Chapter 10: Two Slaps in Return

Gu Qinshan knelt on the ground, unable to believe it was true.

“I’ve lost my mother!”

More and more people gathered by the pond. The person in the pond was still retrieving the body.

“She’s caught in the weeds. It’ll take a little longer. Old Zhang, hand me a sickle,” the person in the pond called out.

Li Yuqin was already wailing, “My poor mother-in-law! She worked so hard for decades raising her three sons, and now she’s gone?”

Gu Congshuang’s legs went weak, and her vision blurred. She almost fainted, but Gu Congli managed to catch her before she fell.

“How could this happen?” Yesterday, Grandma was still sleeping beside her.

Grandma was old and slept little. Last night, they had talked a lot. Grandma kept saying she was doing well, but upon closer questioning, Gu Congshuang learned that Grandma had to make breakfast for six people every day at her eldest uncle Gu Qinhai’s house.

“Grandma, you don’t have to go back. Stay here with me. You took care of me when I was young, and I’ll take care of you now.”

“Silly girl, you’re about to get married. You need to be sensible and obedient in your husband’s family.”

“No, I won’t. I’m the eldest in the family. If Ye Bei doesn’t listen to me, I won’t marry him! I’ll take you, Grandma, on a world tour!”

“What nonsense is this? People in the village say a woman should follow her husband’s family. How can you disobey them?”

Gu Congshuang wanted to retort, but remembering that her grandmother was from an older generation, she understood her thinking. Forcing her to change her mind would be difficult; she had devoted her whole life to her family.

“I don’t necessarily have to marry Ye Bei. I want to pursue my own freedom.”

Making money by driving had given her confidence. She didn’t need to rely on anyone, not even the kind and brave Ye Bei.

She could rely on herself to fly away!

But now, Grandma hadn’t seen her grow up, and she was gone?

Suddenly, seven people rushed from the crowd. The leader, wearing black-rimmed glasses, had a square face and vaguely resembled Gu Qinshan, except for his balding head, which made him look much uglier.

Seeing the person still retrieving the body from the pond and Gu Qinshan and Li Yuqin weeping, he understood.

He rushed to Gu Qinshan, grabbed him, and slapped him hard.

“Brother, let’s talk this over calmly,” Li Yuqin pleaded.

Gu Qinhai slapped Li Yuqin as well, swelling her face.

“Brother! Why did you hit me?!” Li Yuqin yelled, clutching her face.

“Gu Qinshan, what’s going on?” Gu Qinhai demanded.

Gu Qinshan was stunned, blood trickling from his mouth. He looked at Gu Qinhai, then at the pond.

He sighed heavily, “Mom… she… she’s gone.”

“How did she go? I only asked Mom to stay here for a day, and this happened. Was it intentional?”

“Brother, we really didn’t do anything. I went to the market with Mom, and she disappeared in the blink of an eye.”

Li Yuqin’s face fell. She hadn’t meant to do this, although she had watched Yi Yun disappear into the crowd without calling out to her.

But now, there was no turning back.

“Good! You unfilial grandchildren! You finally admit it!”

Gu Qinshan, enraged by the insults, remembered the resentment from the family split:

“How are we unfilial? Could we have stopped this? Besides, where were you, Brother? Your son came back, and you sent Mom here to stay. If anyone’s unfilial, it’s you! Don’t blame me!”

Just as Gu Qinhai was about to argue further, the person in the pond shouted, “It’s the weeds! Help pull her out.”

The crowd finally pulled the body from the water. The clothes were disheveled, and long hair covered the face.

Gu Qinshan crawled towards Yi Yun’s body, crying, “Mom, why did you leave like this?”

Gu Congshuang carefully moved the hair aside. To her surprise, she found something hidden beneath.

It was a scarecrow!

“She’s not dead! Grandma’s not dead! It’s a scarecrow!” Gu Congshuang cried with joy!

Li Yuqin finally saw that it was a scarecrow, probably dressed to scare away birds. The clothes were common, so she had mistaken it for Yi Yun.

It was a false alarm, and she’d been slapped for nothing! Furious, she glared at Gu Qinhai.

“Hurry and look! Neighbors, please help look again!”

Gu Congshuang, her sadness replaced by urgency, urged the crowd to continue searching.

“Oh, what a waste! Who put a scarecrow here? Lazy bum! A lifetime of rice stolen by birds.”

Some people grumbled about losing the fifty yuan.

Others said, “There’s still a chance. We’ll find her.”

“This old lady is lucky. She escaped death; she’ll have good fortune.”

After a while, when the families were close to giving up, Gu Qinhai scolded Gu Qinshan again, and Gu Qinshan retorted.

“Mom’s legs weren’t strong. When she helped you with your grandchildren, she got shoulder pain. You, on the other hand, sent her away when your precious son came back. It’s pitiful that she had to work so hard at her age.”

Gu Qinhai was enraged, but he didn’t know how to respond.

The crowd stirred. “We found her! We found the old lady!”

Gu Congshuang’s eyes lit up, and she ran forward. Two people emerged from the crowd: a tall young man in a white military cap supporting Grandma Yi Yun. He was so tall that he had to bend down to support her, obscuring his face.

“Grandma!” Gu Congshuang hugged her grandmother, tears streaming down her face.

She realized how important her grandmother was to her.

After arriving here and eating the first breakfast her grandmother made for her, she felt she preferred this simple world in the book.

She couldn’t go back, even if she wanted to.

“Congshuang, it’s you.”

A familiar voice, like an electric current, reached her. Gu Congshuang looked up and saw that the man in the military cap was Ye Bei.

He smiled at her. His usually cold and serious face was now soft, like melting cheese.

And she was crying like a mess. She quickly wiped her tears. “Thank you, Ye Bei.”

But Yi Yun seemed to push Gu Congshuang away.

Gu Congshuang was stunned. Yi Yun scratched her head, “Little girl, do I know you?”