Chapter 9: You Still Have a Home in Jiangzhou?
Zhou Xing'er: "...?"
Liu Guihua walked over, a little tense herself, and pressed a hand to Zhou Xing'er's forehead. "Xing'er, did you get heatstroke out in the sun just now? Is your head all muddled? This baby's barely a few months old—how could he possibly talk?"
Zhang Fangfang curled her lip outright, muttering under her breath with undisguised disdain, "Exactly. Spouting nonsense first thing in the morning. A half-year-old milk baby stringing together a whole speech like that—what would that make him, a demon?"
That was when Zhou Xing'er finally snapped out of it.
Little Tiedan was only six months old. There was no way he could talk!
So what she'd just heard... was Little Tiedan's inner voice?
[Waaah! The pretty auntie wasn't making it up! I really am wet! It's all damp and stuck to my butt, it feels awful! Mommy, hurry and look at my bottom—it's really going to turn red! Wuu wuu, my butt hurts!]
Little Tiedan wailed even harder, screaming his lungs out while his heart cried out in grievance.
Now Zhou Xing'er was absolutely certain.
She hadn't misheard.
She really did have the superpower to hear a baby's inner voice!
A storm of shock crashed through Zhou Xing'er's heart. But right now, she had to get past this crisis first—she absolutely could not let her family think she'd been possessed.
Zhou Xing'er sucked in a deep breath, forced the shock down, and quickly plastered on an embarrassed smile.
She smacked her own forehead and said to Li Xiulan with a touch of coyness, "Oh, Eldest Sister-in-law, Mom, don't take it seriously. I just saw Tiedan crying so hard, his body sagging down, his little butt twisting this way and that, so I took a wild guess. I was just teasing Eldest Sister-in-law. It was only a joke."
At that explanation, everyone's taut nerves finally loosened.
Liu Guihua patted her chest and shot her a reproachful glare. "You wicked girl, making jokes like that first thing in the morning—scared me half to death. I thought a night in town had addled your brain."
"...Little sister has a point," Li Xiulan said, looking at her son with a pang of distress. "Tiedan's usually such a good boy. He only kicks up a fuss like this when he's wet or soiled himself. I touched him earlier and he did feel a bit damp. Let me open him up and check."
With that, Li Xiulan carried Little Tiedan over to the wooden bed, carefully unwrapped the small blanket around him, and pulled open the thick cotton diaper.
The moment the diaper came off, a puff of warm, damp air escaped.
The thick, coarse cotton diaper was soaked clean through, so heavy it could almost be wrung out. Little Tiedan's chubby bottom and the insides of his thighs had gone faintly red from sitting in urine so long.
"He really is wet—soaked through." One look at her son's reddened bottom and Li Xiulan's heart ached. She blamed herself over and over. "No wonder he was crying so hard. It's all my fault. I didn't check carefully earlier—I kept thinking the diaper had only just been changed, so I wanted him to stay wrapped a bit longer and save on washing so many every day. In this heat, being covered up really is miserable."
The instant the diaper was gone and his bottom met the cool air, Little Tiedan's crying dropped to soft little whimpers.
And in Zhou Xing'er's mind, that milky, childish voice heaved an utterly satisfied sigh.
[Phew... finally off. So much cooler. The pretty auntie's the best—if not for the pretty auntie, my butt would've hurt to death. Mommy, next time don't skimp on diapers, okay? My butt really hurts.]
Listening to Little Tiedan's grumbling, Zhou Xing'er couldn't help pressing her lips together and smiling.
This little guy—so young, yet so many thoughts in that head of his. He even knew who'd helped him.
Wait. Was something off here?
By all logic, Little Tiedan was only half a year old. Even if she could hear a baby's inner voice, a six-month-old's thoughts shouldn't come out in full sentences like that, should they?
Could it be... her nephew was a transmigrator, or someone reborn?
Or maybe this cheat wasn't hearing inner voices at all, but translating a baby's thoughts—rendering them into simpler, plainer words for her to hear?
Li Xiulan looked at the soaked diaper with some distress. In this day and age, there were no disposable diapers in the countryside—everyone used home-woven coarse cotton cloth, washed and dried and used again. But over time the cloth stiffened and chafed the skin, and constant washing wore it out fast.
"This diaper's been washed so many times it's starting to tear." Li Xiulan sighed, reluctant to throw it away.
Liu Guihua came over, took one look, and said, "If it's torn, stop using it. Don't hurt the child's skin. Later, dig out an old piece of clothing from the cabinet and cut it up for Tiedan's new diapers. Now that Heaven's blessing is on this family and our vegetables are growing so well, once we sell them, Mom will buy new cloth for Tiedan's diapers!"
"Yes—thank you, Mom." A grateful smile spread across Li Xiulan's face.
Li Xiulan cleaned Little Tiedan up, washed his bottom with warm water, and put him in a fresh coarse cotton diaper. Finally comfortable, Little Tiedan lay on the bed, his big dark eyes fixed on Zhou Xing'er, blowing bubbles and giggling nonstop.
Zhou Xing'er's heart melted at the sight. She couldn't resist reaching out to poke his chubby cheek.
Just then, Little Tiedan's bright eyes locked onto Zhou Xing'er, and that milky voice echoed in her mind again: [The pretty auntie's so nice. Auntie smells good. I like the pretty auntie best!]
Zhou Xing'er pressed her lips together and smiled to herself, secretly delighted. This little guy was a real little bundle of joy.
Old Man Zhou lifted his head and called out loudly to Zhou Xing'er and Liu Guihua inside the house, "Xing'er, since the vegetables in the field are growing so well, let's not waste any more time. Sun's good today—we'll give them a quick wash and push them to the county town to sell. If we're late, the shoppers will have gone home to cook and we'll miss our window."
Liu Guihua wiped her hands on her apron and hurried out of the house, nodding. "Right, the old man's got a point. Dazhu and Erzhu are out working the fields, so it's just us few left at home. Old man, you're strong—you push our big wooden cart, and take Xing'er with you. She can read and she's got a good memory; she can help with the accounts."
Zhou Xing'er came out, smiling. "Mom, that's just what I was thinking. Those tomatoes and cabbages in our field have grown too big—one cart won't hold much. Let's pick the reddest tomatoes and the biggest, firmest cabbages and load up one cart first. Dad and I will head out now."
Zhang Fangfang stood nearby, staring at the baskets of bright red tomatoes, her eyes shining. She leaned in, swallowed hard, and said, "Little sister, these tomatoes look so plump and juicy. I've lived twenty years and never seen tomatoes this big. Take them into the city and those city folk will be fighting to buy them. Dad, little sister, go slow on the road—don't bruise these beauties."
"Don't worry, Second Sister-in-law, Dad and I will be careful," Zhou Xing'er said as she helped Old Man Zhou load two baskets of big tomatoes and several heads of cabbage onto the wooden cart.
The cart was one Old Man Zhou had built himself from hard wood. Old as it was, creaking and groaning as it rolled, it was sturdy as anything. Old Man Zhou lashed the bamboo baskets firmly to the frame with hemp rope, then draped a clean damp cloth over the top so the sun wouldn't wilt the vegetables on the way.
Old Man Zhou let out a heavy breath, gripped the handles with both hands, braced his back, and shouted, "Up!"
The full, heavy cart of vegetables rose steady and sure. Zhou Xing'er took up a thick hemp rope at the front, helping guide the way and ease the old man's load.
Liu Guihua stood at the doorway, watching the two of them go, and called out loudly, "Keep an eye on the cart along the way! Don't fight anyone for the road! And if you don't sell everything, don't fret—just come home early for dinner!"