Axolotl Translations

“Mom, how much longer until we see Uncle?” Sitting under the shade of a tree, Qiao Youkang wiped the sweat from his forehead and took several big gulps from his army-style canteen. He was panting as he looked up at his mother.

They’d been walking for nearly an hour. After an early breakfast, they had headed out, but now the sun was starting to get fierce, beating down hot on their faces. Qiao Youkang, sitting on the ground, was already reluctant to move.

Despite being a boy, Qiao Youkang had an even more delicate and beautiful face than his sister. Unlike other boys, who would be annoyed if someone said they looked like a girl, Youkang took pride in his looks. After being out in the sun for so long, he was worried his face would get tanned and lose its glow.

Seeing how flushed the children’s faces were from the sun, Wei Jiajia felt a pang of guilt. The late summer sun could be scorching. She quickly pulled out a handkerchief, dampened it with water, and wiped down each of their faces. Then she took out some sunscreen to apply on them.

“What’s that, Mom? It smells weird,” Qiao Aijia scrunched up her nose and pouted, clearly not happy.

“Hold still. This is special cream I bought to protect your face—it keeps you from getting sunburned.” Wei Jiajia held her squirming daughter still and applied it thoroughly. In her heart, she still hoped Aijia might someday want to be a little princess again—couldn’t let her end up a tanned-faced princess, after all.

Her eldest son didn’t complain. Whatever she gave him, he accepted quietly, his little face expressionless—you could never tell whether he liked something or not.

Her youngest, though, tilted his face up eagerly, begging her to put on extra. Wei Jiajia couldn’t help pinching his cheek with mock annoyance. This vain little thing—she had no idea where he got it from.

Once the sunscreen was on, she pretended to pull a few apples from her bag—though in truth, they came from her dimensional supermarket—and handed one to each child. “Here, have an apple. Let’s sit and eat, then we’ll continue.”

The children were still small, and each carried something for their little uncle, which made the walk slower. After all this time, they were only halfway there.

Earlier that morning, when they left the house, Qiao Haoyu had noticed how much they were bringing. Since his wife and the kids had never walked such a long distance, he offered to go with them. But Wei Jiajia turned him down flat. She was worried that, now that he’d just been promoted to regiment commander, people might accuse him of misusing army resources. At a time like this, it was better to be cautious. Seeing how firm she was, Qiao Haoyu dropped the matter.

Originally, Wei Jiajia had planned to make the trip alone. But that morning, just as she was about to leave, the children clung to her, insisting on coming along to see their little uncle. After thinking about it, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to let them experience how hard farmers worked—better than ending up like their uncle, raised in a greenhouse, oblivious to the hardships of life. With that thought, she gave in.

Had she known the trip would be this long, she would’ve hardened her heart and refused them. If she’d come alone, she could’ve stored everything in her dimensional space and only taken it out when they were close—spared herself and the kids all this exhaustion. She glanced at the large bundle beside her and let out a sigh.

“Wow! Mom, when did you buy these apples? They sell these at the cooperative? I’ve never even heard Wang Yaowen brag about them!” said the eldest treasure, Qiao Youhui, as he took the big, glossy red apple from her hands. Normally, the cooperative didn’t have much fruit, and certainly not anything this good.

The “Wang Yaowen” he mentioned was the son of Li Linlin and Wang Jianjun—the same boy who’d been born prematurely, after his parents had been irritated by how happy Wei Jiajia’s family looked.

Born over a month early, the child had been frail and sickly in his early years. Li Linlin, feeling guilty and blaming herself, spoiled him endlessly to make up for it. Anytime the cooperative got anything nice, she’d find a way to buy it for her son. Fortunately for her, she and her husband only had one child, and their combined salaries were enough to indulge him.

Even Wang Jianjun’s famously frugal mother didn’t say much about it. She had given up going back to their rural hometown just to stay in the compound and help raise her grandson.

But with two women doting on him so much, Wang Yaowen had grown up arrogant and overbearing. Whenever he got something good, he made sure to show it off to the other kids—and only felt satisfied when he’d made them jealous enough to cry.

That’s why Youhui made the comment.

Within the compound, both families had similar backgrounds and similar positions. The children were all around the same age too. Naturally, they were constantly compared, which led to some long-standing rivalry between the younger ones.

“Uh…” Wei Jiajia looked at her eldest son, his eyes identical to his father’s, staring at her in suspicion. For a moment, she felt that same guilty panic she got when she was caught lying to her husband.

