Chapter 3

“Mother, I got the mantou,” Sun Xiu said softly.

Han Qiao smiled gently and said, “Come here, let’s eat.”

Each of them had two mantou to eat and a bowl of thin porridge to drink. The three children wolfed down the mantou as though they were dining at a feast.

“Mother, the mantou is so delicious.” Sun Ke’s face was full of joy. She chewed and swallowed like a little mouse, taking one big bite after another.

Han Qiao could not make any promises.

But in her heart, she secretly swore that she would give her children a better life. Then her time in this strange world would not be wasted.

The ten mantou were split evenly between the four of them.

But after the three children ate one and a half mantou, they refused to eat the last one. They wanted to save it for that night.

“Eat it. We’re having white rice and fried meat tonight.”

Sun Ke tilted her head. “Mother, we don’t have any rice or meat at home.”

“I’ll do a magic trick for you in a bit.” Han Qiao rubbed her daughter’s head.

Despite the pain, Han Qiao forced herself out of the bed. She exercised a little to get her spirits a little more used to it. Then, she slowly stepped out of the house.

The Sun family’s courtyard wasn’t that small, but it couldn’t be considered large either.

It had three main rooms. In the middle was the central room. To the left and right of that were two rooms, one for the husband and wife, and one for Sun Yiming’s study. The courtyard entrance faced the main door of the central room.

The three daughters lived in the room to the left. The one to the right held the kitchen. A well was in the corner and latrine the backyard, where there was also a small vegetable garden. The produce from the garden had all been taken by Sun Yiming and given away. It was barren now.

This time, Sun Yiming was going to make the family suffer. First, he often bought meals and drinks for friends without being able to pay, and second, there was nothing for the family to sell for funds.

Han Qiao took a deep breath.

She had to eat and drink her fill so as to recover her strength. When the time came, it would be an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Han Qiao glanced around the house. There was nothing of any value.

Well, not exactly nothing.

She stepped into Sun Yiming’s study.

The guy was actually very poor. His bookshelves were utterly barren; not a single book was kept there. The only books–ten of them–were kept in a wooden box and were very well taken care of.

In the books was written out, in traditional characters, the Thousand Character Classic.

She reached out and flipped through the pages. She recognized a few characters, but really it was only a few.

From what she remembered, these were Sun Yiming’s own handwritten copies. She had to admit that this dog’s handwriting was pretty good.

She wondered how much they would go for. She wanted to try it out, so instead of taking all of them, she just took one.

“Xiu, I’m going out for a while. You stay at home and take care of your two younger sisters.”

“Mother, I’ll go with you,” Sun Xiu said quietly.

Han Qiao thought about it and looked at Sun Yi. “Dear Yi, you stay at home and watch Ke.”

Sun Yi didn’t have anything else to say, only nodded.

“Mother, I’ll obey my second sister and not run around. Mother and eldest sister will come back soon,” Sun Ke said quickly.

Han Qiao patted Sun Ke’s head and brought Sun Xiu out.

Sun Xiu didn’t ask where Han Qiao was going.

Just as before, she followed her silently.

Han Qiao relied on her memory to find the bookstore.

Along the way, she was already making plans. If the books could not be sold, she would go to the restaurant and sell vegetables.

Watching her mother disappear into the bookstore, Sun Xiu gasped widely and hurried after her.

When she entered the bookstore, she bumped into Heng Yi, who had just been leaving.

When their eyes met, Heng Yi quickly averted his gaze. He refused to look at anything that appeared indecent.

Han Qiao, on the other hand, sized up the tall and mighty man in front of her. His shoulders were wide, his waist was narrow, and his buttocks were pretty.

With a body like that, there was really nothing to say.

Also, his appearance was bright and very refreshing. His face exuded virtue, and he appeared to be a sincere, proper man.

From what she could recall, she knew that he was the fifth son of the Heng family next door. He usually went into the mountains to hunt.

He was as silent as a statue, the kind of person who wouldn’t even fart.

“Fifth Uncle Heng,” Sun Xiu said his name softly.

Heng Yi looked at the mother and daughter and responded with a faint grunt. Then, he walked away without stopping. He got out of there so quickly that Han Qiao was left speechless.

What a good thing it is to be young.

Running the bookstore was a middle-aged man. He was dressed elegantly and it was evident that he was a very learned man. When he saw Han Qiao enter in such an unsightly manner, he frowned a little but did not chase her away.

Instead, he asked with the utmost politeness, “Madam, can I interest you in anything?”

