With their stomachs finally full, the twins could at last pay attention to the changes around the house. Inside and outside, everything was clean; even the sour, foul smell that had filled the air before was gone.
The courtyard was filled with clothes and bedding drying in the sun, the air carrying a strong scent of soap.
Their clothes were tucked among the piles of laundry. Though old, they were now thoroughly clean, not a single stain remaining.
Returning to her own room, Lin Zhi saw it was spotless as well. Even the small bed had been wiped down.
He Ze tugged on He Run’s hand and blinked, thinking to himself: she must have been scolded badly to change this much.
The brothers tiptoed into Lin Zhi’s room, not saying a word. They dragged a small stool to the head of the bed, rested their chins on their hands, and stared at her.
Lin Zhi had slept soundly. Were it not for the small amount she had eaten that morning, she might still have wanted to stay in bed.
Opening her eyes, she met two pairs of round, wide eyes. Unable to read the expressions in them, she ignored them, stretched lazily, and picked up one child in each arm, setting them beside her.
“Speak. Why are you staring at me?”
He Ze struggled a little but realized he couldn’t escape. Giving up, he focused on the hand holding him and whispered, “Is your brain better now?”
Lin Zhi: ??
Her brain… had it ever been a problem? She had no idea what he was talking about.
Seeing she didn’t answer, He Ze asked again, “Are you going to hit us?”
Lin Zhi looked puzzled. “Why would I hit you?” Did she look like the type to enjoy hitting children?
She thought of the original owner. Everything the original owner had said or done, she hadn’t; she would never hit children casually—but the original owner had. Every day, apart from eating and sleeping, she had taken out her anger on the kids.
“As long as you don’t make mistakes, I won’t hit you.” Seeing the twins’ skepticism, Lin Zhi paused, then added, “I don’t want to be scolded by those old ladies again.”
Ah, it was to avoid being criticized by others.
Although Lin Zhi hadn’t suddenly become a virtuous person, He Ze felt reassured. It didn’t matter why she had changed—as long as the outcome was good, that was enough.
Distracted by the conversation, Lin Zhi forgot the questions she had wanted to ask. Her stomach grumbled, and she decided to prepare some food.
Having eaten porridge yesterday and today, she didn’t want more. More porridge would leave her weak.
Though the original owner was from the north, Lin Zhi herself had been a southerner in her previous life. She was used to eating rice three times a day, rarely consuming wheat-based foods.
She didn’t know how to cook the white flour or coarse grains in the kitchen, so she opted to cook a pot of rice with preserved meat. The twins still couldn’t eat dry rice yet, so she cooked extra to save for dinner.
At lunch, the twins ate the usual egg custard and porridge, though the porridge was thicker than that of the morning.
They hadn’t eaten vegetables in several meals. Lin Zhi was craving them terribly, but the general store didn’t sell vegetables, and there were none planted in the courtyard. She didn’t feel comfortable borrowing from the neighbors, so she would have to wait.
Fortunately, a small village was near the military camp. After lunch, she could go there to exchange for vegetables and other supplies.
The camp was too far from town, and travel was inconvenient. That was why there was a supply-and-marketing cooperative inside the camp, where common daily necessities could be purchased.
But it didn’t sell vegetables. If she wanted meat to improve meals, she had to take the military transport for over three hours to the county seat.
The original owner had spent recklessly, spending every single yuan of the fifty-yuan allowance each month, sometimes even starving for the last three to five days of the month.
Fortunately, it was only the tenth day of the month. Of the fifty yuan He Ting had sent, only half had been spent. With the general store at her disposal, she now only needed to buy a few vegetables, so she would have money left at the end of the month.
Ignoring the eager gazes of the little “radishes,” Lin Zhi enjoyed a delicious meal of preserved meat rice herself and then took the twins out.
“Where are we going?”
She planned to buy a lot at once, so she carried a bamboo basket. “We’re going to the village to exchange for vegetables.”
Private buying and selling wasn’t allowed, but exchanging for personal use was tolerated. Still, it couldn’t be called “buying”—only “exchanging.”
The village wasn’t close. Walking there would take over half an hour. He Ze shook his head, looking at his and his brother’s legs. “We won’t go.”
It was too far—they couldn’t possibly make it.
“Come with me. I’ll get you some candy when we return—Big White Rabbit milk candy.”
The last time they’d had candy had been when their father was home. Thinking of the strong milky scent of the Big White Rabbit, He Ze nodded reluctantly.
“I can go. My brother’s too weak to walk to the village.”
He Ze didn’t understand why Lin Zhi insisted that both of them come. But for the promise of Big White Rabbit candy, he gritted his teeth and would make it.
Compared with his younger brother He Run, He Ze looked weaker as the older brother. If He Run couldn’t make it to the village, then He Ze certainly couldn’t.
“Stop whining. I’m here, aren’t I? If necessary, I’ll carry you both.” She had carried them before, and carrying them a little at a time wouldn’t be a problem.
“Carry…carry us?” He Ze stammered, scared out of his mind. Was this woman losing her mind again?
“Carry you? What’s wrong with that? If you don’t go out, how will people know I’ve made you new clothes and cleaned you up?”
He Ze briefly wondered if she was trying to trick them into being sold somewhere—but her insistence quickly reassured him.
Ah, she just wanted to take them out to show them off to others. That was a relief.
With the verbal tug-of-war over, they could finally leave. Lin Zhi locked the door and let the twins go ahead while she followed slowly.
Though she had the original owner’s memories, it wasn’t her own body, so her memory wasn’t perfect. She knew there was a village nearby but didn’t know exactly which way to go.
The twins hadn’t been out much in recent months, but in the past, they had often gone to the village with He Ting, so they were familiar with the route.
Lin Zhi took a few pieces of fruit candy from her store, pulling one for each twin.
“Here, eat some candy first. Later, if anyone asks, you must tell them loudly—I also buy candy for you.”
Giving them candy under the guise of a perfect excuse, Lin Zhi spoke without hesitation. She had only been here two days and was already giving them candy. Who could say she wasn’t kind-hearted?
He Ze swallowed hard and quickly took the candy. Now that it was an even exchange, he took it with confidence.
He got all four pieces, first feeding one to He Run, then taking one himself. He had thought to save some for tomorrow, but since he would get more Big White Rabbit candy on the way back, he felt it was fine to eat one now.
“Will we get more Big White Rabbit candy when we come back?” With sweet fruit candy in his mouth, He Ze wasn’t reassured and asked again.
“Yes!” Lin Zhi nodded. She wasn’t stingy. Once she promised, there was no way she would trick them.
The journey, which normally took over half an hour, ended up taking them twice as long with stops along the way.
Just as they entered the village, they met an elderly woman with completely white hair. When she heard they had come to exchange for vegetables, she grabbed Lin Zhi and started leading her toward her home.