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

CHAPTER 125: The 1980s Villain’s Biological Mother (18)

　　Xia Zichen immediately smiled and greeted them. “Hello, Auntie. Hello, little sister. And hello to you too, big brother.”

　　The little boy had two dimples when he smiled, making him instantly likable.

　　Even Mu Rufeng and Mu Youran had a good impression of him, so they introduced themselves as well.

　　The older brother was more composed. “My name is Mu Rufeng.”

　　The younger sister was more lively. She smiled and waved. “I’m Mu Youran. Nice to meet you!”

　　Xia Duoduo glanced at Mu Youran, her eyes settling on the girl’s pretty little face and the two neat braids woven with ribbons. She pouted, lifted her chin, and unhappily tugged at her younger brother.

　　“Let’s go, Zichen.”

　　Although Xia Zichen had been born only a few seconds after his sister, he had always been patient with people. He coaxed her gently, “Sis, you haven’t said hello to Brother Rufeng and Sister Youran yet.”

　　“I don’t have time. I need to go find my classroom.”

　　“Hmph. If you’re not coming, I’ll go by myself.”

　　With that, she stormed off in a huff.

　　Xia Zichen gave his two new friends an apologetic look and apologized on his sister’s behalf before quickly running after her.

　　“Sis, slow down! You might get lost…”

　　Xia Li was at a loss when it came to her eldest daughter’s temper. Seeing both children already walking away, she helplessly said, “See you around,” before hurrying after them.

　　Mu Youran pouted and told her brother, “That big sister kept glaring at me like she wanted to bite me. I don’t like her.”

　　“If you don’t like her, just ignore her,” Mu Rufeng replied. “They’re strangers, after all. Just remember that your brother and Mom have your back. If anyone bullies you, hit them hard. Your brother will protect you.”

　　Mu Youran smiled happily and nodded firmly. “Mm! With you and Mom around, I’m not scared of anyone. If they leave me alone, we’re all good. But if they mess with me, I’ll beat them up!”

　　“That’s my good sister. Exactly.”

　　Mu Shuhui listened to the siblings from the side, feeling both touched and comforted by their little exchange.

　　But then she thought about the male lead she had just met and couldn’t help rubbing her temples.

　　Her son and daughter were the major villains of this world, hated and despised by everyone.

　　In contrast, there were the male and female leads.

　　The male lead, Xia Zichen, was an ordinary person who rose from the bottom and turned his life around. He had the classic overpowered protagonist script, eventually climbing his way into the upper echelons of the elite.

　　The female lead seemed to be the daughter of a powerful figure in the capital. Her name was Mu Yao, and she was the only daughter of the family.

　　It was precisely because the Yue family was so powerful that the male lead was eventually able to establish himself, take over everything the Yue family had, and gain both power and status.

　　As Mu Shuhui recalled the plot, she once again saw the scene where her younger daughter was ganged up on by a group of people.

　　They seemed to be people from the Xia family. Several wealthy young people had come to the small county town as a group to go hiking.

　　They happened to spot Er Ya crouching by the roadside. With nothing better to do, the group deliberately ate snacks right in front of her and called her a little beggar.

　　Er Ya ignored them and walked away, which left them annoyed because they hadn’t gotten the reaction they wanted. They then took out a camera and started filming her while continuing to mock and ridicule her.

　　Just then, a child happened to run past them. While bouncing around excitedly, the child accidentally got a piece of candy stuck in their throat and collapsed on the ground.

　　Er Ya had always been withdrawn and world-weary. In her previous life, she had never even had the chance to attend school. She had grown up constantly being criticized and verbally abused by the adults around her.

　　When she saw what was happening, she was almost stunned. She simply had no idea how to react to a situation like this.

　　That group happened to have their camera running, recording everything. In the footage, Er Ya simply stood there coldly watching as the person died.

　　Because they had money and status, they went back and spread the story however they pleased, exaggerating everything and adding all sorts of details. In the end, it caused a huge negative impact on society.

　　Some extremists were eventually driven to seek Er Ya out and brutally killed her.

　　The incident even made the newspapers. Most people applauded what had happened, though some felt that the punishment had been far too cruel.

　　In her previous life, her older brother had been hot-tempered and extreme, hating everyone around him. But his sister was the only family he had left. After something happened to her, he completely snapped and went on a rampage, taking revenge on society.

　　He tracked down the people responsible through various leads and channels, then took matters into his own hands and avenged his sister with a knife.

　　Once the whole thing blew up, the male lead stepped in and dealt with the mess.

