“Mom~”
Ya Ya’s voice snapped Ruan Jinxiang out of her daze.
“Yes~ Ya Ya, wait a moment. Mom will get you something delicious to eat.”
Ruan Jinxiang went outside and brought the large bundle into the room.
As soon as she opened it, Ya Ya let out a “Wow~” of amazement.
“Mom, so much fabric! And an iron pot!”
Her joyful eyes curved into crescents. There were also quilts—she and her mom wouldn’t freeze to death now!
Filled with curiosity, she asked, “Mom, where did these come from? What is this?”
She knew that all the money in the household was kept by Grandma, and whatever money Dad had brought back this time had also been handed over to Grandma.
Mom didn’t have a single copper coin to her name.
Ruan Jinxiang didn’t know what that silver, small cylindrical object with half a handle was either.
She shook her head.
Still, it would be perfect for holding water to drink—it wouldn’t spill easily, and it had a handle to hold.
She made a “shh~” sound.
“Ya Ya, Mom found this.
Don’t tell anyone about these things, not even Grandma or your dad, understand?”
The fact that she could access another place was too mysterious.
If word got out, the villagers might treat her as a monster.
They might even burn her at the stake!
She would have to bury all these strange items.
And those odd patterns on the fabric—she’d have to pick them off too.
“Shh~ Ya Ya won’t tell anyone.”
She and her mom were the closest. If Mom told her not to say anything, she wouldn’t even tell that smelly Tiedan.
“Ya Ya is such a good girl~”
Ruan Jinxiang took out the shaomai. “Eat them quickly while they’re still warm.”
After a moment’s thought, she added, “Save two for Tiedan.”
If it were before, she would have divided such rare food equally.
But now, Ya Ya was still going hungry with her, while Tiedan wouldn’t starve at home.
There were ten in total. Eight would be enough for Ya Ya to eat her fill, and she’d save two just for Tiedan to have a taste.
A thin line of drool trickled from the corner of Ya Ya’s mouth. Slurp~ slurp~
It smelled so good and looked delicious.
Resisting her cravings, she used her small hands to divide the shaomai into three piles.
“Three for Ya Ya, three for Tiedan, and Mom is a grown-up, so four for Mom~”
Ruan Jinxiang adored her daughter’s adorable and thoughtful gesture.
She picked up one and held it to Ya Ya’s mouth. “Ya Ya, open wide~”
Ya Ya couldn’t hold back any longer. She carefully took a bite, chewed a few times, and her big eyes curved into happy crescents. “Mom, it’s so delicious! What is this?”
“This is called shaomai. Eat slowly, Ya Ya. Mom will go boil some hot water.”
“No~ No~” Ya Ya clung to her mother, twisting like a pretzel. With her slender little fingers, she picked up one shaomai and, while Ruan Jinxiang wasn’t paying attention, stuffed it into her mouth.
The oily juices instantly filled her mouth.
The rich aroma of dough and meat, along with flavors she couldn’t quite place, overwhelmed her senses.
It was so delicious that Ruan Jinxiang squinted her eyes just like Ya Ya.
She couldn’t bear to swallow it right away.
Bit by bit, she savored it slowly before finally swallowing.
Heavens, what kind of place was that other world, to produce such delicious food?
After eating one, she refused to have any more.
She went to fetch water from the small river east of the village.
While she was at it, she took the metal basin and porcelain bowls to wash them.
The quilts and fabric looked clean enough and didn’t need washing.
The containers that held the food also appeared clean, but they had gathered some dust. Since they were for eating and drinking, she decided to wash them anyway.
The small river east of the village was fed by mountain spring water, clear and sweet.
Downstream, a thin layer of ice had already formed, but upstream, the water still flowed freely.
Before, she had found a broken gourd that could barely hold some water, so both mother and daughter had been drinking cold water.
Now that she had an iron pot, she could boil water to drink.
Ruan Jinxiang cast aside her feelings of disappointment, her heart brimming with joy.
As she walked toward the river, she thought to herself, tomorrow she would go back to that magical place—perhaps someone else might have discarded something there.
But today, she had gone from the mountain. Should she return to the same spot on the mountain tomorrow?
When she came back, she had been able to return from both the small stone house and the place where the lady had thrown the bundle.
Curiosity stirred within her. Seeing no one around, Ruan Jinxiang silently recited in her mind: I want to go over.
Sure enough, she reappeared at the spot where she had picked up the large bundle.
She wanted to return, and so she went back to the river.
She understood now.
