Chapter 22: Guilty Conscience

Chapter 22: Guilty Conscience

Just as she opened her mouth, a young woman with a large belly, holding a young boy's hand, walked over.

"Father, Mother, please help me watch Dashan and Xiaoshan. I'm going to buy some hides to sew boots for them," the young woman said, letting go of the boy's hand and supporting her waist with some difficulty.

"Go on, go on. Walk slowly, dear," the proprietress hurried forward to greet the two children.

However, the young woman did not leave immediately. "Mother, I just realized after stepping out that I forgot to bring any silver."

Upon hearing this, the proprietress quickly went behind the counter, counted out a handful of copper coins, picked out a piece of silver, and handed it over.

The young woman said her thanks and departed.

"That is my second son's wife. In three months, her third child will be born. I hope it's a girl," the proprietress said to Hong Xiaoduo with a smile.

"The second son's wife? Auntie, how many sons do you have? Oh, I mean, you look so young, yet you're already a grandmother?" After the words left Hong Xiaoduo's mouth, she realized it was inappropriate and quickly added an explanation.

The proprietress smiled. "Three sons. The eldest has two boys, and the second is about to have his third. The third son just had his first child last year."

Hearing this, the plan that had just bubbled up in Hong Xiaoduo's mind was immediately discarded.

The family was already at the stage of being grandparents with many children and grandchildren; how could they possibly adopt another child? Even if they had the means and the kindness to adopt, their third son probably wouldn't agree!

Having given up hope, Hong Xiaoduo looked at the seven little bald heads. As she watched the two boys being embraced by their grandmother, she felt a dull ache in her heart—not sharp pain, but a lingering, uncomfortable sensation.

"Auntie, you go on with your business. I'll take them for a stroll and buy some snacks," Hong Xiaoduo said, unable to bear the envious looks in the children's eyes, and quickly took her leave.

"Little lady, if you aren't in a hurry, come back and play tomorrow. I'll use fabric scraps to make some hats for them in the evening. The weather is getting colder," the proprietress said, not trying to stop them as her two grandsons were acting spoiled, wanting new shoes.

Hong Xiaoduo smiled and accepted the invitation, leading the little bald heads to continue their stroll.

Buying snacks wasn't because she was particularly attentive, but because seeing the envy in their eyes as they watched those two boys being loved by family made her feel she should do something to soothe their young hearts.

In the place she came from, children loved snacks and such; children in ancient times should be the same.

However, there were certainly no potato chips, lollipops, or spicy strips in ancient times. On this street, she had only seen pastry shops; she hadn't even seen a vendor selling candied haws.

In modern ancient-style streets, there were sugar blowers and sugar painters, but she saw none of that here.

"Is Mother really going to buy us pastries?"

"Yes! I heard her clearly. Second Brother, you heard it too, right?"

"Mhm."

Hong Xiaoduo faintly heard the whispered conversation behind her and smiled.

Thinking about the first hundred taels she had been tricked into earning, and how she had fleeced that lecher today to get a free meal of meat buns, she felt that perhaps earning silver in this dynasty wasn't that difficult after all.

As expected, one shouldn't have too much money; too much wealth makes one flighty. Look at her—she was already generous enough to pay for a stranger's meal!

Whether making money was hard or not, if things didn't work out, wouldn't she still have that old man from the Science Museum? She could just have him add some silver—no, bank notes—into the system. Then she could live it up with the seven kids.

If she had money, could she fund an orphanage for beggars and orphans herself? She could find a reliable person to manage it and provide plenty of upfront capital. That way, even if she suddenly disappeared from this place and returned to her original world, the children could continue to live a life free of want.

But then again, no matter how much money she had, she couldn't just let them live in excess. If, over time, her kindness turned them into spoiled, gluttonous, and lazy "giant infants" who only knew how to enjoy things without knowing how to do anything, wouldn't that be a case of good intentions doing harm?

Hong Xiaoduo realized that her original thought—that finding a stable place to settle the children would be enough—was far too simplistic.

As she walked and thought, she felt a gentle tug on her hand. She stopped and looked down at Yaoguang, thinking the child needed to relieve herself.

To her surprise, before she could ask, she saw Yaoguang pointing his little mouth toward a nearby shop.

Seeing the person coming out of the shop carrying a pastry bag, she looked closely at the sign: *Pastry Shop*.

Hong Xiaoduo couldn't help but laugh, and she led the seven children into the shop in a boisterous crowd.

The shop was filled with the sweet aroma of pastries and the roasted scent of walnuts, almonds, and pumpkin seeds.

Hong Xiaoduo even heard the faint sound of sniffing, and she suppressed a laugh.

The shop assistant looked at the incoming customers with curiosity; a young lady leading seven handsome little bald heads was quite a sight.

"May I ask what kind of pastries the young lady wishes to buy? For personal consumption, or as gifts? If they are gifts, are they for the elderly, children, or adults?" the shopkeeper asked enthusiastically and thoroughly.

Hong Xiaoduo wanted to ask the seven little ones which kind they wanted, because there were so many varieties and they all looked delicious.

However, looking at the children's eyes, it seemed they wanted every single kind.

"Shopkeeper, can I buy just half a jin?" Hong Xiaoduo asked.

"Of course. In my shop, let alone half a jin, you can even buy one or two taels," the shopkeeper replied with a smile, showing no sign of being dismissive of a small order.

Hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo looked at the seven little ones again. Each of them was listening intently, but none of their small faces showed any disappointment that it was only half a jin.

"Nothing too hard, and nothing too sweet. Give me half a jin of each," Hong Xiaoduo decided.

The seven children looked at her with expressions of shock and disbelief.

There were at least twenty different kinds of pastries on the counter!

The shopkeeper, however, was not surprised. Working skillfully with the assistant, he weighed and packed them, tying three bags together with fine hemp rope.

Excluding the ones she had specified as too hard or too sweet, the shopkeeper also proactively explained that two varieties were medicinal pastries with slightly "cold" properties, which were not suitable for women or children, so he did not include them.

Even so, there were twelve bags in total.

When paying, he rounded down the price; she paid fifty wen for the six jin of pastries.

The older children proactively reached out to take them. Hong Xiaoduo didn't fight them for the bags; at half a jin per bag, a string of three was only about one and a half jin, which wasn't heavy. Besides, the children were happier carrying them themselves.

Just as she turned to leave, Tianshu suddenly moved closer to her, gesturing with his eyes for her to look outside. Seeing his nervousness, Hong Xiaoduo looked out. She saw several constables comparing heights while asking the assistant in the shop across the street something. One of them was someone she had seen before—Constable Jin.

They probably weren't here for her and the seven children, right? Hong Xiaoduo couldn't be sure. Regardless, because they lacked travel permits and because of that villain whose fate was still uncertain, she and the children couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt.

What was coming could not be avoided. What should she do...