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Dinner today was good, so the family ate slowly.
After finishing dinner, Ning Shu said, “Yibao, Erbao, I have a task for you.”
“Mom, what task?” Erbao asked, still savoring the taste of the Orleans chicken wings.
Yibao also looked at Mom and asked, “Is it washing dishes?”
“No,” Ning Shu brought a wooden basin, “Each of you go and pick up a small stone, then break open the outer shell of the snails outside, remove the snail meat inside, and put the meat into the wooden basin. You go do that first, and I’ll come over after I finish cleaning up.”
“Okay.”
The two brothrers took Sanbao outside, where Sanbao played by himself in the yard while the two brothers began to crack open the snails.
Ning Shu was quick with her actions too. She tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, then boiled two pots of water for later bath time after cracking the snails.
The two brothers were still quick in their actions. By the time Ning Shu went out, they had already picked out a lot of snail meat. Ning Shu checked and found no shell fragments in the meat, but the snail tails hadn’t been cleaned properly. So, while the two brothers cracked the snails, Ning Shu handled the snail tails.
With the efforts of mother and sons combined, they cracked the snails one by one. In just an hour, they had finished cracking 30 kilograms of snails. After finishing cracking the snails, Ning Shu asked them to bathe Sanbao while she cooked the snail meat.
The snail meat could be cooked raw or cooked. If it was raw, it needed to be steamed before eating, but if it was cooked, it could be eaten directly.
Lin Guodong was in the army and ate in the canteen. Steaming the snail meat would be inconvenient, so Ning Shu cooked it. After boiling the snail meat in hot water and seasoning it with salt, sugar, and rice wine, Ning Shu marinated the snail meat.
By the time she finished, it was already 9 o’clock. She took a shower, only washing her underwear, and went to bed.
The next day:
Bang bang bang…
“Mom, are you awake?”
Ning Shu was awakened by Yibao. She had walked to the county town carrying Sanbao on her back yesterday, feeling tired at the time, and after a night’s sleep, she felt even more exhausted.
Not only was she tired, but her shoulders also ached. So, she couldn’t get up today.
“I’m awake. I’m not going to work today. I can sleep a little longer, and you can too,” Ning Shu said. She had an app on her phone, so she didn’t worry about food. She wouldn’t work herself to exhaustion for work points.
Yibao hesitated for a moment. “Mom, Erbao and I made plans with Haiwen and the others to go snail picking today. Can we go?”
“Then you can go, but don’t go to dangerous places. Stay in the fields, follow your older brothers and sisters, and stay away from the threshing machine, okay?” Ning Shu reminded them.
“I got it,” Yibao sighed with relief when Mom agreed. They still wanted to go snail picking. The snails they made yesterday were so delicious that they wanted to pick more to enjoy for several days. “Mom, should we bring Sanbao with us?”
“No need. Leave Sanbao with me. Is he awake?” Ning Shu asked.
“Sanbao is awake,” Yibao said.
“Then bring Sanbao over here,” Ning Shu replied. She wanted to sleep a bit more. Thinking that Yibao had left, Ning Shu got out of bed. She was wearing a white cotton vest and shorts. When she opened the door, she found Yibao still standing there. “Yibao?”
“Should we bring Sanbao over to sleep with Mom?” Yibao asked, snapping out of his thoughts.
“Yes, since you’re going snail picking, Sanbao can’t play alone. Let him play in my room,” Ning Shu answered.
“Oh,” Yibao responded dully and went to his room. Then he and Erbao helped Sanbao out.
When they reached Ning Shu’s door, Ning Shu lifted Sanbao up. “Yibao, Erbao, we’ll sleep a little longer. If you’re hungry, you can eat biscuits from the cupboard.” She also handed them the key to the kitchen.
“Okay,” Yibao took the key and watched as Mom carried Sanbao inside and closed the door.
“Bro?” Erbao saw his brother still standing there and urged, “Brother, I don’t want biscuits. I want to go snail picking sooner.”
Yibao thought for a moment and said, “Then I won’t eat either. I’ll go call Haiwen and the others.” After a moment’s thought, he added, “Mom, we’re not hungry. I left the key hanging on the door. We’ll go snail picking first.”
