Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

The eldest, the second, and Old Man Chai picked up baskets and went to the back of their house to pick radishes. All of them were huge. The second child said, "Dad, they're all big." Old Man Chai said, "Then pick them all. You're stupid! I'm so smart, how come you don't look like me at all?" The second child said helplessly, "Why don't I look like you?" At this time, the eldest child had already picked up the basket and was heading back.

Old Lady Li heard the noise and came out to see what was happening. She saw her eldest son had already returned. He looked around the yard and said, "Let's go to the back of the kitchen. Walk west and lean against the wall."

Alas, the fourth brother soaked the straw, went into the water to carry the stones, and was soaked to the skin. He put down bundle after bundle, and after working for more than half an hour, he finally finished. He called his mother to boil water so that he could take a bath.

The fourth child finished washing up and was clean. He went to the west room to see his daughter. He picked up his daughter and went out. Old Lady Li called him back and said, "How can you go out when your child is too young? Go back to work." The fourth child said, "I'm soaked in it myself. I'm in the water. I muddy the water." Old Lady Li said, "You're still dissatisfied now? I'll let you go in and see when we fish in a few days!" Old Lady Li laughed slyly.

Old Lady Li asked the fourth child to come out, gave him a knife, and the wooden board used for cutting vegetables for the chickens. She came to the white radish. She demonstrated how to remove the roots and asked the fourth child to cut them. After cutting more than ten pieces, Old Lady Li carried them to another place against the wall and said, "Put the radishes in one pile and the vegetable leaves in another, separate them. I'll have your brother pour them out later, away from the wall." Old Lady Li then fetched a basket and carried it several times. The vegetable leaves were eaten by the chickens, and when there were no vegetables, people could eat them too. They were all good things and could be made into sauerkraut.

Old Lady Li left the fourth child behind and went back to the west room to do her needlework. Li Ru's cotton-padded jacket was finished, buttons fastened. She asked Li Ru to put it on. Wang Min, Baohua, and Old Lady Li looked on and laughed. There was another flower in the house. Li Ru was young and beautiful, and she was wearing the same clothes as the child! Old Lady Li said, "Put it on again. Wear a tight-fitting cotton undershirt inside. It's warmer this way. Try it. There are women and children in this room. Try it." The eldest son's wife also said so. Little Milk Bag blushed. "I forgot to buy my mother some panties!" So embarrassed. Little Milk Bag got anxious. Bags appeared on the bed. The women gathered around. Old Lady Li, Wang Min, and Zhang Baohua rushed to open them. They were stunned. They didn't know what they were. They tried to compare them on their clothes, but they didn't know where to put them. Li Ru looked. She felt like she was missing something. She opened a bag too, compared them, tugged at them, and saw they were elastic. She put them on her lower body and changed. First, she put on her underwear. Wang Min, Baohua, and Old Lady Li stared at her, their eyes still. Then they put on their cotton underwear, and finally their cotton pants. The little girl clapped her hands, saying, "That's right, Mommy, you've got it right!" Li Ru felt comfortable and warm, no need to cover herself with a quilt. Old Lady Li said, "Put on a single layer on the outside to protect the cotton clothes! They're easy to wash." This way, she's warm and clean, and she won't be cold in the winter. Li Ru's cotton clothes were ready, both inside and out. Several people thought, "Adults are better at resisting the cold." "Let's make some quilts." Old Lady Li thought, "Old Man Chai's four sons will still be cold at night." "Okay," Old Lady Li decided to make quilts. She called her two daughters-in-law to get cloth and cotton. They went to Old Lady Li's room, and Old Lady Li went under the kang, found some durable floral cloth, handed out two pieces, and then took out some white cloth. She also brought out a large bag of cotton. She carried it to the west room. Old Lady Li blocked the kang hole and closed the door tightly.

The outer layer was a floral fabric, a small green floral print. Old Lady Li wondered what size to cut and asked her daughter-in-law. Li Ru said, "Mom, look at my quilt. It's bigger than this one. No matter how big you think it is, a man can cover himself comfortably. A quilt that's too big won't cover him." Old Lady Li: "Right." Old Lady Li cut six pieces. The white lining, the hem was a finger or two too large. She also cut six pieces. Old Lady Li folded the remaining fabric and put it back in her room.

