Chapter Twelve: Darling, Mommy Loves You Too

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Luo Yan was hungry, but it wasn’t convenient to eat in the car. She took out a White Rabbit milk candy that Sun Bailing had given her from her pocket and asked Hua Li to help unwrap it.
Her little voice “pa pa pa” made Chen Yuanshan and Luo Shicheng mistakenly think she was calling for “Daddy.”
Chen Yuanshan restrained the urge to respond and forced himself not to turn around to tease Luo Yan.
Luo Shicheng, proud and expressionless, only stole glances at her through the rearview mirror.
Hua Li unwrapped the candy and fed it to Luo Yan. The smell of milk made Hua Li hungry as well.
Fortunately, the supply and marketing cooperative wasn’t far from the military compound; it took less than ten minutes by car.
Hua Li carried Luo Yan out of the car. Luo Shicheng followed, carrying lunch boxes into the house.
After placing the lunch boxes on the dining table, Luo Shicheng strode out and returned to the car, going back to the military base with Chen Yuanshan.
Luo Yan was starving. She climbed onto a chair by the table and struggled to open the lunch box herself.
There were two lunch boxes, each packed with half a box of rice on one side, and braised pork and stir-fried vegetables on the other.
The glistening braised pork, the vibrant green vegetables, and the shining white rice looked delicious, their aroma filling the air, making Luo Yan’s mouth water.
Feeling sorry for the child, Hua Li quickly brought bowls and chopsticks, scooping some food to feed Luo Yan first.
Seeing Hua Li trying to feed her all the good food, Luo Yan refused to starve herself.
“Mommy eat…”
Not to mention that a three-year-old could hardly eat so much, and in this hot summer without a refrigerator, leftover food would spoil quickly.
Mother and daughter hadn’t eaten meat for months. Hua Li was reluctant to eat the food herself, only wanting to ensure the child didn’t go hungry, shaking her head and continuing to feed Luo Yan.
How stubborn! Luo Yan was about to be exasperated.
She brought the piece of braised pork on the spoon to Hua Li’s lips, furrowing her little brows, commanding in a cute but fierce tone,
“Eat, Mommy eat!”
Only then did Hua Li cherish the bite, savoring the braised pork’s rich flavor, nearly moved to tears by how delicious it was.
Seeing Hua Li eat, Luo Yan clapped her small hands happily and pushed the remaining half of the lunch box toward Hua Li.
Hua Li shook her head, making Luo Yan burst into tears, throwing the spoon back into the rice bowl.
“I won’t eat.”
If the child refused to eat and threw a tantrum, Hua Li had no choice but to give in.
“Mommy eats, Yan Yan eats too.”

