Speaking of which, she applied the same method and stuffed the surplus directly into Jin’s hands.
"I still have some substandard fabric bought two years ago. If Shuniang needs it, I’ll also give some."
Upon hearing this, Jin couldn’t hold back her emotions and kept nodding. Their clothes had been worn for almost a year, the ones outside were already tattered, and while the inner layers were slightly better, they were also in poor shape.
"Alright, I’ll bring them over later... In our village, there are a few families good at weaving. I’ll introduce you to them later; if they have any extras, they might be willing to sell."
Qi nodded, thinking of adding another comment mainly because Zhao’s household was in tatters, even their bedding was beyond repair.
The fabrics at home were stockpiled by the daughter before, who bought all the off-season, poor-selling, and slightly moldy fabrics from a shop. This doesn’t even include those stockpiled intentionally later.
In short, their family changes into new clothes all year round, and the stockpiled fabric would last them a lifetime.
While there’s plenty, she can’t take them out, so Qi offered to introduce Jin to villagers.
Of course, she also gave her two younger sisters two pieces each from her parents’ house. These are the final gestures she as a daughter could make for that family.
"That’s wonderful, thank you, sis." While expressing gratitude, Jin took out a small silver coin and handed it to Qi nervously, softly saying: "Sis, listen to me, you must accept this. I’m saying, if... if your family has extra salt, could you share a little with me?"
Their family’s salt was long gone, and for the past two months, they’ve relied on a piece of salty cloth to last, putting it in their mouths for a taste when needed, but it’s simply not enough. This lack led to their family’s constant fatigue. Luckily, their child’s father had foresight, taking steps early on to leave the initial mountain they were staying. Otherwise, looking at their current state, they would’ve been consumed by others.
Seeing Qi remain silent, thinking she was put in a difficult position, Jin quickly added: "It’s okay if there isn’t any, I just thought I’d ask."
Jin’s eyes flashed with a hint of disappointment but no dissatisfaction, for she understood that the disaster had lasted over a year. Salt was indispensable, and even though Hua Village wasn’t greatly affected, there might not have been much.
She planned, once settled, in a few days to acquaint herself with villagers and see if she could buy some salt from them. A little from each would accumulate enough to temporarily overcome their difficulties.
Noticing her son’s teacher’s wife’s nervousness, Qi laughed: "Don’t worry, we have some coarse salt at home..."
"Anything would be fine," Jin looked at Qi with surprise, nodding quickly. In such circumstances, coarse salt or even used salty cloth from others wouldn’t be rejected.
"Alright, I’ll bring some later... Would you like... sugar?" Qi said, empathetically looking at the two children beside her.
"Yes, yes, yes," Jin replied, even more surprised, only managing to nod.
"Okay, I’ll head back to get it." This time, Qi didn’t refuse the silver coin, took it and left quickly.
Jin, who hadn’t felt kindness in a long time, watched the hurriedly departing figure with teary eyes.
Seeing this, Hua’s old lady laughed, "Don’t worry about her, she’ll be back soon. Let me help you tidy up, where should these things go..."
Hua’s old lady pointed to the items they brought, along with those her grandsons helped transport and put in the hall.
"Auntie, you’ve been busy for a while now. Please sit and rest, there isn’t much, I can tidy it myself." Jin, feeling embarrassed, quickly said, not wanting the elder Hua’s old lady to work further.
Hua’s old lady couldn’t be bothered to say more, instead directly demonstrated through her actions.
Meanwhile, Qi quickly returned to her wooden house, picking and choosing amongst the items. She packed half a pound of coarse salt, an ounce of sugar, filled a bowl with pickled vegetables, and after some thought also took out four eggs from the cupboard, along with a piece of gray fabric.
Don’t ask where the eggs came from; ask and the answer is there are some chickens at home they’ve never had the heart to kill. Not just her family, many in the village with chickens, keep them, as they only need a basket to live, unlike pigs and sheep which need larger spaces.
Seeing these items, Jin was speechless. These were all valuable things, things money couldn’t buy, especially the sight of several eggs in the basket, leaving even Zhao, the dignified man of the household, choking with emotion.
Seeing it was about time, Hua Chengtian and Qi didn’t linger at the Zhao family, declining the couple’s invitation and taking the children home.
Zhao Ji’an and Zhao Jixiang, the two children meanwhile became acquainted with the beautiful sister and the brother with endless ideas, showing reluctance when they were about to leave.
"Ji’an brother, Jixiang sister, if you have time, come play with us. The place is the house we told you about," Xiao Si shouted to his new friends.
Zhao Ji’an instinctively looked at his father, who nodded smilingly, prompting Ji’an to nod quickly.
"Ji’an, go find brother and sister if you want, but remember to be polite and sensible, understood?"
"Father rest assured..." Zhao Ji’an, mature for his age, nodded.
On the other side, Hua Chengtian and Qi didn’t go home but let their mother return to rest and went to the neighboring house, the wooden house of Grandma Sun.
At this moment, Sun Erliang and the now-mobile Sun Siliang were inside cleaning up.
The two brothers hadn’t left since their injuries, staying together during the migration to the valley. Before, Qi Xiu intended to come help, as there were children at Zhao’s place while the father and son went to help; however, the two brothers insisted that they handle the cleaning themselves, saying it was Yun Ao and his brother’s teacher who deserved attention, while the mother needed to go.
After having been convinced, Qi went along, partly because Grandma Sun’s house indeed had plenty of help.
When they brought the children over, Grandma Sun hadn’t moved over yet. Upon seeing the inside of the wooden house now cleaned up, Hua Chengtian and Sun Erliang took Hua Yunao and his brother directly up the mountain to help.
Qi, Hua Jin, and Xiao Si stayed in the yard with the not-yet-fully-recovered Sun Siliang.
However, they didn’t just wait but went home with the daughter and son for a thorough cleaning.
The house had been cleaned, but inside it was empty, not even a stool to sit, let alone furniture. However, their family had no shortage of these items.
During the long extreme cold period, children’s father and grandfather habitually crafted some items and they saved quite a few.
Beds, boxes, tables, stools, plus the daughter’s contribution of water tanks and pottery jars, were transported over by cart.
As for oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, fabric, and food, Qi didn’t bring any more because quite a bit had already been sent over during Grandma Sun’s family’s move into the valley.
Once these items were transported over and tidied with Sun Siliang, after boiling a full pot of water, Grandma Sun’s family arrived from the mountain.
Seeing so many new items in the wooden house, Grandma Sun moved her lips, only able to utter a single sentence out of excitement.
"Alright, Grandma, let’s hurry and tidy up."
"Good, good," Grandma said no more, only tightly held Qi Xiu’s hand, silently wiping the tears from the corner of her eye with the other hand.
Who could’ve imagined that a simple act of kindness and benevolence would result in such a reward from this child, that the three sons, if not for Shuniang’s husband’s sake, might’ve been lost...
This time, Hua Chengtian and Qi, with the children, comfortably stayed and had a simple supper with the Sun family, mainly happy despite its simplicity.