Hua Wanxi’s eyes lit up. In ancient times, there was also soap—it was called “yi-zi” (soap pods). Maybe she could make a business out of this!
However, with just her current stockpile, she wasn’t sure whether it would be enough to cover the costs of her escape during the famine.
After carefully counting, she found that the soap shavings she had previously scraped filled two large storage boxes—about 50 to 60 jin. The various soaps and scented soaps already unpacked and placed on the platform numbered 144 pieces, while another 96 pieces were still unopened in four boxes.
After getting a clear idea of this, Hua Wanxi went on to inventory the rest of her supplies.
On the bathroom rack hung two large bath towels, three hand towels, and one hair-drying cap. On the hooks were four hair ties, two large scrunchies, and two claw clips.
On the wall shelf for toiletries were two opened bottles of body wash, two bottles of shampoo, one bottle of conditioner, three bottles of facial cleanser, one bottle of intimate wash, and one bottle of body scrub.
By the window rack, there were three pairs of underwear drying, three bras, and four pairs of socks.
On the floor were two plastic basins, one plastic bucket, and one lidded trash bin.
After finishing the wall inventory, Hua Wanxi moved to the sink cabinet.
Anything that needed to be kept waterproof was stored there, along with some unopened stockpiles of toiletries.
In the cabinet under the sink were three bottles of laundry detergent, four boxes of laundry pods, one container of washing powder, three bottles of hand soap, two bottles of mosquito repellent water, three bottles of toilet cleaner, two bottles of drain cleaner, and two tubs of abrasive cleanser.
In the cabinet on the right side of the sink were two large packs of toilet paper (24 rolls total), eight packs of facial tissues, six packs of wet toilet paper, two packs of alcohol wipes, eight packs of daytime sanitary pads, six packs of nighttime pads, twelve disposable postpartum underwear, and three packs of panty liners.
In the left cabinet were various unopened daily necessities and skincare products. There were five tubes of toothpaste, four toothbrushes, two large bottles of mouthwash, more than sixty pairs of colored contact lenses, four bottles of toner, three facial lotions, three facial serums, one eye cream, four face creams, three large bottles of body lotion, three bottles of body oil, two jars of sleeping masks, and over eighty sheet masks. There were also three rolls of garbage bags and a bottle containing about 1,000 small black rubber hair ties.
After closing the cabinets, she glanced at the items on the countertop.
Since she usually wore full makeup to work, the counter was scattered with cosmetics, as well as six different perfumes.
Her currently used skincare items, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and other daily essentials each had their own set placed out.
At that moment, the washing machine chimed to signal that it had finished.
Hua Wanxi walked over and was delighted to find that several more clothes she had taken off earlier were still in the laundry basket on the floor.
She squatted down happily to check them. Inside were her full set of outdoor clothes from earlier and a brand-new cotton pajama set. The pajamas had a plaid pattern in dark blue, understated enough that she felt she could wear them outside.
She took out the dried clothes from the washing machine, changed into them, and put the dirty clothes from the basket into the wash.
Seeing that she had already been inside for quite a while, she pulled on a pair of socks, grabbed all the towels from the rack, and with a thought, exited the bathroom.
Back in the shabby room, both babies were awake. They weren’t crying; instead, they were quietly kicking their legs and looking around.
She tried bringing them into the bathroom—and it worked!
She quickly filled a basin with warm water and gave both babies a comfortable bath, carefully avoiding their umbilical areas.
Hua Wanxi felt secretly pleased with herself. It seemed she was quite suited to being a mother.
Since there were no diapers, she put each baby into a pair of disposable postpartum underwear. They were a bit large, but better than getting everything dirty.
The two little ones had no spare clothes, so she wrapped each of them in a large bath towel. The towels were gauze-textured with floral patterns—very classical in style. A bit eye-catching, but there was no other choice for now.
As dinner time approached, Hua Wanxi carried the clean and refreshed babies back to the room and placed them under the blankets. She also took four bars of old-style soap from the bathroom and put them in the cabinet beside the bed.
The babies seemed hungry and began to whimper softly.
Sitting on the bed, her face slightly flushed, she unfastened her clothing and fed them milk.
At first she felt a little shy, but seeing the two babies feeding eagerly, she gradually felt a sense of quiet satisfaction.