Chen Lihong had a family of her own to look after, so she could not linger. After dinner, she helped wash the dishes and boiled a large pot of hot water.
Moving briskly, she gave her two nieces a quick wash, came over to give Chen Liyun a few parting reminders, and then hurried off with her son and daughter.
Chen Liyun started to get up to see her out and bolt the door, but Daya gently pushed her back down and rushed out ahead of her.
A smile touched Chen Liyun’s lips. What had she done to deserve such a sweet, sensible daughter? Still, she stayed put.
The original owner’s plunge into the river had taken a heavy toll on her health, and living conditions in a peasant household were harsh. If she failed to recover properly, how would she provide for her three girls?
The thought made her frown. Even in prime health, raising three daughters well would be no simple task.
Her mother had already passed away, and her father was just an ordinary peasant farmer who favored his sons over his daughters. If she ever needed money, she could not count on any help from her maiden home.
Of course, the present Chen Liyun had never intended to rely on them anyway. Even with an exceptionally caring sister like Chen Lihong, marriage and children of her own placed strict limits on how much aid she could offer.
She had to rely on herself to put her three daughters through school and raise them until they married.
Would it be hard?
Without a doubt.
Even so, Chen Liyun was not afraid. In her past life, she had left home to follow Qi Hong to the northwest, eventually fighting their way back together. Now, she simply needed to earn enough to support three girls. She believed she could do it.
Glancing toward the inner side of the bed, where Abao slept soundly, Chen Liyun knew her first priority was regaining her strength.
Once she recovered, she would go out and see the world for herself. In the Great Qi Dynasty, women had few ways to earn a living, mostly selling needlework, taking in laundry, or selling themselves into servitude.
In this new era, however, women could go out freely, and selling oneself into servitude was no longer an option. Not that she would ever consider it, she had three children to raise, especially little Abao, who was still so young.
Should she try needlework?
Her stitching was genuinely good. It was certainly worth a try.
Besides needlework, she was also skilled in the kitchen. Although she was born the daughter of a duke’s manor, her father was the son of a concubine, which made her upbringing quite different from her sisters’.
Girls of her status lacked real backing when they married, so she had been forced to learn how to serve and please others, like it or not. Elaborate banquets were beyond her, but she could easily make pastries and brew soups.
Later on, when her health declined, she had even learned how to prepare nourishing porridges and restorative broths from an imperial physician. If she could find wealthy patrons, these culinary skills would surely earn her some money.
Growing more confident by the second, Chen Liyun let a faint smile touch her lips.
She turned toward the doorway just as Daya led a man inside. He was a typical peasant, tall, dark, lean, and sturdy. Standing in the main room, he looked over and seemed surprised to catch her smiling, his expression going blank.
Chen Liyun tensed for a brief moment before remembering this was no longer the Great Qi Dynasty. Women were not held to such rigid standards here. Still, with night already fallen, it was hardly proper for him to visit, even if her memories told her he was the children’s second uncle.
“Second Brother, is something wrong?” Her smile vanished, replaced by a cool, distant look.
Her reaction was only natural. His older brother had just abandoned her, after all.
Qi Hongwei’s younger brother, Qi Chaoyi, was a very different man. In the five years since their marriage, his wife had borne three sons, standing in sharp contrast to the three daughters in his elder brother’s household.
Qi Chaoyi had never harbored any ill will toward Chen Liyun, but his wife was far too proud of giving birth to three boys.
She constantly egged his mother on to bully Chen Liyun openly while taking every chance to mock and belittle her behind closed doors. Qi Chaoyi even suspected that his wife had stoked the fire when his older brother threatened divorce and abandoned Chen Liyun and the three girls.
Guilt weighed heavily on him, but he felt helpless. She was his wife, the mother of his three sons. He had waited until late at night to come over.
Without answering her question, he strode over to the table and set down a stack of bills he had been clutching in his hand. “Use this for now,” he said. “If you need more later, I’ll bring some over.”
Before Chen Liyun could say a word, he turned and marched straight out the door.
Chen Liyun was genuinely surprised. In the original host’s memories, Qi Chaoyi was a quiet, unassuming man who rarely spoke up. Yet after his older brother had done something so disgraceful, here he was, bringing money to his sister-in-law and nieces.
Daya went out to lock the door, then came back and handed the pile of cash from the table to Chen Liyun.
Untying the bundle, Chen Liyun counted four fifty-yuan bills, two twenties, and six tens, totaling three hundred yuan. Drawing on the original host’s memories, she knew just how much purchasing power this money held. With rice and flour already at home, even if she, Daya, and Er’ya ate fish and meat at every meal, they wouldn’t go through this much in a month.
It was a substantial sum.
“Mom, Second Uncle is so nice,” Daya whispered.
He was indeed. Chen Liyun had to admit it, but holding the money felt like holding hot coals. She knew all too well what Qi Chaoyi’s wife, Wang Fengying, was like.
Having given birth to three sons, Wang Fengying had lorded it over Chen Liyun for years. Even setting aside the fact that Qi Hongwei had already demanded a divorce, giving away three hundred yuan all at once would be enough to make Wang Fengying explode with rage.
Yet in her current physical state, Chen Liyun could not possibly go and return it.
Even if she went over with the best intentions to return the money, it would still spark a fight in Qi Chaoyi’s household.
Qi Chaoyi had meant well. If she were to pay him back, it was best to wait a while. She had just searched all of Chen Liyun’s hiding spots and scrounged up less than twenty yuan in total.
With her body still recovering, surviving on that meager sum would likely mean starvation for the whole family.