Ning Shu checked her phone; it was only 5:30. “Okay, but remember to come back for breakfast after a while.” She decided to sleep a little more and prepare breakfast at 7:30.
“We got it.”
As the footsteps of the two brothers faded away, Ning Shu tucked Sanbao into the covers. “Sanbao, let’s sleep a little longer.”
It was Sanbao’s first time sleeping with Mom, and it felt novel. He wiggled his little head, looked at Mom, then snuggled into her arms, curling himself up into a ball. His once lively eyes gradually closed, and after a while, he fell asleep too.
Despite Sanbao being in the basket all day yesterday without moving, he actually didn’t nap. Last night, while his brothers were cracking snails, he played around, so he slept later than usual. That’s why he felt like sleeping in today.
Ning Shu woke up again, this time because Sanbao was calling her, “Mom… pee… pee…” Sanbao was already sitting up, shaking Ning Shu’s body.
Ning Shu opened her eyes, still a bit groggy, “Sanbao, what’s wrong?”
Seeing Mom awake, Sanbao crawled out of the covers towards the edge, “Pee… pee…”
Ning Shu quickly woke up completely. Without a second thought, she got out of bed, opened the door, and went to pick up Sanbao, “Sanbao, come here, let’s go pee.” Since they were still at her room’s door, she was worried that if she took too long to put on clothes, Sanbao might pee in her room.
Sure enough, as soon as Ning Shu picked him up, Sanbao started peeing, and it went quite far.
After he finished peeing, Ning Shu shook him a bit. Worried that there might still be urine, she got some tissue and carefully wiped Sanbao, being extremely cautious.
After wiping Sanbao, Ning Shu was fully awake. She checked her phone; it was only 7 o’clock, almost time to prepare breakfast. But since she was already on her phone, she couldn’t resist checking the app again.
She looked at today’s available items:
Seeing the buns, Ning Shu’s eyes lit up.
Since she hadn’t eaten buns since crossing over to this world, she immediately began to order.
Oyster meat, one pound for $32, two portions of savory duck for $42, one portion of oil tofu stuffed with meat for $16, four portions of radish and pork bun for $44, and two portions of vegetable bun for $22, totaling $156, leaving a balance of $17,734.
Spending money is fun, but without income, it doesn’t balance out.
Today, Ning Shu didn’t plan to go to work. Instead, she intended to plant the spinach and Chinese lettuce seeds she bought yesterday.
Luckily, there were cooked buns available today, so breakfast could be served quickly without needing to cook.
Ning Shu got up with Sanbao, washed up a bit, and then went to deliver the buns to Yi Bao and Er Bao.
Those two are up early and probably starving.
Carrying Sanbao in her arms and a small basket, Ning Shu went to the edge of the rice paddies. Since the area was filled with rice fields, she wasn’t sure where Yi Bao and Er Bao were. So she called out, “Yi Bao… Er Bao…”
“Did Guodong’s wife come?”
“I didn’t see her on duty today, but I saw Yi Bao and Er Bao.”
“Poor kids, having such an unreliable mother, sleeping in while making their children do the work.”
Of course, Ning Shu didn’t hear their words. She continued calling out but received no response. So she called out again, louder this time, “Yi Bao… Er Bao…”
Yi Bao and Er Bao were picking snails, their small bodies crouched down, nearly hidden by the rice plants. However, they seemed to have heard their mother’s call and stood up straight.
“It’s Mom,” they thought, spotting her on the shore.
“Mom!” Er Bao shouted, waving at her.
The folks from the old house were also working here, so they let their children pick snails while they worked, feeling reassured by their presence. Therefore, they also heard Ning Shu’s calls.
” Yi Bao and Er Bao are here,” Lin Mother shouted.
“Mom, we’re here,” Yi Bao shouted back.
Hearing Lin Mother and her sons’ voices, Ning Shu walked along the edge of the field.
By the time she arrived, Yi Bao and Er Bao had also approached.