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Luo Yan stared at Hua Li. Hua Li took a bite of rice, and Luo Yan followed; Hua Li ate some vegetables, and Luo Yan did the same.
Hua Li eventually surrendered to the little one, obediently finishing most of the lunch box, and Luo Yan cleaned her bowl as well.
The remaining lunch box could be saved for dinner. Worried it might spoil, Hua Li took it to the backyard.
The backyard had a root cellar with a wooden plank door. On the door lay an old quilt, covered by a rainproof iron sheet, with two bricks on top to hold it down.
Hua Li used a key to unlock the door, lifted the plank by its handle, and pulled up a large bamboo basket tied at the entrance.
She placed the lunch box inside the basket, suspending it mid-air in the root cellar. The cool, dark cellar would keep the food fresh until evening.
Luo Yan didn’t idle inside either; she wandered around, exploring her new surroundings to adapt quickly to their changed life.
When Hua Li returned, she found Luo Yan doodling with paper and pencil, suddenly realizing the child was already three and a half years old and it was time to send her to kindergarten for some early education.
But Hua Li had only eighty-three cents in total, and she had just started working, with no salary yet. Even if she postponed sending Luo Yan to kindergarten, the two of them needed to eat.
After much contemplation, Hua Li found no way out. She went into the bedroom, opened the desk drawer, and took out a small cloth pouch from the deepest part.
Inside was a strangely shaped jade pendant carved with a phoenix, indistinguishable as any particular jade, and two small gold bracelets meant for children.
Luo Yan grew curious as Hua Li stayed inside the bedroom for a long time and peeked out from behind the door.
Seeing the jade pendant in Hua Li’s hands, Luo Yan’s eyes lit up.
The books had mentioned that Hua Li was not the biological daughter of the Hua couple but their adopted child.
When the Hua couple found Hua Li, she was wearing a carved phoenix jade pendant, two gold bracelets, and had a small embroidered baby quilt.
On her deathbed, Mrs. Hua revealed the truth to Hua Li and gave her these belongings.
After marrying Luo Shicheng, Hua Li was so busy struggling to survive that she had no time or energy to search for her biological parents.
Later, Liu Jingqiu, who on her way to work collided with Hua Li while riding a bike and injured herself, falsely accused Hua Li of pushing her down. Luo Shicheng believed it and brought Liu Jingqiu and her daughter home for Hua Li to take care of.
While Hua Li was away, Liu Jingqiu rummaged through her things, found the jade pendant and gold bracelets, and claimed kinship with Hua Li’s biological parents based on the pendant.
After becoming the daughter of a high-ranking official, Liu Jingqiu ruthlessly suppressed Hua Li, making her already precarious life even harder.
Moreover, Liu Jingqiu discovered that the carved phoenix jade pendant had a hidden compartment, using it to make a fortune.
This couldn’t go on; with Hua Li’s character, she wouldn’t be able to keep the pendant. Hua Li had to retrieve it.
Luo Yan pushed open the door and ran over quickly, peering at the pendant and bracelets in Hua Li’s hands, pointing at the pendant, “Pretty, pretty…”
Hua Li, contemplating whether to sell the pendant for emergency funds, saw her daughter’s fondness for it and gently put the pendant around Luo Yan’s neck.
“Yan Yan likes it, Mommy gives it to you.”

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As Hua Li spoke, she cupped Luo Yan’s small face and kissed her gently.
A mother’s kiss, sweet and fragrant, made Luo Yan smile with eyes curved like crescent moons.
“Yan Yan loves Mommy.”
Her daughter actually said she loved her. No matter how hard life was, these words were enough.
Tears streamed down Hua Li’s face. “Baby, Mommy loves you too.”
Hua Li took one gold bracelet and put it in her pocket, wrapped the other carefully in cloth and returned it to the drawer, also placing the ten large-denomination bills Luo Shicheng had given her inside.
She locked the drawer and coaxed Luo Yan.
“Yan Yan, Mommy is going out for a bit. You be a good girl and wait for Mommy at home, okay?”
Luo Yan probably understood that Hua Li was going to sell a gold bracelet for living expenses.
Gold had risen to over a thousand yuan per gram before they moved here. Luo Yan truly didn’t want Hua Li to sell the bracelets, but their home was utterly destitute; without selling them, they wouldn’t even afford food.
Ah, a penny can indeed defeat a hero.
Luo Yan nodded, “Yan Yan will be good.”
The better her daughter behaved, the guiltier Hua Li felt. She wiped her tears and got up to leave.
“Comrade Hua Li…”
Hua Li turned to see Liu Jingqiu, her brows immediately knitting with displeasure.
“What is it?”
Liu Jingqiu held An Xiaotong’s hand, her eyes filled with hatred as if she wanted to pierce Hua Li through.
“Please, give us a way to survive.”
After Hua Li left, Liu Jingqiu had also taken leave. She came home, took An Xiaotong, and went to find Hua Li, all to force Hua Li to give up claiming her salary.
Suddenly, Liu Jingqiu knelt with An Xiaotong at Hua Li’s doorstep. Hua Li was momentarily at a loss how to respond.
“If you have something to say, stand up and say it. What kind of behavior is this?”
Liu Jingqiu knew Hua Li was thin-skinned, so she wanted to make a scene publicly.