Chapter 12

Qiao Wei led Yan Xiang back home, going to Yan Xiang’s room first.

She opened the wardrobe and the suitcase, asking Yan Xiang, “You don’t have clothes with patches?”

“No.”

“Are there clothes that are not torn?”

“Torn clothes were given to others.”

Qiao Wei asked, “Did anyone ever say you look like a young master?”

Yan Xiang nodded. “Yes.”

Qiao Wei became nervous immediately. However, when she inquired, it turned out it was just some little kids. When they played together, they teased Yan Xiang, saying he was a young master.

Qiao Wei relaxed, thinking it was normal for children to play like this.

She then asked, “Did Jun Jun’s clothes have patches? Do others’ clothes have patches?”

Yan Xiang thought for a moment and replied, “Some do, and some don’t.”

Qiao Wei pressed further, “Do the children in the big courtyard have patched clothes?”

“There are fewer children in the big courtyard; more in the town,” Yan Xiang said.

The answer revealed a level of organization and observation beyond that of ordinary three- or four-year-old children. However, Qiao Wei, lacking experience in raising children, didn’t notice.

She thought all children should be this clever.

Qiao Wei felt a bit uneasy because she had a certain understanding of the major trends and seriousness of this era. She knew which important events happened but couldn’t pinpoint the specific year. Moreover, this was the world in the book, so she had to consider the author’s inadequate skill, lack of historical detail, and the impact of plot settings.

But then she thought about Yan Xiang being Yan Lei’s son, and her worries disappeared. With the halo of the male protagonist, what else was there to fear?

Thinking this way, her heart settled.

But when she remembered Sister Yang not allowing Jun Jun to play with Yan Xiang, she did feel it was a bit strange. She had seen Yan Xiang playing alone at home since she came back.

Qiao Wei, in her understanding, assumed that in this era and environment, children should be playing together in groups in a courtyard.

She asked Yan Xiang, “Do you usually play with Jun Jun and the others?”

Yan Xiang shook his head. “No, I don’t play with them.”

Qiao Wei thought it might be due to the original Qiao Weiwei’s non-conformity among the military dependents, causing Yan Xiang to be isolated, just like what happened at Captain Zhao’s house earlier.

Those mothers didn’t allow their children to play with Yan Xiang.

In the future, Qiao Wei had also seen news like this—parents letting their children wear expensive clothes to kindergarten, getting torn, and then demanding compensation. Consequently, the child was isolated at kindergarten—no one dared to let their child play with this child, who might accidentally damage their clothes and cost them a large sum.

It made sense. If Qiao Wei were the parent of another child, she wouldn’t let her child play with a child wearing luxury items either. So, she didn’t blame Sister Yang.

But Qiao Wei, now Yan Xiang’s mother, couldn’t be happy to see Yan Xiang isolated. She decided, “Mom will find you two suitable clothes later, so you can play with them.”

Thinking about whether the child could understand the rationale behind this, Yan Xiang shook his head and said, “I don’t like playing with them.”

Qiao Wei asked, “?” 

Yan Xiang, with a serious little face, explained, “They’re too noisy, and they don’t listen.”

After saying this, Yan Xiang went to drink water, leaving Qiao Wei bewildered.

On the table under the eaves, there was an enamel basin and several enamel jars.

Yan Xiang was holding one and drinking loudly.

Qiao Wei filtered through her memories and recalled that it was plain boiled water.

Speaking of it, she had to thank the original owner. Although the original owner had a bad impression on others and her relationship with the male protagonist was handled poorly, at least she had managed to make significant improvements in the male protagonist’s bad habits.

Such as drinking untreated water, not washing his feet, smacking his lips, and spitting indiscriminately.

Qiao Wei’s impression of Yan Lei yesterday was quite good, and that was because this man had already undergone substantial changes under the original owner’s influence. Thinking about it, the original Qiao Weiwei was responsible for improving many of Yan Lei’s bad habits. In the original text, Yan Lei could marry and fall in love with Lin Xixi, and that, to some extent, should be credited to the original owner.

The predecessor planted the trees, and the successor enjoyed the shade.

Others only saw Qiao Weiwei as unsociable, arrogant, and unlikable, but they didn’t see her pursuit of hygiene, the need for life, or spiritual satisfaction.

She was in the wrong era.

Seeing Yan Xiang playing quietly in the shade, Qiao Wei went to the study.

After experiencing the canteen and the farmers’ market today, her understanding of money became clearer. She opened a drawer, took out the metal box, and counted the money inside.

It was over a hundred yuan.

The average worker’s salary was around thirty yuan, enough to support a family of four or five.

This metal box contained a significant amount of money.

A hundred yuan was indeed a substantial sum.

Qiao Wei thought for a moment, stood up, entered the bedroom, and, standing on a stool, rummaged through the top cabinet. Sure enough, she found a metal box. However, this box had a lock, and there was a small iron lock hanging on it.

Qiao Wei shook it a bit and put it back.

According to the original owner’s memory, the box in the drawer was for daily use, while the one hidden on top of the wardrobe was family savings.

But the original owner didn’t know how many savings there were at home. Yan Lei gave her fifty yuan a month for living expenses, and she could ask for more if needed. But it had always been sufficient, even quite abundant.

