Chapter 7 - 3: "Mother Has Changed

Chapter 7: Chapter 3: "Mother Has Changed

He helped the twins down, put little shoes on Third Child and Fourth Child, and led his younger brother and sister out of the room.

Da Zai found his and his brother’s baskets.

Just then, Mother Gu came over. Seeing Lin Zhao in the courtyard, she asked with concern, "Is your head still hurting?"

"A little." Lin Zhao wasn’t lying. After all, she had a big bump on her head.

Mother Gu said, "If it hurts, you should lie down more. Don’t stand around."

"Okay," Lin Zhao replied.

Mother Gu didn’t have much to say to her. After a few simple words, she led the twins out of the house.

’Her daughter-in-law had hit her head and needed to rest; I couldn’t possibly let her watch the children.’

’Of course, Lin Zhao wouldn’t pay any attention to the kids anyway. Sigh.’

’Mother Gu once again regretted being taken in by Lin Zhao’s pretty face and agreeing to let her third son marry her. So what if they looked good together? You can’t build a life on looks if their personalities are no good.’

Seeing his grandma leave, Er Zai urged Da Zai, "Brother, let’s go too."

Da Zai was worried about Lin Zhao. He walked a few steps toward the door, then stopped, still worried. He looked at his mother and said, "Mom, if your head starts hurting a lot, have someone call for me and Er Zai. We’ll get a doctor for you."

Er Zai, with his mind on meat buns, didn’t forget to chime in enthusiastically, "Yeah, yeah! Call us if you need anything!"

Lin Zhao’s heart was captured by the two boys’ pure, precious love, and a scorching hot emotion welled up from its depths.

She took a few steps forward and said suddenly, "Close your eyes!"

Da Zai and Er Zai were confused, but their mom had been in a good mood today, so they were willing to listen to her. The two little ones closed their eyes.

Er Zai even grinned. "Mom, I closed them!"

Da Zai added, "Mom, I closed mine too."

"Good boys." Like a magician, Lin Zhao produced two pieces of rock candy and popped them into her two boys’ mouths.

Da Zai and Er Zai only felt something slip into their mouths. They sucked on it with their little lips. It was sweet. It was candy.

Er Zai’s eyes shot open, shining brighter than stars on a summer night. "Mom, it’s candy!!"

The little ones didn’t care where the candy came from. For them, just having something to eat was enough.

Da Zai’s eyes also flew open in shock. Remembering his mom hadn’t said they could open them, he quickly covered his eyes with his two little paws. "Mom, I didn’t open my eyes." What a classic case of self-deception.

Lin Zhao couldn’t help but laugh. "You can open them now."

Da Zai lowered his hands, his eyes shining as he looked at her. "Mom, the candy is so sweet."

’Mom is so nice.’

’The aunties in the village were all wrong. His mom did like them. Grown-ups wouldn’t give candy to kids they didn’t like.’

’His mom gave him and his brother candy, so she must like them.’

Thinking this, Da Zai felt a sweetness in his heart, a sweetness greater than eating a whole bag of candy.

"Does Mom have candy?" Da Zai was worried his mom didn’t have any for herself.

"I do." Lin Zhao popped one in her mouth too. It was wonderfully sweet.

Er Zai’s eyes darted around. He sidled up with a cheeky grin. "Mom, can I have one more?"

Seeing his sweet smile, Lin Zhao gave each of the brothers another piece.

"You have to brush your teeth tonight."

Er Zai tucked the candy into his little pocket, patting it a few times to make sure it wouldn’t fall out. Only then did he feel at ease. Hearing his mom’s words, he said, "My brother and I don’t have toothbrushes."

"Mom said little kids don’t need to brush their teeth," Da Zai added.

Pfft...

Her two little darlings, her warm padded jackets, had suddenly turned into leaky leather ones.

"I’ll buy you both some tomorrow!" Lin Zhao said, exasperated. ’What on earth was wrong with my old self?’

Da Zai remembered the twins and reminded his mom, "Third Child and Fourth Child need them too."

"...I know." ’I’m only twenty-three, you know. My memory isn’t that bad yet.’

Lin Zhao had married Gu Chenghuai the year before she turned eighteen. She had just graduated from high school at the time. With no connections and no money, she couldn’t even find a manual labor job. To make matters worse, the harvest was bad that year, and her family was on the verge of running out of food.

She’d been shrewd since she was little, and she schemed to change her fate by marrying well.

Later, by a strange twist of fate, Lin Zhao met Gu Chenghuai, who was home visiting family. She took the initiative, and it seemed Gu Chenghuai couldn’t withstand her offensive, surrendering completely. And so, they got married in front of the Great Leader’s portrait.

Outside the main gate, the faint sounds of footsteps and voices drifted by from time to time—it was the people heading to work.

Da Zai was eager to leave, but before he went, he didn’t forget to say, "Mom, you get some rest. I’ll bring you back food when I come home."

’Bring back food from where? The old family house, of course.’

Lin Zhao broke out in a cold sweat.

"...Okay." ’It wasn’t that she didn’t want to cook. For one, her head hurt. For another, they hadn’t used the stove in a long time, and it would take time to prepare everything.’

"Don’t go near the river, stay close to the grown-ups, and shout if anything happens," Lin Zhao cautioned, still worried.

Before Da Zai could speak, Er Zai piped up in his loud voice, "We know, Mom! Grandma taught us!"

With that, he grabbed Da Zai’s hand and ran out the door.