Ch 3: The Unfilial Children Trembles in Fear (QT)

The Qiankun Mirror expressed concern. Judging from the original owner’s memories, household registration management was extremely strict in this era. To travel elsewhere, one needed a letter of introduction. With a rural household registration, it was nearly impossible to move around freely in the city. Even if one stayed briefly at a relative’s home, they would be sent back to their place of origin after a few days.

For Yun Xi to come looking for work so optimistically, she was probably going to run into obstacles everywhere.

Yun Xi, however, felt that the Qiankun Mirror was too rule-abiding. Where there was a will, there was a way. Since private job buying and selling existed, there had to be other routes as well. Naturally, she had chosen to enter the city today because there was a route available in the city today!

Back then, the original owner had hesitated for a long time before finally taking the money and going into the city with her eldest son to buy the job. After completing the handover procedures, she had originally wanted to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a few things, only to see a huge crowd blocking the road and many public security officers present.

The two of them had squeezed in to watch and heard that a man had stolen a child, drugged him unconscious, and carried him inside a bag. The child’s grandmother had searched all over the street and, sharp-eyed, noticed a corner of her little grandson’s clothing sticking out through a gap in the bag. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. She immediately rushed over, shouting for help while tearing at him.

In his panic, the man pulled out a small knife and stabbed the old woman. While fleeing, he threw away the bag in his hand and injured several people before the public security officers pinned him down. Later, it was said that the old woman died, and the child hit the back of his head and became simple-minded. The two of them were actually the mayor’s family!

Because of this incident, the original owner had kept muttering afterward that the village was still safer. Her eldest son had scolded her several times for having long hair but short insight, and had even said with hindsight that if he had been at the scene and saved them, it would have been great. If he had connected himself to the mayor, would he still have had to worry about his future?

So here Yun Xi was, coming to save people.

First, she went to the state-run restaurant and bought a plate of dumplings to eat. They were stuffed with pork and scallions. This city was second only to the provincial capital, and the chef’s skill was excellent. To Yun Xi, who had long since practiced inedia and had just eaten a cornbread bun, this was simply a delicacy of the mortal world.

【This is the kind of life a demon queen should live. Once I come to the city, I’m going to eat well and dress well every day. I’m not the kind of demon who enjoys suffering.】

After eating and drinking her fill, Yun Xi leisurely went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

There were quite a few things she had never seen before. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, canned fruit, hair clips, hair ties. She bought a little of everything. Before long, she was carrying a large bag full of things.

Just then, someone outside suddenly screamed.

Yun Xi quickly followed the others and ran out to see. An old woman had grabbed hold of a man and was shouting,

“He stole my grandson! Hurry and catch him!”

The man said impatiently,

“Mom, stop making trouble. I’m joining the army to contribute to the country. A good man’s ambitions lie in all directions. Don’t stop me. Let go!”

Yun Xi gained some new insight.

So this kind of trick was possible too?

Look at the people around them. Those who had originally wanted to help had begun hesitating. Some people really did cry and make trouble to stop their sons or grandsons from joining the army. It truly was possible they were one family. If outsiders blindly interfered, they might end up blamed by both sides.

The old woman was both anxious and furious. Seeing that she could not hold onto the man, she lowered her head and bit his hand.

“Give my grandson back! Don’t be fooled by him! He’s a child thief!”

Once she bit him hard enough to draw blood, they looked much less like one family.

Seeing more and more people gathering around, and even some people wanting to help, the man’s face turned vicious. He pulled out a small knife and stabbed toward the old woman.

“He has a knife! He’s using a knife!”

The crowd instantly fell into chaos.

Yun Xi lifted her bag and threw it straight at the man’s face. Two bottles of canned fruit smashed into him. The man staggered, and blood streamed from his nose.

Seizing that opening, Yun Xi rushed forward, yanked the old woman away, grabbed the man’s wrist, and twisted.

The small knife flew away.

“Ah!”

The man let out a scream, his face twisted in pain. He kicked toward Yun Xi, and while Yun Xi dodged, he turned and ran.

The old woman had already collapsed weakly to the ground in fright, but she was still trying to crawl forward.

“My grandson, my grandson is in his bag…”

Several people blocked the man up ahead, and some even raised sticks to strike him.

Seeing this, the man directly threw the bag he was carrying toward the other side, trying to break through the crowd.

Yun Xi shouted,

“Careful, the child!”

Before her voice had even fallen, she had already rushed over and caught the bag, rolling once across the ground.

The old woman scrambled over, half crawling and half stumbling, her voice trembling.

“My grandson, my grandson…”

Yun Xi opened the bag and handed the child to her.

