Literary Master-Chapter 2.

Chapter 2: Eating Porridge Together

Mu Qiong was lost in thought when a young girl in a gown, with a mat made of mulberry leaves to protect against scalds, came running in holding a pot on both sides.

“Mother, the meal is ready.”

The young girl appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old. Due to the rain outside, her hair was damp, and water droplets trickled down her face, giving her a somewhat disheveled look. Despite this, her delicate appearance still captivated those who saw her.

This was Mu Changyu, the younger sister of the original owner.

Nowadays, larger families often have genealogies and predetermined generational names.

The so-called generational name refers to the character used in a name to indicate the family’s generation. Typically, auspicious four-character or five-character poetic phrases are chosen, sometimes in the form of couplets.

For the Mu family’s generational names, it is “世代綿長，家道永昌” (meaning “generation after generation, the family’s prosperity is everlasting”). The original owner’s grandfather had the generational character “道,” and his name was Mu Daoming. His parents belonged to the generational character “永,” named Mu Yongxue. The original owner and his sister belonged to the generational character “昌,” and the original owner’s name was Mu Changqiong, while his sister was named Mu Changyu.

Meeting Mu Qiong’s gaze, Mu Changyu’s face lit up with joy, “Brother? Are you up?”

“Yeah, I’m much better now,” Mu Qiong smiled.

Mu Changyu, like Zhu Wanwan, placed the clay pot she was holding on a wooden stool. She smiled at Mu Qiong, her eyes sparkling.

“It’s time to eat! Brother, you must eat more. Eating more will help you recover faster!”

“Alright,” Mu Qiong agreed but then couldn’t help but cough.

Seeing this, Mu Changyu became concerned and looked at Zhu Wanwan.

“Mother, Aunt Zhao said that boiling water with loquat leaves can help stop coughing. About a mile to the south, someone is growing loquat trees. Shall I go and get some leaves for Brother’s drink?”

“No, you are not allowed to go!” Zhu Wanwan responded without hesitation, then explained, “When the time comes, I will go. Changyu, you stay at home, don’t go out. It’s chaotic outside.”

“Mother, I won’t go out,” Mu Changyu obediently replied.

“After we finish eating, I’ll go pick some loquat leaves. Changyu, you stay at home with your brother,” Zhu Wanwan added. As she spoke, she scooped water from the nearby basin to wash the bowl Mu Qiong had used for medicine. After cleaning it, she filled another bowl with porridge and handed it to Mu Qiong.

The Mu family had long resided in Suzhou, and all three of them were accustomed to eating rice. However, buying rice and cooking it required additional ingredients, and cooking porridge consumed firewood…

If they used full strength to light the fire, the firewood bought with a copper coin wouldn’t last a day. Zhu Wanwan wished she could split a copper coin into two, so she didn’t want to waste it. Instead, she opted to buy flour to make porridge.

The flour available in the market, mixed with bran, wasn’t expensive, and it was convenient to use. Boiling water, adding a few spoons of flour, stirring, and then adding some salt would result in edible porridge. It was a convenient and cost-effective option.

Their home didn’t have many spare utensils. The clay pot was initially used to brew medicine for Mu Qiong, and then it was used to cook the porridge. Despite being washed in between, it still retained a medicinal smell, making the already unappetizing porridge even less palatable.

Mu Qiong had never eaten such unappetizing food in his previous life, but back then, his health was not good, and he had to take medicine regularly, which tasted even worse. Now, he could tolerate it.

The original owner had experienced extreme hunger, leaving him with no appetite. He felt nauseous when eating, but for the sake of his health, Mu Qiong forced himself to slowly finish the porridge.

Mu Qiong didn’t like eating the porridge, but Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu, mother and daughter, enjoyed it.

They didn’t have bowls, so they ate directly from the clay pot using wooden spoons. Mu Changyu always waited for Zhu Wanwan to take a spoonful before she would take one herself.

After finishing, they poured a bit of water into the pot, swirled it around, and then shared the remaining water inside.

Back when the Mu family lived in Suzhou, their life wasn’t luxurious, but they still had white rice with chicken eggs every day, and every other day, they had meat such as chicken, duck, or fish. When they moved to Beijing, their diet didn’t suffer much. However, at present, even having a full meal was a challenge.

Mu Qiong felt an itchiness in his throat and a general weakness throughout his body. After finishing the porridge, he lay down again.

As for Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu, they didn’t venture outside. Instead, they brought chairs and sat at the doorway, using the light coming in from outside to mend their clothes.

Zhu Wanwan, who rarely went out and was hesitant to speak to strangers, had been finding odd jobs in various ways to support her children.

She was unwilling to let her children go out to work, so she could only bring piecework home. Unfortunately, she couldn’t secure the kind of lucrative jobs involving embroidery and sewing fancy ribbons. In the end, she settled for jobs like washing clothes and doing repairs.

Nearby, there was a harbor with many sand boats, and most of the young men working on these boats came to Shanghai from elsewhere to make a living.

The sand boat factory provided meals and accommodation, along with a monthly salary ranging from four or five yuan to seven or eight yuan. With relatively comfortable financial situations, when their clothes became dirty or torn, they would spend a copper or two to hire someone for laundry, washing, and repairs.

Many middle-aged women in the vicinity took up this work, earning a few copper coins as private savings or to supplement their household expenses. Over the past month, Zhu Wanwan had been doing this kind of work.

