Since Xu Anyan couldn’t put any strength into her right hand, she could only stir the pot back and forth with her left. Watching the hawthorns gradually become coated with a white sugary frost, she was filled with excitement.
By the time all the hawthorns were completely coated, her left arm was nearly useless from exhaustion.
Seeing their mother slump onto a stool, Dabao and Xiaobao immediately came over and began rubbing her arms with their little hands.
As he rubbed her arm, Xiaobao said, “Mother, Xiaobao will massage you, and then it won’t hurt anymore.”
Seeing the sweat on his mother’s forehead, Dabao stood on tiptoe and stretched out his little hand, trying hard to wipe it away.
“Mother, when Father comes back, he can help you make it.”
Xu Anyan happily accepted the filial devotion of her two precious sons.
I used to be a rich woman worth millions, and now I’m nearly working myself to death over a few copper coins. Heaven is truly unfair.
Thinking about it made her sad, but thankfully, she had these two sweet little boys.
“Both of you are Mother’s good sons.”
Though the two children didn’t quite understand what she meant, they heard the word “good” and assumed she was praising them. Their eyes lit up, and they rubbed her arms even more enthusiastically.
It was the first time Mother had praised them.
After resting for a while, Xu Anyan finally recovered her strength. The two little ones were also exhausted and sat on their stools, shaking their sore hands.
Xiaobao’s little face drooped.
“Mother, look. My hands have no strength left.”
Dabao also looked pitiful.
Xu Anyan gently pinched their little cheeks.
“Oh dear, my good boys are tired. Come and try the sugar-coated hawthorn balls that Mother made.”
The moment they heard that, the two children suddenly forgot how tired they were. They immediately ran to the stove, stood on tiptoe, and gripped the edge of the stove with all four little hands, trying hard to peek into the pot.
Unfortunately, they were too short. All they could see was a bit of red amid the white coating, and they couldn’t reach it. Their four little eyes rolled about restlessly.
Dabao asked curiously,
“Mother, what did you make?”
Xiaobao looked anxious.
“Mother, I want to eat some.”
The four little eyes looked at Xu Anyan expectantly.
“Hahaha…”
Their expressions made Xu Anyan burst into laughter.
They really looked like two pitiful little puppies.
When Xiaobao saw that his mother wasn’t giving them any food and was instead laughing, his face immediately crumpled, ready to cry.
Xu Anyan looked at him seriously.
“Xiaobao, you’re a little man. You can’t cry over every little thing, or people will laugh at you.”
The moment she finished speaking, Xiaobao instantly changed to a smiling face.
“Mother, look! I’m not crying.”
Xu Anyan secretly clicked her tongue in amazement.
How can such a little child switch expressions so effortlessly? It’s a pity he’s not learning Sichuan opera face-changing.
She put five sugar-coated hawthorn balls into a small bowl for each child and then sat down on a small stool nearby.
Looking at the red-and-white hawthorns in the pot, Xu Anyan was already looking forward to tomorrow.
There wasn’t quite enough sugar, and there were a bit too many hawthorns, so the coating wasn’t very thick. Still, every berry was tightly covered.
At that moment, Dabao said,
“Mother, it’s so delicious! Sweet and sour. It’s even better than candied hawthorns.”
“That’s right, that’s right! Everything Mother makes is delicious!”
Xiaobao certainly knew how to flatter.
But Xu Anyan liked hearing it.
She picked one up and took a bite herself.
It was sweet and sour and surprisingly tasty. Moreover, she didn’t know if it was because they were wild-grown, but these hawthorns weren’t very sour at all.
Afterward, Xu Anyan took two small bowls from the cupboard and filled each with half a bowl of sugar-coated hawthorns.
Handing one to each child, she instructed,
“Dabao, take this bowl to Grandma Wu’s house. Xiaobao, take yours to Aunt Liu’s house. Understand?”
“I understand. I’ll go to Grandma Wu’s house, and little brother will go to Aunt Liu’s house,” Dabao replied seriously.
“Good. Walk slowly and don’t fall.”
The two little boys then carefully carried their bowls and slowly left the kitchen.
The family living next door consisted of five people: a young couple, their son and daughter, and the husband’s mother. Their son was already five years old and attending a private school, while their daughter seemed to be only a little over a year old. The couple ran a small noodle stall and lived somewhat better than Aunt Wu’s family.
The original owner of this body had had a terrible relationship with them. From the memories she inherited, the original owner had once had a huge argument with the young wife. The previous Xu Anyan had often gone into irrational fits, though she couldn’t clearly remember the reasons now.
She didn’t know if it was too late to mend the relationship, but perhaps if she tried, things might improve.
Across the street had once lived a family of six. They had moved away some time ago. They had been carpenters and, after earning some money, had moved to a single-family courtyard in Taoxi Alley.
Needless to say, the original owner had also been on bad terms with them.
Xu Anyan sighed inwardly.
The road ahead is long indeed.
She then found a clean basket in the storage room, lined it with a sheet of uncut oil paper, and transferred all the sugar-coated hawthorns from the pot into it. The basket was about seventy percent full.
Just as she finished tidying up and was wondering why the children hadn’t returned yet, she heard Xiaobao shout loudly,
“Mother, I’m back!”
Hearing this, Xu Anyan went outside and saw Xiaobao staring intently at the bowl in his hands while walking with extreme caution.
She hurried over and took the bowl from him.
Xiaobao’s shoulders instantly relaxed, and his little face filled with relief.
Then Xu Anyan noticed that the bowl contained half a bowl of vegetable meatballs.
Puzzled, she asked,
“Xiaobao, did Aunt Liu give you these?”
“Mhm. Aunt Liu and Grandma Sun gave them to me.”
Xu Anyan immediately understood.
There was still hope of repairing the relationship.
Just then, Dabao returned as well, also walking very carefully.
Seeing his brother, Xiaobao immediately ran over.
“Brother, you’re slower than me!”
Dabao was concentrating so hard on the bowl in his hands that he didn’t dare distract himself by replying.
Seeing this, Xu Anyan set down the bowl in her hand and went over to take Dabao’s bowl.
Before she could ask, Dabao said first,
“Mother, Grandma Wu put taro in it.”
Xu Anyan looked inside.
There were three steamed taros of medium size.
These two neighboring families were truly nice and courteous. The original owner had really been too troublesome, insisting on ruining her relationships with her neighbors.
Didn’t she know the saying, “A distant relative is not as helpful as a close neighbor, and a close neighbor is not as good as the one living right across your door”?
Xu Anyan gave one taro to each of the two children and then carried the bowls back into the kitchen.
She had just finished boiling some hot water when Aunt Wu arrived again with dinner as usual.
Xu Anyan had wanted to cook for herself, but once again she didn’t get the chance. Aunt Wu’s timing was simply too perfect—she always arrived exactly when Xu Anyan was about to cook.
Before leaving, Aunt Wu was specially reminded by Xu Anyan,
“Aunt Wu, you don’t need to bring me meals anymore. My arm is much better now, and I can cook for myself.”
Aunt Wu looked doubtful.
“Can you really manage?”
She wasn’t doubting Xu Anyan’s arm. She was doubting her cooking skills. She had never seen Xu Anyan cook before and had no idea whether she could do it.
Seeing the expression on Aunt Wu’s face, Xu Anyan understood.
“Aunt Wu, don’t worry. Before I got married, my mother taught me how to cook. I can make ordinary home-cooked dishes.”
Seeing how serious she looked, Aunt Wu finally felt reassured.
“Alright then. But if anything happens, make sure to come and get me.”
“Don’t worry. I guarantee there won’t be any problems.”