After coming down from the third floor, Bai Jiu took the two children to browse the second floor for quite a while. The kids were very well-behaved; they didn’t actively ask for anything, and it was always Bai Jiu asking if they liked something. She didn’t know if others felt the same way, but the moment she stepped onto the second floor, Bai Jiu was in her element because this floor mainly sold fabrics and similar goods.
Although she had fabrics in her space—which were of better quality, finer, and more comfortable than the ones sold here—she needed to find a legitimate source if she wanted to take them out and use them openly. Therefore, she bought a lot of fabric, some for herself and some for her family.
"Mom, we’re out of money." Seeing how much they had bought, Zhengyang was full of worry. He immediately stepped forward, grabbed his mother, and whispered softly in her ear.
Xiuxiu also looked distressed. Even though she was young, she had probably lived through too many hardships. Seeing her mother spending money like water made her heart ache.
Looking at the pile of goods at her feet, Bai Jiu felt a bit embarrassed. Perhaps it was a common trait among women—once they had money, they loved to shop till they dropped.
"Then Mom won’t buy anything else, okay?" Bai Jiu blushed, feeling slightly abashed.
"Yeah, let’s go," Zhengyang agreed. He figured that if they stayed any longer, they wouldn’t be able to make ends meet. Although he didn’t know how much money his mother had gotten from his grandmother, they hadn’t been short of meat and refined grains since the family division. He feared there wasn’t much money left. It seemed he would have to eat more frugally from now on.
"Alright." When they reached the first floor, Bai Jiu bought some snacks and pastries. By this time, the sky had turned overcast. Seeing that it was getting late, she said, "Let’s go grab something to eat. We can head back after dinner."
Zhengyang and Xiuxiu both stopped in their tracks.
"Mom, let’s go home." They couldn’t eat out anymore, otherwise, the family would be starving and drinking the Northwest wind.
Bai Jiu didn’t understand why they didn’t want to eat at a restaurant, but she could tell that the two little ones genuinely wanted to go home. "Alright then, we’ll head back to town."
The one who gained the most today was Bai Jiu. By the time they returned, the Bai Family home was already lit up with lamps.
"Grandma, Grandpa, we’re back!" Zhengyang and Xiuxiu shouted at the top of their lungs as soon as they entered the courtyard.
The family had been waiting at home for the mother and children for a long time, but it was already dark and there was still no sign of them. Bai Xingguo had even gone to the bus station several times to look around, but he hadn’t run into them once.
"Oh, you’re finally back! My anxious heart can finally settle." Mother Bai patted her chest and immediately got up to head outside. "My sweet darlings, you’re finally home. How did you end up being out all day?" After speaking, Mother Bai didn’t forget to glare at her daughter.
Bai Jiu rubbed her nose. Could she tell them that she did it on purpose?
"You’ve always been overly sensitive since you were little. I don’t know who you take after. That’s your own eldest brother; it’s not like he would do anything to you. Besides, things aren’t like they used to be, people don’t care about those superstitions anymore." Mother Bai knew her daughter perfectly well. How could she not know what Bai Jiu was thinking?
It was all because of her status as a widow; she didn’t want to tarnish Xingguo’s good fortune. She used to have a good head on her shoulders, so how did she become so pedantic after getting married?
Father Bai also came to the door. He didn’t dare step outside because it was too freezing, and he was afraid of catching a chill in the wind.
"Why aren’t you coming in? What are you doing standing outside?" Father Bai said, glancing at his daughter. His look carried a hint of blame, but also heartache.
Bai Jiu rubbed her nose and remained silent.
Bai Xingguo stepped forward and took the large woven basket from Bai Jiu’s back, along with a large snakeskin bag. It must have been truly exhausting for her to carry so many things all the way back from the county town.
After entering the house and seeing all the goods, Mother Bai put on a reproachful expression. "Jiu’er, I’ve told you many times, you don’t need to buy so much. We already have everything at home." She didn’t even have to guess to know what was inside. "You don’t have much money on hand, so you should save some for a rainy day." Her daughter was too loose with her purse strings, which was truly worrisome.
"Your mother is right. We know you care about your maiden family, but with you spending money so extravagantly, what will happen to Zhengyang and Xiuxiu in the future? You’re not alone; you still have two children to raise," Father Bai chimed in.
"I won’t buy anything anymore." Bai Jiu didn’t plan on arguing with the elders. Anyway, she was the one who made the final call, so whether she bought things or not was up to her.
"You." Mother Bai exasperatedly swatted Bai Jiu—lightly, of course. "Have you had dinner yet?"
Bai Jiu shook her head. She had wanted to go eat, but the two children were unwilling.
"Hurry up, there’s food saved in the pot for the three of you. It’s still hot." Mother Bai released Xiuxiu from her embrace and quickly got up to busy herself in the kitchen.
Bai Jiu was just about to get up to help, but Father Bai stopped her. "I need a word with you. Let your mother take the kids to eat first."
Some things needed to be made clear. Bai Xingguo and his two younger brothers didn’t know what their father was going to say, but since he didn’t tell them to leave, they remained in the main room.
"Jiu’er, I know what you’re thinking, but our family really doesn’t believe in these superstitions. You don’t need to avoid us. Whether your eldest brother’s life goes well or not depends on how he lives it himself. It has nothing to do with you."
Bai Xingguo was bewildered. How did this involve him? But he quickly understood.
"Widow or not, you are still my and your mother’s daughter. Your eldest brother and you are siblings from the same parents. Do you really think he’d consider you a bad omen?" After speaking, Father Bai sighed. "You’re just overthinking things. You must have felt terrible today, didn’t you?"
He had originally wanted to say this in the morning, but his daughter hadn’t given him the chance. He never expected her to be gone for the entire day once she left the house.
"Jiu’er, how could you think like that? I see how much you’ve helped the family. Why would I ever consider you a jinx or despise you? Do you still treat me as your eldest brother?" Bai Xingguo looked deeply resentful. "We are living in the New Blue Country; the Four Olds were abolished a long time ago. Our family doesn’t entertain such nonsense. Your sister-in-law even asked about you today, wondering why you didn’t bring the kids over to play."
He genuinely hadn’t thought about this issue at all. How could his sister think that way? Then again, she had been overly sensitive since she was young. If she hadn’t gone to live with their grandfather for a few years, her temperament... who knows how stubbornly she would have fixated on things. So many years had passed, but to think she was still the same.
Bai Jiu did harbor some reservations. In her original era, no matter the family, everyone was deeply taboo about her current status as a widow. She had just wanted to avoid bringing trouble to her maiden family, which was why she had hidden outside today.
"Dad, Xingguo, I was completely mistaken. I won’t do it again." Seeing her family’s concern, Bai Jiu understood that they truly didn’t mind. On the contrary, she was the one who had caused them to worry.
After dinner, Bai Jiu took out the items she brought back. She gave the fabric to her mother so she could make clothes for the family. There was still a lot of cotton at home, so she didn’t buy any this time. Mainly, it was because the children were getting older, and there were some things she couldn’t do in front of them anymore. Everything she brought out this time had been bought with her own money.
However, after excluding the large bills, she didn’t have much loose change left on hand. Since she was staying in town, she planned to do another batch of trading before the New Year. She had unloaded too many goods in the county town last time, so it wasn’t a good idea for her to go back there anytime soon.
She had already made up her mind. Since she had come to this world, she naturally had to do things that benefited herself. She was full of Aiguo—patriotism—but she really couldn’t do much to help the country. Therefore, she could only sell the items from her space at low prices, saving as many people as she could.