The Little Widow’s Daily Routine Of Raising Cubs In The 1980’s

In the early summer of 1984, in a small county town named Jiangxian in the south, cicadas chirped endlessly, and waves surged.

In the evening, colorful clouds illuminated the sky, and the remaining sunlight was scattered on the river, shimmering.

In this small county town, buildings of various heights were scattered, and the sounds of vendors on the streets and alleys echoed one after another. People riding bicycles shuttled flexibly through the crowd on their way home from work.

Pedestrians passing by had smiles on their faces, skillfully greeting acquaintances they encountered.

Several residential buildings near the river were surrounded by winding narrow alleys. Among them was a small clinic, with a gray plaque neatly carved with the four traditional characters “Xun’s Clinic.”

Simple and solemn, with a profound heritage.

Perhaps, because it was dusk, there were few patients coming to the clinic at this time. There was a faint smell of Chinese medicine in the air.

On the right side of the clinic’s threshold sat a seemingly young girl.

Her black hair was casually tied behind her head, revealing a fair forehead and a delicate small face the size of a palm, with features like a painting. The girl sat upright, a strand of hair mischievously falling in the air, her eyes slightly lowered, focusing on the book in her hands.

It was an old but well-preserved medical book.

The voices outside, high and low, did not distract her in the slightest.

“Xiaoyu, Auntie just bought some jujube cakes. I brought you a few pieces.” The speaker was Sun Qiao, the daughter-in-law of the Xun family, a middle-aged woman dressed plainly, with a kind face.

Hearing this, Xiaoyu looked up, took the cakes with a sweet smile, and said, “Thank you, Auntie. It smells so good.”

Sun Qiao smiled her eyes full of tenderness towards the girl. “Don’t be so polite with Auntie. Take half of these back home to share with Shengsheng. It’s getting late, and Shengsheng must be waiting for you at home. Hurry back.”

This child is a good one, just a bit unlucky. Xiaoyu met her when she was out buying vegetables.

At that time, Xiaoyu was a bit thin and didn’t look pregnant at all. Even though she was seven months pregnant, her belly was not as big as someone who was five or six months pregnant.

She was clearly about to become a mother but she was still mingling with a group of children on the roadside, fighting to buy candy figurines.

Those innocent apricot eyes were clear and bright. Just standing there, the colors around her seemed to come alive.

Sun Qiao noticed this girl at a glance.

There happened to be a naughty boy playing around with his friends, almost bumping into Xiaoyu who was earnestly licking the candy figurines. Sun Qiao quickly grabbed the boy, avoiding an accident.

After that, they gradually became acquainted.

She knew that this child had lost her man and was not treated well by her in-laws, so she moved to Jiangxian on her own.

As women, they understood each other’s difficulties. Taking care of a baby alone was not easy, so she tried to help out as much as possible.

Xiaoyu glanced at the sunset on the horizon, closed the book carefully, and put it back in the drawer. “Hmm, it’s time to go back. I got too engrossed in reading and forgot about the time.”

“Auntie, where is Grandpa Xun?” She looked around but didn’t see him.

Sun Qiao smiled and pointed to the next room. “He’s having tea.”

Xiaoyu picked up the jujube cakes wrapped in newspaper and went to the next room. “Grandpa Xun, I’m leaving. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

Xun Qingrui was nearly eighty years old, with gray hair on his temples, but he was still in good spirits. He was the head doctor of the clinic. Many people came because of his reputation.

The old man took a sip of tea without saying a word, as if he hadn’t heard her.

Xiaoyu was used to this and turned to leave. As she walked out, she bumped into Xun Ying, who was running back home. Both of them instinctively grabbed each other to avoid falling.

Rubbing her forehead, Xun Ying, seeing it was her, was about to apologize but turned it into a faint questioning instead, “Why is it you?”

It was already late, and she was still lingering in her house. Didn’t she care about that little rascal? Did anyone really have a mother like her?

Seeing Xiaoyu rubbing her chin with the same gesture, Xun Ying felt a pang of jealousy from the bottom of her heart, turning into a gnashing of teeth on her face.

Her forehead hit the chin. Damn it, this woman was actually half a head taller than her. It’s just not fair.

It’s not that Xiaoyu was particularly tall, but Xun Ying was probably took Sun Qiao’s genes. At seventeen, she was only 158 cm tall, not even reaching 160 cm.

They have the same parents, but her brother was over 180 cm tall, which made Xun Ying feel sour.

Xiaoyu gently rubbed her chin and asked with concern, “Yingying, is your forehead okay?”

The temper and personality of the Xun family were exactly the same. Not a single word they said sounded good. Xun’s family had helped her a lot, and Xun Ying was several years younger than her, so she didn’t mind letting it go.

Xun Ying snarled stubbornly, “What’s wrong! It’s all because your bones are too hard. My forehead hurts like hell.”

Sun Qiao, who was preparing to cook, heard the familiar commotion outside and felt a headache coming on. She hurried out to stop her daughter from continuing to talk nonsense.

“Yingying, why are you talking to your sister Xiaoyu like that? Apologize quickly.”

For some reason, her daughter seemed to have a grudge against Xiaoyu and caused trouble every time they met. When asked why, she refused to say.

Sun Qiao loved her daughter, but she couldn’t bear to see Xiaoyu, who had always been obedient and sensible, unfairly treated.

Xun Ying was reluctant but heard a voice of reprimand before she could speak.

