Chapter 4

Lin Yue was a new mother, and her heart was always on the two little ones outside the space. Although her body needed a good rest, she couldn’t sleep too soundly. Every one or two hours, she would wake up to touch the children’s noses and check their diapers.

The two little ones slept soundly, and they slept for almost three hours.

When Lin Yue came out of the space, her daughter had just woken up. The little one had one eye open and the other closed, playing with her hands.

Lin Yue reached out and touched her. The blanket was dry and comfortable.

Her son started to sleep restlessly at this time. Lin Yue anticipated what was coming. Thinking about the wet diapers and bedding that she had to wash, she quickly pulled her son out of the thick blanket and wanted to hold him to pee.

As soon as the little one got his freedom, he immediately peed three feet high, almost spraying Lin Yue in the face.

Now, the bed sheet, bedding, and a small baby were all soaked in pee.

Lin Yue felt exhausted. She quickly carried the child to a clean blanket and tucked him in.

She wanted to give the two little ones a bath, but it was also time to feed them, so she went to the kitchen to heat fresh goat’s milk for them.

Thinking that the two little ones were too weak, she carefully added a drop of spirit spring water.

The goat’s milk was still too hot and needed to be cooled for a while before drinking.

There was still some hot water left in the pot, which should be enough to wipe the two little ones down. She scooped the hot water into a wooden basin, and simply moved the basin, the two little ones, and the wet bedding into the space.

The temperature in the space was comfortable. She adjusted the water temperature in the basin, added a drop of spirit spring water, and carefully wiped the two babies down.

When she came out, the goat’s milk had cooled down, just right for feeding the children.

Whether it was because of the added spirit spring water, or because they were really hungry, the little ones drank a few more spoonful’s than last time.

Lin Yue found the mixed grain cakes that the original owner had made yesterday, soaked them in goat’s milk and drank a big bowl.

The goat’s milk had a strong taste, but Lin Yue was too hungry now, she didn’t mind at all.

The two little ones drank the goat’s milk with spring water, and now they slept particularly soundly.

Lin Yue wrapped herself up tightly, carefully checked her surroundings, making sure there was no one on the street, and then quietly went out under the cover of night.

She walked all the way to the well and collected all the water in the well into the space.

The well water was connected to the groundwater, and it would flow up again after a while, so she didn’t have to worry about others not having water to use tomorrow morning.

Back home, she found a few long bamboo poles and ropes and entered the space.

She inserted the bamboo poles deep into the ground and connected ropes to them, making a simple clothes rack.

The wooden basin was full of clothes and bedding, plus the few clothes she changed out of when she bathed, it was a big project.

Lin Yue’s body was still very weak, so she simply slept when she was tired, got up to take care of the little ones when she heard them cry, and continued to wash clothes when she had time.

She used to wash clothes with a washing machine, she never imagined that washing clothes was such a time-consuming and laborious task.

Time was long in the space. One night outside was almost two days in the space.

In the course of this night, the bamboo poles were all filled with clothes and bedding.

Fortunately, she had this space. Although she still unconsciously worried about the two little ones outside the space, she didn’t lack sleep. After a night, her body recovered a lot.

The only thing that worried her was that it used up too much food. If her stomach could be unaffected by the time flow rate in the space, it would be great.

Early the next morning, her daughter pooped.

Lin Yue wiped her daughter’s bottom and muttered, “Little Two, you’re such a little thing, how can you poop so much, and you eat so little.

” Lin Yue pinched Little Two’s dirty diaper with two fingers and was about to throw it away.

As soon as she went out, she saw an old woman with white hair looking around at her house.

Lin Yue recognized her as Aunt Zhang in the village. She was over sixty years old, and because she had six sons to support her, she didn’t starve much during the famine years, so she was in good health and could still work in the fields to earn work points during the busy farming season.

Her eyes met the old women, and she greeted her with a smile, “Aunt Zhang, are you out for a walk?” Aunt Zhang smiled awkwardly, “I heard you gave birth; I came to see how you are.

” The original owner didn’t like to communicate with others, and she had hardly ever spoken to this Aunt Zhang.

Moreover, the village was actually quite exclusive. The original owner, whose husband was not around, had no family, and was always bullied by her mother-in-law. Even though she had been married for half a year, she had not truly integrated into the village. So Lin Yue found it a bit strange that Aunt Zhang came to see her early in the morning.

Aunt Zhang was a little embarrassed at first, but after she spoke, she didn’t feel embarrassed anymore. She put her hands behind her back and walked slowly into the house.

