DLRC – Chapter 44 Hey! Stop Crying!

No way—this had to be a mistake. She had just opened her shop barely half a month ago. How could it suddenly be sold? In this day and age, even people buying houses to live in were rare, let alone buying shops.

Yu Wei was panicking so badly she could barely hold onto her vegetable basket. Seeing her like that, Song Xia quickly stepped in to comfort her. “Don’t panic, don’t panic. Hand me the basket, okay? Let’s go check what’s going on right now.”

“Yes, Yu Wei, you should go take a look. Old Niu just told me to pass on the message to you. I’m not sure of the exact situation either.”

This unexpected news left Yu Wei totally baffled and deeply anxious. After a moment of thought, she handed the basket to Song Xia.

“Sister Song, could you please take the vegetables up and leave them in your place? I’ll come get them when I’m back.”

“Sure, sure, go now!”

“Mhm.”

Yu Wei didn’t say another word. She turned on her heel and marched toward her shop at a near run. What should’ve been a twenty-minute walk took her only ten.

The shop was still empty—she had only just gone out to buy vegetables, after all. It wasn’t until she reached the storefront that she realized she’d forgotten to bring her keys.

That nearly sent her spiraling. Even the landlord didn’t have a spare, because she’d changed the locks herself. She had spent a pretty penny on that high-security lock—there was no way to open it without the key.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long. Just as she was thinking of heading upstairs to find Niu Zhongshi, he came down.

“Uncle Niu!”

Yu Wei rushed up to him, breathless. “Uncle Niu, what’s going on? Auntie Jiang said you sold my shop?”

But she had a signed contract! She’d already paid a two-year deposit, and it was a five-year lease. They were supposed to decide about renewing when the time came. So how could he just—sell it?

“Oh, Yu Wei, you’re here.” Niu Zhongshi looked perfectly calm, not the least bit concerned. Seeing how anxious and flustered she was, he even chuckled.

Seeing him grinning like that at a time like this made Yu Wei feel like she was about to explode.

“Wait, didn’t we sign a five-year contract? How could you suddenly sell the place? Isn’t that a breach of contract?”

Niu Zhongshi realized she had misunderstood and quickly waved his hand. “No, no, it’s not like that, little miss. Don’t get so worked up. Let me explain.”

Yu Wei was speechless. She was a mess, and he wanted her to stay calm? How could she be calm at a time like this? Her shop—it hadn’t even had time to warm up before it was sold off?!

Still grinning, Niu Zhongshi glanced at her dessert shop behind him. “You’re not opening today?”

“I forgot my key. Uncle Niu, just tell me what’s going on already. I’m really anxious here!” She was about to lose her mind.

“Alright, alright.” Niu Zhongshi chuckled. “It’s like this—when I ran into Aihua earlier, I asked her to call you over. I did sell the house, that’s true, but it has nothing to do with you.”

“Nothing to do with me?” Yu Wei thought she must’ve misheard. How could it not have anything to do with her? It was her shop, Uncle Niu!

Seeing how flustered she was, Niu Zhongshi decided to stop beating around the bush. “No, no, Yu Wei, don’t worry. Yes, the house was sold, but your dessert shop can still keep operating. The two things aren’t related.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, still confused.

Just hearing that the house was sold had filled her with dread. She’d finally found a shop she really liked, and now it might be snatched away after just half a month? She’d die from frustration.

“It was all very sudden. This morning, before you arrived, a wealthy man came to my house and said he was interested in buying the place. At first, I didn’t take him seriously—who goes around buying houses these days?”

“Okay, and then?” Yu Wei pressed him, listening closely.

“Then the big boss told his assistant to drive back and bring the money. That’s when I realized he wasn’t joking. He even offered a good price. After thinking about it for a long time, I realized selling this old house wasn’t a bad deal at all. So… we signed the contract right away.”

