Xiaoli bit her lower lip and tightened her grip on her brother’s hand before slowly exhaling a long breath.
A mother who, after more than a decade without seeing her children, had not even noticed how thinly they were dressed or offered a single word of concern—instead, to keep her existence hidden from her second husband, had unhesitatingly sent them back to the village that had nearly killed them. It was truly laughable.
Xiao Mandong stepped forward and placed her fingers on Cui Lijuan’s pulse…
Just then, the village women’s affairs director hurried over as well. She crouched down and tried to help Cui Lijuan up, but Xiao Mandong quickly stopped her.
“She can’t stand. Don’t carry her on your back. Use a stretcher or carry her in your arms.”
They were all hospital staff or relatives of hospital staff, so naturally, they trusted Xiao Mandong’s words completely.
Xie Yu nudged Tang Guanshan.
“If something happens to her now, you’ll be finished.”
Tang Guanshan had completely calmed down by this point. Xie Yu was right. He was at a critical stage in his investigation, and the person he had hit could very well become the handle others used against him. If anything happened to her, his future would be ruined.
He gritted his teeth and crouched down. “Let’s take her to the hospital first. We’ll deal with everything else later.”
With that, Tang Guanshan carefully picked up Cui Lijuan and hurried toward the hospital.
Cui Lijuan was in too much pain to think about anything else. Her whole body was trembling.
With no more spectacle to watch, most of the onlookers gradually dispersed. A few still wanted to strike up a conversation with Xiaoli and ask about Cui Lijuan, but Xiaoli merely smiled and politely declined, remaining courteous yet distant.
After greeting Xiao Mandong, Li Yuehua and Zou Yan also returned home.
Xiao Mandong took Xiaoli by the hand. “Come on, let’s go sit at my place for a while.”
Xiaoli did not refuse. She wanted to go to the hospital later and find out how Cui Lijuan was doing.
As soon as they entered the house, Xiao Mandong gave Xiaoli the answer: Cui Lijuan was pregnant. Even Xiao Mandong had been surprised when she took Cui Lijuan’s pulse earlier and had deliberately switched hands to check it a second time.
Xiaoli lowered her eyes. After a few seconds of silence, the corners of her lips curved into a mocking smile.
“I never thought that at over forty, she could still produce a pearl from an old clam.”
The unease and inner conflict she had felt before seeing Cui Lijuan had completely vanished. She and her brother had practically died once already, and they had made it through all these years without a mother. Now that they were grown, why should they still torment themselves over that so-called maternal love?
Xiao Mandong had not prepared much food. Fortunately, Li Yuehua had sent over some steamed buns, which was enough for the three of them. Bowen and Diandian went out into the courtyard to play while Xiao Mandong stir-fried the dishes.
Xiaoli was a hardworking girl. She could not simply sit around waiting to eat, so she took a rag and began tidying up. But the house was already so clean that she hardly knew where to start.
“Come eat.”
Xiao Mandong glanced at Xiaoli’s spotless rag and could not help laughing. Who knew how long Gu Jianghan had spent cleaning the night before? The place was so immaculate that not a speck of dust could be found.
Xiao Mandong set the food on the table: steamed buns, rice porridge, a plate of shredded potatoes, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a plate of pickled-vegetable vermicelli. The buns were even filled with sauerkraut.
The three of them ate and chatted. Xiaoli told them what had happened at the Public Security Bureau that day and what she planned to do next.
Xiao Mandong lowered her head and took a sip of porridge without saying a word, quietly listening instead. After all, they were mother and daughter. What if they eventually put their differences aside? Wouldn’t that leave her caught in the middle? So she decided it was best to listen without saying anything or offering an opinion.
After they finished eating, Xiaoli hurried to wash the dishes. Xiao Mandong knew that Xiaoli would only feel at ease if she let her do something, so she didn’t refuse. She also asked Bowen to bring in some firewood and pick up a few coal briquettes. Bowen obediently went off to do as he was told, practically skipping with delight.
