Chapter 4: Post-Transmigration Aftereffects

When Shao Xingchen turned his head slightly, he saw his mother twirl the broom like a baton and then heard the crisp clink of a small knife dropping to the ground. The next second, she launched herself into the air and landed heavily on top of someone.

The human trafficker nearly coughed up blood. This fierce woman was way too heavy!

Because Qiu Yinuo was holding him tightly, Shao Xingchen wasn’t scared at all. On the contrary, he found the whole thing thrilling.

The trafficker let out a miserable howl, cursing Qiu Yinuo in his heart. With such a solidly built woman throwing herself at him, how was he supposed to survive?

A flurry of fists pounded down, and Qiu Yinuo was so furious her teeth were trembling. “Give me back my son!”

Shao Xingchen shrank his neck and buried his little head deeper into his mother’s arms. The scene was too brutal—not suitable for children.

“Speak! Where did you take my son?”

“Ow, stop! Stop hitting me!”

“Give me back my son.” Qiu Yinuo finally experienced, first-hand, what it meant to be a mother. She had gone through so much to give birth to her child, hadn’t even heard him call her ‘Mom’ or seen him smile at her, and now someone had taken him away. What kind of mother could tolerate that?

“I… I’ll talk, just—” But Qiu Yinuo’s punches kept raining down. She didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence.

If the police hadn’t arrived when they did, no one would have been able to stop the raging, powerful Qiu Yinuo.

Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were bloodshot. “Give me back my son, or I’ll chop you up and feed you to the dogs.”

Her words made Shao Xingchen’s ears buzz. He felt a bit jealous of his younger brother—if he were the one who’d gone missing, would their mother also be this frantic for him?

The trafficker instinctively shrank behind the police officer, not doubting the truth of her words for even a second.

“Officer, please save me. She’s going to kill me.”

“This woman’s insane. She’s so big, I almost got crushed to death!”

When Qiu Yinuo saw the police officers in green uniforms, she finally burst into tears.

Time was of the essence. So much of it had already been wasted—who knew where her son had been taken?

She spilled everything about losing her child in one breath. With all the witnesses in the hallway confirming her account, the police immediately took the case seriously.

Just then, a strong young man ran over from down the corridor. “Officer, my child is missing too!”

Everyone turned to glare at the trafficker. Even a thousand cuts wouldn’t be enough to release their fury.

But the trafficker protested. “We only took two kids! There’s no third one!”

No one believed a word he said.

The case was serious—traffickers had dared to steal children from a hospital. What else were they capable of?

The police quickly began coordinating with the hospital staff, who arrived embarrassingly late. They agreed to lock down the hospital. Everyone would help search for the children, while the police interrogated the trafficker to see if any other kidnapped children could still be rescued.

Qiu Yinuo held herself together until a nurse coaxed her back into the ward.

When she saw the small baby bed and her younger son lying inside safe and sound, her eyes widened in shock.

“What???”

What was going on?

She could’ve sworn she’d only seen one of her sons earlier. Hadn’t the younger one been taken?

Not only was Qiu Yinuo stunned, but even the nurse was shaken. “Comrade Qiu, come take a look. Is this your son?”

She carefully studied her younger son’s sleeping face. If she hadn’t been holding her elder son in her arms, she would have thought she was seeing things.

“Yes… I think so?” she murmured. Could it be some aftereffect of transmigrating into the book—was her vision failing?

Not long after, the police officers who had been interrogating the trafficker confirmed that only two children had been taken. The trafficker, now tearful with frustration, pointed to the split corner of his mouth and cried, “That crazy woman was too brutal! I already told you we only stole two kids, but you wouldn’t believe me. I can’t just let this beating go!”

The officer slapped him without hesitation. “Cut the nonsense. So what if you only took two? That’s still a crime. Now spit out the names of your accomplices, or I’ll call her back to deal with you again.”

The trafficker recoiled in fear. That fierce woman didn’t care what he said—she had just punched him again and again. He’d really run into trouble this time. “No, no, Officer, I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”

After news spread that traffickers had shown up at the hospital, many families panicked and discharged their children early.

Qiu Yinuo had just given birth and then fought a trafficker right after. Her body was completely drained. Even if she wanted to leave the hospital, she didn’t have the strength.

After settling her in, the nurse hurried off to take care of other tasks.

Qiu Yinuo touched the soft flesh around her waist—her “swimming ring.” To have gained weight like this in this era, it was clear the original owner’s mother-in-law had really doted on her.

If she had been thinner, maybe she wouldn’t have exhausted herself so quickly.

No, she had to lose weight.

She had just started to doze off when the door opened again. Startled, she instantly became alert.

Her sharp eyes swept toward the old lady who had entered. “You?”

She looked somewhat familiar.

The old woman quickly patted her chest in relief. “Oh my, girl, you scared me to death.”

She placed two apples and a bag of milk powder on the bedside table. “Girl, do you remember saving my eldest grandson just now?”

Qiu Yinuo recalled it—the baby the traffickers had taken earlier was her grandson.

“Girl, you are a great benefactor to our Cai family. We’ve only had one son in each generation for four generations. It wasn’t easy for us to finally have a grandson, and then that cursed trafficker set his sights on him. If it weren’t for you, who knows where he would’ve been taken?” As she spoke, she pushed the gifts closer to Qiu Yinuo.

“This is just a small token of our gratitude. I hope you won’t mind.”

In 1975, apples and milk powder were rare and valuable. The old lady’s gift was no small matter.

“Ma’am, you’re too kind. I didn’t really do much.”

As Qiu Yinuo tried to sit up, the old woman immediately stopped her. “You’re still in your confinement month—you need to rest well. Don’t get up. My family name is Cai, just call me Auntie Cai.”

Auntie Cai had heard from the young nurse about Qiu Yinuo’s tragic background. Knowing she had become a widow at such a young age broke her heart.

Childbirth was hard enough for a woman—especially having twins—and now she had no one by her side. This girl had such a bitter life.

She had discussed it with her husband and son and decided to bring her some milk powder for now. They would also provide nourishing soup before her discharge.

Understanding Auntie Cai’s intentions, Qiu Yinuo felt too embarrassed to accept.

Auntie Cai cast a sympathetic glance at the twins and noticed one of them softly cooing.

Qiu Yinuo noticed too. “Are you hungry?”

Thinking back, how long had it been since she last fed them?

She had… forgotten!