She saw the diaper in Lin Yue’s hand and asked, “It’s so cold, why are you washing the baby’s diaper outside instead of in the house?” Lin Yue awkwardly raised the diaper in her hand, “Little Two pooped on it, it’s too smelly to wash in the house…” Aunt Zhang saw her disgusted look and immediately understood, her eyes widened, “You prodigal child! You wouldn’t be thinking of throwing it away, would you? Oh my, how can you just throw away a good piece of cloth like that, how much cloth does your family have to be wasted by you? You, there’s no baby who doesn’t poop and pee!” She spoke fiercely, and her hands were not polite either. She snatched the diaper from Lin Yue’s hand, scooped out half a scoop of water from the water tank in the house, and rinsed it briefly outside. Then she went to the stove and grabbed a handful of wood ash, sprinkled it on the diaper, put it in a basin, and rubbed it hard.

The diaper was originally made of old cloth, the color was yellow and dull. Aunt Zhang rubbed it for a while, then rinsed it with clean water, and the stains were no longer visible.

She quickly hung the washed diaper in the yard, and while hanging it, she nagged, “Your young people don’t know how to live.

Now if you want to get some fine cotton cloth, you don’t have a ticket, you can’t even get a scrap of cloth.

You have children now, and your in-laws don’t care about you, there will be many difficult things in the future, you can’t live without any rules like you did before.

” She turned around and took out seven or eight eggs from her bosom and stuffed them into Lin Yue’s hand, “You just gave birth, you can’t keep eating sweet potatoes all day.

Take these eggs, it’s also a way to make up for your body, and I can also add some joy.

Come on, come inside, let’s go see the two little ones.

” But then a soft, charming voice called from behind, “Hey, little Hui’s wife, come here, I have something to ask you!” Lin Yue turned around and saw a woman with a very graceful figure standing by the grove of trees outside the yard. Her body leaned gently against the tree trunk, one foot was raised behind her, and she held a handkerchief in her hand, waving it at Lin Yue.

This was Widow Liu, the nightmare of all the women in the village.

She wasn’t considered very beautiful, but she knew how to dress up, and her skin was white, which was very different from the women in the village. Although she was in her forties, she was still charming, and if any man looked at her door for too long, it would be spread all over the village for days.

Aunt Zhang and Lin Yue were actually cousins-in-law, both their husbands had died on the battlefield. She despised Widow Liu’s behavior, and her face darkened when she saw her: “Little Hui’s wife, come inside with me, don’t mind those shameless things!”

Widow Liu leaned back against the tree, looking boneless, and retorted: “You old hag, I’m talking to this young wife, what’s it to you?”

Seeing Lin Yue ignoring her, she called out again: “I’m talking to Hui Gou’s wife, I’m asking you something, what’s your relationship with Principal Xu? What did he come to see you for yesterday? Come, tell Auntie, Auntie won’t forget your kindness!”

Lin Yue didn’t want to deal with her, so she followed Aunt Zhang into the house.

Widow Liu, finding no amusement, didn’t seem angry, she just waved her hand and left.

The little ones weren’t asleep yet. The two women sat by the kang, playing with the children and chatting.

Aunt Zhang didn’t want to mention Widow Liu at all. She imparted child-rearing advice to Lin Yue: “The babies are still so small, you can’t sleep too soundly at night, don’t roll over and press on them.

Babies usually cry for three reasons: they’ve pooped, peed, or they’re hungry. Try it, you’ll be right.

Also, you have to keep the baby away from the blanket. A few years ago, a child in another village was suffocated by a blanket that fell down.

” Lin Yue listened attentively, nodding occasionally, wishing she could find a notebook to write it all down.

Unexpectedly, Aunt Zhang suddenly asked: “I heard you died the other night, was it Sister Su who pulled you back from the King of Hell’s palace?”

Lin Yue’s eyes widened instantly.

Before she could explain, a woman’s voice came from the doorway: “Yes, yes, yes, I heard that too. They say Sister Su is amazing. She mumbled with the King of Hell for a long time the other night, then clapped her hands twice, and you, whoosh, your soul returned.

” The speaker was a short, thin middle-aged woman, wearing a patched floral padded jacket, her hands crossed in her sleeves. She pushed open the door with her elbow, and entered the inner room with a gossipy look on her face.

This was a neighbor from the old house, named Jin A-jie.

She wasn’t that old, not yet forty, but she was older in terms of generation, so Lin Yue had to call her Auntie.

She leaned against the kang with a smile, took out two eggs from her pocket and handed them to Lin Yue, urging her: “I saw your mother-in-law sitting in a stool at the street entrance, she’s still waiting for everyone to send gifts to her house.

I say, you gave birth to a pair of children for her family, what a great merit! The day before yesterday when you went into labor, I heard Sister Wang San go to knock on her door, she didn’t even come to take a look, she’s truly wicked.

She even wanted to lure me to her house, I wouldn’t go, I wouldn’t even let her touch the eggshells! Oh, right, tell us about the other night, I wanted to come yesterday, but I was afraid of disturbing your rest, so I didn’t come.

” Lin Yue was mortified. This rumor was the first time she had heard it. She really didn’t know, it had only been a day, and the village was already spreading such outrageous stories.

She quickly said: “Good Auntie, don’t talk nonsense, that’s all superstition! It was indeed Sister Su who saved me the other night, but she used a proper method of treating illnesses and saving people. It was her eldest son, Zhang Shoudan, who taught her first aid. You know, Brother Shoudan works in the city, he knows a lot of things.

” Jin A-jie just smiled and looked at her, Aunt Zhang also had a look of watching a play on her face. It was obvious they didn’t believe Lin Yue’s explanation.

She thought for a moment and explained again: “If it’s as exaggerated as you said, then Sister Su is not a god, but a higher official than the King of Hell, only then would the King of Hell listen to her.

” Lin Yue knew that in a few years, the Four Olds would be broken. If this rumor spread, she and Sister Su would both be in trouble.

The two naturally didn’t believe that Sister Su was a higher official than the King of Hell. Compared to that, it was more believable that she had learned some kind of lifesaving method.

Jin A-jie was a little disappointed, apparently not satisfied with this answer, but she didn’t say anything. She got on the kang and started talking about other things, teasing the children.

After seeing off Aunt Zhang and Jin A-jie, seven or eight more groups of people came, each bringing some things, mostly eggs, but also some brown sugar and noodles.

In Tianta Village, on the third day after a child was born, people with good relationships would come to give gifts.

There was no proper name for it, it was probably equivalent to the “washing ceremony,” but the custom here was that you couldn’t bathe the child so early, it was just to come and see the child.

Lin Yue didn’t know about this at all, and the original owner was also inexperienced, so she didn’t even prepare drinks. She could only hurriedly boil some water, add a little sugar, and bring it out to entertain the guests.

Seeing the twin babies, everyone was delighted, and they would occasionally pinch the children’s cheeks or lift the blanket to take a look, then they would laugh at each other.

Lin Yue didn’t know what they were laughing at, she just watched nervously from the side, afraid that some sister-in-law or aunt would pinch the child too hard and hurt them.

What she didn’t know was that because she didn’t have milk, she had avoided a social death.

Sister Wang San came with her eldest daughter-in-law, Liu Jianhua, and her youngest daughter, Zhang Xiaohui.

Liu Jianhua and her eldest son, Zhang Shouxin, had been married for almost three years, but her stomach was still flat.

Old Wang San and his wife didn’t say anything, but they were very anxious in their hearts. They brought their eldest daughter-in-law today to get some good luck.

She pushed her honest daughter-in-law forward, pushing her to the front of the kang, and said loudly, “Little Hui’s wife, let Jianhua hold the baby, come, hold them!”

Liu Jianhua smiled awkwardly at Lin Yue. When Lin Yue agreed, she shyly stepped forward, wiped her hands on her clothes, rubbed them together until they were warm, and then carefully picked up the eldest son.

The house was too small, and five or six people filled the whole room.

Sister Wang San squeezed in, picked up the youngest daughter, and also stuffed her into her daughter-in-law’s arms: “Hold this one too, having only a son isn’t enough, having both a son and a daughter is called good fortune!”

Everyone in the room burst into good-natured laughter. Liu Jianhua blushed, she didn’t want to let go of the two children in her arms, but she was too embarrassed to hold them.

With so many people in the house, the two little ones weren’t afraid at all, they were quietly held in people’s arms.

The youngest daughter looked at Liu Jianhua and even gave a sweet, toothless smile.

Liu Jianhua’s heart melted instantly, and she couldn’t bear to let go.

Wang San’s eldest daughter-in-law was a rather introverted and shy person, but her daughter, Zhang Xiaohui, was quite outgoing.

She stood by the door, looking at everyone talking and teasing the children, but she didn’t interrupt or join in the fun. She stood alone on the outside, not at all shy like the girls at this time, she looked very calm.

It’s just that her gaze would often unconsciously fall on Lin Yue, as if she was sizing her up, making Lin Yue a little uncomfortable.

She turned her head to look at Zhang Xiaohui, Zhang Xiaohui smiled faintly at her, then turned her head to watch her sister-in-law’s excitement.