“Quick, see if he’s your family’s child.”

“Yes! Yes!”

The old woman nodded repeatedly, tears falling nonstop. She pressed her forehead against the child’s and became completely flustered.

“He has a fever. The child has a high fever. Little sister…”

The old woman had a heart condition. Her face was pale, and she had yet to recover from the shock. Out of instinct, she looked at Yun Xi and said this.

Yun Xi picked up the child and pulled the old woman to her feet.

“Hurry to the hospital. I have a bicycle! Where’s my bike? Everyone, move aside. Where’s my bike?”

The crowd had not yet reacted, but they hurriedly opened a path for her.

Yun Xi mounted the bicycle and had the old woman sit on the back holding the child, then headed straight for the hospital.

She had already ridden quite a distance before she heard the commotion behind her as the man was finally subdued.

When they reached the hospital, the doctor immediately sent the child into the emergency room, gave injections, started an IV, and arranged a ward. The old woman was also examined and given medicine.

Because Yun Xi had brought them away so quickly, even now, the only person beside the grandmother and grandson was still Yun Xi, who helped run back and forth and paid the medical expenses in advance.

She had been working in the fields that morning, so she was covered in dust. She had beaten the eldest son earlier, and just now she had rolled on the ground. Even her hair was messy now, but that only made her seem even more simple and genuine.

In any case, when the mayor received the news and hurried over, that was his first impression of her: a simple, brave countryside old woman had saved his mother and his son!

The doctor said the old woman had heart disease and could not withstand excessive shock. If she had arrived any later, she might have gone into shock.

His son had been drugged by the criminal and developed a high fever. Fortunately, treatment had been timely. He would wake up in another two hours, and his body had not been harmed.

If it had not been for Yun Xi, the mayor did not dare imagine what kind of disaster his family would have suffered.

When the old woman saw the mayor, she began crying.

As she cried, she said,

“I only looked away for one moment, and the child disappeared. It scared me to death. If anything had happened to Yangyang, I wouldn’t have lived either!”

The mayor quickly comforted her.

As the old woman spoke about the danger at the time, she remembered Yun Xi and hurriedly grabbed Yun Xi’s hand, saying to the mayor,

“It’s all thanks to this little sister that I was saved. At that moment, the knife had already stabbed into my clothes. I was nearly stabbed to death. And Yangyang too. That bastard saw he couldn’t escape, so he threw Yangyang into the air. Aiyo, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Thank goodness this little sister caught the child!”

The old woman asked Yun Xi with concern,

“Little sister, how are you? Are you hurt? I saw you fall pretty hard.”

Yun Xi shook her head.

“I’m thick-skinned and tough. A bruise will heal in a couple of days. I’m fine. As long as the child didn’t fall, that’s all that matters.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much. Oh, right, little sister, my name is Liu Guixiang. What’s yours?”

“Li Yunxi.”

“Aiyo, what a lovely name.”

The old woman grabbed the mayor’s hand again.

“Sister Li is our family’s great benefactor. You have to thank her properly.”

The mayor said,

“Comrade, I must thank you especially. Today, you not only saved my mother and my child, you also stopped that criminal from injuring people in time. There were so many people present. If the criminal had panicked and attacked with his knife, many people could have been hurt. Thank you so much! Under those circumstances, you still dared to rush forward. You took an enormous risk. You were truly brave!”

Yun Xi said,

“If I saw something like that, of course I had to lend a hand. I have children and grandchildren too. If I put myself in her shoes, the moment I saw how anxious elder sister was, I knew it didn’t look fake. Then that criminal was lying, saying something about joining the army and leaving. I thought something was wrong, so I hurried forward through the crowd. Otherwise, I might not have made it in time.”

The old woman was deeply moved.

“That criminal was far too cunning. Everyone believed his lies at the time. I was terrified to death. It really takes mothers and grandmothers like us to see through something like that.”

Yun Xi casually sighed and said,

“That’s why people say a mother’s love is great. When danger comes, we don’t even need to think before risking our lives. The problem is that children don’t necessarily understand a mother’s sacrifices. Elder Sister, you’re lucky. Your son cares so much about you and is so filial, and your grandson is adorable too.

I’m not so fortunate. My four children are each more unfilial than the last. They even got into a fight today. They made me so angry that I ran away from home and didn’t even want to go back. Just seeing them makes my blood boil.”

The old woman already regarded Yun Xi as a younger sister.

The moment she heard this, she became angry on Yun Xi’s behalf.

“With such a wonderful mother, and they still won’t behave? They deserve a good scolding.”

