Raising Children in a Reconstituted Family [1960s] - CHAPTER 4

Chapter 4

　　With her big eyes full of disbelief, the elder girl was also surprised. What happened to mom? Why is she so nice to them all of a sudden? She wouldn’t be so generous if she had any good things before, and of course she didn’t have any good things before.

　　”Mom, did you pick up the money?” Otherwise, how would she have money to buy candy.

　　Gu Yan pinched her little face, and the skinny touch caught her off guard and made her feel pity and sympathy. The eldest son had three sons, and the third son also had a boy. They were all thin, but not as thin as these two children.

　　”Yeah, I found some money.”

　　If an adult heard Gu Yan’s brisk words, they would definitely be confused and ask questions. But the two children simply believed their mother’s words and happily hugged her arms on the left and right.

　　”Mom is so nice.”

　　The children licked their lips and tilted their heads several times to study their mother’s expression. After watching her wash her face, she looked at the family’s shared cloth with disdain, then shook it with both hands and waited for her face to dry naturally. Then she opened the box and took out a white bottle, squeezed out the white stuff from inside, and smeared it on her face and hands.

　　”Mom, what is this?” The younger girl was so attracted by white cream that she had forgotten what she was going to ask. She changed the subject as soon as she opened her mouth.

　　”…Fresh cream, for wiping your face and hands.” That’s what it was called in those days, right? “You two should wash your face quickly, and I’ll apply it to you two after you wash your face.”

　　”Oh, there’s vanishing cream.” It’s rare for the younger sister to be so excited.

　　”Speak softly; don’t let anyone hear.” The elder sister covered the younger ones mouth with her hand.

　　The two sisters smiled at each other and followed their mother’s example by washing their faces and waiting for their faces to dry automatically. Then they applied delicate vanishing cream. The dry skin seemed to have encountered rain and dew; with the moisturising, it made the skin feel comfortable and soft.
( to have encountered rain and dew means that it got timely help when needed.)

　　The improved version of vanishing cream has almost no smell, and the three of them can all apply it without worrying about people smelling any difference. The commune in her memory is three kilometres away, and the path is even closer, less than three miles away.

　　She had to get some newspapers to paste on the wall, as she didn’t have that stuff in her space. She also had to buy two sets of clothes for the two children. In late autumn, they didn’t even have autumn clothes or autumn pants. They would freeze to death in a few days. And the baby in her belly would need blankets, nappies, and clothes after birth. If she relied on her husband’s family, she would just have to wait to die out of cold or hunger.

　　”Mom, I’m going to get some food. Please wait here.”

　　”Well, be careful on the road.” Seeing the children turn around and go out, she pulled the worn towel from the rope and gave it to them. “Use it as a cushion; be careful of the burns.”

“I got it.” The two children spoke in a cheerful tone, as happy as little birds spreading their wings to fly.

　　Gu Yan looked around the room again and couldn’t help but sigh again. She had plenty of supplies, but the most difficult thing now was how to take them out legitimately.

　　She sat on the kang, holding her belly. The sneaky figure at the door naturally did not escape her eyes. Judging from the footsteps, it was probably the husband of the original body, Han Hongtu, the male owner of this house.

　　”Come in.”

　　She shouted at the top of her lungs, and there was a bang at the door, followed by the sound of footsteps running away.

　　Gu Yan rolled her eyes at the broken door curtain. You dare to bully me? You only bully the weak. If the opposite person is stronger than you, you run faster than a rabbit.

　　Their home was not far from the canteen of the brigade, and more than ten minutes later the two children came back with food for the three of them, which was half a jar of cornmeal porridge that was not too thick.

　　There was no side dish, not even a pickle. The corn today is not improved, and it is ground with the skin and pulp when it is processed. The taste and texture are similar to the pig food of later generations.

　　Gu Yan sniffed it and found a smell of wheat bran. Well, this is standard pig food! The question is whether to eat it or not.

　　She hesitated for only a minute, then decisively divided the rice into three portions. The food that the eldest child brought was really evenly distributed, which made the two children look at her in confusion. Mom was nice when she wasn’t angry, but she was rarely this nice.

　　”Mom, you should eat more. You are an adult, and you are pregnant with our little brother. My sister and I only need to eat one bite.”

　　Eat only a bite? Then she suddenly remembered the original owner’s memory; these girls really got to eat so little; no wonder the two children are so skinny and pitiful. She handed the chopsticks made of mulberry branches to them and said,”Eat, mom will find a way to make sure we all have enough food in the future.”

　　Life was hard in the past, and their mother was often beaten, so she was never in a good mood. Now, such gentle and kind words touched them deeply.

　　”No, Mom, we’re not hungry. Eat more, or our little brother will make trouble for you again.”

　　These were the words of the original owner. Now that the child said them sincerely, Gu Yan didn’t know what it felt like. In this fucked-up era, people don’t have enough food or warm clothes, and there is no birth control. Women are forced to give birth to children like sows. Naturally, life is even harder.

　　”How about you take this, Mom?” Dahua carefully took out the compressed biscuit from last night from her collar and handed it to her, with a bit of reluctance on her rough face. But the action of handing it to her was firm.

　　” I will also give mine to mom too.” The second child always follows her elder sister’s lead. Seeing her elder sister giving to mom, she also took out her own treasures.

　　At this moment, Gu Yan realised that she was teary-eyed. She, who never shed tears at the critical moments of life and death, actually had water in her eyes again and again. She raised her hand to rub her eyes to force back the moisture, smiled, and touched the heads of the two children.

