The wild vegetables they had collected weren’t suitable for dumplings, so Lin Zhi switched to chives instead.
After preparing the dough and the filling, she set the bowl on the table and shrugged. “Here, you handle it!”
To satisfy their craving for dumplings, she had contributed nearly half a jin of meat and half a jin of flour.
The dough was made according to Xiao Heze’s specifications—whether it met his expectations or not, Lin Zhi didn’t care.
Fearing the dumplings might fail, she had also prepared a pot of claypot preserved-meat rice. The aroma wafted through the kitchen even before the twins had finished making the dumplings.
One twin rolled the dough while the other filled the dumplings. Their movements were orderly but slow, limited by their small hands.
Eventually, Lin Zhi couldn’t bear it anymore. She took over rolling the dough, leaving the two boys to stuff the dumplings together.
Though the dumpling wrappers were uneven and messy, under Lin Zhi’s stern gaze, the twins didn’t complain.
Lin Zhi still handled the boiling. She watched closely as they dropped the dumplings in, only seeing one or two burst, and finally relaxed.
Thankfully, they wouldn’t have to eat plain porridge tonight.
The mushrooms they had brought down from the mountain were delicious. Lin Zhi cooked half and planned to dry the rest for later.
She already had several large sacks of dried mushrooms in her general store, but she wanted some freshly dried ones too—it would be inconvenient to fake it later otherwise.
After putting things away, she ran a hot bath. The twins, burping from their meal, squatted on either side of her.
“Are we going to the mountain again tomorrow?”
“Will we eat dumplings again after finding more mushrooms?”
Lin Zhi thought for a moment and nodded. “We can go in the morning, but we’ll eat them a couple of days later.”
Making dumplings was too much work for her—kneading the dough, preparing the filling, rolling wrappers—it was exhausting.
“Let’s bring back more mushrooms. If we can’t eat them all, we’ll dry the rest for winter.”
Hearing that they wouldn’t have dumplings tomorrow, Xiao Heze looked a little disappointed, but thinking they could eat them in a couple of days, he brightened up immediately.
“It’s just summer, and you’re already storing food?” he asked, scratching his head in confusion.
Last year, she hadn’t just stored food—she had eaten every bit of the grain her father brought home. Without him being able to buy meals from the military canteen, they would have starved that winter.
Lin Zhi gave him a side-eye. “I like to. Mind your own business!”
She enjoyed stocking up. In her previous life, she had bought box after box of tissues—enough for years.
Thinking about it now, she felt a pang of regret. If she had known she would be so unlucky, she wouldn’t have hoarded so much. She should have spent it on food instead.
She should have had three milk teas and four lobster meals a day—what a happy time that would have been.
Her tone turned impatient, and Xiao Heze, afraid of being scolded, shut up.
He couldn’t control her; she would stock whatever she liked, and he would still get a share.
“Do we still have to bathe today? I’m not dirty. Smell me—I still smell nice,” Xiao Heze said, pressing his clothes against her nose.
They now used soap for both their bodies and clothes, so the scent lasted a long time. Clothes washed yesterday still smelled fresh today.
“Not washing means no bed tonight,” Lin Zhi said, dragging him aside. “I changed your sheets. If you dirty them, your butt’s in trouble.”
“Changed them?” Xiao Heze’s tone suddenly rose. “Why did you change our sheets? You’re not letting us sleep with you?”
As soon as he spoke, a tiny hand gripped her sleeve. She looked down and met a pair of teary eyes.
Xiao Herun pouted, tears gathering as if one word of refusal would make them fall.
Lin Zhi had never coaxed children before. Facing such pitiful eyes, she felt her scalp tingle, wishing she could leap three meters away.
Why did this child cry silently? If he had screamed, she could have refused firmly. But this pitiful attack was impossible to resist.
Caught off guard, she remained silent. The small kitchen fell quiet.
For the twins, her silence meant refusal. Xiao Heze’s lips pursed and his eyes reddened, but he held back tears.
Xiao Herun couldn’t hold it. Tears fell like broken beads, splashing onto the floor.
Lin Zhi looked calm on the outside, but inside, she panicked.
Who could teach her how to comfort a quietly crying child?!
Seeing Xiao Herun’s tears increase, Lin Zhi cleared her throat and forced herself to say, “I didn’t say you can’t sleep with me. Sleep wherever you like.”
The moment she spoke, Xiao Herun stopped crying, pressed his lips together, and smiled obediently without wiping his eyes.
Lin Zhi was stunned—how could he switch expressions faster than her?
Truly her child, unrivaled in the art of changing expressions.
Having settled the twins, Lin Zhi stood, patted her butt, and left the kitchen, only to notice two little tails following behind.
A few strands of sweat slid down her forehead. She pointed toward the backyard. “Go feed the chickens. Wash up when you’re done, and I’ll get your clothes.”
She felt the twins were too laid-back about raising the chickens. If they kept feeding them only occasionally, when would they ever get to eat the eggs from their own chickens?
The twins exchanged a glance, then ran toward the backyard on their short legs.
Lin Zhi prepared their clothes and filled the water. She then sat on a small stool, waiting for them.
Having been washed several days in a row, the twins were very clean. Lin Zhi helped scrub them once more, then let them play in the water.
With nothing else to do that evening, she lit another lamp and continued working on clothes, bedcovers, and sheets.
She also wanted to make winter quilts early, for peace of mind. When the cold came, she wouldn’t have to rush.
She planned to remake the winter cotton clothes. She didn’t know how to make them yet, but winter was far off. She could take her time; mistakes wouldn’t matter—she had the resources to experiment.
The twins sat on either side of her again. Looking outside, Lin Zhi saw it wasn’t completely dark yet. She waved them off.
“Go play outside with other kids for a while. Staying cooped up at home all the time isn’t good.”
The twins shook their heads simultaneously. “We don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
“We just don’t want to,” Xiao Heze said. The kids outside either played in the sand or mud, and their new clothes might get dirty.
“You’re in my way! Go on, go on,” Lin Zhi dragged them to the door. Seeing their reluctance, she went back inside and grabbed a handful of candy.