DLRC – Chapter 25 Mom, Have Some Water

Yu Wei keenly noticed his little gesture. After putting down the pair of small white shoes, she picked up the blue sneakers and held them out in front of him.

“Do you like these?”

The little guy glanced at his mom, nodded softly, and his tender voice quivered, “I like them.”

He actually had good taste. Yu Wei chuckled softly and handed the shoes to the shop assistant. “Please wrap these up for me. That’ll be all.”

Then, catching sight of the pair of small white children’s shoes on the floor, she added, “Oh, and wrap those up too, please. Thank you.”

The shop assistant, in a cheerful mood, packed everything for her and rang up the total.

Oh boy—by the time she finished, she realized she’d spent… 60 yuan!

Well, that was that. She really was a spendthrift woman.

She still relied on her looks to make a living. Since the livestream had to continue, her appearance had to be well maintained.

Before heading downstairs, Yu Wei picked up a retro red lipstick, said to be a popular local brand from Hong Kong City. The color looked really nice.

The two of them browsed around until noon, by which time the after-sales clerk downstairs had finally gotten off work.

She told Yu Wei to wait at the entrance. About ten minutes later, a tall, skinny man came over pushing a small tin cart, with the same female shop assistant standing next to him.

“Comrade, I brought my brother. Let’s load everything onto the cart and head off together.”

Yu Wei nodded and led them over to a pile of miscellaneous items to start moving things.

“Da Song, what are you standing around for? Go help!” the shop assistant barked at her brother.

The scrawny man gave an “Oh,” scratched his head, and came over to help Yu Wei load the items onto the small cart.

Yu Wei thanked him politely. With his help, they finally managed to load all the bits and pieces onto the cart.

Even though it was just her and her son moving into the new home, there was quite a lot of stuff.

Just the pots, pans, and dishes took up more than half the space. On top of that were various knickknacks, along with new clothes and shoes for the both of them.

As a result, the cart was piled up to the brim, nearly reaching little Yu Hui’s height.

Naturally, with that height came weight. It wasn’t light at all. Da Song pulled from the front, sweating bullets, while Yu Wei and her son pushed from behind.

Da Song’s sister had to rush home for lunch—she said she wouldn’t have time once her next shift started—so she didn’t go with them. Before leaving, she reminded Yu Wei to give the money directly to her brother.

They pushed the cart for nearly 20 minutes before finally arriving at No. 33 Changqing Road. The landlady was tidying up the courtyard, apparently having already eaten.

Hearing the commotion, she looked up and saw the mother and son had finally returned. Smiling, she greeted them.

“You’re back!”

Yu Wei smiled and nodded, then straightened up and patted Yu Hui. “Hui Hui, say hi to Grandma.”

“Hello, Grandma.” Familiar with the drill, Yu Hui greeted her sweetly in his soft, milky voice, melting everyone’s hearts on the spot.

“Ay—what a well-behaved and sensible child!” Jiang Aihua smiled warmly, watching as Da Song pushed the cart to the staircase in the courtyard.

Yu Wei helped him move things. Da Song was strong—he could carry 20 to 30 jin (10–15 kg) upstairs in one go without breaking a sweat.

Yu Wei, on the other hand, wasn’t that strong. After a trip or two, she was already struggling.

It really didn’t work well not having a man around the house. She thought to herself again.

Yu Hui followed behind his mom carrying a few small items. Yu Wei had originally wanted him to stay with the landlady until everything was moved in, then come upstairs.

But the little guy couldn’t sit still. Insisting on helping, he picked up two lightweight items and waddled behind her, huffing and puffing.

By the time everything was moved upstairs, another 20 minutes had passed. The landlady had already finished cleaning and was now tending to her little vegetable garden.

The weather outside was beautiful—almost too beautiful. The sun blazed high in the sky, making them sweat profusely. The sound of cicadas buzzed relentlessly in the background.

Yu Wei and Da Song stood on the balcony. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of bills—yuans, jiaos, and fens mixed together. She pulled out a one-yuan bill and handed it to Da Song.

“Thank you so much for today.”

Da Song took the money and gave Yu Wei a shy smile. “It’s nothing. Just helping move stuff. But… why are you giving me this much?”

He looked a little embarrassed and tried to refuse some of it. His sister had told him that Yu Wei was a widow and had no one else to help her move things, which was why she had asked him.

“It’s fine. There was a lot to carry—it was tiring. One yuan isn’t too much. You’ve earned it.”

Finally, Da Song didn’t argue anymore. He stuffed the money into his pants pocket all at once, gave Yu Wei another smile, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and headed downstairs. Just before disappearing into the stairwell, he looked back over his shoulder.

