Chapter 10: The Forgetful Old Woman
He had heard that there were many kidnappers outside, and his Jiaojiao was so beautiful and good-looking, it wasn’t easy for those wicked kidnappers to target her.
The old person didn’t look at Yun Die, but stared at Yun Jiao.
“Good girl, good girl, Mom bought you your favorite hair ties, come here and Mom will tie them for you and give you the prettiest braided pigtails.”
Yun Die scratched his head, why did this old lady seem a little strange?
Yun Jiao tugged on Yun Die’s hand: “Dad, this grandma is hungry.”
Yun Die looked at the baozi in his daughter’s hand that was only half left, and then at the old woman’s.
Although it pained him, seeing that the old woman seemed to have forgotten things, she was quite pitiful.
But why did she mistake his Jiaojiao for her daughter? How old was she?
“Grandma, eat something.”
The old person listened to the little girl’s soft and sweet childish voice and smiled kindly, looking at her with eyes full of affection.
“Okay, okay, I’ll eat something.”
“But, good girl, why are you calling me Grandma? You should call me Mom.”
It was clear she was already confused.
Yun Die scratched his head, looked around, and even asked people, but no one recognized the old woman.
“What should we do?”
He knew a little about the old woman’s condition; there were similar elders in their village before who couldn’t recognize people or remember things.
Later, because she got lost and went to the seaside, she was swept away by the seawater.
“Good girl, come here, Mom will tie your hair.”
Yun Jiao glanced at her dad.
Yun Die nodded at her: “Go ahead, we’ll wait here to see if her family comes looking for her.”
If they didn’t come, then he could only send her to the Public Security Bureau.
Yun Jiao and the old woman sat on the stone steps not far from the baozi shop.
Yun Die even asked the baozi seller for two pieces of old newspaper to spread on the ground before letting them sit.
Yun Die then found a bowl of water: “Here, Auntie, have some water.”
“Thank you, thank you.”
After eating half a baozi and drinking water, she even took a piece of paper from her pocket to wipe her hands clean.
Then she seriously combed Yun Jiao’s hair in front of her, using her hands instead of a comb.
Yun Jiao’s hair was very good, black and thick, and even more silky.
At only three years old, she had hair that reached her back, which was perfect for the old woman to work with.
Her movements were very gentle, and she even hummed an old children’s song.
After hearing it once, Yun Jiao, while munching on her baozi, started humming along.
What she hummed was even more pleasant, tender and clear. Yun Die just felt that his daughter’s singing was so good.
At the same time, on the other side, the old woman’s family members were anxious and agitated from looking for her.
“County Magistrate, County Magistrate, we found her…”
When the people arrived, the thirty-something County Magistrate heard the familiar children’s song his mother was humming and his eyes immediately turned red.
“Mom, Mom, why did you run here? I almost couldn’t find you.”
The middle-aged man wearing a Zhongshan suit directly hugged the old woman.
The old woman looked up, her cloudy eyes looking at him: “Who are you?”
“It’s me, it’s Jianlin.”
Yun Jiao also looked at the newcomer with her beautiful big eyes, full of curiosity.
The old woman’s wrinkled, rough hands stroked her son’s face, her voice trembling.
“Jianlin, why have you grown so old? Your sister is still so small.”
She then grabbed Yun Jiao’s small hand: “Look, I found your sister, the little one is found, she’s back.”
Wang Jianlin glanced at Yun Jiao and listened to his mother’s words, his heart filled with sorrow.
His sister had disappeared when she was three years old, abducted by a kidnapper.
“Okay, sister is found.”
He gave Yun Jiao and Yun Die a slightly apologetic look, then coaxed the old woman.
“Shall we go home? Let’s go home first.”
The old woman stood up and tidied her clothes: “Okay, let’s go home.”
Wang Jianlin first handed his mother over to his secretary, then turned to Yun Jiao and his father.
