Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
Chapter 114: The 1980s Villain’s Biological Mother (7)
That night, everyone in the house had gone to sleep.
The old Wang couple quietly got up and began gathering their things in secret.
Wang Xiaomei hadn't dared to sleep. Every so often, she peeked toward her parents' room, keeping an eye on their movements.
Sure enough, the door eventually creaked open.
The two slipped outside one after the other, speaking in hushed voices about something she couldn't quite make out.
Wang Xiaomei hurriedly threw on her clothes, pulled a large hat over her head, and grabbed the rolling pin she had secretly taken from the kitchen.
The moment her parents left the courtyard, she quietly hurried after them.
As soon as the three of them were gone, Mu Shuhui also emerged, fully dressed.
She had always been a night owl. It was only a little past nine, so there was no way she could fall asleep. The moment she heard movement outside, she got dressed and came out.
She followed them all the way out of the village.
Just as they reached the side of the road, a commotion suddenly broke out ahead.
“Xiaomei! Is that you, you ungrateful girl? What are you doing following us?”
Wang Xiaomei had planned to ambush them halfway and snatch the money, but before she could make a move, she had already been discovered.
Under the moonlight, the old Wang couple recognized their daughter's clothes at a glance and immediately grabbed hold of her, scolding her nonstop.
Wang Xiaomei had already thrown caution to the wind. She lunged straight for the cloth bundle tucked in her mother's arms.
“Hey! Xiaomei, you ungrateful girl! Get away!”
“Why should all of it go to Eldest Brother? I deserve a share too!”
The argument quickly turned into a struggle in the middle of the dirt road. Before long, the old Wang couple managed to restrain their daughter, and Father Wang, furious beyond reason, raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face.
“You shameless little wretch! What makes you think this money belongs to you?!”
The slap left Wang Xiaomei dizzy and seeing stars. Enraged, she shoved him away, yanked the rolling pin tucked behind her waist, and swung it straight at his head.
“Why can't I take it? I'm taking it whether you like it or not!”
Caught completely off guard, Father Wang took the blow head on. His vision spun, and clutching his forehead, he staggered before collapsing to the ground.
“Old man!”
Mother Wang rushed over in panic to help him up, then turned to glare viciously at her daughter.
“You heartless beast! You'd hit your own father over money? We raised you for nothing!”
By then, Wang Xiaomei had come back to her senses and was frightened herself. The rolling pin slipped from her fingers and hit the ground with a clatter.
She wanted to run, but her eyes stayed locked on the cloth bundle in her mother's arms. Suddenly, she lunged forward and snatched it away.
This time she got it. Feeling the weight inside and guessing it was money, she wasted no time and bolted down the road.
“My money! Wang Xiaomei, you ungrateful brat, get back here! Bring my money back!”
Mother Wang was so furious that she took off after her daughter without even caring that her husband was still lying on the ground, weakly calling out for help.
Hidden in the shadows, Mu Shuhui watched the entire drama unfold. Without hesitation, she quietly followed after them.
Perhaps money really did give people superhuman strength. Mother Wang actually caught up to Wang Xiaomei, tackled her to the ground, and angrily slapped her several times.
In the blink of an eye, the two were wrestling each other. One desperately wanted the money, while the other refused to let go, and neither was willing to back down.
During the struggle, the small cloth pouch holding the cash flew out of their hands and landed in the nearby cornfield.
Mother Wang tried to run over and pick it up, but Wang Xiaomei grabbed onto her and refused to let her go, dragging them both into another round of fighting.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Mu Shuhui quietly slipped into the cornfield, scooped up the fallen pouch, and quickly escaped along a different path.
By the time she returned home, the two children were still asleep. Without wasting a second, she entered her private space and freshened herself up.
Only then did she open the blue cloth pouch to see what was inside.
The first thing she found were three bulging envelopes.
