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墨書 Inktalez
"Mother, are you hungry? I have this."
Seeing his mother leaning against the wall, seemingly lacking strength, Shitou thought for a moment and took out two red fruits from his pocket. He swallowed hard, feeling a bit reluctant, but still placed them on the edge of the bed. Muti also watched, her little mouth tightly closed, eyes wide open as she stared at the fruits, as if that would allow her to eat them.
Xiao Lihua looked at the two small red fruits. They were tiny but looked sweet and juicy. Her heart felt sweet as well. Watching the two little ones drooling over the fruits, she thought that for these two children, it must be a great snack. Yet they offered it to their mother who didn't care for them at all; what dutiful children! She felt fortunate to have them. Not to mention that these two children were now blood-related to her, even if she was now a stepmother, she would love them deeply. She truly despised her former self; it seemed that her death was at least a good thing for the two children. From now on, she would treat them well.
"I'm not hungry, you eat," Xiao Lihua said softly, but at that moment her stomach growled loudly, leaving her feeling embarrassed as she thought how uncooperative her stomach was.
"Mother, you should eat! Your stomach is growling. Our stomachs aren't hungry; they haven't made a sound!" Shitou said as he patted his little belly. Then, as if to prove he was lying and also to express his dissatisfaction with himself, his stomach growled loudly.
Muti's stomach seemed to be intrigued by her mother and brother's growling and began to make small noises as well.
Xiao Lihua couldn't help but laugh while feeling a bit sour inside. The two children were indeed hungry; looking at their thin arms and legs reminded her that modern children were usually chubby like dolls in New Year paintings. She picked up the two fruits, wiped them on her clothes, called the two children over, and then stuffed one fruit into each of their mouths.
"You eat first; when you find more later, you can give some to me," Xiao Lihua said, watching as the two children chewed on the fruits but didn't swallow them right away. She reached out and poked their little faces, thinking how dirty they were. However, she felt dizzy now; once she felt better, she would need to wash them up. Their clothes also needed mending. Although the Li Family's insults were harsh, she had indeed caught onto something—these two children were quite dirty. Their faces were dirty, their bodies were dirty, their hair was dirty, and their clothes were torn and unpatched. Their little shoes were also falling apart and exposing their toes; if this continued for another couple of days, they would be in an even worse state.
Shitou and Muti's eyes widened when Xiao Lihua poked their faces with her finger. Without thinking, they ate the fruits. They both thought that Mother seemed particularly happy today. Although her gaze was startlingly bright, it didn't seem like she wanted to hit them. Her voice was completely different from usual—especially pleasant—and her smile was particularly beautiful.
"Mother, your voice is nice; it's better than Copper Coin Mother's."
Little Wood finished eating the fruit and felt a lingering sweetness in his mouth. He looked at his mother's smiling face and blurted out.
Xiao Lihua looked at him and asked with a smile, "Little Wood, are you saying that Mama's voice is nice, better than Copper Coin Mother's voice?"
Little Wood nodded. He thought about how his mother called him Little Wood, even though his name was actually Wood. But when Mama called him Little Wood, she was always smiling, and as long as she was happy, that was enough.
Xiao Lihua thought that Copper Coin Mother must be the mother of a child named Copper Coin. That woman's voice was indeed pleasant; her son was praising her.
"Little Wood, be good. From now on, Mama will speak like this. Little Stone, come up to the bed and keep Mama company while you talk to your brother. Mama will hold you both."
Seeing that the two little ones were not much taller than the edge of the bed, she got down to pick them up.
When Little Wood was lifted by Xiao Lihua, he got scared and kicked his legs. Xiao Lihua gently tickled his waist, making him laugh immediately. Then he was placed on the bed. He quickly looked at his brother. Little Stone had already climbed onto a small stool to get onto the bed and was now beside Little Wood. Xiao Lihua observed Little Stone's nimble movements and thought that this child must be used to climbing. Remembering how Little Wood had struggled earlier, she realized she had probably never held both children properly before.
The two children sat obediently on the bed, with Little Wood snuggling closely against Little Stone. They blinked their big eyes at her.
Xiao Lihua also sat on the bed, finding a comfortable position as she looked at the two children. Noticing they were silent, she began asking them questions about who they played with today, whether they had fun, and if the fruit was given by someone or if they found it themselves. Seeing her speak so gently with a smile on her face and her eyes bright yet not fierce made them gradually respond with longer sentences.
"Mama, does your head hurt?"
Little Stone looked at the cloth wrapped around Xiao Lihua's head. He remembered that earlier she had wrapped a beautiful blue cloth around her head, but now it looked a bit frightening. He and Little Wood had been scared when they found out their mother was hurt in the morning; they stayed by her side for a long time. Later, they were afraid she would wake up and scold them or hit them, and feeling hungry made them run out to find something to eat. Now that Mama was awake and hadn’t scolded or hit them, it seemed like she was even better. He wondered if hitting her head had somehow fixed things? He had heard people say that some became foolish after hitting their heads; could their mother have gotten better from it?
Xiao Lihua smiled and said, "It hurts a little, but with Little Stone and Little Wood here talking to Mama, I forget about the pain."
"Mother, I want to talk to you."
Little Wood said. He was still small, probably only two or three years old, and his speech was short and precise, with a soft voice that was very cute.
Xiao Lihua smiled and said, "Little Wood is so good."
When Little Wood heard Xiao Lihua praise him like this, a shy little smile appeared on his face, revealing a small dimple on his dirty little cheek. Seeing this made Xiao Lihua want to give him a kiss. She thought that if her son were cleaned up and gained a bit of weight, he would definitely be an adorable little child.
"Mother, I want to talk with you too."
Xiao Lihua looked at Little Stone blinking at her and somewhat understood his thoughts. She said, "Yes, Little Stone is also very good. You are both my good sons. I wasn't right before. Today I bumped my head and in my daze, I couldn't let go of you both. At that moment, I thought that as long as I could survive, I would definitely take good care of Little Stone and Little Wood. Then I woke up. So from now on, I will treat Little Stone and Little Wood well. I won't be like before anymore. Can you both forgive me? I'll be a good mother, and you both be good sons to me, okay?"
Little Stone thought it was no wonder that Mother changed right after waking up; it turned out to be like this. Little Wood was still young and didn't quite understand, but he clearly heard that Mother would be a good mother from now on and would care for them, while they needed to be good sons. He quickly nodded and said he would be a good son; he hoped Mother would always be like this because he was afraid of the old Mother. Little Stone nodded too; he liked the current Mother very much and was scared that she would change back to how she used to be.
Xiao Lihua thought that children were quite easy to persuade. Although the two kids were still a bit worried, as long as she remained like this, they would soon become close to her. Thinking about the days ahead with her sons around her knees made her feel hopeful for the future!
The three of them chatted for less than half an hour when they heard footsteps and voices coming from outside.
Little Stone said, "It's Uncle and them coming back from the fields."
Xiao Lihua didn't know what month it was now or what work could be done in the fields at this time, but she thought that in ancient times, farmers worked in the fields except during winter. It seemed that her current body had gone to the river to wash clothes while the Li Family stayed home cooking without going out. She wondered if Sister-in-law and Second Sister had gone to the fields. In her mind, Sister-in-law and Second Sister were dressed like ordinary rural women, unlike the Li Family who loved to dress up; they probably were all women who could work in the fields.
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