I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 173 Your Hometown?

Hearing the voice coming from a side room, Jun Qixian asked, "Jin'er, is that you?"

He thought to himself, "Could it be that Sister Jin came here to pick vegetables?"

But it seems that all the vegetables in this house are unripe green beans?

"Yes, you and Caiwei come in, I have something to say."

"Ugh."

When Jun Qixian pulled Gu Caiwei through the door, they saw the people on the kang (heated brick bed) inside.

Not only were their clothes thin and tattered, but they were also so thin they looked like skin and bones.

Where did Sister Jin get this from?

Seeing this, Jun Qixian quickly closed the door. It had been snowing all night, and it was still snowing outside. With the door open, the cold wind blew in.

Pulling the stunned Caiwei along, she asked, "Jin-jie, what's wrong...?"

Dongfang Jin walked over, took a cloth and brushed the snow off Gu Caiwei, then held her little hand and said, "They were brought by Xiao Jiu and Shiyi."

They said they were rescued from human traffickers, and since our family was short-handed, I kept them.

Yang Hui sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at Dongfang Jin in astonishment: "???"

Why did she lie?

Jun Qixian looked at Yang Hui, who was so young, and said angrily, "Why is no one dealing with these heartless human traffickers?"

"Deal with them? How can we deal with them? Those people are like weeds, they can't be burned out, they just keep growing back in the spring breeze."

Upon hearing this, Yang Hui looked at Dongfang Jin with disbelief. How could she be so knowledgeable?

Who is she?

Thinking of the places they had been, she fell silent; it seemed she was right.

She was protecting their dignity; if others knew they came from such a filthy place...

They will definitely be despised.

Dongfang Jin looked at Yang Hui, whose expression kept changing. She had said that on purpose, just to test the girl.

She still remembered that this girl was the calmest of the children.

It seems that these children all revolve around her.

Seeing that she only glanced at her in surprise and didn't say anything, I was extremely satisfied with her reaction.

Dongfang Jin bent down and pinched Gu Caiwei's little face, watching her look at the children with curiosity.

He smiled indulgently and said, "Caiwei, go and see if your brother is awake. If he is, have him and Xiaohui go to the village to call Grandpa Xu over."

Gu Caiwei glanced at the girl on the kang (a heated brick bed), nodded, and said, "Okay, little sister." Then she turned and left.

After she left, Dongfang Jin said to Jun Qixian, "Go find two sets of your clothes, and for the rest, just use Caiwei's clothes for now."

"Once the snow stops and they warm up, I'll have Xiaojun and Sister Yumei go to the county to buy them what they need."

Jun Qixian didn't ask anything more and nodded, "Okay."

These were not questions she should ask. She trusted Sister Jin, who had managed to bring back so many children all at once.

It seems...

Well, Long Jiu and Eleven are always appearing and disappearing mysteriously. I just hope they don't cause trouble for Sister Jin.

After Jun Qixian left, the others gradually woke up.

When Du Wanru woke up, she found that the kang (heated brick bed) beneath her was warm. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked at Dongfang Jin: "Benefactor, where are we...?"

Seeing that they were all awake, Dongfang Jin said, "This is my home. Now that you are all awake, I hope you will all forget the past."

From now on, do not mention your past to anyone. As I just said, you were rescued from human traffickers.

I mean what I'm saying, and I hope that from today onwards, you can start a new chapter in your lives.

“My family is not wealthy or noble; we are just a farming family. As long as you behave yourselves, we will not mistreat you.”

"As long as you are loyal, I promise you will not go hungry, as long as my family has food to eat."

"Our family is small, consisting of my husband, my wife, and our two children."

Then there are the Jun family of three and the Shen family of three; they are all people who have fallen on hard times.

They all live in my house, and I hope you can get along peacefully from now on.

Yang Hui looked puzzled: "Was that girl your daughter?"

If she heard correctly, the girl just now called her "little girl".

"Little Mother" is not "Mother"; that's a term they use specifically for a stepmother.

Dongfang Jin looked at them and smiled: "I am her stepmother, well, I mean stepmother. I also have a seven-year-old son."

Lan Fangjing looked bewildered: "Stepmother? Second mother? So we've returned to our hometown?"

Dongfang Jin asked in confusion, "Oh, your hometown?"

Her question drew surprised looks from the others.

At this moment, Lin Panpan explained to her, "In Donglin Kingdom, only in Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Yunmengzhou do stepmothers call each other 'little mother'."

Dongfang Jin asked in surprise, "So your hometowns are all nearby? This is Yeongan County in southern Jeju. Do you want to go home?"

Yang Hui gritted her teeth and shook her head, her eyes filled with hatred: "I would rather die than go back."

After she finished speaking, the others nodded in agreement.

Jun Qixian came over with clothes in her arms and saw that the people lying on the kang had all sat up. She nodded to them and said, "Jin-jie, I just checked the water tank. The water there is still warm. You can wash the little ones too."

Dongfang Jin touched the youngest child: "Her name is Jun Qixian, and she is eighteen years old this year."

You two can call her Sister Xian, and you younger ones can call her Aunt Xian.

Du Wanru nodded, a smile appearing on her face: "Lin Panpan and I are both sixteen years old, so let's both call you Auntie."

Jun Qixian looked at Dongfang Jin somewhat embarrassedly: "Jin-jie, what's this?"

"Let them be. It's just a name. We'll be living together in the future, so we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other."

After Dongfang Jin finished speaking, she said to Jun Qixian, "Take them to wash and check carefully if there is anything in their hair."

Both of them are injured; we'll discuss it after Grandpa Xu comes to see them.

Jun Qixian smiled and said, "Okay, it just so happens that Sister Yumei made five pairs of new shoes for Caiwei."

They also said that children's feet grow quickly, so the shoes were a bit too big, and they're just right for the older girls to wear.

Dongfang Jin said gently to the five children, "Go with her to take a bath. After you've bathed and changed your clothes, I'll take you to have breakfast."

Yang Wenwen looked at her and asked longingly, "Will I be able to eat my fill?"

Dongfang Jin bent down and ruffled her messy hair, smiling gently, "Yes, you can eat your fill every meal here from now on."

However, before that, you should see a doctor first, otherwise it might be bad if you get sick.

These children were pale and thin, clearly starved for a long time, even thinner than the original owner and Gu Jingye and his sister were back then.

These people definitely have weak stomachs. We need to see this before we can say anything, otherwise she can't openly use the Five Elements Spring.

With Grandpa Xu's medicine, no one will notice if she uses it again.

Yang Wenwen nodded happily: "I understand."

Before they could leave, Jun Wenhui and Gu Yumei hurried over.

Upon seeing this, everyone asked what was going on.

Dongfang Jin had no choice but to repeat the same explanation he had given to Jun Qixian.

Upon hearing this, the two women learned that they had been rescued from human traffickers.

They all had teary eyes.

Emma, ​​is this what it's like to be a mother?

Their eyes were so red, like rabbit eyes, that she couldn't stand looking at them.

I felt a pang of sadness and discomfort in my heart.

When Gu Yumei heard that she was going to take the children to bathe, she didn't ask any questions and went to bathe with Jun Qixian.

Jun Wenhui and Dongfang Jin were responsible for changing Du Wanru and Lin Panpan's clothes.

Seeing the whip marks all over their bodies, layer upon layer, some of which were even ulcerated.

Jun Wenhui's eyes reddened even more, and tears silently slid down her cheeks.

Dongfang Jin looked at their injuries and fell silent. This was winter, and their wounds were like this; what would they be like in summer?

How did they endure all those injuries?