Taotao had a dream.
"Have you figured out what you'll say to Yang PeiMin?"
"What's there to say? I've already been admitted, so am I still afraid her dad won't let her go? Although Yang PeiMin is a bit spoiled, she has her good points, and at least she's pretty. If she's interested, I wouldn't mind getting to know her," he replied.
"Xu Min, you're not thinking of calling off the wedding at home, are you?"
"Call it off? With Yang PeiMin acting so improper, can't blame others for looking down on her."
Then she transformed into a girl named Yang PeiMin, listening to the conversation from outside the window, trembling with rage. Several times, she wanted to burst in and tear that faithless man apart, but knowing it wouldn't end well for her, she struggled to control her emotions. She vowed revenge silently in her heart, determined to ruin Xu Min who toyed with her feelings!
Having made up her mind, she couldn't bear to listen any longer and turned to leave.
Then the scene changed.
Distracted, Yang PeiMin accidentally fell into the river...
Taotao woke up.
For a moment, she couldn't distinguish between the dream and reality, as she lay in a bed in a dimly lit adobe house.
The curtain at the door was lifted, and a middle-aged woman walked in.
"Minmin, you're awake!" she exclaimed, rushing to the bed, her eyes filled with joy. She placed her hand on her forehead, "Your fever finally broke. You scared me to death. How do you feel? Do you still feel unwell anywhere?"
Taotao could feel the warmth and roughness of her callused hands against her skin, a vivid sensation she couldn't have in a dream. She felt an uncontrollable shock in her heart, her heart pounding.
"You…" And the clothes she was wearing were clearly from the style of rural women in the seventies or eighties...
Zhang Minghua watched her daughter's dazed expression, her eyes filled with more heartache. She gently asked, "Are you hungry? The doctor said you'd wake up once the fever went down. I made you some brown sugar rice porridge; it's warming up, ready to eat."
After speaking to Taotao, Zhang Minghua called out to the house: "Yingzi, your sister's awake, bring in the food!"
At this moment, Taotao was jolted back to her senses by her mother's shouting, feeling extremely weak and dizzy, and her stomach also growled hungrily upon hearing there was food, and she was thirsty too...
She licked her dry, chapped lips, "I want some water..."
"Alright, let's drink some water first then have the brown sugar rice porridge, but don't drink too much. Save room for the porridge," Zhang Minghua quickly got up, took a peony flower-decorated tang porcelain cup from the bedside table, and carefully helped her sit up.
Taotao glanced at the cup marked by time, then struggled to sit up by herself, "I can do it."
"Don't push yourself. You're still very weak," Zhang Minghua carefully fed her half a cup of water and refused to let her drink more, coaxing her to save space for the sweet porridge.
Taotao blinked, and although she still wanted to drink, she did not dare to object given the unclear situation.
Zhang Minghua stuffed a pillow behind her for support, and thinking that her eldest daughter's rice porridge hadn't arrived yet, she suddenly became angry and yelled toward the door, "Where did Yingzi disappear to? Did I ask you to take a bowl to the latrine?"
"I'm here, Mom." Just as Zhang Minghua finished speaking, a young girl cautiously walked in with a bowl.
"What took you so long? Your sister is starving!" Zhang Minghua glared at the girl, taking the bowl from her hands.
The young girl, Yang Peiying, shrank back, nervously explaining, "Xiao Niu pooped, and I changed her pants..."
"Da Niu can't change them? Only you can?"
Yang Peiying did not dare to talk back and stood aside quietly.
In the bowl was brown sugar rice porridge with two peeled boiled eggs, served in a large sea bowl.
She couldn't possibly eat that much.
"It's too much, I can't finish it."
"Eat as much as you can, if you can't finish, you can eat more later if you're hungry," Zhang Minghua scooped some porridge towards her mouth.
Taotao quickly took over, "I'll do it myself."
It was her first time feeling such real hunger.
Nearly pouring the rice porridge into her mouth like water, she managed to eat half a bowl until the warm feeling in her stomach finally made her feel a bit better and she stopped.
"Minmin, eat the eggs," Zhang Minghua coaxed.
Taotao reluctantly ate one egg but couldn't eat any more.
Seeing this, her mother tenderly wiped her mouth, then sighed, "You see, you got sick and now your appetite is smaller."
How big was the original owner's appetite?
"Mom will keep it warm for you, okay to eat more later if you're hungry?"
