The four of them slept through their afternoon nap until nearly evening. Li Tingyun only woke up when she heard the bell signaling the end of the workday.
During that time, even Sanbao hadn’t woken up once and had slept especially soundly.
After coming out to drink some water and wash her face to wake herself up, she saw Dabao awake as well. Still looking half-asleep, the child walked out of the room blankly.
A little tuft of hair on top of her head stuck straight up from sleeping, making her look incredibly adorable.
“Mother, did we sleep all the way until morning?” Dabao asked as she looked at the sky.
Her childish words were so innocent that Li Tingyun couldn’t help laughing. “No, it’s not morning yet. It’s evening now.”
After giving Dabao a cup of spiritual spring water, Li Tingyun went to prepare dinner.
Having just woken up, she didn’t feel like moving much, so she lazily took ready-made dishes directly from her space.
She took out steamed egg custard with shrimp, stir-fried broccoli, stir-fried pork with green beans, and reheated the leftover chicken soup from yesterday. A simple meal was quickly prepared.
Erbao also woke up. The moment he saw Li Tingyun, he ran over and hugged her neck while acting spoiled.
“Mother, I’m hungry. Look,” he said, pointing at his stomach for her to see. “My tummy is completely flat from hunger.”
Li Tingyun rubbed his little head and said, “Go wash your face. The food is already ready—we can eat right away.”
Soon after, Sanwa also began fussing awake.
Changing diapers and feeding milk kept Li Tingyun busy for quite a while. After finally settling Sanwa down, she sat at the table and ate together with Dabao and Erbao.
“Mother, this is delicious!” Dabao said, her eyes sparkling as she held a shrimp in her chopsticks. “It tastes like the meat in the dumplings from this morning.”
They had eaten shrimp dumplings in the morning, and now they were having shrimp steamed egg at night—both dishes contained shrimp.
Li Tingyun smiled and said, “If you like it, then eat more. Mother will make it for you often in the future.”
Shrimp steamed egg was one of her favorite dishes.
Before transmigrating, she had thought that if she ended up in an impoverished era, it might be hard to eat dishes like this, so she had prepared a lot and stored them in her space.
Even after the ready-made food in the space ran out, there were still prawns in the ponds, and enough eggs from the farm to last a lifetime.
This dish could still be made often for the children. The kids were far too malnourished and looked thin and weak.
After eating, she put the dishes and chopsticks into the dishwasher in her space as usual. Then she filled the children’s cups with spiritual spring water and watched them drink it.
The sun had just set, but the sky outside was still bright. Some families who had already finished cooking found the inside of their homes too hot, so they sat outside their doors eating dinner while enjoying the evening breeze.
Li Tingyun found a basket in the kitchen and placed a piece of pork inside.
Holding Sanwa in one arm and carrying the basket in the other, she said to the two children, “Let’s go visit Grandpa and Grandma.”
Before leaving, Li Tingyun changed the children back into their original clothes.
Pajamas, of course, were only for sleeping.
Even though Sanwa was only a little over six months old, he already weighed more than ten pounds, with chubby white little arms and legs.
Carrying him with one hand while holding the basket with the other was somewhat tiring for Li Tingyun.
Seeing this, Dabao volunteered bravely, “Mother, I’ll carry the basket.”
Li Tingyun didn’t refuse and only warned, “The basket is a little heavy.”
“Mother, I can carry it,” Dabao said as she took it. Erbao immediately added, “Sister, I’ll help you carry it too.”
So the two children each held one side of the basket as they headed toward the Yi family’s old house.
The Yi family’s old residence was on the opposite side of the village from the house the original owner had built, so they inevitably had to pass through the village. Naturally, many people saw Li Tingyun bringing the children toward the Yi house.
“Sister Li, heading to the old house?” Aunt Sun called out.
Li Tingyun turned around and saw Aunt Sun sitting outside her door. Though the woman was speaking to her, her eyes kept drifting toward the basket Dabao and Erbao were carrying.
Seeing Aunt Sun like this almost made Li Tingyun laugh.
The basket was covered with a cloth. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t possibly tell what was inside.
“Yes,” Li Tingyun answered. “Aunt Sun, eating dinner?”
Aunt Sun responded absentmindedly with a nod, her gaze still fixed on the basket.
Li Tingyun had always been at odds with the Yi family’s old household. Seeing the two little kids carrying a basket, could it be that they were going there to take something back?
But an empty basket wouldn’t need to be covered with cloth. And if it were empty, why would two children need to carry it together? Whatever was inside must be quite heavy.
Could it be that the third Yi son’s wife was bringing gifts to honor her in-laws?
That really would be like the sun rising from the west—a first in history.
Knowing Aunt Sun’s mind was fully occupied with gossip, Li Tingyun didn’t want to chat any longer. After exchanging a few words, she left.
Watching Li Tingyun’s graceful figure walk away, Aunt Sun’s eyes filled with envy.
Despite already having given birth to three children, she was still so slim, with curves in all the right places. From behind, she looked more like a young woman who had never had children at all.
By the time they reached the old house, Erbao had already begun shouting from far away, “Grandpa! Grandma! We’re here!”
The Yi family had just finished dinner. Father Yi was standing outside holding a cup of water.
The moment he saw Erbao, his face lit up with joy. “My precious grandson is here?”
Mother Yi also heard the commotion and came outside. At a glance, she noticed the basket in Dabao’s hands.
Confused, she asked, “Third son’s wife, what’s this?”
Li Tingyun smiled and replied, “Mother, aren’t I going to the county town tomorrow? I’ll have to trouble you to help watch the children for a day. This is a little filial gift for you and Father.”
“Oh my,” Mother Yi frowned. “Watching my grandchildren is only natural. Why are you bringing these things? Take them back home later.”
The noise at the entrance caught the attention of the people inside. Li Tingyun saw several sisters-in-law from her memories come out, every pair of eyes circling around the basket curiously.
The fourth son’s daughter, who was about the same age as Erbao, curiously walked over and lifted the cloth covering the basket.
Instantly, everyone around seemed to freeze, all sucking in a sharp breath.
Inside the basket was a beautiful slab of pork belly, fresh and perfectly layered with fat and lean meat.
Even Mother Yi, who had eaten many good things before, could tell this was high-quality pork belly.
Most importantly, the Yi family hadn’t eaten meat for over a month. Looking at the pork, they could already imagine a hundred different ways to cook it.
Mother Yi scolded the fourth daughter-in-law’s little girl a few times, then covered the basket again and said to Li Tingyun, “Third son’s wife, you’re raising three children now, and life is difficult enough. Take this meat back and nourish the children. You should eat more yourself too so you’ll have enough milk.”
“Mother, I still have more at home,” Li Tingyun said. “This is all for you and Father. Please just accept it.”
The sisters-in-law had originally assumed Li Tingyun had brought the two little burdens over to mooch a meal, and they had been deeply unhappy about it.
Now there were already two little mouths tagging along, and once the youngest grew older, there would be three. By then, it would mean four extra mouths coming over to eat—how could anyone possibly bear that?