Dabao saw that his mother had bought so many clothes for him and his brother. He quickly tugged at Xu Anyan’s skirt and whispered,
“Mother, did this cost a lot of money?”
Xiaobao also whispered,
“Mother, where are your clothes?”
“Money is meant to be spent after it’s earned,” Xu Anyan replied. Then she added, “Mother already has too many clothes. I can’t even wear them all.”
Dabao didn’t believe her.
Mother must have run out of money. I have to tell Father.
Xiaobao secretly made up his mind.
Father has money. I’ll ask Father for some.
At this moment, Xu Anyan had no idea what the two little ones were thinking. She was secretly calculating that after buying clothes, she should make a trip to the bookstore.
Meanwhile, in Wenliu Alley…
Jiang Huan looked at the locked courtyard gate, and his heart tightened.
Could it be that Xu Anyan had really packed up and gone back to her parents’ home?
She had actually gone back? In the past, she would rather throw tantrums than return home.
Thinking of this, Jiang Huan immediately went next door to the Wu family’s house and knocked on the door.
From inside came Old Madam Wu’s voice.
“Who’s there? I’m coming!”
A moment later, the gate opened.
When Old Madam Wu saw Jiang Huan, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time, she was momentarily stunned.
Jiang Huan spoke first.
“Aunt Wu, are Dabao and Xiaobao here right now?”
Only then did Old Madam Wu recover her senses.
“No, they went back a few days ago. Little Jiang, did you just return?”
Upon hearing this, it felt as though a heavy hammer had struck Jiang Huan’s heart.
She had really gone back to her parents’ home…
And she had even taken his two sons with her.
Damn it.
Seeing his ugly expression, Old Madam Wu hurriedly explained,
“Xiaoyan said she’s much better now and can take care of Dabao and Xiaobao herself, so I finally felt at ease…”
Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Huan had already turned and strode away.
Old Madam Wu looked puzzled.
“Ah… why won’t he let me finish?”
She shook her head and closed the door.
Meanwhile, Xu Anyan returned home loaded with purchases.
The clothes had cost two taels and three hundred wen altogether.
Seeing that she had bought so much, the female shopkeeper gifted her an extra chi of fine cloth.
Xu Anyan also took the opportunity to ask for the shop’s leftover fabric scraps.
She then went to the bookstore and bought a copy of the Three Character Classic.
The original owner’s father had been a scholar and knew how to read and write, so at least she hadn’t become illiterate after transmigrating.
When she had free time, she could teach the two little ones some characters.
Finally, she bought a bound blank notebook, spending a total of one hundred wen.
Fortunately, there were already brushes and ink at home, otherwise she would have had to spend even more.
The blank notebook was for keeping accounts.
After making a rough calculation, she probably didn’t even have four taels left.
The smiles never left Dabao and Xiaobao’s faces along the way. Their little mouths chattered nonstop.
They had new clothes!
And they were so warm!
That night, after dinner, darkness gradually fell.
After washing up, the one adult and two children all climbed onto the heated brick bed early.
By the dim light of the kerosene lamp, Xu Anyan lay by the edge of the kang, writing nonstop with a brush.
The bedside table was actually the short cabinet from before. It was slightly taller than the kang and happened to make a perfect bedside table.
Looking at the weak light, Xu Anyan sighed.
Recently, money had only been going out and not coming in. She couldn’t even afford candles and had to make do with a kerosene lamp.
Then she looked at the chicken-scratch handwriting on the paper and couldn’t bear to look at it any longer.
The original owner could read, but her handwriting was indescribably terrible.
As for herself…
She didn’t know calligraphy either.
Sigh… as long as the words are recognizable, that’s good enough.
Meanwhile, Dabao and Xiaobao were on the inner side of the kang, trying to solve a nine-linked rings puzzle.
Xu Anyan had deliberately bought it for them so they wouldn’t bother her.
After roughly recording the accounts, she discovered that she only had three taels left.
In just a few short days, she had become poor again.
If things got any worse, she would have to visit the pawnshop once more.
After putting the account book into her special cabinet, she saw that it was still early.
She took out the piece of fine cloth the shopkeeper had given her and decided to sew a small schoolbag for each of the little ones.
