Chapter 21: Finding the Birthmark

Chen Feng could tell from Dabao’s hesitant expression what was on his mind.

As mid-April approached, the family faced even greater hardship. The reserves were depleted, and there was no extra grain or money left. The winter wheat had yet to be harvested, Mrs. Wang received less embroidery work, and the money for buying cloth and scraps was still owed. The needlework baskets made by Mrs. Wang hadn’t turned into money. The money earned from the embroidery work wasn’t enough to cover Chen Ming’s medicine, so they borrowed some more and saved a bit to buy nutritional supplements for him.

To put food on the table, Chen Lu had started picking vegetables from the garden and selling them in town over the past few days. Despite filling a basket on his back, he only made a meager amount. They even sold the other eggs, keeping only one for Chen Ming to eat, using the money to buy cornmeal, brown rice, or a small amount of white flour to bring home.

The whole family eagerly anticipated the winter wheat harvest, hoping to sell it soon for some much-needed cash.

How many more days until the wheat is harvested? Even after selling it, there will still be half a month before they have any money. Will they have to endure half-starvation during this time?

Chen Feng was in a dilemma. Even if she wanted to sell embroidery patterns or recipe books, she needed to be nimble and able to leave the house.

In the evenings, they ate cornmeal mush, with only one bowl of noodles for Chen Ming. The cornmeal mush was thin and barely satisfying, served with a pot of cooked eggplants.

While others didn’t seem distraught, the period before the winter wheat harvest had always been the most difficult time, not just for their family but for many villagers. Previously, they also had to spend more money on Chen Feng’s medical treatment. Despite the current hardships, the numerous needlework baskets and sewing kits piled up in the house were their hope.

Claiming to have a stomach ache, Chen Feng only had the cornmeal mush, giving the surplus eggplant to the two kids.

Before bed, Chen Feng gave Dabao a bath. With the weather getting warmer, Chen Feng bathed him almost every other day. Placing a wooden tub in the kitchen, she filled it with warm water, bathed Dabao, and then carried him to the heated brick bed.

Every time she lifted the bare-bottomed little boy onto the bed, Chen Feng would take the opportunity to playfully pat his smooth and tender bottom. It felt really nice. The little boy seemed to enjoy his mother’s pats, giggling and even trying to wiggle his bottom.

For Chen Feng herself, taking a bath was far less convenient. Their house was too small, with no designated bathing area and no deep tub. Normally, adults would use wet towels to wipe themselves and wash their hair separately. She thought to herself, when they had money, she would definitely build a separate bathing room with a large wooden tub half a person’s height. Filling it with hot water and scattering some flower petals, the room would be filled with mist, just like in the TV dramas from her past life. Thinking about such a scenario filled Chen Feng with motivation.

After drying herself and getting onto the bed, Dabao, wearing only a diaper, crawled into her arms and asked, “Mom, should I help you find the birthmark again?”

Chen Feng smiled and lit the small oil lamp on the cupboard, brightening up the small room.

Since she regained mobility, Chen Feng had been searching for any birthmarks or scars on her body. As mentioned in the time-travel novels, dripping blood on a birthmark or scar could “acknowledge kinship” and open the door to another dimension.

Except for the first day when she dreamt of Little Swallow, she had dreamt about it twice more. She was convinced that Little Swallow was definitely waiting for her in some dimension within her body, eagerly waiting for her to open the door.

Moreover, in her past life, the day she had a car accident, the swallow appeared, and she could understand its speech. Perhaps it was because she had shed blood and opened the door to another dimension, allowing her to communicate with the spiritual creature, Little Swallow. But then, she died in the blink of an eye.

The skin of this body is so good, fair, delicate, and can be broken with a blow. In the visible areas, let alone birthmarks and scars, there aren’t even any blemishes. This is a desirable trait for others, a typical sign of a beautiful body, but it has become her greatest regret.

Chen Feng often asks Dabao to help her look at the places she can’t see, excluding inappropriate areas for children, of course. But every time, Dabao looks extremely seriously and still doesn’t see anything. Chen Feng refuses to give up, always fantasizing about a miracle happening one day.

Under the small oil lamp, Dabao first looked at Chen Feng’s back, the back of her neck, the back of her legs, and even used his little claws to part her hair, regretfully saying, “Mom, Dabao looked very carefully, but still didn’t see any birthmarks or scars.” Hearing her mother’s sigh, he added, “Mom, is it good to have birthmarks on the body? Then, let’s see if Dabao has any.”

Chen Feng smiled and said, “Mom has already checked. You have a small red birthmark on your left buttock.” The birthmark had a somewhat special shape, like a trident, similar to the Mercedes logo from her past life, just without the outer circle.

Upon hearing this, Dabao quickly said, “Then Mom, hurry and climb down so Dabao can check if you have one on your bottom.”

Chen Feng pinched his little face and said with a smile, “Mom is an adult, and adults can’t let others see their bottoms.”

“Dabao is not someone else, Dabao is Mom’s own son,” Dabao said, sounding particularly hurt when emphasizing the word “own.”

“Mom is an adult, and even her own son can’t look at Mom’s private parts,” Chen Feng said.

Dabao felt a bit regretful and asked, “Then who can look at Mom’s bottom?”

Chen Feng hesitated and said, “When Mom was little, Mom’s mother could look.”

Dabao was quite clever and quickly figured it out, saying as he patted his own bottom, “Oh, that’s right. Dabao is still little, so Dabao can look at Mom’s bottom. And those even smaller kids wearing split-crotch pants, anyone can see their little bottoms.” He then suggested, “So, let Grandma help check, anyway Grandma has already seen Mom’s bottom.”

Chen Feng shook her head with a smile, then lay on the bed feeling frustrated, muttering softly, “Could the door really be in that private place?”

Suddenly, the image of the swallow appeared in her mind, looking at her as if she were foolish, and said, “Chirp! Why am I so unlucky, following a fool like you for two lifetimes? How could the door possibly be in that place? Only you could think of something like that.”

It appeared at this moment. Chen Feng was overjoyed and quickly said, “Then tell me where it is.”

“Idiot, I’ve told you, that door will never open,” and then it disappeared.

Dabao thought Mom was talking to him and asked, “Mom, what do you want Dabao to tell you?”

Chen Feng was stunned for a moment and then said, “Um, Mom wants Dabao to tell Mom where our vegetable plot is, so Mom can go water the plants and pick vegetables, saving Grandma from working so hard.”

Dabao pouted and said, “Mom can’t go out casually. Mom is beautiful, and bad people might have bad intentions.”

Chen Feng hugged him, tapping his head with her chin, and said, “After Mom’s illness is better, Mom will stand on her own feet, earn money to support the family. How could Mom not go out? Son, rest assured, Mom is no longer foolish, and no one can bully Mom.”