It was unclear how long he had been chopping firewood, but a stack half a person tall had already piled up beside him.
Swinging the axe exceptionally fast, in no time, the thick wood beneath his hands had been split into several pieces.
Perhaps hearing some movement, he wiped the sweat from his forehead, raised his head, and looked over. “Sister-in-law, are you awake? Mom left you some food; it’s in the pot and should still be warm. If you want it hot, you can add some firewood to heat it up.”
“Alright. Naihan, where did Mom go?” She looked around and didn’t see Liu Yuzhi.
“She went to the fields.”
“Oh.”
Busy with Bai Wensong’s funeral these days, Yun Qinghuan almost thought there was nothing else going on.
It seemed that Liu Yuzhi was starting to get anxious because she hadn’t been to the fields to earn work points for the past few days. After all, there were four mouths to feed in the family, but only she was earning work points.
In addition, she was getting old, so she didn’t earn as many work points as others in a day. Having not worked in the fields for several consecutive days, when it came time to settle the work points and distribute the grain, she would probably get even fewer and by then, it might become difficult for the family to have enough to eat.
So, today, right after breakfast, Liu Yuzhi went to the fields.
At this time, it wasn’t the busy farming season, and the tasks weren’t that strenuous.
Yun Qinghuan pondered. She could see that this family was quite impoverished. Since she had made up her mind to stay with the Bai family for the next two years, she couldn’t be selfish and act like a leisurely person just eating and waiting to starve.
Moreover, seeing Liu Yuzhi work so hard made her feel a bit sorry for her.
However, she had never done farm work before. In the memories of the original owner, it seemed like she hadn’t done much of that either.
After all, she had married Bai Wensong shortly after graduating from high school and moving to the countryside. After marrying Bai Wensong, he was a good worker, skilled in physical labor, and spoiled her very much. He never let her go out in the sun to do farm work.
The original owner, being a girl from the city, despite the strong bias toward males in her family, mostly did household chores like washing clothes and cooking. She had never really worked in the fields.
So, Yun Qinghuan flipped through all the memories in her mind and couldn’t find any skills related to farming.
She twitched her lips.
In this era dominated by agriculture, the skills she thought were great seemed to be of no use.
But maybe not. After Liu Yuzhi came back, she would ask her if there was any lighter work, such as weeding or mowing grass for cows. She was sure she could learn to do that.
It didn’t matter if she earned fewer work points. As long as she was contributing to the family, she would feel better.
Thinking this, she walked into the kitchen and lifted the lid of the pot. She saw a bowl of thick sweet potato porridge, a boiled egg, and a yellow cornbread (steamed bun-like food) clearly made with flour and refined grains (corn). It was evident that this steamed bun was more delicate than the coarse one they had yesterday.
There was also a plate of stir-fried beans, and to her surprise, there was even some minced meat in it. Although not much, visibly just a few bits, Yun Qinghuan still widened her eyes.
In this era, eating meat was a big deal, as many families went for months without tasting any meat.
This meat was probably the preserved salted meat that Liu Yuzhi was reluctant to eat. Warmth filled her heart as she touched the plate. Feeling it a bit cold, she sat on a small stool and took a match from the matchbox. After striking it, she lit the fire and added some firewood, intending to reheat the meal.
Considering her frail body, still not fully recovered from the illness, it was better to eat warm food.
When she felt the pot lid was already scalding hot, she stirred the firewood inside. Then she stood up, ready to freshen up.
She took a toothbrush and prepared to brush her teeth. Since the Bai family was relatively poor, they bought the cheapest toothbrushes without toothpaste. Usually, they used coarse salt mixed with crushed mint and chrysanthemum, picked by Liu Yuzhi, for brushing their teeth.
Liu Yuzhi liked collecting mint and chrysanthemum when she had spare time, drying and crushing them with coarse salt. This mixture not only served as toothpaste but could also be brewed into a tea, practical in more ways than one.
At first, Yun Qinghuan wasn’t used to using this for brushing her teeth, but after a while, she found the combined scent of chrysanthemum and the coolness of mint quite pleasant.
At least this “toothpaste” was entirely natural, without various additives.
After brushing her teeth, she filled a basin with water, placing it on the washstand, preparing to wash her face.
This washstand was crafted by Bai Wensong himself when the original owner got married. It was coated with red paint, looking quite festive. There was even a mirror placed on it for the convenience of the original owner.
Yun Qinghuan unintentionally glanced at herself in the mirror and was momentarily stunned. Since she arrived here yesterday through the transmigration, she hadn’t carefully examined the original owner’s appearance. Looking into the mirror now, she realized the original owner surprisingly bore a striking resemblance to herself, about seven or eight points similar.
However, she had fairer and more delicate skin than the original owner. Her hair was thick, glossy, and her eyes appeared more lively. After all, she was the youngest film queen, praised by directors for her expressive eyes, so her gaze had a certain vivid quality.
After a brief moment of distraction, she pursed her lips and started washing her face. The realization that transmigrating into the original owner’s body might not be a mere coincidence began to sink in.
After all, she shared the same name, surname, and even looked quite alike.
After freshening up, she went straight to the kitchen to have breakfast. Liu Yuzhi had left plenty of food, and she was genuinely hungry, so she finished everything.
When she reached the preserved salted meat, her taste buds started tingling, feeling extremely tempted. She knew it wasn’t her own craving but an instinctive response of this body. From the original owner’s memories, she understood that although Liu Yuzhi treated them well and their meals were better than many, they still rarely had meat.
It wasn’t just due to the high cost of meat; it also required meat coupons, and their family didn’t have many throughout the year.
After satisfying her hunger, she burped and sat on the stool for a while before leisurely standing up to wash the dishes. She also planned to pick some vegetables from the vegetable garden for cooking lunch.
After all, Liu Yuzhi has been working in the fields all morning. If she had to come back and cook, then after eating, she’ll have to return to the fields, which would be exhausting.
Many people nowadays who worked in the fields didn’t come back home for lunch. Instead, their family members prepared the meals and deliver them. In the past, when Bai Wensong was alive, the original owner used to cook and pack the lunch. Bai Wensong would come home at noon, pick up the food, and eat with Liu Yuzhi.
Then, in the evening after finishing work, Bai Wensong would bring back the lunchbox.
Seeing Yun Qinghuan picking vegetables, Bai Naihan asked, “Sister-in-law, are you planning to cook?”
“It’s almost noon, right? Mom has gone to work, so I’m preparing lunch. I’ll take it to her later. After eating, she can rest for a while in the shade before coming back. Otherwise, it’ll be too tiresome for her to cook when she returns.”
Yun Qinghuan didn’t hide it from him. She was the kind of person who liked to speak openly about the good things she did. Otherwise, if left to those who pretend not to see, she’d be considered a lazy troublemaker doing nothing.
Of course, it was evident that the people in the Bai family weren’t like that. But Yun Qinghuan was used to it. Only by talking about what she did would others know.
“I feel sorry for our mom. These days she’s been working hard, so I want to do something within my capacity to ease her burden a bit.”
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Translator Note
The first 12-hour Christmas updates mass release has been completed. Yay!!
[“工分” (gōngfèn): Work points. A unit of measurement used in rural China to determine how much grain a person was entitled to receive.]
Next release
– Dec. 25 (1pm)
(There’ll be extra chapters for Christmas, stay tuned!)
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- Romans 15:13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