She turned to the mayor and said,

“Changde, from now on our two families should visit each other often. You’re older, so help teach Aunt Li’s children a lesson when you can.”

What she really meant was that she wanted the mayor to help Yun Xi’s children.

Maintaining close ties with the mayor’s family would undoubtedly bring countless benefits.

The mayor was just about to agree when Yun Xi waved both hands repeatedly.

“Please don’t bother with those worthless brats. I worked myself to the bone raising them, and they still tell their children that I’m a shrew. Bah! Every one of them is selfish and self-serving. From now on, I’m done taking care of them.”

She glanced at the clock hanging in the hallway and stood up.

“Well then, now that your family is here, Elder Sister, I can stop worrying. I still need to ask around about something, so I won’t stay any longer.”

The old woman was still feeling sympathetic toward Yun Xi.

Hearing that, she immediately grabbed her hand.

“What is it? Just tell me. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll have Changde ask someone else.”

Yun Xi replied,

“I’m asking about finding a job.

Today my eldest son said someone was selling a job. It would cost eight hundred yuan to get into the city. Wouldn’t that empty out the entire family? The other children wouldn’t accept that either. I disagreed, and my eldest son cursed at me. Then they all started fighting.

That made me realize something. No matter how successful any of them become, they’ll never be filial to me. Instead of depending on them, I might as well find a job myself and enjoy the second half of my life.”

“A job? You want a job?”

The old woman’s eyes widened.

Even the mayor looked surprised.

There were certainly people in their forties and fifties working in the city. But they were either long-established employees who had entered the workforce years ago or people doing odd jobs for extra money.

They had never seen someone from the countryside, at this age, trying to enter the city workforce.

Yun Xi spoke as though it were perfectly natural.

“I’m only forty-five. You saw my strength today. I’m stronger than plenty of young people. Why can’t I find a job?

My eldest son can find one, so why can’t I? I’m better than he is.

He spends all day calling me illiterate and uneducated, but I’ve secretly taught myself quite a few characters already.

Besides, I don’t think my second son’s teaching skills are anything special. If they let me do it, I could teach too. Who doesn’t know that one plus one equals two?

They’re always looking down on me.

I heard that city workers get grain and cooking oil every month. Then I wouldn’t even have to farm to eat.

And who knows? Maybe I could even become a teacher someday.”

To anyone listening, it was obvious she knew little about city life and was oversimplifying things.

Everything she described was essentially impossible.

For ordinary people, at least.

For people with connections in the city, however, it was not difficult at all.

The mayor immediately understood what she really wanted.

She wanted an urban household registration.

She wanted a formal job.

She wanted a place to live.

Most of all, she wanted to stop going home and suffering at the hands of her children.

Today, if it had not been for Yun Xi, there would have been a major violent incident. As mayor, he would have faced consequences as well.

More importantly, his mother and son had been saved.

Whether because of gratitude or obligation, he had every reason to repay Yun Xi.

The mayor spoke up.

“I can arrange that matter myself. Aunt Li, just wait for the news.”

The mayor stepped outside and instructed his secretary to make arrangements.

First, Yun Xi needed to receive recognition for her act of bravery.

Then she would be placed in the Municipal Government Logistics Department.

If she worked under his watch, he could look after her personally. Even if she made mistakes, he would be able to help resolve them.

Seeing Yun Xi’s astonished expression, the old woman smiled and whispered,

“Sister Li, just relax. My son is capable. He’s the mayor of our city. He’ll definitely arrange everything properly for you.”

“The mayor? Really?”

Yun Xi appropriately displayed a bit of shock and uncertainty.

The Qiankun Mirror: …

She really loved acting.

Apparently she was having a great time.

The old woman continued,

“No matter what official position he holds, he’s still an ordinary person. Today you saved my life. You’re my great benefactor. If you ever run into difficulties in the future, just come to me. We’ll treat each other like real sisters.”

Truthfully, if her grandson had really disappeared under her watch and something had happened to him, she would never have been able to face her son and daughter-in-law again.

Even if nobody stabbed her to death, she probably would have swallowed poison and killed herself.

Even now, the thought filled her with lingering fear.

Yun Xi truly had saved her life.

The old woman continued chatting with Yun Xi and even invited her to stay the night rather than return home.

As they talked, Yun Xi gradually became warmer and more familiar with her.

The old woman grew happier and happier, constantly calling her “Little Sister.”

Meanwhile, back in the village, the Dong family spent most of the day anxiously waiting for Yun Xi to return.

But she never came back.

That night, the eldest son tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

Wasn’t his mother supposed to be buying him a job?

Where was she?

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