Chapter 2 Son
Du Ruo walked forward with full of doubts. When she passed the entrance of the farmers' market, she looked at the gate of the farmers' market, thought of the situation at home, and walked directly to the fruit stall.
Although there are not many types of fruits on the stall, there are all the popular ones, including apples, pears, bananas, strawberries, and pineapples.
Du Ruo ordered a pound of apples and half a bunch of bananas, spending a total of RMB 1.5, intending to take them back for her children.
After paying the bill and turning to leave, she saw a child in front of the vegetable stall. He was about four or five years old, completely dirty, wearing only a torn vest that was so dirty that the original color could not be seen. He was dragging a large basket in his hand and was crawling on the ground picking up unwanted rotten vegetable leaves.
Du Ruo's heart suddenly ached and heat rushed to her eyes. She stretched out her trembling hands, touched her chest, and ran over quickly.
When the little boy saw her coming, his eyes lit up, then dimmed in an instant, with a hint of panic in his eyes.
Du Ruo rushed forward, held his son in his arms, and asked him, "Why are you wearing so little? Mom, where are the clothes I gave you to wear when you left this morning?"
Han Zhe whispered, "Grandma said she didn't let me wear it because she was afraid it would get dirty."
Why are you afraid of getting it dirty? You're just afraid of finding it when you come back, right?
Du Ruo was so distressed that she cried. Her son, who was only four years old, was so precocious that it made her feel distressed.
Du Ruo stroked her son's hair gently and glanced at the basket: "Who asked you to pick it?"
When Han Zhe saw his mother asking, he whispered, "Grandma asked me to pick it up."
Du Ruo frowned, took out her handkerchief and wiped the dirt off her son's face, saying in a reproachful tone, "Why didn't you tell your mother? You are a child, if you have any problems, you should tell your mother and she will solve them for you."
Han Zhe kept shaking his head: "Mom is already very tired. I see that you don't look well recently. I'm afraid that you will be like Wang Xiaohu's mother and never wake up after falling asleep."
Du Ruo said: "Who told you that?"
Han Zhe whispered, "Grandma said that it would be better if you died. I heard it secretly."
Du Ruo sneered in her heart. If both mother and son were dead, then it would be over.
Du Ruo asked, "Have you had lunch?"
Han Zhe shook his head: "Grandma said she wouldn't let me eat unless I filled a basket with rotten vegetable leaves."
Du Ruo was furious. Her mother-in-law gave her five yuan a month for food expenses while she was babysitting her children. It was simply too much for her to take her food expenses and let her son go out to pick up rotten vegetable leaves.
She never knew about this.
She asked, “When did it start?”
Han Zhe said, “It started last week.”
Does that mean the Du family knows that Han Ming is in Hong Kong City?
Du Ruo held her son in her arms, feeling his warm body, tears streaming down her face.
She recalled that when her son had the accident, she had a high fever and held his cold body, but she couldn't warm it up. She was shivering from the cold and was frozen from the inside out. She woke up from her dreams countless nights after that.
Du Ruo calmed herself down, threw the basket aside, took her son and left.
Han Zhe struggled to pick it up, but Du Ruo held him back and said, "No, this is not what you should do. Mom will take care of everything."
Looking at his mother's determined eyes, Han Zhe slowly stopped struggling. He looked back every few steps and was pulled away by his mother.
Du Ruo took her son home and thought of Han Zhe's words. She felt her pocket and found that she had about ten yuan left. She led Han Zhe into the canteen.
Han Zhe hid behind his mother, staring at the colorful snacks on the counter. The financial situation of both mother and son has always been bad, and Han Zhe never asked for anything.
Du Ruo ordered two packs of instant noodles with minced meat and a pack of dried noodles, and asked Sun's wife, "How much is it in total?"
Looking down, she saw Xiaozhe staring at the counter in a daze. Du Ruo smiled and asked, "What do you want to eat?"
Han Zhe shook his head hesitantly, and Du Ruo said, "Then I'll order two packs of hawthorn slices and one grilled fish fillet."
Mrs. Sun said, "Two packs of instant noodles with minced meat cost one yuan, dried noodles cost one yuan, and hawthorn slices plus grilled fish slices cost fifty cents, a total of two yuan and fifty cents."
Du Ruo paid the money, handed the hawthorn slices and grilled fish slices to Han Zhe, and went home with the instant noodles and vermicelli.
Han Zhe held the snacks in his dirty little hands, with a big smile on his face, and ran around his mother happily.
Han's house is a small courtyard. As soon as the mother and son walked through the door, a little fat boy rushed over and tried to snatch something from Han Zhe's hand, but was slapped back by Du Ruo.
With a "slap" sound, the crisp sound of slapping rang out in the yard, accompanied by the sound of the little fat boy Han Chong crying loudly.
Han Zhe looked at his mother worriedly, bit his lip, and took a step forward unnoticed. He wanted to protect his mother.
Mother Han rushed out of the kitchen, yelling, and hugged Han Chong in her arms, coaxing him, "Oh, my dear grandson, what's wrong with you?"
Han Chong pointed at Du Ruo and said, "How dare he hit me?"
Mother Han's expression suddenly changed. She said angrily, "You've grown up. Are you a capable person? Are you supported by some wild man?"
Du Ruo sneered and said, "Whether there is anyone to support me or not is none of your business. Han Zhe is your grandson, can you bear to let him starve?"
When Han's mother heard Du Ruo questioning her, she slapped her thigh and said, "Why didn't I give it to him? Doesn't Xiaozhe have a bowl of porridge every day?"
Du Ruo said, "Why did I hear that my son has no food to eat if he can't fill a basket of rotten vegetable leaves? Where is the food allowance I gave you? Did it all go into the dog's stomach?"
Han's eldest sister-in-law Liu Mei walked into the yard in a few steps, pointed at Du Ruo's nose and said, "A son of a labor reform prisoner, you want to eat without working? That little beggar on the street wants to exchange a basket of vegetable leaves for a bowl of porridge? Can he get it?"
Du Ruo asked coldly, "I pay the food allowance to my family every month, just to provide my son with a meal at noon. Are you reluctant to give it to me? Then take the money back, and you don't have to do it!"
Han's father walked out of the house and said with a stern face, "Second brother, I know that Han Ming has been gone for so many years, you may have other thoughts. You are still young, and I won't stop you, but you can't act like a tyrant at home."
Du Ruo was so angry that she laughed. She said, "It's none of your business whether I leave or not. You took my food money and didn't cook for my son. Then give me the money back!"
Liu Mei sneered and said, "If you want to leave, take this little bastard with you. No one will raise a bastard for you."
Du Ruo asked: "Who said my son is a bastard? Or, why don't you go ask Han Ming?"