Chapter 72: The Representative of Trouble

After having lunch at Zuo’s house and helping the old lady with some work, Wang Qian boarded the bus back home. She had been in and out these past few days, and even the conductors recognized this little girl who frequently rode the bus.

When she boarded, they smiled and nodded at her, gesturing for her to move forward. Wang Qian flashed a sweet smile and said, “Thank you, Auntie.” She knew that having a good relationship with the conductors would make her bus rides more convenient. Therefore, her “thank you” sounded especially sweet.

The conductor was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl. Seeing the adorable child, she also liked her. She smiled and nodded at her, arranging for Wang Qian to sit near her.

When there was nothing to do on the way, the two could chat. The conductor didn’t treat Wang Qian like a child, as she didn’t seem like one. So, she spoke to her as if she were the same age. As they chatted, they became more and more comfortable with each other. When Wang Qian got off the bus, the conductor waved to her.

Watching the departing bus, she couldn’t help but sigh. It was a special time, and the people were simple. Conversations between people didn’t require too much caution, unlike in later years, where there were many scammers and abductors, and no information could be leaked.

She didn’t even know how much money she had made today. She just knew it was probably a lot. When she returned home, she was surprised to find that Zhang Lan had already returned.

“Mom, why are you back so early?”

Seeing the blood-stained pants in her mother’s hands, she knew what had happened. Her mother’s pants had been soaked through with menstrual blood.

Thinking of the money in her spatial storage, she excitedly took Zhang Lan’s hand. “Mom, come and help me count how much money I made today.”

After saying this, she took out all the money from her spatial storage. There were one cent, two cents, and five cents, but the larger denominations were relatively scarce. Zhang Lan was amazed at the pile of change on the heated brick bed. It seemed that she had earned more this time than last time.

Since Zhang Lan didn’t have to go to work, the mother and daughter sat on the heated brick bed and began to count. When they finished, the number surprised them both. Today, Wang Qian had actually made thirty-five yuan and four jiao, a figure that far exceeded their expectations.

“Mom, I think I’ll just go to Grandma’s house every few days from now on. That way, we can quickly pay off our debts at home.”

Wang Qian was very serious, and Zhang Lan was so excited that she hugged her daughter tightly, holding her small body close. “Silly child, if you do that, you’ll be very tired. Besides, you have your parents. Go to the city every few days. That way, you can rest more at home. Also, I’m not very comfortable with you going alone.”

In her mother’s arms, Wang Qian inadvertently noticed something on the heated brick bed and picked it up curiously. “Mom, what’s this?”

Zhang Lan hesitated but answered, “This is something women use. You’ll know when you grow up. When you’re older, you’ll have your period every month, and you’ll need to use this.”

Wang Qian certainly knew about menstruation, but what she found in the cloth pocket was actually ash. She felt a pang of sadness. Since coming to this family, they hadn’t bought items like sanitary pads or toilet paper. They used sticks or stalks for personal hygiene, which she found difficult to get used to at first, but she had adapted over time.

She had heard her grandmother talk about this ash before. It was quite troublesome to use, and her mother had to go to work, making it inconvenient to carry these items around.

Looking up at Zhang Lan with a determined look, she said, “Mom, Grandma Hongmei told us about this. Why don’t you go buy some toilet paper? Your daughter can afford it. Even if we have to save money, we won’t mind buying a few rolls of toilet paper.” She knew that they didn’t have sanitary pads yet; otherwise, she would have suggested buying those instead.

Zhang Lan was surprised that Grandma Hongmei had discussed this with her child. Wasn’t it a bit too early? No wonder the child was so mature at such a young age. It seemed that the woman had a significant influence. She didn’t know whether to thank or blame Grandma Hongmei for turning her innocent child into a little adult.

“Mom, you’re used to it, but I’ll buy toilet paper for you when I grow up.”

To Wang Qian, it seemed that her mother was still reluctant to buy it. She thought that when she returned to the city, she would buy some from the department store. Then her mother would have to use it.

“Mom, let me wash your pants. You can lie down on the heated brick bed,” Wang Qian offered to help, but Zhang Lan refused. The child had been tired all day and had earned so much money. She couldn’t let her get too tired.

“No need, I can do it myself.” Zhang Lan grabbed a handful of ash and put it in a basin, then carried the basin to the river to wash the clothes. Wang Qian was surprised that they didn’t even use soap to wash clothes. It was really tough. She made up her mind to earn more money and at least let her mother use soap soon.

With nothing else to do, she followed behind. The soil in her spatial storage needed watering, so she had to bring some water in.

At the reservoir, she collected water and used her mental power to evenly moisten every piece of land in her spatial storage, while also controlling the fish that followed her into the water tank. Fortunately, the fish were all placed where they needed to be. However, due to the mental effort required, she felt a bit tired and sat under a willow tree by the reservoir. As she rested, she enjoyed the fragrance of the fruit tree flowers wafting down from the mountain.

