Even though the third son was gone, his wife couldn’t just come over and freelously mooch meals forever.
That was what the sisters-in-law had originally thought.
But after realizing Li Tingyun hadn’t come to freeload and had instead brought them meat, their attitudes immediately changed.
In fact, all of them were already thinking that they would definitely get to eat some of this meat tomorrow.
So when Mother Yi said she didn’t want it and told Li Tingyun to take it back, they were instantly alarmed.
How could that do? Even if the adults didn’t eat it, the children still needed meat!
The second daughter-in-law, Wang Yongmei, stepped forward, just about to speak, when she heard Li Tingyun refuse to take the meat back.
Only then did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
“Third son’s wife,” Father Yi said, “life is still long ahead. Some things should be saved carefully. The children are all still so young.”
Li Tingyun understood what Father Yi and Mother Yi meant.
She was a single adult raising three small children. If she didn’t save carefully on food and money, what would she do if she ran out in the future?
Of course, she herself wasn’t worried about starving, since she had her space and would never truly go hungry.
After thinking for a moment, Li Tingyun opened her mouth to speak, but Wang Yongmei interrupted first.
“Father, Mother, your grandchildren haven’t eaten meat in a long time either. They’ve all been craving it.”
“Didn’t you already eat dinner just now?” Father Yi scolded coldly. “Skipping one piece of meat won’t kill you. Look how greedy you are!”
Wang Yongmei looked wronged after being scolded.
“Grandpa, Grandma, Mother and Erbao and I are already full,” Dabao said innocently. “You should eat meat too and fill your bellies.”
Erbao chimed in as well, “Grandpa and Grandma shouldn’t go hungry either. Your tummies should be round like mine!”
Father Yi and Mother Yi burst out laughing.
Taking advantage of the moment, Li Tingyun said, “Mother, just accept it. It’s troublesome for us to carry it all the way back anyway.”
Mother Yi glanced at the eager expressions on the faces of her daughters-in-law behind her and finally relented.
“Fine, then I’ll keep it.”
Seeing how considerate the third son’s wife had become, Mother Yi secretly thought to herself that she should help take care of Li Tingyun more in the future. Even in such difficult circumstances, the woman still thought of the two elders first.
Since the meat had been delivered, Li Tingyun didn’t plan to stay and chat. Looking at the large crowd gathered at the doorway, she couldn’t help marveling at how people in this era really did have a lot of children.
After spending some time at the Yi family home, the sky had already begun to darken.
Li Tingyun slowly walked home with the two children.
Children never liked walking properly. The two of them skipped and bounced the whole way, stopping to pick flowers and grass while noisily playing with each other as they returned home.
After arriving home, Li Tingyun followed the usual routine and bathed the children using spiritual spring water.
Guessing that it was already close to ten o’clock, she made each of the two older children a cup of goat’s milk with spiritual spring water mixed in.
Worried that drinking too much goat’s milk would make Erbao wet the bed, she put training pants on him.
Dabao was older now. If she needed to pee during the night, she would wake up on her own.
Because they had slept too much in the afternoon, the two children stayed energetic for quite a while after drinking their milk before finally falling asleep.
The next morning, Li Tingyun had only just woken up when Mother Yi arrived.
“Mother,” Li Tingyun said as she opened the door. “You came so early?”
Mother Yi replied, “I was worried you might leave early and the children would have no one with them, so I came sooner.”
Li Tingyun nodded and headed into the kitchen.
She took noodles and dry flatbread out from her space and said to Mother Yi, “Mother, there are noodles and flatbread in the kitchen. Just make whatever you want to eat. If Sanwa wakes up, there’s rice cereal in the cupboard. Just mix it with hot water for him.”
Before Mother Yi arrived, Li Tingyun had already breastfed the baby once. After Sanwa woke up and ate some rice cereal, she should be back around the time he became hungry again.
Mother Yi repeatedly assured her, “I already ate breakfast before coming. Don’t worry, just go. I’ll take good care of them.”
“Alright, Mother. Then I’m leaving.”
Li Tingyun went into the room one last time to look at the children, who were still sleeping soundly. She kissed their little cheeks, then picked up her basket backpack and left.
The sun had not risen yet, and the small path was still damp with morning dew.
The air in this era was incredibly fresh, free of the exhaust fumes of modern vehicles.
The village sat between the county town and the smaller market town. She could go to either one.
But Li Tingyun thought she could probably obtain more things in the county town. The market town was too small and would limit opportunities, so she decided to head to the county seat instead.
After walking into the mountain path surrounded by hills and completely devoid of people, she looked back and saw that even the village was no longer visible.
Li Tingyun placed the basket into her space, then took out the electric scooter parked by the seaside inside her space. Twisting the handle, she sped forward quickly.
According to the original owner’s memories, walking to the county town would normally take more than two hours.
But with the electric scooter, after only about half an hour, she could already vaguely see the county town ahead.
Once she got close enough, Li Tingyun found a hidden spot, stored the scooter back into her space, took out the basket again, slung it over her back, and walked into the county town.
The county town was noticeably more prosperous than the market town.
Most people on the streets wore dark-colored fabrics: neat little collared jackets made of “Dacron” cloth and loose trousers—clothing styles full of the era’s characteristics.
Li Tingyun glanced around before entering the only building that could really be considered a high-rise—the department store.
The department store sold many things. Some items required ration tickets to purchase, but there were still many people shopping inside.
Li Tingyun walked around looking but didn’t find anything she particularly wanted to buy. Instead, she found everything rather novel.
Many things from this era had long disappeared in the modern age she came from.
She wandered over to the clothing section.
Children’s clothing in this era was somewhat more fashionable, but the colors were still mostly dark and dull, lacking the lively feeling children’s clothes ought to have.
Li Tingyun casually touched the fabric. It actually felt decent, about the same quality as the clothes in her space. But in terms of style, the clothes she had stockpiled in her space were still much prettier.
After comparing them, she lost interest in buying anything.
After all, the clothes in her space were enough for the children to wear for many years.
Just as she was about to leave, a mocking voice sounded behind her.
“If you can’t afford it, then don’t touch it. What if you ruin it—can you pay for it?”
Li Tingyun froze for a moment and turned around.
The saleswoman was vigorously dusting off the clothing Li Tingyun had just touched with a disgusted expression, as though it had been contaminated by something dirty.
Seeing Li Tingyun turn around, the woman even rolled her eyes dramatically.
Li Tingyun raised an eyebrow. “I only touched it once. How could that possibly ruin it? Besides, if I don’t touch it, how would I know whether the quality is good or whether it’s worth buying?”
The saleswoman looked Li Tingyun up and down.
At first glance, she looked like a country woman—plainly dressed, carrying a basket on her back, looking exactly like some poor villager visiting the city.
The saleswoman’s expression remained full of disdain.
“You, looking this shabby, know anything about quality?” she sneered. “Anything sold in a department store could never possibly have bad quality.”
In this era, anyone who worked in a department store usually got the job through connections.
Naturally, many of them considered themselves superior and often looked down on people from the countryside.