Chapter 65: Lu Tongtong’s Transformation

Finding no one at home, Qu Lianying had no choice but to bring Lu Tongtong back with her.

Their family lived in housing allocated by the garment factory: a two bedroom, one living room layout, which was more than enough for the four of them.

Before she even opened the door, Qu Lianying, carrying a basket of groceries, caught a whiff of a delicious aroma. She wondered who could be stewing meat in the middle of the day when the door suddenly swung open from the inside.

“Mom, you’re finally back!” Qin Caiyun said as she opened the door and crouched to scoop Lu Tongtong into her arms. “Tongtong, have you eaten well today?”

Qu Lianying, surprised, closed the door. “Caiyun, you got off work so early today?”

Qin Caiyun carried Lu Tongtong to the living room, bringing out a bowl of chicken soup garnished with chopped green onions from the kitchen. “I happened to find something good today and wanted to get off work early to make soup for Tongtong.”

Qu Lianying went to wash her hands in the kitchen and placed the pot of soup from the stove onto the table.

Lifting the lid, she saw half a chicken stewing inside, a few slices of some black, unidentified ingredients, and a handful of bright red goji berries. She sniffed, it was this very pot of soup that had sent the tempting aroma floating to the door earlier.

“Caiyun, what kind of chicken soup is this? It smells so good, not like ordinary seasonings.”

“It’s wild mushrooms. I happened to get some today,” Qin Caiyun said, sitting in front of Lu Tongtong. She scooped a spoonful, blew on it to cool it, and gently fed it to her daughter. “Good girl, drink your soup.”

“Mushrooms?” Qu Lianying hurriedly took a spoonful for herself as well. Tasting it, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes. “This soup is really good. By the way, Tongtong today…”

Qu Lianying rambled on about what had happened earlier that day. Suddenly, she heard Qin Caiyun’s surprised voice: “Mom! You need to come quickly…”

Qu Lianying hurriedly dropped her spoon and ran out of the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Tongtong, without anyone’s help, was quietly holding her bowl and drinking the soup. She was calm and obedient, entirely unlike the crying and fussing she used to do, even more so than when they were at the State run Restaurant.

Qin Caiyun crouched in front of Lu Tongtong, tears streaming down her face. “Mom, look! This is amazing, Tongtong is actually eating by herself.”

Qu Lianying rubbed her eyes hard. What was happening?

Then she suddenly remembered something. “Caiyun, did you buy the mushrooms today from those two little girls? One of them was smaller than Tongtong, probably just over a year old.”

Qin Caiyun paused midwipe, looking up in shock. “Mom, how did you know?” She didn’t seem to have mentioned it before.

“That’s right. It must be them,” Qu Lianying said, slapping her thigh as she recounted the scene at the State run Restaurant earlier.

After hearing the story, Qin Caiyun’s mouth fell open. “You mean Tongtong actually went to eat the food given by the little girl, and after eating, she was no different from before, even cried?”

What a miraculous thing. Over the past few years, they had taken Tongtong to countless doctors, even at Jing City Hospital, but the doctors all said there was nothing they could do.

They didn’t understand the condition and didn’t know if it was even a disease, only speculating that it might be due to hypoxia at birth.

Qin Caiyun had later researched hypoxia patients and discovered that their symptoms were completely different from Tongtong’s. The worst cases could barely walk and needed someone to support them.

Some were even worse, almost like idiots, unable to recognize anyone, not even family. They got lost easily, ignored instructions, and could even develop epilepsy.

Tongtong’s symptoms were different. She could walk normally and sleep obediently. Apart from not interacting with people, not eating by herself, and being unable to express emotions, she was like any ordinary child.

This was why Qin Caiyun could believe her daughter’s condition wasn’t caused by hypoxia; there had to be another underlying issue, just not yet identified.

Now that Tongtong had changed, did it mean she was getting better?

Qin Caiyun shared this speculation with Qu Lianying, who agreed it was a strong possibility.

Everything Tongtong had done indicated that she wasn’t incapable, just unwilling to interact. If she could slowly improve, it would be a truly wonderful development.

That evening, when Lu Guoqing returned home and learned of Lu Tongtong’s progress, he too felt that things were moving in the right direction.

They decided to test Lu Tongtong. But after two rounds, she showed no reaction.

Helpless, the three of them brought out the leftover chicken soup from noon.

And then, the unexpected happened. Lu Tongtong reacted to the smell of the soup, this time even more noticeably than at lunchtime. She licked her lips and even said she was hungry.

The results left them with mixed emotions.

Joy, because Tongtong had truly changed and they finally saw hope after two long years.

Worry, because Tongtong only responded to things related to the little girl, yet they couldn’t track her down or even know who she was. Where could they possibly find her?

After a long family discussion, they decided to first identify the girl.

Before morning could even arrive, Qin Caiyun had already grabbed a basket of items and knocked on He Qiu’s door that very night.

……

Walking back to the inn from the garment factory, Fang Mingxi was utterly exhausted. She kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the bed, immediately falling asleep.

When she woke again, hunger had roused her. The room was dark, and she didn’t know where her cousin had gone.

Clothes and daily necessities were scattered all over the floor, leaving hardly any space to step.

Pulling back the curtains, Fang Mingxi saw that it was already night.

She stood by the window, watching the children along the street being called home by adults, while the road itself was nearly empty, making the entire county town feel deserted.

Fang Mingxi sighed. In these unusual times, not only were there few recreational activities, but people also avoided staying outside at night, wary of getting into trouble.

Four more years to 1977, how would they possibly endure this time?

“Creak…”

Tong Xueyan gently pushed the door open, carrying takeout food she had brought back from outside. She spotted the figure by the window and snapped on the light.

“Xixi, you’re awake? Are you hungry? Sister’s got food here.”

The room lit up suddenly. Fang Mingxi squinted, adjusted to the light, and jumped down from the stool to stand in front of Tong Xueyan. “Sister, what are we eating?”

Tong Xueyan placed the takeout on the table. “Rice noodles, canned fruit, and some big, red apples.”

“Apples!”

Fang Mingxi’s eyes fixated on the bright red apples in the bag, each one large and shiny, looking crisp and delicious.

Thinking back, they hadn’t seen apples in the mountains. Maybe they could look for some tomorrow?

Tong Xueyan opened the food container. The white rice noodles were speckled with a few drops of chili oil and some fragrant minced meat.

She pulled out two pairs of chopsticks and split the noodles into two portions using another container. “We’ll eat the apples later. I heard the rice noodles from the State run Restaurant are delicious, we’ll pack some tomorrow to take back.”

Pack some for later!

Fang Mingxi quietly swallowed a mouthful of noodles. If the old tractor driver saw them buying so much, she wondered if he’d kick them off without hesitation.