Chapter 24 She is her
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She Ning couldn't help but chuckle. She turned around and opened the wooden cabinet. She took out a small jar of homemade maltose from it. She kept the large jar to make some twisted dough sticks and peanut brittle for everyone to enjoy on a daily basis.
I whittled a few small wooden sticks and handed them to She Ni along with the maltose, telling her to take them out and share them with her friends.
"Really for me? It's almost Chinese New Year!" She Ni was shocked, holding the small jar in her hands. She was in the process of losing her baby teeth, and She Hongmei had repeatedly forbidden her from eating sweets, so she hadn't had any for a long time.
"This is a reward too, but remember to brush your teeth after you eat." Seeing her wide-eyed, shocked expression, looking so adorable, She Ning couldn't help but pinch her slightly chubby cheeks. "Go on, your friends are already waiting for you."
In the courtyard, the children stood politely in the middle, and when they saw She Ning looking out, they all smiled and greeted her.
"Hello, Sister She~"
"Sister She, you're such a great cook!"
"Sister She~~"
Their little mouths were as sweet as honey, constantly spewing out lovely words.
“That’s right, my sister is the best.” Standing next to She Ning, She Ni puffed out her chest, sharing the honor, and said with a face full of pride.
"My sister can also make maltose, look!" She walked up to them happily and showed them the maltose in her hand. The golden candies in the jar looked especially tempting in the sunlight.
After the reforms, everyone's living standards have improved a lot, but each family has several children. With elderly parents to care for and young children to raise, they can barely make ends meet. Occasionally, they might add a meat dish or snacks like candy, which are usually only bought during the Lunar New Year.
I saw such a big jar of maltose.
"Wow..." The children exclaimed in surprise.
"Your sister is really amazing."
"I'm so envious of you having such a great older sister. It's a pity I only have a stinky younger brother. Can I switch with you?" This is the direct type.
"She Ni, can you be my older sister?" This is a roundabout way of saying "I want to achieve my goal in the best way possible."
If She Ni is her older sister, then by a rounding up, She Ning is also her older sister.
"No, not at all." Seeing through her little scheme, She Ni resolutely refused. Her sister could only be her sister! However, She Ni used a wooden stick to pick up a piece of malt candy, then twirled the stick around and around, making a large malt ball at the top of the stick, and handed it to them.
"But you can eat maltose with it," she said with a smile.
"Wow, wow, wow!!!" The young men exclaimed instantly, happily hugging She Ni and jumping around. After receiving the malt candy, they politely thanked her.
"Thank you, She Ni. I have some peanuts at home, I'll bring them to you later!"
"I have one too, I'll bring you one too!"
"I don't have any peanuts, but I have dried shrimp. I'll get them for you!"
The atmosphere in the courtyard was harmonious and everyone was doing well.
She Ning looked at She Ni in the crowd, her eyes crinkling with laughter, revealing a smile with two missing front teeth, and went into the kitchen with a sense of satisfaction.
During dinner, She Ning told everyone that she would be going to attend an advanced math class.
Upon hearing this, She Hongmei immediately put down the rice bowl she was holding on the table. She looked at She Ning with a serious expression and then repeated what She Ning had just said, "You said you were going to attend an Olympiad math class?"
Not understanding why she asked the question again, She Ning looked up at her and nodded firmly.
"Why? Is it because you're worried about your family's finances?"
After receiving an affirmative answer, She Hongmei's tone became somewhat dejected.
She knew that the math competition was for the best of the best, and her son She Ning was very talented, but to compete with those people, he would definitely have to put in much more effort and hard work.
If her child participates out of interest, she will agree 100% and fully support her. However, if it's to ease the family's burden, or if the goal is to get the exemption from exams and the prize money, she doesn't want her to work so hard.
She always hoped that She Ning and her sister could live carefree lives like children their age, playing when they should play and going to school when they should go to school, instead of forcing them to grow up too fast and become adults at a young age.
She has been working hard towards this goal.
Ignoring the strange looks from others, deciding to set up a stall was truly a wise choice. She wouldn't have believed it before, but in less than half a month, she had already earned more money than in previous years.
Her family's living conditions have greatly improved. A couple of days ago, she paid off the remaining debts, and the family now has a considerable surplus.
"Mom can support you all." Looking into She Ning's obedient eyes, She Hongmei said earnestly, word by word, "You can choose to do anything you like."
"Home will always be your strong support."
Those eyes, brimming with emotion, warmed the heart.
She Ning was startled, her eyes welled up with tears. She lowered her head and pretended to eat, her voice barely audible, as if squeezed out of her rice bowl.
"Um."
When faced with these sincere feelings, She Ning always felt a sense of guilt.
It's as if she's a thief, stealing the original owner's family and happiness. Whenever she feels that warmth, a sense of guilt wells up from the bottom of her heart and stabs her hard, making her realize that those beautiful things don't belong to her, nor are they hers.
