☆ 4. The Final Meal

“Why is Qiuqiu asking like this?”

Ji Meng’s sleepiness vanished in an instant as she raised her head to look at Qiuqiu and asked.

Qiuqiu was still young, at an age where she shouldn’t be thinking too deeply. She could either be precocious, pondering too much, or perhaps she knew something.

Recalling what the system had said about the current instability of the space-time medium and the high coefficient of Qiuqiu’s darkening value, Ji Meng’s heart tightened with anxiety. There was a possibility that Qiuqiu could awaken her memories at any moment due to a stimulus or a bump on her head.

“When I was stopped by Su Erhu today, he said my dad was gone and that Grandma would die soon too…”

During this time, Qiuqiu had heard the most about the poor child whose father was gone, about sacrifice, and such words made her uncomfortable when she heard them.

Now that she had to say it herself, it seemed even harder, her throat felt like it was blocked with a piece of foam, unable to swallow or spit it out, making her nose tingle and her eyes turn red.

She had never really understood what sacrifice meant or what death was.

She still remembered the day her dad was going on a mission. He came over like usual to hug her and promised that when he returned, he would take her to the zoo and then send her to school.

Her dad was very tall, and when he picked her up, she could see wider and further places. She was especially happy and even made a pinky promise with him.

But she never waited for her dad to come back, instead, she waited for Uncle Zhu, who was particularly close to her dad. He came to her house with red eyes and told her and her mom that her dad had sacrificed himself.

Qiuqiu still remembered that day—it was especially cold, and the wind was very strong.

She was sweeping the yard, her hands frozen and red like carrots, and her face had been scratched with small cuts.

She looked at Uncle Zhu in confusion, not understanding what he was talking about.

What does sacrifice mean?

She asked Wang Zai from Grandma Gui’s house, and Wang Zai said that sacrifice meant becoming a hero or a martyr.

She didn’t understand, her dad had always been a hero.

He had received many medals for his achievements, and he had even pinned one on her.

Isn’t becoming a hero a good thing? Why was Uncle Zhu crying?

Later, when Uncle Zhu took her and her mom back to the village, they found out that Grandma Xiaohua had died. Curious, she went to see, and that’s when she understood what sacrifice, loss, and death meant.

When someone dies, their whole body becomes cold and stiff, their skin turns bluish-white, their eyes are completely closed, and they are covered with a cloth.

After seeing Grandma Xiaohua, she began to have terrible dreams.

In her dreams, her mom was gone, and her grandma lay on the ground, unresponsive no matter how much she called. They took her to the hospital, and the hospital covered her with a white cloth, just like Grandma Xiaohua.

Her dad was like that too.

He was gone and would never come back, no one would accompany her to the zoo anymore…

Would the things in her dreams come true?

When her mom left in the morning, Qiuqiu felt especially afraid.

She didn’t want the things in her dreams to come true. Since her mom could come back, couldn’t her grandma be safe as well?

She wanted to protect her grandma and not let anyone hurt her.

“Su Erhu also said that when grandma dies, no one wants me, so his family will move into our house…”

Qiuqiu clenched her fingers, sniffed, and held back the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes, telling Ji Meng everything about how Su Erhu had blocked her.

“I thought Su Erhu was just talking nonsense, he’s so mean, always saying I’m a child that no one wanted. But when we came back, we ran into Grandma, and something happened to her.”

“Mom, if Eldest Grandma didn’t mean to harm my grandma, then why did she run away?”

“Qiuqiu is not a child that no one wanted!”

The little girl’s tearful words tugged at Ji Meng’s heart. That phrase about being unwanted directly broke her defense. She interrupted her and said,

“Don’t listen to Su Erhu, he’s talking nonsense. Mom will never abandon you, and Grandma will be fine.”

“Mom needs to explain what happened this morning. Mom is not leaving, it’s about a letter from your grandpa in the city…”

Ji Meng paused at this point.

The original body had never talked about her family situation with anyone.

The original body came from a wealthy family. Her mother was a descendant of patriotic capitalists. Although she passed away when the original body was very young, she left behind a significant inheritance. Her father was a skilled traditional Chinese medicine doctor and had inherited the family clinic. Up until she was twelve, the original body lived a very comfortable life.

However, when she turned twelve, her father was delayed in treating the wife of the revolutionary committee director because he was trying to save a suddenly arrived child in need of help. As a result, the director blamed him for his wife’s death due to complications during childbirth, leading to their family being raided, and her father was sent to a labor farm.

The original body’s older brother refused to sever ties with their father and went to the northern wilderness.

After their home was raided and with no one to rely on, the original body had to stay with her uncle.

Her uncle’s family had long held a grudge against them for not inheriting the clinic, and life was very difficult for the original body there. Her cousins bullied her, and within two years, they forced her to go to the countryside in place of her cousin.

