When she had been bored at home in her previous life, Xu Anyan often liked making simple snacks for herself to eat. Sugar-coated hawthorn balls were one of them.
At the thought of it, she seemed to hear the jingling of copper coins in her ears, and her heart grew even more excited.
In the end, she couldn’t fall asleep at all. She got up and went straight to the kitchen, planning to boil some hot water and later bring the two children back from Aunt Wu’s house to wash their hair.
Recently, the water jar had always been kept full by Wu Lin, so she wasn’t worried about running out of water. The kitchen was now more or less fully equipped; the only thing left was making money.
Once the water was ready and the time seemed about right, Xu Anyan picked up a candied hawthorn skewer and headed next door to the Wu family.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Dabao and Xiaobao coming out of the Wu residence.
The moment the two little ones saw their mother, their eyes lit up. They rushed over and each wrapped themselves around one of her legs.
Pouting, Xiaobao complained, “Mom, you’re finally back.”
Dabao looked the same.
“Mom, I thought you’d forgotten to come pick me and my little brother up again.”
Xu Anyan felt helpless. The children were simply too insecure. The burden of raising them properly was truly a long and difficult road ahead.
“How could I? Now let go of Mom’s legs first.”
The two little ones reluctantly released her.
As her legs were finally freed, it felt as though her heart had been given a brief respite as well.
“Mom will definitely come for you. Did Grandma Wu know you were coming back?”
Dabao nodded.
“She knows. We told Grandma Wu we were coming back to find Mom.”
“That’s good.” Xu Anyan handed the candied hawthorn skewer to Xiaobao. “Xiaobao, take this to Little Tiger.”
Xiaobao accepted it, his eyes darting around.
“Okay!”
Then he scampered back into the Wu house.
What he was actually thinking was:
Hehe, now there’ll be more candied hawthorn for me to eat!
A short while later, he came back out.
“Mom, let’s hurry home.”
“Come on then. Mom’s going to wash your hair.”
After the two little ones had eaten their candied hawthorn, Xu Anyan prepared to wash their hair.
The sun was shining warmly. She placed two small wooden basins on the ground, mixed hot water in a bucket, and poured it into the basins.
The two children squatted side by side in front of them, lowering their little heads and waiting for their mother to wash their hair.
Their hair had a bit of an odor, but fortunately there were no lice. Otherwise, Xu Anyan would probably have fainted.
The hair cleanser used here was soap pods. Only wealthy or official families used fragrant bath beans; ordinary people used soap pods.
As for poorer households, they even washed their hair and clothes with plant ash.
Being able to use soap pods was already considered quite luxurious.
As she washed their hair, Xu Anyan instructed,
“Close your eyes tightly and don’t open them, or the water will get into your eyes and it’ll hurt.”
The two children obediently squeezed their eyes shut.
About half an hour later, they finally finished washing their hair.
After drying their heads, Xu Anyan had them sit on small stools in the courtyard to bask in the sun.
She instructed seriously,
“Dabao, keep an eye on your little brother. Remember, don’t move around until your hair is dry. Hold onto him and don’t let him run off.”
Dabao nodded solemnly.
“Mom, don’t worry. I’ll definitely hold onto my little brother and won’t let him run around.”
Only then did Xu Anyan feel at ease and head to the kitchen.
She wanted to take advantage of the strong fire in the stove and render the pork fat into lard.
After wiping the pot clean, she put the chopped pork fat into it.
Soon, it began sizzling and releasing oil, and before long, a delicious aroma drifted into the courtyard.
As soon as Dabao and Xiaobao smelled it, they couldn’t sit still anymore.
“Mom, it smells so good!” Dabao shouted.
Xiaobao immediately followed,
“Mom, what delicious thing are you making?”
Afraid that the two children would get up, Xu Anyan hurriedly said,
“Don’t move around. Wait until your hair is dry, then you can come eat something tasty.”
