Mrs. Mei's Survival Diary - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Sadness

When the man passed them, Rong Yinshuang heard the people near them talking while pointing out the man.

“The pork seller is also quite pitiful. No wonder such a tough man broke down like that. So many things happened to that family after all.”

Someone on the side asked, “What happened to his family?”

It boiled over as soon as the crowds started chatting, and Rong Yinshuang heard everything they said.

“He is Jin Rong, who sells pork on Chengbei Street. He used to make a lot of money from his business. He bought a house and a piece of land in the city, and not long ago, his wife gave birth to a big, fat boy. But three days ago, his mother suddenly fell down and broke her legs, and his wife, who had just come out of confinement, drowned inexplicably. Fortunately, she was rescued in time, but I heard that she had been sleeping and hadn’t woken up until now. His son passed the double full moon recently and has been crying all day. Jin Rong is dragged down by his family, and he can’t even do business, walking around the medicine store and medical hall all day, which is unlucky.”

[T/L: “full moon” indicates a baby’s one-month-old birthday in China.]

Three days ago was the day Jin Rong rescued Rong Yinshuang from the water, and on that day he was in a very bad mood. ‘No wonder he was very angry…’

Then she remembered the little girl who was sitting on Jin Rong’s shoulders.

“May I ask if Jin Rong still has a daughter? About four or five years old?” Rong Yinshuang asked from the crowd.

Some people shook their heads, indicating that they didn’t know, and the one who spoke earlier, who was Jin Rong’s neighbour said that she hadn’t seen a girl in their family. “Their family has just moved here, but I haven’t heard of a daughter.”

Rong Yinshuang frowned and continued to ask, “Where did Jin Rong’s family live before?”

The neighbour said that she didn’t know, but a person next to her said, “His family originally seemed to live in the back of Chengbei Street, in a rented house, and later he made money, so he bought a house in Huanxi Lane.”

Since there wasn’t much rumour surrounding these banal inquiries, the crowd began to disappear, and Rong Yinshuang looked in the direction that Jin Rong went with doubt. Then she decided to visit his former house.

A chubby woman emerged from the fence door as Rong Yinshuang was strolling with two kids along the tiny alley, which was quite tidy; it was not as bustling here as Huanxi Alley. Rong Yinshuang stopped the chubby woman and inquired. “Lady, may I ask about the residence of Jin Rong? That poke shop owner.”

The chubby lady gave Rong Yinshuang a dubious look. “He moved away early; who are you?”

Upon giving Mo’er a bear hug, Rong Yinshuang grinned and stated, “I, I am his distant relative, I just arrived, and I want to visit him.”

The chubby woman snorted coldly. “Visit him? You can save it. As far as their family is concerned, they can accommodate you, and he still owes me two months of house money.”

Rong Yinshuang heard this and asked, “House money?” They rented your house. What happened to their family?”

The chubby woman felt that Rong Yinshuang was a poor woman with two kids, and she felt a little sympathy towards them. So she decided to warn Rong Yinshuang. “I am their former landlord, and I know their family well.  Jin Rong is okay, but his wife and mother are very fierce. Whenever someone passed their door, both of them started to scold the others. That poor little girl… I really feel sorry for her. I really wanted to report the officials about that girl.”

Rong Yinshuang’s eyes lit up when she heard the words of the girl, and she asked quietly, “By the way, how is their girl? I remember that child was very beautiful when she was a child.”

The chubby woman’s face showed some regret, “Yes, beautiful, but it’s a pity…”

“Why?”

“It’s a pity that she was born into that family. She met such a ruthless grandmother and a mother… The child is only five or six years old, and she was beaten by her grandmother several times a day. She disappeared after a while, and I don’t know whether that little girl was sold or killed?”

Rong Yinshuang felt that she could understand what might happen. She rolled her eyes and asked again, “Sell? Kill? But she is their own flesh and blood.”

“You don’t know how cruel the hearts of the two women are.  When the girl was born, they said that she was a money-loser. She never had a full meal, the little girl was skin and bones, if not for my frequent help, I was afraid that she would have starved to death, and later, Jin Rong’s wife was finally pregnant, and then the old woman was afraid of having another female doll. She said that if the first child is a girl, it’s better to send her away so that no female ghost dares to come to the door and reincarnate. I don’t know where that old woman heard such a thing. Do you say this is not nonsense? Who knows what happened to their child? Anyway, I haven’t seen that kid in a long time. After Jin Rong’s wife’s stomach got big, their family moved away, and I heard that Jin Rong made some money selling pork and went to Nancheng to buy a house, but they still owe me two months’ house money.”

