Chapter 150

Outside the house, Fan Jin didn’t expect that his father-in-law had saved his own niece.

When he saw his father-in-law coming out and saying that Shuiqing was tending to Zhaodi’s wounds, he turned and went to the main house to fetch a handkerchief and some ointment.

The ointment was bought by Shuiqing from the market, but it was put into bottles and jars that he had brought back from the city, making it inconspicuous.

In the kitchen, Shuiqing had already sent her two younger sons away. When she lifted the thin clothes off Fan Zhaodi, she was shocked!

There were bleeding wounds, bruises, and old scars all over her frail body. There wasn’t an inch of unblemished skin!

This was an eight-year-old girl.

Shuiqing took a deep breath and said, “If it hurts, you can cry out.”

Crying out wouldn’t lessen the pain, but enduring it without making a sound would make it worse.

Fan Zhaodi nodded, but her teeth instinctively bit down hard, not allowing any sound of pain to escape.

Her past experience had taught her that making any bad noise would lead to harsher beatings, regardless of whether it was intentional or not.

Just as Shuiqing was about to go to the main house to fetch a towel and medicine, there was a knock on the kitchen door.

Fan Jin handed her the items through the cracked door, “Shuiqing, I’ve brought the towel and medicine. Check if there’s anything missing? I’ll be right outside if you need anything else.”

Shuiqing checked and found that Fan Jin, meticulous and thorough, had missed nothing.

She instructed him, “Ask Yan Qiuxing to find a set of clean clothes.”

The clothes Zhaodi was wearing were patched and tattered, likely handed down from her siblings, and now torn further by stones and branches. They were dirty and unsuitable for her wounds.

Fan Jin obediently went to find Yan Qiuxing.

Shuiqing closed the door tightly.

Outside, the world was dark and the wind howled fiercely, but inside the kitchen, the stove fire provided light and warmth.

Shuiqing meticulously sterilized the already clean wooden basin with boiling water, then the towels.

She mixed the boiling water with previously cooled boiled water, testing the temperature to ensure it was just right. Then she carefully and gently cleaned Fan Zhaodi’s body.

Under the yellowish light of the stove fire, Shuiqing seemed to glow.

The pain that Zhaodi had anticipated didn’t come; instead, there was a mild discomfort that was entirely bearable.

She released her clenched teeth and softly said, “Auntie, just help me clean my back. I can handle the rest.”

“It’s okay, I can manage this. If it hurts, remember to tell me,” Shuiqing reassured her.

Seeing the wounds all over the child’s body made her heart ache; she couldn’t possibly let Zhaodi clean her own wounds.

Zhaodi quickly said, “It doesn’t hurt, really, not at all.”

Shuiqing could only sigh.

After cleaning, she carefully applied healing ointment to all the wounds.

There was a knock at the kitchen door.

Shuiqing opened it slightly, seeing only Yan Qiuxing, then opened it wider to let her in.

“Mom, I found a set of clean clothes that’s a bit small. It might be a little big for little sister, but she can roll up the sleeves. What do you think?”

Since moving to their new home, Shuiqing had discarded all the old, dirty clothes. The clothes they now wore were newly made from fine cotton, and though the clothes were a bit small for Yan Qiuxing, they were still too big for little sister.

“It’s fine. Rolling them up will do,” Shuiqing said pragmatically.

Having clothes to wear at all was already a blessing, a little too big was no problem.

Fan Zhaodi didn’t mind either. All her life, she had worn hand-me-downs until they were too small to use for anything but rags.

When she put on the clean, soft clothes that her elder sister had brought, she felt an unprecedented comfort!

She tugged at the clothes uneasily, afraid that the blood from her wounds would stain them and be impossible to wash out.

Yan Qiuxing, seeing Zhaodi’s discomfort, felt as if she were looking at herself when she first wore good clothes, and reassured her, “Wear it. I grew a lot last year and outgrew these. If you like them, you can keep them.”

Zhaodi’s first reaction was to look at Shuiqing.

These fine clothes, with no holes or patches—could her sister really give them away just like that?

Shuiqing smiled softly and said, “Your sister’s things are hers to decide; your own wishes are yours to decide.”

Fan Zhaodi, who hadn’t felt like crying despite crawling through the mountains, being blown down countless times on the dirt road, and waiting in vain for her parents and brothers to find her, now found herself on the verge of tears. These two simple sentences from her aunt made her want to cry.

Her own wishes, she could decide for herself.

“I want it,” she said.

Yan Qiuxing was delighted, holding Zhaodi’s hand. “I have another set that’s also small, you can have it too, so you have something to change into at home.”

Actually, that set wasn’t small, but she had extra clothes to change into, so she could spare one set for Zhaodi.

Fan Zhaodi immediately shook her head and firmly refused, “No, one set is enough!”

One set would be enough for her to alternate with her old clothes. If she had more, her mother would take them back to her maternal family and give them to her cousins. These were gifts from her elder sister, and she didn’t want to give them to anyone else.

Yan Qiuxing, knowing her aunt’s character, thought for a moment and then agreed, “Okay.”

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Dinner was prepared early by Shuiqing.

Fan Jin had left early and had a cart to carry things, thinking they would be home by noon at the latest. However, by the time Hu Wenhua returned from the city and they finished packing, the weather had changed drastically.

On the road, the conditions became increasingly difficult. Fortunately, the whole family returned home safely, and they even managed to bring Fan Zhaodi back with them.

With the danger passed, the atmosphere at dinner was especially lively.

Outside, the dark sky and howling wind signaled the approach of a storm.

Inside the dining room, they lit the prepared candles, and the large round table was filled with a feast.

Shuiqing and the children had gone fishing in the morning and caught several big carp. Carp are known for their big heads and small bodies, and in those days, people preferred the meat for its richness.

Shuiqing made a clear fish head soup with tofu, the broth was milky white, and the tofu was tender and soaked up the sweetness of the fish.

The fish meat was sliced thinly and prepared as a sour fish fillet dish.

An entire chicken was cut into pieces and cooked with potatoes and green peppers in a big pot, the potatoes and peppers absorbed the rich flavors.

Large pieces of fatty pork were layered with preserved vegetables and steamed until they were inseparable.

A bowl of steamed egg custard.

Even the most common eggplant dish was mixed with minced meat.

Shuiqing: … This is called minced meat eggplant!

Fan Zhaodi felt that she had never seen such a sumptuous spread in her life.

She wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

Hu Tuhu, opening his mouth but unsure if he should scold his daughter, thought, “The first meal is this good, how will the days go on after this?”