His gaze happened to meet the woman standing on the balcony. Their eyes met for a moment, and then he quickly turned away and darted into the courtyard like he was fleeing.

Yu Wei laughed to herself and went inside to start organizing all the things they’d bought. Right now, everything was still scattered across the floor, making the place feel cluttered.

She bent down to pick up a pot and carry it into the kitchen. As she did, her phone slipped from her shirt pocket—but luckily, she caught it just in time before it hit the ground.

She hadn’t used much battery, so the livestream was still running—she’d completely forgotten to turn it off. When she opened the app, it showed that 3,500 viewers were still watching—1,000 fewer than earlier at the department store. The comments had dwindled to a few scattered messages.

She switched the camera to the front.

【I think the streamer has definitely forgotten about us.】

【At this point, I’m no longer skeptical she traveled through time—she’s totally lost in her own world.】

【+1, I really think she forgot we existed.】

【Hahahaha—definitely. This is so classic Little Fish Tail. You can’t fake a personality like this.】

【With all that stuff on the floor, our shopaholic Little Fish Tail is back!】

The netizens had hit the nail on the head—Yu Wei had truly forgotten she was still livestreaming. Once things got busy, who could still remember something like that?

“Thanks for watching, everyone!” She greeted the viewers and got ready to end the stream. “That’s it for today’s livestream. Moving into the new place has been super hectic. See you all tomorrow! Don’t miss it—love you guys!”

Exhausted, Yu Wei tapped to end the stream. Checking her earnings, she saw she’d made 205.8 yuan this morning—after withdrawal fees, she’d get 20.58 yuan in cash. Honestly, not bad at all.

Who would’ve thought that just taking viewers along on a shopping trip could bring in such good money? Making money seemed almost too easy. In that moment, Yu Wei felt a sudden surge of motivation for the future.

She turned on the camera, stood on the balcony inside her new home, and took a photo of the courtyard below. Then, she snapped another shot of the distant park—just visible in the background—as a landmark reference. She planned to use the images to make a fun comparison post for her bored viewers.

In the end, she even ran out to the public balcony and took a photo of the little courtyard below. The landlady appeared in the frame—she was fertilizing her vegetable garden. The sunlight fell on her thin back, scattering like specks of light, creating a hazy yet beautiful scene captured through the lens.

Yu Wei uploaded all the photos to Jiumei Live’s activity feed, and within minutes, comments started pouring in.

But she didn’t have time to look at them just yet. She needed to take Yu Hui out for lunch before returning to tidy up the house.

Although the pots and pans were already bought, the house was still a mess and far from being ready for cooking—not to mention they hadn’t even bought any groceries yet. So for now, eating out was still the only option.

Mother and son enjoyed a joyful meal together. Once they finished eating, it was time to head back and get the house in order.

Everything was arranged in a conventional way, so it wasn’t too complicated—just exhausting. Little Yu Hui once again started helping his mom with the chores, handing her all sorts of small odds and ends.

When it came to moving the big stuff, even though there were many things he couldn’t lift, the little guy still insisted on helping, his tiny face flushed red with effort.

Yu Wei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she picked him up. “Alright, Mama will handle this. You go sit over there and rest.”

His little face was rosy red, sweat dripping from his forehead and down his black short hair onto the concrete floor.

He glanced at his mom and nodded obediently, but as soon as Yu Wei carried something into the room, he dashed up behind her with his little legs and brought in a small bag left by the door—it had two pairs of shoes in it.

“Huihui is such a good boy, not afraid of hard work at all,” Yu Wei praised. The little one beamed and lifted his face happily. “Okay then, help Mama put that bag by the bedside.”

Receiving his mother’s praise was like honey in Yu Hui’s heart. He couldn’t sit still and immediately ran out to fetch more miscellaneous items.

Yu Wei could sense that deep down he was feeling proud and pleased with himself, but outwardly he tried to keep a serious expression on his little face—like he was mimicking the stern, no-nonsense demeanor of adults, refusing to let his childish innocence show.

Yu Wei laughed until she was out of breath. Yu Hui thought she was just happy with how helpful he was and finally couldn’t hold back a smile either. Dimples appeared on both sides of his cheeks, glowing adorably under the warm yellow light bulb.

“Mama, where does this go?” he asked, holding up a bag of salt.

“That goes in the kitchen. Do you know where the kitchen is? It’s the room where Mama puts all the bowls.”

“I know!” The little guy cheerfully ran off and placed the salt bag where it belonged.