　　”Mom still has some biscuits; these are for you two. Eat them quickly with some porridge. After you’re full, go to the commune with mom. Mom is counting on you two to help carry things. You can’t do this on an empty stomach.”

　　”Mom, are you taking us to the commune?”

　　”Really?”

　　Seeing the child’s innocent eyes full of excitement, she smiled and nodded: “Really! We are going to the commune to get some newspapers to paste on the wall.”

　　”Okay, I’ll help mom get it. I’m strong enough.”

　　”I’ll help mom get it too.”

　　With her insistence, the two children ate most of the porridge with biscuits and the pickles she brought out. They will never forget the delicious taste of this simple meal of pickles and porridge. For the first time, they felt the happiness of being full.

　　”Delicious.”

　　”I’m full; it’s so comfortable.”

　　The two children’s innocent words made Gu Yan feel sad. Rubbing their little heads, she solemnly warned, “Don’t tell others what we eat, okay?”

　　She had already said this once before, and she was worried that the children would forget it, so she spoke again with concern. To raise a child, she would definitely have to use space, and if the two children didn’t know how to keep it secret, she would be in great danger.

　　Although she was not afraid with her ability, it would still be very troublesome to take care of several children. She was sent here because she complained about their original mother, so she naturally hoped that she was a responsible and good mother.

　　”I know, but I won’t tell anyone. Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t tell anyone even if they beat me.”

　　”I won’t tell them either.” The younger girl repeated after her sister and then added, “Grandma, Auntie, and Third Aunt would also hide things for their children to eat. I found out once. Mom, you have to be careful and hide the things well. It would be bad if Grandma found out and took them away.”

　　The elder girl nodded in agreement: “Yes, don’t let it be discovered. Wait until you give birth to our little brother. The adults say that giving birth to a baby will weaken the body, so you need to nourish it.”

　　Gu Yan chuckled and patted the two well-behaved children: “Don’t worry, no one can find mom’s things, so I’ll just give them to the three of us.”

　　That means there will be a next time. The two children’s eyes sparkled with excitement. They looked at her and nodded vigorously like chicks pecking at rice.

　　”Save it for you, mom.”

　　”Don’t let Dad know.”

　　They both spoke at the same time, their concern for the other half being the same. They were both worried that her mother would suffer. She reached out and took the children into her arms, kissed each of their heads, and spoke cheerfully.

　　”Okay, let’s go now.”

　　The mother and her two daughters locked the door before leaving. She went to the shed and took three straw hats, one for each of them. The rain was about to stop, so it was a good time to go out. As for the house, she had already cleaned it up so that no one would have any handle on it. The two daughters looked at the brand new straw hats and subconsciously glanced at the main room. The thoughtful second daughter looked back again when she left the door.

　　The shoes on the mother and her two daughters’ feet were rotten, but she dared not take out the clothes, shoes, and socks in the space, so they had to make do with them for now and wait until the autumn harvest was over and they had time to make shoes. According to her memory, she should be able to make them; after all, her original body was good at sewing.

　　Because of the rain, they didn’t meet many people on the road. Soon, the mother and her two daughters took a small road leading to the commune, walking forward step by step along the winding path.

　　”Mom, please hold me and use me as a crutch.” The elder daughter saw that she was unsteady on her feet due to her big belly, so she stood beside her and never left her side.

　　”Let’s use this stick.” The second daughter picked up a branch from somewhere and handed it to her. “It has three forks at the bottom, so it’s very stable.”

　　Gu Yan accepted her daughter’s kindness. The base of the stick could indeed provide leverage. “How do you know the trident is stable?”

　　The little girl was stumped by the question and didn’t answer for a long time. She smiled and touched the child’s head and was about to explain the trigonometric theorem to the child, but the little girl spoke instead.

　　”Three corners are the most stable. Other shapes can change sides, and once they change side, they will become unstable. Only the triangle will not change, and it is the most stable.”

　　Oh my god! Gu Yan turned her head to look at the little girl. She didn’t expect that this little girl was so smart and observant. She must be a good student in the future.

　　”Mom, am I wrong?”

　　Meeting the child’s timid eyes, she quickly spoke out her affirmation to prevent the child from falling into self-doubt and losing confidence.

“No, no you are right. Mom is just surprised that you are so smart.”

　　Historically, adults in this period liked to tease children. They would deny something clearly correct and would not let go until the child repeatedly affirmed it. In fact, this did not do any good except make the child lose confidence. It was an even more wrong move on such a timid child and would only make her develop an inferiority complex and cowardly character.

　　Sure enough, a child with low self-esteem and timidity needs encouragement. As soon as she said this, the child’s face turned red with excitement. She bit her lips shyly, and her big eyes sparkled as if little stars were falling into them.

　　”Mom is smart.”

　　Seeing that there was no one around, she took out three country eggs from her pocket (space) and handed one to each of them.

　　”Mom, what is this?”

　　”Mom, where did you get this from?”

　　”Egg.” She took the first bite. She showed an intoxicated expression. “Eat it quickly. Mom was taught magic tricks by a white-bearded grandfather the day before yesterday. This is something else.”

　　”Mom is so awesome.” The eldest child’s eyes widened.

　　”This egg is so delicious.” The second child has already taken a bite.

　　”Don’t tell…”

　　”Don’t tell anyone. I know. Magic is considered witchcraft. If anyone knows about it, they will hold a great meeting.”

　　In less than a day, the timid second daughter had already shown her smart side. This time, the eldest daughter nodded vigorously, and at the same time she was envious of her mother’s magic skills.