***

After Gu Chunzhu washed the dishes, she sat in the house and started to worry.

This family is really poor. There's only a handful of rice left in the rice Jar. She counted the sweet potatoes in the basket. There are only six palm-sized sweet potatoes remaining.

There are some things hidden in the memory of the original owner, a small bowl of lard and a small half jar of salt.

It was cold outside. At this point, they can only eat up to two or three days. Su Wangqin didn't say when he'd return. Gu Chunzhu decided that she will not wait and die. There were many beasts in the mountains. What if Su Wangqin died in the mountains? She can't be too sure that he would return.

She walked to the side of the locked mahogany box, unlocked it by spinning the key two times and opened the lid to reveal a parcel wrapped with three layers of red paper.

It was a silver hairpin, the only dowry that Gu Chunzhu brought from her family.

The one she had secretly hidden.

Su Wangqin spent a dozen silvers to marry back the original owner, a fat, lazy and sloppy wife who didn't even look after their children. Gu Chunzhu pitied him. The original owner's family did not care about her and sold her.

She didn't have time to complain. She pushed the door open, ready to go out before the sky turned dark. She was about to walk out of the door and thought of the two children nesting by the corner of the wall.

"I'm going out. You obediently wait for me at home to come back. I'll bring you delicious food." Gu Chunzhu turned to the two children who had washed their faces, but were dressed in torn clothes.

The two children's eyes had an empty look, their heads moved a little, but there was no emotion in their eyes.

Gu Chunzhu pondered for a moment, the original owner often lied to the children like this.

She was preparing to go out, when the cold wind poured in by the door making her shiver. Gu Chunzhu stepped back into the room again and gave a quilt to the children and let them sleep on the bed. Then she went out safely.

She went to the town according to the route in her memory.

In the pawnshop, she carried her silver hairpin and asked to exchange it for silver. It can be changed for a silver coin.

Gu Chunzhu appeased the boss and asked him to add a little more. Finally, she went out carrying two silvers, like walking out of the pawnshop with hundreds of millions, she touched it from time to time, for fear of losing it.

Seeing that it was getting dark, she went to the grain store to buy twenty pounds of brown rice, which cost sixty coppers, she also asked the store for a broken basket to carry it in. Thinking of Xiaocheng's forehead injury, she went to the drug store and bought a bottle of gold sore medicine. This bottle of gold sore medicine cost 500 coppers.

Sure enough, in the ancient world life was difficult. Medicine was extraordinarily expensive. Gu Chunzu bought it while gritting her teeth. This child should grow up well.

Thinking of the two children's torn clothes, she couldn't count how many holes were broken, Gu Chunzhu bought some needles and threads, she would ask the people in the village for a few rags to patch their clothes. In the end there were 6 coppers left and a small silver.

Gu Chunzhu felt that she should not spend all the money and decided to save some. She hurriedly prepared to go home. When she passed by a bun stall, she stopped involuntarily.

"Xiaozi (youngster/ young fellow), buy a bun and try it?" The aunt who sold the bun beckoned to Gu Chunzhu.

Smelling the scent of the buns, Gu Chunzhu's belly was agitated for a while. She covered her belly and asked. "How much is this bun sold for?"

"There are only 2 meat buns left 2 coppers per piece." The aunt raised the steamer, exposing two white fat meat buns, steaming from the heat.

Gu Chunzhu couldn't help but swallow her spit, she reached out and touched the silver in her arms. She could buy more than half a catty of brown rice for these two coppers.

The bun is really expensive, exceeding her consumption level.

"Let's buy it another day." Gu Chunzhu decided to look away and stepped forward to leave.

"Little sister-in-law, these are the last two. If you want to take them away, I'll charge you three coppers. It's night and since you're going home the children at home must be hungry. My bun is famous in town, you really should take it back for the children to taste," the aunt said to Gu Chunzhu.

An An and Xiaocheng had never tasted buns. Gu Chunzhu sighed in her heart, she looked down and raised her head again, her eyes radiant: "Ma'am, I'll buy two buns for 3 coppers. You add an extra one."

"Can't afford it, this bun is also made of fine wheat and it's expensive. Little sister-in-law, you really have to forgive me". The aunt was so frightened that she hurriedly waved her hands.

Gu Chunzhu's face flushed red. In order to let the children live a good life, she continued to bargain: "Madam, neither of my family has tasted buns before. If it's delicious, I will definately come and buy it again."

The aunt hesitated, after a while she carefully looked at Gu Chunzhu's dress, which was made of the cheapest coarse cloth. Maybe they could only eat buns like this once in a lifetime. She will think of it as doing a kind act.

"That's it, I'll wrap it up for you, so you can go home soon." The aunt said, took the oil paper and wrapped two buns and a white-faced bun.

(T/n: she probably got a veggie bun as a freebie)

Gu Chunzhu handed over three coppers and said with gratitude: "Thank you, Madam, I'll look for you the next time I buy buns."

The lady shook her head helplessly, watching Gu Chunzhu's back.

It was already night when Gu Chunzhu returned to Xiaohetou Village. The moon hung high and shone in the sky. Gu Chunzhu was carrying a basket on her back and the buns near her chest. She was afraid that the buns would be cold and covered them all the way back.

Pushing open the door of the house, there was no heat from the charcoal fire inside. The whole house was dark and there were no traces of movement. A moment of panic flashed in her chest, she quickly lowered her basket and shouted, "Xiaocheng, An'an."

“We're here …" The weak voices of the children came from the corner.

Gu Chunzhu fumbled to find the oil lamp, and lit it with a flame. She found the two children still leaning against the corner of the wall, huddling each other for heat.

"Why don't you light up the fire?" Gu Chunzhu blamed.

The two children flinched without a reply.

Gu Chunzhu realized that the original owner had caused a huge shadow in the hearts of the two children. She slowed her tone and patiently explained, "it's so cold and dark at night. You didn't light the oil lamp, and you didn't light the charcoal fire. What if you get sick? Quick, don't Stay on the ground, come to bed. "

Gu Chunzhu's words just fell, and An An at the corner of the wall suddenly cried out ‘ahh’.

"Don't cry, what's wrong?" Gu Chunzhu hurried over.

Xiaocheng wrapped his sister tightly and blocked Gu Chunzhu's sight. He said dully, "An'an slept and wet the bed. Don't hit her, hit me if you're angry".

Gu Chunzhu frowned, An An is Still young, and she rarely sleeps on the bed, when the charcoal fire was lit in the room you can sleep comfortably, you naturally urinate in your dreams.

She saw the two children looking scared and distressed, felt the bulging things in her arms and handed them over, she said quietly: "No problem, see what good things I brought back for you."