After saying this, the chubby woman saw that Rong Yinshuang was speechless and considering her options. She then shut the fence door and went to the house with a basket full of veggies.

Rong Yinshuang can generally understand what happened to Jin Rong’s family, and the child she saw on Jin Rong’s shoulder that day should be Jin Rong’s daughter, but she was not sure whether the little girl was a human or a ghost…

Thinking back to the appearance of that child, she was indeed skinny and looked like she had never eaten anything fully in her life, which was really pitiful.

Rong Yinshuang hugged Mo’er, led Da’er, and returned to the Taoist Temple in a trance.

Rong Yinshuang casually prepared some dinner, and when the mother and sons had finished eating, she still felt relieved when she thought about it. As a result, she brought the two kids to Huanxi Lane while hanging the copper gourd around her waist.

Seeing someone selling pastry on the side of the road, Rong Yinshuang thought about it, so she walked over and bought three packs, gave one to Da’er to carry, and took the other two. Then she went to buy some fruits and let Da’er and Mo’er stand at the entrance of the alley and wait for her, and then she went to knock on the gate of the first house in Huanxi Lane.

After waiting for a long time, she heard the sound of someone opening the door, and the haggard-looking Jin Rong looked at her outside the door, stunned, and did not speak.

Rong Yinshuang first gave the fruits and pastry to Jin Rong and then said to him, “Last time I was rescued by Mr. Jin, I never came to the door to thank you, and I was uneasy in my heart. These things, Mr. Jin, please take them.”

After listening to Rong Yinshuang, Jin Rong remembered who Rong Yinshuang was. Although he also understood that people came to give gifts and to express gratitude, because of the affairs at home, he didn’t have time and energy to deal with this unexpected female guest. “It’s nothing. Go back.”

After speaking, he was about to close the door, but Rong Yinshuang stopped it first, heard a child crying inside, rolled her eyes, and said, “Mr. Jin has suffered a great disaster. I have also heard from the neighbours, but it is not a way for children to cry like this, I have given birth to two children, and I know a little. Do you want me to help coax the baby?”

Jin Rong was about to forcibly drive her away, but after hearing that she would coax the child, he hesitated, and after a moment, he opened the door wide, stepped outside the door, and said, “Go in and take a look. I will guard outside.”

Rong Yinshuang gave him a nod, then entered the tiny courtyard by herself. She had decades of mana on her, so even if the spell wasn’t great, she still had some power. All she could sense was that Jin Rong’s courtyard was engulfed in a dark energy that was enveloping the three tile dwellings in this courtyard.

After hearing the baby crying, Rong Yinshuang went to the room and unexpectedly discovered Jin Rong’s wife and the baby, who was crying non-stop next to her. After looking left and right but failing to find the girl, Rong Yinshuang walked to the bed. She understood that even though the young woman was unconscious, she was not dead. She then picked up the crying baby and gently patted his back. After a few minutes, the baby stopped crying, and he fell asleep.

Rong Yinshuang placed the child in the cradle next to the bed so that he could sleep better, but who knew that as soon as he was placed there, she noticed that the temperature of the entire room dropped and that a gloomy air flow had suddenly rushed in. She summoned the courage to turn around and discover an unexpected figure.

Rong Yinshuang felt less afraid, maybe because of the copper ground on her body, and met the child’s gaze and said, “Your brother is still young; he hasn’t done anything bad to you, right?”

The little girl didn’t expect Rong Yinshuang to suddenly talk to her, was stunned, and then said it in a child’s characteristic shrill voice. “That’s the girl’s bed. Daddy made it for me.”

The little girl moved her body to approach the cradle. But there was an impenetrable golden light and righteousness surrounding Rong Yinshuang, making it impossible for the little girl to get close to the baby. As a result, she had to rotate around the room, growing more anxious, and her face turned more and more fierce.

Rong Yinshuang wanted her to calm down and said, “He is your brother and your father’s child, you can’t bully him, Daddy will be angry.”

End of chapter 8

Have a nice day!

[Chapter update schedule: every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday]