"Don’t you get tired of eating meat every day?" Bai Jiu felt that if she had to eat meat daily, she wouldn’t be able to stomach it. It wasn’t a matter of money; it was just too rich.
"Not at all. But..." The little guy sat up straight. "I’m worried we won’t have enough money at home to buy meat. If we spend it all now, will we still be able to eat our fill later?" He wasn’t afraid of hardship, but he was terrified of going hungry. It was a truly unbearable feeling.
Bai Jiu’s face filled with heartache. "We won’t." She reached out and patted the top of his head. "Mom won’t let you go hungry, don’t worry."
Seeing her mother only patting her brother’s head, Xiuxiu grew unhappy. "Mom, Xiuxiu wants pats too."
Bai Jiu chuckled. "Alright, Mom will pat you."
After chatting a bit more, she realized that Peng Aiguo had been the one to plant these ideas in the children’s heads.
"Alright, stop worrying about family matters. Mom is here. From now on, just focus on resting at home and building up your health. When you’re a bit older, I’ll send you to school." She couldn’t let such young children ruin their health. If their growth was stunted or their constitution weakened, it would affect them for the rest of their lives.
After soothing the two children, Bai Jiu boiled some water and gave them a wash. Once in bed, they clung to her, one on the left and one on the right.
"Mom, they said Dad is dead. Is it true?" Zhengyang asked, unable to hold back a sob as he hugged her.
Bai Jiu froze. Although she had only been in this world for a few days, she had deliberately avoided the topic of the original owner’s husband. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been in such a rush to separate from the Gao family.
"Did someone say something to you?" Bai Jiu asked, her heart aching as she held Zhengyang’s little hand. His hand was so small, yet the calluses on his palm were no fewer than an adult’s.
"Aunt Wang said it. She said our dad died and that you’re going to remarry, leaving me and my sister as unwanted orphans. She even told me to go to her house and be her son." No matter how sensible Zhengyang was, he was still only a four-year-old child. His young mind couldn’t quite wrap around certain things yet.
The woman he mentioned was easily pulled from the original owner’s memories. It was none other than the original owner’s only good friend in Gaocun Village. Her name was Wang Qiuyue. She was married to Gao Tiezhu of Gaocun Village. They had been married for four years, but her belly still hadn’t shown any signs of pregnancy.
The original owner had treated her as a true friend, confiding in her about everything. Even with food, she would sometimes save half her own portion to give to her. Because Wang Qiuyue hadn’t gotten pregnant after four years of marriage, her life with her in-laws was hardly better than the original owner’s life in Gao Zhijun’s home. The only silver lining was that her husband was at least by her side.
"Don’t listen to her nonsense. Nothing but poison comes out of her mouth." Bai Jiu was furious. Even recalling how Wang Qiuyue had treated the original owner like a gullible pushover hadn’t angered her this much. What was she trying to achieve by saying this to Zhengyang? Did she want to take Zhengyang as her own son? She scoffed inwardly. Who did Wang Qiuyue think she was?
"But Mom, Grandma and Grandpa also said Dad is dead and will never come back." At that moment, Xiuxiu chimed in, delivering information that made Bai Jiu even more livid.
She was so angry she could have strangled someone, but she couldn’t lose her temper in front of the children. She had to endure it.
"Your dad is missing, not dead. Don’t listen to the nonsense outsiders say. Besides, even if he doesn’t come back, you still have me. With Mom here, I will never give you away, and I will never let you go hungry. Don’t worry." Bai Jiu held the two children tightly. She wanted to give them strength, warmth, and most importantly, a happy home. Although this family might forever be missing a father figure, she didn’t mind taking on that responsibility herself.
"Then Mom, will Dad still come back?" Zhengyang’s voice was choked with emotion, but he fought hard not to cry.
Xiuxiu also began to feel sad. Although they had seen their father no more than three times since they were born, they had absolutely no conscious memory of him. They couldn’t even remember or picture what he looked like.
"He will. Once you grow up, your dad will come back." She didn’t exactly know what Gao Zhijun did, but from the original owner’s memories, she knew he was a researcher for Blue Country. Though his specific work was unknown, since it was kept secret even from his family, it had to be a highly classified matter. If what happened last time was true, then the chances of his return were extremely slim. Zhengyang and Xiuxiu might truly be fatherless for the rest of their lives.
"From now on, you have to eat well and grow up fast. When the time comes, your dad will return." Bai Jiu didn’t know if she was right to hide the truth from them, but putting herself in their shoes, she knew she wouldn’t want to learn her father was dead at such a young age. "Go to sleep now. You can only grow big and strong if you sleep. Be good, Mom is right here with you."
Not wanting to discuss Gao Zhijun any further, Bai Jiu could only coax the children to sleep.
Midnight.
After the two children fell fast asleep, Bai Jiu quietly got up.
"Grandpas, Grandma, are you asleep?" She carried a large cloth bundle on her back, filled with old clothes and quilts she had bought in the county town. They might look worn, but the cotton stuffing inside was perfectly fine. They were actually cotton quilts she had dug out from her spatial dimension. She hadn’t prepared too much—just two quilts in total, a good amount of padded winter jackets and trousers, and some inner garments. All of them were second-hand.
"Who is it?"
Li Gao Yi had felt a bit thirsty. He had just gotten up, drank some hot water, and was about to go back to sleep when he heard someone calling at the door. He didn’t know who would visit them in the middle of the night, but he was certain it wouldn’t be anything good. He hurriedly kicked the two old men sleeping beside him. "Wake up, someone’s here."
Having taken the medicine last night, they were no longer coughing, but they still woke up in the night to drink water because of the gnawing hunger in their stomachs. Ever since moving here, they had remained highly vigilant.
Old Li’s kick jolted everyone awake.
"What’s going on?" Elder Wu, the calmest of them all, pulled his clothes tighter around himself and asked softly.
"There’s someone outside," Li Gao Yi pointed toward the door.
Outside, Bai Jiu rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help it; she had heard everything they said inside. "Grandpas, don’t be nervous, it’s me, Bai Jiu from next door! Open the door quickly and let me in." It was the middle of the night, and it was freezing outside.
Hearing it was Bai Jiu, Old Li dropped his guard and went straight over to open the door.
"Girl, what are you doing here?" Upon seeing her, Old Li immediately peered anxiously behind her. Only when he saw no one else did he finally relax. Then again, even if there were someone, he wouldn’t have been able to see them clearly anyway. The outside was already shrouded in thick white fog, and frost had settled over the ground.
Bai Jiu didn’t have the time to worry about all that. She stepped inside, finally shutting out the biting wind. However, a fire was burning inside the room, and the heavy smoke made her quite uncomfortable.
"Girl, what’s all this you’ve brought?" Zhou Lan, having tidied herself up, came forward and asked. After all, she was the only old woman in the room.
"Grandma Zhou, these are some old clothes and quilts I bought in the county town today. I saw you all sleeping in straw last night, and I knew you wouldn’t survive the dead of winter like that. So when I saw these today, I picked them up for you."
Bai Jiu spoke very quickly. She just wanted to hand things over and go straight home. With the two children alone in the house, she couldn’t put her mind at ease.