The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 987: Chapter 964: Honor Amidst Chaos 32

Xiao Yin entered Xiao Fu’s room.

Xiao Fu was holding the cotton and fabric given by Anning to make a quilt.

Xiao Yin could tell at a glance that it was for the adopted children.

Regarding Xiao Yuan and Anning adopting children, Xiao Yin was not in favor.

She especially relied on her parents now and didn’t want Xiao Yuan to have extra children that would dilute their love for her.

There was nothing she could do about her biological siblings, but she didn’t like the adopted ones.

She sat on the bed, her little legs swinging constantly, with a frown: ”Sister, I don’t like those kids.”

Xiao Yin had a modern mindset, always believing that adopted children should be treated the same as biological ones. Besides, she thought Xiao Yuan already had five biological children, so why adopt so many more?

Xiao Fu, however, had a completely traditional way of thinking.

She smiled at Xiao Yin: ”If you don’t like them, just ignore them. When you find one you like, let mother bring them back to keep you company.”

”I have a sister, why would I need another one?”

Xiao Yin was still unhappy: ”Anyway, I don’t want dad and mom to adopt those people.”

Xiao Fu stopped her work and looked at Xiao Yin: ”Yin’er, mom and dad are doing this out of necessity. Considering our family’s situation, it’s impossible to buy many servants for chores. Do you want mom and dad to keep doing the work themselves? Mom cleans the house and cooks every day and is very tired. Dad runs a private school, so he doesn’t have much time for farming. Our brothers are still young and haven’t done hard labor. Someone has to do the work at home. Also, the Southern Yi is very chaotic. If there’s a pirate or something, our family needs to be able to protect itself. Dad and mom are adopting these children for this reason. The girls will wash, cook, and help with housework, while the boys will farm and can be trained as private guards.”

”Huh?”

Xiao Yin was speechless for a while before coming back to her senses: ”Is that so?”

Xiao Fu knocked on Xiao Yin’s head: ”If not this way, then how? Do you really think mom and dad would raise them as their own? But mom and dad aren’t heartless. Since they’ve adopted them, they’ll take good care of them, ensure they’re well-fed and clothed, and teach them skills. But they won’t surpass us.”

Only after hearing this did Xiao Yin feel at ease.

”If that’s the case, I can reluctantly accept it.”

Xiao Fu smiled and resumed her work.

Xiao Yin watched Xiao Fu sewing and moved closer: ”Sister, let me help you.”

Xiao Fu quickly replied: ”No, thank you. The other day, when mom taught you to sew, you pricked your finger badly. You can’t do this, so go play instead.”

Xiao Yin truly couldn’t manage sewing tasks.

She might be fine with reading and writing, or learning to cook a few simple dishes, but she couldn’t handle sewing.

She chuckled and wasn’t insistent on learning since her parents and siblings doted on her, and it didn’t matter if she couldn’t sew.

On Anning’s side, after the children finished eating, she called them over and took scissors to cut their hair.

These kids were orphans, living in ruined temples or wild mountains, or begging in towns. They were dark and skinny, and incredibly dirty, with lice on them. Anning cut their hair for easy lice removal.

She didn’t shave their heads completely but cut their hair short. Regardless of whether they were boys or girls, the hair was trimmed to ear-length, then wetted with water, treated with her homemade lice-removal medicine, and wrapped in cloth towels.

Anning individually wrapped their heads, smiling and saying: ”If your head feels itchy later, don’t remove the cloth. Bear with it until the lice are dead. After washing your head, the lice should be gone. Regular baths will keep you clean.”

The children nodded one by one.

After wrapping their heads, Anning took the girls to the east wing.

This time, eight children were adopted, five boys and three girls, and Anning let the three girls share one room.

This room had been tidied up beforehand, containing a big bed with bedding, a cabinet with some clothes, a washstand, two side-by-side desks, and a dresser.

The floor was paved with polished bluestone that Xiao Yuan had specially arranged, swept so clean that standing there, it seemed spotless, even reflecting images.

The bedspread was light gray, unpatterned, and the three quilts were gray too, looking particularly simple and elegant.

The desks were large; though there were two, they were big enough for three people. The cabinet was also large, although there were few clothes now, arranged neatly inside. But having a cabinet this big meant more clothes would probably be provided in the future.

The three girls saw this room and felt assured.

They never dreamed of such a day, being adopted, having parents, living in such a lovely house, and eating such delicious meals.

Thinking of the rice as white as jade and those fragrant meat dishes, the three children were drooling with craving.

Anning had them sit down, smiling: ”I won’t ask if you have names. Now that you’re part of the family, you’ll take your dad’s surname, Xiao. If you call me mother, then I, as your mother, will give you names.”

The girls quickly stood up: ”Of course we’ll take the surname Xiao, mother, please give us names quickly.”

They felt that taking the surname Xiao truly made them part of the family, and having names made them genuinely integrated into the new family.

Anning glanced at the three children.

They had long suffered from hunger, exposure, and inadequate food, leaving them not very pretty, all of them blackened, thin and small, with sparse, dry, split, hay-like hair. But if examined closely, their features were quite nice. If nurtured well, they could become beautiful.

Anning pointed at the tallest girl with large eyes that appeared alarming due to her thinness: ”You should be the oldest, so you’ll be Xiao Hui.”

She then indicated the smallest girl: ”You’ll be Xiao Yi.”

Finally, Anning smiled at the last girl: ”You’ll be Xiao Yun.”

After naming the children, Anning had them sit there until it was time to wash their hair before resting.

Watching the children sit quietly, she went to help Xiao Fu with the quilt.

After naming the girls, Xiao Yuan also named the boys.

The five boys ranged from eleven to six years old, and Xiao Yuan named them according to age: Xiao Song, Xiao Bai, Xiao Qing, Xiao Zhu, and Xiao Yang.

After naming them, Xiao Yuan left since he had many tasks to attend to.

Xiao Yuan discussed with Xiao Jin about hiring a few servants for the household, and also arranged to talk with the village chief about gathering the able-bodied villagers for training, just in case.

The people of Jingtian Village had encountered pirates looting and burning coastal lands before. Some elderly villagers still remembered those horrors, and the village wanted to strengthen its defenses. But learning anything in these times was incredibly difficult.

Learning letters was hard, and martial arts even harder. Without martial arts skills, the farm techniques alone couldn’t fend off pirates.

When Xiao Yuan proposed assisting with training people in the village, the village chief readily agreed.

No matter what, this was beneficial for the village. With martial arts learned, even if faced with bandits, they’d have some confidence.