Chen Lan hesitated, wondering whether to answer, and if so, how. Before she could decide, she choked on her own spit and started coughing.
At that moment, the door was pushed open, and a middle-aged woman hurried in. She was wearing dark green, oblique-collared clothes and pants made of fine cotton cloth, about eighty to ninety percent new. Her hair was styled into a low bun, adorned with what looked like a zitan or rosewood hairpin (it was hard to tell in the dim light). She cradled a tiny infant in her arms, her expression gentle. The baby was whimpering softly, seemingly searching for milk. Following close behind her was another woman, carrying a tray with two bowls. She also wore dark brown, oblique-collared cotton clothes and pants, about seventy percent new, with two or three patches on them. This woman, with a smile, followed closely behind the gentle woman into the room.
The gentle woman rushed to the bedside, holding the baby in one arm and gently patting Chen Lan's back with the other. She admonished, "Lan'er, are you feeling any better? Are you any better?"
Chen Lan quickly replied, "Much better, I'm fine!"
The gentle woman continued, "You got caught in the rain yesterday. When you came home, Liu Mama specifically made you ginger soup. You said it was too spicy and the smell was too strong, so you only drank half a bowl. As a result, you started running a fever last night. Do you want to scare me to death? I can't lose you again. If you leave, what about my heart, Jia Yao and Jia Hui? They are only two months old! And your two younger brothers haven't grown up yet, and you want to cruelly leave your mother behind?" Her voice trailed off into a stream of scolding and crying.
Chen Lan's head buzzed, and she was once again bewildered. "Nani? Mother?"
Chen Lan finally realized the oversight she had made in her transmigration. Her current identity was the daughter of the gentle woman, the mother of two-month-old infants. Wait, it seemed like two infants. What were their names? Jia Yao and Jia Hui, wasn't it? There was only one infant here, where was the other? As she pondered this,
A brisk woman, with her hair in a bun and adorned with an ebony hairpin (the material of the wooden hairpin was unclear), wearing green oblique-collared clothes and pants, bustled in through the door. She too was cradling an infant. As she walked towards the bedside, she said cheerfully, "Xiao Lan, has the fever broken? Are you still feeling unwell? Little Yao'er is hungry. Give him some milk to satisfy him! This child is so clever. He tasted the rice water and refused to open his mouth again! I really had no other choice!"
"Eh! Sister-in-law, why are you crying? Is something wrong with Xiao Lan? Has the fever not broken yet?..."
Alright, this must be the mother-in-law, that's certain! The other child was in her arms!
Chen Lan quickly replied, "Much better, nothing's wrong!" to avoid causing another round of tears.
At this moment, the woman next to her mother, the one called Liu Mama, spoke up with a smile, "Miss, I've brought the wash water for you. Please wash up first."
Chen Lan responded naturally, "Okay! How many times have I told you, Liu Mama, that we're liberated now? A new government, a new country! We are all the same now, everyone is equal! You can't call people 'Miss' or 'Young Master' anymore! You must remember this firmly, otherwise, it could lead to trouble!" Chen Lan deliberately made the matter sound serious. If Liu Mama didn't take it to heart and later spoke out of turn, it could indeed cause trouble.
At this moment, the gentle mother urged, "Lan'er, quickly! Quickly! Jia Hui has been hungry for a long time and is already getting impatient!" The infant in her arms began to wail loudly, arching into her embrace as it cried.
Then, the one in the mother-in-law's arms also started crying...
Oh my god! It's too terrifying! The roof is about to be torn down by the noise...