Chapter 3
"You two, hurry up. Mother will go and make dinner first."
"Okay, Mother."
Yang Lan'er emptied the wild vegetables and yams from her backpack and sat by the stove, cutting the vegetables. The wild vegetables were cleaned, and a few of the yams were peeled. She quickly made a fire and began cooking. She boiled the yams in soup and then added the chopped wild vegetables and a few grains of salt to season the soup. Unfortunately, during this disaster year, many people couldn't even eat wild vegetables.
It is very rare for their family to have this yam soup for dinner today.
"Wow! It's delicious. Mother, what is this?" Bao'er looked at his bowl of soup and asked.
"Mother, is this delicious?" Bei'er asked while drooling at the soup in his bowl.
Seeing their cute faces, Yang Lan'er burst out laughing.
In her previous life, she had never thought of getting married and having children, but unexpectedly, she had come to this world and had children right away. Life is full of surprises!
"This white one is yam, a root tuber of a vine plant. Mother dug it up on the mountain today. Eating it can help you grow strong and healthy. You two brothers can grow up quickly if you eat it!" Yang Lan'er coaxed her two brothers with a smile.
"Really!" The two naive brothers really believed her.
"It's true. Try it. Be careful, it's hot."
"Okay..." they both slowed down and ate carefully.
"Take it easy, be careful not to choke." Yang Lan'er felt relieved seeing them slowing down.
Alas, it's all because of the disaster year.
After dinner, Yang Lan'er cleaned up the kitchen and found a large washbasin in the corner of the room. As soon as she put it down, she realized, "No water!"
The habit she had developed in her previous life was to take a shower before bed.
"Darn it!" She wanted to curse!
No, it seems like she wants to curse the transmigration god!
(The god of transmigration :"...")
She sniffed her body, "Hmm, it smells sour and musty!"
I'll endure it! I'll endure it! I'm almost becoming a ninja turtle!
She couldn't take a shower before bed, which made her feel depressed just thinking about it. She looked up and saw that it was already dark outside.
"Goodnight, babies."
"Oh, goodnight. I want to sleep on the side""
"I want to sleep in the middle."
"Okay, you can sleep however you want." Sleeping with the children, whether her own son or not, was something Yang Lan'er had never experienced before.
It's hard to describe, but it felt comforting, and seeing their little faces made her want to kiss them. It was a strange feeling!
Yes!! It's indescribable!
"Mother, when will Father come home?" After a long time, just when she thought the babies had fallen asleep, she suddenly heard Bao'er muttering in the quiet night.
"Perhaps he'll be back soon. Even I don't know when your father will come home," Yang Lan'er replied.
She searched the previous owners memories for an image of Tan Anjun's, but could only recall that he was tall and handsome, with unclear facial features. However, she could tell from her children's features that he must have been handsome and refined. She wondered what kind of person he was like.
"Mother, if Daddy doesn't come home again, we will flee to famine with the villagers, and Daddy won't be able to find us when he comes back." Bao'er said dejectedly.
Yang Lan'er smiled to herself and thought, "If he can't find us, then we don't need him."
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In a border military camp, someone sneezed repeatedly, "Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"
He wondered if someone was thinking of him, perhaps his little wife? He didn't know how well she was doing now as a mother now. He realized that he needed to take some time to go back and check on her soon.
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Yang Lan'er comforted her son in a soft voice, "Bao'er, don't worry. We don't have to flee. We can wait for your father to come home, and he will find us when he returns."
"Oh? Should we listen to the villagers? Will we starve if we don't flee? Xiao douzi told me that his family is also about to flee, and he invited us to go with them and take care of each other on the way." Bao'er worried.
Yang Lan'er touched her son's head. This little guy was really worried. She knew that Bao'er had no father by his side since he was young, and it was not easy for a woman to raise two twin sons, especially in ancient times with backward productivity. The hardships of survival can be imagined.
"Well, don't you believe what your mother says?" Yang Lan'er pretended to be sad.
"Yes, I believe in my mother. My mother is the best mother," Bao'er nodded eagerly.
Ha! Oh dear, this son is really fun. He has learned to use sugar-coated words. Children can be taught!
"Go to sleep quickly, don't think too much. If a child worries too much, he won't grow up. Mother will take care of everything. Well, go to sleep."
"Okay," Bao'er answered with a thick nasal voice.
After covering the two brothers with the quilt and gently patting them, it wasn't long before shallow and even breathing could be heard.
Today was a day full of tossing and turning, and it was physically and mentally exhausting. This body was weak, and it needed to be well regulated and exercised in the future.
Yang Lan'er doesn't want to live with such a poor health condition for the rest of her life. She closed her eyes and lay in bed but couldn't fall asleep, so she started to think about past events and the current drought that needs to be sorted out.
The body's maiden family was in Lishu Village, about twenty miles away from Shanghe Village. Her father was Yang Zuye, and her mother was Yang Lishi. They had four sons and a daughter.
The original owner was the fourth child, with three older brothers. The eldest brother, Yang Cunren, married Yang Zhoushi and had a daughter and a son. The older one was seven years old, and the younger one was five years old. They were conscripted with Tan Anjun in the same year, so they were brothers-in-arms and had each other's support on the battlefield.
The second brother, Yang Cunzhi, married Yang Heshi and had two boys, the elder one was five years old, and the younger one was two years old.
The third brother, Yang Cunli, married Yang Lishi, who was from the same village as the mother. To distinguish her from others, she was called Xiao Yang Lishi. They had a pair of twins who were now three years old.
The youngest brother, Yang Cunyi, married Yang Dingshi. They have not had any children yet.
Before getting married, the original owner was extremely pampered by the family since she was the only daughter.
At the age of fourteen, she saw Tan Anjun in town by chance, and was impressed by his tall and handsome figure. His eyes were like stars and his eyebrows were as smooth as if they were painted (as imagined by Yang Laner, hehe, don't you have any shame?). Since that meeting, she fell in love at first sight, and later learned that he was a hunter from Shanghe Village.
The original owner insisted on marrying him as her husband, and her parents had no way to stop her. She was their precious daughter, who they had raised with difficulty, and they could not bear to beat or scold her. They tried to persuade her with good intentions: although living conditions were better in Shanghe Village than in Lishu Village, the life of a hunter was insecure(not secure).
Besides, Tan Anjun was an outsider. He came to Shanghe Village with his father, but since his father passed away, nobody knew where his hometown was.
Yang's father was very fond of her that is why although he doesn't want to agree, in the end, he couldn't resist her insistence.
After just half a month of marriage, the woman's husband was drafted for military service. Life was already challenging for her, but it became even more difficult when she discovered that she was pregnant with twins. Fortunately, her mother's family provided occasional support and care for her. Without their help, it's uncertain whether the twins would have survived to this day.