By the time the entire afternoon passed, the room was finally cleaned up. Yu Wei sat beside Yu Hui on their newly bought stools to rest. Mother and son exchanged a smile, and Yu Wei felt warmth spreading in her heart.

Just half a day out of that old house, and Yu Hui was already smiling like this—it showed just how much shadow the old place had cast on him. Thankfully, everything she had done hadn’t been in vain.

But cleaning the house wasn’t the end. Once things were in place, Yu Wei had to head out again—to buy a table and some chairs.

The salesperson mentioned that custom furniture could be ordered from outside vendors. Though the department store had tables, they were quite expensive and didn’t offer delivery. As a woman, she couldn’t carry that kind of weight on her own.

So she decided to check out some privately owned furniture shops. Usually, for a small extra fee, the owner would be willing to deliver. After all, who wouldn’t want to earn more money?

After a day of running around, seeing the once-empty room slowly fill with furniture gave her a sense of fulfillment—as if her own heart had been filled, too.

This could be considered having a real home in the 1980s, right?

The home was very simple inside, but looked clean and tidy at a glance. Even the concrete floor had been swept spotless, giving the space a bright, comfortable feel.

Yu Wei nodded in satisfaction. Then a thought popped into her head: since she would eventually continue livestreaming, she needed a proper theme. If she only showed people what 1980s life looked like, the novelty would wear off quickly.

People’s curiosity fades fast. Without a more attractive theme, the high profits from the past few days would soon vanish, and she’d be left struggling. Without income, she and Yu Hui wouldn’t even have food to eat.

So, over the past few days, she had been racking her brain about future work plans. She needed to find a job that looked legitimate from an outsider’s perspective.

She couldn’t rely solely on livestreaming. If something happened to her phone one day, her income would disappear. And it wouldn’t do to just stay home relying on unstable livestreams either—people would think she was unemployed, and the new neighbors might start gossiping behind her back.

In the beginning, when she was unfamiliar with the area, livestreaming to make quick eye-catching money wasn’t a bad idea. But long term… that wouldn’t work.

However, this era…

It was really a frustrating one.

It was the end of 1985, just seven or eight years after the humanitarian catastrophe. Many government policies were still unsettled. If it were ten years later, she could’ve considered venturing into industries that would become booming in the future.

Right now… she had the will but not the power. There was no platform for her to truly show what she was capable of. Private business still wasn’t fully recognized by the authorities in this era.

Though reforms were shifting focus from rural to urban areas, and while private enterprises, factories, small business owners, and vendors were legally allowed, the state didn’t exactly support them. The prevailing stance was: “Not encouraged, not publicly promoted, but also not immediately banned.”

In other words, you can do it, but we won’t help you or praise you—we’ll just allow it.

So private businesses existed in a kind of awkward gray area.

For someone like Yu Wei, a mom with a child, going all out wasn’t realistic. She didn’t have the energy or the resources.

Private businesses wouldn’t really pick up steam until the 1990s, when policies became more relaxed. By then, even just opening a dessert shop could give her a comfortable life.

…Maybe that was the most realistic path after all.

Once she rested up, she got up to take the newly bought bedsheets and covers to the bathroom to rinse them, then went downstairs to hang them out to dry.

She also carried down the new cotton quilt so it could get some sun before using it that night.

Fortunately, the sun was strong that day, and there weren’t many people drying laundry. The bamboo poles in the courtyard below were long and had plenty of empty space—things would surely dry by evening.

After several trips up and down, Yu Wei was panting with exhaustion, her face slick with sweat. Just as she reached the door, a soft, milky voice called out from inside:

“Mama, have some water.”

The little one had dragged a small stool over from the neighbor’s doorway. He had taken off his shoes, stepped up onto the stool, and poured her a cup of water using the thermos she had just boiled earlier. The cup and thermos were on the counter, but since he was too short to reach, he had fetched the stool to stand on.

When Yu Wei came back, she saw the little guy carefully stepping down from the stool, putting on his shoes, and bringing the water over to her.

Yu Wei was touched. After praising him—“Huihui is such a good boy”—she gulped the water down in one go.

The water was warm. She had boiled it when they got back, and now it had cooled to just the right temperature. Still, the warmth that spread through her wasn’t just physical—it flowed into every cell of her body.

It turns out, raising a thoughtful child could truly fill a parent’s heart with endless comfort and a sense of accomplishment.

Only after seeing his mother finish the water did Yu Hui return the little stool to the neighbors.

Yu Wei watched his little back disappear, a smile spreading across her face.

So the child actually knew quite a bit—he even thought of moving a stool to pour water for Mama. She had thought he’d been isolated for so long that he didn’t understand anything.

So comforting. Truly comforting.