It turned out she could go anywhere.
Wherever she departed from, she would return to that same place.
Ruan Jinxiang returned shortly after. Ya Ya’s little mouth was shiny with oil, and she had already lit the fire.
The old hunter had previously built a small stove, where he used an earthenware pot to cook food.
Ruan Jinxiang placed the small iron pot on the stove. The stove was a bit too small, but it still worked.
She boiled some water and poured it into a porcelain bowl for Ya Ya to drink.
She hadn’t eaten the half piece of steamed bun she saved from the morning, reluctant to finish it, fearing that if they couldn’t find food tomorrow, Ya Ya would at least have something to fill her stomach.
She reheated the bowl of cold coarse rice soup and drank it.
With food finally in her stomach, warmth spread through her body, and Ruan Jinxiang let out a long sigh of relief.
She spread straw on the kang and laid a quilt over it.
Another quilt was kept for the mother and daughter to cover themselves with.
The thick, fluffy quilt delighted Ya Ya, who immediately threw herself onto it, rolling around happily.
The mother and daughter lay down to sleep.
Through the torn window paper, she could see the sky outside had turned gray, not yet completely dark.
If she were still at home, she would probably be tidying up the kitchen at this time.
Or boiling water for her in-laws and husband to wash their feet.
Her father-in-law was bedridden, and if he wasn’t attended to properly, he would soil the bedding. She might also be cleaning the quilts and clothes he had dirtied.
Now, she could go to bed early.
In her drowsiness, Ruan Jinxiang thought that the quilt was thick enough—she could pull out some of the cotton stuffing to make a set of padded clothes for Ya Ya.
That night, wrapped in the thick quilt, Ruan Jinxiang woke up feeling warm all over.
The next morning, at the Pei family’s house in the east of the village.
Tiedan tiptoed into the kitchen, stacking two stools to reach the basket hanging on the wall.
Quietly, he took out a steamed bun, tucked it into his clothes, and moved the stools back.
Then he dashed out of the kitchen.
As soon as he ran out, he bumped into someone like a little calf, causing the person to stumble.
“Ah!” a sharp cry rang out.
The person swayed a few times, as fragile as if made of porcelain, and fell to the ground.
She whimpered pitifully, “Husband~, husband~”
Pei Daquan hurried over and helped her up. “Lian’er, are you alright?”
Lian’er had a delicate chin and a face as small as a palm, her skin so pale she seemed like a fragile porcelain doll.
Unlike the village wives and aunties, who simply tied their hair into a bun at the back and stuck a wooden hairpin in it, she wore her hair in a concentric bun, with a few loose strands hanging over her forehead.
Her eyebrows were slender, her eyes delicate, and every movement she made carried a soft, charming grace.
Her voice, calling “husband~,” was delicate and sweet, with a slight, flirtatious lilt at the end, like a little hook.
She frowned slightly, as if in too much pain to straighten her back.
Yet she forced herself to stand up, still smiling and comforting him.
“Husband, don’t blame Tiedan. He’s just a playful child. I’m fine—I’ll lie down for a bit and feel better~”
Such virtuous and considerate behavior made Pei Daquan love and pity her even more.
Compared to Lian’er, Ruan Jinxiang…
Letting her suffer from cold and hunger outside for a few days would teach her not to scheme and harm others when she returned home.
She could also serve Lian’er properly.
He glared fiercely at Tiedan. “You brat! If you keep messing around, I’ll beat you!”
Carefully supporting Lian’er, he prepared to take her back to their room.
Tiedan, feeling wronged, clenched his little fists. “I didn’t bump into her! She suddenly came out of the doorway!”
“You dare talk back? I’ll smack you!”
Lian’er quickly tugged at his sleeve. “Husband, don’t scare the child.”
Early in the morning, he had secretly taken steamed buns from home to bring food to his sister, which was also an act of filial piety.”
The word “secretly” immediately darkened Pei Daquan’s expression.
“At such a young age, you dare to steal!”
He strode over and snatched the steamed buns away.
“See if I don’t punish you!”
Grabbing Tiedan’s small body, he headed toward the woodshed.
Little Tiedan kicked his legs, crying loudly without shedding tears, “I didn’t steal! Taking things from home isn’t stealing!
Grandma said everything at home belongs to me!”
Hearing Tiedan’s cries, Mother Pei hurriedly got up, threw on her coat, and rushed out. “Put the child down!”
But Pei Daquan had already thrown Tiedan into the woodshed and bolted the door from the outside.