Chapter 7

“Why are you so restless? Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe!” Xu Guolin said confidently, bending down to lift Qin Jiashu and seat him sideways on the bicycle’s crossbar. “Hold on tight here.”

This was Qin Jiashu’s first time riding a bicycle. Suspended on the crossbar, his suddenly elevated perspective made him nervous, but he instinctively followed Xu Guolin’s instructions and gripped the handlebars.

Seeing Qin Jiashu secure, Xu Guolin effortlessly swung his long leg over the bicycle and sat down, turning to look back. “Baisui, sit behind me and hold onto my shirt.”

Xu Jiaojiao sat sideways on the bicycle, her right hand gripping the leather seat while her left arm cradled the large burlap sack Mother Xu had given her.

“Can you hold on tight?” Mother Xu asked, placing the sack on Xu Jiaojiao’s lap, her brow furrowed with concern.

Once Xu Jiaojiao was settled and had a firm grip on her belongings, Xu Guolin immediately began pedaling.

“Guolin, ride slowly! Don’t shake Baisui off!” Mother Xu called out anxiously, hurrying after them and raising her voice.

“Don’t worry!” Xu Guolin replied as he successfully steered the bicycle out of the village.

The ride from Qixian Village to Qinjia Village was quick, taking only half an hour.

“Oh, a bicycle’s coming!”

“It’s the little wild child! He’s actually riding a bicycle?”

“Is that really him?”

Xu Guolin’s bicycle rode from one end of the village to the other. Along the way, they passed children playing outside in the cold. The children chased after the bicycle as it rolled by.

Xu Guolin stopped his bicycle outside the educated youth settlement.

“Brother, you must be tired from the ride! Come inside and have some water,” Xu Jiaojiao said, holding her things and inviting Xu Guolin, who remained seated on his bicycle.

“No, I still need to go to Houjing Village,” Xu Guolin replied without dismounting.

Houjing Village was Sun Zhaodi’s hometown. It would take another half-hour by bicycle from Qinjia Village.

“Then ride carefully, Brother,” Xu Jiaojiao said, not pressing him about his reason for going to Houjing Village.

“I know what I’m doing. See you later,” Xu Guolin said casually, waving as he pedaled away.

Xu Jiaojiao carried a burlap sack of supplies and led Qin Jiashu through the gate into their home.

Mother Xu had packed a generous amount of provisions, filling the sack to the brim. Only when Xu Jiaojiao opened it did she discover ten eggs bundled in straw tucked inside.

“Xiao Shu…” As Xu Jiaojiao was sorting through the sack, a sunburnt girl with ruddy cheeks from the high altitude quietly peeked through the doorway and whispered Qin Jiashu’s name.

Qin Jiashu glanced back, his eyes flickering when he saw the boy at the door.

“Is that Xiao Shu’s friend?” Xu Jiaojiao asked, turning to Qin Jiashu.

Qin Jiashu remained silent, offering no answer.

Xu Jiaojiao didn’t press him. From the children’s chatter she’d overheard on the road, she knew many of the village kids weren’t friendly to Qin Jiashu.

Xu Jiaojiao carefully unpacked her belongings, setting them aside one by one. She took the packet of medicinal herbs prepared by Mother Xu for dispelling dampness to the kitchen.

“Xiao Shu!” A boy as thin as Qin Jiashu called out from the doorway, leaning against the frame.

Qin Jiashu’s expression softened slightly when he saw who it was.

“Want to go play?” Xu Jiaojiao asked, turning back with the herbs in her hand.

Qin Jiashu mustered the courage to nod.

Xu Jiaojiao glanced at her watch. It was almost two o’clock. “Go play for half an hour, Xiao Shu. Come back at two-thirty to wash your hair, okay?”

Xu Jiaojiao planned to boil the herbs Mother Xu had given her for a hair wash, and naturally, she wouldn’t leave Qin Jiashu out.

“Okay,” Qin Jiashu agreed, his voice barely audible, and darted out the door.

As soon as Qin Jiashu left the house, he joined his two friends, San Gouzi and Jie Di.

All three were children from the village who received little love or care from their parents. They had banded together since childhood, finding warmth in each other’s company.

San Gouzi wore thin, tattered clothes and stamped his feet against the cold. Jie Di’s clothes were even more worn, her pants so stained with dirt that their original color was unrecognizable, with most of her ankles exposed and a large hole at the knee.

Despite their own pitiful attire, the two children showed no envy toward Qin Jiashu’s new clothes and shoes. Instead, their faces were filled with concern.

“Xiao Shu, that bad woman gave you new clothes. Is she planning to sell you off?” San Gouzi asked fiercely, baring his small tiger teeth.

Qin Jiashu pondered for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “She’s not going to sell me.”

At first, he had also thought she was being nice to him because she intended to sell him. But she wasn’t. She was exceptionally kind, giving him fragrant roasted sweet potatoes and letting him ride her big bicycle.

A bicycle! Even Qin Baogui had never ridden one!

“How can that be?” San Gouzi’s face was full of disbelief. “Have you forgotten what happened to Xiao Shan? He was sold by his stepmother after she gave him new clothes!”

Qin Jiashu didn’t know how to explain it to his friend. He squatted down, hugging his knees and shaking his head, poking at the mud with his small fingers. “She’s different,” he murmured.

He couldn’t articulate exactly how or why she was different.

All he knew was that his current aunt-in-law wouldn’t sell him.

She gently taught him how to use chopsticks, fed him bubu gao cakes, walnut pastries, roasted sweet potatoes, and egg pancakes. She even bought him new clothes. At night, she would knit sweaters while telling him stories he had never heard before.

