Sun and Yu Xiaolian bought two sets of clothes for everyone, as well as undergarments and new cloth shoes.
The mother and daughter shopped to their hearts’ content and then asked a shop assistant to help deliver the goods home.
Old Madam Sun saw them coming back with so many packages and asked Sun, "How much money did all this cost?"
Sun feared her mother’s heartache, so she didn’t tell the truth and only mentioned half the price, "Over forty taels!"
Old Madam Sun smacked her lips in distress, saying it was too expensive. Seeing that Sun bought ready-made clothes, she nagged, "Next time, don’t buy ready-made clothes, they’re too pricey and not worth it.
Next time someone needs clothes, just buy the fabric and I’ll make them.
The styles you bought, I may not be able to make exactly the same, but I can do something pretty close."
Old Madam Sun nagged, but Sun didn’t get angry, she just kept smiling and agreed with whatever old madam Sun said.
Knowing her daughter’s determination, old Madam Sun realized nagging further was useless and soon fell silent.
Sun handed out the clothes to everyone, then old Madam Sun told them to quickly put the clothes back in their rooms since it was time to eat; she had already prepared the meal.
The food shop back courtyard had three rooms, one each for Sun Fengshou, Xiaohu, and old Madam Sun.
Although Luocheng wasn’t truly in the South, its climate was much warmer than Yangcheng, and here they slept on beds, not kangs.
This time, Yu Xiaolian also had her own room. Erya and Sanyan, the two sisters, shared a room next to Yu Xiaolian’s. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novᴇlfire.net
Sanyan hugged her new clothes and shoes blissfully. Unexpectedly, after being sold by her father, she met her second sister by chance—truly a blessing in disguise.
In these past few days in Luocheng, Erya had barely rested, continuously tidying up rooms and cleaning the courtyard, with Sanyan following her around to help.
Zhao Erya handed the clothes to Sanyan, "Go put the clothes back, I’ll help with serving the meal."
Sanyan nodded obediently, took her clothes along with her sister’s, and ran off quickly.
Old Madam Sun steamed big buns, made spinach egg soup, and stewed potatoes with meat; she also used the small fish Yu Xiaolian brought to make fish sauce.
Old Madam Sun believed that although they had two households with their daughter’s family, they were essentially one family. Now that she was in good health, cooking meals wasn’t tiring, so she took over the responsibility of cooking for the whole family.
Old Madam Sun was eager to contribute to the family, and Sun could only support her.
So, for the past few days, they had been eating at the food shop.
Old Madam Sun was a great cook, and perhaps Sun had learned her skills from her mother. Old Madam Sun’s dishes were hearty and plentiful, but still were almost finished by everyone.
After the meal, Yu Xiaolian sat in the pavilion in the courtyard, guiding Xiaohu in reading the Thousand Character Classic, "Heaven and Earth are mysterious and yellow, the universe is vast and ancient. The sun and moon rise and set, the stars line up in constellations..."
After just two sentences, Xiaohu interrupted Yu Xiaolian, asking what the sentences meant.
Yu Xiaolian gently replied, "You don’t need to understand their meaning right now, you should first recognize the characters, then grasp the meaning. In school, if the teacher hasn’t invited questions, you mustn’t interrupt the teacher, understand?"
"Got it." Xiaohu nodded.
After going through the Thousand Character Classic three times with Xiaohu, Sun had also finished sewing a new school bag for him.
As it grew darker, Yu Xiaolian told Xiaohu to pack up his book; that was enough for today.
Xiaohu put the book in his bag, grabbed Zhao Sanyan, and was about to run off.
Yu Xiaolian quickly called after the two youngsters, "Where are you going?"
Xiaohu stopped in his tracks, saying, "We’re going to play at the broken temple!"
"What’s fun about the broken temple? You went there again?"
In the first couple of days after moving in, when Yu Xiaolian took the former owner’s old clothes and quilts to the broken temple, these two little ones had tagged along with her. Could it be that they went again later?
Xiaohu nodded, "In the morning when you weren’t home, Aunt had us take the chipped plates and bowls over there too. We even brought buns for the beggars at the temple."
"It’s better to play at home, there’s no need to go to the broken temple often."
You never know what kind of people these beggars might be. Some might have been beaten and crippled for theft, while others might be idle and lazy, unable to support themselves.
Yu Xiaolian always felt that the reason beggars begged was their own lack of drive and ambition.
Proximity to those of virtue brings virtue, proximity to those of vice brings vice; it would be better for Xiaohu not to associate too closely with those beggars.
"But... I already promised Grandma that as long as I finished reading the Thousand Character Classic, I could take today’s leftover buns and dishes to my friend."
"Friend?" Yu Xiaolian was somewhat impressed by this younger brother, "You actually befriended a beggar in just one morning?"
Although Yu Xiaolian’s tone was a bit disdainful, Xiaohu noticed and, feeling unhappy, said, "Sister Xiaolian, how can you look down on beggars? He doesn’t want to be a beggar, he’s really pitiful."
"Since Grandma agreed to it today, you can go ahead and send it. But in the future, if you want to help your friend, you have to rely on your own ability. Until you have the strength, don’t indulge in misguided kindness."
Yu Xiaolian’s tone was somewhat stern, and Xiaohu’s eyes reddened with grievance.
"When I went this morning, in that broken temple there was a child about my age who had been secretly sold by his stepmother at home. After escaping from the traffickers, he hid in the temple.
This morning, those traffickers even came to the temple to search for him. Fortunately, he hid in the crevice behind the statue and wasn’t caught.
He can’t, like other beggars, openly beg for food. If he goes out, he’ll be caught by the traffickers. I don’t care, I must go and bring him food."
Listening to Xiaohu, Yu Xiaolian also found the child pitiful, "Then go ahead!"
There are too many pitiful children , how many can Xiaohu actually help?
As long as Xiaohu isn’t interacting with those idle and lazy people just living off others, it’s fine.
Seeing Yu Xiaolian agree, Xiaohu took Sanyan along to the kitchen, grabbed two buns and the remaining stewed potatoes and meat, then dashed off.
The broken temple wasn’t far from their home. After delivering the food, Xiaohu and Sanyan quickly returned.
Xiaohu told Sanyan that he had to go to the academy to study in the morning, so the task of delivering breakfast to the broken temple would be left to Sanyan.
Sanyan glanced at her second sister.
She couldn’t decide, and her second sister couldn’t decide either.
So they both ran to Yu Xiaolian’s room to ask her whether or not they could deliver the food.
Yu Xiaolian was picking chili seeds from the chili powder in her room; she planned to grow some chili seedlings to plant in the backyard.
Seeing Xiaohu come over, cupping his hands adorably, she couldn’t help but laugh, "Granted."
"Ah, sister, you’re the best, I love you the most, you’re a great person. On behalf of little Suzi, thank you..."