☆ 8. Returning to the City

How to raise a child well, helping her step out of her insecurities and feel happiness again… Ji Meng had no experience and could only explore slowly.

The conditions in the countryside were limited, so for now, she could only ensure that the little girl ate well and received more companionship, while also taking care of Fang Aihua’s health.

Qiuqiu was most worried about her grandmother.

These days, the little girl hasn’t played outside at all. Even when Ji Meng encouraged her to go out, she would only last a few minutes before coming back.

The first thing she did upon returning was to find her grandmother and ask about her health.

Ji Meng felt quite heartbroken seeing this. It was a child’s nature to want to play, but the little girl had been frightened when her grandmother fell into a coma, suppressing her natural instincts.

Fortunately, Fang Aihua’s brain hemorrhage wasn’t severe, and Shi Feng’s medical skills were also good. With Fang Aihua’s own determination, she had improved significantly over the past week.

She could now get out of bed, occasionally go for a walk, and then come back to play with Qiuqiu, helping Ji Meng pick vegetables and such.

During this time, there was also news regarding Su Dazhi and Wu Kaifen.

Wu Kaifen, likely fearing that she would implicate her son and frightened by the solemn atmosphere of the interrogation room, confessed her malicious intentions on the night she was taken away.

Her actions constituted a premeditated attempted murder, and since she had conspired to seize the property of a martyr’s widow, the nature of her crime was severe, leading to a ten-year labor reform sentence.

Her son, Su Dazhi, because of the reliable information provided by Ji Meng, had the missing children’s case from Langshan quickly clarified by the police station.

That person named Ah Qiang was the father of one of the children involved in the water incident.

He was the one who rescued the other two children, but unfortunately, he failed to save one of them.

The missing children were also found, hidden by Ah Qiang in the mountains, guarded by their accomplices from the neighboring village.

After the police arrested the suspects, they quickly clarified the case.

Su Dazhi, Ah Qiang, and two other accomplices had been trafficking children for years.

Because they were afraid of being discovered, they acted cautiously, always abducting children by creating accidents.

The children they targeted were carefully selected, for example, the village captain’s child was smart, and the child from Langshan was good-looking. These children fetched a higher price and were easier to sell.

Their latest plan had been in the works for a long time.

First, they used unconscious suggestions through Ah Qiang’s son to make several children believe that there were many wild duck eggs to collect by the river.

Then, Su Dazhi was responsible for tampering with the rocks by the riverbank.

After several children fell in, Su Dazhi would secretly take one of the targets away, while Ah Qiang would be in charge of rescuing them.

The guarding of the children and subsequent selling would be handled by the other two accomplices.

Over the years, they had abducted more than a dozen children using similar methods across various villages, which was the number they couldn’t deny and had to confess to.

In reality, over the past three or four years, the number of children who had gone missing in the entire commune was far greater than this.

Su Dazhi and the others’ actions were particularly heinous, and their crimes were unforgivable. After they confessed where the abducted children had been sold, the authorities executed them by the higher authorities.

This news reached the village, causing the village captain’s wife to go mad, and she rushed to Su Dazhi’s house to set it on fire.

In no time, Su Dazhi’s family became the target of everyone’s ire in the village.

Zhang Xiaohong, Su Erhu’s mother, was afraid that the village captain’s wife would kill her, so she ran back to her family home that day and remarried within a couple of days.

Su Erhu and the three sisters, Su Zhaodi and Su Laidi, were sent to live with several aunts who had married far away, as decided in a village meeting.

“Fortunately, you insisted on reporting to the police, otherwise, I can’t even imagine what that heartless Su Dazhi would do to our family,”

Regarding Ji Meng reporting Su Dazhi, the police were concerned that there might still be ^[1]“fish that slipped through the net”, (漏网之鱼) means escaped criminals or overlooked accomplicesfish that slipped through the net, or other human traffickers still at large. For Ji Meng’s safety, they implemented confidentiality measures.

They publicly stated that they had uncovered the case through investigations in the Langshan village.

