Chapter 2
Song Yao woke up again. This time, she felt empty, as if something important was missing.
She quickly looked at the baby’s cradle, then retreated in shock and fell onto the bed.
Her son, Baby Xuan, was missing!
“Mom!” Song Yao picked up her cotton clothes and rushed downstairs.
It was winter now. Song Yao had just walked out of the room when a gust of cold wind brushed past the only warmth on her body.
Song Yao shivered. Her head was still dizzy. She couldn’t care less and quickly went downstairs to find her son.
“Mom!” Song Yao shouted again, but no one answered.
When she reached the courtyard, she noticed that the sun was already high in the sky. It was already noon.
Ever since Song Yao became sensible, she rarely slept until this time.
She had always been diligent. After she got married, she woke up early every day to help her in-laws do housework.
As time passed, even if she woke up later and missed the crowing of the chicken, her in-laws would urge her to get up and do her work.
Today, her in-laws did not wake her up. Something was amiss.
Song Yao felt even more uneasy.
She ran out of the courtyard and saw Mrs. Zhang coming back with her husband.
“Mrs. Zhang, have you seen my Yu Yong?” Song Yao ran forward and asked anxiously. She didn’t care that Mrs. Zhang usually spoke harshly to their family.
Mrs. Zhang exclaimed, “Yao, don’t tell me you only woke up now? Mrs. Wang has been working the entire morning. Oh my, it’s really different to have a husband who dotes on you. He said that you had a fever last night. Not only did he not ask Aunt Wang to wake you up early, but he also took care of your child for you. How considerate.”
When Uncle Zhang heard this, he snorted and turned around to return to his house.
Song Yao looked embarrassed. Mrs. Wang was her mother-in-law.
“Did you see Yu Yong carrying the child out today? Where did he take my son?” Song Yao grabbed the corner of her shirt to pull herself together. Now was not the time to argue with Mrs. Zhang.
“Why are you in such a hurry? How long has it been since the child’s father came back? As his mother, can’t you let the father and son stay longer?” Mrs. Zhang thought that she could not leave the man, so she deliberately teased her.
When Song Yao heard this, she suddenly felt a ball of anger in her heart, but she did not flare up on the spot because of her pride.
Seeing that she couldn’t get anything out of Mrs. Zhang, she hurriedly bade farewell and went to the field.
“Sister-in-law, you’re up. You came at the right time. Help me carry this burden. I’m so tired.” The eldest sister-in-law of the Yu family, He Xi, did not have to work in the brigade today. She had just collected a basket of vegetables for her mother-in-law.
She had two children with her, and they kept pulling her and calling her Mom.
He Xi could not carry the burden at all.
When Song Yao saw the two children, her heart burned. She was even more worried about Baby Xuan’s whereabouts. “Sister-in-law, did you see Yu Yong? He took the children away!”
“Him? He did bring Baby Xuan to town. He didn’t tell you. He said he wanted to buy some supplies for the child,” He Xi said.
Didn’t he still have milk powder and baby supplies at home? What was he going to buy in town?
Song Yao became even more anxious. “I’m sorry, Sister-in-law. I have something to do in town today.”
“Alright, I can’t count on you.” He Xi was helpless. Didn’t they run to town one by one because they wanted to slack off and not work?
He Xi shook her head and carried her burden home. As she walked, she scolded the two children beside her to be quiet.
After the separation, her brother and sister-in-law’s family had to provide for the three children. Now, the older one was studying in town.
Although it was stressful to rely on the two of them, they did not mention anything about giving any of their child away.
Moreover, she and Yu Yong only had one son.
Song Yao looked back at their backs and felt even more uneasy. She wrapped her cotton clothes tightly around her again and turned to rush back to town.
By the time they reached town, the sun had already set halfway up the mountain.
Most of the ox carts in the village went to town in the morning and returned in the evening.
When Song Yao went there, there was no longer an ox cart in town. She had no choice but to hike all the way over two mountains to the shop where she used to buy baby products in town to ask about Yu Yong’s whereabouts.
“Hello, have you seen a man carrying a child to buy things? He’s about that tall.” Song Yao stretched out her arm and brushed it across the shop assistant’s head.
It had been more than half a year since she last came to town. No one in the shop recognized Song Yao’s face.
At first, he thought that she was a new customer and treated her warmly. However, when he saw that she was looking for someone, his expression changed. “There are many men passing by. I don’t recognize them.”
“He’s from the army. He’s more handsome than ordinary people and is easy to recognize. He’s even carrying a six-month-old child.” Song Yao was still angry. When she saw the shop assistant chasing her away, she stuttered.
The shop assistant waved his hand. “I’ve never seen him before. Which man would buy this? Go away, don’t disturb our business.”
Song Yao still wanted to speak, but she was forced to take a few steps back by the shop assistant’s hand. She swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
The woman carrying the child saw her stunned expression and suddenly patted her back. “Young lady, are you looking for someone?”
Song Yao was shocked by her actions and quickly asked, “Have you seen him?”
“Most of the people who come here to buy things are women. There aren’t many men. My family has always said that I have a good memory since I was young. I’ve been here for almost a day, so I naturally remember.” When the woman smiled, wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes. She looked very amiable.
The baby on her back waved at her. His fleshy lips opened and closed, looking very cute.