Although the brown sugar rice soup was sweet and sticky, she really wasn't fond of sweets. Having just arrived, she hadn't wanted to say anything, but realizing that the middle-aged woman in front of her truly cared for her, her willfulness began to surface.
"I want to eat dough drop soup for my next meal." This was her body's response, and she could recall the deliciousness of the wheat dough drop soup from her memories; she was now sure that she might have time-traveled.
Zhang Minghua responded warmly, "I'll make it for you in a bit."
However, looking at the bowl of rice soup she had tried, Taotao felt embarrassed. The sight of the woman and young girl's clothes full of patches and the house as bare as its four walls all indicated to her that this family was not wealthy, but extremely poor. She remembered her grandfather mentioning their young days in that era, how food was extremely scarce, and how they often went hungry, rarely getting to eat refined grains like wheat.
"I'll just have this rice soup later."
Zhang Minghua lovingly stroked her forehead, "Oh, our Minmin has grown up and learned to cherish food. But don't worry, we still have enough wheat flour at home to make dough drop soup for a few meals. I promise you'll have your soup later."
"Wouldn't that be wasting this?"
Zhang Minghua pulled up the quilt for her and replied, "Waste what?" Her eyes turned to her younger daughter standing stiffly next to her and frowned slightly, "Yingzi, your sister can't eat all that; you finish this bowl of rice soup."
Yang Peiying seemed slightly incredulous, "But, Mom, I..." she swallowed unconsciously.
"Just eat it here and clean up before you go out, or else Da Niu might see and it would lead to an argument."
She wanted the young girl to eat the rice soup she had started?
Having never experienced hunger and slightly germophobic, Taotao quickly protested, "How could that be okay? I've already eaten from it."
"That's nothing, what's there to fuss about among family? Back in the years when we were starving, if food fell into the dung pit, we would pick it up and eat it. Now, you just rest, you haven't fully recovered yet. Your face has gotten so thin these past few days, you need to regain your strength. I have to go out and work in the fields."
"Mom, you have something to eat too," said young Yang Peiying as she watched Zhang Minghua getting ready to leave.
Zhang Minghua smiled at her, "Alright, I'll have a little. The eggs are for you."
Then, Taotao watched as the mother and daughter shared the leftovers.
Once more, she affirmed that she had truly time-traveled, turned into this woman's eldest daughter.
After Zhang Minghua finished and left some instructions with her younger daughter, she hurried out. The young girl tidied up the bowls and utensils and glanced at Taotao, "Sister, I'll be working outside, call me if you need anything."
Taotao quickly stopped her— it seemed like her body had been holding back for ages— "I want to go to the bathroom…"
Yang Peiying responded, "Sister, I'll go get a basin."
Before Taotao could understand why she needed a basin, the young girl had already gone out, and soon returned with a basin, "This is Xiao Niu's potty basin, sister. You have no strength, let me help you up."
Upon her approach, Taotao finally understood what the basin was for—it was for her to urinate in!
As an adult, the mere thought was embarrassing.
"Can you help me outside to the toilet instead?"
Yang Peiying seemed confused, "Sister, the latrine is by Third Aunt's side, it's a bit of a walk. Plus, you're weak, I'm afraid you might fall in…"
She firmly shook her head, "Sister can't go, if you fell into the dung, Mom would kill me…"
Taotao was speechless.
What a dangerous toilet!
She recalled the structure in her mind... just two planks over a big pit, looking down it was all muck...
Indeed, a deep abyss!
She quickly suppressed further thoughts and repeatedly nodded to the young girl, "Right, right, I won't go to that toilet, I'll use this."
After a pause, remembering the young girl was still there to help her, Taotao hurriedly said, "I can manage by myself, thank you."
Seeing her insistence, Yang Peiying, though concerned, respected her wish, "Call me from outside once you're done."
Once she was out, Taotao, no longer caring about decorum, propped herself up and managed to accomplish the awkward task.
"Sister, are you done?"
As she was getting dressed, the young girl came in.
She nodded, "Yes."
Yang Peiying quickly helped her back to bed, "Sister, hurry back to bed; you shouldn't catch a cold."
Covering her with a quilt, "I'll take this out first; you sleep a little more, wake me up when you need."
Such a good sister!
But for her sister to help dispose of her urine, how could she face her, her cheeks burning red, she insisted, "No, no, I'll do it."
Yang Peiying pressed her down, picked up the basin from the floor, and swiftly walked out.