However, while this could be kept secret from outsiders, it couldn’t be hidden from Fang Aihua. After hearing the news from outside, she guessed that it was related to Ji Meng.

She felt both relieved and fearful and immediately shared it with Ji Meng.

Ji Meng was currently braiding Qiuqiu’s hair. The little girl’s hair wasn’t very long, barely reaching her shoulders, but she had a lot of it. Ji Meng selected two scarves from the large pile left by the original body to make a few pretty hairbands and headbands for the little girl. Since she had some free time, it was the perfect opportunity to try them out.

Upon hearing Fang Aihua’s words, Ji Meng smiled nonchalantly, “Their family matters are in the past, Mom. Don’t dwell on it, it’s more important for you to take care of your health.”

“I know, I’ve been feeling much better these past few days, and I’ve regained a lot of strength. In a few more days, I’ll be able to get back to work in the fields,” Fang Aihua replied, waving her hand.

After the old lady perked up, she became quite straightforward, and Ji Meng really liked her personality. However, she didn’t agree with her getting back to work in the fields:

“Who goes back to work in the fields right after getting sick? Ask Qiuqiu if she agrees.”

“Grandma’s health is the most important thing.” At this moment, Qiuqiu looked up at Fang Aihua seriously.

Feeling her granddaughter’s concern, Fang Aihua was pleased and responded with a smile:

“Okay, okay, I know! Health is important. Grandma wants to live to a hundred and see our Qiuqiu go to college!”

“Mm-hmm.” Hearing Fang Aihua’s words made Qiuqiu very happy, her eyes crinkled into a smile as she emphatically replied.

It was rare for the atmosphere at home to be so harmonious and warm.

A smile also spread across Ji Meng’s lips, and just then, someone outside suddenly shouted, “Ji Meng, you have a telegram!”

Xiaopan Village was neither far nor close to the town. Under normal circumstances, the postman wouldn’t enter the village. Any letters or packages would be delivered to the village through the commune, and someone attending a meeting would bring them back.

Most of the mail delivered to the village consisted of urgent letters and telegrams.

Who would send her an urgent telegram?

An idea flashed through Ji Meng’s mind, she quickly stood up and went outside. “Comrade, where’s the telegram from?”

“From the provincial capital, you’ll need to sign for it.” The postman, dressed in a uniform, found the telegram in his bag and handed it to Ji Meng, also giving her the receipt to sign.

“From the provincial capital?”

Besides the original body’s father, there was no one else who would send her a telegram.

Ji Meng signed her name, took the telegram, and without hesitation, tore open the envelope and unfolded the telegram paper inside.

In an instant, Ji Meng’s expression changed.

The slightly yellowed paper had a slightly bold black line written on it: “Elder brother is seriously ill and unable to recover, father has handled the funeral and returned, waiting for your return.”

“Is the female lead’s father dying at this time?” Ji Meng suddenly looked up and asked Sansan.

In the book, the story begins with the female lead going to her home with the original body and meeting the male lead for the first time, by that time, the original body’s elder brother and father were already dead.

From the occasional conversations where the female lead and her aunt had disputes, and the respective memories of the female lead and the original body, it was vaguely known that the female lead’s grandfather died due to a medical dispute, which was related to the original body.

The original body was dissatisfied that her father used the money he promised her on the female lead instead, so she targeted the traditional Chinese medicine shop and obtained money by exchanging a portion of inferior medicinal materials, delaying the treatment of a child.

Because of this incident, her father’s reputation was ruined, and he was stabbed, unable to survive.

However, there wasn’t much mention of the female lead’s father or the original body’s elder brother.

Sansan also looked confused: 【I don’t know either.】

【These belong to hidden storylines, and Sansan hasn’t checked them.】

【Host, it says here that he is seriously ill and unable to recover, even if Sansan knew, it wouldn’t necessarily change anything,】 Sansan consoled, sensing Ji Meng’s emotional state wasn’t good.

“I know.”

Ji Meng took a light breath, it was always hard to accept when a life was suddenly lost.

She didn’t say anything further, folded the telegram paper, and returned to the courtyard.

“Who sent the telegram?”

When Ji Meng went out, Qiuqiu’s hair wasn’t finished yet. Fang Aihua took over the task, she couldn’t braid the fishbone style like Ji Meng, so she just casually tied it up. Seeing Ji Meng come in with a not-so-good expression, she paused her movements for a moment, hesitatingly asking.

“My dad sent it.”

“Grandpa? Mom, Grandpa sent a telegram? What did he say?”

“Is he feeling any better?”

Ever since Qiuqiu heard Ji Meng mention the existence of her grandpa in the provincial city, she had kept it in her mind, and upon hearing this, she immediately looked at Ji Meng.

“Much better.”

Ji Meng slightly pulled at the corners of her lips and replied to Qiuqiu. After a moment’s thought, she added:

“Qiuqiu, Mom and Grandma have something to discuss. Why don’t you go play with Sister Manman for a while? Mom will come to get you later, okay?”

Manman’s house was the closest to theirs, they could see it from their courtyard.

It was the best place for the child to avoid any awkwardness.

A complicated expression crossed Fang Aihua’s eyes, but she quickly returned to normal, quickly tied Qiuqiu’s hair properly and lovingly said to her:

“Qiuqiu, go ahead and show the headband that Mom made for you to Manman. She was just asking about you, saying you haven’t come to play with her lately.”

Sensing something, Qiuqiu didn’t immediately agree. She looked at Ji Meng, then turned to Fang Aihua. After a while, she lowered her head and responded softly, “Okay,” glancing back three times as she left.

“Did the in-laws send a telegram urging you to come back?”

Watching Qiuqiu enter Manman’s yard, Fang Aihua tightened her grip on the comb and asked Ji Meng.

It felt like a conclusion had been reached.

Fang Aihua’s expression was relatively calm. After asking, she didn’t wait for Ji Meng to respond, lightly sighed, and continued speaking:

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you earlier. Since ^[2]“Zi” (子) in the name means ‘Son’ and can imply a male descendant.Chengzi is gone, you’re still so young, you shouldn’t be delayed…”

Mentioning her son, Fang Aihua couldn’t help but have her eyes redden again. It was truly painful and bitter for someone with white hair to lose their black-haired child.

She hadn’t asked her daughter-in-law or discussed her returning to the provincial city because she hadn’t yet moved past the pain of losing her son. She was afraid that if she brought it up, she wouldn’t be able to control her emotions, and that would make her health worse, making it harder for her to continue taking care of Qiuqiu.

Although her daughter-in-law had come back after leaving this time and had mentioned that she planned to take Qiuqiu back to see her grandpa, she didn’t truly expect her daughter-in-law to raise Qiuqiu to adulthood.

Her daughter-in-law had good conditions, was attractive, and had a smooth career, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to remarry. However, not bringing children and bringing children into a new marriage were two very different matters.

Over the past few days, she had observed carefully, and it seemed that Su Cheng’s death had somewhat affected her daughter-in-law. She had changed a lot compared to before.

It was clear that she cared about Qiuqiu a bit more than she used to.

That was enough.

When the time comes that she can’t hold on anymore, Qiuqiu will still have someone to rely on.

Fang Aihua sniffed, calming the tightness in her nose, and continued speaking:

“Ah Meng, if you want to go back to the city, I won’t stop you. I’m feeling much better now. I’ve asked Old Shi, and he said I can still hold on for a few more years, I can still take care of Qiuqiu for a while…”

“Mom.”

Realizing what Fang Aihua was about to say, Ji Meng raised her head and called out to her.

“Mom, I know what you want to say, but Qiuqiu should have told you earlier that even if I go back to the city, I must take her with me.”

“Qiuqiu has lost her father, she can’t lose her mother too.”

“I considered staying in the village to take care of Qiuqiu, but there’s something I can’t ignore: neither my health nor yours is suitable for working in the fields. We can’t rely on… relying on Cheng’s pension to get by, we need to find a way to have an income.”