Tucking the money away, Chen Liyun glanced over at the small bed where Er’ya was fast asleep. She turned to Daya and whispered, “Don’t breathe a word to anyone about your second uncle bringing us this money, understand?”
At seven years old, the girl already understood plenty.
Daya nodded firmly. “I won’t say anything! Not to Grandma, and not to Second Aunt!”
The child clearly knew what was at stake.
Chen Liyun let out a soft sigh. Pity stirred in her heart as she remembered that neither Daya nor Er’ya even had proper given names.
“Let me give you a real name,” she said gently. “Since your father and I are divorced, you’ll take my surname from now on. How about Chen… Shu? You’ll be Chen Shu, and Er’ya will be Chen Chang. Shu-chang, smooth and free from worry. That’s what I want for you two: a life where everything goes smoothly and your hearts are always at ease.”
Daya was not yet in school. Sensible as she was, she could not truly grasp the meaning of living an easy, smooth life. Even so, seeing the smile on Chen Liyun’s face and the tiny reflection of herself in her mother’s eyes, she knew it was a good thing and nodded eagerly.
Pointing toward the inner side of the bed, she asked, “What about Sanya? What is her name?”
“She will be Chen Bao, and we can call her Abao,” Chen Liyun replied. “Shushu, Abao never had a father from the day she was born, and she is the youngest. From now on, let us love her with all our hearts, you, Changchang, and me. All right?”
Chen Liyun had to admit that she favored Abao just a little.
Daya, who was now Chen Shu, did not mind at all. As the eldest sister, she had always looked after Er’ya whenever their mother was too busy to care for them, so she readily agreed.
Looking up at Chen Liyun, the girl blinked, and tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. “Mom, you won’t try to kill yourself anymore, will you?”
The fear and confusion on her young face were plain to see.
Her heart aching, Chen Liyun pulled her close in a warm embrace. “No! Never again! I have the three of you now, and I will never do anything foolish again.”
Young Chen Shu took her at her word without another thought. After a hesitant pause, she asked slowly, “Then Mom, will you… will you take Sanya… no, not Sanya, Abao… will you take Abao with you to remarry and leave Changchang and me behind?”
At just seven years old, terrified of being abandoned by her mother, she did not even dare mispronounce the new names Chen Liyun had given her younger sisters.
Men?
Ha. Had a man not ruined her enough in her past life? In this life, she would have to be insane to ever consider marrying again.
“No,” Chen Liyun said with absolute certainty. “Mom won’t remarry. I’m going to raise the three of you, and we’ll stay together for the rest of our lives!”
All of Chen Shu’s hesitation and fear vanished. A bright smile spread across her face, and she snuggled happily in Chen Liyun’s arms before asking shyly, “Mom, can I sleep with you tonight?”
Chen Liyun smiled. “Of course you can.”
***
The next morning, Chen Liyun woke to the sound of Chen Chang crying. The little girl was used to sleeping beside her older sister.
Waking up early needing to pee, she not only found Chen Shu missing, but climbed down to discover her sister sleeping peacefully in the big bed with their mother.
A sudden wave of indignation washed over the little girl, and she burst into loud, aggrieved wails.
Chen Liyun woke up first. As soon as she sat up, Chen Shu woke too. Leaping out of bed without even putting on her shoes, Chen Shu rushed over to Chen Chang and stroked her head.
“What happened? What’s wrong? Don’t cry, Er’ya, don’t cry. Eldest Sister is right here!”
Er’ya had wet her pants.
Torn between shame and grievance, she only cried harder.
No sooner had Chen Liyun’s feet touched the floor than little Abao, startled awake by the commotion, began to howl as well. For a moment, the two girls seemed to be competing over who could wail louder.
Fortunately, Chen Liyun was not the type of woman to lose her temper over noisy children. She scooped Abao into her arms to soothe her, while beckoning Chen Chang over.
The baby in her arms was too young to understand reason anyway, so Chen Liyun focused on wiping Chen Chang’s tears first.
“Why are you crying? Hush now, don’t cry. Mom and your sister are both here. Tell Mom what you want, alright? Stop crying now, look, you’ve set your little sister off too.”
Chen Chang choked out through her sobs, “Eldest Sister slept in the big bed… waaah…”
Chen Liyun had not yet grasped what was bothering the little girl, but Chen Shu already understood.
“Don’t cry, Er’ya,” she said quickly. “I’ll sleep with you tonight.”
Chen Chang refused. “No, I want to sleep with Mom too!”
Chen Liyun finally caught on. The little girl was jealous.
Feeling so needed by her daughter made her smile. “All right, all right. You come sleep in the big bed with Mom tonight
Chen Liyun smelled it too, but Abao was wrapped in a diaper in her arms, and the smell of urine was coming from another direction. Since Chen Chang had stopped crying, Abao had quieted down as well. Setting Abao down, Chen Liyun pulled Chen Chang close. “It’s Changchang who wet herself. Go get a clean pair of pants for Mom.”
Chen Shu turned around, looking Chen Chang up and down in surprise.
Chen Chang’s mouth drooped, tears threatening to spill over again. She was five years old and hadn’t wet her pants in a long time. Today was just… She really wanted to cry.
Despite the chaotic morning, Chen Liyun looked at her two older daughters and smiled. Drawing Chen Chang into a half-hug, she pressed the little girl’s face against her chest and urged Chen Shu with a laugh, “Hurry up. Changchang is still little, so no teasing her.”
Chen Shu relented, holding back her laughter as she obediently went to fetch clean pants.
Her face bright red, Chen Chang snuggled deeper into Chen Liyun’s embrace.