Chapter 10: Aunt Arrives

During these times, there was no such thing as a two-day weekend. City workers only had Sundays off.

In the countryside, farm work depended on the weather. If it rained continuously, people would rest for days, but during crucial times like spring planting and autumn harvest, they would work for ten to fifteen days straight without a break. Even schoolchildren would be given time off to help in the fields.

The day Mu Mian was abducted was a Monday. By then, spring planting had already been underway for several days.

Almost a week had passed, and the seeds had finally all been sown. However, the rain the brigade leader had been anticipating still hadn’t come.

Regardless, rain or no rain, after days of hard labor, the brigaders could finally take two days to rest.

—

At Mu Mian’s Home

Her father, Comrade Mu Fugui, didn’t have the luxury of resting. His break wouldn’t come until Sunday, and today was only Friday—he still had to work.

Even though it wasn’t Sunday yet, Mu Fugui and his wife had already planned out their schedule for that day.

Or rather, it wasn’t a plan.

It was more of an announcement to Mu Mian—on Sunday, they were going to the commune, and the main task of the day was…

Waiting at the post office for a phone call from her eldest brother.

At the dinner table, Mu Mian was sipping fish soup when she heard her father’s words and paused for a moment before repeating, “A call from Big Brother?”

Mu Fugui nodded. “He mentioned it in the letter last week. Did you forget?”

Mu Mian thought back and vaguely remembered something about it. She shook her head. “I didn’t forget.”

The Qingfeng Brigade didn’t have electricity, let alone a telephone. If someone wanted to make a call, they had to go to the commune’s post office, which was highly inconvenient.

On top of that, Mu Zhuo’s job was unpredictable, making it even more difficult to arrange calls.

So in the past, Mu Zhuo would always write ahead to let them know when he planned to call. Then, Mu Fugui and his wife would go to the post office to wait.

Even so, they didn’t always manage to connect. It took more than half a month for a letter to arrive, and a lot could happen in that time. If Mu Zhuo was suddenly sent on a mission, the call wouldn’t happen.

Thinking about his eldest son, Mu Fugui sighed wistfully. “I wonder if we’ll be able to reach him this time. Last time, we missed it.”

By now, it had been more than six months since they last spoke on the phone.

In over a year, they had only managed to receive one call.

Mu Mian reassured her father, “We’ll definitely get through this time!”

Feeling comforted by his daughter’s optimism, Mu Fugui laughed heartily. “Alright! Our daughter is lucky. If you say we’ll connect, then we definitely will!”

Mu Mian also smiled. On the surface, she looked carefree and innocent, but deep inside, her thoughts were entirely on her brother.

She still remembered what the elderly grandmothers had said in her past life—that Mu Zhuo had died during a mission after hearing the devastating news of his sister’s disappearance and their grandmother’s passing.

But now, she was here, and Grandma was doing fine. That meant her brother’s fate should also be changeable, right?

With that in mind, Mu Mian secretly breathed a sigh of relief and decided that when they called on Sunday, she would remind her brother over and over again to be careful during missions.

That night, her dreams were filled with memories of her brother.

In the dream, an eleven-year-old Mu Zhuo looked excitedly at the newborn baby his mother had just given birth to. He kept praising his little sister, calling her beautiful.

Even as she grew older and became a quiet child, her teenage brother still adored her. Whenever he had free time, he would carry her in his arms, constantly saying things like, “My little sister is the prettiest,” “Your sister isn’t as cute as mine,” and “My sister is just quiet, not noisy like your siblings.”

He even secretly carried her to one of his classes once, which had scared their grandmother half to death when she thought the baby had gone missing.

Looking back, aside from their grandmother, Mu Zhuo had practically raised Mu Mian himself. Their parents were busy working during the day, and he spent more time with her than they did.

—

After dreaming all night, Mu Mian ended up waking up late.

Still half-asleep, she rubbed her eyes, opened the door, and upon seeing her mother, blurted out, “Where’s my brother?”

Liu Shuangcui tapped her daughter’s forehead lightly. “Did you sleep yourself silly?”

Mu Mian looked up, taking a couple of seconds to process.

Oh, right. Her brother was in the south. Even by train, it would take three to four days to reach them.

Coming back to her senses, Mu Mian scooped water to wash her face while asking, “What time are we going tomorrow?”

