After transmigrating, he supported his family by working at a garbage dump.

After Hu San Niang left, they were left in anxious waiting.

The mother and her two children stared intently at the alley entrance, as if they had fallen into a vortex of time outside.

The hustle and bustle of the long street seemed incredibly quiet, as if it were isolated from another world.

Naturally, they didn't notice that a strange old woman had appeared behind them at some point.

"Madam, are you here to buy needles and thread?"

It wasn't until the old woman's questioning voice drifted from behind that Xu Zhuzhu and the others hurriedly turned around.

The elderly woman's voice was tinged with rapid breathing, clearly indicating that she had rushed over and hadn't had time to calm her breathing.

Xu Zhuzhu looked back.

I could only see half of the old woman's body, which was severely hunched over, with her back and lower body bent at almost a 90-degree angle.

She carried a large basket about half her height on her back, which was stuffed full of rolls of cloth piled together. There were no special woven patterns on it, just plain cotton.

Xu Zhuzhu looked her up and down and immediately recognized her as the needlework granny that Hu Sanniang had mentioned.

The way the straps were pulled back from the old woman's shoulders, deeply embedded in her worn-out cotton-padded clothes, and the prominent veins on her forehead, made it clear that the basket was definitely not light.

Xu Zhuzhu truly admired this old woman.

Seeing her snow-white and sparse hair, I borrowed a rough, semi-circular wooden comb and combed the remaining hair to the top of her head, tying it into a small bun, and then wrapped it with a worn floral headscarf.

Even though she was hunched over, she still kept herself neat and tidy, which showed that she was a capable old woman, just like Grandma Mi, although Grandma Mi was younger.

However, judging from her rarely smiling expression and the wrinkles around her eyes, it was clear that this old woman's life did not seem to be very comfortable.

Come to think of it, otherwise, at her age, she would be an ancestor in any modern society, and most elderly people would be able to enjoy their retirement at home long ago.

And if she had even one filial child, how could they possibly allow her to go out alone to sell needles and thread all year round?

Xu Zhuzhu recalled the way Hu Sanniang sighed and hesitated to reveal more when she talked about the old woman.

Zhang He also recognized it from the basket her mother-in-law had filled.

This is the needlework grandma that Hu San Niang mentioned.

Realizing that she was still standing in front of someone else's stall, she quickly pulled her two children aside.

"Yes, yes, I came to buy needles and thread. I'm so sorry, I noticed you weren't here, so I took the liberty of leaving my basket on the table for the time being."

Zhang He hurriedly explained, and then, with a face full of apology, picked up the basket she had temporarily put down because she had to deal with the baby hens.

As luck would have it, the basket was placed right on top of the needlework grandma's stall.

“It’s nothing,” the needlework grandma smiled. “It’s just that people who come to my shop to buy needles and thread are usually regular customers. I didn’t recognize you at all. I saw you standing here for a long time from the other side of the street, so I asked you a question.”

It was a very polite and courteous reply, and there was no hint of displeasure in her tone. She seemed to be an easy person to talk to.

Upon hearing this, Zhang He burst into laughter and quickly explained that it was Hu San Niang who wanted to bring her here to buy needles and thread. "My sister-in-law kept praising my mother-in-law's skills, saying that the thread you spin is unmatched in Qingshan Town."

Hearing the praise, the needlework grandma didn't seem particularly excited; she simply smiled calmly, just as she had before.

"Third Sister is a kind-hearted person, but I'm getting old and my eyesight isn't good anymore. This is the only skill I can use to support myself. When I get older, I'm afraid I won't be able to spin anymore."

Xu Zhuzhu grinned, her eyes narrowed, and she laughed silently without any attempt to hide her laughter. This mother-in-law was quite good at being praised.

Her mother had never seen good or bad thread before, and even saying that it was spun well was probably just a polite way of putting it. Unexpectedly, the mother-in-law accepted the praise without saying a word.

It seems he does indeed possess some skill.

Sure enough, after the old lady tidied up her stall, Zhang He casually picked out a few bundles of thread, took a look, and immediately praised them.

"It truly lives up to its reputation. When I was young, my neighbors all praised my grandmother for being a skilled spinner. I was fortunate enough to witness it myself, but I was no match for even a fraction of her skill."

He put down the thread and picked up the cloth again.

Zhang He's exclamations of amazement rose and fell.

Seeing how much her mother loved the thread, Xu Zhuzhu knew that her mother-in-law deserved the praise.

Unfortunately, she didn't understand these things, so naturally she couldn't see any difference.

To her, an outsider who lived two miles away, the only difference she could see was the thickness of the thread, but threads naturally come in different thicknesses, don't they?

Looking at her brother, she saw that he was watching with great interest and seemed to understand some of it.

Xu Zhuzhu remained skeptical. At most, her brother had seen her mother embroider some flowers when he was in Qingzhou. Her mother had never taught her brother these things, so how could her brother distinguish them?

Xu Zhuzhu looked at him suspiciously and leaned closer. "Brother, can you tell why that thread is better than the others?"

Xu An pursed her lips and answered without hesitation, "I can't tell."

"Then why are you listening so attentively?"

Just now, when her mother was talking to Hu Sanniang, the two of them were in a daze, but this time, her brother was listening very attentively.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that her brother wasn't looking at her mother; his gaze had indeed swept past the stall and settled on the alley entrance.

Xu Zhuzhu also realized that her brother was thinking about that dog.

It's really hard to tell; I've never seen her brother like dogs that much before. Of course, it could also be because their family has never owned one.

Just then, Hu San Niang's figure appeared from the dimly lit alley.

"Godmother!"

Before Xu Zhuzhu, her goddaughter, could even speak, her brother rushed forward eagerly.

"Godmother, how is she?"

When Zhang He saw Hu San Niang come out, she put down the thread in her hand and went to greet her.

The old woman who was doing needlework also looked over.

Hu San Niang nodded to the needlework old woman without exchanging any further pleasantries.

Faced with Xu An's question, Hu San Niang had no answer.

Meeting Zhang He's expectant gaze again, she couldn't help but shake her head. Without saying a word, she let Zhang He and her son follow her into the alley.

Xu Zhuzhu knew that something terrible was about to happen.

……

Are they dead?

Xu An asked.

At the end of the alley, in a pile of thatched grass, the injured dog finally couldn't hold on any longer. It suddenly kicked its legs violently, and then instantly fell silent.

Beside her, three little puppies were curled up tightly, pressed close together.

They are indeed dead.

The scene before her eyes gave Xu Zhuzhu such a precise answer.

However, even after she opened her mouth for a long time, she couldn't answer her brother's question; she couldn't bring herself to say such cruel words.

Seeing the two children getting closer and closer, Zhang He quickly pulled them apart, saying, "Be careful, stand back."

Hu San Niang picked up the old tattered mat again, and together with Zhang He, they wrapped the dog up and moved it to a less crowded place.

“If we go this way, we’ll be out of town. This area is near the mountains. Let’s take it to the wasteland and bury it. It’ll be a thoughtful gesture.”

Zhang He silently stared at the corpses of the dog and its puppies, and sighed, "That's all we can do."

Looking at the dog, Xu An's eyes welled up with tears. It was the first time she had seen her brother so sad. She looked at Xu Zhuzhu and choked up.

"Zhuzhu, can you please save them?"

His tone even carried a pleading quality.

She knew what her brother was referring to, but now, even Old Man Mi's Red Beads couldn't cure it; it was dull and lifeless. How could it possibly revive a dog that had already died?

She shook her head silently.