A cotton dress cost six or seven yuan, and she bought several. There were several in the wardrobe.

The original owner had always lived a life without financial worries and had never asked about the family’s savings, as her relationship with Yan Lei was not good.

Don’t blame Qiao Wei for being vulgar; she really wanted to figure out the financial situation now.

Her last days were spent in a hospital bed, witnessing too much reality. Not to mention her father, who blocked her after fearing she would ask for money for medical treatment and directly blacklisted her. Even her boyfriend hesitated in the face of enormous medical expenses.

One had to be realistic about life. Qiao Wei wanted a sense of security. Firstly, she wanted a job to earn money herself, and secondly, she wanted to understand the family’s economic situation.

As for whether she and Yan Lei could develop feelings for each other, it was secondary. Qiao Wei had witnessed her parents’ marriage and had no illusions about marriage, unlike young girls.

After putting away the money and the passbook, Qiao Wei tidied up the room.

She hadn’t done the cleaning for a long time. In the hospital room, the space assigned to her was just a bed and a bedside table. Some other people, whether fellow patients or family members, were unwilling to let her draw the curtain, feeling that it affected the ventilation of the ward.

Now, this was her home, and she needed to cherish it.

After cleaning her bedroom, study, and living room, she walked into Yan Xiang’s room and found it surprisingly tidy.

In the summer, there was a bamboo mat on the kang bed, covered with a thin towel quilt. The towel quilt had already been neatly folded. Although the corners were not perfectly aligned, it was clear that the child had done his best.

Qiao Wei walked outside and saw Yan Xiang still playing in the shade. This child was really quiet, as if he didn’t exist.

Hearing footsteps, Yan Xiang raised his head and smiled at his mother.

The child’s smile was so pure.

Qiao Wei squatted down and asked, “Did you fold the quilt yourself?”

“Yes!”

Qiao Wei patted his head. “Xiang Xiang is amazing.”

She then remembered to ask, “Who dressed you this morning? Dad?”

She woke up late, and when she woke up, Yan Xiang was already playing by himself, and his clothes were already neatly put on. Qiao Wei thought Yan Lei probably dressed him.

However, Yan Xiang lifted his small face and said proudly, “I dressed myself.”

Very proud.

Qiao Wei didn’t know to what extent a child of this age should develop. It seemed like children started learning to dress themselves and button up when they entered kindergarten. She had seen cute videos of kindergarten children competing to button up buttons.

As far as she knew, the military had nurseries, but families like the Yans and Zhaos, where the wives didn’t go out to work, didn’t send their children to nurseries. They took care of their children at home.

In big cities, there were many factories, and many families had both parents working. But in small places with underdeveloped economies and where housewives were prevalent, there were fewer kindergartens.

Military dependents who followed the army were the families of military cadres, and husbands earned a lot, so they didn’t place much emphasis on whether their wives could earn a salary.

So, Qiao Wei, not working and being a housewife at home, was acceptable to Yan Lei.

In the yard, there were unwashed, dirty clothes in the basin. Qiao Wei rubbed Yan Xiang’s head, praised him a bit, stood up, and went to wash clothes.

In this family now, Yan Lei was responsible for earning money, so Qiao Wei had to take care of the household chores, a logical and reasonable arrangement.

Qiao Wei found a basin and a washboard, sat on a small stool by the hand-pressed well, and started washing clothes. After washing one basin of clothes, her arms and waist were sore.

Previously, she had only seen people handwashing clothes in TV dramas. The depictions on TV made it seem quite easy, but she had no idea that the physical exertion could be so intense.

She managed to wash the clothes, but wringing them out was a challenge. Since it was her own backyard and muddy ground, she decided to hang them wet.

After that, Qiao Wei went back inside and lay directly on the bed.

Yan Xiang came in and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Exhausted,” Qiao Wei said weakly.

Yan Xiang asked, “?”

Qiao Wei sighed. “Washing clothes tired me out; I can’t move my arms.”

“Why didn’t you wait for Dad to come back and wash them?” The child blinked his big eyes.

“Eh?” Qiao Wei looked puzzled.

After a quick memory search, she found out that memories related to Yan Lei, the legitimate husband, were the faintest in the original owner’s memories. It seemed that she had a strong aversion to thinking about him.

To retrieve such memories, a strong trigger or active recollection was needed.

After filtering the memories, it turned out that, indeed, Yan Lei used to do the laundry at home. The original owner mainly washed smaller items. Large items required too much effort, and she couldn’t handle it, especially in an era without washing machines. Yan Lei was responsible for the heavy and dirty work at home.

Qiao Wei’s appreciation for Yan Lei increased.

“Mama, do you want water?” Yan Xiang asked considerately.

“Yes,” Qiao Wei said, playfully leaning on Yan Xiang.

Yan Xiang immediately went out and returned with a white enamel cup. “Here!”

Qiao Wei drank some cold, boiled water from Yan Xiang’s hands.

Even though he was a son taken over midway, he was indeed a thoughtful and caring child!

Qiao Wei praised him without reservation, expressing joy and gratitude for his considerate behavior.

Yan Xiang’s little chest stood higher, and his bright eyes sparkled even more.

With such a child, even if Lin Xixi became a stepmother, it would be relatively worry-free. It wouldn’t be surprising if she became a well-known and respected stepmother in the surrounding villages.