After tidying up the inside, she went out to the yard to clear away the clutter. The two children helped her, and before long, they had thrown all the unwanted junk far away. The house was finally clean.
"Thank you both. Gui Bao, it's getting late. You should head home."
"Auntie, your house is so clean now. I wish we could tidy up our place like this too."
"I'd be happy to help you, but you'll have to ask your grandma first. Otherwise, if we start cleaning and accidentally throw away something important, it would be a problem."
Mentioning important things, she quickly looked at Yang Miao. "I threw away so much stuff today. There shouldn't have been anything with money hidden inside, right?" Deep down, she felt this family must be utterly destitute.
Yang Miao shook her head. "Mother, we don't have any money."
Sure enough, this news was heartbreaking. She patted Yang Miao's head, her heart aching for these two children once again.
After Gui Bao left, Zhou Qiong searched around the house. "Xiao Miao, where's our food? I can't seem to find any."
As the adult, it was time to make dinner for the children. Xiao Shu would be back soon and would surely be hungry. Though she doubted her own ability to light the stove, she had the little girl to help—surely they could manage to get the fire going.
"Mother, we don't have any food at home."
"No food?" Zhou Qiong was stunned. No money was one thing, but how were they supposed to survive without food? "What do you usually eat then?"
"We help Third Uncle's family with work, so we can eat at their place sometimes. The pancake you ate at noon today was from Third Uncle's house."
"Do we always eat there?"
Yang Miao rubbed her hands together. "N-not always. We only get food when there's work. If there's no work, we don't get any. We also go to the mountains to dig for wild vegetables to cook. Sometimes Grandma Feng next door gives us some food too."
"Don't we have any land?"
"We have one mu, but Uncle's family is farming it. They only give us some grain after the harvest. Last year's grain was eaten up long ago."
This was truly a difficult situation. Their current circumstances were just too tough.
She sighed. "Let's boil some water first. I'll wash your hair and give you a bath."
"No need to boil water. My brother and I usually just wash in the river."
Zhou Qiong's eyes lit up. She glanced at the water jar and then at herself. Indeed, with the weather so warm and them being this dirty, washing with a basin would take forever. It would be much easier to just go wash in the river.
"Then I'll take you to the river to scrub off the dirt first. When we come back, we'll rinse off and change into clean clothes. We're going to wash up thoroughly today."
Yang Miao nodded eagerly. "Mother, let's use this slippery fruit water. It washes really clean."
They carried a basin to the river. Zhou Qiong washed Yang Miao's hair first. The child's hair, probably not properly combed for a long time, was not only dirty but also tangled. She gently massaged it with the soapy water, carefully untangling the knots strand by strand until the hair was smooth and clean. After washing the hair, she started on the bath.
Although Yang Miao was not very old, she was a girl and couldn't be stripped completely to wash, so Zhou Qiong had her hold onto a riverside rock and soak in the water.
After soaking for a while, she had her stand up and applied soapy water to her, then vigorously scrubbed her face, neck, arms, and feet. Perhaps they hadn't had soap before or had washed too carelessly, because after scrubbing for a bit, a layer of grime came off her body.
Yang Miao blushed with embarrassment. "I was so dirty."
Zhou Qiong smiled. "I didn't take good care of you before. From now on, as long as I'm here, I'll make sure you're clean." After scrubbing for a while, she had Yang Miao soak in the water again, then got into the water herself and swam behind her to scrub her back.
Yang Miao was surprised. "Mother, when did you learn to swim?"
"I've always known how, I just didn't go in the water before because I was sick. If I didn't know how, why would I let you go in? It's too dangerous!"
Yang Miao nodded in understanding. "So you can swim. Mother, can you teach me later? I want to learn."
"Of course, I'll teach you when I have time."
The girl finished washing soon after, feeling as if she had shed a layer of skin and was refreshed all over. Zhou Qiong pushed her onto the bank.
"Hurry back home. When you get there, rinse off with clean water and change into fresh clothes. If you see Xiao Shu has returned, tell him to come to the river."
"Okay, Mother." Yang Miao put on her shoes and ran off.
This spot was probably not frequented by others. Zhou Qiong applied soapy water to her hair and body, scrubbing herself just as she had scrubbed Yang Miao. She felt she was even dirtier than the child—the more she scrubbed, the more grime came off. If she hadn't washed directly in the river, two tubs of water probably wouldn't have been enough. Just as she finished washing her body and was about to carefully wash her hair, Yang Shu arrived.
"Mother, why are you bathing here?" He frowned disapprovingly as he looked around.
The little rascal probably thought she was embarrassing him.
She smiled. "I was too dirty, and I was afraid I wouldn't get clean at home, so I washed directly in the river this time. Once I'm clean, I won't wash outside anymore. Don't worry, no one comes here. Come on, get in quickly. I'll scrub your hair and body. I just scrubbed a lot of grime off Xiao Miao."
Although the boy was a bit uncomfortable, he still got into the water and, like Xiao Miao earlier, soaked by the rock.
Zhou Qiong loosened his hair bun and carefully washed his hair. "You went to your third uncle's place to work this afternoon—did he give you food?"
"Yes, there was a big bowl of porridge. I left it on the table. Mother, are you hungry?"
"No, I was just asking. Xiao Shu, you've worked hard."
The boy's shoulders trembled, then he buried his head in the water. When he lifted it again, he was smiling.
"I was really surprised when I came home today—the house looked completely different. Xiao Miao said you cleaned all afternoon. Mother, you worked hard too."
"This is what I should have been doing. Before, I was sick and didn't take good care of you. From now on, as long as I'm here, I'll do my best to look after you. We'll take it step by step."
Since she had come here and become the mother of these two children, it was probably fate. Whether for her own sake or out of sympathy, for now she had to play this role well. As for the future, she could only take it one step at a time.
After washing themselves clean in the river, the two returned home dripping wet. Xiao Miao watched from the courtyard gate and, upon seeing them, hurriedly prepared water for them to rinse off. "Mother, quickly rinse off and change your clothes. It's getting dark. Brother, after Mother finishes, I'll help you rinse off."