Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hehe. She said nothing.

I found a broken plank, rolled my warm, living mother onto it, and dragged her home with all my strength. I hauled for a stretch, rested, then hauled again. A quarter of an hour later, there was a mother in my house.

This mother did not speak, and feeding her took a very long time. But now I had someone to think about whenever I went out. When I came home, another person was breathing beside me. Best of all, when she fell asleep at night, I could secretly touch the flesh on her arm and snuggle close without being pushed away.

Even when choosing a pair of chopsticks, I pestered her.

“Mother, which pair do you like? The middle one? Is it the pair on the left? Oh, I know. You like the one on the right.”

I had to say “Mother” enough times to make up for all the years I had gone without it. Unfortunately, we owned only three pairs of chopsticks, so each choice let me say it only four times.

She never responded. She simply let me bounce around her—cooking, washing clothes, wiping her body with water—while she lay there as if she meant to remain in bed forever.

Then one day, I swiped a handful of red dates from the village chief’s home.

Red dates were good for restoring blood and energy. Her lips were so pale. I wanted to nourish her.

But when she saw the bowl of steamed dates, she spoke to me for the first time.

“Where did these dates come from?”

I had once heard Aunt Tian teaching Liu Xiaohua that children must never lie to their mothers, so I answered cheerfully, “The village chief was drying them in his courtyard. I secretly grabbed a handful.”

With a crack, she knocked the bowl from my hands.

Three months had passed. Summer had nearly turned to winter, and at last some life returned to her.

I forgot all about the precious dates and jumped beside her in delight. “Mother, you’re finally talking to me!”

She did more than talk. She rose from the bed on her own, looked around the house, picked up a bamboo pole by the door, and swung it at my bottom.

Whenever someone hit me, I instinctively bolted toward a crowded place. By the time I realized what I was doing, Mother had followed me outside.

She had not seen sunlight in so long that she had to squint first. Then she raised the pole and resumed walloping my backside.

Aunt Tian lived close by. Hearing the commotion, she came out holding the clothes she was about to hang. At the sight of Mother, she cried in delight, “Sister Yu, you’re willing to come outside!”

Then she saw what Mother was doing and hurried to stop her.

“Calm down, sister. Whatever the child said, don’t take it to heart. She cared for you devotedly all this time.”

Ah. Even Aunt Tian knew I did not know how to speak properly. But how was a person supposed to learn?

After the last time, I knew I should not mention Mother’s dead son to her. What had I said this time to make her sad?

I studied her. She had lain still for too long, and two swats had already left her gasping.

She looked stiff and awkward, but she still forced a smile for Aunt Tian.

“Sister Tian, thank you for bringing me food before. This child is too wild. Someone has to discipline her.”

My eyes lit up.

She was going to discipline me!