At this point, Niu Zhongshi scratched his head sheepishly and continued, “Yeah, it was sudden. But I’ll still be living here. The boss said he didn’t need the second floor, just the first and third. So if you ever need me, I’ll still be living upstairs on the second floor!”

It wasn’t a big deal to sell an old house—sentimental value aside—but the question was, where would he live after selling it? Luckily, the rich buyer had thought of that too. He left the second floor out of the deal. As soon as Niu Zhongshi heard that, he was sold. When the assistant returned with the contract, Niu was practically floating—over a hundred thousand yuan, just like that.

That amount could’ve taken years in rent. What a rich boss…

Niu Zhongshi was in a good mood, having just pocketed a big windfall. But Yu Wei’s brow furrowed more and more the longer she listened.

Seriously though—who would suddenly want to buy an entire building in 1985? And for what purpose? Who was this mysterious boss?

Still anxious, Yu Wei asked, “So is he planning to open a shop? Am I going to be forced out later?”

“No, no, that won’t happen.” Niu Zhongshi reassured her. “Don’t worry. We signed a contract—you keep running your business as usual. I just sold two floors, so now you’ll pay rent to a new landlord, that’s all. I don’t think he’s opening a shop either. As for what he is doing… I’m not too sure. You can ask him yourself when he comes.”

“I see…” Yu Wei still looked uneasy. “Where’s the new landlord now? Can he come over? I’d feel better if I talked to him directly before opening the shop.”

She was terrified of running into a shady landlord who might kick her out just when business was booming. As a single mom with a kid, she had no way of fighting a powerful landlord—she wouldn’t even have a place to complain.

“The new landlord? He just left a little while ago. He didn’t give me an address either. After paying, he took off. You can come by tomorrow morning—he and I still need to finalize a contract then.”

No address, no contact info. Yu Wei sighed. Since the contract was already signed, there was nothing else to do but wait and meet the new landlord in the morning to make sure everything was clear. Better safe than sorry.

Niu Zhongshi, seeing her lingering doubt, continued to reassure her. He promised again and again that her shop would remain untouched, no one would interfere, and she could keep doing business just as before.

But really—what could she do if someone did interfere? The contract was signed. All she could do now was wait for the new landlord and clarify things to avoid any nasty surprises.

After chatting a bit more, Yu Wei turned to head home. Meanwhile, over at home, little Yu Hui was already awake.

He’d had a good night’s sleep, not waking up until eight in the morning. When he opened his eyes and saw no sign of Mommy, he reached over to touch the blanket next to him—it was already cold. Mommy must’ve gone out to buy groceries. Or maybe she was making breakfast!

But the November chill made his tiny hand shiver the moment it left the covers. Even though he was famously warm like a little stove, he couldn’t beat the cold of nature.

So he stayed curled up in bed for a while before finally getting up.

Inside the wardrobe, their clothes were neatly folded into two piles—his on the left, Mommy’s on the right.

His clothes were small and numerous. Yu Wei had a shopping addiction. You couldn’t really tell when she was broke, but the moment she had money, she couldn’t stop splurging.

She bought so many clothes for him, even though he was still growing and would need new ones soon anyway. But as a new mom who had just received such an adorable, well-behaved baby, her joy at dressing him up couldn’t be contained.

So, dressed in his fluffy bear pajamas, Yu Hui began choosing today’s outfit. He spent a long time deliberating but ultimately couldn’t resist the power of the unbeatable bear jacket.

Fine—he’d wear the bear jacket again today!

After picking out his clothes and socks, he put everything on, then pattered off in his matching bear sneakers to wash up. The bathroom sink was a bit high, but his special stool came in handy.

It was all second nature now. He’d been living like this for almost a month, and he had it down pat.

Finally, he stepped out of the room. Sure enough, Mommy wasn’t back yet—she must’ve gone out for groceries.

He wanted to go to the balcony and check on Gugu and Jiji, their noisy birds. Mommy said they were too loud and had to be kept out there at night.

But maybe because of the wind and chill lately, the balcony door had been shut tight—and locked. He couldn’t go out to see the birds.

