Chapter 3 - Mysterious Rainbow Stone (2/2)

“Cao’er, you’re awake! You’ve slept for exactly three days. If you still didn’t wake up, I was about to take you to town to see a doctor.” Madam Liu, who was lying on the kang bed, noticed the movement and raised her head. She cried out in happiness when she looked up and saw her daughter studying the rainbow stone.

Yu Xiaocao stared intently at Madam Liu. Her first impression of her mother was that she was thin. Although she had a beautiful and gentle face, it looked thin and pale. Her hands, which were fixing her blanket, were full of rough calluses and scars. With one glance at her hands, it was obvious that she was constantly performing manual labor.

“Mother…” Although Madam Liu wasn’t that much older than her in her previous life, she was touched by the maternal love within her eyes. Thus, she couldn’t help but call out to her. No one had looked at her with such a loving gaze ever since her mother passed away when she was fourteen. Yu Xiaocao suddenly felt like crying.

“Don’t cry, Cao’er. Does your wound still hurt? Mother will blow on it for you…” Liu Muyun gently blew on her daughter’s bandaged head, then she quickly turned around and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

When she was pregnant with the twins, she accidently fell into the water while washing clothes and gave birth prematurely. Although Xiaolian was slightly underweight, she grew up with a healthy body. However, it was a different situation for Xiaocao. She couldn’t even drink milk at first. Furthermore, she would frequently fall ill. There were even several times when she almost didn’t survive.

Her child needed to take medicine throughout the year, but their family haven’t split off yet. All the money that her husband earned from fishing and hunting must be handed to her mother-in-law. Every time she asked her mother-in-law for money to get medicine, she was always reluctant to give it to her and would say a bunch of unpleasant words. Her eldest sister-in-law would also make jeering remarks on the side.

She can endure anything for her child. However, she had never expected that her daughter almost died in the hands of her eldest sister-in-law. The doctor had clearly instructed them to nourish Xiaocao with more nutrition, but her mother-in-law was unwilling to even give them an egg.

Liu Muyun’s face was full of helplessness as she looked at the dark night sky outside the window. She had already married into the Yu Family for thirteen years. Every day, she had to be the first to wake up and last to sleep. She always exhausted because she was responsible for nearly all of the household chores.

She’s not afraid of being tired, but her mother-in-law was never satisfied with her no matter what she does. She often had to suffer from her demanding gaze and mocking remarks. Even her children were treated poorly.

There was no one in the family who she could rely upon. Xiaocao was injured by Eldest Sister-in-law and was unconscious for three days, but Eldest Brother’s family didn’t even appear once. Her youngest sister-in-law and father-in-law were the only ones who came to check on Xiaocao…

“Cao’er, are you hungry? Your youngest aunt gave us an egg. I kept it warm with some hot water.” Liu Muyun peeled the eggshell for her daughter. She had a satisfied smile on her face as she watched her daughter slowly eat the egg.

She continued, “My good daughter, you should rest some more. Mother will go prepare dinner. Your favorite congee [2] will be ready by the time you’re awake. I’ll be sure to make it thick and add some pickled vegetables in it. I’ll bring a large bowl of it for our Cao’er to eat!”

Yu Xiaocao remembered what she had heard before she fell asleep. Her mother was rejected after she had asked this body’s grandmother for an egg. It seems like her family rarely had the chance to eat fine grains such as white rice and wheat flour.

For this bowl of congee, Madam Liu would probably have to endure people cruelly mocking her. Her heart somewhat ached for her, “Mother, I’ll just eat whatever everyone else is eating. Don’t separately prepare something just for me. Didn’t I already eat an egg today?”

[1] Kang Bed (炕) – traditional long heated platform for general living, entertainment, sleeping, etc; usually used in northern China, where it’s colder

A more modern version of the kang bed.Kang Bed

[2] This is probably similar to the congee that Xiaocao ate.