“Mom, why did you come?” Yi Bao wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
Ning Shu noticed the dirt on his little face and wiped it off with her sleeve. “I brought breakfast for you. Go wash your hands, then wrap the buns in oil paper and eat them.”
Naturally, Ning Shu had some oil paper stored, acquired from the items she bought through the app.
Yi Bao was astonished by his mother’s action of wiping his face, his eyes filled with adoration as he looked at her.
“It’s clean now,” Ning Shu said, thinking he was waiting for her to finish wiping. “Hurry up and wash your hands. I made buns for you, but they won’t taste good if they get cold.”
“Oh,” Yi Bao snapped out of his daze, smiling foolishly at his mother, his eyes shining like stars.
As soon as Er Bao heard there were buns to eat, he immediately went to wash his hands.
However, they didn’t go to wash their hands elsewhere; instead, they washed them in the ditch next to the rice field. The ditch was shallow, used for irrigation, and served as pathways between the rice fields.
After farmers finished their work in the fields, they often washed their hands there.
Once the two boys finished washing their hands, Ning Shu instructed them to take the buns themselves. “Each of you take two. Wrap them in oil paper and eat slowly. I’ll be at home planting vegetables. If you get tired, come back.”
“Got it.”
Yi Bao and Er Bao couldn’t wait to take a bite. They had eaten buns during last year’s Lunar New Year, made by Lin Mother, but they had forgotten the taste long ago. Nonetheless, they knew that buns were delicious.
“Bro, these buns are softer than steamed buns,” Er Bao remarked after taking a bite, noticing the filling of shiitake mushrooms and greens.
“Yeah,” Yi Bao replied solemnly, as usual.
Seeing the two boys eating buns, the bystanders couldn’t help but feel their mouths water. Although they couldn’t smell the aroma of the buns, they could clearly see the fluffy white buns.
Just an hour ago, they saw the two boys picking snails, claiming that Ning Shu was still sleeping. They all thought Ning Shu was not a responsible person, sleeping in while making her children do the work.
But now, seeing the two children enjoying delicious buns, if their mother could let them eat buns by sleeping in, they would be willing too.
Lin Xiaojing’s mood was also complex. Knowing that Ning Shu was still sleeping while her sons were picking snails, she was already used to it because Ning Shu often did such things. But she didn’t expect Ning Shu to send buns to the two boys.
Ning Shu has really changed and started caring for the children? If Ning Shu could be good to the children and her third brother, she could let go of what she did and not dwell on it, just as Lin Mother said.
Looking at the two boys, although their clothes were dirty from working in the fields, they were new. In her memory, the two boys had always been skinny with little flesh on their faces.
But now, their faces had filled out, and their smiles were radiant. This indicated that they were indeed living well.
Just now, she witnessed their interaction with Ning Shu and saw their happiness.
Lin Xiaojing usually didn’t work much. When she was young, there were enough people in the family to handle the work, so she didn’t have to work in the fields.
As she grew older and her two sisters-in-law came into the family, coupled with her studies, she didn’t have to work either. But she wasn’t living a life of luxury; she still did household chores.
This time back home, there weren’t many classes at school, and she knew it was the autumn harvest season, so she came back to help. Like today, she couldn’t harvest rice, but she could help pick up the slack.
However, she didn’t expect to see Ning Shu bringing breakfast to the two boys.
“Haicai… Hai Cai…”
Suddenly, Lin Xiaojing heard Yi Bao calling out to Lin Haicai.
“Oh…” Lin Hai Cai didn’t know where he was, then stuck his head out. “Yi Bao, I’m over here.” His face was also dirty.
“Mom brought us buns. Come over and eat,” Yi Bao said loudly.
Everyone else: You don’t have to be so loud.
In fact, Yi Bao and Er Bao had already eaten. When they went to the old house to find their older siblings, Lin Mother asked about their breakfast.
Upon hearing that Ning Shu was still sleeping and they hadn’t eaten, she had them drink some thick rice porridge to fill their stomachs.
Because they had picked a lot of rice ears yesterday, the porridge this morning looked thicker than usual.
However, at that time, Lin Mother felt bitter again, thinking that Ning Shu had reverted to her old ways. But seeing Ning Shu come to bring buns to the two boys just now, she felt relieved again.
