Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Mom, Run!

The Qi Family courtyard gradually became lively.

The adults were already up, and although the older children got up a bit late, they helped tidy up once they were awake.

The youngest in the house were Qi Manman and Qi Shilang.

The two little ones were sleeping like two little piglets, unaffected by the adults’ hustle and bustle.

“Dad, Mom, everything is packed.”

Qi Dafu wiped the sweat off his forehead and came into his parents’ room to say hello.

On the kang, Mrs. Qi was sitting cross-legged, wiping her tears, with Qi Manman, wrapped in a quilt, sleeping peacefully beside her.

Qi Zheng sat on the long bench by the square table, puffing on his pipe.

The light in the room was very dim and no candles were lit.

Even in the faint light coming through the window, one could see tears glistening in the old man’s eyes.

Qi Dafu stood aside, not knowing what to say, feeling a heavy heart.

The occasional voices from the courtyard could still be heard outside, but the room was silent.

Time ticked by.

Even though it had been decided and prepared to leave, no one urged anyone to depart, as if by staying a little longer, the act of leaving wouldn’t happen.

Suddenly, Qi Manman, who was sleeping soundly, started crying.

The three people in the room were all startled. Mrs. Qi, in particular, forgot her own crying and hurriedly picked up the little one, soothing him softly in her arms.

“Manbao, don’t cry, don’t cry, grandma is here, don’t cry!”

Mrs. Qi’s voice still had a distinct sob in it, but her tone was gentle, afraid of scaring the little one in her arms.

A four-year-old child shouldn’t be wrapped up like a baby.

But for the convenience of traveling, the child was wrapped up so that when carried on the back, he wouldn’t fall out if he was in a daze.

However, at this time, the wrapped-up Qi Manman began to struggle uneasily.

Tears rolled down his tightly closed eyes, causing Mrs. Qi to cry even more.

“Oh, my little Manbao, wake up, wake up, please don’t scare grandma!”

Already sad, Mrs. Qi couldn’t control her tears after being scared by Qi Manman, and she began to cry out loud, holding the child.

“Dad, Mom, Mom…”

Qi Dafu was anxious, but since he was honest and straightforward by nature and not like the second brother, who was good at comforting people, he could do nothing but sweat nervously, not knowing what to do.

Qi Zheng also couldn’t pay attention to his own sadness, and immediately ordered, “Go get the fourth sister-in-law inside.”

That was the child’s mother, who was closest to him on ordinary days, so calling her was certainly right.

Analyzing this, Qi Zheng put the pipe on the table and went straight to the kang: “Old woman, please, stop crying, the child is just dreaming, it’s fine.”

Qi Zheng wasn’t good at comforting either, only able to awkwardly pat his wife’s back to help her calm down.

Alas, didn’t he also know that his wife’s tears weren’t merely for their granddaughter’s crying, but because…

Thinking about it, Qi Zheng’s nose tingled, and tears also welled up in his eyes.

Leaving the place where he’d lived for most of his life, he felt just as uneasy.

Qi Manman’s crying was loud, and along with Mrs. Qi’s sobs, had already alerted everyone in the courtyard.

Before Qi Dafu could leave the room, others had rushed in.

Yi Meng was the first to arrive, asking while running, “What happened?”

“Manbao is crying, fourth sister-in-law, quickly go in and see…”

Before the last “see” could be spoken, Yi Meng had already squeezed past him into the room.

Yi Meng saw her daughter howling with her eyes closed, and her heart instantly ached like mince for dumplings.

“Mom, let me have Manbao!”

Yi Meng also noticed the old lady gasping between sobs and didn’t dare to directly take the child.

Mrs. Qi knew that crying like this wasn’t good, but she couldn’t help feeling upset.

But crying so hard she almost couldn’t hold the child anymore, fearing she might drop her beloved, and such a thought hurt her to death.

So, she cried while nodding, slightly loosening her arms.

Only then did Yi Meng take the little girl into her arms. Before she could say anything, she saw her tightly shut eyes open.

The jet-black eyes were full of tears, with more tears still welling up.

“Mom, Mom…”

Qi Manman cried while softly calling Yi Meng, squeezing her heart until it almost couldn’t breathe.

“Mom is here, mom is here, Manbao, don’t cry! Mom’s here!”

Yi Meng wiped the tears off the little girl’s face with her finger, red-eyed, gently soothing her.

Qi Manman sobbed with a hiccup, then spoke in her childish voice, “Mom, run, hic, quickly, quickly run, hic, to the top, hic, there’s bad people front and back, sob sob, Manbao doesn’t want mom to die, sob sob…”

The little one managed to start talking, but then began to wail.

All the Qi Family members who had already come in stood there in a daze, hearing such words.

What was this child dreaming of?

Unlike others, Qi Zheng, Mrs. Qi, and Yi Meng were struck as if by lightning.

Mrs. Qi couldn’t even cry, not even bothering to wipe her tears, quickly looking at Qi Zheng: “Old head, this, this…”

“Wipe your face, check everything, then gather at the village entrance.”

Wiping his face, Qi Zheng started heading out while calling for Qi Dalang to follow him.

Qi Dalang, sixteen this year, was the eldest son of the first house and the eldest grandson of the Qi Family.

Wang Daya looked at her eldest son nervously, not knowing where her father-in-law was taking the child.

Qi Dalang shook his head gently at his mother, then walked briskly to catch up with his grandfather, reaching out to support him.

Qi Zheng glanced at his eldest grandson, not refusing his help.

Watching the grandfather and grandson leave through the main gate, Mrs. Qi, having wiped her tears, regained some composure and said, “Don’t just stand there, listen to your father and check everything quickly, and go to the village entrance!”

Reluctant as they were, Manbao had cried in her dream, urging her mom to run. Even without the old man’s special explanation, Mrs. Qi knew that something was definitely going to happen again.

Unable to help but glance at Qi Manman being placed into a backpack by Yi Meng, Mrs. Qi felt a mix of emotions she couldn’t express.

One by one, five wooden carts were pushed out of the Qi Family gate.

Everyone turned to look at the courtyard where they had lived for many years, falling silent.

With trembling hands, Mrs. Qi formally locked the door.

Although they were leaving, what if they had a chance to return in the future?

As long as this lock was still here, it would still be their home.

Mrs. Qi thought this and even hung the stringed key around her neck, keeping it close to her heart.

This was the home she’d protected for most of her life!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep