Chapter 3: Wen Chun and Wen Xuan

One of the two children is named Wen Chun, and the other is Wen Xuan. Wen Chun is a girl from Sister Wen’s family, born on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Spring Festival. She is now three years and eight months old, wearing a white short coat with messy hair, and she stands obediently at the dinner table.

Wen Xuan is from the second sister’s family, three months younger than Wen Chun. She looks very similar to Wen Chun; at first glance, they seem like twins. Their eyes, in particular, look as if they were carved from the same mold. However, Wen Chun’s face is sharp, and Wen Xuan’s face is round. Otherwise, Wen Jiajia would have to put in a lot of effort to tell them apart.

Wen Jiajia felt that Wen Xuan’s temperament was more lively and bold than her sister’s. At this moment, Wen Xuan had moved closer to the stove, her eyes staring directly at the pot.

“Don’t scratch your fingers, wash your hands and eat.” Wen Jiajia said as she pulled Wen Xuan’s fingers out of her mouth.

The rice cake soup was served in a large bowl, and Wen Jiajia scooped some into the smaller bowls. The two children, having washed their hands, sat down timidly at the table, looked at her cautiously, and then silently picked up their spoons and began to eat with their chins tilted. They took a bite and then sneaked a peek at her.

“……”

Wen Jiajia suddenly felt like she was their stepmother, not their aunt. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t like to educate people during mealtime. Food was not easy to come by, and she didn’t want to ruin their appetite.

The rice cake soup was very fragrant, with the aroma of lard and rice blending together. The tender vegetables and scrambled eggs added to the freshness without needing any chicken essence or monosodium glutamate. The taste of the ingredients themselves was fresh enough! The slightly chewy rice cake slices were neither loose nor sticky to the teeth, and the unique aroma of rice cake blossomed in her mouth after a few more bites.

As she chewed, Wen Jiajia’s heart suddenly calmed down. The two children gradually relaxed while eating, and the sound of spoons clinking against bowls could be heard. Look at that, a bowl of simple food can be reassuring.

–

For Wen Jiajia, it was simple, but for Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, it was a rare delicacy. From the Chinese New Year until now, they had eaten this well for the first time, momentarily forgetting about the strange aunt next to them.

The two children were thin and small, sitting on high stools, which showed that the Wen family cared for them. The original owner’s body lacked oil, water, and fine grains, so even though Wen Jiajia felt that she had eaten enough, her instinct was to keep filling one bowl after another until her stomach was stretching.

“Oh my God,” Wen Jiajia thought in disbelief, touching her stomach. She had eaten three bowls of rice cake soup.

You must know that the earthen bowl in the countryside is not small, and you can’t put your hands together around it! It seems she needs to think about food in advance; a food crisis is just around the corner.

The two children only ate half a bowl each, but they also had round bellies. The kerosene lamps dimmed, and the kitchen grew darker. As a gust of wind blew outside, the kerosene lamp flickered.

Wen Chun skillfully picked up a bamboo skewer and obediently sat on the stool, watching Wen Jiajia busy with her work.

What was Wen Jiajia busy with? Driving the chickens into the coop.

There was a door next to the kitchen that opened to the backyard. The backyard was more than 30 square meters and looked smooth, as if it had only been opened up in recent years. The entire area was fenced, and a row of chicken coops was built near the house.

The chicken coop was made of wood, with tiles on top and cushions at the bottom, so it was not afraid of rain. In her memory, the local winter was not cold, so there was no fear of freezing. Pig sheds and huts were built at the farthest point from the house, but no pigs had been seen in the barn so far.

Wen Jiajia thought for a while and asked, “Chun’er, have we ever raised pigs?”

Wen Chun hurriedly got off the stool, ran to the door of the backyard, and said shyly, “Yes.”

The little girl’s voice was small but very clear, and when she finished speaking, she hurriedly looked away.

Wen Jiajia thought to herself, They probably raised pigs last year, and Wen Chun was too young to remember earlier.

But can you raise pigs at home these days? She wasn’t sure, so she decided to find an opportunity to ask the villagers. If it were possible to raise a pig at home, the meat at the end of the year would always be assured.

In addition to the chicken coop and pig shed, the remaining area in the backyard was piled with adobe bricks and firewood. The small vegetable patch was also next to the backyard, and the entrance was fenced with bamboo to prevent chickens from entering the patch.

“Giggle!” The chickens ran everywhere, and Wen Jiajia chased them with a broom. Most of the chickens had already developed the habit of entering the coop, and she only needed to drive two stubborn ones inside to complete the process.

By now, night had completely fallen. It was pitch black outside, and the path at the entrance of the village was hidden in darkness, with only a little light visible in the center of the village.

According to the aunts who came to help yesterday, the brigade headquarters had been powered and lights installed earlier this year. In the future, their Fuyang brigade would have electric lights.

The aunts also said that by the end of next year, the members of their brigade might have electricity in their homes. Wen Jiajia only hoped this was true; she wasn’t used to days without lights! However, pulling the wires would take a lot of money, and she had to find a way to scrape together enough before she could do so.

Thinking of money… she sighed and went back into the house.

After washing the dishes, there was still hot water left in the pot. She was ready to wash herself and the two children. In the summer, if you don’t wash, you’re going to stink!

