Chapter 10: Chapter 10: The Old Woman with Amnesia
He had heard there were many kidnappers about. His Jiaojiao was so pretty and cute; it would be all too easy for those heartless predators to target her.
The old woman didn’t look at Father Yun, her eyes fixed only on Yun Jiao.
"My dear girl, my dear girl, Mommy’s back. I bought you your favorite hair tie. Come here, let Mommy tie up your hair and give you the prettiest braids."
Father Yun scratched his head. ’Something seems off about this old woman...’
Yun Jiao tugged on Father Yun’s hand. "Dad, this grandma is hungry."
Father Yun looked at the half-eaten Baozi in his daughter’s hand, then at the one in the old woman’s.
Though he felt a pang at the loss, the old woman seemed to have trouble remembering things. She was a pitiful sight.
’But why would she mistake his Jiaojiao for her daughter? Look how old she is.’
"Grandma, please eat."
The old woman’s face softened into a kind smile as she listened to the little girl’s sweet, childlike voice. Her eyes were full of affection.
"Yes, yes, of course. I’ll eat."
"But my dear girl, why are you calling me Grandma? You should be calling me Mommy."
She was clearly not in her right mind.
Father Yun scratched his head and looked around. He asked a few people, but no one recognized the old woman.
’What do I do now?’
He had some idea of what was wrong with her. There had been old folks like her back in his village, people who couldn’t recognize faces or remember things anymore.
One of them had even wandered off to the shore and been swept away by the tide.
"Come here, my dear girl. Let Mommy do your hair."
Yun Jiao glanced at her father.
Father Yun nodded at her. "Go on. We’ll wait here for a bit and see if her family comes looking for her."
’If they don’t, I guess we’ll have to take her to the police station.’
Yun Jiao and the old woman sat down on some stone steps not far from the Baozi stall.
Father Yun even got two sheets of old newspaper from the Baozi seller to spread on the ground before letting them sit.
Father Yun then brought over a bowl of water. "Here, ma’am, have some water."
"Thank you, thank you."
After eating half a Baozi and drinking some water, she even found a piece of paper in her pocket to wipe her hands clean.
Then, she began to carefully comb the hair of Yun Jiao, who was sitting in front of her. Without a comb, she simply used her hands.
Yun Jiao had excellent hair. It was thick, black, and incredibly soft.
At only three years old, her hair was already long enough to reach her back, giving the old woman plenty to work with.
Her movements were very gentle. She even began to hum a very old children’s song.
After hearing only one verse, Yun Jiao began to hum along while nibbling on her Baozi.
Her humming was even lovelier—innocent and clear. Father Yun simply thought, ’My daughter’s humming is so beautiful.’
Meanwhile, the old woman’s family was worried sick looking for her.
"County Magistrate, County Magistrate! We found her..."
By the time they arrived, the County Magistrate, a man in his thirties, heard the familiar children’s song being hummed by his mother and his eyes immediately reddened.
"Mom! Mom, why did you run off to here? I almost couldn’t find you."
The middle-aged man in the Zhongshan suit threw his arms around the old woman.
The old woman looked up, her cloudy eyes regarding him. "And you are?"
"It’s me! I’m Jianlin."
Yun Jiao also watched the man, her big, beautiful eyes wide with curiosity.
The old woman’s wrinkled, rough hand caressed her son’s face, her voice trembling.
"Jianlin, how did you get so old? Your little sister is still so small."
As she spoke, she grabbed Yun Jiao’s small hand. "Look, quick! I found your sister for you! I found my little girl. She’s come back."
Wang Jianlin glanced at Yun Jiao, his heart aching with grief as he listened to his mother’s words.
His little sister had disappeared long ago, kidnapped when she was just three years old.
"Yes, we found her."
He shot an apologetic look at Yun Jiao and Father Yun before turning back to coax his mother.
"Let’s go home now, all right? Let’s go home first."
The old woman stood and straightened her clothes. "All right, let’s go home."
Wang Jianlin first entrusted his mother to his secretary, then turned to Yun Jiao and her father.
"Thank you both for looking after my mother. She has amnesia and can’t remember things clearly. I’m sorry for the trouble."
