Divorced woman with child travels through time

By early October, it was already quite cold. Chuyi and Shiwu had been at Chen Wenfang's house for half a month, making them the real trio. Shitou and Chen Xuanyu were the happiest, as there were even more people playing games now. Dazhuang didn't play with them much anymore, instead working odd jobs in town with Uncle Liu Hai.

After dinner that day, Chen Wenfang always made a simple meal: two pan-fried poached eggs for each person, then hand-pulled noodles, stir-fried cured pork, boiled water, and then noodles with some cabbage leaves. She scooped the noodles out bowl by bowl, topped them with poached eggs, sprinkled some chopped green onions, and poured some hot soup over them. It was delicious and wouldn't cause indigestion.

Chen Wenfang ate two eggs and a small bowl of noodles before feeling full. Chen Xuanyu was the same; Shiwu ate more, finishing two small bowls of noodles, and Chuyi ate a large bowl, but didn't seem full. Chen Wenfang said, "You can eat the rest, otherwise it'll be a waste to feed the chickens." Chuyi nodded, and Chen Wenfang filled his bowl with the remaining noodles, which was almost a large bowl. Afraid he would overeat, she said, "Don't eat if you can't eat anymore, or you'll get indigestion."

"I can eat it, Aunt Chen," Chu Yi replied earnestly. As if to prove that she was telling the truth, Chu Yi quickly finished the second bowl of noodles, not leaving a drop of soup.

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "It's good that it's edible."

After finishing his noodles, Chu Yi immediately stood up and helped clear the table and wash the dishes, his hands and feet moving nimbly. He didn't even let Chen Wenfang help. Whenever Chen Wenfang said, "Let me do it," Chu Yi would launch into a long lecture about how one should be grateful and that washing dishes is only right since he eats for free every day. He didn't act like a child at all, so Chen Wenfang let him be and wiped the table herself, while the two younger children put away their chairs.

After dinner, Chen Wenfang closed the courtyard gate. In winter, it gets dark early, so everyone washed their hands and feet, brushed their teeth, and went to bed early. However, Chen Wenfang usually felt that going to bed at six or seven o'clock was too early. After washing up, she would have the three children, still in their undergarments, crawl onto the kang (heated brick bed). She would tell them stories and teach them math for about an hour before they went to sleep.

Today was the same. The kang (a heated brick bed) was now covered with a thick straw mat, then a quilt, then a sheet, and finally a thick cotton quilt. The weather was cold, and it looked like frost would appear in a few days, so Chen Wenfang also took out the thick cotton quilt.

Still in the side room, the three little ones listened quietly as Chen Wenfang told them the story of the Three Kingdoms. He had started with Journey to the West, but worried it would be too sensational, and considering Chen Wenfang's own less-than-ideal memory, he switched to the Three Kingdoms. In his previous life, Chen Wenfang had been particularly fond of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms; he had even heard someone telling stories about it at a restaurant during a market trip, so he bought a copy of the Records of the Three Kingdoms at the bookstore. Upon returning, he began telling the three little ones the story.

It was only after visiting the bookstore that Chen Wenfang learned about the history of this region. The current dynasty is also the Song Dynasty, but it changed under Emperor Lizong (Zhao Yun). His son, Zhao Wei, inherited the throne and vigorously promoted agriculture, planting imported species. He mandated the cultivation of cotton, peanuts, and sweet potatoes. Although he reigned for only five years, he saved countless lives. Especially in the north, cotton significantly reduced the number of deaths during the winter. Therefore, after his death, he was posthumously known as Emperor Dezong. Now it is the twelfth year of Dezong's reign; he has only worked diligently for five years to revive the nearly dead Song Dynasty.

Chen Wenfang strongly suspected he had traveled from the past, since he actually thought of developing crops first to lay a solid foundation for the people. Otherwise, he wouldn't have died so quickly; he must have traveled back in time. Chen Wenfang could barely recognize the characters used in the Song Dynasty, but he struggled a bit without proper punctuation. He pieced together the explanation for them by looking at the book, adding his own understanding, and incorporating elements from the TV dramas he had watched.

At times like this, Chen Wenfang would reminisce about her free teacher, Zhao Lue, only then realizing that he also shared the surname Zhao—a royal surname, after all. She had done so many things for him. But it didn't matter now. He probably wouldn't appear again.

Chen Wenfang started by telling them about the Shu Kingdom, as she, being a Han Chinese, loved the Shu Kingdom. Following the plot of the TV series, she gave them a general account of how Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei met, and then talked about the Oath of the Peach Garden. She hoped that her three adopted children would love each other. Sure enough, as soon as Chen Wenfang finished, the three children were moved to tears. Chen Xuanyu was particularly excited, throwing off the covers and jumping up, "Come on, come on, there are three of us too, let's become sworn brothers!"

"Go inside, or you'll catch a cold." Chen Wenfang rolled up a book and tapped him on the head. This intimidated the eager Fifteenth. The First, however, remained unmoved, lying obediently with the blanket still in place, not even lifting the corner of the blanket. Only at this moment did Chen Wenfang realize that he was still a child.

"That's all for today. Go to sleep early, okay?" Chen Wenfang tucked the blanket around Shiwu. "I'm taking Xuanzai over there. You guys get some sleep. There's a bedpan in the room, so you don't need to go out. It's cold now, so don't catch a cold."

The first and fifteenth children nodded obediently. Chen Wenfang blew out the light, picked up Chen Xuanyu, and carried him back to the room.

Chen Xuanyu, still perched on Chen Wenfang's shoulder, waved to the two people on the bed and said, "Goodnight!"

On the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, they said goodnight together. Chen Wenfang closed the door.