The shopkeeper took the money and, while cutting up the pork knuckles, chatted casually with Hua Wanxi.
“Madam, you really came to the right place for braised pork knuckles. Our family has been in this trade for five generations. It’s a hereditary craft—this flavor is one of a kind!”
“Mm, I can tell,” Hua Wanxi replied.
Even in her modern life, she had never smelled such an intoxicating aroma of braised pork knuckles. She couldn’t help but feel a little regretful—many traditional crafts like this had likely been lost over time.
She couldn’t help but wonder: after the coming natural disasters next year, how many of these skilled family trades would still survive? Would this shop even still be here?
Her mood dimmed slightly. Even the jars of appetizing pickled side dishes the shopkeeper gifted her failed to cheer her up. She forced a polite smile and said goodbye.
She planned to visit a pharmacy before heading home. The trip back would take over two hours.
She entered a medium-sized pharmacy. Only a young apprentice was inside.
As soon as she walked in, the boy said, “Madam, I’m sorry! Our doctor has gone out on a house call and won’t be back for a while!”
“It’s fine. I’m here to buy medicine, not see a doctor.”
“Do you have a prescription, madam?”
“No prescription. Just give me the most common cold medicine, diarrhea medicine, heat-relief medicine, and wound medicine—20 sets of each.”
The apprentice looked at her suspiciously. “Madam… are you sure? Twenty sets of each? It’s winter right now, do you really need heat-relief medicine?”
Cough. “That’s right. Our master is being transferred to a new post, and the madam at home is worried, so she asked me to prepare common medicines in advance. Hurry and pack them.”
Hua Wanxi hadn’t realized how strange it was to buy heat-relief medicine in winter. Luckily, she reacted quickly and made up an excuse.
“Alright, please wait!”
The apprentice no longer doubted her. These medicines were usually stocked, except the heat-relief formula, which had to be prepared fresh.
Soon everything was ready. The apprentice placed the medicines on the counter.
“Madam, each package is labeled with its name and instructions for decoction. Please take a look. Total is 2 taels and 8 qian.”
Hua Wanxi paid and carried her bundles into the carriage.
Since it was getting late, she didn’t linger and drove the ox cart back home.
Along the way, she carefully observed the shops on both sides, planning to return another day for more shopping. There was still so much she hadn’t bought.
The main road back was easy to follow—she only needed to remember the turn into her village.
Near the village entrance, she parked the ox cart by the roadside and went into the carriage.
She quickly entered the bathroom space, changed her clothes, took out the freshly washed clothes from the washing machine, and loaded in another batch.
Then she carefully removed her makeup, applied hydrating toner and serum oil, and finished with a moisturizing cream. Even though winter wasn’t very cold, it was very dry—she needed to take care of her skin.
Looking in the mirror, she once again became the young and beautiful young widow.
When she entered the village, it was dinner time. The road was empty, but even if someone saw her driving an ox cart, she didn’t care. She bought it herself—nothing stolen, nothing wrong.
She drove the cart straight to the Jiang family old residence. Her own small mud house had nowhere to tie up an ox cart. Tomorrow, she would have to ask someone to build an ox shed.
Madam Wang was startled when she saw her return with a cart, and instinctively opened the gate and helped tie the ox.
Hua Wanxi handed her a roasted chicken. “Sister-in-law, this is for your meal.”
“Second sister-in-law, you bought this ox cart?” Madam Wang asked, circling it in amazement. It looked sturdier and better than the village ones, and the ox was strong and healthy.
Jiang’s father and mother also came out upon hearing the noise. They had been eating dinner.
Madam Jiang asked, “Hua-shi, have you eaten? Why don’t you eat a little here?”
“Alright, thank you, Mother,” Hua Wanxi agreed, since she also had something to discuss.
Jiang’s father and Jiang He couldn’t take their eyes off the ox cart. Even their dinner stopped. Jiang He patted the ox’s back and laughed, “Good ox! Can plow two li in one breath!”
Jiang’s father looked thoughtful. Maybe their family should also buy an ox cart.
Hua Wanxi washed her hands and went to see the children. After being apart for a day, she missed them dearly.
Madam Wang brought her to Jiang Wenwan’s room and handed the two babies to her.
“Quick, feed them. They’ve been fussing all day. They don’t like rice paste either, only drank a little rice water! Even their urination has decreased—they must be starving!”
When Hua Wanxi had brought them earlier, she hadn’t put them in sleep diapers, only cloth diapers. They probably felt uncomfortable and refused to eat.
Feeling heartbroken, she held them close and, with her back to Madam Wang, lifted her clothes and fed them from both sides at once.
The two little ones immediately recognized the familiar scent, latched on quickly, and suckled noisily like piglets.
Hua Wanxi felt both amused and distressed. So small, yet already picky eaters. If they were truly hungry, wouldn’t they eat anything?
What would she do when she went out in the future? Take them along? Or leave them in the bathroom space all the time?
She had no answer yet.
After they were full and fell asleep, she gently laid them in the corner of the bed and left the room.
Everyone was waiting for her to eat. The roasted chicken sat untouched on the plate.
Jiang Wenqi stared at it, drooling, but still didn’t reach out—clearly well-educated by Madam Wang.
“Father, Mother, Uncle, Sister-in-law!” Hua Wanxi greeted everyone. The children also politely greeted their second aunt.
“Let’s eat,” said Jiang’s father.
Madam Jiang used clean chopsticks to divide the chicken, giving Hua Wanxi a drumstick, and evenly distributing the rest among the family.
The Jiang family had no rule of “no talking during meals,” so they chatted while eating. Jiang’s father and Jiang He talked about their soap-selling work that day, which streets they visited, and new customers they found.
Hua Wanxi mostly just smiled and listened, being a good listener.
After they finished, she said, “Father, I bought an ox cart today. Could you arrange for someone to build an ox shed outside tomorrow? I’ll pay for the labor, but they must bring their own materials.”
“No problem. After dinner I’ll have Jiang He find workers. It’ll be done by tomorrow morning,” Jiang’s father replied.
Madam Jiang asked, “Why did you suddenly decide to buy an ox cart?”
Hua Wanxi exchanged a glance with Jiang Wenwan. The other gave her a wink.
She put on a worried expression. “Mother, I figured we were going to buy one sooner or later. Better to buy early and enjoy it. I saw the price was right today, so I bought it. Otherwise, it might not be so cheap later.”