The two were in the middle of a standoff when a burst of hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor, followed by the arrival of the Front Desk Attendant.
The attendant glanced at Zhao Beichen, then said to Yang Liu: “Hello, there’s a phone call for you at the front desk.”
Yang Liu went downstairs to answer the phone. Zhao Beichen followed her downstairs as well and stood behind her.
The call was from Li Huifang. She said that Niannian had cried so hard that she had vomited. By now, the child was no longer making any sound, and she seemed so weak that she could barely endure it. At the moment, she would not let anyone come near her…
Yang Liu was not a coldhearted person either. Over the past few days, she and that Xiao Buding had depended on each other as they escaped. How could she possibly ignore her?
Yang Liu said: “I’ll come over right away.”
Li Huifang then asked whether Zhao Beichen was at the guesthouse and told Yang Liu to let him answer the phone.
Zhao Beichen took the phone and said: “…We’ll be back right away.”
Yang Liu could only follow Zhao Beichen to the Zhao Family home.
The moment the front door was opened, they saw a group of people surrounding Niannian. The child had already cried herself hoarse and was hiccupping between sobs.
Everyone in the room was stunned by Yang Liu. First Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law secretly thought to themselves, how could such a beautiful woman come from such a poor, remote backwater?
Zhao Xingchen thought, My brother is also the kind of guy who judges people by their looks. Sure enough, men all like beautiful women.
Yang Liu nodded to the Zhao Family members in greeting, then immediately picked Niannian up from the sofa. The child had already cried until she had no strength left, and because she had vomited so much, she was now completely listless. She only called out: “Mommy~” before curling up in Yang Liu’s arms as tears continuously rolled down her cheeks. Every now and then, she let out another little sob. She looked utterly pitiful.
Yang Liu felt that she possessed some kind of maternal instinct. The child was extremely reassured in her arms.
Yang Liu wiped Niannian’s tears and gently said: “All right, don’t cry anymore! If you keep crying, you won’t be able to open your eyes.”
The moment Yang Liu opened her mouth, she spoke standard Mandarin without the slightest trace of a rural accent. First Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law were stunned once again.
It seemed that only at this moment did Zhao Beichen notice that she was actually speaking authentic, standard Mandarin.
First Sister-in-law said: “The child just vomited so much. Shouldn’t we give her something to eat?”
Li Huifang said: “She can’t eat anything right now. Let her calm down first, then she can eat.”
The child had cried until her whole body was covered in sweat. Yang Liu said: “Can she take a bath here? The child is sweaty. I’ll give her a bath and change her clothes.”
Over the past few days, Li Huifang had already bought many clothes for Niannian, and a room had also been prepared. The Zhao Family lived in the largest courtyard in the compound, with a two-story house that had plenty of rooms.
Li Huifang and Yang Liu bathed Niannian together and changed her into the newly purchased long underwear, long johns, and socks. Only then did the child finally recover somewhat.
Li Huifang took them to a large room on the eastern side of the second floor. This room was next to Zhao Beichen’s and Zhao Xingchen’s rooms.
Their building was long and rectangular. Once someone went upstairs, it was divided into eastern and western sides. The families of Eldest Brother and Second Brother, two large households, lived on the western side.
On the eastern side were the rooms of Zhao Beichen, Zhao Xingchen, and the Commander and His Wife.
The room that had been cleared out for Yang Liu and Niannian was a study.
Guardrails had been added to both sides of the large rosewood bed. On the bed were brand-new mattresses, sheets, and quilts, along with many children’s plush toys, cloth dolls, and similar things.
Li Huifang said: “This room used to be Beichen’s study. He isn’t home often, so we cleared it out for you two to stay in temporarily. It’s inconvenient because this room doesn’t have a bathroom. There’s also a large suite being renovated right now. Once the renovations are finished, you two can move in there.”
Yang Liu said: “There’s no need. This is already very good. We’re only staying temporarily for a few days anyway, so there’s no need to go through the trouble.”
Li Huifang knew that Yang Liu was speaking out of anger. She patted her hand and said: “It’s gotten too late tonight after all this commotion, and the child is exhausted from crying. Sister Wang and I will make something to eat and bring it upstairs. You two rest first.”
