As soon as the bathwater was ready, the three children were stripped down to their shorts and lined up obediently.
The summer night was warm, and Luo Mingchen was also wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. He poured some medicinal powder he had collected from a shopping mall into the water.
“There are too many lice in your hair. If you don’t want your heads shaved bald, don’t move.”
The three siblings obediently agreed.
Luo Mingchen divided the medicated water in the basin into three water spheres and covered their hair with them.
Huo Yuhui looked completely shocked, while Huo Xiang’s eyes were filled with admiration.
The youngest, Huo Xinyue, couldn’t stand the itching caused by the lice struggling before they died. She kept wanting to scratch her head but couldn’t reach it, and she began crying softly with a pout.
Luo Mingchen picked her up and took out a lollipop to coax her.
“Be good, Yueyue. Once we’re done washing up, we’ll have some candy.”
Huo Xinyue’s attention was quickly captured by the candy. Holding the lollipop, she immediately forgot about the itching.
In less than five minutes, the water spheres were filled with dead lice.
Luo Mingchen washed Huo Xinyue first, then took a small blanket from his space and wrapped her in it to keep her from getting cold.
After settling her to one side, he unwrapped a lollipop and placed it in her hand before going to scrub the other two children.
Huo Yuhui watched the sponge-like scrubber in Luo Mingchen’s hand, along with the fragrant liquid that smelled much better than the soap they used to have at home. Thick foam covered their bodies, and the scent was wonderful.
Seeing Huo Xiang cautiously poking at the bubbles, Luo Mingchen simply condensed a small water sphere for him to play with.
Holding the water sphere, Huo Xiang happily exclaimed, “Little Daddy, this won’t pop!”
Luo Mingchen smiled.
“Is it fun?”
Huo Xiang nodded vigorously.
“Very fun!”
Noticing Huo Yuhui watching from the side, Luo Mingchen gave him a water sphere as well.
After the three children happily finished bathing, Luo Mingchen washed all of their clothes along with his own and hung them on bamboo poles to dry. He also washed the bedsheets and bamboo sleeping mats in the room before taking out a cooling mat and blanket from his space.
He found three nightgowns that barely fit the children and changed into his own pajamas. After the three kids finished their candy and brushed their teeth, he sent them off to bed.
The courtyard wasn’t particularly large, but it contained three bedrooms, a separate kitchen, a spacious main hall, and an independent latrine tucked away in a corner of the yard.
After using the latrine, Luo Mingchen found it surprisingly decent. Instead of a crude squat pit covered with wooden planks, it was built from stone and felt sturdy and secure. Even little Huo Xinyue wouldn’t be at risk of falling in.
Lying in bed, Luo Mingchen felt exhausted, yet he couldn’t fall asleep.
Only after placing a kitchen knife beneath his pillow did he finally start to feel drowsy.
Knock, knock…
A tapping sound came from the door.
Luo Mingchen immediately opened his eyes and instinctively grabbed the knife handle.
“Little Daddy, are you asleep?”
Huo Xiang’s soft voice came from outside.
Only then did Luo Mingchen relax. He got up and opened the door.
“What’s wrong?”
Holding Huo Xinyue in his arms, Huo Xiang whispered, “Little Daddy, we’re scared. Can we sleep together with you?”
Not seeing Huo Yuhui, Luo Mingchen asked curiously, “Where’s your brother?”
“Big Brother is asleep.”
Following his gaze, Luo Mingchen spotted Huo Yuhui’s poorly concealed figure standing by the door diagonally across from them.
Well…
Luo Mingchen simply waved them over.
“Stop hiding. Come sleep here together.”
Huo Yuhui’s body stiffened. Embarrassed, he walked over.
Only then did Huo Xiang realize something.
“Big Brother wasn’t asleep either.”
“…Mm.”
Luo Mingchen took Huo Xinyue from Huo Xiang’s arms.
“Come in.”