He really did seem much better than before. Could the water from the spirit spring actually be treating Bowen’s illness?
Just as she was thinking this, a sharp argument suddenly erupted upstairs.
“Why is your son considered a person, while my son isn’t? Yang Zhiqiang, we agreed before we got married that we’d treat all the children equally. What, now that you earn three yuan more than I do every month, you think you can trample all over me?”
The woman’s voice was shrill and aggrieved, with a sob in it.
“Can you stop being so unreasonable? It’s not that I don’t want to buy one. We just don’t have that much money right now… Xiang Nan is a boy. Why can’t he go first? Next year, we’ll think of a way to get him back, won’t we?”
The man’s voice was full of helplessness.
“Bullshit! You already bought your eldest son a job. This year, that job has to go to my son.”
Luo Fen refused to give an inch. She couldn’t bear to see her son sent down to the countryside. Besides, she earned a wage too, so why should the money they saved be spent only on his son?
Yang Zhiqiang was nearly driven to despair. Two years earlier, when his eldest son had been sent down, he had spent money to buy him a job. Now his daughter and stepson were both facing the prospect of being sent to the countryside. Where was he supposed to find the money to buy jobs for both of them? Even if he had the money, there weren’t any jobs available for them.
“Luo Fen, Jin Feng is a girl. It’s dangerous for a girl to be sent down. Let her have the job for now. I promise I’ll buy Xiang Nan a job next year and bring him back to the city. He’ll only have to stay in the countryside for a year. Think of it as a chance for a boy to toughen himself up. Wouldn’t that be all right?”
“No! If you can’t bear to send your daughter down, then marry her off. She’s old enough to get married anyway…”
Luo Fen had to stand her ground. Otherwise, what kind of mother would she be in her son’s eyes?
Diandian even pricked up its ears, as if it could understand what they were saying.
The people upstairs had been arguing from time to time over the past few days. The old building had terrible soundproofing, so every word could be heard clearly.
Once Xiaoli had finished tidying up, Xiao Mandong stood and said, “Come on. I’ll walk you two home.”
It was already dark, and Xiao Mandong couldn’t rest easy letting the two of them leave on their own. What if there were still some stragglers left in the village?
“Sister Mandong, I’ll be with my brother. We’ll be fine, so don’t worry.” Xiaoli hurriedly refused. How could she let Sister Mandong walk them home alone through the darkness?
“I need to take the dog out anyway. It’s the same time every day. Don’t worry—Diandian is tough. Besides, they’re making so much noise upstairs that they’ll probably be done arguing by the time I get back.”
As she spoke, Xiao Mandong bent down and rubbed Diandian’s head.
Diandian let out an “awoo,” though no one knew whether it was protesting Xiao Mandong’s lie about taking it for walks every day or proudly responding to her praise.
Xiao Mandong went into the room and took two flashlights from her space. Then she found several pieces of her old clothing and handed them to Xiaoli.
“I’ve washed these clothes for you. Keep them so you’ll have something clean to change into.” With that, she led Diandian out of the room. Clutching the bundle of clothes, Xiaoli secretly vowed that one day, she would repay her sister.
Bowen was very sensible. He took the bundle from his sister and followed behind Xiao Mandong.
It was completely dark by now, and their footsteps made a crisp crunching sound on the snow.
After they left the family compound, the streets were nearly deserted. The wind was not strong, but the cold was biting. Diandian ran excitedly up and down the street.
They had not gone far when Xiao Mandong began to feel that someone was following them. She did not turn around, afraid that Xiaoli might panic.
After walking for more than half an hour, they finally reached the army guesthouse. She reminded them not to go outside that night, and only after watching the siblings enter did Xiao Mandong prepare to leave.
When she reached the corner, she saw a familiar figure. Could it be... Shen Linzhou?
