Yun Qinghuan heaved a sigh of relief. Currently, the road was all dirt, and the ox cart’s journey was particularly bumpy. It felt like the bumps would make her breakfast come back up, making her uncomfortable. She didn’t really want to engage in conversation if someone came to talk to her now.
However, it seemed impolite not to. At least for now, no one had approached her for a conversation.
The dusty road, due to the cart’s jolting, had silenced the young people who were previously chattering away. Clearly, the bumps were making them uncomfortable too.
On the contrary, An’an continued to bounce around, full of energy, looking around.
In the midst of the journey, Yun Qinghuan was concerned about the rough road. If the constant jolting affected Bai Naihan’s injured leg, it wouldn’t be good. She raised her voice to ask him, “Is your leg okay like this?”
The man sat as steady as a rock. Even though the road was rough, he seemed unfazed. Shaking his head in response, he gestured towards the wooden boards securing his legs.
Before leaving in the morning, he had used two pieces of wood to secure his legs. Thankfully, it didn’t become too uncomfortable. When Yun Qinghuan was starting to find it unbearable, the cart finally stopped, signaling that they should have covered more than half an hour’s distance.
Grateful that they had chosen the ox cart, driven swiftly by Old Man Li, Yun Qinghuan stood up suddenly, feeling pain in her rear. Her legs went numb, and she almost stumbled. Fortunately, Bai Naihan reached out to steady her with a quick “Be careful.”
Once she regained her balance, he promptly let go, maintaining a certain distance from her.
Yun Qinghuan smiled at him, “Thank you.”
Then, she waited for a moment until her legs were no longer numb before getting off the cart.
Once she stepped down, she intended to lift An’an off the cart, but the mischievous child had other plans. Suddenly standing up, he swung his arms, saying, “Watch me!”
“Bang!” He jumped down from the cart in one go.
Perhaps he put too much force into the jump; he took several stumbling steps forward, nearly falling.
Yun Qinghuan watched the poor child with her heart in her throat.
Oddly, An’an hadn’t noticed, proudly running over and looking up at Yun Qinghuan, “Mom, I got down by myself!”
Clearly, he wanted her praise.
The smile faded from Yun Qinghuan’s face, and her expression turned a bit serious.
Everyone was off the cart, and Old Man Li had other things to attend to. She needed to get Bai Naihan’s wheelchair down first, let him sit down, and then deal with this naughty kid.
Old Man Li came over to help her lift the wheelchair to the ground. Bai Naihan, without assistance, got down from the cart, then sat in the wheelchair.
Yun Qinghuan took out fifty cents to give to Old Man Li, but he waved his hand, “Just give it to me when you come back. No need to worry about it now.”
Since they were all from the same commune, everyone knew each other, so there was no need to worry about someone not paying.
“Okay.”
Yun Qinghuan agreed and put the money back.
Old Man Li, driving the horse-drawn cart, continued ahead, saying, “Wait around here at around 2 p.m. this afternoon. I’ll come here to pick you up.”
Then he slowly moved away.
Once everyone was gone, Yun Qinghuan looked at An’an with a serious expression.
Sensing her anger, An’an, who was just laughing, felt it too. The smile faded from his face, and he looked at her cautiously, fidgeting with his clothes, “Mom?”
“Do you know where you went wrong?” Yun Qinghuan asked, her voice flat.
An’an shook his head, “Mom, where did I go wrong?”
He had thought about it but couldn’t figure out what he had done wrong.
After all, he was still young and not very sensible.
Yun Qinghuan didn’t actually expect him to figure it out himself. She directly said, “Should you have jumped down from the cart just now? The cart is so high, even higher than you. If the ox suddenly ran, and you fell off, what if you got hurt?”
Especially if the ox suddenly moved backward and stepped on him, the consequences would be unthinkable.
“Do you really want to get hurt?”
Feeling Yun Qinghuan’s anger, An’an pursed his lips. Sensing her disapproval, he cautiously looked at her, reaching out to hold her hand, but she avoided him.
“Mom, I’m sorry. I was wrong. I won’t jump down next time.”
He actually wanted to say that he had considered it and jumping from that height was fine. Rural kids were tough, and climbing trees and doing somersaults were common. However, An’an didn’t dare to contradict; he felt that if he did, his mom might not like him.
Yun Qinghuan naturally saw that his apology wasn’t sincere, but she didn’t mind. She simply said, “An’an, before you do anything, you must consider your safety first. Never do dangerous things. Don’t harbor any illusions. Maybe the first nine times you jump down, nothing happens, but if there’s an accident just once, you won’t have a chance to regret.”
In the original story, this antagonist had a reckless personality. If only he had been more careful and thoughtful, the outcome wouldn’t have been so tragic.
Bai Naihan, beside her, silently watched Yun Qinghuan admonish Bai Jin’an without saying a word.
He agreed with Yun Qinghuan’s words.
On the battlefield, every decision had to be made with extreme caution. Sometimes, neglecting a small detail could cost lives.
He also felt that Bai Jin’an’s sudden jump from the cart was too dangerous.
“An’an, do you want to end up like your dad?”
Her words carried a stern tone.
Bai Wensong often went hunting in the mountains, and there were never any issues before. So, when he went there that time, the original host didn’t pay much attention. However, little did she know she would receive news of his death.
Speaking of Bai Wensong, everyone present suddenly fell silent. Yun Qinghuan realized she shouldn’t have brought up Bai Wensong and apologized to An’an, “Sorry, Mom shouldn’t have mentioned your dad.”
Bai Jin’an, thinking about his dad, suddenly burst into tears. He rushed into Yun Qinghuan’s arms, tightly hugging her waist. “Mom, An’an was wrong. An’an won’t do these dangerous things again.”
He thought about how his dad went missing just to find bird eggs for him. Now, he would never see his dad again. His grandmother said his dad was sleeping, but he knew his dad was gone.
The kids in the village said he was now a child without a dad.
An’an didn’t want to end up like his dad, unable to see his mom, grandmother, and uncle.
The little one cried so hard he hiccuped, showing genuine remorse.
Seeing him cry like this, Yun Qinghuan felt a bit distressed. Ignoring his dirty clothes, she hugged him for comfort. “As long as An’an knows he was wrong, that’s good. Before doing anything next time, be sure to think carefully, and avoid doing dangerous things.”
At this moment, a man suddenly ran over with a three or four-year-old boy in his arms, rushing forward anxiously. As he ran, he shouted, “Kid, don’t sleep. We’re almost at the hospital.”
Behind the man was probably his wife, wiping tears and following.
People passing by sighed, “It’s a tragedy. The child climbed onto the roof when no one was paying attention, accidentally fell, and landed on a big stone on the ground. He hit his head, and it was bleeding. His face turned pale instantly. No one knows if he can be saved.”
Beside them, a pale-faced An’an sniffled in fear.
∞
Translator Note
Next release
– Dec. 28
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