I Miss My Mother

Saying this, Lingdang grabbed Zhang Zhaocai like picking up a chick and carried him directly to a distant empty patch of land. She stepped on a big stone, hung Zhang Zhaocai's belly over her leg, then held his throat with one hand and placed the other palm on his back. With a sudden "wah," Zhang Zhaocai vomited out the food he had eaten and regained consciousness.

He vomited out the food messily, his face pale and weak. Only then did he realize it was Lingdang who had forced him to vomit.

"Have you vomited everything out?" Lingdang frowned and asked.

"Mm..." Zhang Zhaocai nodded weakly.

Without saying another word, Lingdang picked Zhang Zhaocai up like a chick again. Zhang was shocked and embarrassed, struggling a bit in midair.

"Why are you struggling?" Lingdang frowned at him and didn’t take him back to the banquet but placed him on a clean patch of ground nearby. "Rest here for a bit. Vomiting it out means you’re fine. Don’t stuff yourself like a starving ghost next time. You just fainted from overeating, and your father and stepmother even said I poisoned you with my cooking!"

Zhang Zhaocai felt very embarrassed, sitting on the ground with his head down. "I... I was just too hungry and ate too fast."

"Then sit and rest," Lingdang said and started to leave, but felt her clothes tugged. She turned around to see Zhang Zhaocai, his face covered in dust, looking up at her.

"Why are you pulling me?" Lingdang frowned at Zhang Zhaocai’s dirty hand.

Zhang Zhaocai swallowed hard. "Sister Lingdang, can I ask you for a favor?"

"What is it?" Lingdang looked at Zhang Zhaocai’s pitiful expression and couldn’t bear to just walk away.

Zhang Zhaocai held back tears. "My mother was kidnapped by bandits. My father doesn’t care. We reported it to the authorities, but they only gave us perfunctory answers, saying they would investigate. It’s been so long, but there’s still no news of my mother. Sister Lingdang, you often go to the Vegetarian Bistro and meet many people. Can you help me find out if there’s any news about my mother?"

Lingdang looked at Zhang Zhaocai’s sorrowful face, unsure of what to say.

Zhang Zhaocai spoke through tears, wiping them away. "My father said since my mother hasn’t come home for so long, she might have been killed by the bandits. But I don’t believe that. Why would bandits kill her? Maybe they just captured her to cook and do chores. Sister Lingdang, please, can you keep an eye out for any news about my mother? I miss her. I want her to come home soon."

Sigh... Lingdang let out a heavy sigh as she looked at Zhang Zhaocai. For the first time in her life, she felt a twinge of regret over killing someone. But it was only a little regret—after all, Tang Shi was a good mother to Zhang Zhaocai but a ticking time bomb for Yindou and Su Li’s family, who never knew when she might explode.

"Please, Sister Lingdang." Zhang Zhaocai got up from the ground and anxiously pleaded, "I’m still young now. When I grow up, I’ll go out myself to find my mother. But for now, I beg you to keep an eye out and inquire about her. I’ll remember your kindness forever."

Lingdang sighed, "What if you can’t find any news about your mother?"

Zhang Zhaocai bit his lip and said, "Then I’ll keep looking! When I grow up, I’ll leave Haizi Village, leave Qingmiao City, and go out to find my mother. I’ll search every day. As long as my mother isn’t dead, one day I’ll find her!"

"What if she’s already dead..." Lingdang looked at Zhang Zhaocai with a trace of sympathy in her eyes. She couldn’t bring herself to tell this child, who longed for his mother’s return, that his mother would never come back.