As a result, the original body resented her father, believing that if he hadn’t “^[1]“Lost the big picture” means focusing on small or immediate details while missing the broader, more important aspects of a situation.lost the big picture” and wasted time on the revolutionary committee director, their family wouldn’t have encountered such a disaster. She wouldn’t have had to live under someone else’s roof, suffering hardships and being forced into the countryside.

Not long after going to the countryside, she lost contact with her family.

Once she realized she couldn’t endure the hardships of rural life, she quickly ^[2]“Cast a wide net” means to try many different methods or cover a broad area in order to achieve a goal or find success.cast a wide net looking for a marriage partner, eventually managing to get involved with Su Cheng, an officer in the army.

Three years ago, her father was able to return to the city with the help of family friends to clear his name and immediately contacted the original owner.

At that time, her husband, Su Cheng, had just been promoted to deputy regiment commander, and the original body felt like she was the commander’s wife, so she didn’t pay much attention to her father’s return to the city.

She replied with a letter, stating that if he wanted to reconnect with her as his daughter, he first needed to publicly sever ties with her uncle’s family.

The original body was consumed by her own hatred and didn’t consider that no matter how bad her uncle’s family was, they had taken her in for several years during her brother’s difficult times.

Her father had just returned to the city and hadn’t stabilized his situation yet. Publicly severing ties with her uncle’s family, who had once cared for his daughter, would be a painful blow.

Her father felt troubled and wrote a long letter to explain the situation to her.

However, the original body didn’t listen at all, she only sent back a telegram with eight words: “When I die, don’t contact me again.”

After that, she cut off all communication with them.

When her father proposed to come see her, she directly replied that if he came, he would only find her corpse and forbade him from inquiring about her life.

Her father was probably scared and didn’t come, instead, he often sent her packages.

Since going to the countryside, the original body didn’t want anyone to know she had a father at the labor farm, so she always claimed to be an orphan.

Every time she received a package, she said it was sent by Su Cheng.

Even her mother-in-law, Fang Aihua, didn’t know.

Her daughter, Qiuqiu, was even less aware that she had a maternal grandfather and uncles still alive.

The original body returned to the city this time because her father sent her another letter.

The letter said that he had found a way to secure her a spot at night school and had also arranged a marriage for her. The groom was the child of their former family friend, someone she had enjoyed playing with when they were young, and he had been her long-time secret crush, her “^[3]“White moonlight” (白月光) is a Chinese term often used in romantic contexts to describe someone who is a person’s unattainable or idealized love, often from the past. This … Continue readingwhite moonlight.”

With her husband gone and no one to rely on, she had been worrying about what to do in the future. This letter ^[4]“Felt like timely rain” (如及时雨) is an expression that means something came at exactly the right time when it was most needed, providing relief or assistance.felt like timely rain, she couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.

Over the years, she hadn’t told her family that she had gotten married and had a child, and to prevent any complications regarding her marriage, she decisively abandoned Qiuqiu.

Ji Meng took a deep breath and cursed inwardly before gently speaking to Qiuqiu:

“Qiuqiu may not know about her grandfather, your mom had some misunderstandings with him before, which is why they haven’t been in touch.”

“Your grandfather is old and misses your mom. He wrote to say he wants your mom to come see him. He lives alone and was sick recently, so your mom is worried and wants to go visit him. She thought she would be back soon, so she didn’t tell you…”

Ji Meng explained to Qiuqiu, half-truthfully. Lying to a child, even if it’s a white lie, made her feel uneasy.

“Mommy is saying that Qiuqiu’s grandfather?”

Qiuqiu was so surprised that she forgot to cry. She had never known that she had a grandfather.

She knew that “grandfather” meant her mother’s father.

Wang Zai from the family compound had a grandfather who treated him very well and often sent him food.

“Is Mommy going to see grandfather today? Is grandfather sick?”

“Mm, that’s right. But when Mommy was halfway there, she suddenly remembered that Qiuqiu had never met her grandfather, so she planned to take Qiuqiu along to her grandfather’s house. Maybe if her grandfather sees Qiuqiu, he’ll feel better!”

“But given Grandma’s situation right now, visiting Grandpa will probably have to wait a bit.”

“It’s okay! Qiuqiu can write letters to Grandpa. Once Grandma feels better, Qiuqiu will go with Mommy to see Grandpa!” Qiuqiu immediately replied.

Knowing that she had a relative in this world felt really good, temporarily easing the anxiety and fear in Qiuqiu’s heart.

The little girl’s eyes sparkled again, and Ji Meng couldn’t help but smile as she reached out to gently pat the soft little girl’s head.

“Alright, when Grandma gets better, Mommy will take Qiuqiu to the city to see Grandpa.”