“Thank you both for taking care of my mother. My mother has amnesia and can’t remember many things, so I troubled you.”
Yun Die quickly waved his hands: “No trouble, we didn’t do much, just gave her a baozi.”
Wang Jianlin thought about having his secretary ask for their address so he could visit and thank them another day. The most important thing now was to take his elderly mother home.
However, after walking only a few steps holding his mother’s hand, the old woman turned back to look for Yun Jiao.
“Good girl, good girl, come home with Mom and Brother.”
“Jianlin, quickly take the good girl home.”
Yun Die hugged Yun Jiao tightly. No, he couldn’t take someone else’s daughter.
Wang Jianlin: ………
“Why don’t you two come to my house for a bit?”
Wang Jianlin was clearly filial and couldn’t bear to refuse any of his old mother’s requests.
“No, no, I’m still waiting for my son.”
“Oh? Where is your son?”
Yun Die rubbed his hands, a very simple smile on his face.
“My two sons want to join the army, so they went for a physical examination. Family members can’t accompany them, so I brought my daughter to buy some food.”
Wang Jianlin pondered for two seconds: “How about this, I’ll have my… friend take a look. What are your sons’ names? When they’re done, they can be brought directly to you.”
Yun Die: “My sons are named Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi.”
The secretary wrote down these two names. In the end, Yun Die and Yun Jiao still followed Wang Jianlin to his house.
Upon arrival, Yun Die became nervously awkward with a delayed realization.
This… this Western-style house looked too grand.
He, a fisherman living in a small fishing village, had never seen such a magnificent house.
Yun Die, holding his daughter, hesitated.
“Maybe, maybe we shouldn’t go in.”
Wang Jianlin smiled and said: “Since you’re here, let’s eat before you go. I still don’t know how to thank you for taking care of my mother.”
Yun Die waved his hands, with a simple and honest look: “No care, no care.”
He dizzily followed them into the Western-style house. Wang Jianlin’s family members were quite simple.
Soon, a well-dressed woman who looked shrewd and capable appeared.
“How is it, did you find Mom?”
Wang Jianlin nodded: “Found her. Thanks to this brother and his daughter for looking after her, our mother didn’t wander off.”
After some simple pleasantries, Yun Die looked at the decorations inside the house and regretted coming in even more.
Why did he follow them in?
Yun Jiao held Yun Die’s hand and tilted her head in confusion: “Dad is scared?”
There aren’t things that eat people here, right?
Yun Jiao didn’t have much emotional fluctuation about the house, which was much better than her own.
Having been a merfolk in her previous life, the vastness and colorfulness of the underwater world had broadened her horizons. Could anything here compare to the splendor of the seabed?
Wang Jianlin’s wife brought out some fruit, and Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up.
The old woman was still affectionately holding Yun Jiao’s other hand, talking incessantly, often rambling.
Yun Jiao, holding her food, listened patiently. In fact, she didn’t understand much, only nodding occasionally to pretend she did.
In the kitchen, Wang Jianlin’s wife, Liu Yun, said: “That little girl is really patient. If it were our son, he’d probably be squirming with impatience and just want to go out and play basketball with his friends.”
Wang Jianlin nodded, sighing as he looked at his happy mother.
“You know, when I was little, my sister got lost. My mother went to the market and promised to buy her hair ties, but when she returned, the person was gone. Our family searched for a long time.
My mother cried every day then, her eyes almost cried blind. Now that she can’t remember things, she mistakes this little girl for my sister. Those hair ties… I didn’t expect she’d kept them until now.”
Wang Jianlin’s eyes reddened as he spoke of these things.
Liu Yun comforted him: “We should hire a nanny to take care of Mom. I’ve wanted to say this for a long time; Auntie can’t really take good care of our mother.”
Thinking about how his mother almost got lost this time, Wang Jianlin nodded: “I’ll talk to Auntie later.”
But it might not be easy to get rid of her.
