Chapter 13

“Is Xiao Shu back?” Xu Jiaojiao murmured, knitting in her room. She thought she heard voices outside and rose curiously.

“Auntie!” Qin Jiashu ran toward Xu Jiaojiao, clutching two sweet potatoes.

Liu Shufang was about to step into the  courtyard when she saw Xu Jiaojiao emerge from her room. Her eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively backed away, turning to flee.

She didn’t know why she was running. The moment she saw Xu Jiaojiao alive, a primal fear gripped her.

Her memories of Xu Jiaojiao were hazy, blurred by the passage of time. She only knew that Xu Jiaojiao had frozen to death on a snowy day, but the exact date remained unclear.

Could it not have been this snowy day? Liu Shufang thought frantically, running without looking back.

Xu Jiaojiao first noticed Qin Jiashu, then glanced toward the courtyard gate. She thought she saw a fleeting figure disappear but couldn’t make out who it was.

“Was someone at our gate just now?” Xu Jiaojiao asked Qin Jiashu, puzzled. The boy had just returned from outside; if someone had been there, he would have encountered them.

“An ugly auntie,” Qin Jiashu nodded, holding up the sweet potatoes. “She gave me these.”

“An ugly auntie?” Xu Jiaojiao frowned at the sweet potatoes.

“She said she was my new aunt,” Qin Jiashu said with a disdainful tone. “I pushed her.”

When Qin Jiashu said he had pushed her, his voice was filled with pride, his face adopting a fierce little expression.

Xu Jiaojiao patted the child’s head, silently repeating the words “new aunt.” She hurried to the courtyard gate and peered outside.

No one was in sight, but a trail of clumsy footprints remained in the snowdrift by the corner of the wall. Judging by their size, they likely belonged to a woman.

Based on Qin Jiashu’s two sentences, Xu Jiaojiao could roughly guess the visitor’s identity.

If she wasn’t mistaken, the woman was likely Liu Shufang, the female lead of the novel—a reborn old woman waiting for the original owner of the body to die so she could take her place.

No need to panic. After all, I’m not going to die!

Xu Jiaojiao calmly closed the courtyard gate and walked into the main hall.

“Did you fall?” Xu Jiaojiao asked, concerned as she looked at Qin Jiashu, who was covered in mud.

The little boy’s clothes and pants were completely muddy, and his face was smeared with dirt.

Qin Jiashu nodded guiltily. “It was slippery.”

He had been walking carefully, but he still fell. Qin Jiashu sadly lowered his head to look at his small gloves.

“The gloves are dirty,” he said, his voice trembling with distress. “Will Aunt be upset?”

“They’re just dirty,” Xu Jiaojiao said helplessly. This child is worried about his gloves when his clothes are soaking wet?

“Auntie will heat some water for you to bathe and wash your hair,” Xu Jiaojiao said, exasperated. This little dirty boy was truly testing her patience.

“Thank you, Auntie,” Qin Jiashu sniffled. The cold and damp clothes had already given him a runny nose.

Xu Jiaojiao’s heart ached at the sight. The boy’s clothes were completely filthy, and there were no clean replacements in the house.

“Hurry up and take off those wet clothes, or you’ll catch a cold,” she urged. Wearing those damp clothes in this freezing weather while waiting for the bathwater to heat up would surely turn him into a shivering mess.

Xu Jiaojiao helped Qin Jiashu undress and wrapped him in her own large padded coat.

At that moment, Xu Jiaojiao couldn’t help but feel a pang of gratitude. The original Xu Jiaojiao’s excessive wardrobe was finally proving useful.

After bathing Qin Jiashu and tucking him into bed, Xu Jiaojiao took advantage of the bright sunshine to boil water and wash his dirty clothes.

Scrub-scrub-scrub—

The sound of Xu Jiaojiao washing clothes filled the courtyard.

Qin Jiashu lay in bed, playing with his cat’s cradle string. Through a crack in the window, he spotted his clean clothes drying on the bamboo pole in the yard, his little gloves fluttering in the breeze.

He couldn’t help but call out happily, “Little Auntie!”

“Yes?” Xu Jiaojiao responded.