“Xun Ying, apologize.”

Xun Qingrui, who was in the house, heard everything clearly and walked out with a stern face, standing under the eaves.

The aggressive Xun Ying suddenly became subdued.

“Sorry.”

In this family, she was most afraid of her grandfather. He was firm and not easily swayed by coaxing or cuteness.

In the past, whenever she and Xiaoyu clashed, it was when her grandfather wasn’t around. She hadn’t expected to forget this time.

If she didn’t apologize, she would probably go hungry tonight and copy dry and boring medical books at least three times over. Until she finished copying, she wouldn’t eat.

When Xun Ying was in elementary school, she copied a classmate’s homework out of laziness. After her grandfather found out, she spent the night silently crying and copying the homework ten times over.

The next day, her hands were trembling.

Xiaoyu didn’t mind, trying to smooth things over. “Grandpa Xun, I’m fine. Yingying, you have to slow down when you run next time. There are many people on the road.”

The Xun family was good people. She had been working at the clinic for almost half a year and hadn’t felt any malice. There was no need to create more barriers between her and Xun Ying because of a few words.

Xun Ying pursed her lips and turned to hug Sun Qiao’s arm, shaking it gently. “Mom, I’m sorry. I said something wrong just now.”

Sun Qiao softened and tapped her daughter’s nose. “You, knowing you’ve made a mistake is good.”

She looked at Xiaoyu, her tone full of apology. “Xiaoyu, this child Yingying doesn’t have a bad heart. She just speaks foolishly and doesn’t know how to talk.”

As a mother, it was inevitable to be biased towards her own child.

Xiaoyu replied, “Auntie, I understand.”

“Grandpa Xun, I’m going back.”

Xun Qingrui glanced lightly at his granddaughter hiding behind his daughter-in-law and crossed his hands behind his back. “Hmm.”

As soon as they left, he muttered to himself, “Is that all you gave her? Acting so petty.”

Sun Qiao, holding her daughter, walked into the house, feeling both amused and exasperated. “Dad, why didn’t you say that just now?”

Her father-in-law had a tough mouth but a soft heart. Although he felt sorry for Xiaoyu in his heart, he liked to put on a sour face every day and scold her at the drop of a hat.

But Xiaoyu was easygoing and didn’t take it to heart.

Xun Qingrui snorted, “That girl is good at playing up to me. If I give her a good face once, she won’t listen to me in the future.”

“And you, Xun Ying, if you speak so carelessly again…”

Xun Ying’s heart sounded an alarm, immediately nodding, “Hehe, Grandpa, I won’t.”

She suddenly felt a bit sympathetic towards Xiaoyu. Her grandfather, this old relic, had scolded everyone in the clinic.

Sun Qiao sighed helplessly. “Dad, Xiaoyu is not like that. Look at you; ever since she came to the clinic, you’ve had a bad temper almost every day. Xiaoyu never said a bad word about you. She respects you a lot.”

Xun Qingrui stroked his beard, his expression improving slightly.

…..

On the other side.

Xiaoyu picked up the little brat, “Thanks, Aunt Li.”

The aroma of food wafted through the streets, leaving only Wen Ze alone in the yard. Aunt Li hesitated for a moment, then leaned over and whispered:

“Xiaoyu, be careful when you go back. Shengsheng might have had a nightmare during his nap, and he’s been in a bad mood all afternoon. He hasn’t been responding when the other kids try to play with him.”

Aunt Li was an idle person in the neighborhood. She had injured her back last year and couldn’t do heavy work. Since there were no families around to take care of the children in the yard, they would leave them with Aunt Li and pay her three yuan a month.

Xiaoyu nodded, “Okay, thank you, Aunt Li.”

She picked up Shengsheng, who remained silent, and headed home.

Wen Ze felt like a stiff wooden block, held in her arms. The familiar scent of medicine was comforting. The tears that had been held back all afternoon suddenly burst out like a small spring, gushing endlessly.

He was still a bit confused, unable to believe the reality of his rebirth.

Xiaoyu’s neck was tickled by his rubbing, and she asked softly, “Shengsheng, what did you dream about during your nap? Can you tell mommy?”

Wen Ze hugged his mother’s neck tightly, choked up, “Mommy, I just missed mommy.”

Xiaoyu patted his back, “Mommy’s here to pick you up, aren’t I?”

As if he could believe it.

The little guy cried silently all the way home, and when they arrived, Xiaoyu’s neck and right shoulder were wet with tears.

The whole area felt sticky.

She didn’t mind, took out a piece of jujube cake and split it in half, giving one to each of them.

“Shengsheng, are you hungry?”

Wen Ze remained silent, holding the jujube cake in his hand, surrounded by familiar surroundings. He murmured in a dull voice, “Not hungry.”

Xiaoyu was hungry, so she ate one bite of the jujube cake, then patted the crumbs off her hands and gave her son a kiss on his chubby little cheek.

Faced with her mother’s affectionate gesture, Wen Ze’s face turned red, shy and awkward. His mother’s scent was exactly the same as he remembered, warm and reassuring.

In that closed room, every day was long and painful, and he gradually forgot about time.

He vaguely remembered that he might not have smelled his mother’s scent for many years. He lingered after death, inadvertently hearing someone sigh: “To think he couldn’t bear it at the age of eighteen, not worth it.”

Wen Ze only then realized that he was already eighteen years old. He had been trapped in a daze for eleven whole years.