Chapter 17 - Parental Love (2/2)
Yu Hang pulled gently at his sister’s sleeves and whispered, “Grandmother already saw the game that father caught today. She always knows how much money these will go for. If he comes back with less money, all hell will break loose! Didn’t we already eat some meat buns today? We’ll eat some pheasant meat in the future!”
The congenial expression on Yu Hai’s didn’t change throughout the whole interaction between his two children. “Leaving you a pheasant is not a problem! But your older brother is also right, Cao’er. After your latest illness, your stomach is still quite weak. So you shouldn't eat roasted pheasant right now. In a few days, once your body is all better, Father will definitely leave you a nice, fat pheasant for you to eat!”
Yu Xiaocao was pretty sure that there was nothing wrong with her body now. But it was obvious that no one in her immediate family believed that. It looked like she still had to prove herself to them!
Following that, the two siblings ran around the village, looking for their mother, Xiaolian, and little brother. They soon discovered that their mother was at the creek washing the bedsheets. Xiaolian had taken Little Shitou out to the foot of the West Mountains to pick up some firewood.
No one lived at the foot of the West Mountains, and few people from the village went there normally. It was the perfect place—cough cough—for dividing out their secretly acquired meat buns. The two of them split to complete their mission. Yu Hang went to the river to find Madam Liu while Xiao Cao took the ceramic pot with the pastries to the foot of the mountains.
“Mother, mother! Xiaocao, she…ah...you should come over and look yourself!” A lot of other women from the village were washing their laundry at the bank of the stream. Yu Hang didn’t dare to explain the situation clearly, and he also was too honest to come up with a good lie on the spot. The only thing he could do was to insinuate there was something wrong with his younger sister.
When Madam Liu heard his half-finished sentence, she hurriedly got up. The sheet in her hands almost slipped out and drifted away into the creek.
Yu Hang instantly felt guilty when he saw how worried she was. He tried to backtrack, “Mother, don’t worry! Little sister is fine!”
“You’re not a doctor,” Madam Liu retorted. “How would you know for sure your sister is okay? I need to see her myself. Auntie Futian, do you mind keeping an eye on these sheets for me? If I don’t come back before you’re done, could you do me a favor and bring them back for me?” Liu Muyun wiped her hands dry and then rushed after her son. The two of them pelted in the direction of the West Mountains.
“Ah…it must be Xiaocao again! Dahai’s wife has a cruel fate in this lifetime…” All of the women who were doing laundry in the river were used to Madam Liu leaving halfway before she finished her load. Nine times out of ten, it usually had something to do with her sickly daughter.
On the other hand, Yu Xiaocao was having a more difficult time finding her sister and brother. The mountains here covered a large area, and there were plenty of places for two children to pick up firewood. Luckily, Xiaolian and Little Shitou were both cautious and didn’t dare to venture deep into the mountain range. The two of them stayed at the foot of the mountains. With a little bit of effort, Xiaocao finally found them.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so tired right now! You two really lead me on a merry chase!” lamented Xiaocao when she found the two of them. She collapsed onto the ground and sat on the long grass, completely out of breath. She used her small fists to punch her legs in an effort to loosen the muscles up. This little body is seriously too weak! Even after walking this short of a distance tired it out!In the distance, Madam Liu, who was following her oldest son, could see what had happened. She ran all the way there, her heart in her mouth. When she got to where Xiaocao had collapsed, she swept her daughter into her arms and repeatedly asked, “Cao’er, where do you feel uncomfortable? Mother will bring you home... Xiaosha, go find Doctor You right now.”
Yu Hang didn’t immediately leave and instead asked his sister with concern, “Youngest sister, do you really not feel well?”
“What do you mean by ‘do you really not feel well’? Are you saying that she’s faking it? Go find the doctor!” Liu Muyun exclaimed. She bent down and held her youngest daughter.
Yu Xiaocao saw that her mother’s face had gone white with worry, so she quickly scampered up and jumped twice on the ground to show Madam Liu that she was fine. “Mother, I’m fine! Who told you I wasn’t feeling well? Tell me and I’ll hit them for you! Eldest Brother, were you the one who scared mother?”
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Madam Liu inspected her daughter from head to toe. Xiaocao really didn’t look like she had fallen ill again. She felt relieved, so she turned to scold her son, “So what did you call me here for? You interrupted me while I was in the middle of washing! I still have half of the sheets to do!”
Yu Xiaocao quickly came to her brother’s defense. “Mom, didn’t we visit town today? I bought some meat buns for all of us. Here, take a taste!”