Chapter 8 Her Call for Mother...?
The scorching sun baked the vast earth, sending up rolling waves of heat.
Even the shade of the straw hat couldn't block the scorching heat. Wen Yu had been working for a long time, so she took a short break, leaning on her hoe.
Sweat trickled down her forehead, dripping onto the dry soil beneath her feet, leaving dark dots that evaporated in the next second.
Hoeing the fields at midday, sweat drips onto the soil beneath the crops.
The verses I used to read in textbooks now feel incredibly heavy.
Food is hard-won. She and the villagers have worked hard for a long time, but they still don't know when they will see a harvest. They can only hope that the seeds they planted will grow well and help them get through this difficult famine year.
"Wen girl!" came Aunt Wang's voice from afar.
Hearing the call, Wen Yu instinctively smiled: "Auntie!"
In this strange world where she had no relatives or friends, she had long regarded these villagers as her own family.
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw Granny Wang leading a woman briskly along the edge of the field.
The woman wore a simple cloth skirt and a simple hairpin, her hair was neatly combed, and she was very clean and tidy, but her face showed a hint of timidity.
Wen Yu recognized her; she was Sister Lin, who rarely left the village. Her husband had died early, and she lived alone in the empty house.
“Wen girl,” Aunt Wang brought Sister Lin to Wen Yu and sighed, “your Sister Lin has something to ask of you.”
Aunt Lin twisted the faded hem of her clothes, her head bowed low, her voice barely audible: "Wen girl, I...I want to ask you for a favor..."
She looked up, her eyes filled with a desperate plea: "Could you go to the city and bring me something for my daughter?"
"In the city?" Wen Yu was taken aback, a slight thought stirring in her heart.
This was the first time she had heard villagers actively mention the outside world.
The village is isolated, with no cattle or horses. The only animal that Li Bo keeps is a skinny old donkey that pulls the millstone. On weekdays, few people even leave the village.
Although it's not far from the city, the village has long been abandoned and is extremely poor. The villagers have no money to go out and spend, and outsiders don't come to the village. The two sides have almost no contact.
Aunt Wang quickly explained, "Oh, that happened years ago."
"Back then, there was no famine. The Shen family in the city came to recruit maids, saying that they would provide food and lodging and the monthly salary would be quite good. Your brother Lin thought of finding a good future for his daughter, so he sent Xiao Lan there."
"Later, there was a famine, the river dried up, and the village well became unusable." Aunt Wang's voice lowered. "To find water for everyone, your brother Lin went up the mountain alone and encountered a pack of wolves. He escaped, but his injuries were too severe. Alas... he endured for more than ten days, but he still couldn't make it."
"After that, only your sister-in-law Lin was at home. She's timid and afraid of danger on the road, so she doesn't dare to go far. She hasn't heard from her daughter for over three years. The other day, she heard you and A-Yue talking about going to the city to buy things, and she couldn't sit still..."
Wen Yu felt as if something had struck her heart hard.
Hearing another woman's longing for her daughter, she couldn't help but think of her own mother, who lived in another time and space.
In her original world, it's unclear whether she disappeared or fell into a deep sleep.
I wonder if my mother is worried about her right now?
Sister Lin looked up at Wen Yu, tears welling up in her eyes: "Wen Yu, these past few days, I keep dreaming about Xiao Lan. I dream that she's in the city, dressed in tattered clothes, huddled in a corner crying..."
She clung to my legs, crying and pleading, "Mother, take me home, Mother, I'm hungry, I'm cold..."
She sobbed uncontrollably, "I haven't seen her in so long, I don't know if she's gotten fatter or thinner, if she's eaten well and dressed warmly, if anyone is bullying her... I'm such a useless mother..."
A wave of sorrow welled up in Wen Yu's eyes.
She nodded without hesitation, her voice firm and resolute: "Okay, Sister Lin, don't worry. I'll be going to town in a few days, and I'll definitely bring your things there."
"Where is the Shen residence located? Please tell me, it will be easy for me to find it."
Sister Lin's dim eyes lit up, and tears welled up in her eyes. She was so excited that she could hardly speak, "Thank you, Wen girl! My girl's name is Lin Lan. She works at the Chen family mansion in the west of the city. It's just two miles from the city gate to the river! This is the dress I made for her, and a little travel money..."
With trembling hands, she stuffed a clean, neatly folded blue cloth bundle into Wen Yu's arms.
The bundle contained some food, a few coins, and a set of clothes that felt quite thick to the touch—all that this woman could offer her daughter.
After seeing off the profusely grateful Sister Lin, Wen Yu stood on the edge of the field, clutching the heavy bundle, and remained motionless for a long time.
It was indeed time to put going to the city on the agenda. She still had some spare money and planned to buy some chicks and ducklings in the city, which was a good opportunity.
Just as she was silently planning her move to the city, a line of text suddenly flashed across her vision:
[yan812: Xiaoyu, hang in there, Mom is waiting for you to come back.]
