Ding Lan barely managed to get through that meal without any oil or meat in it. She didn’t even know what they were going to eat tomorrow.
Children from poor families learned to take care of themselves at an early age.
After finishing the sweet potatoes, Ding Qiao took the initiative to clean up the kitchen and told her elder sister to go rest for a while.
Ding Lan had no choice but to wander outside the kitchen.
She looked at the two larger, well-lit rooms in the courtyard. Ding Jing occupied one of them, while the other had been where their parents used to live.
Ding Jing’s mother had died half a year ago, so the room had remained empty ever since.
Ding Lan thought about it.
Since there was already a perfectly good place to live, there was no reason for her and Ding Qiao to continue squeezing into that small, secluded room.
She walked straight over and opened the empty room.
It was fairly clean and tidy. At the very least, it was definitely much better than the earthen room she had been living in.
Although no one had lived there for half a year, there wasn’t much dust inside.
It seemed the original Ding Lan still came in from time to time to clean it.
She stepped inside.
The first thing she saw was a simple square table with several long benches. This should have been where Ding family’s parents usually ate and entertained guests.
There was also a wooden bed and even a wardrobe that had clearly been in use for many years.
Ding Lan was quite satisfied with the room.
She solemnly declared that it was hers from now on.
She immediately turned around, went to the large water vat in the courtyard, and carried a basin of water over.
Her top priority now was cleaning.
She absolutely refused to spend another night sleeping in that shabby earthen room.
After finishing up in the kitchen, Ding Qiao ran over to follow her elder sister, watching her movements with curiosity.
Ding Lan told her to sweep the floor, and the little girl immediately fetched a broom and began sweeping seriously.
Once Ding Lan had wiped down everything in the room that could be cleaned, she went back to her old room and carried the wooden chest over.
Ding Qiao scratched her head.
“Big Sis, are we going to live here?”
Ding Lan took the few pieces of clothing from the chest and stuffed them all into the wardrobe.
“The room we were sleeping in leaks when it rains. Let’s move here instead.”
“Oh.”
Ding Qiao continued sweeping the floor.
They didn’t bring the quilt from the old bed over.
It was simply too filthy to look at.
Fortunately, there was still a relatively clean thin quilt in the wardrobe that had belonged to their parents.
By the time everything had been put away, darkness had already fallen.
The countryside was extremely quiet at night, and there was practically nothing to do for entertainment, so the two sisters went to bed early.
The sweet potatoes Ding Lan had eaten earlier had long since been completely digested from all the work she had done.
Lying on the bed with an empty, sunken stomach, Ding Lan couldn’t help complaining inwardly.
She never would have imagined that a perfectly healthy young woman from the twenty-first century would actually have to experience what it felt like to go hungry.
The next day, Ding Lan woke up when the sun was already high in the sky.
She had obviously been awakened by hunger.
After a sleepless night, she opened her eyes and looked at the unfamiliar surroundings.
For a moment, she couldn’t remember where she was.
It took her a while before she finally came fully awake.
There was no one else in the room.
Ding Lan put on her straw sandals and opened the door.
The moment she stepped outside, she saw Ding Qiao sitting obediently on a small stool in the courtyard.
The little girl’s hands were busy weaving thin threads together with strips of bamboo.
Ding Lan walked over to take a look.
Although Ding Qiao was only five years old and her hands were tiny, they were incredibly nimble.
In no time, the thin bamboo strips had taken the shape of a lantern in her hands.
Ding Qiao picked up one of the finished lanterns beside her and examined it carefully.
It wasn’t very large, but it looked quite delicate.
She flashed her elder sister a huge, proud grin.
“Big Sis, I still remember the lanterns you taught me to make last year!”
Ding Lan thought about the original owner’s memories and vaguely remembered.
Every year, around the Mid-Autumn Festival and Lantern Festival, the original Ding Lan would make lanterns in advance and sell them to earn a little money.
This year, she had also started preparing early.
The bamboo had already been split into strips and left in the courtyard to dry half a month ago.
Who would have thought that she would suddenly fall seriously ill and die, leaving this body to Ding Lan?
Looking at Ding Qiao’s expectant expression, clearly waiting for praise, Ding Lan smiled and gently patted her on the head.
“Very good!”
Hearing her elder sister’s praise, Ding Qiao smiled happily.
Ding Lan carried a small stool out from the room and sat down in the courtyard.
She picked up some bamboo strips and thin string.
Then she couldn’t help feeling troubled.
She really had never made a lantern before!
She searched through the original owner’s memories, but after a long while, she still hadn’t made a move.
Ding Qiao asked in her childish voice,
“Big Sis, did you forget how to make them?”
Ding Lan gave an awkward smile.
“Ever since I got sick last time, my memory hasn’t been very good.”
She had no idea whether that excuse would be enough to fool a five-year-old girl.
Ding Qiao didn’t find anything strange about it at all.
“I’ll teach you!”
She casually took the bamboo strips and string from her sister’s hands.
Her little hands moved quickly, weaving the strips into the base of the lantern.
Ding Lan watched as a child did something she herself couldn’t do and couldn’t help feeling embarrassed.
Fortunately, the rest consisted mostly of repetitive movements.
Once Ding Lan took the lantern with its base already woven, her body seemed to remember what to do.
She picked it up remarkably quickly.
After a while, Ding Qiao secretly glanced at Ding Lan, who was concentrating on weaving the lantern.
She hesitated before stammering,
“Big Sis… can you take me with you tomorrow to sell the lanterns?”
Ding Lan raised an eyebrow without changing her expression.