Yang Liu said: “There’s no need. This child isn’t that delicate. She didn’t vomit just because she cried too hard earlier. It might be because she used to go hungry one meal and eat her fill the next, and all she ate were coarse grains, wild vegetables, and cornbread. These past few days, the food you’ve given her has been too refined, and her stomach isn’t accustomed to it.
“Just let her drink some milk powder.”
Li Huifang sighed and said: “The vegetables and lean meat have already been cooked. You mother and daughter should both eat some.”
Zhao Beichen went back to the guesthouse to check out of the room and brought back all of Yang Liu’s luggage.
Yang Liu also had a set of clothes covered in patch upon patch.
Zhao Beichen had also discovered many newspapers and magazines in the guesthouse room. They contained notes that Yang Liu had scribbled and written with a pen, which made Zhao Beichen even more suspicious.
She was not that Yang Liu from Yang Family Village, so who exactly was she?
As soon as Zhao Beichen entered the house, he carried Yang Liu’s luggage upstairs and directly pushed open the door to the room. Yang Liu was lying on the bed with Niannian in her arms, telling her a story.
Zhao Xingchen ran upstairs closely behind Zhao Beichen, only for the man to shut her outside the door.
Zhao Xingchen stuck her bottom out and pressed her ear against the door, secretly listening to what was happening inside.
Holding up Yang Liu’s and Niannian’s tattered clothes, Zhao Beichen said: “What are you keeping these two sets of clothes for?”
Yang Liu said: “As keepsakes.”
Zhao Beichen: “…”
When Li Huifang and Sister Wang came upstairs carrying porridge, Li Huifang smacked Zhao Xingchen and said: “What are you sneaking around for? Go back to your room and sleep.”
Zhao Xingchen had no intention of going to sleep. She slipped into the room behind her mother. Sister Wang put down the tray and was preparing to leave when Zhao Beichen stopped her.
Zhao Beichen handed the two sets of tattered clothes to Sister Wang. “Wash these two sets of clothes.”
Yang Liu said: “I already washed them at the guesthouse. They’re clean.”
Zhao Xingchen asked: “Fourth Sister-in-law, these two sets of clothes are…?”
Li Huifang also looked curiously at Yang Liu. These two sets of clothes were even more tattered than a beggar’s clothes. What was she keeping them for?
Yang Liu said: “Those two sets of clothes are what Niannian and I wore when we escaped from the village.”
“Escaped?!” Li Huifang and Zhao Xingchen exclaimed in unison.
Yang Liu said: “Mm! We escaped.”
“Why? Was someone imprisoning you mother and daughter?” Li Huifang asked.
Yang Liu said: “It’s a long story. I don’t want to talk right now.”
Li Huifang nodded. “All right, we won’t talk about it. We’ll talk another day.”
Niannian, who was leaning against Yang Liu’s chest, suddenly spoke. “The bad guys want to take my mommy away.”
Everyone looked at Yang Liu again. Yang Liu stroked Niannian’s head, lowered her eyes to look at her, and asked: “Do you want some porridge?”
Niannian asked: “What’s porridge?” Back in their hometown, they called porridge huhu.
A small bowl was already being held out toward her. Zhao Beichen had taken it from his mother. The man looked at Niannian and softly said: “This is porridge.”
Niannian looked at Yang Liu. “Mommy, can I eat it?”
Yang Liu said: “Yes.”
Li Huifang snatched the bowl back from her son’s hands and said: “How about Grandma feeds you?”
Niannian said: “I know how to eat by myself~”
From the time they escaped until now, this had been the happiest period little Niannian had ever experienced. Back at home, Mommy had been busy all day without ever stopping. It had been good enough if Niannian herself had even gotten a bite to eat, so how could there possibly have been anyone to feed her? She had always eaten by grabbing the food with her hands.
It had only been during the past few days that Yang Liu had forcibly corrected Niannian’s habit of grabbing food with her hands.
Seeing that Niannian was about to reach out and grab the food with her hand again, Yang Liu pressed down on the child’s hand and said: “You can’t grab food with your hands. How did you forget again?”