The three of them spread out the plastic sheeting, then the white cloth. Old Lady Li spread out the flowers, feeling the thickness. The flowers were layered. She had forgotten to use a scale, so she'd weigh them. "Lay it thicker. Whoever's afraid of the cold can cover themselves!" Spread out the flowered cloth. "Let's do it." "Precious Flowers." Wang Min went to get a scale and weighed the flowers. "Put them in five piles."

Another quilt was spread out. Old Lady Li said, "Let's do it, just the two of us." Half an hour later, it was ready. They touched and touched it, covering their faces, speechless with excitement. They folded it and put it on the kang. Wang Min went back to sewing with Zhang Baohua, and they were done quickly. The man could use it tonight. The whole family wouldn't be cold anymore!

In one afternoon, all six quilts were finished. Old Lady Li said, "Let's put on the covers." She went to get six covers and sewed the edges. By nightfall, all the covers were sewn! Everyone in the room burst into laughter. She said, "Let's take the daughter-in-law away." Old Lady Li wrapped San'er's quilt and placed it in the kang. She tidied the room.

The two daughters-in-law cooked dinner, and Grandma Li came to see how the fourth daughter-in-law was doing! She went out to the fields again and picked two cabbages. When she got home, Grandma Li cooked for the fourth daughter-in-law on a low fire. She also took out a large piece of meat and stewed the cabbage, mushrooms and meat, adding more water. Grandma Li went to knead the dough and rolled noodles by hand. The two daughters-in-law made pumpkin and millet porridge with yellow flour cakes in it. They ate it with relish. She also mixed some pickled carrots and added a lot of seasonings. Grandma Li finished cooking three bowls of noodles. She told the two daughters-in-law to take it to the children, and Grandma Li also took it to Li Ru. Grandma Li held Guoguo. Li Ru told the child to eat her fill and said, "Mom, Guo has just eaten, don't shake." Grandma Li sat on the kang, holding the child. She looked at her granddaughter. She laughed, "She's only ten days old, but she looks so good." Little Milk Bag played with her brother all afternoon and was now sleepy. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. Grandma Li put the child down and covered her with a quilt. I went to get a large bundle of firewood, put it in the kang hole and lit it. It was dark and the house was cold, so I had to light a fire at night.

Old Lady Li went to the back of the house and scooped up a pile of radish tops, a mountain of large white radishes! The men worked until midnight. The wife served the meal, and everyone ate. Old Lady Li didn't eat. Instead, she carried some firewood to her room to heat the kang, letting her son, Old Chaitou, rest for a while. She lifted the quilt covering the kang and lay down on the hay. No need to wash it. A heated kang wouldn't be cold.

Afterward, Old Lady Li gathered some radish tops and covered them on the radishes to keep them moist. She then went to the east end of the yard and gathered some moist soil, covering them with a thin layer. She finished her work before eating. She planned to pull some more radish strips and dry them tomorrow.

After the kitchen maid cleaned up, Old Lady Li washed her own dishes and went to the west room. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went to talk. They discussed making cotton-padded clothes for the adults, a thick cotton-padded jacket for little Guoguo, and the two grandchildren. Women also had to weave and spin yarn. They made clothes and quilts for the kang, and other household necessities. Li Ru remembered her mother saying to Old Lady Li, "Mom, I want a piece of transparent cloth for Mom. It's dark in the house today, and Mom's eyesight is poor, so sewing is a pain. Can you come and see Mom?" Old Lady Li said, "Of course, sure." Tomorrow... Old Lady Li thought about the three daughters-in-law. She said, "Tomorrow night, let the fourth daughter-in-law go and take it." She then said to the eldest and second daughters-in-law, "All of them have their families. They're not close, but they're not far either. The fourth daughter-in-law's is the closest, about ten miles away, and an hour's drive would be quick. A bullock cart would take half an hour, a horseback ride would take fifteen minutes, and that's fast." The eldest and second daughters-in-law's families are farther away. They'll both take two hours, or half a day. They're in the direction of the county town. Southeast. The eldest and second daughters-in-law said, "Mom, you're free now. You're busy at home and your parents' home is far away, so it'll take a day." Old Mrs. Li said, "That's fine. Tell Mom when you're going back." They sat for a while longer. It was almost midnight, so they said, "Let's go get them." The second daughter-in-law left.