"Well, from now on we will be husband and wife, so there is no need to address each other so formally," said Gu Jinchen.
For some reason, hearing her own name softly called from his lips made Luo Ge's heart flutter. His words seemed to gently remind her of their new relationship.
Luo Ge was startled for a moment, but quickly nodded in understanding.
"Then what should I call you?" she asked.
She understood very clearly the implications of his words. She was not being coy; from the day she came back with him, she had been mentally prepared. Adults would naturally take responsibility for the things they said.
Moreover, those who adapted appropriately to the times were exceptional.
But she was momentarily at a loss for how to appropriately address him. Calling him "husband"...somehow without having gone through the wedding ritual yet, it felt awkward.
So she simply deflected the question back to him to gauge his preference.
"You can call me Jinchen or husband," the man said matter-of-factly, showing no embarrassment whatsoever on his face.
He paused for a moment, then turned to look at her.
"The doctor said your condition is due to malnutrition from starvation for too long. With plenty of rest you will be fine," he said.
"I'm planning on going to the government office first to register our marriage license. Then after you've recovered we can have the wedding ceremony and formalize our marriage. What do you think?"
In this day and age, a marriage license was akin to a modern marriage certificate. With the license, she would be registered under his family name and would no longer be an undocumented migrant.
"I have no objections, I will defer to you," she replied.
Her biggest concern right now was resolving her status as an undocumented migrant. Hearing his plans, she naturally had no objections and agreed.
For a bride who was bought back like her, if it were another family she would have likely been forced to marry and consummate the marriage as soon as she woke up. The fact that he was willing to wait until she recovered showed he was already being considerably accommodating.
After she consented, he reached out his hand asking for her household registration.
Since she did not actually have one, she fibbed that she had lost it while fleeing the famine.
She then randomly told him the name of a place she had passed through while fleeing, claiming that was her original place of registry.
In the past two years drought had plagued the northwest without rain. Countless people fled south to escape starvation, and chaos reigned along the roads. Losing belongings en route was not uncommon.
Hearing this, Gu Jinchen did not question her further. He picked up the bowl she had used and went out.
Seeing that he did not probe deeper, Luo Ge secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
...The dangers abounded endlessly along the famine escape route. From the day she transmigrated here she had not relaxed her vigilance for a moment, keeping tense as her nerves remained tightly wound.
After over a month she finally escaped danger and could relax, so various discomforts with her body naturally surfaced immediately.
After taking the medicine, her head still felt muddled so she lay down to rest for a while.
In her groggy semi-conscious state it seemed she could hear the two little ones talking.
"Older brother, why isn't Auntie awake yet?" Er Bao and Da Bao were on their bellies peering worriedly at Luo Ge from the bedside.
Hearing Er Bao speak, Da Bao quickly covered his mouth and whispered softly:
"Shhh, uncle said Auntie's body hasn't recovered yet and needs more rest, we have to keep our voices down as to not disturb her."
Hearing this, Er Bao immediately covered his own mouth and quietly leaned in close to his brother, whispering:
"Older brother, will Auntie really wake up? I'm scared." They didn't know that Luo Ge had woken up at noon. At this moment they were very frightened.
They were afraid Auntie would sleep and sleep like their father and grandparents did, and not wake up again.
Afraid that they really had harmed their little auntie.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Er Bao unconsciously retreated quite some distance, not daring to get too close to Luo Ge.
After all, the rumors in the village about them being ominous still affected the little ones.
These two little kids weren't even five years old yet, but seemed far too precociously sensible due to the rumors.
Hearing his younger brother's words, Da Bao pursed his lips and clenched his little fists, nodding firmly.
"She will, Auntie will definitely wake up." As he spoke he reached out to pull his younger brother along out of the room.
"We'll stay farther away from Auntie, then we won't hurt her. Auntie will definitely get better soon."
"Okay, we'll stay farther away," they said as they walked away, but their eyes were still filled with reluctance.
Having lost their mother so young, they often saw how dearly other children were treasured by their mothers, so their longing for maternal love was intense.
Before Gu Jinchen had brought up taking a wife, he had told them that their future auntie would love and take care of them like their mother did.
So they had been greatly anticipating their uncle quickly bringing their little auntie home.
They were not little kids anymore and could take care of themselves, they didn't want to tire their auntie. They just yearned for a "mother's love."
Yet now that the auntie they had been eagerly waiting for had come, they did not dare get close.
The wariness they now regarded her with made one's heart ache.
As the two little ones spoke amongst themselves, Luo Ge had already woken up.
She naturally heard the old woman's words and understood the situation with the two kids, having been an orphan herself. She could empathize with their feelings as fellow orphans.
Under the surprised gazes of the two little ones, she propped herself up in the bed and waved them over.
"Da Bao, Er Bao, come here." When Gu Jinchen addressed the two kids Luo Ge had heard their names called before through the thin walls, so she knew what they were called.
Hearing her voice, the stunned and overjoyed little ones finally came back to their senses. Obediently they drew a bit closer, but still kept some distance from her, their eyes gleaming hopefully.
"Auntie, you woke up!"
"Auntie, are you still uncomfortable?"
The two little ones watched her expectantly, speaking in chorus.
"Don't worry about me, I'm not uncomfortable anymore," Luo Ge said with a smile and shake of her head.
Hearing her words the two kids visibly relaxed somewhat. Seeing her voice was hoarse, Da Bao immediately ran out and came rushing back with a bowl of water.
"Here's water for you Auntie."
Luo Ge really did need to replenish her fluids right now, so she drank it down without hesitation.
After taking the bowl from him, she fondly ruffled the hair on his little head.
"You're Da Bao right? Thank you."
When she ruffled his hair, the little one was clearly startled for a bit before his small face reddened, somewhat shy.
"Mm, yes Auntie I'm Da Bao, and this is my younger brother Er Bao." Saying this, he pulled his younger brother Er Bao over to stand closer to him. He knew his brother must also want his hair ruffled by Auntie.
Beside him, Er Bao saw that his older brother got to have his hair ruffled by Auntie and his eyes were full of envy.
But he obediently stayed put beside them without saying anything. Only after Da Bao brought him up did he sweetly call out "Auntie" to Luo Ge.
Luo Ge naturally noticed the look in the little guy's eyes. Seeing Da Bao next to him filled with anticipation on his younger brother's behalf, Luo Ge obligingly reached out her hand and ruffled Er Bao's hair as well.
Unexpectedly, after living such a short number of years these little ones had already learned to be so considerate of each other!
"Er Bao is so good," she said with a smile. But she noticed that as the two little ones gave her sweet smiles, they also stealthily retreated some more distance from her when they thought she wasn't paying attention.
Knowing that they were still afraid of those malicious rumors and didn't dare get too close with her, Luo Ge decided not comment on it.
Deeply-rooted worries could not be resolved through just words alone; she would just have to slowly gain their trust through greater interaction with them in the future.
She refused to believe in any of that ominous superstition anyway. If it were true, as a fellow orphan she would also have had terrible luck.
Moreover these two little cuties were so obedient and endearing.
"Where is your uncle? Isn't he home?" she asked casually, pretending not to have noticed their little actions just now.