Each had writing on it. One was labeled “Compensation Payment” and was marked with the Wang family's address, Wang Jun's name, and his identification number.
Mu Shuhui pulled out the contents and froze.
Inside was a stack of crisp, brand new banknotes. They were so fresh that they looked as if they had just come off the press, all 100 yuan bills from this year's newly issued series.
After counting them carefully, the total came to exactly 3,000 yuan.
Another envelope contained money that Wang Jun, the original host’s husband, had sent home along with his letters. The bills inside were older and more worn, a mismatched stack that added up to 240 yuan.
The last envelope was filled with loose change. The largest bill was 10 yuan, while the smallest were just a few jiao. Altogether, there were probably another thirty or forty yuan inside.
Mu Shuhui smiled.
Talk about effortless luck. Best of all, no one knew the money was now in her hands.
Without hesitation, she stored everything safely in her space, stretched lazily, and stepped back out.
She had just climbed into bed when a voice suddenly spoke.
“Where did you go?”
Startled, Mu Shuhui quickly realized it was Wang Chaoyang. Keeping her composure, she casually replied, “Just went to the ¹outhouse.”
Wang Chaoyang pressed his lips together and said nothing.
He knew she was lying. He had already been awake when she slipped out.
After getting up to check, he discovered that his grandparents and aunt were gone as well.
Since it seemed his mother hadn't come back at a disadvantage, he chose not to expose her lie. He simply rolled over and went back to sleep.
……
In the end, Mu Shuhui didn't get much sleep.
In the middle of the night, the neighbors came pounding on the front gate.
“Junzi's widow! Your father in-law's been taken to the hospital. We heard his condition is serious and they need money for treatment. You should go take a look!”
“Your mother in-law's face is covered in scratches too. They say they were robbed on the road...”
Those two old troublemakers could live or die for all she cared.
Mu Shuhui pretended not to hear them, rolled over, and stayed in bed.
The neighbors assumed she hadn't woken up and ended up forcing the gate open.
Only when people were gathered outside her room, knocking on the door itself, did Mu Shuhui throw on a jacket and get up.
As soon as she opened the door, she found several village aunties standing there with anxious expressions, hurriedly explaining what had happened.
“Your in-laws have both been admitted to the hospital. That girl Xiaomei actually abandoned them and left on her own. No one knows where she went. The old Wang couple are all alone at the town hospital now. The village chief is staying with them and asked us to come tell you.”
Looking completely baffled, Mu Shuhui sighed.
“Why tell me? I'm just a woman on my own. You should notify their son instead. If something happens to the two of them, I don't want that responsibility on my shoulders.”
The women at the door fell silent.
Thinking back to how the Wang family had insulted Mu Shuhui all day long, asking her to go care for them now really was awkward.
“The village chief told us to pass the message along. If possible, maybe you could go check on them first. Once it's daylight, we'll notify your eldest brother in-law and let their family take over.”
Mu Shuhui pulled her jacket tighter around herself.
“It's the middle of the night and pitch black outside. I'm still recovering and can barely walk. Besides, I have two children at home. Even if I went to the hospital, I don't have some miracle medicine to save anyone. The doctors are the ones who should handle it. With the village chief there, nothing serious should happen.”
“You aunties have been running around all night too. You should head home and get some rest.”
With that, she waved them off, stepped back inside, and shut the door.
The women exchanged helpless glances.
One of them finally said, “Well, we've delivered the message. Besides, with Junzi's widow in her current condition, by the time she made it there the sun would probably be up anyway. Let her be.”
“Right. Let's head home ourselves. Running around this late is exhausting, and we've still got work to do tomorrow.”
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Glossary:
OUTHOUSE
Definition: A small toilet structure located outside the main house, typically a simple pit toilet without modern plumbing.
Chinese: 茅房 / 厕所
Usage: Use “outhouse” for the rural 1970s/80s setting when referring to the outdoor toilet itself.
Example: “I went to the outhouse.”
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