The Funiu Mountain in the night was like a giant beast with its mouth wide open, as if it was about to swallow up the tiny village. The full moon was full of light, illuminating the dirt road under their feet. Qiao Xin brought her three adopted sons and successfully arrived at a valley behind the mountain. They were silent all the way, each with their own thoughts, and stopped in front of an inconspicuous mound.
Qiao Yunxin has recognized this place since he could remember. Every year when they worshipped their ancestors, Qiao Xin would bring them here to kowtow and burn paper.
Who is buried here? Every time they asked, Qiao Xin was either vague or remained silent. Why is this happening now?
Qiao Xin lit the candles and yellow paper, and silently said in her heart, "Since you have chosen to leave, I will live my life according to my own wishes."
She stood up, threw the hoe she brought at their feet, and pointed at the raised mound of earth, saying, "Dig!"
Qiao Yunxin and Qiao Yunting looked at their mother in astonishment.
What?
Calling a bunch of guys here late at night just to dig graves, what's the point of this?
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"Nothing. You've always wanted to know what's buried in here. Today I'll tell you. Now that the contents have been exposed to the light of day, everything will be clear!"
"Things, this isn't a person buried here?"
"It's just a cover-up!"
Qiao Xin was about to cry because of her adopted son’s stupidity. Where did her usual cleverness go?
She stopped talking and just picked up the hoe and started digging. How could Qiao Yunxin let her mother do it while they watched? She quickly took the hoe and started digging. Since her mother said that everything would be clear once it was dug out, why was she still hesitating?
Qiao Yunting glanced at his second brother and also picked up a shovel and started working. Only Qiao Yunqing had an unpredictable expression, his hands tightly clenched in his sleeves in the night.
My adoptive mother is acting abnormally now. What is wrong with her?
No, from the moment she entered the door, A'niang was completely different from before. The person in front of him was definitely not the adoptive mother he knew!
Then where did his adoptive mother go? But if she was not the same person, how would she know what was buried here? The woman in the previous life only revealed her identity to them little by little in the capital.
Qiao Yunqing's eyes were dark, but she knew that she shouldn't act rashly at this moment. He still couldn't figure out whether the other party was an enemy or a friend? No matter how much she hated her adoptive mother's behavior, she had never thought of taking her life.
Let’s take another look!
Qiao Yunxin dug for more than ten times and finally felt that there was an obstruction under his hands.
With a "bang", the hoe hit a hard object. Qiao Yunxin looked up at his mother, but got no response. He had no choice but to continue what he was doing.
When a three-foot square black box was lifted up, Qiao Xin breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the original body had not lied to her.
........
The dim oil lamp brought the only light to the low adobe house. Qiao Xin sat on the earthen kang in the side room, silent. After the three brothers came in, they found a place to sit down casually, just full of curiosity about the wooden box on the kang.
The first one who couldn't hold back was Qiao Yunting, "Mom, stop suing. Just tell me what you want to say. What's in this box?"
The strange silence was broken. Qiao Xin did not answer, but raised her hand and grasped the big rusty lock on the wooden box.
With a "click", the copper lock opened, and after opening the lid, Qiao Xin placed all the things on the kang. She placed the exquisite baby swaddling clothes in Qiao Yunting's hand, but the next words she said stopped him in his tracks!
"When I first saw you, you were wrapped in this swaddling cloth. The little person was wrapped in someone's arms. I don't know how long you were hungry. Your little face was blue and purple from the cold, but you didn't cry. If I hadn't felt the faint rise and fall of your chest, I would have thought you were dead.
After I brought you back home, I held you in my arms day and night for three consecutive months. It took for you to recover. It was also because of your hard work, Yun Ting, that you managed to survive even if you had to eat rice porridge. But you were extremely insecure since you were a child, and you followed me everywhere. It wasn't until you were ten years old that you felt better."
Qiao Yunting held the swaddling clothes, looked at his elder and second brothers, then at Qiao Xin, and tried to open his mouth but found that he could not make any sound.
What does this mean? He was picked up by his mother?
Qiao Xin didn't care about his reaction. She turned around and pointed at another pile of things, saying to Qiao Yunxin and Qiao Yunqing, "Yunxin, when you and Yunqing came to our house, one was five years old and the other was less than two years old. I don't know if you two are brothers or what kind of relationship you have, so I'll just let you call each other brothers. These are the accessories and clothes you're wearing, keep them all for yourselves."
Qiao Yunxin's reaction was better than that of his third brother. After all, when she came to Qiao Xin, she was five years old and had some memories. He just didn't expect that Qiao Xin would bring up his life experience again after so many years.
In fact, he didn't have much hope of finding his family. He saw his mother being killed with his own eyes. He had already regarded Qiao Xin as his own mother. "Mom, I know that I can survive because of you. It has nothing to do with others."
However, Qiao Xin's words exposed the reality, not wanting them to escape from it: "I didn't give birth to you. Whether or not you should seek the truth is up to you, not me!"
Qiao Yunqing suddenly raised his head and looked at him. After a long while, he slowly said, "But we were all raised by you and your grandfather. This is an indisputable fact. The kindness of raising us before we were born is even greater than heaven. Aren't you worried that I will find a better family and abandon you?"
Qiao Xin looked him straight in the eye. "The relationship between parents and children is a journey that goes on and on! I will accept whatever the outcome is. Now I don't intend to suppress your freedom and development anymore. You can live your life the way you want in the future!"
Qiao Yunting couldn't accept the news after hearing it in the middle of the night. It took him a long time to find his voice. "How is this possible?"
"Yun Ting, no mother would give up her son whom she has worked so hard to raise. But I have to face reality! Take a good look at what you have in your hand. Is this something our family can have? You have grown up and you have barely had a full meal, let alone used this kind of fine Shu brocade?"
"Maybe our grandpa bought it outside?" Qiao Yunting retorted subconsciously.
"Your grandfather was just an escort at first, and he became a hunter after taking you in. This Shu brocade is worth ten gold coins per foot. Yunqing and Yunxin's clothes are all top-quality silk brocade, especially these two jade pendants. Even someone like me who doesn't have much experience can tell that these are top-notch items."
Qiao Yunqing suddenly asked, "Why are you telling us all this all of a sudden? Weren't we all fine before?"
Qiao Xin shook her head tiredly, "Because someone is looking for you again! We have already moved once to avoid these people. At that time, you were still young, your grandfather was seriously ill, and your nominal adoptive father never came back.
It is already difficult for me, a woman, to take care of you three children and an elderly person. I dare not gamble on human nature, so I can only bring you to hide here.
But now you are all grown up, you have the ability to protect yourself, and you can distinguish right from wrong. There is no point in hiding any longer. If it is a blessing, it is not a disaster. If it is a disaster, it is inevitable. This matter should have a result.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
