Divorced woman with child travels through time

Uncle Liu and Dazhuang pushed a wheelbarrow to help Chen Wenfang deliver her things home, and left without even drinking a drop of water.

Chen Wenfang was also embarrassed, but it was getting late and she had no choice but to pack up her things. She lit an oil lamp, boiled some water, laid out a straw mat, and then a bed sheet. The straw mat was very soft, even without a pillow. After a long day, she quickly washed up and went to sleep.

Chen Wenfang slept soundly through the night. Upon waking, she planned to make cornbread. She had bought oil yesterday, but almost forgot to buy salt. Luckily, Aunt Liu had gone with her and bought two jin (approximately 1 kg) of salt, which she packed in a jar. She also bought a jin (approximately 0.5 kg) of sugar. This sugar wasn't like the granulated sugar of her previous life; it was more like jelly. The salt wasn't too expensive, only ten wen (approximately 3.5 yuan) per jin, but the sugar was much more expensive, thirty wen per jin. After some haggling, she managed to get a two-wen discount.

Put the cornmeal in a pot and knead it well. Take it out and put it in a bowl. Add some sugar, cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest. Heat the pan, pour in a little oil, and cook over low heat. Knead the dough into small cakes and stick them to the side of the pan. Fry them until they can be easily moved with a spatula. Flip them over, slide them across the bottom of the pan to coat them with oil, and then push them to the side of the pan. Fry each cake until both sides are coated with oil and until golden brown. The rich aroma of the oil and sugar mixture after heating up bursts out and is especially tempting. Chen Xuanyu, who was sleeping, came over while wearing his shoes.

"Mom, I'm hungry," Chen Xuanyu wrinkled his little nose, "It smells so good."

"Alright, alright, go wash your face, brush your teeth, and eat some pancakes," Chen Wenfang said with a smile.

Chen Xuanyu chewed up a willow twig that Chen Wenfang had broken off, rubbed it in his mouth, then quickly splashed water on his face before running over and saying, "Mom, I'm done washing."

Chen Wenfang looked at him amusedly, "You're such a little rascal," and handed him the pancake, saying, "Eat slowly, be careful it's hot."

"Mmm," Chen Xuanyu mumbled incoherently.

After lunch, Chen Wenfang took a bag of selfheal and a bag of dandelion, and went to Aunt Liu's house with her child. Last time, she planned to buy a wooden bucket at the market, and Aunt Liu said that Wangjiazhuang had some, which was closer and more convenient to bring home. Chen Wenfang had never been there by herself, so she asked Aunt Liu to take her, and Aunt Liu readily agreed.

When they arrived at Aunt Liu's house, they handed her two packets of herbal medicine and explained how to use them. The weather was getting warmer, and drinking some herbal tea would help prevent heatstroke. Aunt Liu was very grateful. Farmers don't know much about medicine, and there are quite a few people suffering from heatstroke in the countryside during the autumn harvest. If something serious happens, it takes a long time to get a doctor. They initially befriended Chen Wenfang because they thought the two families were close and neighbors should help each other. They didn't expect Chen Wenfang to be so quick-witted and capable. As a result, the two families became closer and closer.

Uncle Liu Hai had already gone to work in the fields, and he was worried about leaving the three kids at home. So Chen Wenfang, along with Aunt Liu and Aunt Liu's two children, Dazhuang and Shitou, a group of five, set off for Wangjiazhuang. Dazhuang, being fast, ran a few steps ahead to the fields to tell Uncle Liu Hai.

After navigating a large bend around a hill leading to Dayaoshan (Big Medicine Mountain), and walking about two miles, you'll reach Chen Wenfang's house. It's locked up tight; she bought a lock after accumulating a lot of new things. After all, making money isn't easy.

After passing Chen Wenfang's house and going around a large bend in the hill, walk for about three miles and cross the river to reach Wangjiazhuang. It is probably a custom since ancient times that almost every village in China has a carpenter. The carpenter in Wangjiazhuang is named Wang Fugui. He does all the carpentry work in the surrounding villages. He is proficient in making everything from wooden buckets and basins to tables, benches, cabinets, and coffins. He can make all kinds of wood, and his prices are reasonable. He earns a little money for his work.

Chen Wenfang ordered a large wooden tub, bought three wooden basins, a table, four benches, and a cutting board for chopping vegetables. This nearly depleted his copper coins. He then had Wang the carpenter deliver a wooden plank and found a local scholar to write the name "Chen Family Herbal Tea" on it, making it easier to sell the herbal tea later. He knew that selling herbs as herbal tea would definitely be better than selling them as medicine; Chen Wenfang was quite adept at understanding people's psychology.