Father Yun quickly waved his hands. "It was no trouble at all. We didn’t do much, just gave her a Baozi."
Wang Jianlin thought about having his secretary get their address so he could pay a formal visit to thank them another day. ’But right now, the most important thing is to get my mother home.’
But he had only taken two steps while holding his mother’s hand when she turned back, looking for Yun Jiao.
"My dear girl! My dear girl, come home with Mommy and your big brother."
"Jianlin, quickly, bring my dear girl home."
Father Yun hugged Yun Jiao tightly. ’Whoa, you can’t just snatch someone’s daughter.’
Wang Jianlin: ...
"Perhaps... you two could come to my home for a little while?"
Wang Jianlin was clearly a filial son and couldn’t bear to refuse any of his mother’s requests.
"No, no, that won’t do. I still have to wait for my sons."
"Oh? And where are your sons?"
Father Yun rubbed his hands together, a simple, honest smile on his face.
"My two sons want to join the army, so they went for their physicals. Family couldn’t go in, so I brought my daughter out to buy some food."
Wang Jianlin thought for a moment. "How about this," he said. "I’ll have my... friend go and check. What are your sons’ names? When they’re done, he can bring them straight to you."
Father Yun replied, "My sons are named Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi."
The secretary took note of the two names. In the end, Father Yun and Yun Jiao went with Wang Jianlin to his home.
It was only after they arrived that Father Yun belatedly grew nervous and awkward.
’This... this Western-style house is so magnificent.’
’How could a fisherman like him, from a small fishing village, have ever seen such an impressive house?’
Holding his daughter, Father Yun hesitated.
"Maybe... maybe we shouldn’t go in after all."
But Wang Jianlin just smiled. "You’ve come all this way. Please, stay for a meal before you go. I still haven’t properly thanked you for looking after my mother."
Father Yun waved his hands, his expression one of simple honesty. "We didn’t do anything, really."
He followed them into the house in a daze. Wang Jianlin’s family turned out to be quite small.
Soon, a well-dressed woman who looked sharp and capable appeared.
"How did it go? Did you find Mom?"
Wang Jianlin nodded. "We found her. It’s thanks to this gentleman and his daughter looking after her that she didn’t wander off."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Father Yun looked at the decor inside the house and regretted his decision to come in even more.
’Why on earth did I agree to come here?’
Yun Jiao squeezed her father’s hand and tilted her head, confused. "Dad, are you scared?"
’It’s not like there’s anything here that’s going to eat us, right?’
Yun Jiao, however, was completely unfazed by the house, despite it being so much grander than her own.
’In her past life as one of the Merfolk, the vast and vibrant world beneath the sea had broadened her horizons. Could anything here compare to the splendor of the ocean floor?’
Wang Jianlin’s wife brought out a platter of fruit, and this time, Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up.
The old woman was still affectionately holding Yun Jiao’s other hand, chattering away, her words often jumbled and nonsensical.
With a piece of fruit in her hand, Yun Jiao listened patiently, though she didn’t really understand a thing. She just nodded from time to time, pretending she did.
In the kitchen, Wang Jianlin’s wife, Liu Yun, said, "That little girl is so patient. If it were our son, he’d have ants in his pants by now. He wouldn’t be able to sit still, just itching to go play basketball with his friends."
Wang Jianlin nodded, sighing as he watched how happy his mother looked.
"You know what happened. When we were little, my sister disappeared. My mom had gone to the market and promised to bring her back a hair tie. When she returned, my sister was gone. Our whole family searched for so long."
"Mom cried every day back then, she nearly cried herself blind. Now that her memory is gone, she’s mistaken that little girl for my sister. That hair tie... I never thought she’d have kept it all this time."
Wang Jianlin’s eyes reddened as he spoke of these things.
Liu Yun comforted him. "We should hire a proper caregiver for Mom. I’ve been wanting to say this for a while. Your cousin isn’t taking good care of Mom at all."
Thinking about how his mother almost got lost this time, Wang Jianlin nodded. "I’ll talk to her later."
But he knew she wouldn’t be easy to dismiss.
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