Chapter 19

Ning Shucai had just fried the rice cakes until they were soft and was about to call them for dinner when she heard voices at the door.

She turned around and saw three little children standing at the entrance.

Yi Bao and Er Bao were supporting San Bao.

Although San Bao couldn’t walk yet, he could stand for a while with the help of his two older brothers.

“Mom, we’re hungry…”

 San Bao patted his little belly. He had already finished digesting the small bowl of egg custard, half an apple puree, and two mouthfuls of sweet potato congee that he had for breakfast.

If he were an ordinary 11-month-old child, it probably wouldn’t have been enough, but because he didn’t eat much usually, his stomach was slightly smaller, so his appetite was smaller than children of the same age.

“I’m frying rice cakes. It’s ready to eat. Come on in, all of you,” Ning Shu said. “Yi Bao, help your brother, and Er Bao, can you bring four rice bowls for me?”

“Okay.” Er Bao was very happy to be asked by his mother.

Yi Bao supported his brother to the dining table, while Er Bao carried four small bowls to the stove.

“Mom, here.”

“Thank you, Er Bao.” Ning Shu placed the bowls on the stove, first scooping out San Bao’s sweet potato congee to let it cool down. T

Then she washed the pot and added water, preparing to make scallion and egg soup.

“No… no need to thank me.” It was the first time a grown-up had thanked him, and Er Bao felt a bit strange about it.

“Mom, I’ll serve.”

“It’s a bit hot, so let it cool down first. This is for San Bao. Since he’s still young, he should eat softer and smoother congee for his health. We’ll have the fried rice cakes.” Ning Shu instructed Er Bao about what was good for digestion, but Er Bao probably couldn’t understand, so she said it was good for the body.

Er Bao was very happy that his mother was speaking to him so gently, and since such opportunities were rare, he couldn’t help but say a little more: “What’s rice cake?”

“Rice cakes are long and white, like strips.” Ning Shu let the eggs flower in the hot water, then picked up a slice of rice cake from another pot. “It’s this. Try it.”

Yi Bao saw the white rice cake slice and remembered the long, white thing he saw in the sack yesterday, longer than a steamed bun made from white flour. He thought it was a huge, huge bun. So, this is called rice cake.

“Ah…” Er Bao smelled the fragrant rice cake and opened his mouth under his mother’s feeding.

The taste of stir-fried rice cake with cured pork and cabbage was truly delicious. Even if the ingredients were not sufficient, just frying the savory flavor of the cured pork was enough, and then using cabbage to balance it out.

“Is it delicious?”

Er Bao, with rice cake in his mouth, sucked on the savory taste of the cured pork on the rice cake, then licked the soft rice cake. It was really delicious.

He looked at Ning Shu with bright eyes and nodded his head several times.

Ning Shu couldn’t help but smile and called Yi Bao, who was playing with San Bao on the side, “Yi Bao, try the rice cake.” As she said this, she also picked up a chopstick of rice cake to feed Yi Bao.

“Mom, what’s rice cake?” Yi Bao asked while naturally opening his mouth. Yi Bao loved delicious food and wanted to eat everything.

Ning Shu put the rice cake into his mouth. “It’s this, what we’re having for lunch.” There were 12 rice cakes in total, she made two for lunch, and there were still 10 left. Although the weather was hot, rice cakes could be soaked in water and kept for a while.

The rice cakes in the countryside were all made by pounding glutinous rice, and they made quite a few of them. They could be soaked in water for up to a couple of months without any problem.

“Mom, this thing called rice cake is really delicious.” Er Bao finished eating a piece and licked his lips, wanting more.

Ning Shu then said, “Then you used the chestnuts you picked in the morning to exchange for this rice cake and the meat inside the rice cake.”

“Mom, can we go pick more in the afternoon and exchange them for this again in the evening?” Er Bao asked. He and his brother were small in size, and they had picked all the chestnuts that fell from the tree in the morning.

In the afternoon, they would go look for other chestnut trees.

“Yes, you can,” Ning Shu replied.

“Mom, if Lin Haicai brings chestnuts to exchange today, can we still exchange them for this?” Yi Bao asked, thinking of something.

Lin Haicai was only five years old, and he couldn’t eat much stir-fried rice cake. Ning Shu didn’t mind, but she said, “If you agree, then I agree. It’s up to you. But didn’t you ask Lin Haicai to go pick chestnuts with you this morning? Why didn’t he come back with you?”

Yi Bao replied, “Lin Haicai hasn’t peeled the chestnuts yet. He went home to peel them. Mom, weren’t you going to collect peeled chestnuts?”

“Mom, our chestnuts haven’t been peeled either,” Er Bao remembered.

Ning Shu replied, “Your chestnuts can be peeled after dinner, no rush.” Anyway, they wouldn’t sell the chestnuts these days.

“Alright, the rice cakes are ready. Sit down, let’s have lunch.”

