Chapter 7: A Request for Mother

Sun-shi watched as Yang Ruoqing placed the bowl in her hands onto her lap, then freed a hand to grab the other empty bowl nearby. From her own heaping bowl, she scooped nearly more than half of the food into the other bowl and held it out in front of Sun-shi, blinking her eyes. "Mother, you eat too."

"What?" Sun-shi looked at the food held before her, stunned for a moment, her eyes instantly turning red. "Mother isn't hungry. I already ate while I was in the kitchen. This was specifically saved for you! Eat it quickly while it's hot!"

They say a daughter is a mother's intimate little cotton-padded jacket, and this saying was truly not false. Her daughter had only just regained consciousness, and she already knew how to care for her.

"If Mother doesn't eat, Qing'er won't eat either. Qing'er wants Mother to keep me company and eat together." Yang Ruoqing deliberately pulled a long face, mimicking the behavior of the foolish host from before, pouting her lips with the air of someone who would starve herself if Sun-shi didn't eat.

"Mother really has already eaten..." Sun-shi looked helpless, but her heart felt warm.

Yang Ruoqing ignored this.

In the past, she was foolish and didn't understand many things. The Old Yang family hadn't divided the household; a dozen people in the big family all ate from one large pot, with Tan-shi in charge.

Given Tan-shi’s previous attitude toward her, how could she possibly allow Sun-shi to bring a bowl heaped this high to this room? There was no need to guess; it must have been that Sun-shi had skimped on her own portion to supplement her daughter's meal.

"Qing'er, Mother sees your filial heart, but I really have eaten, I'm not lying to you."

"..."

"Alright, Mother will eat. Will that do?" Sun-shi finally compromised, sighed softly, and picked up the bowl in front of her.

Only then did Yang Ruoqing break into a smile. She picked up the bamboo chopsticks, used a clever flick of her finger joints, and with a crisp "snap," the pair of chopsticks was broken into two.

Yang Ruoqing handed one pair to the somewhat dumbfounded Sun-shi and giggled, "Eat, if you don't eat now, it'll really get cold."

Sun-shi took the chopsticks, glanced at the marks where they had snapped, and secretly clicked her tongue in wonder.

These chopsticks were difficult for even her, an adult, to snap in one go. Her daughter had been burning up all night, yet she still had this much strength—why hadn't she noticed it before?

"Right, Qing'er wants to ask Mother for one thing."

After shoveling a few mouthfuls of rice, Yang Ruoqing seemed to suddenly think of something. She swallowed hard, looked up, and stared at Sun-shi.

Sun-shi set down her chopsticks and gave Yang Ruoqing a playful glare, saying with a hint of amusement, "You silly child, when talking to your own mother, do you still need to 'ask'? Speak, what is it?"

Yang Ruoqing deliberated for a moment, glanced toward the doorway of the side room, and then said to Sun-shi with a serious expression: "The fact that I've regained my senses—don't go talking about it outside for now. Aside from Father, don't mention it to anyone else!"

"Why?" Sun-shi looked puzzled. "This is a good thing..."

Thinking of how her daughter had been a laughingstock in the village for so many years, how everyone teased her, and even children younger than her dared to bully her—her heart as a mother would ache with every thought, yet she was powerless to stop it. She had to work in the fields, manage the family's meals, and there were two younger ones to look after; it was hard to keep an eye on this daughter.

Now that her daughter was clear-headed, she should be able to hold her head high. Why hide it? Sun-shi couldn't fathom it.

"Mother, when I was drifting in and out of consciousness, I had a dream. In the dream, a person who looked like a Bodhisattva told me that my soul had just returned to its place and wasn't very stable yet. If too many people find out, I might be startled, and it could become unstable again!"

Yang Ruoqing knew that people in this era believed in deities. With a roll of her eyes, she fabricated a lie on the spot.

As for why she wanted to hide it from everyone, Yang Ruoqing naturally had her own plans.

Hearing this, a flicker of panic appeared in Sun-shi's eyes. She remembered what the shaman from the neighboring village had said—it seemed she had said something similar, that her daughter had lost her soul!

The Bodhisattva in her daughter's dream must have been the one who sent her soul back! Thinking of this, Sun-shi hurriedly set down her bowl, pressed her palms together, and bowed several times toward a corner of the room, her face full of piety.

She muttered under her breath, seemingly saying something akin to thanking the deities.

Yang Ruoqing lowered her eyes and secretly chuckled. She thought to herself, this "cheap" mother is truly honest and easy to fool!

Over there, after Sun-shi finished thanking the Bodhisattva in her heart, her nervous gaze fell back onto Yang Ruoqing. "Qing'er, don't worry. Mother won't say a word, not to anyone! When the Bodhisattva tells you in a dream that it's okay to speak, then Mother will! As long as you are well, that's all that matters!"

"Mm, eat, eat!"

...

"After you finish eating, Mother has to go to the kitchen to clean up. The sun is warm this afternoon, so I'll help you out to the courtyard later to soak up some sun and get rid of the mustiness on your body." Sun-shi picked out the beans from her bowl one by one, placed them into Yang Ruoqing's bowl, and discussed it with her.

"Mm, okay."

Ever since she transmigrated, she had been lying in this damp, dark room for most of the day; she felt like she was about to grow mold.

Going to the courtyard for a stroll would be good—to stretch her limbs and, incidentally, get familiar with the environment.

Sun-shi had only just started eating, but Yang Ruoqing’s bowl was already nearly empty. Swallowing the last mouthful of rice, she realized that the portion she couldn't finish in a whole day before was now barely enough to whet her appetite!

The host's appetite was truly good—frighteningly good!

"You didn't get enough, did you? Mother has more here, take it all!" Sun-shi glanced at Yang Ruoqing's bowl and smiled. No one knows a daughter like her mother; how could she not know her own daughter's capacity?

Sun-shi raised her hand, intending to dump her own portion into Yang Ruoqing's bowl.

Yang Ruoqing shook her head hurriedly, the fat on her cheeks wobbling: "Mother, I'm full. If I eat any more, my belly will burst!"

She subconsciously rested her hand on her stomach and pinched a handful of flesh. *Good grief, this spare tire is terrifying!*

In such a poor family, how did the original host manage to eat herself into this state?

For a young girl to ruin her own appearance like this was too cruel!

Changing her physique was an urgent priority!

After the mother and daughter finished their lunch, Sun-shi carried the small stool with one broken leg out to the courtyard, propped up the broken part with a clay brick, and placed one of her own old garments on top of the stool.

Only then did she return to the room to help Yang Ruoqing, who had already put on her outer coat and shoes, to the doorway.

It was a simple farmhouse courtyard. There were side rooms on the east and west sides, three rooms in a row. The main house contained the kitchen and dining area. The walls were all plastered with yellow mud, and wooden pegs were driven into them, hanging with yellowing straw hats and baskets and sieves woven from bamboo strips.

A crooked old locust tree was planted in the courtyard. Looking at the somewhat withered yellow leaves, Yang Ruoqing estimated that it must be past the beginning of autumn, around the ninth month of the lunar calendar.