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

"Silence!" the old woman shouted, pointing at her. "You, woman of the Xiong family, watch your mouth. You will not slander the women of the Yang family." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Shut up!" Xiong Jianjun, his face flushed red, snapped at her. He Cuicui quickly tugged on her arm.

Dandan came forward, tugging on the old woman’s sleeve to complain. "Great-Grandma, Xiong Weicheng stole our hoop and hit Little Douzi. Then his mom came over and hit Little Douzi, too."

Little Kai also stepped forward. "Great-Grandma, we were having a hoop-rolling race when Xiong Weicheng came out with his own hoop, saying he wanted to race with us. We ignored him, so he deliberately knocked Little Douzi’s hoop over. He said Little Douzi lost the race to him, so the hoop was his."

"Then he tried to snatch Little Douzi’s hoop. Little Douzi wouldn’t give it to him, so he started hitting him and pushed him to the ground. Little Douzi got back up and hit him on the head with the hoop stick. He ran home crying, and his mom came out, cursing, and slapped Little Douzi right across the face. That’s when Lin Lan arrived, and I ran to get you."

Furious, Zhang Yazhen yanked Xiong Weicheng, who was standing in a corner, forward. "Look! All of you, look! He hit my son on the head with a metal hook!"

The old woman stepped forward to take a look, then turned to her. "Take him to the hospital for an examination. Where is he injured? We’ll pay for the medical bills."

A few nosy onlookers crowded around and saw a red, swollen welt on his forehead, but it was nothing compared to Little Douzi’s face.

Xiong Jianjun looked at his son, then at Little Douzi, and was rendered speechless.

The onlookers muttered amongst themselves, "Stealing someone’s toy and then hitting them... And such a big, sturdy kid, too, but he still needs his mother to step in and help. Tsk, tsk!"

"Exactly. When kids fight, adults should just break it up. But to actually hit a child who’s only a few years old? That’s just too much."

The old woman’s heart ached as she watched the weeping mother and son. Remembering her own difficult years, tears streamed down her face. "Little Douzi, be a good boy. Go comfort your mama and tell her not to cry."

Little Douzi sobbed, patting Lin Lan’s back and looking at the bloody scratches on her neck. "Mama, I’ll blow on it for you. Then it won’t hurt anymore."

Her heart full, Lin Lan picked him up and gently caressed his red, swollen cheek. "Mama doesn’t hurt. Does my baby hurt?"

With tear-filled eyes, Little Douzi looked at Lin Lan. His little lip quivered before he threw his arms around her neck and broke into shuddering sobs. "Mama... WAHHH... Mama..."

"Shh, good boy! Don’t cry. Little Douzi, don’t cry," Lin Lan cooed softly, patting his back.

The old woman turned to glance at Zhang Yazhen, who was glaring hatefully at Lin Lan, then faced Xiong Jianjun. "Jianjun, what are you going to do about this?"

Xiong Jianjun shot his son a glare before saying sheepishly to the old woman, "Grandma Yang San, my Yazhen was in the wrong. She’s an adult; she shouldn’t have interfered in a children’s fight..."

"You goddamn bastard, how did I ever marry a useless piece of trash like you..." Zhang Yazhen flew into a rage, lunged at Xiong Jianjun, and bit down hard on his shoulder.

Xiong Jianjun grabbed her and shoved her away. He raised his hand to strike, but when he saw her swollen face, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. "Get back home, you shameless disgrace!"

Frowning, He Cuicui stepped forward and pulled her back. "Sis, why are you fighting with him! Let’s go home, let’s go home." She then dragged her away.

"Tsk, tsk!" The onlookers all shook their heads.

Xiong Jianjun said to the old woman, "Grandma Yang San, my Yazhen was in the wrong first. But Lin Lan beat her up pretty badly, too. Let’s just call it even and not pursue it any further. What do you think?"

The old woman glanced at Lin Lan. "Lin Lan, what do you say?"

Lin Lan glanced at him. "Seeing as you’re being reasonable, I’ll agree to drop it. But from now on, you’d better control your wife and son. Stop them from running around causing trouble all day, staring at other people."

Xiong Jianjun frowned. "Staring at other people? What do you mean by that?"

