing? You must have done really well on your college entrance exams.”

”Mom was the city’s top scorer,” Little Tang Mo, who had been quiet the whole time, couldn’t help but interject.

His words were immediately met with another round of sharp intakes of breath.

”That amazing?” Even the married Wu Chun crowded around to get a better look at Su Li.

Grandma Wu and the little aunt stood to the side, watching Su Li with smiles and a sense of relief in their eyes.

Wu Sheng patted Little Tang Mo’s head. ”Do you guys know what grade this Little Point is in now?”

Wu Dong looked at Little Tang Mo’s age. ”Second grade?”

Wu Sheng shook his head. ”He’ll be starting fifth grade when school opens. He’s only seven this year.”

Wu Dong blinked, unable to process it for a good while. ’Skipping grades? A child prodigy?’ Such people were too far removed from his world. ”Why?”

”Because he’s just that smart. He learned everything in a flash.”

Everyone’s amazed gazes instantly fell upon Little Tang Mo. He was a little embarrassed but pretended to be calm.

They chatted for a long while. By the time it got dark, a lavish meal, with extra dishes and more meat hurriedly prepared, was laid out on the table.

It was all-natural, farmhouse-style cooking, made without too many seasonings.

Because Wu Sheng had returned, and because he had brought Su Li and Little Tang Mo with him, a chicken that had been waiting outside the fence for nightfall to go to roost had closed its eyes and met King Yan, becoming a dish on the table.

Some cured meat was rendered for its fat to stir-fry the free-range chicken. After it was fried to a golden brown, water was added to make a soup, and the aroma was pure and rich.

It was all-natural and cooked over a wood fire, so delicious it was unbelievable. You could get stuffed just from eating rice with the chicken broth.

And that was just one dish.

The cured meat, prepared during the New Year, was fragrant no matter how it was cooked.

Cured meat stir-fried with bamboo shoots, plus freshly caught and killed fish—all of it was unbelievably delicious.

Unlike the small plates of food in the city, here everything was served on large platters and in big bowls.

Delicious and satisfying.

”Here, Su Li, have a chicken leg.” Grandma Wu placed the best chicken leg into Su Li’s bowl.