“We’ll listen to Mom!” the two little ones replied in unison.
Another fifteen minutes passed, and the pork fat was finally rendered.
The crispy cracklings filled more than half a bowl, while the lard itself filled over half of the porcelain jar she had bought today.
At that moment, the two little bean sprouts came running in.
“Mom, our hair is dry! Touch it!” Xiaobao said as he eagerly thrust his little head toward her hand.
Not to be outdone, Dabao shoved his head over too.
Looking at the two little heads before her, Xu Anyan laughed.
“It’s dry, it’s dry. Now go get your little bowls.”
Hearing this, the two children ran to the cupboard, fetched their bowls, and hurried back to the stove.
Holding up their bowls, they said in unison,
“Mom, reward!”
Xu Anyan put a small portion of the crispy pork cracklings into each bowl.
“You can’t eat too much. You can only have a little every day, understand?”
“Got it!”
The two children, their long hair hanging loose, nodded like little rattles, looking especially amusing.
Carrying their bowls, they trotted back to the courtyard and sat on their small stools, happily eating the fragrant cracklings, their little faces full of satisfaction.
Looking at the two children with their hair hanging loose, Xu Anyan couldn’t help but feel troubled.
Ancient people’s long hair really was troublesome the more she looked at it.
She almost wanted to take a pair of scissors and cut it all off.
But she didn’t dare.
It looked like she’d have to trouble Aunt Wu again.
Just as Xu Anyan finished tidying up the kitchen and was about to take the children out, Aunt Wu came over.
Seeing Dabao and Xiaobao’s hair, she immediately understood.
“Xiao Yan, did you wash the little ones’ hair?”
Aunt Wu was simply her timely rain—every time she needed help, the woman appeared.
“Yes, Aunt Wu. I just washed their hair and was about to come find you.”
“I understand. Let’s go inside right away. I’ll comb their hair for them.”
Dabao and Xiaobao obediently sat on their little stools.
After Aunt Wu finished combing and tying up their hair, the two little ones immediately ran next door to find Little Tiger again.
Only then did Aunt Wu remember the main reason she’d come.
“Xiao Yan, is there anything else you need to buy?”
“There actually is one thing. Last time Sister Zheng mentioned that your family grows some vegetables. I was thinking of buying some from you another day.”
“Of course! Just come and pick whatever you want. Why would you need to pay? Don’t be so formal with me.”
“How can that be? I definitely have to pay. Otherwise, I won’t take any.”
Xu Anyan knew the Wu family’s circumstances. How could she possibly take their vegetables for free?
The next day.
Xu Anyan felt that her arm had improved quite a bit, so she decided to visit the clinic for another check-up.
She left Dabao and Xiaobao at Aunt Wu’s house and went alone to the nearest clinic to Wenliu Lane, Tongxin Hall.
There weren’t many patients there. Since it was the closest clinic to Wenliu Lane, most of the residents went there whenever they were sick.
The clinic had only one physician on duty, a middle-aged doctor named Qian Hua.
The clinic wasn’t busy at the moment, so Xu Anyan went straight to the consultation area.
Qian Hua recognized her at a glance.
“Madam Xu, you’re here for a follow-up?”
“Yes. Thank you for your trouble, Doctor Qian.”
After carefully examining her arm, Qian Hua slowly said,
“Your arm has recovered quite well. Just don’t exert too much force with it and continue taking good care of it for another seven days. Then it should be fully healed.”
“Stretch out your hand. I’ll check your pulse as well.”
Xu Anyan obediently extended her left hand and placed it on the pulse pillow.
After checking it, Qian Hua asked her to switch to her right hand and took her pulse again.
“Nothing serious. Your body is simply weak. Rest well and nourish yourself properly.”
Xu Anyan finally relaxed.
From now on, I’d better exercise more and go running.
This body was only so weak because its previous owner had been far too lazy. That’s why it had become so frail and delicate.