A couple of days ago, she brought back a lot of worn-out clothes and was currently sewing and mending them. She planned to wait for the rain to stop, wash them clean, and then dry them to be sent to the sailors.

The sailors’ dirty clothes carried a foul smell mixed with the sea, and the odor made Zhu Wanwan feel nauseous. In the past, she used to wash the clothes before sewing and mending, but with consecutive days of rain, washing became challenging as they couldn’t dry properly. So, she and her daughter had to endure the peculiar smell while working hard.

Mu Qiong, unaware of these details, fell back into a drowsy sleep.

When he woke up again, it was mid-afternoon, and the rain had stopped. Only Mu Changyu was sitting at the doorway. Shortly after, Zhu Wanwan returned with a few loquat leaves.

That evening, Mu Qiong didn’t take any medicine. Instead, he drank water boiled with loquat leaves and ate a bowl of porridge with the taste of loquat leaves. The first day after his transmigration had passed.

Currently, Shanghai has electricity and electric lights, but the cost of electricity is not cheap, and most households cannot afford it. In the area where the Mu family rents their house, there is no household with electricity. People still rely on oil lamps or candles.

Unfortunately, Mu Qiong’s family doesn’t even have oil lamps or candles. Once it gets dark, they are left with nothing to do.

When the night falls, Zhu Wanwan arranges two stools next to Mu Qiong’s bed in the dark. She places a worn-out door on top and adds a piece of bedding to make a makeshift bed.

After setting up the bed, Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu lie down, embracing each other and covering themselves with their coats, preparing to sleep.

The worn-out door is not much longer than two meters and just over one meter wide. Although the two of them have small statures, lying down is still quite cramped.

But Mu Qiong is also sleeping on a bed like this, equally narrow, and swapping wouldn’t make much of a difference. Even if they put two door panels together… no, placed two beds side by side, perhaps three people could lie more comfortably. However, the original owner is already sixteen years old, an age when people in this era can get married and have children. Even if he’s willing, Zhu Wanwan and her daughter probably wouldn’t be.

Mu Qiong sighed inwardly.

The mother and daughter quickly fell asleep, emitting soft snoring sounds. However, Mu Qiong, having slept too much during the day, now found himself wide awake, giving him time to contemplate.

Starting today, he is Mu ChangQiong living in the Republic of China… no, just Mu Qiong.

Since the Mu family has already driven away the three of them, Mu Qiong no longer needs to adhere to the generational names of the Mu family. In the future, he can still go by the name Mu Qiong.

Mu Qiong confirmed the reality and began contemplating the future.

With their home now nearly empty, the urgency to find a way to earn money is pressing.

In his previous life, Mu Qiong earned a living with his writing skills. In this era, he could potentially return to his old profession. After all, intellectuals are highly esteemed and can be lucrative during this time. Some people even receive substantial fees, sometimes in the tens of thousands of silver dollars, for a single book.

However, based on Mu Qiong’s memories, earning money through writing can be a slow process. From submitting an article to receiving payment, it could take more than a month. Additionally, many newspapers and magazines have established relationships with specific writers, and submitting unsolicited work might not be accepted.

Therefore, it would be best for him to find a job first and then think about other possibilities slowly.

In his drowsy state, Mu Qiong drifted back to sleep.

The next day, when he woke up, Mu Qiong still had a bit of a cough, but it wasn’t as severe as the previous day. It’s unclear whether the loquat leaves from yesterday played a role or if his mental state, having transmigrated, contributed to an improved overall well-being.

Next to his bed was an old bamboo-woven box containing a complete set of clothes, including shoes and socks.

Considering their current difficult situation, any valuable clothing had likely been sold long ago. However, Mu Qiong still had a few decent sets of clothes left.

Mu Qiong chose a bamboo fabric robe to wear. Bamboo fabric is typically used for summer clothing, so he added two layers of white cotton undershirts to stay warm in the current weather.

Dressed in his clothes, Mu Qiong opened the door and saw the eastern sky adorned with the rising sun, casting myriad hues of light. Since the rain had stopped yesterday, and today was a bright and sunny day, it lifted the spirits.

Despite the dilapidated state of the house they were renting, once outside, Mu Qiong noticed a large courtyard with very high walls.

In the southern part of the courtyard stood a large house with four rooms, each equipped with a loft. On both sides, there were two smaller rooms. Adjacent to the southern courtyard wall, two makeshift sheds were constructed next to the main gate.

With a single glance, Mu Qiong saw Mu Changyu cooking under one of the small sheds. Besides Mu Changyu, others were also busy cooking there, indicating that this area served as a makeshift kitchen.

The courtyard ground was paved with wet stone slabs, some with small puddles of rainwater in the indentations.

On the ground next to the nearby corridor, there was a wooden basin with a baby inside, probably less than a year old. He was the first to notice Mu Qiong and started making baby noises upon seeing him.

A young woman in her twenties, busy cooking, turned around upon hearing the baby’s cries. Spotting Mu Qiong, she greeted him, “Is Young Master Mu doing well?”

Mu Changyu, upon hearing the voice, looked up and saw Mu Qiong standing at the doorway, her face lighting up with joy. “Brother!”

“Changyu, are you cooking?” Mu Qiong asked, walking towards the makeshift kitchen.

“No, Brother. I’m simmering loquat leaves. I washed the clothes this morning and just started the fire,” Mu Changyu replied.

As Mu Qiong approached, he indeed saw Mu Changyu boiling the torn dark green loquat leaves in a pot.