Aunt Wu rummaged through the cabinet and finally found two relatively clean long shirts, short jackets, and little pairs of trousers for the children.
After the twins had changed, Xu Anyan instructed them,
“When you pee or poop, you must take off your pants first, understand?”
The two little boys nodded in unison.
“Mother, we know. We have to take off our pants when we pee or poop.”
Xu Anyan sighed inwardly.
They’re so easy to raise. What a relief.
Just then, Xiaobao added,
“Father already taught Brother and me.”
So that was it. She had wondered why they had agreed so readily.
Watching Xu Anyan’s series of unusual behaviors today, Aunt Wu found it rather strange. Normally, Madam Xu didn’t pay much attention to Dabao and Xiaobao, and she was also being surprisingly polite today.
Did hitting her head knock some sense into her?
Well, regardless, as long as she became better than before, that was enough.
Afterward, Xu Anyan asked Aunt Wu to find her a wooden board. She used strips of cloth to secure her injured arm to the board, then hung another cloth strip around her neck to make a sling.
This would reduce the pain and help her recover faster.
For the next two days, Xu Anyan stayed on the kang and never got down except when she needed to use the toilet.
Every day, Aunt Wu brought her meals and medicine on time.
The wound on her forehead had begun to scab over, and her sprained ankle hadn’t been serious. After applying medicinal wine every day, it no longer hurt much. Now, only her arm still couldn’t move freely.
Xu Anyan felt fortunate that it was already late autumn. Otherwise, she would have died from the heat in the room.
She hadn’t bathed in four days, and her body felt unbearably uncomfortable.
Today, she absolutely had to take a bath.
Thinking this, she propped herself up and slowly climbed down from the kang, limping toward the kitchen.
As soon as she pushed the door open, a chilly draft carrying the smell of dust hit her face.
Looking around, she saw that aside from the stove and chopping board, there was only a small medicinal stove on the floor and two small water jars.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a cupboard in the corner.
When she opened it, she was stunned.
Was that… a layer of ash?
Only then did she remember that Jiang Huan hadn’t cooked in over a month.
Most likely, Aunt Wu had been brewing the medicine at her own house these days.
Seeing this, Xu Anyan quietly backed out and walked toward the water jar in the courtyard.
If she wanted a bath, she’d have to boil water first.
She also needed to give the kitchen a basic cleaning.
Looking at the completely empty water jar, Xu Anyan’s heart sank.
Reality just kept hitting her one blow after another.
Even if there was a well, she couldn’t draw water in her current state.
She could only wait for Aunt Wu to come.
So, Xu Anyan sat down on a stool in the courtyard and fell into thought.
Once she recovered, she absolutely had to find a way to earn money and support herself.
She couldn’t rely on Jiang Huan’s meager monthly allowance forever.
She couldn’t afford to wait.
Half an hour later, the two little beans pushed open the door and ran in, with Aunt Wu following behind carrying a porcelain bowl.
Xiaobao spoke first.
“Mother, we brought you food!”
Then he looked at her curiously.
“Mother, you can walk now? You’re all better?”
Xu Anyan’s head buzzed.
Over the past few days, she had discovered that Xiaobao was lively, active, and quite the little chatterbox, while Dabao was sensible, steady, and spoke very little.
Before she could answer, Aunt Wu interrupted Xiaobao’s chatter.
“Xiaoyan, why did you get off the kang?”
Aunt Wu had always called her “Madam Xu,” but Xu Anyan found it awkward and had asked her to call her by her name instead.
“My ankle is almost healed. The sun is nice today, so I thought I’d come out and get some sunshine,” Xu Anyan replied.
Aunt Wu nodded.
“That’s true. A little sunshine will help you recover faster.”
Then she added,
“Go eat first. You can come back out after you’re done.”
As she spoke, Aunt Wu stepped forward to help Xu Anyan up.
Seeing this, Xiaobao immediately ran over.
“Grandma Wu, Brother and I can help Mother up!”
As soon as he finished speaking, both boys moved forward, preparing to pull on Xu Anyan’s left hand.
She quickly stopped them.
“Don’t move. Mother can get up by herself.”
Given their tiny size, she was afraid she couldn’t survive their filial devotion.
The two little ones immediately stopped and looked at her with disappointed expressions.
Seeing this, Xu Anyan knew they had misunderstood.
She explained,
“Mother is afraid you’ll tire yourselves out.”
At once, Dabao and Xiaobao’s eyes lit up.
Mother really did care about them after all.
Xu Anyan could only sigh.