　　Apparently, the person who had masterminded the filming was from the Xia family. With the male lead’s status and connections, he not only had the criminals arrested and sentenced to death, but also managed to suppress the whole incident that very day.

　　“Mom?”

　　Her daughter’s clear voice pulled Mu Shuhui sharply back to reality. She instinctively pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged her.

　　Mu Youran was very perceptive and immediately noticed that something was wrong with her mother. She gently patted her mother’s back and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?”

　　Mu Shuhui kissed her forehead. Seeing the concern in her son’s eyes as well, she reached over, put an arm around his shoulders, and gave him a gentle pat.

　　“Don’t worry. Mom just suddenly remembered some unpleasant things from a dream. But they were only dreams, so none of it will happen. Mom’s fine.”

　　Children naturally grow closer to you the more time you spend raising them. With such thoughtful children, Mu Shuhui would never let anyone hurt them in this lifetime.

　　Hearing that their mother had only been having a nightmare, the siblings finally relaxed.

　　Mu Shuhui walked them to their classrooms. She deliberately stayed outside and watched as the two children confidently introduced themselves to their classmates, then took their seats and started class. Only then did she leave.

　　When she returned home and was unlocking the door, Xia Li came out of the apartment across the hall again.

　　“Comrade Mu, it’s just you and your two children. Where’s your husband?”

　　After recalling the plot, Mu Shuhui already had a poor impression of the Xia family. She glanced at her. “What about you? I haven’t seen your husband either.”

　　Xia Li was caught off guard. She sighed sadly and said, “My husband was a long-haul truck driver. He died in a car accident at the beginning of the year. I had no choice but to move out here with the children. Life has been so hard.”

　　“Oh. That’s pretty unfortunate.”

　　With that, Mu Shuhui pushed open her door, walked inside, and shut it with a sharp click.

　　Xia Li stared at the closed door, her lips trembling with anger. She had never met anyone like this before!

　　How could she be so rude?

　　Did she really think she was somebody important? Someone like that wasn’t worth befriending anyway.

　　After that encounter, the two women barely spoke whenever they ran into each other.

　　Ironically, the male lead, Xia Zichen, was extremely polite. Whenever he ran into anyone, he would greet them with a smile. He seemed like a bright and clever kid.

　　Mu Shuhui clearly had no liking for the Xia family, and that rubbed off on the two children. They didn’t like that family either and rarely spoke to them.

　　The school was very close to home, only a four- or five-minute walk away.

　　The two children were quite independent. They went to and from school together, and because they were worried about tiring their mother out, they didn’t even ask her to walk them there.

　　Still, Mu Shuhui insisted on taking them to and from school. There weren’t proper surveillance systems everywhere in those days, and the two children were still too young, so she felt it was better to keep an eye on them.

　　The school had a cafeteria where the children could eat lunch. They left for school a little after seven in the morning and didn’t get out until after five in the afternoon.

　　With all that free time during the day, Mu Shuhui started thinking about going into business instead of getting another job.

　　After all, the 1980s were full of opportunities thanks to the new economic policies. People even joked that a pig could fly if it stood in the right wind, and she wanted to see for herself what kind of opportunities she could find.

　　She still had a little under 20,000 yuan in cash. Buying property and waiting for its value to increase didn’t seem worthwhile, since it would take too long to see a return.

　　She might as well use the money to start a small business.

　　Over the past two years, the economy had gradually opened up, and individual businesses were popping up everywhere. The streets were filled with pedicab drivers, and street stalls had become a major trend.

　　Mu Shuhui went out to scout around and found all kinds of vendors selling all sorts of things. But when it came to high-profit businesses, clothing was still one of the better options.

　　There were several women selling shirts and pants by the roadside across from the factory. When she asked about their prices, a single piece could cost anywhere from three or four yuan to more than ten yuan. They also sold small items like socks and underwear alongside the clothes.

　　The styles weren’t particularly fashionable, but the fabric was sturdy, and plenty of people were still buying them.

　　Mu Shuhui stood there for more than half an hour and watched them sell five or six pieces in quick succession. With the small accessories they sold as well, they took in more than thirty yuan.

　　Since street vendors didn’t have to pay rent for a storefront or other such expenses, the profit margin on clothing was easily around fifty percent. They had made more than ten yuan in profit in just that short time.

　　Of course, setting up a street stall came with its uncertainties. Bad weather could keep them from setting up and leave them with no income, while poor market conditions could also leave them struggling to sell anything.

　　But ordinary workers in the capital only earned around forty or fifty yuan a month. Clearly, running your own business offered much more room to grow.

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