Famine and Chaos: Weaving Cloth in Exile to Escape the War

Jing Zhichun instructed Xiaoman to watch the fire, while she scooped up some rice, poured it into an iron pot, added an appropriate amount of water, and then covered it with a wooden lid, letting it cook slowly on the stove.

Before long, the rice was cooked.

Kyoto Haru quickly served rice to the two of them.

Each of them had a bowl of white rice, along with a bowl of glistening stir-fried meat slices. It was a simple meal, and then, by the light of the fire in the stove, the mother and daughter began to enjoy this rare feast.

For Kyoto no Haru, who was accustomed to the various refined cooking methods of later generations, the stir-fried meat was not particularly delicious.

However, even if it doesn't taste good, she has to eat it, and not only eat it, but eat a lot of it.

Her body, which had just given birth and was extremely depleted, needed a great deal of nutritional replenishment.

Xiaoman thought the meat smelled delicious.

Not only was the meat delicious, but the rice was also incredibly fragrant, even more so than the white rice she ate in Beijing.

"Mom! This rice is so delicious! Even without meat, the rice alone is so fragrant I want another bowl!"

Seeing Xiaoman eating with relish, Jing Zhichun smiled and said, "Eat as much as you like. I steamed a whole pot today, so there's plenty for everyone."

This rice was redeemed from the system shop, and its quality is no different from the fine rice of later generations, naturally far surpassing the rice available in the Great Zhou Dynasty at present.

According to the original owner's memories, the most precious refined rice in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty is only comparable to the brown rice of later generations in terms of taste. It is rough, dry, and hard, and certainly not as soft, sticky, and fragrant as the rice in the system store.

The two of them finished off the simple meal completely.

After eating and drinking my fill, I felt energetic and much better.

Jing Zhichun didn't dare to lie down immediately. First, she made milk powder for the little one who had just woken up and fed him until he was full, and then she changed his diaper.

Xiaoman took the initiative to wash the pots and dishes, carefully scrubbing the iron pots and bowls clean with snow water.

After Xiaoman finished her work, Jingzhichun pulled her over, reached out and touched her forehead, then pressed her cheek against hers.

Great, the fever has completely subsided. Although her face is still pale, her temperature is normal and she has plenty of energy.

However, when Jing Zhichun looked at the shiny sleeves of Xiaoman's clothes, which were worn smooth by snot, she frowned.

"Xiaoman, boil some water, let Mom wash you up and change out of these dirty clothes."

Xiaoman withdrew her hand somewhat embarrassedly. She knew she was dirty and guessed that her mother disliked her.

However, she didn't do it on purpose. She liked to have a runny nose and didn't know where to wipe it, so she wiped it on her sleeve.

"I understand, Mother. I'll go boil some water right away."

As Xiaoman spoke, she ran out and collected a lot of snow, putting it in a pot.

The fire in the stove never went out, and the water in the iron pot quickly cooled down.

Jing Zhichun had Xiaoman sit on the small stool in front of the stove, where it was the warmest spot.

She soaked the only old cloth in hot water, wrung it out until it was half dry, and carefully washed Xiaoman's face, neck, hands and feet.

Hot water and living conditions are both limited right now, so taking a shower freely is impossible.

All I could do was wipe it roughly with a cloth. Although it wasn't very clean, it was still much better than Xiaoman, who used to look like a dirty bag.

After cleaning them, Jing Zhichun took out the gray cotton-padded jacket and the new black cloth cotton shoes.

"Come on, try on the new clothes your aunt gave you."

Xiaoman nodded happily. With the help of Jingzhichun, Xiaoman took off her old, stiff, and dirty cotton-padded coat and put on a soft and warm new one.

The old cotton-padded jacket was made by the original owner himself, and it was filled with old cloth and dry straw.

Jing Zhichun doesn't know how to take apart her cotton-padded jacket, and even if she did, it would be troublesome to sew it up. Besides, she wouldn't be able to sew it up anyway, so she might as well just throw it in the water and wash it.

Xiaoman's new clothes were a little too big, with the sleeves extending a bit too far, but it didn't affect her wearing them.

Kids grow so fast, these clothes will fit perfectly next year.

Xiaoman looked down at her brand-new outfit, then lifted her feet to look at her new shoes, her face full of smiles.

She couldn't help but spin around in the limited space of the room.

"Mom! Look! New clothes! New shoes! So warm! So pretty!"

As Xiaoman spoke, she would touch the buttons on her clothes one moment and squat down to examine the stitches on her shoes the next, her mouth wide open in a continuous smile.

The undisguised joy and the innocent laughter of the children filled the entire hut.

Jing Zhichun, whose heart was originally heavy and alienated due to time travel and childbirth, was now infected by Xiaoman's pure joy, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

Children's happiness is so simple; a new piece of clothing or a full meal is enough to brighten their gloomy lives.

"Yes, it looks really good. Xiaoman looks good in anything."

"Thank you for the praise, Mother. Now you can put your new cotton-padded coat away."

Jing Zhichun shook her head. "I'm not in a hurry. I'll change it after my confinement period."

She can only take a bath during her postpartum period, so naturally she wants to be clean before wearing new clothes.

The dirty cotton-padded jacket that Xiaoman took off smelled really bad, so Jingzhichun decided to take advantage of the fact that there was water and fire now and have Xiaoman wash it quickly.

Without soapberry or alkali, it's difficult to wash away these grime with just water.

So, Jing Zhichun spent five coins to buy a bar of soap in the system store.

While Xiaoman was boiling water, Jing Zhichun removed the packaging paper, cut off a small piece of the soap bar with scissors, and rewrapped the rest in oil paper and put it in the wooden box.

She put the remaining soap into the wooden basin, and then put the dirty cotton-padded jacket in.

Then teach Xiaoman how to wash clothes with soap.

Xiaoman was very surprised when she saw the white thing that not only bubbled but also smelled nice.

A series of questions followed: What is this "Spring in Beijing" thing? How is it so magical?

Jingzhichun lied again, saying it was a gift from her aunt, and she didn't even know her name...

After Xiaoman washed the cotton-padded jacket clean, Jingzhichun helped wring it dry and hung it on the firewood burning by the stove.

It's freezing cold inside the thatched hut, and even if you drape your cotton-padded coat over the stove, it's not easy for it to dry.

I reckon it'll be a long wait.

Ah, Kyoto Spring misses modern washing machines again.

By the time all this was done, it was already late at night.

The fire in the stove needed to be kept burning overnight, so Jingzhichun added a few more pieces of thick, durable firewood to keep the fire burning steadily at a moderate intensity.

Xiaoman started yawning too.

But she still forced herself to sit down next to Kyoto Haru in front of the warm stove and spoke softly.

"Mom, when will my little brother grow up?"

"Mother, will we have food to eat every day from now on?"

"Mother, Father...when are you coming back?"

The last question made Kyoto Haru fall silent for a moment.

Shen Qingzhou...

That complex and unfamiliar man.

It's better if he doesn't come back.

Otherwise, she would be too embarrassed to stay there any longer.

Mainly, based on the original owner's memories and her own analysis, she felt absolutely no liking for this man.

Ideally, she should get a divorce from this man.

What's the point of having a man who still has a crush on his ex-girlfriend and who ignores the original owner after she became pregnant, showing no sense of responsibility?

Xiaoman chattered on and on, but eventually she was so sleepy that Jingzhichun told her to go to sleep.

After Xiaoman fell asleep, Jingzhichun fed the little one some more formula and then lay down on the tatami. Listening to the sound of wind and snow outside, she felt no sleepiness at all.

She slept all day today.

I'm not sleepy at all right now.