Clearing her throat, she put on a serious face and launched into her performance. “These aren’t from the cooperative. I asked someone I trust to buy them for me on the black market—they cost extra. You all eat quietly, okay? Don’t tell anyone. If someone finds out, your father and I could get arrested.” As she spoke, she brought a finger to her lips in a silencing gesture.

Hmph, she thought. So I can’t fool the adults anymore—doesn’t mean I can’t outsmart a few kids.

The kids clutched their apples and nodded earnestly, covering their mouths and swearing not to tell a soul. They knew what the black market was—if anyone got caught, it meant hard labor or exile.

Their father had long since secretly told them: no matter what their mother brought out at home, they must never tell anyone else. The children remembered that well.

After resting for a while, Wei Jiajia used roadside grass and twigs to weave makeshift hats for the children. They weren’t particularly attractive, but at least they provided some shade.

The only problem was her youngest son insisted on wearing the one she had made for her daughter—the one decorated with a few little flowers. Tomboy Qiao Aijia didn’t mind at all and handed it over without fuss. Qiao Youkang, delighted to get his way, put it on with great satisfaction, then took the lead heading out with their things, leaving Wei Jiajia momentarily speechless.

She honestly couldn’t tell whether she had given birth to a son—or ended up with another daughter.

When it came to vanity, no one in the family could hold a candle to him. Even Wei Jiajia herself sometimes felt outdone by her youngest son. The only one who could rival him was probably Nuannuan, who had been obsessed with looking pretty since she was little.

By the time they reached the village where Xiangyang had been sent to do manual labor, nearly three hours had passed. Most of the villagers were still out working in the fields, so the village was silent and deserted. They didn’t encounter a single person on the road.

With no idea where the youth dormitory was, the four stood at the village entrance, unsure what to do. There wasn’t a soul in sight—who could they even ask for directions?

“You all wait here for Mama,” Wei Jiajia said, leading the children to a shaded spot along the wall of someone’s house. She set the bags down and told them to watch the belongings, then headed off on her own to find someone to ask.

Turning a corner, she nearly ran into a young girl.

“Sorry! Did I scare you?”

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

They both spoke at once, apologizing.

Today was Qian Li’s turn to cook, so she had left early and was hurrying back to the youth dorm. The others would take care of the fieldwork—that was their original arrangement.

Each day, whoever was on kitchen duty could leave the fields an hour early so lunch would be ready when the others returned. That also gave them a chance to grab a short nap.

After apologizing, Qian Li looked up—and saw what looked like a fairy standing in front of her. A fairy who, oddly enough, looked somewhat familiar. She racked her brain, trying to place her face, but was certain she’d never seen this woman before.

She couldn’t help but wonder: Who is this comrade? She definitely doesn’t look like someone from the village—Qian Li had never heard of anyone around here looking this beautiful. Maybe she’d only seen her from afar before? That might explain why she seemed so familiar.

Qian Li gave Wei Jiajia a slight nod and turned to continue walking, but was stopped by her.

“Hello, comrade! Could you tell me how to get to the educated youth dormitory?” After finally coming across someone, Wei Jiajia wasn’t going to miss the chance to ask for directions.

“The educated youth dormitory? Why are you asking about that?” Qian Li hadn’t expected the reason she was being stopped was to ask for directions, but she didn’t answer right away—instead, she responded cautiously with a question of her own.

“I’m here to visit my younger brother. He’s an educated youth assigned here.” Wei Jiajia wasn’t annoyed at all and replied honestly. After all, in times like these, it was a good thing for a young woman to be cautious.

Hearing that, Qian Li looked at her more closely—and broke into a smile.

So that’s why she looked familiar! Her eyes were exactly like the new guy, Wei Xiangyang’s. Ever since Wei Xiangyang arrived, his good looks had caught the attention of many of the female comrades. And to think his sister was even more stunning—so beautiful she didn’t seem real. And she looked so young! Was she even twenty?

Qian Li guessed in her mind and then smiled, saying, “I’m one of the educated youths stationed here—I’m just heading back to cook. I can take you there!”

Wei Jiajia hadn’t expected the girl she stopped would be one of the educated youth herself. She seemed like a decent sort too—not one of those difficult types. That eased her nerves a bit; she’d been worried her brother might end up dealing with some clueless girl, especially with boys and girls living together—things could easily go wrong.

“Thank you! But it’s enough if you just point me the way. My kids are watching our things up ahead—I need to go back and bring them along.” The girl seemed to be in a hurry to get back and cook, and Jiajia didn’t want to hold her up.

