Jian Shuangshuang was incredibly embarrassed at this moment.
A grown woman like her, being called stinky to her face — even if she wasn't the original owner of this body, she couldn't stand it.
Back in the day, she was the cleanest female member of the security team. She wouldn't always bathe every day, but she guaranteed at least every two days.
Besides, it's not like she didn't want to bathe now. She just got here, and hasn't even had a moment of comfort yet.
She still needed Yu Si Niang's help to get up, let alone walk to the kitchen to fetch water, boil it, and then bathe.
Ugh, next time, if she has to time travel, she should at least end up in a body that's fit and strong, with all limbs intact.
Now she's ended up in a body so frail she can barely crawl. What a waste of her martial skills and intelligence.
Mu Xiaozhi saw her sister's flushed face and suddenly laughed.
Mu Xiaozhi was only six years old, with big, round eyes full of innocence.
When she laughed, her teeth showed, and Jian Shuangshuang saw the gap between her two front teeth where red flesh was visible, making her look exceptionally adorable.
Jian Shuangshuang couldn't help but join in the laughter.
"Mom, look, sister is laughing!" Mu Xiaozhi shouted as if she had discovered a new continent, pointing at Jian Shuangshuang.
Yu Si Niang felt like honey had coated her heart; she couldn't be happier.
But Jian Shuangshuang soon stopped laughing because she had just inhaled a breath of air that almost suffocated her…
Dammit, at this rate, she'll kill herself with her own stench before any enemy gets her!
She turned her head in disgust, just as Mu Xiaozhi was watching.
After all, kids say whatever's on their mind.
"Mom, sister got smelly from herself! Haha, Mom, sister is so funny…"
Jian Shuangshuang rolled her eyes. Hmph, what does a little kid know? She's older, so she wouldn't stoop to their level.
"Alright, Little Zhi, sister just woke up; let her rest a bit more. Go play with your Brother Xiao Han in the courtyard, and don't come back in until lunchtime."
Yu Si Niang still cared for this eldest daughter. The daughter who used to be silent now talks, can call her "Mom," and even smiles.
Of course, she wanted to treat her eldest daughter well, even if it meant putting her youngest aside.
Listening to Yu Si Niang, Mu Xiaozhi made a playful face and then quickly dashed out of the room, wiggling her little backside.
Jian Shuangshuang suddenly felt much better, and her unfamiliarity with this world began to fade. This family seemed quite interesting!
"Mom…bath…" Jian Shuangshuang cleared her throat. Another burst of the stench nearly knocked her out.
She couldn't wait any longer; she had to bathe.
Afraid that Yu Si Niang wouldn't understand, Jian Shuangshuang pointed to her greasy clothes.
Then she pointed at the yellowish layer of plaque on her teeth, signaling to Yu Si Niang that she needed to freshen up.
Yu Si Niang was taken aback. Her daughter's desire to be clean was a good thing, but with a head and body full of wounds, too much water was not advisable.
"Shuangshuang, wait a few days. Once your wounds are better, Mom will heat up water for your bath. Please bear with it for now. I know it's hard for you, just a little longer…" Yu Si Niang repeated gently by Shuangshuang's ear; her voice was light, like feather strokes on the skin, soft and tender.
Jian Shuangshuang suddenly felt sleepy. Yu Si Niang gave her such a nice feeling.
She spent four years at police school, then interned at a secret base for a few years before being assigned as a desk-duty female officer in a small town.
Even so, she never lacked the vigilance a police officer should have, but with Yu Si Niang, she just couldn't muster any.
Maybe this body still held feelings of the original owner!
Feeling drowsy, Jian Shuangshuang decided to sleep. Whatever the issue, she would deal with it after napping.
*
Jian Shuangshuang was awakened by Yu Si Niang. As soon as she opened her eyes, Yu Si Niang's face, magnified several times, appeared in front of her.
In her hand, she held a big sea bowl topped with an upside-down earthenware bowl.
There was a crack from top to bottom of the earthenware bowl, giving the impression that it could split in two at any moment.
Jian Shuangshuang was in a daze looking at the half-broken bowl that was still being used; she understood now — this family was poor!
They couldn't even part with a half-broken bowl!
As for the other rooms, she didn't know, but certainly, this place was poverty-stricken.
There was just one piece of furniture, and even the adobe bed looked grimy and old.
The jacket she used as a pillow was evidently worn out, but Yu Si Niang treated it like a treasure.
She would look at it and touch it repeatedly, fearing someone would steal it.
"Shuangshuang, come eat!" Yu Si Niang lifted the earthenware bowl, interrupting Jian Shuangshuang's train of thought.
"Mom…eat!"
Jian Shuangshuang touched Yu Si Niang's hand, trying to save her voice by speaking only one or two words, preferably monosyllables.
But Yu Si Niang understood.
"Mom's not hungry… I already ate…" Yu Si Niang's eyes flickered; to get her daughter this meal, she endured plenty of scolding from Old Mrs. Mu and even a harsh beating on her hand.
Her wrist still felt numb, probably bruised.
What did Jian Shuangshuang do for a living?
Her eyes were sharper than a needle; she could tell lies at a glance. Yu Si Niang's shifty eyes told her brain she was lying.
"Mom… if you don't… eat, then I won't either…" One sentence, Jian Shuangshuang took several attempts to finish; she couldn't bring herself to say the last "eat" and just stopped.
After resting for a few hours, she regained some strength. Jian Shuangshuang raised her hand and took the cracked earthenware bowl.
This was the first time she noticed the food in Yu Si Niang's big sea bowl.
Actually, this bowl was just for show. It looked big, but its contents were pitiably sparse.
Only half a scoop of rice was in the big sea bowl, covered by three chunks of sweet potato, so little rice you could almost count the grains with chopsticks.
On top of the sweet potato was half a spoon of blackish fermented soybean. The beans looked dry and shrunken, with not a hint of oil.
And there were two withered cabbages that seemed to have been stewed several times, their leaves no longer the fresh green they once were.
Instead, they were an olive-like color, resembling the innards of a squashed caterpillar.
Jian Shuangshuang lost her appetite completely. This wasn't nourishment; it was torture.
It must be that damned old hag behind this. What kind of grudge did she have to be so ruthless?
After pondering for a moment, Jian Shuangshuang suddenly spoke.
"Mom… I seem to have forgotten everything from before. Even grandpa and grandma, I can't remember. Could you tell me who all are in this family?"