If Ning Shu was willing to give buns to Yi Bao and Er Bao, then she must have truly changed. Yes, she had changed. Lin Mother believed that Ning Shu had changed, not just to appease Lin Er’s wife’s persuasion.
Lin Mother wasn’t foolish; she could tell whether someone was just pretending or genuinely changing. She could see it from Yi Bao and Er Bao. Seeing them gain weight, dress better, and have a better spirit, she gradually understood.
She thought to herself that perhaps Ning Shu was starting to improve, even if it began as mere pretense.
“Here.” When Lin Haicai heard Yi Bao calling him to eat buns, he happily walked over with his small basket. He was close with Yi Bao and Er Bao, so he didn’t feel the need to be polite.
“Yi Bao…” When Lin Haicai reached Yi Bao, his eyes glinted with anticipation.
“You go wash your hands,” Yi Bao instructed.
“Oh.” Lin Hai Cai immediately went to wash his hands.
“Here you go.” Yi Bao handed him the other untouched bun. “Use the oil paper to eat, or it’ll get dirty.”
“I got it.” Hai Cai happily agreed, then took a small bite.
The others at the old house saw this scene, but they didn’t pay much attention and continued harvesting rice. Lin Haiwen and Lin Haiwu envied their younger brother. They thought, why couldn’t they be five or four years old? Why did they have to be ten (eight)? As older brothers, it wasn’t easy to ask their younger brother for food.
If they were the younger ones, they would definitely have boldly asked for some.
Seeing his brother give one bun to Hai Cai, Er Bao split his own bun in half and gave one half to his brother. They were used to sharing food, so Yi Bao didn’t refuse.
The three boys stood on the edge of the field, enjoying their buns, while Ning Shu ate hers at home with San Bao.
She opened a coconut and paired it with two vegetable buns, enjoying her meal.
Meanwhile, San Bao drank warm milk and ate the bun crust, also enjoying his meal.
After breakfast, Ning Shu worked in the backyard garden, while San Bao played in the backyard. The garden was small and contained other vegetables, so she finished planting before lunch.
For lunch, they had buns and rice. There were ten buns in total, six were eaten in the morning, leaving four. Since these were cooked buns, they would spoil quickly if not eaten, and Ning Shu didn’t like eating overnight buns.
So, for lunch, she steamed the remaining buns.
As for Sanbao, he naturally had bamboo tube porridge. Ning Shu also made egg custard but didn’t have fresh meat, so she didn’t add meat to the porridge.
She also used the 16 oil tofu stuffed with meat bought today to make cabbage soup.
The meat inside the oil tofu was minced meat, which was particularly delicious in cabbage soup. Paired with white rice, one dish was enough.
When Yi Bao and Er Bao returned with their full baskets, it was just in time for lunch. They were overjoyed to hear that there were still buns for lunch.
Ning Shu poured out the snails and rice spikes from their baskets, then arranged them properly. She called them together for lunch.
During lunch, Yi Bao suddenly asked, “Mom, does Dad give you a lot of money?”
Ning Shu was taken aback. “Why do you ask that?”
Yi Bao recounted what happened yesterday afternoon: “They said, with a lot of money, you can buy a lot of meat. We had meat yesterday and today too.” In his little mind, having meat for two consecutive days meant having a lot of meat.
Ning Shu thought for a moment before replying, “Your dad doesn’t send a lot of money, but it’s enough for us to buy meat for a few days. And the reason we can afford to eat meat is because of your dad’s hard work outside. He works hard to provide us with meat and a good life. That’s why we should also send him snails and meat.”
Ning Shu felt that if she could live a good life, there was no need to pretend to be poor. Moreover, Lin Guodong’s status gave her the conditions and reasons to live a good life, so there was no need to hide anything.
“If someone asks if your family eats meat, you can tell them the truth.” Considering how often the children mentioned eating meat, probably no one would believe them anyway. After all, these days, who eats meat every other day? “But if someone asks how much money your dad sends, just say you don’t know and tell them to ask your dad.”
“I got it,” Er Bao said, “But Mom, will Dad tell them?”