Little Tiger turned around and saw Xu Anyan, immediately calling out loudly, “Aunt Xu!”
“What a good boy, Little Tiger.” Xu Anyan casually took the bowl from his hands and said, “Aunt Wu, thank you for bringing us food.”
“Oh, you child, why are you being so polite with me? Besides, Shopkeeper Jiang already paid me. How could I take the money and not do the job?”
Aunt Wu’s words left Xu Anyan with no room to argue, so she could only nod repeatedly.
As they talked, they entered the main room and set down the porridge and dishes. Aunt Wu reminded her to come to them if she needed anything, then left the little courtyard with her grandson.
After seeing the grandmother and grandson off, Xu Anyan returned to the main room and found Dabao and Xiaobao already seated in their special chairs, waiting obediently for their mother.
“Mom, eat,” Xiaobao said, patting the table.
Xu Anyan smiled. “Wait a moment. I’ll get you two some small bowls.”
After serving food to the two little ones, they happily ate with their tiny spoons while Xu Anyan occasionally picked up some pickled vegetables for them.
The pickles were Aunt Wu’s homemade pickled cabbage. The flavor was quite good—not too salty, just right.
After the meal, the water had also finished heating.
It had only just become autumn, and Xu Anyan wanted to wipe the two children down. She had noticed at noon that they had a bit of an odor about them; they probably hadn’t bathed in quite some time.
She found the large wooden tub used for the children’s baths in the side room. Jiang Huan had specially made it for them. Since children’s bodies were delicate, she moved the tub into the main room so she could wrap them in blankets immediately after their bath.
As she mixed the hot water, she said, “Dabao, Xiaobao, hurry and take off your clothes.”
She remembered that the two little ones could dress and undress themselves.
“Okay!”
The moment they saw the big wooden tub, they knew their mother was going to give them a bath. They loved bath time whenever their father washed them.
Since only one of Xu Anyan’s arms could move freely, she was a little slow at mixing the water. The moment she turned around, she was startled to find two completely naked little boys standing behind her.
“Why didn’t you say anything after taking off your clothes? Quick, quick, get into the tub!”
She truly hadn’t expected them to undress so quickly.
She remembered her best friend saying that her five-year-old son was incredibly shy whenever it came to bathing.
But these two little ones looked completely unashamed, their faces full of anticipation.
Dabao and Xiaobao kicked off their shoes and plopped down into the water with a splash, sending water flying everywhere and splattering Xu Anyan’s face.
She wiped her face and opened her eyes to see the two children having the time of their lives in the tub.
“Alright, stop playing. Let’s get you cleaned up first. You can play tomorrow.”
Who had spoiled them into this bad habit of playing during baths? What if they caught a cold?
To her surprise, the two little ones seemed not to hear her at all. They continued splashing water, and even Xu Anyan, standing beside the tub, was soaked from head to toe.
Her head buzzed with frustration. Putting on a stern face, she scolded sharply, “Stop playing!”
The moment the words left her mouth, the air seemed to freeze.
Seeing that their mother was angry, Dabao and Xiaobao immediately sat obediently in the tub, lowering their heads like two little quails that had been scolded.
Dabao raised his tiny head and glanced at her.
“Mom, I’m sorry. My little brother and I weren’t good.”
Xiaobao also spoke timidly.
“Mom, I’m sorry.”
Xu Anyan felt utterly exhausted.
Raising children was truly difficult—and she had to raise two of them. She had to take care of their health while also making sure not to hurt their tender little hearts.
After calming herself, she washed them while patiently explaining,
“Mom isn’t trying to be mean. The weather is getting cold. If you get sick, not only will you have to drink bitter medicine, but you also won’t be able to eat cloud cakes or lotus pastries. Think about it—wouldn’t that be awful?”
“I don’t want to drink bitter medicine! I want cloud cakes!”
“I want lotus pastries! No medicine!”
Dabao and Xiaobao shook their heads vigorously like two little rattles.
Xu Anyan secretly laughed.
Let’s see if that doesn’t work on you two.
After that, bath time went much more smoothly.
In less than half an hour, they were finished. After drying them with the new cloth towels she had bought that day, she used one arm to carry Dabao onto the heated brick bed.
Fortunately, the two children had been underfed and were quite thin. Otherwise, she really wouldn’t have been able to carry them with one hand.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Xu Anyan immediately scolded herself inwardly.
Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey… What a sinful thought! How could I think that?
As soon as Dabao climbed onto the kang, he burrowed under the blankets. Then she carried Xiaobao up as well.
Once the two little ones were lying down, she noticed that more than half the water from the tub had spilled onto the floor. Luckily, the tub wasn’t difficult to drag. She pulled it to the doorway and poured the water outside.
After returning the wooden tub to the side room and giving herself a quick wipe-down, she went back into the main room, only to find that the two children had already fallen asleep.
The two boys were almost the same height and build, and they usually wore each other’s clothes at random.
Xu Anyan found two sets of underclothes in the cabinet and decided to change them into those tomorrow.
The last time, she had thrown away all the clothes the children could no longer wear. Now they only had four thick autumn outfits between them. Two of them had even been taken from Jiang Huan’s room.
Fortunately, the outfits were simple—long-sleeved tops and short pants—making them easy to put on. Still, she would have to make a few more sets of new clothes for them one day.
After lying down on the kang, Xu Anyan calculated how much money she had spent that day.
The seasonings had cost three hundred copper coins.
The meal had cost half a tael of silver.
Rice and flour had cost three hundred and eighty coins.
Pastries had cost three hundred coins.
Bowls, chopsticks, and plates had cost two hundred coins.
The meat and pork fat had cost fifty coins.
In total, she had spent one tael and six hundred and fifty copper coins.
And this was only for a few necessities.
If she were to properly furnish the house, it would cost much more—not to mention raising two children. Money simply flowed away like water.
In her previous life, she had lived alone and had inherited enough from her parents that she had never worried about money.
Now, overnight, she had been thrown back to square one and had to start all over again.
For the past several days, she had continuously called for her system and her space.
In the end, all she received was a deathly silence.
She had already given up hope.
No cheat system, no golden finger.
It seemed that if she wanted a comfortable life, she would have to rely on her own hands to earn money.
The problem was that she still had no idea how to make a living.
She had majored in Financial Management in college.
What use was that here?
In all those transmigration novels she had read, the heroines could make a fortune simply by selling a recipe. Others made glass or revolutionized farming and ended up living prosperous lives.
But she only knew how to cook ordinary homemade dishes.
Could that path even work?
She only had five taels of silver left.
In this county town, not only did firewood cost money, but even disposing of chamber pots required payment.
The only skills she truly possessed were sewing dolls and making beaded bracelets.
But now, only one of her arms could exert force.
Sewing was out of the question, and making beaded bracelets was simply a foolish dream.
Besides, even if she took her handmade dolls to the market, people would copy them within two days.
It would simply be making wedding clothes for someone else.
She sighed.
Forget it… Tomorrow I’ll just go take a look around the West Street market and see if I can find some inspiration.
Thinking about all of this, Xu Anyan gradually drifted into a deep sleep.