Chapter 20: Visiting Grandparents for Free Food and Drink

“By the way, Sister Yinuo, Auntie also asked me to leave you a message.”

“What message?”

“She told you not to be stingy with yourself. Even if it’s for the sake of the child, you should eat more good food and not neglect yourself.”

When it came to food, Qiu Yinuo was never one to skimp on herself.

After washing up, she went to the kitchen to find something to eat. The loofah egg drop soup was still simmering in the pot. She ladled out a bowl, leaving just a small amount, and immediately made a face—the taste was completely bland.

Her mother never put salt in the food when she cooked. She always had to secretly sprinkle a little herself.

Though she understood it was for the baby’s health, overdoing it wasn’t good either.

She couldn’t always sacrifice herself just for the child. Besides, a little salt wouldn’t hurt. But if she tried explaining that to her mom, she wouldn’t listen anyway.

Sure enough, once she added a pinch of salt, the soup was so delicious she finished the entire pot.

Inside the room, He Ziqing was already folding blankets. When she saw QiuYinuo walk in, she asked, “Sister Yinuo, the loofah soup was good, wasn’t it?”

“It was great. I finished the whole pot. I never thought loofah and egg would go so well together.” Before she transmigrated into this story, she hadn’t even known this combination was possible.

No, more precisely, loofah had never appeared on their family’s dinner table before.

Just then, He Ziqing picked up a pillow, and out came a cascade of bills—some were whole notes, some were coins, and the smallest denomination was a single cent. There were also food coupons, milk powder tickets, and egg vouchers.

“Sister Yinuo, why is there money here?”

“I didn’t… It should have been my mom who put it here.” No wonder when she was asleep, she felt someone slipping their hand under her pillow. “Where did this old lady get milk powder tickets from?”

Before coming here, she hadn’t even known she was married.

The two were puzzled. After folding the blankets, they sat on the kang and started counting the money. It totaled 93 yuan, 4 jiao, and 7 fen.

“She probably only kept enough for the trip home and left everything else for us,” He Ziqing guessed.

Qiu Yinuo felt a pang in her heart. According to the original owner’s memories, it was always the father who managed the money. He hadn’t been gone long, which meant Cheng Hongying hadn’t had control over the finances for very long.

She couldn’t imagine how long it had taken a rural woman like her to save up that much money.

Slowly, she clenched the money and tickets in her hands. It felt as if a heavy mountain had settled on her chest, suffocating her.

She found herself pulled deep into the original owner’s tangled emotions—wanting to resent, yet constantly moved by small, thoughtful gestures.

…

Cheng Hongying had taken only a small amount of money when she left, leaving everything she could for her daughter.

By the time she was heading back, the sun had already set, so she couldn’t catch the usual bullock cart into the city.

She had to walk all the way home, and by the time she arrived, it was already dark outside.

The road was bad and hard to see, and it took her more than two hours to make the journey.

When Cheng Hongying pushed open the door and saw her youngest son squatting in the yard washing dishes, she froze for a moment.
“Jinzi, why are you home?”

She had assumed that if she didn’t come back, the boy would just keep freeloading meals at his grandparents’ place.

Qiu Qianjin replied, “I went to the city today. Got back late, so I didn’t go over to Grandpa and Grandma’s.”

“You’re always running off to the city without doing anything serious. What do you keep going there for?”

“Mom, don’t lecture me. Just tell me, did you see my sister?”

Mentioning Qiu Yinuo, Cheng Hongying couldn’t hold it in and burst into tears. Her old face twisted in sorrow.

“Mom, please don’t cry. Has something happened to my sister?”

“Your sister has gotten into big trouble. She’s a widow now.”

From Cheng Hongying’s broken sobs, he pieced together a rough idea. He never imagined that his sister, who had been quiet about everything, had gotten married in secret and even had twins. Now, she had become a widow.

“Things are so tough for her. Why didn’t she come back with you to the village?” Qiu Qianjin asked.

“I think she’s too ashamed to return,” Cheng Hongying replied, wiping her tears. “Maybe she’s also afraid of running into that boy from the Ding family.” She paused and added, “Jinzi, I gave all the money I had to your sister. She’s raising those kids on her own, it’s not easy. This year, let’s just be frugal during New Year’s, you and me.”

“I don’t mind that. Worst case, we’ll just go freeload off Grandma and Grandpa,” Qiu Qianjin shrugged.

“Is that really okay?” she asked hesitantly.

“What’s not okay about it? If I don’t freeload, sooner or later my uncle’s family will. If you’re too embarrassed to go, I’ll go and bring the food back to you.”

Cheng Hongying hesitated for a moment in her mind before she gave in. After all, the family’s savings needed to be kept for her younger son’s future marriage. “Fine, if I go, I’ll help them with some chores.”

After all, she couldn’t just eat for free and risk offending her older brother and sister-in-law!

“Don’t mention your sister’s situation to anyone in the village. She cares about her reputation. If people start gossiping, she won’t be able to handle it if she returns to the village.”

“I’ll protect her. I’d like to see who dares talk behind her back.”

“You’re an adult now—a proper uncle. Can you be a little more mature?”

At the mention of his two little nephews, Qiu Qianjin lit up and rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Mom, are my nephews cute?”

“They’re adorable. Just like those chubby New Year’s poster babies.”

“People say nephews take after their uncles. Do they look like me?”

Cheng Hongying shot him a look full of disdain. “Not a chance. My Dabao and Erbao are much better looking than you.”

 “…” Was it necessary to be that dismissive of him?

As the mother and son chatted, they heard noise outside. When they stepped out, they saw that the entire village’s young and strong men were gathered.

Qiu Qianjin called out, “Dongzi, where are you guys going?”

Dongzi had always followed Qiu Qianjin closely since they were kids, and they were so close they could be considered inseparable.

“The village head asked us to go out and find someone.”

“Who’s missing? Why wasn’t I called?” In such a small village, whenever there was a problem, everyone came running. Normally, Qiu Qianjin wouldn’t miss out on these things.

“The village head probably intentionally didn’t call you. Even if you knew, you couldn’t go look for them,” Dongzi said, looking uneasy. “Maybe they’re just worried about each other, nothing serious.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The woman who came back with Ding Zixu. It’s said they had a quarrel up in the mountains, and in a fit of anger, she disappeared. Ding Zixu went home, but she still hasn’t returned, so now he’s freaking out.”

Dongzi paused, nervously glancing at his friend. “Maybe they’re just two ordinary friends, nothing to worry about.”

Everyone knew that Ding Zixu had nearly become Qiu Qianjin’s brother-in-law. Now he was involved with another woman, which had already angered Qiu Qianjin.

“Those two are really pathetic. They’re so wrapped up in love and nonsense, can’t they just get something useful done? They argue and then make the whole village run around in the middle of the night. How arrogant of them.”

Though Qiu Qianjin didn’t like the clingy woman, he wasn’t heartless. After all, in the dark mountains, there could be wolves. “Alright, stop talking to me. You should go help them look for her!”

He wasn’t actually going to help look for the woman—he couldn’t betray his sister like that.

Just as Dongzi was about to head up the mountain, they heard someone shouting from the foot of the mountain, “We found her! Hurry, clear the way!”

The flickering torches illuminated a small path and revealed Ding Zixu’s tense face.

The woman in his arms looked shy and tearful, appearing delicate and vulnerable.

Cheng Hongying let out a sigh of relief, muttering, “That was close. Good thing that your sister didn’t come back with me.”