Chapter 188: Crying in Each Other’s Arms
Bai Ruozhu felt invigorated. She was determined to grow her business, and ensure she kept clear records. She believed this was the way to convincingly persuade her father. However, she had not considered moving on completely from agricultural work. She needed to retain some farmland. Yet she despised the thought of her family remaining in Mountain Village, farming, forever subjected to the grating people residing in the old mansion.
Despite this, once she had fully settled on leaving, she still felt anxious. She worried, ’what would happen to Xiaosi in the future?’
She dearly wanted to bring Xiaosi along with her. However, Xiaosi was the son belonging to the main room of the family household. What reason could she possibly have to snatch someone else’s child? Perhaps, perhaps, after her family left, the old mansion would be less hostile towards Xiaosi?
Without Bai Ruozhu’s care, would Xiaosi retreat once again into his shell? Bai Ruozhu found herself suddenly wishing that she could kidnap him unnoticed by the mansion. But would such a thing really be possible?
That evening, Xiaosi came over again for his dinner. Recently, he had almost not been injured at all. He said his mother also scolded him, but he always ran far enough away that she couldn’t catch him.
Feeling empathetic, Ruozhu added another piece of Red Braised Pork to Xiaosi’s bowl, and gently told him, "Xiaosi, your big sister is going to temporarily move to the town to live."
Xiaosi’s eyes suddenly widened, then quickly dimmed. His thin lips tightened together as if he was upset.
Watching this, Bai Ruozhu felt even more distraught. Without thinking, tears welled up in her eyes. She hugged Xiaosi, saying, "Big sister is worried that you won’t have enough to eat and can’t take care of yourself. What should I do?"
Xiaosi still didn’t say anything. Bai Ruozhu took out twenty copper coins and gave them to Xiaosi. "Hide these coins carefully. Put them up in a tree, or bury them in the ground. Don’t carry them on you, as your mother may take them away. Whenever you miss your big sister or get hurt, you must take the carriage to town to find me."
Xiaosi pushed Ruozhu’s hand away, seemingly unwilling to take the money.
"If you’re leaving, then stop trying to meddle in my life." He spun around and attempted to run out. Bai Ruozhu grabbed hold of him. He struggled fiercely and ended up not eating the Pork, adamant about leaving.
Bai Ruozhu restrained herself from pulling him roughly by the arm, even though she was afraid she might dislocate his elbow. In the end, she reluctantly let him go and watched him leave.
Squatting in the kitchen, Ruozhu’s eyes reddened and began to cloud with tears. She also didn’t want to let go of Xiaosi, but what could she do? The more she thought about it, the sadder she became. She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing. She even found herself resenting the heavens. Why were they so unfair to a child?
Just as she was absorbed in her own sorrow, a small figure reappeared in the kitchen. He stood in front of her, timidly saying, "Third sister, don’t cry. I’ll do as you say."
Bai Ruozhu sharply lifted her head to see Xiaosi crying as well. This stubborn child, who wouldn’t cry no matter how badly he was beaten by others or how much pain he was in, was crying now.
Bai Ruozhu hugged Xiaosi tight, crying, "You little rascal, you’re just trying to make your big sister cry, aren’t you? Insisting on throwing a tantrum and making me cry for no reason."
Although she spoke these words, Bai Ruozhu’s tears didn’t pause. Xiaosi also started crying more earnestly. The two of them sobbed together for a long time before they slowly managed to calm themselves down.
This time, Xiaosi obediently accepted the copper coins. Not convinced, Bai Ruozhu added, "If you miss me, you can come to town to see me every day. If you run out of money for the carriage, your sister will provide for you. Don’t worry about it!"
Xiaosi nodded his head and said, "I’ll come to see you tomorrow." Xiaosi had come to see them in the daytime before, so he knew that Bai Ruozhu’s family had gone to the town for business.
Bai Ruozhu smiled through her tears, poked Xiaosi’s head and said, "You little fool, we’re going to the town tomorrow. You can just sneakily tag along with us. Meet us at the entrance of the village early, okay?"
"Okay, I’ll wake up early for sure." Xiaosi replied earnestly.
After Xiaosi left, Bai Ruozhu went to fetch water to wash her face, her eyes already red and swollen. Upon seeing this, Lin Bing’er exclaimed, "Did you cry?"
Bai Ruozhu’s nose started tingling again, and she said, "Xiaosi just came by. I told him we’re contemplating of moving to the town."
On hearing this, Lin Bing’er also felt sad, "Yes indeed, what will the poor child do in the future?"
Bai Ruozhu wiped her tears again. She had finally managed to stop crying, and now her mother was provoking her again. Tears pricked her eyes.
"It’s fine. He’s a sensible child. I gave him some copper coins. He could always take the carriage to town to see us whenever he misses us. His mother doesn’t worry about him even when he stays out the entire day." Bai Ruozhu’s tears welled up again as she spoke. Xiaosi was their eldest son, yet the mansion folks overlooked him so easily. Was it just because he was deemed slow-witted?
"That’s good, at least he can eat well when he comes to visit us". Lin Bing’er nodded, feeling that Bai Ruozhu’s arrangement was suitable.
"He said he wanted to go to the town with us early tomorrow morning. I told him to meet us at the entrance of the village." Bai Ruozhu said.
Lin Bing’er nodded, "That’s a good idea. He can ride in the carriage with us. Once we close the stall for the day, we can go look for a suitable house."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, she saw hope for the future and felt a little less bitter.
Before they left the next morning, Bai Ruozhu made a warm, freshly baked pancake. She planned to give it to Xiaosi when they met, as he would have likely left the house early without breakfast. She knew the mansion folks were lazy and often woke up late.
When her family reached the entrance of the village, Xiaosi was nowhere to be found. Just as Ruozhu decided to wait for him, Xiaosi emerged from behind a tree, rubbing his eyes.
"You were sleeping? How long have you been here?" Bai Ruozhu was considerably surprised. If she had known, she wouldn’t have asked him to come so early. He could have simply taken the carriage to town on his own, whenever he was ready.
"Not very long, I just dozed off for a bit". Xiaosi’s expression remained unchanged, but his eyes were far more expressive than before, no longer unfocused.
Bai Yihong glanced back at the village and quickly said, "Hurry up and find a carriage. Don’t let anyone see you and spread the word back to the mansion. They’ll only make trouble for Xiaosi."
Bai Ruozhu nodded. A donkey-driven cart was approaching from afar.
Once the cart arrived, Lin Bing’er got on carrying Dengdeng, and Bai Ruozhu, leading Xiaosi, climbed on as well. Bai Yihong led Bai Zehao and Bai Zepei onwards on foot, pushing their own cart.
Once on the cart, Bai Ruozhu handed the warm pancake to Xiaosi and said, "Eat it while it’s still hot. This is what your big sister sells in town. The business is good there." Bai Ruozhu couldn’t hide her pride as she spoke.
Xiaosi, who hadn’t eaten breakfast, began eating immediately. The food was particularly sweet and the aroma of the pancake began to swirl around.
The carriage did not have a closed carriage like a horse-driven one, it only had a shade on top to shield against sun and rain. As a result, the young man driving the cart quickly caught the scent. He couldn’t resist asking, "Ma’am, what is this food you have? It smells so good."
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That’s all for today, everyone. Time to wash up and sleep. Mouka is off to put her child to bed~