Raising children was truly mentally exhausting.
After lunch, just as Aunt Wu was about to leave, Xu Anyan quickly called out to her.
“Aunt Wu, I want to take a bath. Could you help me fetch some water? My water jar is completely empty.”
“Of course. Wait a moment.”
Aunt Wu put down the dishes and hurried toward the backyard.
After carrying three buckets of water, she was completely exhausted.
“Xiaoyan, when my son comes home, I’ll bring him over to fill your water jar.”
“Alright. Thank you for your trouble, Aunt Wu.”
Seeing the older woman panting with exhaustion, Xu Anyan felt terribly guilty.
She almost had the illusion that she was abusing an elderly person.
Afterward, Aunt Wu helped clean the kitchen a little before leaving.
At the moment, Xu Anyan sat by the stove adding firewood.
Aunt Wu had lit the fire for her earlier and had even reminded her to keep some embers for next time.
Meanwhile, Dabao and Xiaobao had brought little stools and were sitting at the kitchen doorway, acting as her companions.
Dabao asked,
“Mother, when is Father coming back?”
Xu Anyan remembered what Aunt Wu had said yesterday.
Jiang Huan had gone to Peach Blossom Town on official business, and his return date was uncertain.
Changshan County was a prosperous place, and the county office governed two towns, so it was usually very busy.
Moreover, Jiang Huan had only recently been promoted to chief constable. Naturally, he needed to work hard and prove himself.
Speaking of Jiang Huan’s job as a constable, his path had been full of twists and turns.
His father had once served in the army and became a hunter after retiring. Unfortunately, he later died in a hunting accident.
Jiang’s mother had worked tirelessly to raise her son and daughter alone, and life had been difficult.
When Jiang Huan grew up, he inherited his father’s profession as a hunter.
Fearing that he would meet the same fate, his mother sought help from Li Shan, an old friend of Jiang’s father who happened to be a chief constable.
At that time, the county office was short-handed, so Li Shan recommended Jiang Huan.
Thus, Jiang Huan obtained a respectable job.
He was young and capable and worked very diligently.
Calculating the time, he had already served as a constable for six years.
This year, Li Shan was stepping down and had recommended Jiang Huan to take over as chief constable.
Since he had only just assumed the position, he naturally had to work even harder to earn the respect of his subordinates.
“Your father is busy with official duties. He should be back in a few days.”
Xiaobao looked curious.
“How many days is ‘a few days’?”
Xu Anyan: “…”
This little rascal was specifically sent here to make things difficult for her.
She immediately changed the subject.
“Aren’t you two going to play with Brother Xiaohu?”
Dabao answered,
“We’re staying with Mother. We’re not going.”
“It’s alright. Mother doesn’t need company. Go play.”
“Okay, Mother. Brother and I are leaving.”
As soon as Xiaobao finished speaking, the sound of little footsteps running away echoed into the distance.
Xu Anyan muttered to herself,
“Sigh… the touching mother-son reunion didn’t even last half an hour.”
After adding another piece of firewood, she headed back to her room.
She needed to find a change of clothes.
Looking at the tall cabinet and the short cabinet before her, she remembered that the tall cabinet contained the original host’s belongings.
A lock still hung on it.
Xu Anyan took the key from around her neck, unlocked it, and opened the cabinet.
It had two shelves.
The upper shelf was packed with brightly colored clothes, all made of fine cotton.
There had to be dozens of them.
The lower shelf contained more clothes and a brand-new quilt.
She then found two wooden boxes hidden among the clothes.
Opening the first one, she found a pair of silver bracelets, five silver hairpins, and three pairs of earrings, along with some decorative cords and silk flowers.
She opened the second box.
Inside were rouge, lipstick, face cream, and other cosmetics.
After rummaging around for quite some time, she finally found a small purse.
Unfortunately, it contained only a handful of copper coins and not even a single piece of silver.
Great.
There wasn’t even a need to take inventory.
Her assets were obvious at a glance.
The original host’s dowry was basically all “fixed assets”—
three sets of new clothes, this tall cabinet, and a chest that had been thrown into the side room.
As for the only five taels of silver she had brought with her, the original host had already squandered it all over the past four years.
The only valuable items left were probably those pieces of jewelry.
Then Xu Anyan walked over to the short cabinet.
The moment she opened it, she nearly gagged.
The children’s clothes and shoes had all been tossed together in a heap, and it was impossible to tell which ones were clean and which were dirty.
Only now did she understand the look Aunt Wu had worn that day.
She had finally realized what it meant.