“Little Auntie!” Qin Jiashu called again, his voice brimming with joy. He didn’t know why, but he was simply happy and wanted to call out to her.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Jiaojiao asked the child as she returned to the room after finishing the laundry.

Qin Jiashu pursed his lips, smiled, and shook his head.

“You little rascal, come here and let your auntie give you a kiss,” Xu Jiaojiao said, sitting sideways on the bed and pulling Qin Jiashu toward her, pretending to force a kiss.

“No!” Qin Jiashu protested, his face flushing with embarrassment. His small mouth pouted, but his face tilted upward obligingly, offering his cheek to Xu Jiaojiao’s lips.

Xu Jiaojiao planted two satisfied kisses on his cheek and then played cat’s cradle with him.

The afternoon sun was strong, but the thick winter clothes still hadn’t dried completely after a full day of airing. After preparing dinner, Xu Jiaojiao placed Qin Jiashu’s clothes on the firewood near the chimney to dry further.

Qin Jiashu made do by wearing Xu Jiaojiao’s oversized padded coat.

The next day, nearly half the snow had melted, leaving the courtyard muddy and slushy.

After breakfast, Xu Jiaojiao dragged Qin Jiashu outside to sweep the snow, piling it all in a corner of the yard.

Qin Jiashu struggled with a broom taller than himself, huffing and puffing as he helped.

Exhausted from their efforts, Xu Jiaojiao carried a low bench from the kitchen to a sunny spot in the main room. “Xiao Shu, come sit and rest,” she called.

“Okay,” Qin Jiashu said, dragging his broom obediently to sit beside Xu Jiaojiao.

“Bai Sui, are you home?” Xu Guolin’s voice called out from the entrance of the Zhiqing residence just as the little boy’s bottom touched the stool.

“Yes, I’m here!” Xu Jiaojiao shouted back, straining her voice.

“It sounds like your uncle’s here,” she said to Qin Jiashu, turning her head.

“Mm,” Qin Jiashu replied. He remembered Xu Guolin well—after all, he was the first person to give him a ride on a bicycle.

“Let’s go see,” Xu Jiaojiao said, standing up. Qin Jiashu followed, his short legs carrying him toward the door.

When Xu Jiaojiao reached the courtyard gate, she saw Xu Guolin bent over, untying the burlap sacks on his bicycle.

“Brother!” Xu Jiaojiao called out with a smile.

Xu Guolin nodded briefly without pausing his work.

“What’s all this?” Xu Jiaojiao asked, stepping forward to help steady the bicycle.

The bicycle was loaded with several burlap sacks, three or four in total. The top sack was round and bulging, looking heavy.

“Cabbage and taro,” Xu Guolin replied. He untied the sack, carried it a few steps, and set it on the threshold of the Educated Youth Point.

“Why so much?” Xu Jiaojiao asked, touched by the gesture.

Mother Xu had always been kind to the original owner of Xu Jiaojiao’s body, likely aware of her struggles with food and clothing.

When Xu Jiaojiao’s family divided their assets, she received almost nothing. Even the sweet potatoes and potatoes in her storage shed had been gifts from Mother Xu.

“We had a bumper crop of taro this year,” Xu Guolin explained. “It stores well, so I brought extra.”

“Here, these are the child’s clothes.” Xu Guolin turned and took a bag hanging from his bicycle handlebars, handing it to Xu Jiaojiao.

“It’s getting cold,” he said, ruffling Qin Jiashu’s hair. “Dad worried he wouldn’t have enough warm clothes and told me to bring these over right away.”

“Thank you to Mom and Dad,” Xu Jiaojiao said, touched by the gesture.

“No need for thanks—we’re family,” Xu Guolin replied calmly. He strode over the threshold, bent down to lift the burlap sack, and said, “Let me carry this inside for you.”

“Okay.” Xu Jiaojiao held Qin Jiashu’s new clothes and followed Xu Guolin into the yard, leading the child by the hand.

“Where should I put it?” Xu Guolin asked, turning his head. He carried the several dozen pounds of cabbage and taro with ease.

“In here,” Xu Jiaojiao said, hurrying ahead to open the door to the small storage shed.

