The two of them changed their clothes one after the other.
Zhou Qiong had been busy all day and finally managed to tidy up both the house and themselves before dark. Her mood had already calmed considerably, but as she looked at the half-bowl of thin porridge on the table, her brows furrowed once more.
“Is this all?” This wouldn’t even fill one person’s stomach. Her third uncle-in-law must be heartless—after working all afternoon, this was all he gave them. Wasn’t this just exploitation in disguise?
“Mother, if you’re hungry, you eat first.”
A wave of sorrow washed over Zhou Qiong. These two children lived such difficult lives, yet even in their own hardship, they still thought of her first!
“Mother isn’t hungry. You two eat. I had a pancake at noon, don’t you remember? Go ahead and eat. I’ll dry your hair for you.”
Xiao Miao hesitated, glancing toward the courtyard outside before finally picking up the bowl and taking a big gulp. “Mother, Brother, I’ll go wash the clothes. Once it gets dark, I won’t be able to wash them anymore.”
Zhou Qiong stopped her. “It’s already dark. Don’t wash them today. We’ve almost used up all the Wuhuanzi water today. Tomorrow, I need to wash the bedding at home. I’ll do it tomorrow and make sure it’s clean.”
“Wuhuanzi?” Yang Shu heard this name for the first time.
“Brother, it’s the fruit from the tree by the river. We used water soaked with that fruit to wash our hair and bathe today. It cleans really well and smells nice too. Mother taught us how to make it.”
Yang Shu nodded, took a big sip of the porridge himself, and handed the rest to his sister. “Finish it. I’ll go wash the bowls.”
Yang Miao looked at the two of them and finally drank the porridge in one go.
By the time it was dark, all three of them were lying in bed.
The sounds of summer insects could be heard all around. The window was open, and mosquitoes buzzed near her ears, keeping Zhou Qiong awake.
The summer weather was somewhat hot and stifling, and now, with a child lying on either side of her, she felt quite unaccustomed to it.
“Mother, are the mosquitoes biting you and keeping you awake?”
“Why aren’t you asleep yet? Look, your brother is already asleep.”
“Brother worked all day today, so he’s tired. I didn’t do any work. Mother, our house is so clean today, and it even smells nice.”
Nice might be an overstatement, but at least there wasn’t any foul odor anymore. “Do you usually go to bed this early?”
“We sleep when it gets dark. We can’t see anything.”
With no lamp in the house, they were forced to rise and sleep early.
“Xiao Miao, do you often go to Third Uncle’s house to work? And what do I usually do at home?”
“Going to Third Uncle’s house to work means we don’t go hungry. Brother and I both like going there to work. Mother, you were sick before, so when we went out to work, we’d tie you to the bed with a rope. Otherwise, you’d wander off like you did today.”
No wonder the house had smelled so bad before. It turned out she had been eating, drinking, and relieving herself all in this room. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but feel disgusted with herself again. Tomorrow, she would have to scrub the clothes extra hard.
“Besides Third Uncle, do we have any other relatives? Oh, right, there’s also Eldest Uncle, isn’t there? Do you go to his house to work for food too?”
“We don’t go to Eldest Uncle’s house to work, only to Third Uncle’s.”
“Why?”
"Auntie is fierce, they even hit Mother before. Brother and I don't like them."
Zhou Qiong sighed. Even when doing manual labor, one had to endure others' disdainful looks. By comparison, that Third Uncle, though somewhat stingy, was at least willing to help. After all, in the long run, who would want to constantly suffer such treatment?
"Go to sleep now. Mother needs to sleep too."
She still had to find a way to solve their livelihood problem. If one day others' goodwill ran out, they would only be left staring helplessly, starving to death.
It was a pity that the Wuhuanzi couldn't be sold for money. At most, they could only pick them for their own use. Otherwise, she would have stripped that tree bare.
The next day, she woke up as soon as the sky began to lighten. Looking at her hands and legs, she saw many insect bites. Checking on the two children, they were still sleeping soundly, though sweat had formed on their foreheads from the heat.
In this destitute home, there was nothing—not even a fan. She got up, soaked a cloth in cold water, and wiped their bodies. Perhaps feeling more comfortable after being wiped, the two slept until the sky was fully bright before waking up.
"Brother, we overslept."
"Where's Mother?" Yang Shu's first thought upon not seeing her in the room was that she had run away again.
"Brother, don't worry. Mother is better now; she won't run away. I'll go to the river to look. She's probably washing clothes."
Yang Miao put on her shoes, washed her face, and ran straight to the river. Not long after, Yang Shu followed.
Zhou Qiong had gone to the river early in the morning to pick fruit. By now, she had already started washing clothes. Although the house lacked many things, while tidying up yesterday, she had found a washing mallet. Though she wasn't used to it, it seemed to work better than expected—much more effective than scrubbing by hand.
When the children found her, she was washing vigorously.
"Mother, why didn't you wake us when you got up? We could have helped you."
"No need for your help. After I finish washing these, I still need to wash the bedding. Why don't you go back and help take the bedding apart? The quilt has been in the cabinet for too long and needs to be aired, or it might get infested with bugs."
"Mother, let me help you. Third Uncle's family has no work today. I'll help you wash the clothes and then go up the mountain to gather some wild vegetables."
Zhou Qiong also wanted to go up the mountain. As the saying goes, "Those near mountains live off mountains; those near water live off water." She needed to explore the mountain to see if she could find anything to stave off hunger. These two children, eating irregularly every day, were already malnourished and looked terribly thin and weak. However, she couldn't go in the morning.
"You don't need to help with the clothes. If you want to go, hurry up. Just be careful and avoid dangerous places. If you can't find anything, it's fine."
"Brother Xiao Shu!" A voice called from afar.
An old woman was hobbling along behind, while a young child sprinted ahead, seemingly carrying a basket. "No one was home, so I knew you must be at the river. Wait for me!"
Zhou Qiong smiled as she looked at the child. What a little follower.
"Slow down, be careful not to fall," the old woman cautioned from behind. The child soon reached them.
"I brought my grandmother to wash clothes. Today, we're going to use that fruit too. I already picked some on the way. Look."
He pushed the basket forward for everyone to see, grinning widely. "I told my grandmother this could wash clothes, but she didn't believe me. I'm going to amaze her!"
Zhou Qiong vigorously swung the pestle in her hand while smiling at him. "You've picked quite a lot, Gui Bao, you're amazing. But you can keep these for your grandmother to use later. Auntie has some in my basin—let your grandmother use mine later, otherwise it'll take ages to pound."
"Thank you, Auntie," Gui Bao said shyly, putting down the basket before running back to help the old woman carry her basin.
"Why is everyone coming to the riverbank today?" the old woman chuckled as she walked over. She looked curiously at Zhou Qiong. "Hua Niang? Are you really better now? Do you still remember who I am?"