Even though she promised to change the plot, protect the original owner's family, and lead them to a prosperous life, it couldn't erase the guilt in her heart.
She Hongmei knew that She Ning was a good person with ideas. After she finished expressing her thoughts, She Hongmei didn't say anything more. She changed the subject and praised today's dishes.
"Ah Ning, try this crab. I specially picked one with lots of roe." After picking up a swimming crab, she carefully removed its heart and broke the body in half. She handed the side with more roe to She Ning.
The snow-white crab meat is topped with red and yellow crab roe. Because it was broken in the middle, some of the crab roe flowed onto the crab meat, making it both extremely white and enticingly yellow.
Upon hearing this, She Ning quickly looked up, temporarily setting aside her thoughts and focusing on the present.
She reached out and took the swimming crab from She Hongmei's hand; female swimming crabs are at their fattest in April.
The fresh, sweet, and tender crab meat, and the rich, fragrant crab roe, intertwined together, created a mellow flavor that spread in her mouth, giving her an indescribable sense of satisfaction. She couldn't help but squint her eyes.
"It's delicious, you should eat some too."
She took a bite, looked up, and saw She Hongmei looking at her with affection. She Ning looked away a little embarrassed, then mustered up her courage to meet her gaze and picked up a scallop with vermicelli that She Hongmei liked.
"Mom, sister, you eat." She Ni didn't know what they were talking about. The food was delicious today, so she kept her head down and ate.
Seeing everyone picking up food, she joined in and served everyone a plate of stir-fried green beans with cured pork.
Grandma She is still eating in her room. Crabs are a bit troublesome to eat, so She Ning steamed crab meat and eggs for her. They are high in protein and easy to digest. Everyone enjoyed this seafood feast.
When it was time to sleep at night, there were mosquitoes in the room. I don't know where She Hongmei found half an incense stick, lit it, and placed it in the corner of the bed. A wisp of white smoke slowly rose, and soon the room was filled with a natural fragrance, fresh and elegant, which was refreshing and pleasant.
She Ning pushed open the door after taking a shower. The fresh scent seemed somewhat familiar, but she had been running around these past few days, her mind was on edge, and her body was exhausted. Without thinking much about it, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep soon after.
Wisps of white smoke rose in a winding motion, and the fragrance enveloped the entire room.
"She Ning, your family consists of an orphan and a widow. How can you manage without a man?"
"Your mother is still so young, she'll definitely get married eventually. You're just a young woman, can you support the She family?"
"If you get married in the future, without your family to support you, won't you be bullied to death?"
“My Yaozu is both obedient and filial. If he is adopted into your family, you will have an older brother to support you.”
"And with your grandma in this state now, you wouldn't want her to die and have no one to break the fire pit, would you?"
On the riverbank, a woman standing with her back to Xiao She Ning, wearing a floral shirt and dark blue coarse cloth pants, with a colorful cotton headscarf on her head, was earnestly and incessantly talking to her.
She Ning stood in mid-air. She saw little She Ning, her face pale, trembling with anger, break free from the man's hand and stand straight as she argued with the woman.
"How dare you talk to my mom like that? Are you looking for death?!" Suddenly, a fierce-looking man rushed over from the side and pushed Xiao She Ning, who was standing on the bank, into the river. She Ning quickly reached out to grab her, but when the two touched, Xiao She Ning passed straight through her.
With a "plop," She Ning felt as if she were a miniature She Ning, as the icy river water submerged her head, making it impossible for her to breathe through her nose, and a suffocating feeling came over her in waves.
Just as she was about to faint, a flash of light appeared before her eyes, and she found herself in front of a house.
"She's given birth! She's given birth to a baby girl!!!" The door on the east side of the main room opened, and the woman holding the swaddled baby exclaimed happily.
"Good, good, little girl is good!"
"May she enjoy good fortune, longevity, health, and peace. Let's name her She Ning." Holding the baby girl, the cheerful old man laughed happily.
The baby was sleeping soundly with her eyes closed and lips pursed in her swaddling clothes. There was a small red mole behind her ear.
She Ning stayed in the white mist, watching her grow from a crying infant to a toddler taking her first steps, and then to a little girl who picked up a kitchen knife before she was even up to the table.
Watching her, for some reason, always come up with all sorts of different recipes from all over the world to cook; watching her try all sorts of ways to improve her life during those special years; watching her blame herself for not being able to save Grandpa She.
It turns out that from beginning to end, she was always herself.
When She Yaozu pushed her into the river, she forgot everything about being reborn and growing up there. She only remembered herself from the future. When she woke up with a high fever, she thought that she was her future self who had transmigrated and replaced the original owner's identity.
It was only after waking up from a high fever and regaining her memories of her past life that the system was activated, and she realized that she was living in a historical fiction novel.
It turns out that She Ning is actually Little She Ning.
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