Liu Shuangcui replied, “Early in the morning. You and your grandma will go first. Grandpa Wang should be driving the ox cart. If you’re late, you won’t get a spot.”

Grandpa Wang was the elderly man in their brigade who took care of the oxen. He had no family and was all alone. Since he couldn’t do heavy farm work, the brigade leader assigned him to care for the cattle, allowing him to earn a living.

Mu Mian immediately understood. Since spring plowing had ended, people were taking a short break, and many would likely head to the commune in the next couple of days.

The ox cart was small, and it was first come, first served.

Liu Shuangcui added, “If we have enough time, we can stop by your aunt’s place too.”

Mu Mian was pouring the water she had used to wash her face into the vegetable garden when she paused upon hearing this.

Speaking of which, her maternal relatives seemed to have more accomplished women. Aside from her cousin Liu Tao, her aunt Liu Dongping was also quite capable. She was married in the commune and worked at the purchasing station as a procurement officer.

She often traveled for work, sometimes leaving for ten days or half a month at a time, never afraid of hardship or fatigue.

In the Liu family, besides her mother and her aunt, there was also her eldest uncle, Liu Dezheng—Liu Tao’s father. Above him, there were no other siblings. Both her maternal grandparents had passed away.

Her eldest uncle, Liu Dezheng, had taken over her grandfather’s position as the brigade secretary of Yangliu Brigade and was doing quite well in the role.

However, Mu Mian only had memories of him and hadn’t seen him since she arrived. It wasn’t that Liu Dezheng didn’t care about his niece or that he deliberately ignored her after such a big incident.

He simply couldn’t come. He had accidentally injured his leg on the road last week. Although it wasn’t too serious, he wouldn’t be able to walk properly for a while.

Liu Dezheng and his two siblings each had two children. Liu Tao had an older brother, who was already twenty-four, married, and had children.

Mu Mian had seen him at the hospital that day. When she woke up, he was one of the people staring at her.

Liu Dongping, on the other hand, had two sons, both older than Mu Mian and currently studying at the commune school.

Since Liu Dongping was away, Liu Shuangcui hadn’t gone to inform her brother-in-law about Mu Mian’s situation.

As Mu Mian carried the washbasin back, she asked, “Is Aunt coming home?”

Liu Shuangcui nodded. “She should be back in the next couple of days.”

Mu Mian then asked, “Are we going to see Uncle too?”

Liu Shuangcui shook her head. “No need. It’s too much of a rush to go back and forth. We’ll check with Xiao Tao at the public security bureau. I think your uncle should be recovering by now.”

Mu Mian responded with an “Oh,” having no objections to her mother’s plan.

Yangliu Brigade and Qingfeng Brigade were in opposite directions from the commune—one to the east and the other to the west. The round trip would be tight on time. If they went, they’d likely have to stay overnight. Otherwise, they’d have to walk home in the dark.

However, despite their well-planned schedule, things didn’t go as expected.

By mid-afternoon, Liu Shuangcui went out to fetch water since both of their large water tanks were nearly empty.

Mu Mian was in the kitchen, boiling water to wash her short hair. She had just cut it at the end of last year, and it hadn’t grown much yet, still only reaching her shoulders.

She usually tied two small ponytails on either side, leaving the back loose since it was too short to tie up.

Once the water was hot, she had just taken out the basin when she noticed two women approaching through the open gate. They were carrying large bags, and one of them looked very familiar, as if she was her cousin Liu Tao.

But today was Saturday, and Liu Tao wasn’t supposed to have a day off.

Just as she was wondering about it, she heard her mother’s surprised voice from outside the courtyard wall. “What are you doing here?”

As she spoke, Liu Shuangcui entered the yard, carrying two buckets of water.

Liu Dongping strode straight toward Mu Mian. “I came to see my niece, not you!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled Mu Mian into a hug.

Though it wasn’t exactly a hug—her aunt squatted down, grabbed her arms, and looked her up and down, as if afraid she was missing a limb.

Liu Dongping had the same short, capable-looking haircut as Liu Tao, exuding an air of confidence and strength.

Seeing her aunt’s eyes reddening, Mu Mian quickly spoke up, “Aunt, I’m fine! I’m strong and healthy, and I eat well!”

Liu Dongping was amused and ruffled her niece’s hair. “That’s good! Your mother is unbelievable—such a big thing happened, and she didn’t even tell me.”