“And Qiuqiu, she’s also approaching the age to go to school. You know the conditions at the village school. Since the educated youth have gradually returned to the city, that school is nearly shutting down. It’s really not suitable for studying. As for the town, it’s not exactly close to us. If Qiuqiu wants to study there, she’ll have to walk for about an hour every day. Not only is it tiring, but I also won’t feel at ease.”

“So, Mom, even for Qiuqiu’s future, I have to take her back to the city.”

As Ji Meng spoke, she took a deep breath, pulled out the telegram from her hand, and took a couple of steps forward to hand it to Fang Aihua.

“Originally, I planned to wait until you were completely better before discussing this with you, but my dad sent a telegram… my eldest brother is gone.”

“Gone?”

Fang Aihua looked up in shock. Since her son’s sacrifice, she had been particularly sensitive to the word “gone” and found it hard to accept.

“How, how could this happen…?”

Fang Aihua didn’t know how old Ji Meng’s brother was.

The original body never talked about family matters, she only heard her son, Su Cheng, mention that his daughter-in-law had a father and a brother, but there were conflicts between them, so they had never interacted.

When they got married, in order to avoid bringing up this matter and upsetting her daughter-in-law, she didn’t ask about her family and directly prepared the bride price and dowry.

Her daughter-in-law was only twenty-three this year, and she heard that her brother was also a sent-down educated youth, so he probably wouldn’t be very old either.

To die so young, just like her son Su Cheng.

Fang Aihua reached out to take the telegram. Seeing the few glaring words on it, her hand trembled as she looked up. “Then, what about your dad?”

“He went to my brother’s place and has returned.”

Talking about such matters always created a heavy atmosphere, and Ji Meng felt a tightness in her chest at this moment.

“I don’t know the specific situation either, I’ll have to go back to find out.”

“Then hurry up and prepare to go back.”

Having just experienced the loss of a son, Fang Aihua understood the pain all too well. She hurriedly said this, and after a pause, she added:

“Take Qiuqiu back with you, let her go back and see her grandfather.”

“What you said earlier makes sense, but you need to think carefully. Qiuqiu is a good child and easy to take care of, but she is still just a child and will require a lot of attention…”

“Mom, I know what you want to say. Qiuqiu is my child, and I should put in as much effort as necessary for her, I won’t get tired.”

Ji Meng interrupted Fang Aihua again and assured her, “I will take good care of Qiuqiu, no matter what happens, I will never abandon her.”

As she spoke, Ji Meng remembered something. She hurried back into the house and quickly came out, holding a red-and-white savings book.

“After Ah Cheng sacrificed himself, I cleaned up the room at the army base and found a salary savings book belonging to him. When I returned, the army gave me a savings book with the military’s compensation funds, along with some contributions from Ah Cheng’s comrades.”

“Ah Cheng had saved up over the years, there’s still 2,000 yuan in his salary savings book…”

“I might need some money for this trip back to the city. I’ll leave the compensation savings book with you, but I need to take the salary savings book for now. Once I settle down there, I’ll send you the money back.”

The original body never shortchanged herself, and Fang Aihua was kind and easy to talk to. Over the years, most of the money Su Cheng had sent home was in her hands, spent on various necessities and treats.

Fang Aihua had almost no money left.

So, when the original body took away Su Cheng’s compensation and salary books, Fang Aihua was so enraged that she suffered a stroke and fainted.

Ji Meng originally wanted to return the savings book and the two thousand yuan that the original body had already exchanged for a money order to Fang Aihua, but the original body hadn’t saved much money over the years. The only cash she had left was the remaining pocket money that Su Cheng had left before his mission, along with the contributions from the villagers for the funeral.

It wasn’t much, Ji Meng had counted, and it was just over two hundred yuan.

Returning to the city, everything was uncertain and it was just beginning. Money was needed everywhere, and these two hundred yuan would not be enough at all.

Ji Meng had no choice but to be thick-skinned and keep the money order, even if it felt a bit embarrassing.

Fang Aihua looked at the savings book that Ji Meng handed her and hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it.