“Why would a little child like you go there?”
Ding Qiao looked pitiful.
“Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I’ve never seen the lanterns being released before.”
She paused.
“Big Dog from the village always makes fun of me.”
Ding Lan thought to herself:
Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival!
Looks like they had better make as many lanterns as possible today. Then tomorrow, they could take advantage of the festival crowds and earn a little more money.
Ding Qiao looked at her elder sister pitifully when she didn’t get an answer and pleaded,
“Take me with you!”
Then she proudly added,
“I can help you call out and attract customers, too. My voice is really loud!”
Ding Lan secretly laughed.
She pretended to think it over for a while before reluctantly agreeing.
The two of them were still working with their heads bent over their lanterns when Auntie Liu’s voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
“Xiaoqiao, is your sister awake?”
Ding Qiao quickly answered,
“Auntie Liu, my sister’s here!”
Auntie Liu pushed the door open and entered.
Ding Lan stood up to greet her, then went inside and brought out another stool.
Auntie Liu plopped herself down and handed the sheets of paper in her hand to Ding Lan.
“This is the red paper you asked me to buy for you. My husband just came back from town.”
The bright red paper looked especially festive.
Ding Lan thought for a moment.
This must have been the paper the original Ding Lan had planned to use for making lanterns.
She smiled as she accepted it.
“Auntie Liu, thank you so much. How much did the paper cost?”
Auntie Liu looked pained as she replied,
“This bright red paper has gone up in price. These few sheets alone cost ten wen.”
Ding Lan carried the paper into the room.
She took out the small cloth pouch from the wardrobe, counted out ten copper coins, and brought them outside to give to Auntie Liu.
Auntie Liu tucked the money into her clothes and turned to her.
“Xiaolan, why don’t you take our donkey cart to town tomorrow afternoon? You can come back with us in the evening, too.”
Ding Lan immediately agreed.
“That would really help me out.”
She hesitated before asking awkwardly,
“Tomorrow, Ding Qiao will be coming with me. Do you think there will still be enough room on your donkey cart?”
Ding Qiao, who was sitting nearby, couldn’t help perking up her ears.
She looked at Auntie Liu with an expression full of anticipation.
Auntie Liu laughed heartily.
“Of course there’s enough room! How much could a little girl like Ding Qiao possibly weigh? She won’t be any trouble.”
Ding Qiao’s eyes nearly disappeared from her smile.
“Thank you, Auntie Liu!”
Auntie Liu suddenly glanced toward Ding Jing’s room.
“Xiaolan, my husband saw your younger brother in town today. He wasn’t at the private school at all. Don’t blame me for saying this, but you really need to be more careful!”
Ding Lan naturally knew exactly what kind of person Ding Jing was in the novel.
He was squandering the family’s hard-earned money outside while pretending everything was fine.
However, she only showed an expression of deep sorrow.
“I know.”
Auntie Liu had said all she could and didn’t feel it was appropriate to say more.
She stood up to leave.
“I still have to take some food to my husband in the fields. I’ll be going now.”
Ding Lan quickly stood up to see her off.
After Auntie Liu left, Ding Lan remembered that she and Ding Qiao hadn’t eaten anything since morning.
She hurried into the kitchen to find something to eat.
There was still some cornmeal left.
Ding Lan took a large bowl and poured the cornmeal into it, then added some water and mixed it into a batter.
Since there wasn’t any cooking oil in the house, she couldn’t fry anything.
The only option was to make corn cakes and bake them.
The resulting corn cakes were dry and hard, making them extremely difficult to swallow.
Ding Lan washed each bite down with water and forced herself to finish eating.
She had been here for almost two days now, yet she hadn’t even managed to eat a proper bowl of rice.
Other people transmigrated with all sorts of cheat abilities.
As for her?
She didn’t even have a single strand of hair to show for it!
Fortunately, little sister Ding Qiao didn’t complain about the food at all.
Having grown up hungry, she was already perfectly satisfied as long as she had something—anything—to eat.
After finishing their corn cakes, the two sisters continued sitting in the courtyard and weaving lanterns.
Ding Lan’s technique became increasingly proficient.
At the same time, some new ideas began forming in her mind.
The lanterns they were making were very traditional little handheld lanterns.
If she made them into different shapes, perhaps they would have a completely different appeal.
Once she had an idea, Ding Lan immediately put it into action.
After spending some time experimenting, she managed to figure out how to make a little rabbit-shaped lantern.
Ding Qiao, sitting beside her, stared at it with wide eyes.
Ding Lan glanced at the little girl’s expression.
She immediately understood.
It seemed that little girls really did love this sort of thing.
Ding Lan quickly taught the method to Ding Qiao.
Just as her name suggested, Ding Qiao was truly clever with her hands.
After Ding Lan gave her only a few pointers, she immediately grasped the technique.
Ding Lan had originally planned to come up with several more designs.
But with the Mid-Autumn Festival tomorrow, there simply wasn’t enough time.
Even if she started now, they wouldn’t be able to make very many.
It was better to focus on the rabbit-shaped lanterns for now.
As long as they could appeal to women and children, she wouldn’t have to worry about being unable to sell them.
The two of them worked with all their strength on the little rabbit lanterns.
They kept busy until evening, only stopping when it became too dark to see clearly.
Ding Lan placed the corn cakes left over from lunch into the pot and steamed them for a while.
As expected, they weren’t nearly as hard afterward.
The two sisters made do with them for dinner.
Ding Lan secretly swore to herself:
Tomorrow, she absolutely had to eat a proper meal!