She often traveled to the same places for work, so if her sister had called a couple of times, she could have been reached.

Liu Shuangcui scoffed, “And what would you have done? Flown back?”

Mu Mian looked between her mother and her aunt.

These two sisters were only two years apart, and their personalities were incredibly similar—both strong-willed. They had practically grown up bickering.

Liu Dongping let go of her niece and stood up, looking like she was about to argue with her sister.

Seeing this, Mu Mian quickly tugged on her aunt’s sleeve. “Mom was thinking of you. She was even saying this morning that we’d go to your place tomorrow, but you got here first. You two are really in sync!”

Liu Dongping laughed, amused by her niece. “Oh, so you even know what ‘in sync’ means.”

Mu Mian lifted her chin proudly. “I read it in my brother’s book!”

Liu Tao, delighted, picked up her little cousin. “So smart! You have to study hard. Who knows? Maybe our family will have a college student in the future.”

Hearing this, Mu Mian’s first thought was…

The college entrance exam was about to be suspended. By 1977, she’d be twenty-two—not too old. She’d be just the right age to take the exam!

She nodded seriously, “I will!”

As the cousins bonded, Liu Shuangcui was checking the things Liu Tao and Liu Dongping had brought.

Looking at the large bags, she remarked, “With all these things, are you planning to stop living at home?”

Liu Dongping shot her an unimpressed look. “These are for Xiao Mian. Hands off!”

Mu Mian, still in Liu Tao’s arms, turned to her aunt and said something similar to what her mother had just said. “Aunt, I have plenty! People gave me fabric, shoes, food, and drinks to thank me.”

She understood her mother’s concerns. She didn’t want her aunt bringing gifts and causing trouble with her in-laws.

Her uncle, Xiong Maoxue, was a decent person, and her two older cousins were also fine.

The difficult one was Xiong Maoxue’s mother—an old woman with a snobbish attitude, who looked down on their rural relatives.

Xiong Maoxue was an only son and had to support his parents, so her aunt lived with her mother-in-law. The two women had often clashed over the years.

Liu Dongping had an expression that left no room for refusal. “Good things can never be too many. You’re just like your mother, not knowing how to enjoy life.”

Mu Mian didn’t know how to respond to that. She glanced at her mother, only to see that she looked disinterested in continuing the conversation. It seemed like she intended to talk to her younger sister in private, not wanting the younger generation to hear.

Liu Shuangcui then turned her attention to Liu Tao. “Xiao Tao, are you not planning to live well either?”

Liu Tao had also brought expensive items—a thermos and a water bottle. The water bottle had a strap cover, making it easy to carry around. It was a rare item, bright green in color, and something even the supply and marketing cooperative didn’t have.

Liu Tao chuckled. “Second Aunt, you’re wronging me. I didn’t buy this. It was a unanimous decision by the bureau to reward Mianmian.”

Mu Mian was unaware of this and asked in surprise, “A reward for me?”

Liu Tao nodded. “Yes, our little anti-trafficking hero!”

She then added, “Otherwise, how could I have come over this afternoon? This trip of mine is an official duty.”

Mu Mian was intrigued. She quickly slid down from her cousin’s lap and ran to the small wooden table, admiring the water bottle with great interest.

Liu Tao watched her little cousin and said, “Those traffickers had a lot of information. Probably to avoid getting shot, they confessed everything. We even found out about two places where kidnapped children were sold. We should be able to rescue them.”

Mu Mian shifted her gaze from the water bottle to her cousin, her concern evident. “Have they already gone to rescue them?”

Liu Tao nodded. “Yes, Officer Yang led the team.”

Mu Mian smiled. “That’s good.”

Seeing how much her little cousin liked the water bottle, Liu Tao helped adjust the strap and let her put it on. “The director himself approved this reward for you. In fact, he even paid for this water bottle out of his own pocket.”

If it had been an adult who accomplished such a thing, they would have received an official commendation. But since Mu Mian was just a child, it was a bit tricky to handle. After some discussion, they decided on this reward instead.

Mu Mian was delighted and sincerely exclaimed, “Sister Taozi, your director is really too nice!”

She hadn’t expected any reward at all!

Liu Tao teased her, “So if they hadn’t given you anything, they wouldn’t be nice?”

Mu Mian shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum. “It would still be nice!”

But getting a reward was even better!