“Your kids?” Qian Li’s eyes widened at that. If she had kids watching the luggage alone, they must be four or five years old, right? But this woman looked like she was only twenty! Kids that old already? Was she a stepmom? Qian Li’s mind was already running wild with possibilities.

“Yes, they’re just over there,” Wei Jiajia said, amused by the girl’s exaggerated expressions. She smiled and pointed in the children’s direction.

They? So not just one? That confirmed it—definitely a stepmom. Qian Li gave her a slightly regretful look. Someone so young and beautiful—why would she become a stepmother? Was her family forcing her?

Suddenly, her impression of Wei Xiangyang dropped a few notches. All that good behavior—dressing neat, eating well, never getting involved in dorm drama, working hard… She used to think he was a decent guy. Sure, he came from a good family, but he never acted spoiled. But now it seemed all of that came at the cost of his older sister’s happiness.

If she were Wei Jiajia, and her family had treated her like that, she would’ve turned the whole house upside down—no way would she come all this way just to visit that beneficiary of it all, even if he was her own brother.

“The educated youth dorm is in that direction too. Let’s go together,” Qian Li said. Though her mind was spinning with judgmental thoughts, she still found herself liking Wei Jiajia’s face—and perhaps feeling a bit of sympathy for her as well.

Wei Jiajia looked at Qian Li in confusion. Why was this comrade’s face so expressive? And that look just now—was that… pity? What was she pitying her for? Wei Jiajia had no idea what was going on.

Meanwhile, the third treasure, who had been waiting and growing bored, spotted his mom walking over with a woman. He jumped to his feet and ran toward them.

“Mama! Did you find the place? Where’s Little Uncle staying?” he asked.

“I did. This big sister is going to take us there,” Wei Jiajia said as she caught her youngest son, who had almost lost control from running too fast.

The third treasure glanced at the dazed Qian Li. He didn’t know what was on her mind, but he still politely said, “Thank you for showing us the way, big sister!”

The moment Qian Li saw Sanbao’s face—like a mini version of Wei Jiajia’s—and then heard him call her “Mama,” her whole world flipped.

Wait a minute… had she just been playing the fool this whole time?

Here she was, feeling sorry for someone she assumed had been forced into being a young stepmother, exploited by her family—when in fact, that wasn’t the case at all.

This woman actually had a son, and one that big, too. Yet she still looked about the same age as Qian Li—like a young girl. Who did she think she was, assuming she was the young and pretty one?

Qian Li’s face froze. Inside, she was screaming.

And when she heard that “big sister” echo in her ears again, she nearly lost it from the embarrassment of her earlier self-delusions. Quietly, in her heart, she offered an apology to Wei Xiangyang, whom she had just judged harshly for no reason at all.

She swore to herself that from now on, she’d never again think she was good at judging people. She had even played advisor to Zhong Xiaoting, secretly looking down on her for being love-crazed—yet now she felt like the real fool.

“No need to thank me!” she muttered. But when she saw Qiao Youhui and Qiao Aijia following behind, Qian Li found herself losing the ability to smile altogether.

Just how blessed did one have to be to still look this young after giving birth to triplets? Could someone please tell her the secret? She wanted in.

Back at the educated youth dorm, since her brother’s room was still occupied by others, Wei Jiajia didn’t go in. Instead, she stayed in the courtyard with the kids, waiting for him to return. Meanwhile, Qian Li headed into the kitchen to prepare lunch for the educated youth.

About an hour later, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside—scattered chattering, and among them, a shrill, distinctly affected female voice that immediately set off alarm bells in Wei Jiajia’s mind.

“Comrade Wei, wait for me! Everyone else is behind us—why are you walking so fast? Aiyo…” It sounded like she’d tripped. Her voice cut off, but its earlier tone—so deliberately coy—had already made the hairs on Wei Jiajia’s arms stand on end.

“Comrade Wei”? Wei Xiangyang?

So she had celebrated too soon. There really was some seductive, scheming woman here trying to lead her underage brother astray. Just listen to that overly theatrical voice! How could a young, inexperienced boy possibly resist that?

Wei Jiajia rolled up her sleeves. She felt her timing couldn’t have been better. If she hadn’t come today and found out, and that woman had managed to sneak her way into their family… she’d have been furious enough to spit blood. If that happened, she might just disown her brother altogether.

The three kids looked at their mother, confused. Why was she suddenly radiating such a cold, scary aura?

This version of Mama… was terrifying.

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