When Zhuang Zhuang heard those words, he jumped up happily. He was very happy that he could be of help to his mother.
Xiaoguo raised her head to look at the sky. She wasn't sure what time it was, but the sun had risen high up into the sky. Xiaoguo turned to look at Zhuang Zhuang and asked, "Zhuang Zhuang, do you know what time it is now?"
Xiaoguo was just casually asking and had not expected him to reply. However, Zhuang Zhuang immediately looked at the sun and said, "It's 9.30am."
Xiaoguo looked at Zhuang Zhuang in surprise. "How do you know so precisely?"
"Whenever Mother went out, I was really afraid, being alone at home. So, I watched the sun to see how long it would take for you to return," Zhuang Zhuang answered simply, but it sounded a little unbelievable to Xiaoguo. Previously, in the old 'body', she would go out while the others were still sleeping. That was usually before dawn, because the chances of finding something was higher when one was very early. To think that the young boy started counting the hours whenever he woke up alone in bed.
Xiaoguo squatted down and looked into Zhuang Zhuang's eyes. "Son, I'll bring you with me wherever I go in the future!" She promised him.
Indeed, Zhuang Zhuang's eyes lit up when he heard that. "Really?"
"Yes! Really!"
"Mother! I love you the most, the most!" Zhuang Zhuang hugged Xiaoguo and joyfully swayed his body in excitement.
Xiaoguo hugged Zhuang Zhuang in her arms. Her guess was right. Zhuang Zhuang had been too insecure before. He was still so young. She could imagine him waking up without his mother at his side, and being alone at home most of the time. He must have been really scared. She recalled that he was constantly saying that he would help with the chores. That must be an indirect way of telling his mother to bring him along with her wherever she goes, and also to tell her that he can share her burden.
It was still early in the day. As Xiaoguo looked at the barren vegetable plot, she thought about planting some vegetables. She couldn't possibly keep relying on the things in the other space to survive. Although there were a lot of condiments and seasonings on the other side, there were limited food items that could be consumed.
As she thought about the current situation, Xiaoguo felt that she should have some money on hand. All the money she had saved up before had been used on Mrs. Jiang's funeral. She was left without a single cent. Xiaoguo wondered if there were any seeds in this house—she was thinking about the possibility of planting vegetables.
Still deep in her thoughts, Xiaoguo heard a knock on the door. "Is the daughter-in-law of the Jiang family at home?" a voice called out from outside the house.
Wondering who it was, Xiaoguo opened the front door
"Mrs. Yang?" It was the daughter-in-law of the Yang family next door.
"You're at home? I didn't see you go out yesterday. I just came to check if something had happened." Mrs. Yang looked at Xiaoguo with concern. Now that there were no men in the village, all the women would keep a look out for each other. Mrs. Yang had not seen Xiaoguo leave the house the day before, so she was a little worried that something might have happened to her.
Xiaoguo was so touched by the gesture. "I'm fine. I didn't feel well yesterday and was resting the whole day. I'm fine now."
"That's good." As Mrs. Yang heaved a sigh of relief, she suddenly remembered something and tapped her head in recollection. She said happily, "Just to let you know, every family in the village was given a bag of wheat seeds yesterday. I brought them over for you."
As she spoke, Mrs. Yang took out a cloth bag from the basket. "This was sent by the county. The old village chief said that the Ministry of Finance had distributed disaster relief to commoners all over the country. Now that the natural disaster has passed, everyone needs to continue with their lives. With these seeds, you don't have to worry about your food supply anymore."
Mrs. Yang took out another bag from the basket. "Take this. I bought it from the county yesterday. And also these which I harvested from home. Although it's not much, it's enough for at least two meals."
Xiaoguo took the bag. It contained a small bag of rice, cucumbers, tomatoes, and two eggs. "No, no. It's too much. I can't take it, Mrs. Yang. Please keep it for yourselves. You still have Xiaohua and Xiaohu to feed. I can't take these!"
Xiaoguo stuffed the bag of produce back into Mrs. Yang's basket as she spoke. Food items were really precious now. Food shortage was widespread. Mrs. Yang still had her mother and two children living under the same roof. She has more mouths to feed than Xiaoguo.
Mrs. Yang stopped Xiaoguo from returning the bag. "Our family has two men, so we get two taels of silver a month. In terms of money, we are in a slightly better situation. Besides, we get more seeds and can start farming now. Things are a little easier for us. Just take it."