“Shopkeeper, I would like to sell this handwritten copy of the Thousand Character Classic. Please take a look. Will you take it here?” Han Qiao said as she handed the book over.

The shopkeeper glanced at Han Qiao and then looked at Sun Xiu, who had followed her in.

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The two cut a sorry figure. One look was enough to tell that they were desperately impoverished. He figured the family had fallen on hard times and brought the book in to get money for food.

“Let me take a look.”

The shopkeeper took the book.

The book was kept very well. When he opened the book and looked at the handwriting, the shopkeeper was somewhat satisfied.

The handwriting wasn’t bad. It was neat and clean and lacked a single mistake.

A new copy of Thousand Character Classic would cost between six or seven hundred coins. An old copy in this condition would be worth considerably less. Still, it was better than nothing.

“I’ll take it for 200 coins. If it’s alright with you, I’ll give you the money here.”

Sun Xiu’s eyes were filled with shock.

200 words…

Han Qiao was much calmer. She said calmly, “I’ll sell it.”

Two hundred coins for a book.

Han Qiao knew there still must have been ten books or more back at home. The length of each was different, and so some were thick and others thin. Hence the prices she could get for them would also vary. If she sold all of them to buy food, the four of them wouldn’t go hungry for the time being.

After a month and a half–by which time her body should have fully recovered–she would try her hardest to work and earn some money.

The two left the bookstore with money in hand,

“Mother?” Sun Xiu said carefully as she clinged to Han Qiao.

Two hundred coins. They would hardly earn a hundred coins a month for making the paper dolls, and that meant waking up early and working through the whole day.

“Let’s go buy some rice grains and some seeds. We’ll dig up the land in the backyard and plant them. We need to buy a lump of soap to clean up with. We’ll also buy you, Yi, and Ke some red string for your hair.”

Up to then the three children had used cloth strips to tie their hair. They looked really pitiful.

“…” Sun Xiu’s mouth was wide open.

Buying red string was something that she didn’t even dare to think about.

“Go and buy some vegetables and meat. We’ll have a good meal tonight.”

Han Qiao didn’t give Sun Xiu any time to react. She brought her to buy ten catties of rice and five of flour. Remembering there wasn’t much salt in the house, she weighed out another catty of salt. A hundred cash coins were gone just like that.

Sun Xiu was desperate for money. Her heart was pumping.

“Mother, we’ll be just fine with coarse grains. Don’t buy rice and white flour.” Sun Xiu was extremely conflicted.

She wanted to eat white rice and white flour steamed buns.

But even if she bought them, they would not be able to eat them at home. Her father would find them and they would be gone.

Han Qiao stroked Sun Xiu’s head.

“Don’t backtalk me.”

She also went off to find the soap.

Soap was expensive. Twenty cash coins per lump. Sun Xiu was pained to watch Han Qiao buy one along with a jar of shampoo. She just spent another twenty-five coins.

She bought two catties of pork, one big bone. There went another twenty-one coins. She also spent ten coins on the seeds. Ten coins on ten eggs. The rest were spent on three big pumpkins, a handful of scallions, a few green cucumbers, and a bundle of vegetables. With the remaining three cents she bought three pieces of red string.

Not a single coin of the original 200 was left.

Carrying all the things, Sun Xiu felt weak all over. She felt like she couldn’t walk.

“Mother…”

Han Qiao looked at Sun Xiu’s worried face and smiled. “Don’t forget about all the books still left at home. When we sell them, they will turn into money.”

“Mother still wants to sell books?”

Sun Xiu was stunned.

“Of course we’ll sell them. Those books are just sitting in a box waiting to be insect food. It would be better for us to use them to feed ourselves.”

“But, but…” Sun Xiu was still upset.

After all, those books were her father’s livelihood.

“And I won’t just sell those books. When your father comes back, I want him to write more for me.”

There was a man at home who could use his talents to make money, yet didn’t. How could they let him sit there and rust?

When they returned home and saw all the things they bought, Sun Yi and Sun Ke were stunned.

Han Qiao took out the red string. Sun Yi’s eyes were full of shock and disbelief.

Sun Ke was dancing with joy.

“Mother, Mother, you’re the best!”

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She had always dreamed of having some red string to tie up her hair with.

Sun Xiu and Sun Yi naturally wanted some too, but they understood how things were and never asked for some.

“Xiu, Yi, help me get water and start the fire. You two wash yourselves first, and Mother will comb your hair,” Han Qiao chirped.

She would do the work herself, but her body was still very painful.

She had been enduring it this entire time. Now, all she wanted was a good rest.