"Go ask Sun Xiuhua. You’ll understand then." With that, Lin Lan took the old woman’s hand and started for home.

When Xiong Jianjun got home, he found Zhang Yazhen hugging their son while simultaneously crying and cursing, a stream of filth pouring from her mouth. He Cuicui was trying to placate her, but her efforts were half-hearted.

When Xiong Weicheng saw him enter, he glared at him resentfully. "Dad, why didn’t you help me fight them?"

SMACK! Xiong Jianjun hit him. Seeing the state Zhang Yazhen was in, he couldn’t bring himself to scold her. He sighed. "Just keep spoiling him! When he’s completely rotten, we’ll be the ones to suffer!"

Zhang Yazhen shot him a sidelong glance. "Don’t you stand there making your snide remarks. Their kid is so wonderful, isn’t he? Too bad he’s not yours. Go piss in a puddle and take a good look at yourself! You think that vixen would ever give you the time of day?"

Xiong Jianjun was speechless with rage. "You crazy hag! I’m done talking to you!" With a wave of his arm, he stormed into their room and lay down.

Zhang Yazhen pointed after him, crying to He Cuicui, "You see this? Just look at the kind of life I’ve had to live all these years..."

He Cuicui felt that her sister and nephew were in the wrong today, but seeing Zhang Yazhen in such a state, she couldn’t help but also think that Lin Lan had been too ruthless.

****

Lin Lan carried Little Douzi home. The old woman gently stroked his face. "It’s so swollen. I’ll go home and get some anti-inflammatory ointment to put on it for him."

"Little Douzi, we’ll put some on your face, and then it won’t hurt anymore," Lin Lan said.

Little Douzi nodded. "Okay! Mama, you put some on, too."

Dandan quickly piped up, "Great-Grandma, I’m fast! I’ll go get it!"

"All right. Be careful," the old woman said, handing him the key.

Lin Lan set Little Douzi down on a chair and said to the old woman, "Grandma, I’ve steamed some taro rice. I’ll just wash and stir-fry the water celery, and then we can eat."

The old woman smiled and nodded. "Taro rice is delicious."

Lin Lan went to the backyard, fetched some water, and washed the water celery. She then plucked some cilantro and green onions, chopping them finely to prepare a dipping sauce. Lifting the pot lid, she took the steamed tofu pudding from the upper rack and set it on the table before scooping the taro rice from the bottom of the pot into an earthenware bowl.

The old woman wiped Little Douzi’s face with a warm, wet cloth. Then she scooped out some of the anti-inflammatory ointment and gently dabbed it onto his cheek.

Little Douzi squinted his eyes shut, leaning against the old woman. "Great-Grandma, that’s so cool. It feels nice."

The old woman nodded. "Yes. We’ll put this on, you’ll have a good nap, and the swelling will be gone when you wake up."

"Here, have a crispy rice ball." Lin Lan handed one to each of the two children.

Dandan took a bite. "Great-Grandma, the rice ball tastes like taro."

"Your Auntie made taro rice, so of course it tastes like taro!"

"Taro rice is delicious," Dandan said, taking another big bite.

"Dandan, my mom’s potato rice is also really good. Next time, she’ll make some for you."

"Yeah! Potato rice is good, too. Great-Grandma has made it for me before."

The old woman watched them with a loving expression. "You two are so fortunate to have a proper feast every now and then. When your parents were your age, they didn’t even have rice husks to eat."

Holding his crispy rice ball, Little Douzi walked over to the stove and asked curiously, "Great-Grandma, what did they eat?"

"They ate grass roots. When the grass roots were gone, they gnawed on tree bark. Later, they even ate Guanyin clay. When people were starving, they’d stuff anything they could find into their mouths. But once you ate that clay, you couldn’t pass it. Many people died just like that, stuffed full of clay they couldn’t pass."

Recalling those awful memories, the old woman paused with the spatula in her hand and sighed. Looking at the two children, she said, "You two must cherish your food. If you don’t, Old Man Heaven will see you wasting it, and he’ll stop giving you food to eat. He’ll make you eat tree bark and grass roots instead."

Seeing how sad the old woman looked, Little Douzi was heartbroken. He took her hand. "Great-Grandma, I promise I’ll always eat properly from now on."