Wen Jiajia took out the big bucket from the original owner’s parents’ room and poured water into it. The water at home had been fetched by the villagers this morning. Not only was the kitchen water tank full, but there were also two large water tanks next to the courtyard of the hall, so there was no shortage of water at home for the time being.

Wen Jiajia mixed the hot water with cold water, and after feeling that the temperature was about right, she beckoned the two children to come over. “Come on, take off your clothes and take a bath.”

The two children stood stunned and didn’t dare to move.

Wen Jiajia sighed and pulled Wen Chun and Wen Xuan over. “You can’t fall asleep at night without washing the smell of sweat off.”

As she spoke, she took off their clothes, pants, and shoes, then supported her sister’s arm and put her in the water, followed by her sister.

Lights twinkled on the water, sparkling like diamonds in the light.

Once the two children were in, the water lifted slightly. Wen Jiajia leaned her hand on the big bucket and said with a serious face, “We are a family now. If I call you, you should know, okay? I’m not the Big Bad Wolf from the stories, what are you afraid of?”

The mention of the “Big Bad Wolf” frightened the two children, but Wen Jiajia didn’t care. She went to the room to get a cloth to help them scrub.

Wen Jiajia also wanted to find soap, but she hadn’t seen any at home in the past two days. “Do we have any soap?” she asked.

“What’s soap?” Wen Xuan asked curiously.

Wen Jiajia explained, “It’s something you use to wash yourself, and it makes you feel slippery. Never mind, there’s no soap, only soap for washing clothes.”

Wen Chun was a smart child and quickly understood. He said in a small voice, “There isn’t any at home, but Meihua’s family has one.”

“Who’s Meihua?” Wen Jiajia didn’t hear clearly, but she didn’t bother to clarify and continued washing them with water.

“Meihua is Meihua,” Wen Chun replied simply.

Wen Jiajia scrubbed the dirt off their bodies vigorously, and little black worms of grime came off one by one.

These two children were really dirty. The corners of her mouth twitched, and she asked again, “When was the last time you two took a bath?”

The two children couldn’t answer; their little heads only knew today, yesterday, and the day before yesterday. A bath must have been a big deal the day before yesterday.

The children were quickly washed. Wen Jiajia dressed them in clean clothes and carried them to Sister Wen’s room.

Wen Jiajia had slept in Sister Wen’s room last night, and she had changed the bedding and everything. She had put the quilt core out in the front yard to air out, and the sun had thoroughly dried it, leaving it with the unique smell of sunshine.

Sister Wen’s room was divided into upper and lower rooms. The upper room, accessed from the kitchen, was relatively small and didn’t get much sun, making it cooler. This was where Wen Chun would sleep. The bed frame was laid, and there were a few new straw mats made last year on the bed, as well as some loose straw.

Wen Jiajia didn’t know what the loose straw was for at the time and thought it was for the fire. But life would soon teach her a lesson.

Under the bed, there were bamboo baskets and other items, including a bamboo wardrobe in the corner of the room, and many bamboo hats hanging on the walls.

She hugged Wen Chun first, then Wen Xuan. Their bodies were clean, but their hair was still dirty.

Wen Jiajia thought for a moment, then found two towels to tie around their hair. She placed the kerosene lamp in the room on the table next to the bed and said seriously, “Auntie is going to take a bath now. You two play on the bed obediently and don’t touch the lamp, understand?”

The two sisters nodded.

“Speak,” Wen Jiajia prompted.

“Got it,” the two sisters replied.

Satisfied, Wen Jiajia turned and went to the kitchen to take a bath.

There wasn’t even a bathroom at home, and she was very curious about how the Wen family used to bathe.

Since the two children were in the same room with the kerosene lamp, Wen Jiajia didn’t dare to take her time. She bathed as quickly as possible.

As she finished washing, she gritted her teeth and swore that within a week, she would get a bar of soap!

Wen Jiajia got dressed, set the wooden barrel down to dry, blew out the kerosene lamp in the kitchen, and hurried back to the house.

She closed the door to the house and the backyard, and when she got back to her room, she latched the door. Even if someone could get in through the main door, they wouldn’t be able to enter her room.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan sat quietly on the bed. Wen Jiajia tied her hair casually and said to them after getting into bed, “Come, let’s talk.”

She said seriously, “I’m your aunt. Do you know what ‘aunt’ means? It means I’m your mother’s own sister. Your grandparents are my parents.”

The eyes of the two children slowly widened, and Wen Chun even opened her mouth slightly, looking incredulous.

Wen Jiajia’s hands itched, and she pinched the faces of the two. “Now you know who I am. I’m not a bad person.”

Wen Chun tilted her head and whispered, “Are you like the second aunt?”

Wen Jiajia gave a thumbs-up. “Yes!”

Wen Xuan said, “I haven’t seen you at home before.”

Wen Jiajia explained, “That’s because I was at someone else’s house. Now that I’m older, I’ve come back.”

Wen Xuan asked, “Then where did my mother go? Is she really dead? Meihua said that my mother is dead.”

The room fell silent immediately.

After a long pause, Wen Jiajia didn’t know how to answer. She thought seriously and then said, “Your parents and grandparents went to another place. I don’t know where, but I know they didn’t want to leave you. Maybe one day… you’ll see them again.”

The children didn’t know what “maybe” meant; they only noticed the words “see them again.” So a shallow smile bloomed on their faces, and they didn’t seem so afraid of Wen Jiajia anymore.