80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches

Chapter 420 - 418: My Heart Aches

Lin Lan chatted with her for a while. The old madam patted her hand. "Talking with you has eased my mind a lot."

"Of course. If anything’s wrong, come find me. Otherwise, bottling it up will make you sick."

The old madam nodded and stood up. "I’ll head back now. You should get to your laundry."

"Let me give you some mushrooms to take home." Lin Lan linked arms with the old madam, walked her to the front yard, and handed her a bamboo basket. "My dad wove it. He packs the mushrooms he’s ready to sell in these baskets. They present better, and they’re nice for people who want to give them as gifts."

The small, round basket was woven from green and yellow bamboo strips. Once the mushrooms were removed, it could be hung on the wall as a decoration to hold dried flowers.

The old madam praised, "Your dad is so skilled. The baskets he weaves are beautiful."

"It’s been raining, and there’s nowhere to go, so he just weaves things at home to pass the time."

Lin Lan saw the old madam to the door. When she returned, she washed the clothes and shoes and hung them up to dry. By then, Little Douzi and Old Li were awake.

She said to Little Douzi, "Douzi, go check on Brother Dandan. Great-Grandma said he’s in a bad mood and not eating properly. Ask him to come downstairs and go out to a restaurant with us."

Little Douzi frowned. "Mom, why is Brother Dandan unhappy? Did his uncle hit him?"

"No." Lin Lan thought for a moment, not sure how best to explain it. "Dandan is just unhappy. Go keep him company, and try your best to get him to come downstairs and eat out with us."

"Okay!" Little Douzi went out the door and headed for Yang Dingbang’s house across the street.

Old Li asked Lin Lan, "Did something happen at Ding Bang’s house?"

"It’s Dandan’s mother..." Lin Lan told Old Li the news about Xie Tian.

"How could she be so desperate?" Old Li said with another sigh. "Poor Dandan. His mother was so irresponsible."

He remembered how Xiangyang had become a different person after his own wife passed away. He himself had almost not made it through that time. But father and son supported each other and made it to today. Things had finally taken a turn for the better.

Lin Lan nodded. "I know. The old madam was worried something would happen to Dandan, so she came looking for me as soon as she saw we were back."

When Little Douzi got to Yang Dingbang’s house, he saw the old madam sitting alone by the main gate. He walked up with a grin. "Great-Grandma, I’m back!"

The old madam took his hand, looking at him lovingly. "Good boy. I haven’t seen you in just a few days, and you’ve already gotten taller."

Little Douzi pointed to his pants. "Look, my pants are too short now. Mom says they’re the new style—capris. Isn’t that funny?"

The old madam glanced down, smiling as she nodded. "They look like high-waters."

"Where’s Brother Dandan? Mom said he’s sad, so she sent me to get him to go eat at a restaurant with us."

"He’s upstairs. Go on and get him."

"Okay!" Little Douzi scampered up the stairs.

He reached the attic door, pushed open the sliding panel, and saw Dandan lying on the floor, looking as if he were asleep.

He took off his shoes, walked in, and sat beside him. Noticing the tear stains on Dandan’s face, he reached out and wiped them away. "Brother Dandan, where does it hurt? Do you have a cold?"

Dandan kept his eyes closed and spoke softly. "Douzi, I yelled at her the other day. I told her to go die. I said I hated her and never wanted to see her again. But now she’s really gone... why do I feel so awful?"

He opened his eyes to look at Little Douzi. "Your dad was mean too. When he... left, were you sad?"

Little Douzi thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don’t know. I didn’t like Dad. I just knew that with Dad gone, no one would hit Mom anymore..."

Dandan looked at him. "But do you know that ’gone’ means ’dead’? That you can never see them again?"

Little Douzi thought for a moment, then nodded. "They said Dad drowned. They said they were going to put him in a wooden house and bury it in the ground. They said I wouldn’t have a dad anymore."

"Those aunties also said Mom wouldn’t want me anymore, and that I’d be a little beggar that nobody wanted. But Mom didn’t abandon me. Brother Dandan, your uncle won’t abandon you either. Don’t be sad."

"You’re still little, you don’t understand!" Dandan said, looking at him with sorrow. "I cursed her. I told her to go die. Your dad used to hit you and your mom all the time. Did you ever wish he would just die and you wouldn’t have a dad anymore?"

Little Douzi nodded honestly. "Yeah. I even said that when I grow up, I’ll become a policeman and arrest him for hitting Mom."

Dandan scrambled up and looked at him. "Douzi, do you think they died because we told them to die?"

"I don’t know. Let’s go ask Great-Grandma. She knows everything," Little Douzi said, pulling Dandan by the hand toward the door. "After we ask her, we can go find my mom and get something good to eat. I want shredded pork with garlic sauce. What do you want to eat?"

At the mention of shredded pork with garlic sauce, Dandan, who hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days, couldn’t help but swallow. "I want shredded pork with garlic sauce, too."

Little Douzi pulled him downstairs. "Mom said Uncle Xiangyang already went to that restaurant on Limin Road to order for us. I love their shredded pork with garlic sauce and their sweet-skin duck!"

"And let me tell you, when we were in Shilian, Mom made us little spring rolls. They were filled with shredded radish salad, shredded celtuce, and shredded shiitake mushrooms. She put in sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, sesame oil, and shredded green onions. One bite was so numbing and spicy! The green onions made my eyes water."

As Dandan listened, his mood suddenly brightened. "If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone to play with Little Hai. I would’ve gone to Shilian with you all."

"Next time. Mom said she’ll take us during the next break." Little Douzi stopped and looked back at him. "When we went up the mountain to pick mushrooms this time, someone fell into a super, super deep pit... and the river was flooding..."

"Whoa! How scary!"

The old madam stood at the head of the stairs, watching the two children come down hand-in-hand. She happily wiped away a tear. "Your auntie and Grandpa Li are waiting outside. Come on, let Great-Grandma wash your face before you go to the restaurant."

The two boys looked at her and asked in unison, "Great-Grandma, aren’t you coming?"

The old madam smiled and shook her head. "Great-Grandma’s not going. I like to have congee at home."

Dandan suddenly remembered the question he’d wanted to ask. He grabbed the old madam’s hand. "Great-Grandma, I yelled at my mom the other day. I told her to go die. I said I hated her... Is it because I said that, that she died?"

Hearing this, the old madam looked at the child’s innocent face, her heart a mix of emotions. She had him sit down. "It has nothing to do with you. Think about all those bickering aunties and grannies around here. They’re always cursing each other, saying ’Drop dead!’ So why don’t they? Have you seen a single one of them die from it?"

’This poor child, he’s been carrying this burden in his heart. Thank goodness Little Douzi got it out of him. Otherwise, bottling it up would have definitely made him sick.’

Dandan thought for a moment. "No... Old Granny Wang cursed at Auntie Meihua last time, but Auntie didn’t die." His eyes lit up. "And..."

The old madam nodded. "Exactly. Just think, if we could kill people just by yelling at them, there’d be no one left in the world."

Tears welled in Dandan’s eyes as he looked at her. "I’m so sad that she died. I didn’t want her to die..."

The old madam pulled him into her arms, patting his back gently. "She was your mother. No matter what, she was the one who gave birth to you. Of course you’re sad. How could you not be?"