Chapter 26

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the day after returning to the county, He Guijuan began her work.

Jiang Jiang sleepily opened her eyes to see that He Guijuan had neatly arranged her hair and was slinging her bag over her shoulder, ready to head out.

“Mom, are you going to work?”

He Guijuan walked over and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Breakfast is ready; it’s warming in the pot. I’ll be back at noon to make you lunch. The sugar and egg cake are in the cupboard. There’s malt candy for sale at the gate; if you want some, you can buy it. I’ve left some change in the drawer for you, but don’t wander off and get lost, okay?”

“I got it,” Jiang Jiang said, rubbing her eyes and nodding.

“Good girl, then I’m off,” He Guijuan said.

“Mm, goodbye, Mom.”

The sound of the door closing echoed as He Guijuan left. After she was gone, Jiang Jiang no longer lingered in bed. She dressed and went outside, taking her toothbrush and towel to wash up in the yard.

For breakfast, there was thick and hearty corn and sweet potato porridge. The sweet potatoes were particularly sweet, blending nicely with the corn, giving it a sticky texture. There were also buns that He Guijuan had prepared the night before and steamed that morning.

Jiang Jiang took a sip of the porridge and grabbed a bun to nibble on. The bun was filled with peanuts and sesame, still warm and exceptionally fluffy. The skin was thin, and there was plenty of filling; taking a big bite was simply delightful.

With her messy hair, she headed out into the yard. The weather was nice that day, sunny and bright. In the corner, the old hen was pecking at the corn scattered on the ground.

Jiang Jiang quickly finished her breakfast and then cleaned out the chicken coop. Raising chickens was different from having cats or dogs; the area around the coop was a bit dirty. Jiang Jiang used a spade to clear away the chicken manure from the ground.

She filled a basin with clean water, found a cloth, and scrubbed it thoroughly. Afterward, she wiped down all the house’s doors, windows, and furniture, both inside and out.

Then, using the water she had used to clean the tables, she mopped the floors until they were spotless and shining.

After finishing those chores, Jiang Jiang filled a basin with water using the enameled basin she used for washing vegetables. She carefully cleaned the cabbage that had been sitting next to the cutting board and placed it in a basket to drain, waiting for He Guijuan to come home and stir-fry it for lunch.

Jiang Jiang wasn’t picky about food. She thought that reheating the leftover buns and porridge from breakfast would make for a decent meal. However, He Guijuan preferred to come home to make lunch herself, feeling uneasy about Jiang Jiang managing it alone.

For lunch, they had cabbage and vermicelli soup. He Guijuan had used up the last of the mung bean vermicelli, adding it all into the soup.

She also drizzled some sesame oil into the cabbage and vermicelli soup, fried two eggs, and served one to each of them.

The main dish was steamed buns filled with peanuts and sesame. Lin Youqing had gone to the countryside for an inspection and wouldn’t return for lunch.

The cabbage was fresh and sweet, and the fried egg smelled delicious. After drinking two bowls of cabbage and vermicelli soup, Jiang Jiang also had a bun.

After lunch, He Guijuan took advantage of the free time to teach Jiang Jiang how to hold a pen and helped her recognize a few simple characters. She hadn’t intended for her daughter to start reading and writing so soon, but it seemed Jiang Jiang was used to keeping busy.

During the morning, while He Guijuan was at work, the child tidied the house, cleaned the chicken coop, mopped the floors until they shone, and emptied the ashes from the stove.

Children were typically playful and mischievous at this age, yet her daughter was so diligent. While He Guijuan felt a pang of sympathy, she also reflected on the situation.

Since Jiang Jiang had just arrived and didn’t know any peers her age, cleaning was the only way to pass the time.

However, there were no workbooks at home, so they could only practice writing on plain sheets of paper for now.

After finishing work, He Guijuan went to the bookstore and bought several books suitable for young children to help them learn to read, along with some workbooks for writing practice.

When He Guijuan got home, she first glanced at the characters Jiang Jiang had written during the day.

Seeing the writing, He Guijuan paused for a moment. Every character was written correctly, and each stroke was neat and square.

The quality of her writing exceeded He Guijuan’s expectations, and it was clear that Jiang Jiang had taken her time and put in considerable effort.

Jiang Jiang licked her lips and said, “Mom, teach me how to write a few more characters.”

He Guijuan was pleasantly surprised by her daughter’s intelligence and affectionately patted Jiang Jiang’s head. “Let’s not practice writing tonight. I bought some storybooks; I’ll read you a story before bed.”

Learning to read requires a gradual approach; if too much information floods into a child’s mind all at once, the results can be counterproductive.

“Okay,” Jiang Jiang nodded in agreement.

The storybooks that He Guijuan bought were filled with colorful illustrations.

After He Guijuan read through a story, Jiang Jiang wanted to go back and look at the book herself—carefully examining the pictures.

Although she couldn’t understand the words, the colorful illustrations brought her joy.

Once she finished looking, she carefully put the book away in its place.

With tasks to do, Jiang Jiang no longer focused solely on housework. Each day, she spent only a little time on chores; the rest of the time, she either took a walk around the yard to familiarize herself with her surroundings or practiced writing with the workbooks.

As days passed, one weekend morning, He Guijuan got up, took an egg from the basket, and cracked it into a white porcelain bowl. She then added a few drops of sesame oil and a spoonful of sugar.

Next, she took some boiling water from the stove, and while stirring the egg mixture with chopsticks, she poured the hot water into the bowl, mixing it in a clockwise direction until there were no lumps.

After preparing the egg tea, He Guijuan fried some leftover pieces of steamed bun dipped in salt.

By the time breakfast was ready, her husband and daughter had washed up, and the family sat at the dining table.

“Jiang Jiang, do you like the egg tea? If you don’t, I can make something else for you,” He Guijuan asked.

The egg tea was a recipe she had learned from her mother-in-law. Initially, He Guijuan found it hard to get used to the taste, but she developed a liking for it after a while. On the other hand, her husband enjoyed it from the first sip and often asked her to make it for him.

“Mm-hmm, it’s delicious. I like it,” Jiang Jiang replied.

It was Jiang Jiang’s first time trying egg tea. The egg was fresh, so there was no fishy taste. Instead, it had a refreshing and delicate texture, sweet and smooth. The fried bun pieces, crispy and salty, paired wonderfully with the egg tea.

After eating several pieces of the bun and finishing his bowl of egg tea, Lin Youqing looked at his wife and daughter and said, “I’ll stop by the furniture factory later to get the furniture for Jiang Jiang’s room.”

While in Dongxi Village, they agreed to convert the original study into Jiang Jiang’s bedroom. However, since returning to the city, they had both been busy with work and hadn’t found the time to set it up.

“Sounds good. Shuhua asked me to bring the kids over to her house this weekend. I’ll take Jiang Jiang with me; I remember her son is about the same age as Jiang Jiang, right?”

“He’s probably a year older than Jiang Jiang,” He Guijuan replied.

Huang Shuhua was the director at the county hospital where He Guijuan worked, and her husband was also a county official.

He Guijuan had a good personal relationship with her, and since Jiang Jiang had no playmates, it wouldn’t be good for her to be alone all the time. Shuhua’s child was of a similar age, so they might get along well.