With the little girl comforted, Ji Meng sighed in relief. Thinking of Wu Kaifen, who had hurriedly left at noon, a cold glint flashed in her eyes as she spoke to Qiuqiu again:

“And about the Elder Aunt, if she really did something bad to Grandma, she will be punished. Qiuqiu, don’t overthink it and don’t be afraid, okay?”

“Mommy will protect both Grandma and Qiuqiu. If Mommy’s abilities are limited, she’ll find someone to help. Don’t you remember? We know a lot of uncles and aunties who are really capable and specialize in catching bad people.”

Qiuqiu hadn’t forgotten, before they returned, Uncle Zhu had specifically told her that if anything happened, she could ask Grandpa Captain to help contact him.

Uncle Zhu was as formidable as her dad and was in charge of many people, so she didn’t need to be afraid of the Eldest Grandma.

Thinking of this, all fear faded away in Qiuqiu’s heart, and she nodded again: “Mommy, Qiuqiu understands. I’m not afraid anymore.”

“Very good.”

Ji Meng praised her and glanced at the bed, noticing that Fang Aihua’s lips were slightly cyan. She took the water and chopsticks from the low table, stood up, and went to moisten her lips.

This was something Shi Feng had instructed earlier, the elderly often felt heartburn from the traditional Chinese medicine and would have a dry mouth, so it was important to keep her hydrated as much as possible.

Seeing this, Qiuqiu quickly said, “Mommy, I can do it! This is something I can handle.”

Although she sensed that Mommy was different now, Qiuqiu still remembered that her mother used to dislike doing things, so she hurriedly took the cup from Ji Meng’s hand.

Moistening her lips wasn’t tiring work.

“Alright, then Qiuqiu can do it.”

Ji Meng smiled and handed the cup to her.

The little girl was meticulous, gently moistening her grandmother’s lips, and when she noticed water dripping down to the chin, she would take a little handkerchief and wipe it away carefully.

Such an excessively obedient and understanding child.

As Ji Meng watched, the warmth in her eyes deepened.

However, when her gaze swept across the little girl’s face and saw the lingering fingerprints, her expression turned cold again.

“Qiuqiu, we’re out of rice and vegetables at home. Mommy has to go to the village to trade for some rice, vegetables, and meat. You need to keep an eye on Grandma. If she wakes up, give her some warm water, okay?” Ji Meng glanced at her watch and added,

“Is Mommy going out?”

Qiuqiu was taken aback for a moment. Hearing that her mother was going out made her feel inexplicably anxious, but she also knew they had run out of rice and vegetables, and would go hungry, especially since Grandma was sick and needed something good to eat. She pressed her lips together and obediently nodded.

“Okay, then Mommy, please come back quickly.”

“Mm, I will be back soon.”

Ji Meng reached out to pat her head, smiled, and left the house under the little girl’s watchful gaze, heading toward the wood shed.

This place was usually where they piled firewood and stored farming tools and various equipment.

Ji Meng searched around and found a long-handled hammer that seemed to be in decent condition.

She tested the weight of the hammer in her hand and found it manageable. She then looked up and asked Sansan, “How do I get to Su Erhu’s house?”

【Host, are you planning to confront Su Erhu’s family?】

Sansan sensed Ji Meng’s surging anger and speculated in her mind.

“What else?”

“They’re already trying to force us into a corner. Do you think I can just sit here foolishly?”

Ji Meng spoke calmly, but her eyes were cold.

At first, she thought Wu Kaifen was just scared to see Qiuqiu’s grandmother in trouble and hesitated to help, but she didn’t expect that the person might have initially planned to cause trouble for Grandma Qiuqiu from the start.

Sansan hesitated: 【But, Host, you’ve read books, so you should know that Su Erhu’s dad, Su Dazhi, is not someone to mess with, he’s dangerous.】

“Even if it’s dangerous, I still have to do it. Have you ever seen a bad person stop doing bad things because someone else let them off the hook? If we don’t deal with Su Erhu’s family, we’ll be in even more danger.”

With Grandma Qiuqiu in this condition, she couldn’t just ignore it. For the time being, she couldn’t take Qiuqiu away. The Su family was watching their house closely, and who knows what else they might do.

The old lady’s health couldn’t withstand too much stress and turmoil.

Moreover, her daughter shouldn’t have to be bullied without a fight.

“Alright, I know what to do, nothing will happen. You just lead the way. As you said, Qiuqiu’s current situation can’t afford any accidents, so the problem with Su Erhu’s family definitely needs to be resolved.”

【…Okay then, Host, please pay attention to your safety. Sansan doesn’t have any energy right now and can’t help you.】

Regarding the issue of Qiuqiu’s potential darkening, Sansan had nothing more to say. It paused for a moment before guiding Ji Meng on her way.