The bed was large enough for all four of them.
More importantly, the three children were quite small. If there had been two adults instead, it would have been rather crowded.
For the past two days, they had been afraid Luo Mingchen might quietly die in bed, so they had kept watch beside him every night and taken turns watching him during the day as well.
Therefore, once they lay down beside Luo Mingchen, the three siblings felt much more at ease.
After a while, Huo Xiang asked softly,
“Little Daddy, Father will never come back again, right? Just like Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, and Uncle?”
Huo Yuhui opened his eyes. An indescribable sadness filled his face as tears silently streamed down.
They had finally found a home again, only for the father who had adopted them to die mysteriously while away from home…
Luo Mingchen gently patted Huo Xiang, who was curled up beside him.
“Even if they don’t come back, we still have to live well.”
Huo Xiang said in confusion, “Then what should I do when I miss them?”
“Look up at the stars. They’re all up there watching over us.”
“But there are so many stars. What if I can’t tell which ones are them?”
Luo Mingchen smiled.
“The brightest ones are them.”
After thinking for a moment, Huo Xiang asked another question.
“What if I can’t remember what Father looks like in the future?”
His voice became a little dejected.
“I already can’t remember what Mother and the others looked like.”
The topic was becoming rather heavy.
Noticing Huo Yuhui quietly sobbing, Luo Mingchen reached out and gently stroked his hair.
Compared to Huo Xiang, who didn’t fully understand the meaning of death, Huo Yuhui understood everything and was suffering even more.
“Let’s think about what we’re going to eat tomorrow instead. Food won’t last forever. We also need to find something to do and earn some money.”
In this world, information traveled slowly. He could go to a more distant county town or market town and sell vegetables and fruit. People probably wouldn’t care where his goods came from.
Still, that wasn’t a long-term solution. He didn’t know whether his bargain husband had left behind any farmland or anything similar. At the very least, they could grow some crops.
Huo Yuhui listened quietly and pressed his lips together.
At some point, as he listened to the breathing of the three children, Luo Mingchen gradually fell asleep.
The next morning, Luo Mingchen collected the dried clothes and cooked a pot of white rice porridge. He took out some fermented bean curd to eat with it and made several scallion egg flatbreads.
Watching the children wolf down their food, Luo Mingchen smiled. The feeling was surprisingly rewarding.
Being watched made Huo Yuhui a little embarrassed. His small face flushed pink, and he paid more attention to his table manners.
After breakfast, Luo Mingchen asked,
“Did your father own any farmland?”
Unsure of the answer, Huo Xiang looked at his older brother.
After hesitating for a moment, Huo Yuhui replied,
“We have five mu of farmland.”
“Was it rented out?”
Luo Mingchen thought that five mu wasn’t a small amount of land. Since the children’s father worked with a merchant caravan, he probably didn’t farm it himself, making it likely that the land had been leased out.
“No.”
As he spoke, Huo Yuhui stood up.
“Little Daddy, come with me.”
“Hm?”
Curious, Luo Mingchen followed him.
Huo Yuhui led him to the side of the latrine. Reaching a certain spot, he picked up a small hoe and began digging. After a while, he unearthed a medium-sized wine jar and struggled to pull it out.
“Little Daddy, the house deed, land deed, and farmland deed are inside. There are also one hundred taels in banknotes, five taels of broken silver, and one hundred copper coins.”
Seeing the contents of the jar, Luo Mingchen’s eyes widened.
“How much does a jin of rice cost?”
Not understanding why Luo Mingchen suddenly asked that question, Huo Yuhui still answered.
“A jin of white rice costs ten copper coins.”
“One tael of silver equals one thousand copper coins?”
“Mm.”
After receiving confirmation, Luo Mingchen silently thought to himself:
Children’s father, may you rest in peace. I’ll raise the children well, find you a good burial site and a decent coffin, and during every holiday and festival, I’ll burn plenty of paper money for you.