Oh, and she told him to go home early and wash his hair!

Qin Jiashu counted on his fingers, and as he thought about it, he became even more convinced that his aunt-in-law wouldn’t sell him.

“Xiao Shu, stepmothers are all bad people! You can’t trust her—she’ll sell you off!” Jie Di warned, her little face creased with concern.

“Right!” San Gouzi nodded vigorously.

“But she’s not my stepmother, she’s my aunt!” Qin Jiashu corrected.

Aunts and stepmothers were different!

“Your aunt is just like a stepmother!” Jie Di insisted, frowning. “That’s what my grandma said.”

… The three children, none older than five, huddled together, trying to untangle their relationships, but it was a hopeless task.

“If Aunt-in-law really wants to sell me, then she can!”

After a long silence, Qin Jiashu spoke with a hint of despair, hugging his knees, his voice choked with emotion.

As long as Aunt-in-law is this kind, she can sell me if she wants!

“Are you crazy? If she sells you, you’ll disappear like Xiao Shan!” San Gouzi exclaimed anxiously.

Qin Jiashu hummed in agreement. He knew, but he truly loved his aunt-in-law.

With that thought, Qin Jiashu clapped his hands and stood up. “Um, Gouzi-ge, Jie Di, I need to go home and wash my hair now…”

Aunt Xu had told him to play for another half hour before washing his hair, but he wanted to go back early and help her tend the fire.

Since his aunt-in-law always made him watch the fire while cooking, he knew she’d definitely ask him to do the same while boiling water for his bath.

If he went home to help and behaved well, perhaps his aunt-in-law wouldn’t sell him after all.

San Gouzi and Jie Di exchanged worried glances. “Xiao Shu, she’s tricking you. Adults can be deceitful…” They followed Qin Jiashu, genuinely trying to dissuade him.

Qin Jiashu pressed his lips into a thin line and strode resolutely toward home.

“Sigh.” San Gouzi and Jie Di watched Qin Jiashu disappear before letting out a joint sigh and trudging away, their shoulders slumped.

—

Meanwhile, Xu Jiaojiao had just finished washing the medicinal herbs and tossed them into a large pot to simmer when Qin Jiashu came running back.

The boy had only been gone for a few minutes, but now he sat obediently beside Xu Jiaojiao.

“Why are you back so soon?” Xu Jiaojiao asked, tilting her head.

“It’s cold outside,” Qin Jiashu replied.

Xu Jiaojiao immediately reached for his hand. The boy’s hand was cool and smudged with dirt.

She patted it, then pulled it closer without hesitation and breathed warm air onto it before gently rubbing it. “Once I finish knitting your sweater, if there’s any yarn left, Aunt will make you a pair of mittens.”

Qin Jiashu stared at her. “Mittens?”

“That’s right, put on the little gloves, and your hands won’t be cold anymore,” Xu Jiaojiao said with a smile, rubbing his hands before letting go. “Xiaoshu, go to the main room and bring in the fire basket Grandma gave you. Aunt will put some charcoal in it so you can warm your hands.”

A fire burned in the earthen stove, and as the firewood burned, it produced charcoal embers. These embers, placed in the fire basket, provided warmth. The little boy’s hands were terribly cold.

“Okay,” Qin Jiashu said, getting up and running to the main room.

Soon, the little boy returned with the small fire basket. Xu Jiaojiao took it, filled it with wood ash, and then covered it with charcoal embers.

“Warm your hands quickly,” Xu Jiaojiao said, handing the basket to Qin Jiashu.

Qin Jiashu stood on tiptoe, his little yellow leather shoes planted firmly on the ground, and placed the fire basket between his legs. He gently rested his small hands on top to warm them.

“Are you warm enough?” Xu Jiaojiao glanced at him, her lips curving upward at his adorable sight.

This little one is so cute!

“Warm. Aunt, you warm your hands too,” Qin Jiashu said, shifting his hands to make room.

“Alright!” Xu Jiaojiao’s fair, delicate hand enveloped Qin Jiashu’s slender one, and they warmed their hands together in cozy companionship.

The fire in the stove burned brightly, and the herbal decoction for dispelling dampness boiled in the large pot. Xu Jiaojiao rose to remove the dregs from the pot and poured the medicinal broth into a washbasin.

“Xiaoshu, come here. Aunt will wash your hair first.”

Xu Jiaojiao tucked a dry towel into Qin Jiashu’s collar to prevent water from dripping down his neck and wetting his clothes during the wash.

“Okay,” Qin Jiashu obediently cooperated with Xu Jiaojiao.

He bent over when she told him to, and lowered his head when she asked.

The herbal-infused water had a faint, refreshing scent that lingered pleasantly after the wash.

Qin Jiashu’s short hair dried quickly with a wipe from the towel around his neck, leaving him feeling refreshed.

“We don’t have scissors here, or Aunt would trim your bangs for you.”

Qin Jiashu’s slightly wavy hair, now plastered to his forehead after the wash, obscured his vision and was a bit too long.

He blinked, then casually swept his hair to the side, creating a comical V-shaped part.

Xu Jiaojiao chuckled and dried his hair again with the towel. Once she was sure it wasn’t dripping, she washed her own hair.

The original owner had kept her hair quite long. Despite her frail health, her hair was well-maintained, cascading down in a thick, lustrous mass when she undid the bun.

Xu Jiaojiao, who had suffered severe hair loss from late nights before transmigrating into the book and once feared baldness, clutched her hair and let out a contented sigh.

Xu Jiaojiao bent over, her head buried in the washbasin as she washed her hair.