She cut four pieces of cloth, each about fifteen centimeters in size, then measured the children’s height and cut the straps accordingly.
The bags were simple to make.
Two quarters of an hour later, the two little shoulder bags were finished.
Looking at the tiny backpacks in her hands, Xu Anyan silently praised herself.
Then she beckoned to the two children.
“You two, come over and see if you like these.”
The moment Xiaobao heard her, he immediately threw aside the nine-linked rings and crawled over.
“Mother, what is it?”
“Look. Do you like this little schoolbag?”
The moment he saw it, Xiaobao immediately stood up.
“Mother, hurry and put it on me!”
Looking at the little bag, his little head was already spinning as he thought about what treasures he could put inside.
Meanwhile, Dabao was still fiercely battling the nine-linked rings.
Xiaobao couldn’t stop showing off the little bag to his older brother.
At that moment, Xu Anyan heard movement coming from the courtyard.
Her heart tightened.
A thief!
She immediately turned around and whispered,
“Don’t make a sound.”
Xiaobao had his back to her and didn’t hear.
Dabao, however, reacted instantly. He quickly covered his younger brother’s mouth and whispered,
“Little Brother, there’s a thief.”
Upon hearing this, Xiaobao’s eyes widened.
Xu Anyan grabbed a pair of scissors with her right hand and a wooden stick leaning behind the door with her left.
She quietly walked toward the entrance.
The moment she opened the door, she saw a dark figure walking toward her.
In the darkness, she could vaguely tell the person was tall and appeared to be a man.
Heavens! This thief is way too bold! He’s actually coming straight at me!
She only knew a little self-defense.
I’m doomed!
Anxious, Xu Anyan shouted sternly,
“Don’t come any closer! Do you know whose house this is? This is the home of Jiang Huan, the county yamen’s chief constable!”
“I know. Take a good look at who I am first,” the shadow replied as he continued walking.
Too arrogant.
He knew whose house this was and still came.
This had to be premeditated.
As the figure drew near, Xu Anyan couldn’t think of anything else and directly threw the scissors in her hand.
The shadow sidestepped, and the scissors flew past his shoulder.
Her mind raced as she prepared her next move when the man suddenly said,
“I’m Jiang Huan.”
Xu Anyan froze, still gripping the wooden stick.
She squinted hard at the man in the darkness.
Hmm… it’s too dark. I can’t see his face at all. I can only tell that he’s tall.
Then she blurted out,
“When you come home, why don’t you use the front gate? Don’t you know that people can be scared to death like this?”
Jiang Huan paused and didn’t answer immediately.
At noon, he had acted impulsively.
Seeing the locked gate and hearing Old Madam Wu say that she had taken the children away, his blood had rushed to his head.
He had gone straight to the county office, borrowed a horse, and hurried toward Shanglin Village.
Only after arriving did he discover that she hadn’t returned to her parents’ home.
Only then did he realize how impulsive he’d been.
A pampered woman like her—if she hadn’t gone back to her parents’ home, she was obviously still at home.
It was his fault for not asking clearly.
At the time, he had been stuck between a rock and a hard place and couldn’t tell the truth, so he could only muddle through.
Then his father-in-law and mother-in-law kept him there talking endlessly.
By the time he returned the horse to the county office, it was already getting dark.
When he returned to Wenliu Alley, although the courtyard gate was closed, it wasn’t locked.
Remembering that he usually climbed over the wall whenever he came home late, he had simply vaulted over it without a second thought.
Who knew she would still be awake tonight?
“Father…”
“Father…”
The voices of Dabao and Xiaobao brought Jiang Huan back to his senses.
Xu Anyan turned and saw the two boys standing in the doorway, still wearing only their thin clothes.
She hurriedly said,
“Quickly, go back inside! Don’t catch a chill.”
Jiang Huan quickly stepped forward and crouched down, preparing to pick up the two children.
Then he remembered that his body was still cold from outside, so he lowered his hands again.
In a gentle voice, he said,
“Wait until Father changes clothes. I’ll come see you in a little while.”
By then, Xu Anyan had already walked over.
Without even looking at Jiang Huan, she directly took the children’s hands and led them back into the room.
Jiang Huan could only smile helplessly.
He had thought this work assignment would only take a few days.
Who knew it would last more than ten days?
It was indeed his fault.