So, he quietly stayed in the living room to wait for Mommy to come back and feed them together.

But the wait dragged on and on. Yu Hui’s tummy started growling. He lay listlessly on the table, blinking, until he suddenly had an idea and ran into the kitchen.

He tiptoed and craned his neck, hoping to find some biscuits or cake Mommy might’ve left behind. But sadly, even after dragging over his little stool, he found nothing to eat.

Oh well, he’d just wait for Mommy.

Yu Hui dashed back to the bedroom and pulled out his picture book from the bottom of the wardrobe. He’d already gone through every page—Mommy had taught him all the characters, and he remembered them all. It wasn’t that fun anymore.

When Mommy came back, he’d ask her to buy him a new book!

Time ticked on. Since waking up, Yu Hui had been waiting and waiting for Mommy to come home, but she still wasn’t back. He didn’t know how long it had been—just that she was really late, and his tummy hurt from hunger. It was so uncomfortable.

If only he’d eaten more last night, maybe he wouldn’t be so hungry now.

He tried to entertain himself by drawing, but his pen had run out of ink. No matter how much he shook it, not a drop came out…

He was bored. And hungry. And Mommy still wasn’t home.

After half an hour, Yu Hui couldn’t take it anymore. He closed the book, dropped the pen, and went to the front door, planning to go downstairs and wait for Mommy.

Granny Jiang was probably sitting in the yard chatting with other grannies. Even though he didn’t like strangers much, being alone was even worse—he’d go find them.

But—

The door wouldn’t open.

No matter what he did, it wouldn’t budge. He was tall enough to reach the lock, but even after bringing over his stool, it was no use.

Panic set in.

Everything this morning had been so strange.

Mommy hadn’t come back. The balcony door was locked. The kitchen was empty. And now the front door—something that had never been locked before—was sealed shut.

The more he thought about it, the more scared he became. His little body trembled.

His warmth faded. The little human furnace had turned into a block of ice. His hands shook so hard they couldn’t grip the doorknob.

Tears welled up and spilled onto the cold floor one by one.

Yu Hui cried silently. He tugged at the lock with all his strength, banged on the door with his tiny fists.

Nothing worked. No matter how hard he tried.

And then—

Old memories came rushing in. The sound of fists against wood brought back the dark days from just a few months ago. Back then, he’d lived in pitch blackness, with no light.

That door had been just like this one. No matter how he cried or knocked, it never opened. Even when Yu Wei had been with him, he couldn’t feel her warmth at all.

Everything had been frozen. From his feet to the top of his head, cold burrowed into every cell.

He pounded harder. He screamed until his throat went hoarse. But no one had come to save him from that monster-filled, dark room.

“Mama… Mama…”

His vision blurred with tears. Slowly, he could no longer see. Everything became invisible—like he’d gone blind. Deaf. Numb.

All that remained was mechanical movement—mindless knocking, aimless crying.

“Mama… Mama!”

“Mama, where did you go? Huihui’s scared. Mama… don’t you want Huihui anymore…”

“Huihui’s good, Huihui’s always good. Mama, come back. Where did you go… Huihui’s scared…”

“Mama… sob sob sob—Mama!”

Finally, he broke down. His shrill, heartbreaking sobs echoed through the empty living room. His cries were pure despair, enough to twist anyone’s heart.

“Hey! Why are you crying?!”

Just as Yu Hui was about to collapse, a loud and clear woman’s voice rang out from outside. She was yelling, loud enough for him to hear.

He cried even harder. His little mouth opened and closed, his voice hoarse and sharp. “Mama! Mama—! Sob sob sob—!”

“Hey! Stop crying already!”

Du Yuerong sounded exasperated. She had just gotten home, planning to wash up and rest—and then this kid next door started bawling like crazy.

Give her a break! Couldn’t he cry a little quieter?

Ugh!

Annoyed, she pounded on the door. “Hey! Kid! Quit crying already!”