Aquiya shook her head and said, "Sister-in-law, I remember when you and my brother were taking care of me, and now it's my turn to repay that kindness."

When she mentioned her brother, Aquiya's expression became pained. The woman also lowered her eyes, clenched her fists, and her beautiful face was full of grievance and bitterness.

Seeing her sister-in-law seemed to cry, Aquiya quickly wiped her tears away and complained, "Brother was really something. He had a sister-in-law, Xiaomi, Xiaojie, such a wonderful family, yet he didn't find a proper job and insisted on joining a gang.

When his body was brought back, it was in pieces, not even whole.

He worked so hard for them, yet in their eyes, he was worth less than a dog. Sister-in-law, I feel so bad for you..."

As Aquiya spoke, her eyes reddened.

Ye Ru shook her head and said to Aquiya, "You can't talk about your brother like that. It's not that easy to find a job, you should know that.

The population in Upper City District is growing, but there are fewer jobs, and wages are decreasing, as if under the crushing weight of merciless bosses.

Your brother was once a factory worker too, but the wages he brought back kept shrinking, and he couldn't support the family.

He had no choice but to join a gang, just to provide us with meals.

He did it for us..."

"But in the factory, although the pay was meager, at least it was stable, and the family could still be together! Joining a gang is like being someone else's dog, they wouldn't even care if you died. Brother, he was still so young, and Xiaomi and Xiaojie are so little, how will they go on..."

Aquiya wiped away her tears, her tone full of resentment towards the gang that her brother joined.

Ye Ru rubbed Aquiya's head and said, "It's alright, as long as our family is together, we can get through this.

Besides, didn't their gang pay us a substantial compensation?

They even helped us pay 20 years of residence tax in full, without that burden, plus your brother's compensation, we can make some light handicrafts and the family can survive.

We can still raise Xiaomi and Xiaojie.

Aquiya, don't take all the pressure to heart, working outside is tough and exhausting, and attracts unwanted attention.

Let's just stay safe around our home, and you don't need to risk finding jobs anymore."

Ye Ru said softly.

Aquiya knew her sister-in-law seemed carefree and open-minded, but in reality, she was very sad deep inside.

Otherwise, when the gang brought the news of her brother's death, she wouldn't have been so heartbroken and sick, almost joining her brother in death.

Nor would she cry herself to sleep every midnight, soaking her pillow with tears.

The reason she doesn't cry or feel sad during the day is she doesn't want her, Xiaomi, and Xiaojie to feel sad along with her.

She wanted so much to impulsively tell her sister-in-law.

It's not that simple, everything her brother did was really not worth it, really not worth it!

But she held back that impulse in her heart.

She couldn't say it out loud.

Aquiya held back her sadness and said, "Sister-in-law, you rest first, I'll go make something to eat."

Ye Ru softly responded with an "Mm," and seeing the cloth bag in Aquiya's arms, hesitated a bit and said, "Aquiya, there's no need to be so frugal. I know you are cherishing your brother's compensation, but this was the last thing he could do for us, go buy some good food, buy some meat, you and Xiaojie Xiaomi eat more, even if your brother is watching from the heavens, he'd be happy."

Aquiya paused for a moment, replied with an "Mm," and immediately went to work.

She cooked a pot of porridge and added some small pieces of meat, and the two kids ate happily.

Aquiya brought a bowl in front of her sister-in-law to feed her, but Ye Ru took the bowl herself, asking Aquiya to eat too, she would eat by herself.

At the end of the meal, Ye Ru called Xiaomi and Xiaojie over and poured the remaining porridge from the bowl for the two children.

There were many meat pieces left, and she picked them out, leaving them for the kids.

A mother's love, whether in times of apocalypse or in a civilized world, always exists in this world.

Toward children, it is mostly selfless and unconditional.

Seeing this scene, Aquiya felt even sadder, cleaned up the dishes, and went inside to wash up when she heard a knock at the door. Xiaomi and Xiaojie went to open it, only to see a few people in uniform.

Upon seeing them, Aquiya immediately dropped the dishes and rushed over: "Xiaomi, Xiaojie, go take care of mom."

Aquiya sent Xiaomi and Xiaojie back, then walked to the door, closed it, and talked with the people in uniform outside.

Ye Ru was lying on the bed, sewing some clothes. Since giving birth to Xiaomi and Xiaojie, her health wasn't very good, so she could only do such handicrafts to exchange for money.

After noticing Aquiya's unusual behavior, Ye Ru frowned, and when Aquiya returned, seeing her face looking bad but immediately forcing a smile, said, "Sister-in-law, I'm going out for a bit, I'm going to get some more materials."

In an age lacking machines, most clothes people wore were hand-sewn, you could go to others to get materials and work on them at home.

In a civilized era, such work exists, passed down from ancient times to now.

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