Jiang Ling was terrified. She didn't even bother to put on her shoes before stepping outside and saw Yao Jie leading Sui He and Wen Xitou, who were about to push open the door and leave.
"Where are you going?" Jiang Ling walked quickly to the three of them and asked.
“You didn’t eat anything yesterday, and your two younger sisters were worried you were hungry, so we decided to go up the mountain to dig up some wild vegetables,” Lu Yaojie said casually.
Jiang Ling looked at the three sensible children in front of her, and tears almost welled up in her eyes.
She patted the three of them on the shoulders and said softly, "Stay here. I promise you will never go hungry again. Wait for me to come back!"
As she spoke, Jiang Ling walked out of the dilapidated temple alone and headed towards the village chief's house.
"Village Chief, there's something I'd like to ask you." After knocking on the village chief's door, the village chief looked at Jiang Ling with great surprise.
Just as the village chief was about to drive Jiang Ling away, Jiang Ling spoke up first: "I came here today mainly to ask you if there are any houses for rent in our Lu Family Village? You see, I can't keep living in that dilapidated temple with my three children!"
The village chief was taken aback by Jiang Ling's words. He seemed to have misunderstood her. He stroked his white beard for a long time before saying to Jiang Ling, "It's not easy for you to raise three children alone. There's a house in the south of the village. You four can stay there for now. As for the rent, forget it, no one lives in that old house anyway!"
Jiang Ling was overjoyed, thanked him repeatedly, and then left.
Back at the dilapidated temple, Jiang Ling called the three children to the house in the south of the village. Looking at the old house's ruined state, Jiang Ling could only console herself, "It's better than the temple. What's done is done!"
A simple stove and two beds made of hardwood planks and hay are all that's left in this old house.
"Thank goodness, at least there's still a stove. We won't have to worry about cooking anymore!" Jiang Ling thought to herself as she led the children around the old house.
"Mother, why did you bring us here?" Jiang Suihe asked, looking around curiously.
"This is our new home. Uncle Village Chief agreed this morning that we could stay here!" Jiang Ling said as she distributed the buckwheat pancakes she had bought from the mall to the three children.
"Really?"
Jiang Ling's words surprised even the usually taciturn Yao Jie. Jiang Ling smiled and nodded, then turned her gaze to Yao Jie and said, "Yao Jie, you're quick on your feet. After we eat, go to Uncle Lu's house at the village entrance and reserve two oxcart seats. Tomorrow, you and your mother will go to Changning Town!"
Jiang Ling didn't want to waste money, but it would take at least an hour and a half to walk from Lujia Village to Changning Town, and a round trip would take a full three hours. Jiang Ling was afraid that she would be exhausted to death before she even got back.
"What?" Jiang Yaojie seemed to find it hard to believe his ears. He looked up at Jiang Ling in front of him.
“Tomorrow you and your mother will go to Changning Town. We have a place to stay, but we don’t even have basic cooking utensils. How are we going to start a fire and cook?” Jiang Ling explained patiently.
"But...but...all these things cost money."
Jiang Ling was secretly taken aback by Jiang Yaojie's words. Luckily, she had thought of a countermeasure in advance, otherwise it would have been difficult to fool this half-grown boy.
Jiang Ling calmly took out the silver hairpin and silver bracelet that she had snatched from the old woman earlier, and looked at the three children in front of her, saying, "These two items were given to me by your uncle before I got married. They should be worth some silver if I pawn them in town. That should be enough to buy some basic necessities!"
"No! I don't agree! This is... this is your favorite thing, how can you pawn it!" Jiang Yaojie stood up abruptly after hearing Jiang Ling's words, his face flushed red.
Looking at Jiang Yaojie's current state, Jiang Ling knew that the young man was gradually improving his condition. She gently patted Jiang Yaojie's shoulder and said calmly, "Yaojie, do you have a better way to keep us from going hungry?"
Jiang Ling's words stunned him. After a long while, Jiang Yaojie finally sat down on the ground with his head drooping and a dejected look on his face.
"We have to choose between liking something and filling our stomachs, right? We can just redeem it when we have the money!" Jiang Ling's words were soft, but full of hope.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yaojie shuddered. Jiang Ling calmly changed the subject, saying, "Yaojie, after we finish eating the pancakes, go to Uncle Lu's house to reserve a table. Then, we'll meet up at the back of the mountain!"
Jiang Yaojie lowered his head, quickly wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve, then hurriedly stood up and ran towards the door without finishing his pancake.
Jiang Ling didn't stop them. She turned to her two daughters and said, "After we finish eating the pancakes, let's go up the mountain together to dig up some wild vegetables. I promise I won't let you go hungry from now on!"
The two daughters obediently nodded and quickly stuffed the remaining buckwheat pancakes into their mouths.
At noon, the sun radiates immense heat, scorching everything.
As soon as Jiang Ling stepped out of the room, a wave of heat hit her, and within seconds, her forehead was covered in beads of sweat.
"Forget it, these two kids are too weak in this heat. It would be troublesome if they got heatstroke!"
Jiang Ling looked up at the sun, thought for a moment, then turned to her two daughters and said, "My darlings, it's too hot. You stay home and behave yourselves. I'll go by myself."
Although the two daughters wanted to say something, Jiang Ling eventually persuaded them to stay silent.
As Jiang Ling passed by the ridge of the field, she glanced at the wheat field and, taking advantage of the others' inattention, gently pinched a wheat ear. Jiang Ling was secretly surprised to find that the wheat, which was supposed to be ripe in more than a month, was now hollow inside the ear.
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