Chapter 28: Candle as Thick as a Baby’s Arm

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

“Alright, don’t talk! Listen to your eldest sister!” Wang Cuihua looked at her third daughter and laughed.

This third daughter had the most straightforward temper. She was gluttonous and stupider than all her siblings, but she was adorably stupid.

“Shan, Chuan, go and bring the sack that I brought back!” The children were especially sensible. As long as she did not offer anything to them, they would not rummage through her things.

When she was cooking in the afternoon, she took out the steamed buns, meat, cabbage, and milk powder. At this moment, there were only fried dough twists, needles, and thread left. There were still four sets of textbooks that were the heaviest. Fortunately, she met Zhang Yuan today. Otherwise, she would definitely be exhausted from carrying them back.

Before long, the two brothers carried the sack over.

“Mom, I bought 10 feet of defective cotton cloth. I didn’t have to use stamps for them. Also, I have 10 feet of coarse linen as well. The old lady asked me to bring it back and sew cloth bags for her. She said that she wanted to use them for grain in one-catty and five-catty volumes. She’ll pay $0.01 for every bag. Since I would only go to town every other day, if I have time, I can sew it and earn money, so I brought the fabric home to work on.”

“Oh my. It’s a pity to use such good fabric to sew food bags. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could be made into clothes?” Wang Cuihua put the baby down after coaxing him to sleep. She leaned over to take a look and said regretfully.

“Mom, I bought this 10-foot-long cotton cloth for us. Let’s make a coat for everyone. We’ll have new clothes to wear during the new year, right? Also, did you see the cotton shoes I’m wearing? It’s a new style that the old lady’s son asked someone to buy from the big city, but it was a bad fit for him. I happened to be the right size, so I bought them from him. I also asked him to buy a pair for our entire family.” Bai Xue pointed at the shoes she was wearing for her family to see.

“Big Sis, I saw your shoes a long time ago. They’re so beautiful, and they should be very warm, right?” Bai Ruyun looked at her shoes and said.

“Yes, it’s very warm. You can walk in the snow without freezing your feet. They said that you can only buy it in the big city! But soon, each of you will have a pair!” Bai Xue patted her second sister’s head and said.

“But how much does it cost?”

“Don’t worry. I can afford it now!” Bai Xue patted her chest, feeling that she had become much more childish after transmigrating to this era.

“There’s still some fried dough twists here, but we’re very full tonight, so we can eat them tomorrow morning!” Bai Xue took out the fried dough twists and poured out all the books in the sack.

The little ones all looked over, but no one said that they wanted to have them now. It was already not easy for them to be so full. They were so full that they were unable to eat more.

“Big Sis, are these textbooks for us?” Bai Rushan flipped through the books that she had taken out from the bag and held them in his hand.

“Yes, that’s right. The ones for Grade 7 are for your older sisters, and the Grade 3 ones belong to you boys! Try to read up more if you can. After the new year, the four of you are going back to school!” Bai Xue told them.

“But what about Grandma?” Bai Rushan was worried.

“The three of you can go to school! I’ll stay home to keep an eye on things. If Grandma comes, I’ll be sure to drive her out!” Bai Ruchuan patted his chest.

Pah.

“Do you think you’re very strong? Are you going to drive her out? She’s an elder. How are you going to find yourself a wife if your reputation is ruined?” Bai Ruchuan shrunk his neck when his head was slapped by Bai Daliang.

“Enough. I know how to handle Grandma! Just study hard. In the future, be filial to your parents and me!” Bai Xue looked at Bai Ruchuan, who had been slapped, in amusement.

“Xue, this 10-foot cloth is enough to make a top for each of you. I will start making them tomorrow!” Wang Cuihua liked the cloth a lot. She picked up the black and white threads and asked Bai Daliang to help organize them.

However, it was already dark. Bai Xue walked out and quickly took out a red candle that was as thick as a baby’s arm. She lit it with a match and brought it in.

“Huh? Is that a candle?” Wang Cuihua immediately saw the candles that Bai Xue brought in. The others were still flipping through the books.

When they sensed the light, they raised their heads one after another curiously.

“That’s right! The old lady gave it to me when I saved her. Mom, it’s so dark that you can’t see clearly. You’re in confinement, so this isn’t good for your eyes!” Bai Xue spoke as she lit the candle.

“This candle is really thick and long. This is the first time I’ve seen it!” Wang Cuihua was curious.

“We finally have a candle. Wouldn’t it be great if you had these candles on the day you gave birth!” Bai Daliang used his hands to help Wang Cuihua pull the thread and sighed.

“That’s right. This candle is much better than a kerosene lamp. It doesn’t emit smoke and it doesn’t hurt the eyes! I can sew clothes for the children at night now! That’s great!” The two of them chatted happily.

The little ones had already picked up a book and started reading. They were intrigued by the candlelight and delighted inside. They could read books at night from now on.

Bai Xue put away the bag and looked at her parents’ and siblings’ happy expressions. She felt a sense of happiness.

She had only been here for a few days, but she was gradually getting used to it.

“Mom, you can’t sew clothes! You’re still in confinement! Don’t you want your eyes? I’ll send this cloth and thread to Second Aunt tomorrow and get her to sew for us. We can give her some money or food. Life is hard on them as well, so we can take the chance to help them. With Second Uncle’s personality, if I send it directly, he definitely won’t agree to it. However, it’s different if we need their help! We can also return them money while we’re at it!”

Bai Xue suddenly remembered that she had not returned the $10 to her second uncle.

Previously, she had considered giving them food supplies in exchange for the loan. In hindsight, Second Uncle was a down-to-earth person and probably unwilling to take advantage of them and accept money or stamps. She was probably better off helping them indirectly.

“Xue is right. He is a down-to-earth man, so he won’t take advantage of us. It’ll be different if we give them food supplies for helping to sew our clothes! Xue was very smart about this! You just have to take good care of yourself during your confinement! Take good care of your body and the babies!” Bai Daliang nodded in agreement.

His days were getting better, and it was all thanks to his eldest daughter!

“Xue, why don’t you give your second aunt the job of sewing cloth bags as well? You can already earn $10 every month. When you’re home, you should just rest. It’s tiring to walk back and forth!” Wang Cuihua said.

Wang Cuihua and her second sister-in-law had similar personalities, unlike her third sister-in-law. She liked to take advantage of others, was fierce, and knew how to scheme. Not only did she always think of ways to take advantage of others, but she also instigated her mother-in-law to cause trouble.

“Alright! Then I’ll go look for Second Aunt tomorrow! There’s still some sorghum rice and cornmeal that Dad brought back. We can give the supplies to them first. I can always buy more when I go to town!”

“Xue, I will keep $100. You can take the remaining money and stamps! Since you’re going to town the day after, just spend them on yourself. It’s almost the new year. Buy yourself a set of clothes if you can! You’re almost 16 years old, but look at your cotton clothes and pants! They are already too short for you!” Bai Daliang pushed the $50 and the stamps over.

Bai Daliang put away the money. He would probably find a safe place to hide it tomorrow.

Her father had probably never seen ten $10 bills at one go previously.

“Alright, Dad. I’ll buy some clothes or cotton cloth that don’t need stamps. All your clothes are worn out and not enough to keep you warm. Same goes for the bedding!”

Bai Xue took the money back as she spoke.