The dilapidated appearance from the outside made it seem like an abandoned house, but once you stepped into the yard, it was quite clean, as if someone had taken care of it.
The firewood was neatly piled up to one side, and the weeds on the ground were cleared away. When a big yellow dog saw Mu Xiaoyu return, it immediately pounced on her and rubbed against her.
Mu Xiaoyu didn't have time to play with it right now, so she patted its head, then pushed it aside and called out to the inner room as she walked away.
"Mom, I'm home. Have you eaten yet?"
Mu Xiaoyu called out several times, but when she entered the room, she didn't see her mother.
She came out again, her face showing anxiety.
The voice rose considerably: "Mom!!! Where did you go?"
"What's wrong?" Tang Zihao asked as he stepped forward.
"My mom is missing!! I don't know where she went!"
Mu Xiaoyu cried again in desperation, feeling as helpless as a homeless puppy.
Tang Zihao was particularly shrewd at this moment. He opened his big arms and naturally pulled Mu Xiaoyu into his embrace.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Do you have anyone else at home? Or you could call your mom and ask."
"Oh right!!! I'll call my aunt!"
Mu Xiaoyu got out of Tang Zihao's arms, and as if she remembered something, picked up her phone.
I found the number and dialed it.
"Hey! Aunt Yang, where's my mom? I got home and didn't see her."
A loud woman's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"I don't know!!"
The other person's answer made Mu Xiaoyu a little angry; "How could you not know? Didn't I give you money to take care of my mother? She's disappeared now, how could you not know?"
"Didn't your mom tell you? She told me two days ago not to come. She said she was feeling better and didn't need me anymore. I said it was fine if I didn't come, but the money couldn't be refunded, because we had already agreed on that..."
Before the other person could finish speaking, Mu Xiaoyu interrupted impatiently, "Tell me where my mom is right now!!"
"How should I know? I've already told you I haven't been there for two days."
"Then why didn't you tell me? I'm the one who gave you the money. You should have told me if you wanted to leave."
"Why don't you ask your mom yourself?"
"My mom hasn't used her phone in ages, you know that!"
"That's none of my business. As your daughter, you run around everywhere without watching over yourself. What kind of daughter are you? I don't have time to argue with you. I have to get to work!"
The other party rudely hung up the phone. Mu Xiaoyu was angry and anxious, so she called back repeatedly, but was eventually blocked by the other party.
She was so anxious that she wanted to go down and confront that person.
Just as she rushed out the door, a small, elderly woman carrying a basket on her back staggered toward her.
"mom!!!"
Mu Xiaoyu rushed forward quickly and took the basket off the old woman's back.
The room was full of wild mushrooms; it seemed the old woman had gone into the mountains to pick them.
Mu Xiaoyu angrily threw the basket of wild mushrooms and mushrooms on the ground.
"Mom! You're not in good health, why do you still want to go into the mountains to pick mushrooms? Are you crazy? What if you run into wolves or wild boars?"
The old woman bent down to pick up the fallen mushrooms, then looked up and smiled apologetically, "Little Fish, Mommy's feeling better now, don't worry, it's alright. Mommy's going to pick some mushrooms to sell, it'll help supplement the family income."
Mu Xiaoyu's eyes reddened again.
"Mom! I can work, you don't need to work."
The old woman raised her withered hand and grasped Mu Xiaoyu's delicate, fair hand; "Xiaoyu, your mother has spent a lot of money on illnesses over the years. It's your mother's fault that you're suffering. Your mother wants to do something to make it up to you."
Mu Xiaoyu shook her head, crying; "Mom, I can do it. I can earn lots and lots of money. I don't need you to work. You just need to stay home and recover. You have to believe me."
The old lady held her daughter's hand tightly, tears welling in her eyes.
Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of Chen Zhe and Tang Zihao standing behind Mu Xiaoyu, and her heart skipped a beat.
"Little Fish, who...who are they?"
Mu Xiaoyu didn't know how to explain it either; she was too nervous when she came and forgot about this.
"They are my colleagues..."
"We're classmates!"
Tang Zihao walked over enthusiastically.
The old woman looked completely bewildered; "Are you colleagues or classmates?"
At this moment, Chen Zhe walked over; "Auntie, we are both colleagues and classmates. We came to your house today to visit. I wonder if you would like to welcome us?"
The old woman breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that they had come for a visit.
"Welcome, welcome! You're Little Fish's friends, of course I welcome you. Come on in, everyone, I'll cook for you."
The old woman tried to pick up the basket again, but Mu Xiaoyu snatched it away.
"Mom, let me do it."
Just after she snatched it, Tang Zihao snatched it away again.
Without hesitation, he carried it on his back; "Let's leave the heavy lifting to the men!"
He showed off his slender arms, trying to demonstrate his strength, but it wasn't very convincing.
Mu Xiaoyu looked at Chen Zhe somewhat awkwardly, unsure if this would work.
"Let him carry it."
Chen Zhe spoke up, and Mu Xiaoyu finally let go.
The old woman smiled and then went inside.
...
Tang Zihao and Mu Xiaoyu were washing mushrooms in the yard, while the bodyguard chopped firewood nearby, and Chen Zhe was sitting in the kitchen adding firewood to the stove.
The old woman stood beside the stove.
She wasn't particularly old. Although her hands were thin and rough, there weren't many wrinkles on her arms. Her eyes were sunken, she had heavy dark circles, her hair was gray, and her skin had deep wrinkles and creases because she was so thin, making her look very old.
The woman stood in front of the stove, holding a dish brush, and was scrubbing the pot.
"It's rare for guests to come to our home, and we don't have much to offer you, so please don't mind."
"Auntie, you're being too polite. We're friends with Xiaoyu, we're not that pretentious."
The woman suddenly stopped washing the pot.
She turned her head and looked at Chen Zhe with a complicated expression. Chen Zhe felt a little uncomfortable under her strange gaze.
"What's wrong, Auntie? Is there something dirty on my face?"
The woman shook her head.
After struggling internally for a while, he suddenly knelt on the ground without warning.
Chen Zhe was shocked when he saw this and quickly stepped forward to help her up; "Auntie, what happened to you?"
The woman began to cry.
“I know you’re not Xiaoyu’s friends. Xiaoyu has never said anything about you. Although I’m just a country woman, I’ve seen a bit of the world. Your clothes are very expensive. Xiaoyu doesn’t know any rich people like that. She just works at an ordinary travel agency, earning a little over 6,000 yuan a month. She can’t even afford my medicine. I know she must have borrowed some money. Creditors came to our door a couple of days ago. You must be her creditors too. Sir, you seem much easier to talk to than them. I beg you, please don’t push Xiaoyu so hard. I’m afraid she’ll go astray. I’m kneeling down and begging you. I’ll go into the mountains to pick mushrooms in the future. I’ll pay back the money with Xiaoyu. Please give us more time…”
...
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