Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback

CHAPTER 122: The 1980s Villain’s Biological Mother (15)

　　Once she had the keys to the apartment, Mu Shuhui opened the windows to let some fresh air in. No one had lived there for nearly half a year, so it needed some time to air out.

　　The young man even borrowed a broom from a neighbor and helped Mu Shuhui and the two children clean the place.

　　The apartment was already quite clean overall, so they only needed to give everything a quick dusting.

　　They finished while it was still fairly early. To thank the helpful young man, Mu Shuhui insisted on treating him to a meal.

　　He tried to refuse, but Mu Shuhui practically dragged him into the restaurant. After eating, he seemed a little embarrassed about it, so he stopped by the supply and marketing cooperative and bought some fruit for the children.

　　“Sister-in-law, I used to serve in the military too, but I was demobilized at the beginning of the year and came back to work as a guard for one of the leaders. I live in the cadre compound in the western part of the county town. If you ever run into any trouble, you can come find me there. I’ll also come by to check on you and the children whenever I have the time…”

　　The young man was only twenty-two that year. His name was Guan Jin, and he was cheerful, outgoing, and always eager to help.

　　Mu Shuhui was touched by his kindness. “All right. Thank you, Sister-in-law’s very grateful to you.”

　　Guan Jin escorted the mother and her two children back to the hotel. He had originally wanted to help carry their things, but Mu Shuhui explained that they didn’t have much, just a small cloth bag. Only then did he ride away on his bicycle.

　　Guan Jin returned to his unit and called the higher-ups to report how things had been arranged for Wang Jun's widow.

　　After thinking about it, he also called Regiment Commander Zhao and explained that Mu Shuhui had been worried about troubling his family, so she had already rented a place of her own.

　　Over at Regiment Commander Zhao’s end, he didn’t ask any further questions. As long as everything had been arranged properly, that was enough. At least it meant he had done right by his fallen comrade.

　　Meanwhile, Auntie Zhao was fuming.

　　That mother and her two children had left without even saying goodbye. What did they think they were doing, just leaving a note on the table? Did they think this was some kind of place where they could come and go as they pleased?

　　By afternoon, they still hadn’t come back. Unable to stand it any longer, Auntie Zhao went out to the public phone and called Guan Jin to complain.

　　“Xiao Guan, what kind of people are they? Do they have any respect for my son, a regiment commander, at all? Do they really think my home is some kind of hotel, where they can come and go whenever they please?”

　　Guan Jin was completely confused. All he could do was try to smooth things over for Mu Shuhui, explaining that the higher-ups had already arranged a job for her and that she had found a place to live.

　　The moment Auntie Zhao heard that, she became even more annoyed.

　　No wonder they didn’t take her seriously. Their wings had finally grown strong enough, and now they’d flown off! (T/N: WTF 😒 You literally just met once! Being delusional is a sickness, okay? Please go get treatment!)

　　Auntie Zhao angrily hung up the phone.

　　……

　　Meanwhile, Mu Shuhui was busy taking the two children on a shopping spree.

　　After all, aside from the furniture, the house didn’t have a single daily necessity.

　　The three of them bought all sorts of things. Thankfully, Mu Shuhui secretly slipped some of them into her space along the way. Otherwise, there was no way they could have carried everything home.

　　When they returned to their new home, the two little ones were both excited and happy, eagerly helping their mother arrange and tidy up the place.

　　The apartment had two bedrooms and a living room. Mu Shuhui wasn’t used to sharing a room with anyone, and she sometimes needed to go in and out of her space, so she took one bedroom for herself.

　　The two children would share the other.

　　Their room had two single beds pushed together to make one double bed.

　　Mu Shuhui simply separated them, putting one bed on each side with a desk between them.

　　She had originally planned to hang a curtain between the beds, but Er Ya didn’t want one. She wanted to be able to talk to her brother, and if there was a curtain between them, she wouldn’t be able to see him.

　　Mu Shuhui decided to leave it at that. The older one was only six, and the younger one was just over four. They didn’t need to be so particular about it.

　　For the first time, the two children had beds that were truly their own. Their mother had put clean sheets and bedding on them, and to keep the mosquitoes away, she had hung up mosquito nets around the beds.

　　The two children were overjoyed.

　　They loved this new home. It was just them and their mother, and they no longer had to worry about their grandparents yelling at them. They didn’t have to feed the chickens, gather pig feed, sweep the courtyard, or wash filthy clothes anymore.

　　On their first day in their new home, the children were happy and excited. They helped their mother prepare dinner, and the three of them washed up together afterward.

