Chapter 8: Breaking Free

The shopkeeper, who had been dozing off, woke up with a start at the sound of Yu Wei’s voice, rubbed his eyes, and began enthusiastically introducing the top-shelf snacks.

Yu Hui, facing a stranger for one of the few times in his life, clung shyly to Yu Wei’s pant leg, not speaking but eyeing the colourful candies on the shelf.

Yu Wei smiled and asked about the prices, calculated what she could buy with 1 yuan, and then bought a variety of small snacks.

She got two nougats, a small pack of number-shaped biscuits, a slice of ox-tongue pastry, two fruit cakes, and a fist-sized bread she couldn’t name.

There was also something called lard candy, which she had heard of but never tried. Curious but mindful of her limited budget, she decided against buying it, fearing it might not taste good.

Despite buying quite a lot, she was surprised that the total still left her with two dimes and three cents, which amazed her.

(1 yuan or RMB = 10 dimes or mao; 1 dime or mao = 10 cents or fen)

“Which one do you want to eat first?” Yu Wei spread all the snacks in her palm for the little one to choose.

Yu Hui had never tasted any of them before. He looked at Yu Wei, then at the treasures in her hand, and the fragrant smell made his mouth water. He unconsciously swallowed.

Trembling, Yu Hui pointed to the smallest white nougat.

Yu Wei smiled knowingly, unwrapped the candy, and was about to feed it to him when she realised it was bigger than the little guy’s mouth. Amused, she pulled her hand back.

Yu Hui had already opened his mouth to take the candy, but seeing her pull it away so quickly, he thought she had changed her mind. He bit his lower lip and remained silent, fearing he had done something to upset her.

Was it because he had done something wrong again? 

His little mind raced as he nervously fidgeted with his fingers.

It only took a few seconds for Yu Wei to tear the nougat in half—though she actually had to bite it to split it. Surely the little guy wouldn’t mind, right?

Of course, Yu Hui didn’t mind. The moment the candy entered his mouth, his eyes lit up. His expression of surprise and delight was something Yu Wei felt she would remember for the rest of her life.

After chewing the nougat for a long time, softening it and finally swallowing, Yu Wei solemnly told him, “Huihui, when we go back later, you mustn’t tell Grandma that we bought this. Understand?”

Yu Hui was an early-matured and clever child. Though quiet and introverted, he understood her words. After a few seconds, while nibbling on the fruit cake, he obediently nodded.

“Good boy.”

Yu Wei smiled and patted his head. The little one looked up at her, clutching a cake in his hand. His clear, fawn-like eyes overflowed with cuteness, melting her heart.

In the end, all the snacks ended up in Yu Hui’s little stomach. Yu Wei only tasted a piece of the ox-tongue pastry.

Though the little one was often hungry, he couldn’t eat everything at once. So Yu Wei wrapped up the remaining snacks in the bread’s packaging and stuffed it into her large pocket.

After this, the bond between them seemed to grow. Yu Wei could feel the little guy becoming more attached to her, making her feel like her efforts hadn’t been in vain.

When they returned home, the day was already ending. They returned to the courtyard where a dozen families lived together, and the suffocating feeling crept back into Yu Wei’s heart, filling every breath with a stifling sense of frustration.

The only person she could get along with here seemed to be the well-behaved Yu Hui.

As night fell, Yu Wei heated water and took Yu Hui to find a place to bathe. She planned to give him a bath.

Since there were no showers here, you had to carry a bucket of water yourself.

Yu Wei looked for a towel to wipe him down. After a while, she noticed a long rope hanging under the eaves outside, with six towels of the same colour but different patterns hanging from it. All of them looked rather rough.

She asked Yu Hui, who was watching her wander around, “Little Huihui, do you know which towel is yours?”

Yu Wei looked down at the little guy standing on the ground. After several seconds, Yu Hui pointed to a dull, greyish towel hanging at the end of the rope.

The towel looked dirty, grey and dingy, with two barely noticeable small holes. It was so stiff and hard that it could hardly be called a towel anymore. It was rough and dry, far from soft—was this really for a child?

Yu Wei was almost furious with how poor the family seemed to be.

With so many people working in the factory, could they not even afford a new towel?

But after looking at the others’ towels, as worn as they were, none looked as ancient as Yu Hui’s. His was practically a rag!

Suppressing her anger, Yu Wei asked him, “And which one is mine?”

Yu Hui obediently pointed to the same towel.

Yu Wei exclaimed, “What?!”

Mother and son shared the same towel?!

Seriously?!

In the end, Yu Wei accepted reality. She counted the towels and realised there were six in total. Besides hers, there were five other people in the family, so naturally, each had one. That meant the remaining towel was hers!

As for Yu Hui, knowing Yuan Guifang’s temper, she would probably yell, “A little brat like him doesn’t need a towel! What a waste!”

When you live under someone else’s roof, you have to bow to reality.

Yu Wei accepted it but decided not to use that towel for Yu Hui’s bath. Instead, she washed him with her hands.

As for soap, there was a wooden tray under the enamel basin outside, and the soap was placed on it. However, Yu Wei felt more inclined to call it ‘stinky soap’.

The soap was dirtier than the towel. Judging from its original colour, it should have been off-white, but now it was grey. She specifically asked Yu Hui if everyone used this soap for bathing.

He obediently nodded.

Yu Wei sighed and eventually went out to buy a new bar of soap. Fortunately, it wasn’t expensive—just two dimes and two cents, leaving her with one cent.

Yu Wei marvelled at how low prices were in the 1980s.

Living here meant bathing, washing, and even going to the toilet had to be done in shared spaces. Private facilities were out of the question; there just weren’t the means for it.

But when Yu Wei first saw the bathhouse, her heart skipped a beat.

White bodies flashed before her eyes, and she quickly covered Yu Hui’s eyes, carrying him to a small corner at the far end.

Yu Hui carried a small bucket in his hand, which contained a new bar of soap. As for a towel, Yu Wei didn’t have money to buy one, so she made do with a cotton shirt to dry him off later.

Even though Yu Hui was a little boy, Yu Wei couldn’t take him to the men’s bathhouse. It wasn’t uncommon for women to bring their sons to the women’s bathhouse, but this was Yu Wei’s first time, and she was a bit shocked.

There were already five or six people inside, going about their business as if it was nothing. Yu Wei had to steady her pounding heart, turning Yu Hui around before removing her hand from his eyes.

“Little Huihui, stay here quietly and don’t move or look around. I’m going to fetch hot water.”

Yu Hui looked up at Yu Wei, his hand instinctively reaching to grab her clothes. But, worried that disobeying might make her leave him behind, he quietly nodded. His eyes, full of timid innocence, made Yu Wei’s heart ache.

Ah, this environment. She had to break free, she must!

Yu Hui behaved very well. As Yu Wei bathed him, the little boy occasionally peeked at her with bright, curious eyes, as if seeing someone different.

Indeed, the current Yu Wei was not the same person anymore.

After a difficult bath, though Yu Hui was a bit shy during the process, seeing her focused expression made his little, cautious heart calm down.

Would the old Yu Wei ever return?

He really liked his new mother.