Divorced woman with child travels through time

The house was actually very simple. A large communal bed made of earthen bricks and a dilapidated cabinet were all the furniture in the room. Next to it was a kitchen, and around it was a small cubicle that was the toilet. That was all.

Big Bear led everyone into the room. On the shared bed was a tattered quilt with frayed edges. Little Grass happily rushed over, grabbed the quilt, and said, "I won't be cold sleeping tonight!"

Mao Mao was placed on the bed by Da Xiong and wrapped in a blanket. The instant warmth made him curiously rummage through the blanket. Seeing this, Chu Yi put Xiao Dou Ya into the blanket as well.

Chengcheng and Daxiong looked around the room. Apart from a few small holes in the windows, everything else was fine. Tietou mischievously opened the cabinet and found that there was nothing inside, but since it could be opened and closed normally, it was usable.

Seeing that everyone had finished reading, Chu Yi took out five taels of silver from his pocket and handed it to Da Xiong, saying, "Take this money and take them to buy some warm clothes and firewood so they can heat up the kang (heated brick bed) at night and not be cold."

Big Bear looked at him in surprise, "This? Give it to me!"

"Yes." Chu Yi stuffed it into his hand. "I, Chu Yi, keep my word. You can stay here without worry."

Big Bear took the money and said with some respect, "Okay, I'll acknowledge you as my big brother today. Don't worry about anything in the future, I'll definitely do my best."

Chu Yi nodded and said, "Alright then, you decide what to do. I'm going back now, I have to go to work." With that, Chu Yi left.

Big Bear looked at the room full of little kids, their eyes sparkling as they stared at the silver in his hand, and said with a smile, "Come on, touch it. From now on, we won't have to beg for food anymore; we can buy our own pancakes!"

The little grass touched it carefully; she had never touched money before, not even copper coins.

The others also came over and carefully touched the silver, as if afraid of damaging it. Except for the wooden block, he remained sitting blankly on the kang, staring at the persimmon tree outside.

After handling the silver, the children were all satisfied and squeezed together on the kang (a heated brick bed) to discuss what to buy.

Big Bear lay comfortably with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed. "Little Sprout, what do you want to eat tomorrow?"

"I want to eat meat buns. Hot, oily buns," Little Sprout said excitedly.

"What about Mao Mao? What does Mao Mao want to eat?"

Mao Mao answered timidly, "I want to eat Sachima."

"Where's Xiao Yi? What would you like to eat?"

"I want to eat meat," Xiao Yi said loudly.

"Chengcheng and Xiaocao, what do you want to eat?" Big Bear asked patiently.

Chengcheng moved his mouth but didn't speak. Xiaocao spoke up, "Big Bear, we need to be careful with our money. We can't use it all at once. What if Brother Chuyi thinks we eat too much and can't afford to feed us, and stops giving us money?"

Big Bear paused for a moment, then stammered, "He shouldn't be like that, he seems like a real man."

Chengcheng added, "Xiaocao is right. He's just a kid. It must cost him a lot of money to rent this house, and he's supporting so many of us. What if his family finds out and asks us to pay them back?"

The children fell silent, then Tie Tou blurted out, "We've already spent the money, how are we going to pay it back?"

Big Bear sighed and said, "Let's be more frugal and buy what we need first. We should do as Chu Yi said. You're all not in good health and can't stand the cold. Chengcheng, you have a good memory. Remember that he gave us five taels of silver this time. Remember that next time. If we really have to pay it back, we'll do it when we grow up."

Chengcheng nodded, and Da Xiong said again, "Chengcheng and Xiaocao, let's go shopping together." Chengcheng is smart, so it won't hurt to bring him along. Xiaocao is meticulous and remembers everything clearly, so nothing will be forgotten. Tietou is fierce, so staying home and watching over them will prevent anyone from bullying them.

After making the arrangements, Da Xiong took the two of them out to town and bought a lot of things. Because there were many people, even though they tried to save money and were very frugal, the clothes they bought were secondhand clothes that others didn't want, which still cost more than one tael of silver. Although the secondhand clothes didn't fit very well, Xiao Cao spent a few coins to buy needles and thread, so they could alter them later.

In the rented room at night, under the yellowish glow of the oil lamp with its wisps of black smoke, on the yellowed earthen bed and the gray tattered quilt, several little heads with black, scraggly hair huddled together, watching the sensible Xiaocao and Chengcheng clumsily sewing up the holes in their old clothes, stitch by stitch.

Big Bear was burning firewood in the kitchen. Because he was trying to save money, he bought firewood that wasn't very dry. He thought that the drier the firewood, the longer it would burn. He didn't expect it to be so hard to light. It took him a lot of effort to get it burning.

After a while, Big Bear, looking smoky, called out from the kitchen doorway, "Is the kang (heated brick bed) warm yet?"

"It's hot, it's hot."

"It's really hot!" the children exclaimed excitedly. Even the usually silent, wooden face broke into a smile.

"Hehe." Big Bear added a few more pieces of wood. He heard from the shop assistant that it was already Frost's Descent and the temperature would probably drop again tonight. Luckily, they came in time on the first day of the lunar new year. Today they bought paper to cover the windows, old clothes, a few jars and bowls to boil water, and heated the kang (a heated brick bed). They would be able to get a good night's sleep tonight.

Big Bear heated the kang (a traditional heated bed), then squeezed into the warm quilts his friends had prepared. It was so cozy! Little Grass, who was afraid of the cold, slept right in the middle, with the two smallest ones, Little Hair and Little Sprout, next to him. The warm air from the kang spread to every part of their bodies. It was so comfortable! The children all fell into a deep sleep.

They came again on the second day of the first lunar month. Seeing their old clothes, they didn't say anything, but left a large bag of food and then left.

On the third day, Zhang Cuishan and his brother delivered a thousand catties of peanuts, paid on the spot, and went home happily.

The oil paper that Chen Wenfang ordered also arrived. After receiving it from Chen's shop, Aunt Liu and the female workers from the village finished making more than 500 pieces in three days. The rest were put into the warehouse for later use.

Time passed day by day, and Chen Wenfang's peanut brittle was finally made. Peanut brittle is simple to make. First, peel the peanuts, put the peanut kernels in the oven to roast until cooked, then peel off the skins, crush them with a rolling pin, add syrup and a little salt, stir well, put it into a mold while it's hot, spread it out and flatten it, and then cut it into pieces after it cools down. It's crispy and delicious, and quite sweet, but it's still quite popular with people who like sweet things. Most importantly, it's very durable for transportation.

Chen Wenfang sent another jin to Jiang Mingyue, and a few days later Jiang Mingyue sent word that she had ordered 500 jin.

The customers were very supportive. Although they didn't quite believe that the peanuts could be stored for half a year, they placed orders of fifty or one hundred catties each, trusting Chen Niangzi's cooperation. Orders poured in like snowflakes. In less than two months, more than half of the several thousand catties of peanuts had been consumed. Wang Erniu finally discovered Chu Yi's secret.

"What did you say? He wants to train thugs?" Wang Erniu asked in surprise. This kid has some nerve.

It took Wang Hanyang quite a while to figure out that the kid had a strong sense of counter-surveillance.

“Yes.” Wang Hanyang smiled and said, “This kid is looking around for skilled martial artists, trying to find a teacher for those kids. He went to Qi Heng’s place, and after his people told him, he asked someone to send me the message.”

Since Wang Erniu got married and invited Qi Heng and Xiong Dajia, the relationship between the group has improved, and they have started to visit each other more often.