In the distance, she could see the small shed where they had once lived. At that moment, Wang Qian couldn’t help but feel a myriad of emotions. So much had happened in just a few months.

A figure at the door immediately caught her attention. It was her eldest aunt. She was probably coming over for something, and Wang Qian’s impression of her was that she was the representative of trouble.

She had an intense aversion to this woman and felt that even looking at Wang Mei’s face was an insult to her eyes.

After regaining some energy, she slowly made her way back to Zhang Lan’s side along the riverbank, hoping to find something in the grass or bushes.

Sure enough, she found a goose egg in a thicket. After collecting the egg, she didn’t find anything else. Zhang Lan had also finished washing the clothes.

“Mom, I just found a goose egg,” she said.

Zhang Lan looked at her daughter’s silly smile and said, “You, girl, you went out for a while and found a goose egg. You’re catching up to the Midas touch. When we get home, I’ll pickle it, and we’ll have pickled goose eggs in the future.”

Mother and daughter slowly walked back along the edge of the rice field, and saw their neighbor in the front yard standing on the street chatting with people, “Third Aunt, you have gone to do the laundry.”

  Since Wang Zhenhe was older , although the sister-in-law in the front yard is one year older than Zhang Lan, she still has to be called third aunt, while Wang Qian and the others call her sister-in-law.

  ”Yeah, we just come back from washing, Zhao Xia, why aren’t you cooking yet?”

Zhao Xia happily said, “I’ve already finished. I’m just waiting for the men to come back.”

Wang Qian knew that this neighbor’s situation was similar to theirs, and they were both quite poor. They got along well because they were in similar circumstances and both struggled financially. There was no room for mockery between them.

After chatting with Zhao Xia for a while, Zhang Lan took her daughter home to cook. “Mom, let’s stew some fish tonight. I caught some fish at the reservoir just now. It’s perfect for adding some nutrition for the men. There are still some sand shrimps left in the spatial storage. Let’s cook them together to improve the meal. Oh, Mom, I think the vegetables in the spatial storage are almost ready. Should we use some tonight?”

Zhang Lan didn’t mind adding more dishes for the children. However, she hadn’t been in the spatial storage for a few days, and she was surprised that the vegetables were ready so quickly. “Sure, take me in,” she said.

Wang Qian and her mother entered the spatial storage. Zhang Lan saw that the wheat in the ground was already quite tall and would soon flower. She felt a surge of joy. Looking at the corn, it was much taller than the corn planted in the production team’s fields. It was likely to produce cobs in a short time.

As she looked at her mother’s smiling face, Wang Qian also felt excited. Finally, she saw hope. “Good girl, Mom won’t have to worry anymore. I’ll come back later to weed the garden. There are some wild grass seeds in the soil you’ve collected. You can see that wild grass has started to grow. But it’s good to have some grass. We can use it to feed the chickens.”

After seeing that the small vegetable plot was ready, she pulled out some spinach and started cooking. Wang Qian helped to light the stove.

Mingcheng and the others came back together, each carrying some dry branches. Wang Xuan also had some wild vegetables to feed the chickens.

As Mingyuan entered the yard, he smelled the delicious aroma coming from the house. “Mom, what are you cooking? It smells so good,” he asked.

Wang Qian guessed that the child was hungry. “Little brother, the food will be ready soon. Mom is stewing fish for us tonight. Doesn’t it smell good?”

Mingyuan nodded in agreement. “It smells really good, Mom. You’re so good,” he said, sweetening up when he heard there was something delicious to eat.

Zhang Lan patted her son’s bottom. “Little guy, go wash your hands. When your dad comes back, we’ll have dinner. If you’re hungry, you can nibble on some sand shrimps first.”

“Mom, you can smell the fragrance of our home as soon as you enter the yard,” Wang Xuan said, sniffing with her little nose. “Yes, stewed fish for dinner tonight. Not bad.”

Wang Xuan nodded like a little adult and took her brother to wash his hands. Zhang Lan looked at the expressions of her children and couldn’t help but show her motherly tenderness.

However, when the meal was ready, Wang Zhenhe still hadn’t returned. It was then that Wang Qian remembered something. “Mom, I think I saw Auntie coming back when I was at the reservoir. Could Dad have gone to her house?”

Hearing this, Zhang Lan also began to think. “Why would your aunt come at this time?”

Wang Qian shook her head. She couldn’t guess either. Mingyuan said, “Mom, when Auntie comes at this time, it’s never for a good reason. I’ll go to Uncle’s house. If he’s not back, something must be wrong.”

After saying this, he ran off to Uncle’s house. Wang Juan was also waiting at home for her husband to return. When she saw Mingyuan coming to ask, she realized that there was something going on with her in-laws again.

“Mingyuan, go back and tell your mom. I’ll go and bring them back,” she said.