Two generations of Aunt Peng’s family were martyrs. Now, with only one grandson left besides herself, her household was considered famously well-off in the village.
She also received special care from the county town. Because of this, the villagers didn’t dare scheme against her.
However, Aunt Peng was a difficult person to approach. She didn’t work in the fields and stayed home all day. If the original owner of Bai Jiu’s body hadn’t caught Aunt Peng’s eye, Bai Jiu likely wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of this connection.
Now, it certainly made things convenient for her.
"Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll take good care of my sister," Zhengyang promised, patting his little chest.
Xiuxiu wasn’t convinced. "Mom, I’ll be good. I don’t need my brother to take care of me at all."
After kissing the two little ones, Bai Jiu left the house with a large sack on her back. On her way out, she closed the door tightly and instructed Zhengyang to latch it from the inside.
As Bai Jiu walked over, she happened to run into Aunt Peng’s grandson. "Aiguo, just coming back from work?" Looking at the young boy who only reached her shoulders, a flood of memories about this child unconsciously flashed through Bai Jiu’s mind.
Shortly after Aiguo was born, his parents passed away, and he had been raised by his grandmother ever since. Coupled with that special period in history, Aiguo’s life hadn’t been very good.
Having seen too much of the darkness in human nature, Aunt Peng was always cautious and tolerant. Even though she received the subsidies left by her son and daughter-in-law, she kept an extremely low profile.
When the villagers had no food, she and Gao Aiguo also went hungry. When the villagers had no clothes, the two of them wore nothing but patches. It could be said they kept their heads buried in the dust.
Yet even so, there were still some people who found the grandmother and grandson an eyesore.
There was a gossipy old woman in the village. Back when she was a new bride who had just married into Gaocun Village, she hadn’t known much about Aunt Peng’s family. Seeing that an elderly woman like Aunt Peng could raise a child all on her own, while she had starved her own newborn son to death in the second year of her marriage, she inexplicably fixated on Aunt Peng and constantly looked for trouble.
Once, upon seeing Aunt Peng go to the commune to collect her subsidies, she reported Aunt Peng without a second thought.
Although that incident didn’t ultimately harm Aunt Peng, it gave her quite a fright, and she became even more low-profile afterward. Even when there was food at home, she didn’t dare bring it out to eat.
Because of this, fourteen-year-old Gao Aiguo currently only reached Bai Jiu’s shoulders.
Later on, although that gossipy old woman was punished by the village secretary, the incident drew the attention of many villagers to Aunt Peng. If the commune leaders hadn’t come to visit her later, Aunt Peng probably still wouldn’t have dared to treat herself and her grandson a little better.
"Aunt Bai," Gao Aiguo said. He was a boy of few words. Aside from working, he essentially never spoke a word to outsiders.
"Looking for Grandma? She’s home." With that, Gao Aiguo pushed the door open and walked right in.
Bai Jiu followed behind him with her large sack.
She wasn’t afraid of anyone. If anyone came looking for trouble, she didn’t mind digging a grave for them.
"Aunt Peng, are you home?" Bai Jiu called out, raising her voice toward the house.
Her shout startled Gao Aiguo. He glanced back at Aunt Bai but quickly withdrew his gaze.
"I’m here! It’s Jiu’er! Come on in," Aunt Peng replied. She looked like she was in her seventies or eighties, but in reality, she was only in her early sixties. It was just that the pain of losing her husband and son had drained half of her vitality.
Bai Jiu walked in while Aunt Peng came out to welcome her, and the two soon met halfway.
"What are you up to?" Aunt Peng asked in surprise, looking at the large sack on her back.
"Give me a hand, Auntie."
After setting the things down, Bai Jiu explained the purpose of her visit.
"You’ve finally thought it through. You must dote on your own children. They haven’t had a single new piece of clothing since they were born. As a mother, you didn’t think of them enough. Constantly enduring your mother-in-law only made you and the kids suffer in the end."
Seeing her change, Aunt Peng was quite happy. She unpacked the items from the large sack. "These fabrics are quite nice, and the cotton is top-quality too. It’s perfect—I’ll make everything for you, saving the three of you from freezing this winter."
Aunt Peng truly cared for Bai Jiu and her two children.
Bai Jiu smiled and agreed, "I’ll listen to you, Aunt Peng." The large sack contained not only fabric and cotton but also some food she had taken from her spatial dimension.
These were all meant for Aunt Peng. Even if she tried to give her money, Aunt Peng definitely wouldn’t accept it, nor did she lack money. It was much better to gift her some food.
"What are you doing? Put that away quickly," Aunt Peng said, hastily setting down the fabric in her hands when she saw Bai Jiu taking out the food.
"It’s just some eggs, rice cakes, and fruit candies. Don’t stand on ceremony with me, Aunt Peng. Xiuxiu and Zhengyang eat your food all the time, so you mustn’t be polite with me," Bai Jiu said, carrying all the items into Aunt Peng’s room.
She wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
Aunt Peng truly felt embarrassed to accept them. Although she often gave Xiuxiu and Zhengyang something to eat, it was all homemade. How could it compare to what Jiu’er brought over? After all, these were precious and expensive items. Bai Jiu had only just separated from her family and wasn’t well-off, so how could she be so wasteful?
"It wasn’t easy for you to buy something nice, so save it for Xiuxiu and Zhengyang. I don’t need it. Take it back," Aunt Peng urged, immediately following her inside when she saw Bai Jiu taking the things straight into the room.
"It’s fine, Aunt Peng, just take them. We still have more at home. They’re just some snacks, nothing too precious, so please don’t be so polite with me." Bai Jiu had no intention of taking them back.
Seeing her insistence, Aunt Peng found it hard to decline further, lest she hurt her feelings. "I didn’t even help much when you separated from your family, how can I accept your things..."
"Aren’t I here to ask for your help right now? You’re helping me make clothes," Bai Jiu said with a smile. "It’s the dead of winter, and Xiuxiu and Zhengyang’s clothes are too thin to withstand the cold. You know how it is, Auntie. My needlework is terrible, so I really have to trouble you with these clothes, Aunt Peng."
Though Bai Jiu was giving her gifts, deep down, she didn’t consider Aunt Peng an outsider. To her, anyone who had been kind to the original owner of this body was one of her own people.