Just then, Lin’s mother arrived. “Third daughter-in-law… Third daughter-in-law…” She had finished work early and was preparing to go home to cook lunch, so she came to see the three children, which was her habit.

“Mom…” Ning Shu stood up. She was just about to find Lin’s mother, so when Lin’s mother came in, she asked directly, “Mom, I was just looking for you. Do you remember when I ordered the furniture for this place, did I mention where these blueprints came from?”

“What? Weren’t they drawn by you?” Lin’s mother was puzzled. “When we were building the house, I asked you about ordering furniture, and you said you could draw them yourself. Later, I saw you drawing in the room.”

Ning Shu’s heart tightened upon hearing this. So, were these drawings made by the original owner? If these modern-style furniture designs were drawn by the original owner, and the clothing designs were also drawn by the original owner,

then… could it be that the original owner was the one who crossed over? Moreover, if the original owner was a crosser, it was very likely that they were also a professional in the clothing industry.

Because from the designs in the notebook and the clothes that were put away, it could be seen that they were all the work of a professional. The stitches on the clothes might have been made by a professional tailor, but the design drawings couldn’t have been drawn by a tailor. So it was possible that the other party was a professional in the clothing industry.

But here’s the problem: If the other party was a crosser, why didn’t this body have memories? Or rather, why was this the only memory unrelated to the crosser?

“Third daughter-in-law?” Seeing Ning Shu’s silence, Lin’s mother couldn’t help but feel a little worried, her brows furrowing more and more tightly. “Third daughter-in-law, what’s wrong with you?”

“I’m fine.” Ning Shu snapped out of her thoughts. “It’s just that I didn’t ask carefully. Some of the blueprints were drawn by me, and some weren’t. I just can’t remember who else helped me draw them. But it’s okay, let’s not talk about it anymore.”

“I really don’t know about that. You didn’t mention who else helped you draw them,” Lin’s mother didn’t think much about it. “Third daughter-in-law, I’ll go make lunch first. After lunch, your father will come to help you build the chicken coop.”

“Okay.” Ning Shu nodded. She didn’t want to think about anything else. If the original owner was indeed a crosser just like her, then it was even better.

Because she had come, it meant that the crosser was no longer here. Compared to the possibility of other crossers still existing, she preferred the original owner who was no longer there.

The reason Ning Shu was certain that the original owner was no longer here was because of the app. If the app had followed her through the crossing, it didn’t necessarily mean she would stay here forever, right?

Lin’s mother’s gaze swept across the dining table and saw that there was egg soup and cured pork on the table. She wasn’t surprised; her third daughter-in-law had always been generous. But then, she noticed that both grandsons were wearing new clothes.

Lin’s mother’s heart surged with shock. After the new trousers, her third daughter-in-law had made new clothes for the two grandchildren? Looking at Yi Bao holding a gray piece of old cloth in his hand, although it was made of old cloth, there were no patches on the clothes, indicating that they were indeed new.

In fact, clothes made of old cloth were very comfortable, but rural people didn’t like to wear them because they were thin and prone to tearing.

However, old cloth was soft and suitable for making clothes for children, diapers for babies, or menstrual pads for women, and old cloth was also cheap.

“Mom?” Ning Shu saw Lin’s mother standing there looking at the table, and she wondered if her mother-in-law wanted to stay for dinner.

But she had only fried two rice cakes, and it wouldn’t be enough even with Lin’s mother.

Lin’s mother snapped out of her thoughts and realized that she had been staring at the table.

She thought her third daughter-in-law must have misunderstood. To prevent her third daughter-in-law from saying anything unpleasant, she quickly remedied, “It’s like this, at noon, the eldest daughter-in-law will come over to apologize to you. Whether you forgive her or not, we won’t interfere.”

Have Zhang Qinfang come over to apologize to her? Ning Shu said a very incisive remark, “If apologies worked, what do we need the police for?”

“What?” Lin’s mother was startled. If apologies didn’t work, would her third daughter-in-law report to the police? Could it be? Wouldn’t that be too serious? And if she reported to the police, would they even care about this matter? If they did, would they arrest her eldest daughter-in-law? This third daughter-in-law was indeed not to be trifled with.

How would they resolve this?

Lin’s mother didn’t dare to ask too much. If she asked too much, she was afraid that her third daughter-in-law would think she was favoring her eldest daughter-in-law. She had to go home and discuss with her old man.

Ning Shu was unaware of the shock Lin’s mother had received from her statement. She was in a rather good mood as she began to eat, while also waiting for Zhang Qinfang to come and apologize.

In fact, Zhang Qinfang needed to apologize not to her, but to her two sons. If her two sons took it to heart, she didn’t know what kind of impact it would have in the future.

So when the time came, she would have to apologize to her two sons. Of course, punishment was also necessary.

She would have Zhang Qinfang help her harvest the sweet potatoes in the one-acre plot she kept for herself.

It would save her time and effort, and her two sons wouldn’t have to work like busy bees picking sweet potatoes anymore.