Xu Guolin carried the sack inside, set it down, dusted off his hands, and stepped back out.

“Brother, sit down and rest. I’ll get you some tea,” Xu Jiaojiao said, setting down the bag of clothes and hurrying to the kitchen.

Though she called it tea, the family had few supplies. Xu Jiaojiao simply poured a cup of hot water from the thermos.

Xu Guolin sat on the long bench, teasing Qin Jiashu, “Say ‘Uncle’ and I’ll give you some candy.”

“Uncle,” Qin Jiashu said.

Hearing the child’s greeting, Xu Guolin smiled and pulled two fruit candies from his pocket.

Qin Jiashu took the candies and glanced at Xu Jiaojiao with a questioning look.

“Xiao Shu, what should you say?” Xu Jiaojiao prompted.

“Thank you, Uncle,” Qin Jiashu said, clutching the candies and smiling.

“Such a good boy,” Xu Guolin praised, taking the water cup, blowing on it, and finishing it in one gulp.

“Here’s the cup. I have to go now,” Xu Guolin said hastily, returning the cup to Xu Jiaojiao after his hurried drink.

“Won’t you stay a little longer?”

“I need to deliver these clothes to the next village,” Xu Guolin replied, shaking his head.

He had cycled over to bring Xu Jiaojiao the clothes and vegetables, and he also needed to deliver funeral garments to an elderly family in the neighboring village.

The recent cold weather had claimed many elderly lives in the surrounding villages. In the past two days alone, Father Xu had received orders for funeral clothes from four or five families, his sewing machine nearly smoking from overuse.

“Funeral clothes?” Xu Jiaojiao knew her father would be busy as soon as the winter snow fell.

“That’s right, I have to deliver them to several families,” Xu Guolin nodded.

Xu Jiaojiao sighed softly. “Life, death, illness, and old age are all part of life. The snow is melting, making the village roads muddy. Be careful on your bike, Brother.”

“Don’t worry, I’m an excellent cyclist,” Xu Guolin replied confidently, striding out the door.

Xu Jiaojiao, holding Qin Jiashu’s hand, walked Xu Guolin to the gate. Xu Guolin mounted his bicycle and rode off.

“Let’s go try on your new clothes,” Xu Jiaojiao said, turning back after watching Xu Guolin disappear.

Qin Jiashu couldn’t contain his excitement. When Xu Jiaojiao pulled his new clothes from the bag and laid them on the bed, the little boy’s face lit up. He stood by the bed, gently touching the fabric.

Xu Jiaojiao had bought enough material for two outfits, but Father Xu had even pieced together some scraps to make two extra pairs of pants.

“Which one do you want to try on first?”

“This one,” Qin Jiashu pointed to the military green jacket.

Xu Jiaojiao picked it up and helped him put it on, carefully buttoning it up. The boy looked particularly sharp in his new jacket.

“It looks great! It fits perfectly,” Xu Jiaojiao gave Qin Jiashu a thumbs-up.

Qin Jiashu lowered his head to touch his new, well-fitting clothes, his small mouth stretching into a wide grin. “All for Xiao Shu!”

“That’s right, all for Xiao Shu,” Xu Jiaojiao nodded, picking up an earth-toned outfit for him to try on.

With these two sets of clothes, Qin Jiashu wouldn’t have to wear the same outfit every day, nor would he be forced to wrap himself in Xu Jiaojiao’s bulky cotton-padded coat whenever his clothes got wet.

“Thank you, Auntie,” Qin Jiashu said happily, hugging Xu Jiaojiao’s knees and bouncing on his toes with childlike enthusiasm.

“You should thank Grandpa. He made these clothes for you.”

Qin Jiashu nodded. “Okay.”

“Xiao Shu, Xiao Shu…” Just then, San Gouzi’s voice rang out from outside. The thinly clad boy leaned against the courtyard gate, shouting for him.

Qin Jiashu scampered out of the room.

“The ewe’s given birth! Come quick!” San Gouzi beckoned urgently, his voice filled with excitement.

Hearing this, Qin Jiashu instinctively broke into a run. It wasn’t until he had already dashed into the courtyard that he turned back to look at Xu Jiaojiao.