　　Finally, Mu Shuhui took the two children back to their room and told them a bedtime story.

　　Neither child had ever heard a story before, so the more they listened, the more awake they became, their eyes shining with excitement.

　　Er Ya was like a little walking encyclopedia of questions, constantly asking, “Why?” or “What’s that?”

　　Mu Shuhui patiently answered every question.

　　She told stories for a full hour and a half before, finally, the two children’s eyelids began to flutter, struggling to stay open.

　　Mu Shuhui got up and gently patted each child a few times. Before long, they were both fast asleep.

　　She stretched, got out of bed, and returned to her own room.

　　Spending time with the two little ones was surprisingly therapeutic.

　　There were no cell phones in this era, so she couldn’t exactly go to sleep at seven or eight in the evening. Telling them stories was a good way to pass the time.

　　Back in her room, Mu Shuhui first went into her space to take a shower. While she was there, she swallowed half of a Restoration Pill she had broken in two.

　　Before long, another thin layer of grime appeared on her skin. It wasn’t nearly as dirty or foul-smelling as the last few times. The smell was already much lighter this time.

　　It was like a thin layer of mud that had been rubbed out of her skin.

　　Mu Shuhui rinsed herself clean, wrapped a bath towel around herself, and immediately stepped onto the scale.

　　It read 139 jin.

　　She was delighted. Humming happily, she went to put on a face mask and do her skincare.

　　In the mirror, her once-round face had finally begun to take shape, revealing the delicate features she had originally been born with.

　　The original owner was only 1.6 meters tall, and with all that extra weight, she had looked heavy and stocky.

　　Now that she was down to 139 jin, she no longer looked obviously overweight compared to everyone else. At the very least, she had a normal-looking figure.

　　Her cheeks were still full and softly rounded, but all the puffiness from before was gone. Her features were now clear and bright.

　　Her arms weren’t as thick anymore either, and her back had slimmed down by an inch. There was barely any excess fat around her stomach now.

　　Mu Shuhui kept up with her skincare every day, and with the Restoration Pill nourishing her from the inside out, her skin had become clear, smooth, and fair. Whenever she smiled, showing her teeth, she looked gentle and approachable.

　　When Mu Shuhui had gone shopping earlier that day, she had deliberately picked up two new outfits in smaller sizes. They should fit her perfectly now.

　　She tossed the new clothes into the washing machine. Once they were washed and dried, she could wear them right away. She also changed into a fresh set of underwear.

　　As for her old clothes, she threw everything out, underwear and all. There was no point keeping them anymore.

　　……

　　The next day, Mu Shuhui took the two children to the factory to report for work and asked about enrolling them in school while she was there.

　　The factory was quite considerate. One of the leaders wrote her a note and stamped it, telling her she could take it to the daycare and primary school to complete the enrollment process.

　　After thanking them, Mu Shuhui went to the local neighborhood office to ask about transferring her household registration.

　　Since she was now a factory employee with a proper job, she could register her household through the factory.

　　The registration was processed right away, and Mu Shuhui took the opportunity to register the two children as well.

　　They had never been registered since birth.

　　Now that they were about to start school, they couldn’t exactly go without household registration.

　　Not only did the children take their mother’s surname, but Mu Shuhui also changed their names.

　　Her son would be called Mu Rufeng, and her daughter would be called Mu Youran.

　　Their names meant exactly what she hoped for: that they would grow up free and happy.

　　The two children absolutely loved their new names.

　　After finishing their enrollment, Mu Shuhui took the two children to buy new schoolbags and stationery.

　　Mu Youran, the younger one, was only a little over four, so she could only attend the daycare.

　　Mu Rufeng, the older one, was already six and would be turning seven soon. He said he wanted to go to primary school, so he went straight into first grade.

　　The original owner could read and write, and she had often taught the siblings basic characters when they were little. So even though the two children were young, they weren’t illiterate. They could read simple characters, and Mu Rufeng was even quite good at arithmetic.

　　With the two children starting school, Mu Shuhui officially started working too.

　　Serving food at the cafeteria didn’t require any special skills. As long as she could handle an iron ladle, she was good to go. The busiest period lasted less than an hour during mealtimes, and the rest of the day was fairly relaxed.

　　The daycare and primary school both started in the morning, and the children wouldn’t be picked up until the afternoon. They ate lunch and took their afternoon naps at school too.

　　As soon as school was out, the two children would come straight to the cafeteria to find their mother. The three of them would eat together before heading home, saving Mu Shuhui the trouble of cooking another meal at home.

　　Life for the family of three was fairly easy and comfortable.

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