DLRC – Chapter 8 Must Escape

The owner of the convenience stall was still dozing off, but at the sound of Yu Wei’s voice, he jolted awake, rubbed his eyes, and looked at the mother and child with a friendly smile, eagerly introducing the snacks on the top shelf.

It was Yu Hui’s first time here, and he wasn’t used to strangers. Shy and timid, he stood next to Yu Wei, clutching at her pant leg in silence. His misty, wide eyes stared at a few brightly colored candies, not saying a word but clearly captivated.

Yu Wei chuckled. After asking for the prices one by one, she did a quick calculation of what a single yuan could get her. Then she paid and bought a little of everything.

Two nougat candies, a small pack of alphabet biscuits, one piece of ox tongue pastry, two fruit cupcakes, and a fist-sized bread whose name she didn’t even recognize.

There was also something called “lard candy”—Yu Wei had heard of it but never tasted it before. Curious, she glanced at the single yuan in her pocket and, gritting her teeth, decided not to buy it.

What if it tasted bad? That would be a waste.

Despite looking like quite a haul, she still had 0.23 yuan left after paying, which made Yu Wei click her tongue in amazement.

“Which one do you want to eat first?” Yu Wei laid all the snacks out on her palm, letting the little one choose.

Yu Hui had never tasted any of them before. He looked at her, then at the treasure trove in her hand, and as the sweet aroma reached his nose, his mouth began to water.

He hesitantly stretched out a finger and pointed to the smallest white nougat.

Yu Wei smiled knowingly, tore off the wrapper, and brought the candy to his mouth—but just as the sweet scent reached his nose, she suddenly realized the candy was bigger than his tiny mouth and awkwardly pulled her hand back.

Yu Hui had already opened his mouth in anticipation. When he saw her withdraw the candy, he thought she’d changed her mind. His lower lip trembled and he bit down hard on it, afraid to say a word.

Had he done something to upset her again? His little mind spiraled with anxious thoughts, and he started picking at his fingers in distress.

It had only been a few seconds, but Yu Wei had to muster all her strength to break the candy in half—actually, she had to bite it apart with her teeth. Hopefully the little guy wouldn’t mind?

Of course, Yu Hui didn’t mind. The moment the candy entered his mouth, his eyes visibly lit up. That look of sheer delight and surprise—it was a face Yu Wei felt she would never forget in her life.

After he chewed the nougat for a long time and finally managed to swallow it, Yu Wei spoke to him sternly.

“Huihui, when we get home, you can’t tell Grandma we bought and ate these, okay?”

Yu Hui was a precocious and clever child. Though quiet and withdrawn, he could understand her perfectly.

He paused for a few seconds, then obediently nodded as he chewed on a cupcake.

“Good boy.”

Yu Wei smiled and patted his head. The little guy looked up at her curiously, clutching the cupcake in his hand. His deer-like eyes were filled with innocence and sweetness, completely melting her heart.

Eventually, all the snacks ended up in Yu Hui’s little belly. Yu Wei only had a bite of the ox tongue pastry and left the rest.

Even though he was often hungry, he couldn’t finish everything at once, so Yu Wei wrapped up what was left in the bread wrapper and managed to stuff it into her oversized pocket.

After this outing, the bond between them seemed to grow. Yu Wei could clearly feel that the little guy was more attached to her now. At least her kindness hadn’t been in vain.

By the time they were done eating, it was getting late. Yu Wei brought the content and full Yu Hui back home—to the large courtyard shared by about a dozen households—and once again, that suffocating feeling began to creep into her chest. Every breath seemed filled with the same heavy, stifling air.

The only one here she could actually live with might just be the well-behaved Yu Hui.

Night had fallen. Taking advantage of the remaining light, Yu Wei heated some water and brought Yu Hui to the communal bath area. She was determined to give him a proper bath.

There were no showers—definitely not in this place—so you had to carry buckets of water yourself.

Yu Wei went looking for a towel to bathe him with. After a while, she finally noticed a long rope stretched under the eaves outside, with six towels hanging from it—same color, different patterns. All of them looked rough.

She asked the little one, who had been watching her wander around, “Xiao Huihui, do you know which towel is yours?”

The boy stood still on the ground. After several seconds, he pointed to the very last one hanging on the line—a dull gray, rectangular towel.

It looked filthy, with two barely visible holes. It was stiff and dry, not at all soft. Was this seriously what they used to bathe a child?

Yu Wei nearly lost it at the sheer poverty of this household.

There were so many people in the family, all working at the factory. Could they not even afford a new towel?

Yet when she looked at the other towels, as worn as they were, none were as ancient as Yu Hui’s. His was practically a rag from a bygone era.

Swallowing her urge to explode in anger, she asked again, “What about mine? Which towel is mine?”

Yu Hui obediently pointed to the same one.

Yu Wei: “What?!”

They used the same towel?!

You’ve got to be kidding!

In the end, Yu Wei accepted the cruel truth—there were six towels total, one for each person in the household. If the other five belonged to the others, then the last one had to be hers.

As for Yu Hui, knowing Yuan Guifang’s temper, she could already hear the scolding: “A tiny brat like him needs a towel? What a waste!”

When under someone’s roof, you have to bow your head.

Yu Wei resigned herself to reality but refused to use that rag of a towel on Yu Hui. She decided she’d just wash him by hand.

There was also the soap. It sat in an enamel dish under the eaves, resting on a wooden tray. But really, it should’ve been called “stink soap.”

It was even dirtier than the towel. Originally a creamy yellow, it had long since turned into a dirty gray. Yu Wei asked Yu Hui if everyone used that same bar to bathe.

He nodded.

Yu Wei covered her forehead with a sigh and ran out to buy a new bar. Thankfully, it only cost 0.22 yuan—leaving her with a single cent.

She couldn’t help but marvel again at how cheap things were in the 1980s.

Living here meant everything—bathing, washing, using the toilet—had to be done in shared spaces. Personal facilities were simply not an option.

Still, the moment she stepped into the bathhouse, Yu Wei’s heart clenched.

She was greeted by the sight of pale, bare flesh everywhere. She immediately covered Yu Hui’s eyes and carried him to a secluded corner in the back.

Yu Hui held a small bucket in his hands, containing the new bar of soap. As for a towel, she couldn’t afford a new one, so she brought a plain cotton shirt to use as a makeshift drying cloth.

Even though Yu Hui was a little boy, Yu Wei couldn’t take him to the men’s side. Truthfully, there were quite a few mothers who brought their sons to the women’s bathhouse, but this was Yu Wei’s first time and it shocked her.

There were already five or six women inside—none the least bit embarrassed.

Trying to calm her pounding heart, she turned Yu Hui around before uncovering his eyes.

“Xiao Huihui, stay right here and don’t move, and don’t look around. I’m going to fetch the hot water.”

Yu Hui looked up at her, instinctively reaching to grab her clothes, but then hesitated, afraid that disobeying might make her leave him behind. So he obediently nodded, though the fear in his big, doe-like eyes made her heart ache.

Sigh. This environment—she had to escape it. She would escape it!

Yu Hui was very well-behaved. As Yu Wei bathed him, the little guy occasionally peeked at her with wide, sparkling eyes, as if seeing someone new.

And maybe he was—because this Yu Wei was different.

By the time she finished washing him—an exhausting task—Yu Hui was still a little shy, but seeing her focused and serious expression, his anxious heart finally settled.

Would the old Yu Wei ever come back?

He really liked his mom the way she was now.