hotmtlnovel Chapter 697 Nobody Pays Attention
Chapter 697 Nobody Pays Attention
Jia Dongxu's aunt arrived at noon, carrying a blue cloth bundle on her arm containing half a bag of cornmeal, which she said was freshly ground and perfect for making porridge for the child. She entered the house familiarly, glancing first at the cradle by the kang (heated brick bed)—empty, with only a red lacquered rattle rattling inside. She casually asked Jia Dongxu, who was lounging on the kang smoking a pipe, "Where's Cai'er? Where did he go at this hour?"
Jia Dongxu didn't even lift his eyelids. He tapped his pipe on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and mumbled a reply: "Maybe your sister took him out to play. Lately, she likes to take the child around the yard and amuse those old ladies."
The aunt didn't think much of it. Qin Huairu always doted on her child, wishing she could hold Jia Cai in her arms, and it was common for her to take him to visit neighbors and chat. She poured the cornmeal into the jar in the corner, then helped tidy up the stove. Seeing that Jia Dongxu was only focused on smoking, she didn't bother to talk to him. After sitting for a while, she went back to her own home, calling out through the window before leaving, "I'll come back later to breastfeed the baby. Tell him not to sleep too soundly!"
It wasn't until the sun was setting in the afternoon, casting a slanting golden-red light into the alley, that Qin Huairu dragged her weary body home. She had worked all day at the textile factory; her fingers were marked with red welts from the yarn, and she was so exhausted she barely had the strength to speak, her shoulders feeling like they were weighed down by a heavy stone. But as soon as she entered the courtyard, she instinctively glanced towards the cradle—it was empty; only the rattle-drum lay there all alone.
Her heart skipped a beat, as if she had been hit hard by something. She quickly went into the room and saw Jia Dongxu still lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), his pipe thrown aside, drooling so much that it was almost dripping onto his pillow, snoring loudly.
"Where is Jia Cai?" Qin Huairu's voice trembled almost imperceptibly, her fingertips were icy cold.
Startled awake by the shout, Jia Dongxu rubbed his eyes impatiently and yawned: "Didn't you take it out to play? My aunt asked about it when she came at noon. I told her you took it out, and that's when she left."
"How could I have time to hold a child?" Qin Huairu's voice suddenly rose, filled with panic. A wave of anxiety surged up in her heart, instantly rising to her throat. "I haven't come out of the factory since I entered this morning! The machines broke down and we had to rush to repair them. A group of people were busy until now and only just managed to get away. We didn't even have time to drink water!"
As she spoke, she paced around the room like a mother animal who had lost her cub. She lifted the curtain to look inside, then peered out the window, and even crouched down under the bed to look around. She kept muttering, "Cai'er? Cai'er? Where are you?" The rattle drum was still rolling on the floor, and the child's little jacket was draped over the back of the chair, smelling slightly of milk, but there was no sign of the little figure.
"Are you still half asleep?" Qin Huairu suddenly grabbed Jia Dongxu's arm and shook it violently, her nails almost digging into his flesh. "Think carefully, who came this morning? Where was the child last? Did you even watch over him?"
Jia Dongxu was dizzy from being shaken and a little anxious. He sat up from the kang (a heated brick bed), his eyes unfocused: "I... I just fed him some rice porridge this morning, and then I got sleepy and went to sleep... I didn't see anyone come... The yard was quiet, I just heard sparrows chirping..." He clearly had no recollection of what had happened in the past half day, and couldn't even remember how long he had slept.
Just then, footsteps sounded at the courtyard gate. Jia Dongxu's aunt came in carrying a cloth bag containing small cloth shoes she had made for the child, the stitches neat and tight. "I came to let Cai'er try on the new shoes. They're freshly made, so soft..." Before she could finish speaking, she saw Qin Huairu's face turn deathly pale, her lips trembling. Jia Dongxu also hurriedly scrambled up from the kang (a heated brick bed), his hair a mess like a bird's nest. His heart sank, and the cloth bag in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud," spilling the newly made little shoes. "The child... where is the child? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
Qin Huairu turned around abruptly, her eyes red as if about to bleed, her voice trembling with tears: "Auntie! You didn't see the child when you came at noon, did you? You said you thought I took him away, but I didn't take him out at all! I've been at the factory all day!"
The cloth bag in her aunt's hand fell to the ground, and only then did she belatedly panic. Her legs went weak and she almost sat down, only managing to stand up by holding onto the door frame: "I... when I came at noon, the cradle was empty. Dongxu said you took it, so I didn't ask any more questions... How... how could it be gone? The child is so young, could it have run away by itself?"
The room fell eerily quiet, save for Qin Huairu's heavy breathing and Jia Dongxu's bewildered mutterings. An indescribable panic filled the air, like an invisible net tightening its grip on the small room.
Jia Dongxu opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was blocked by scalding sand, dry and painful, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time. Banggeng was completely ruined; he lay paralyzed on the kang (heated brick bed), unable to speak a coherent sentence, drooling all day. The family's only hope was Jia Cai—this little boy, just over a year old, with handsome features, his black eyes like water-soaked grapes, even his cries were louder than other children's, the only bright spot in the family's gloomy days. But now, even Jia Cai was gone. He squatted down with a thud, digging his hands into his messy hair, his knuckles turning white from the force, his scalp aching from being pulled, but this pain was nothing compared to the panic in his heart. His anger had nowhere to vent, pounding against his very core, leaving only a chilling coldness seeping from his very bones.
Qin Huairu gripped Jia Dongxu's aunt's arm like a madwoman, her knuckles clenching so tightly they almost dug into her flesh. Her voice trembled uncontrollably, choked with sobs: "Aunt! Tell me clearly! Jia Cai is my life now, you can't tease me! Where...where is he? When I went out to buy soy sauce at the alley entrance this morning, he was perfectly fine, sleeping on the kang, covered with the little flowered quilt you made for me the other day!" Her tears had already started flowing, large drops streaming down her cheeks, dripping onto her aunt's faded cuffs, leaving a small, dark, damp stain, like a withered flower.
Jia Dongxu's aunt's arm ached from being gripped so tightly. A troubled look crossed her face, her eyes darting around, avoiding Qin Huairu's gaze. "I...I don't know either. I went to the kitchen to start a fire, wanting to make some rice porridge for the child. I just turned around, and when I came back, the bed was empty. I thought you'd bought soy sauce and taken it out to show off to the old ladies in the yard, and that you'd bring it back later, so I didn't think much of it..." Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a whisper, her heart pounding with panic—this was the Jia family's long-awaited heir; if she lost him, she, as his aunt, couldn't bear the responsibility even if she gave her life.