Chapter 27 Heartache for the One Who Refuses to Swallow Food Even Unto Death

“Du Tong!” Seeing what was happening, Du Yun’s first reaction was that Du Tong had choked while eating. She hurriedly set down her plate and rushed to his side.

“How are you? Can you breathe?” Du Yun saw his face turning frighteningly red and unable to make a sound. She made sure to check first; seeing Du Tong shaking his head wildly, unable to speak, she realized he must truly be choking.

“Quick, spit out what’s in your mouth!” Du Yun saw his face turning almost purple and her heart raced with panic. She knew if a piece of cake got lodged in the windpipe and couldn’t come out, it could be deadly. She urged him to spit it out so she could see how best to help.

“Mmm mmm mmm!” Du Tong shook his head desperately, muffled noises escaping his blocked throat. Though he could hardly breathe, he was still reluctant to spit out the cake in his mouth, tears streaming down his face as he clung stubbornly to his treat.

Du Bai, who had just returned from washing his hands, turned pale with fright at the sight and stood there helplessly, watching his sister and Du Tong.

“Spit it out! Do you have no regard for your life?” Du Yun, seeing Du Tong’s purple-red face and that she couldn’t delay any longer, reached out to hold him steady, intending to force the cake from his mouth with her fingers.

“Mmm!” Du Tong clamped his mouth shut, whimpering and shaking his head. Even as he was suffocating, he couldn’t bear to give up the delicious cake. His pleading gaze was as pitiful as a little puppy’s as he looked at Du Yun.

“Good boy, there’s still plenty more. I made several plates—eat as much as you want, alright? Du Tong, please spit it out!” Seeing this, Du Yun recalled how he had cried from hunger before and realized how deeply the fear of starvation had scarred the child. Her heart ached as she spoke, voice trembling with emotion. When she noticed his resolve waver, she quickly reached in and scooped the cake from his mouth.

But even after removing what was in his mouth, Du Tong’s condition did not improve. Du Yun realized that the blockage must be stuck deeper in his throat. Without hesitation, she moved behind him, wrapped her arms tightly around his abdomen, placed one fist between his navel and ribcage, set her other hand over the fist, and pressed inward and upward with all her strength, hoping to use the remaining air in Du Tong’s lungs to expel the cake stuck in his throat.

“Du Tong, hold on!” Du Yun, a few years older and taller than Du Tong, soothed him as she performed the emergency maneuver. After several compressions, there was suddenly a muffled pop, and a piece of soft, multicolored cake the size of a walnut shot out of Du Tong’s throat.

With his airway clear, Du Tong gasped for breath, his body limp as he collapsed against Du Yun. She, too, felt as if she had narrowly escaped disaster, her whole body weak and drenched with sweat.

“Du Tong, see if you can stand up,” Du Yun said after a long pause, her voice as weak as she felt. The memory of Du Tong’s brush with death, and his refusal to spit out the cake even then, gripped her heart painfully.

When she saw Du Tong finally stand, only to lunge once more for the plate of cakes with the same desperate energy, a sudden flare of anger ignited within her. Acting on impulse, she stepped forward and gave him a slap.

“Sis!” Du Tong stared at her in dazed shock, not knowing what to do.

“Are you a starving ghost reborn? You almost choked to death just now, do you understand?” Du Yun’s tears began to fall as she scolded him. Never had she hated her family’s poverty so bitterly; never had she wanted to grow up so quickly, just so she could give her family and everyone who loved her a better life.

“Big Sis…” Du Tong was still stunned from the slap, tears streaming down his face as he looked at her, still chewing his precious cake without thinking.

“Don’t you know you almost lost your life? Is it so delicious that you’d risk everything for it? Are you trying to scare me to death?” As she spoke, Du Yun’s tears fell faster and faster.

“Don’t cry, Sis. I’m alright now, please don’t cry,” Du Bai, though shaken himself, immediately came over to comfort his sister when he saw her tears.

Du Yun looked at her two younger brothers—Du Bai, so thin his bones showed through his yellowed hair, and Du Tong, still stuffing cake into his mouth—and her heart ached unbearably. She pulled them into her arms and wept uncontrollably.

All the pent-up pressure and dark emotions in Du Yun’s heart broke free with her sobs. The terror and helplessness of crossing into another time, the suffocating burdens of survival, and the horror of nearly losing a loved one all erupted at once, overwhelming her until she felt lost in the storm of her grief.

It was a long time before she finally calmed down. Looking at her two little brothers, their faces streaked with tears like little tabby cats, she couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Go wash your faces—you both look like little kittens now.” Smiling, she playfully tapped their noses, her eyes clearer and brighter after the tears.

“Come on, let's wash up. I’ve steamed plenty more cakes, and I’ll cut some for you to try in a bit.” Du Yun scooped water from the vat and let them wash their faces, then took out the single-colored soft cakes from the big steamer. She sliced them up, giving the misshapen scraps and edges to the children.

Seeing the children’s wide, happy grins as they munched, Du Yun’s heart filled with a gentle warmth. Soon, Du Fang and Du Qin returned home, with Du Yin peeking nervously over her sisters’ shoulders at the cutting board, worried they might eat all the cakes before she could have some.

Surrounded by her siblings, each holding a piece or two of her homemade cake, Du Yun couldn’t help but feel content. Even though these cakes were meant to be sold for money, and as much as she cherished the children, she didn’t let them eat everything—only the trimmings and scraps.

But even so, it was more than enough to make the children happy. Most days, they couldn’t even fill their stomachs with cornmeal porridge; being able to taste these sweet, fragrant cakes was a rare delight, let alone enjoying several pieces.

Just as the children were excitedly eating their cakes, the rest of the Du family returned from the fields.

Third Aunt Du was the fastest, bursting into the kitchen and gulping down a ladle of water from the dipper. As she raised her head, she caught sight of Du Tong holding two pieces of cake, grinning from ear to ear—yet the faint mark of a slap was still visible on his face.

“Who was so heartless as to hit our Du Tong?” Third Aunt Du yelled, tossing the water dipper onto the ground with a clatter.