Wen Yu's breath hitched.
Yan? Yan?
Her mother's name is... Wen Yan.
Is it a coincidence?
Or... really?
She stared intently at the comment, her eyes unblinking.
The next second, a system notification sounded in her mind.
[Ding! User "yan812" has tipped you 50,000 live stream coins, triggering the "First Tip" achievement! Reward: 5,000 coins of the Dayin Dynasty currency, which has been sent to your personal space.]
[Friendly reminder: 5000 coins have limited purchasing power; please use them carefully.]
Wen Yu didn't have time to care about the currency used for the tips.
Her mind was filled with nothing but...
Mother!
Mom saw it!
All her strength crumbled at that moment, and tears instantly filled Wen Yu's eyes.
How long has she been here?
Endless fields to cultivate, endless water to carry, backs so sore from exhaustion...
She was exhausted, but she dared not collapse, because she knew that once she collapsed, she would never be able to go back.
She thought she had long been used to loneliness and to being strong.
But when I crossed time and space and saw my mother's words again...
She then realized that she had always just been that child who wanted to run into her mother's arms and cry her heart out.
Under the scorching sun, in the fields, and with tens of thousands of eyes watching in the live stream... everything around blurs into the distance.
In her world, only that comment and that name remained.
Wen Yu could no longer control herself and choked out a cry towards the empty camera in mid-air.
"……Mother?"
----
In the hospital room, Wen Yan had just put down her phone in frustration because she had reached the limit for tipping.
She and Yu Ning tried everything, but all the methods indicated that they had reached the limit and could not send any more.
She watched her daughter's figure, drenched in sweat under the scorching sun, on the screen, and felt so heartbroken she could hardly breathe.
Regardless of whether the soul on the screen belonged to her daughter in the hospital bed, at this moment, Wen Yan only wanted to do everything in her power to help her in any way she could.
Just then, Wen Yu on the screen seemed to be struck by something invisible, and suddenly raised his head and murmured.
"……Mother?"
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Wen Yan felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
She turned to look at her daughter, who was still sleeping soundly in the hospital bed, and then turned back to look at her daughter, whose face was covered in tears, on the phone screen.
Two completely different scenes overlapped and intersected before her eyes, ultimately pointing to the only truth.
—Her daughter is truly in another world.
“Xiaoyu…” Wen Yan’s phone slipped to the ground with a “thud.” As if all her strength had been drained, her legs went weak, and she slumped down on the edge of the hospital bed.
It really is her, it really is my daughter!
Tears streamed down her face like broken beads, instantly blurring her vision.
She gripped her daughter's hand tightly on the hospital bed, as if trying to grasp the elusive connection between the two worlds, and burst into tears, crying out, "Xiaoyu! My Xiaoyu!"
Yu Ning was also stunned by his daughter's call on the screen. He looked at Wen Yu on the hospital bed and his eyes instantly reddened.
----
The viewers in the live chat gradually realized something was wrong.
[What happened? Why is Wen Yu suddenly crying like this?]
Holy crap! Was that comment in the live chat that powerful?
[The immersion was so strong... I almost cried too.]
[Was it acting? The script was so sentimental? But... her crying made me so sad, and tears started flowing too.]
With technology so advanced these days, just go home if you miss it; the show can be filmed anytime.
[This stirred up my homesickness...]
Netizens are discussing it extensively, expressing curiosity, emotion, doubt, or meme-making.
Wen Yu did not respond, but instead forcefully wiped away the tears on her face.
Just then, A-Yue ran over to give her some water and asked with concern, "Sister, why are your eyes so red?"
Wen Yu smiled, took the water and gulped down a mouthful, suppressing her turbulent emotions: "Sand got in my eyes."
She cannot stop, she cannot fall.
Her mother was watching her, waiting for her to come home.
----
On the screen, Wen Yu had already resumed her work, burying herself in her tasks as if nothing had ever happened.
Yu Ning finally suppressed her emotions and reached out to pull Wen Yan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, up.
Wen Yan looked up at him, her face streaked with tears, but her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
“Ah Ning…” Her voice was hoarse, yet it carried an unprecedented strength, “Let me go.”
Yu Ning subconsciously let go of her hand.
Wen Yan suddenly stood up, her movements slightly unsteady from sitting for so long.
She took one last deep look at her sleeping daughter on the hospital bed, then turned and rushed out of the ward.
"Ayan! Where are you going?" Yu Ning hurriedly stopped her.
Wen Yan stopped and turned around abruptly.
"I need to find someone, I need to find a way to connect these two worlds!"
"Look, how much thinner and darker she's become since she went there! Her hands used to never have to wash a bowl, but now she's doing this kind of hard and tiring farm work!"
Yu Ning stared blankly at his wife.
At this moment, she was like a female animal protecting her cubs, straightening her back as if to declare war on the world.
Wen Yan said, enunciating each word clearly: "My daughter is suffering in another world. As her mother, I will find a way to help her, even if it means turning the world upside down!"
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com