Back to the City with My Beautiful Mom [The 1980s]

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Coming soon: The Evil Dragon Cub's Mom Is the Heroine of a Vintage Novel

Please add The Delicate, Gorgeous Beauty of the Seventies' Island to your reading list

Ning Xiangxiang has a little secret. Only she and her mom know that she's no ordinary human toddler. She's an evil man-eating flower.

Her mom asks if she knows what evil means.

Ning Xiangxiang sticks out her round little tummy, freshly filled with food. "Of course I do! Being evil means eating lots and lots of yummy food every day. What if we eat so much that our family runs out of money? Then we won't have a home anymore."

Her mom strokes her little head and gently tells her, "A hearty appetite is a blessing."

Little Xiangxiang doesn't want her mom to worry, so she doesn't tell her that she can also eat away other people's pain, though then she'll feel pain too.

The first time she meets Grandma, Grandma has just had surgery, and there's a long incision across her stomach. Grandma cries from the pain, so little Xiangxiang goes over and rubs her forehead against Grandma's. Grandma stops crying.

There's a big brother at Grandma's house who's much taller than her, but Mom tells her he's only two years old, a year younger than her. The children on the street all call him an idiot. Little Xiangxiang rubs against him every day, and he stops being an idiot.

Dad hasn't been home for three years. Mom and little Xiangxiang miss him so much. Some mean kids tell her that Dad has abandoned her and Mom, married a new mom, and had a baby boy. Little Xiangxiang is so sad that she hides away to wipe her tears. Just then, Dad comes home, limping toward her. Without a moment's hesitation, little Xiangxiang runs over and rubs against him...

*

Ever since little Xiangxiang moved back to the city with her mom, the Song family has undergone a tremendous transformation:

Her unreliable, no-good uncle turns over a new leaf and opens a clothing shop so his little niece can eat her fill and enjoy good food. Little Xiangxiang is his best model. As soon as she takes her cute little place at the shop entrance, business comes pouring in.

Her fearsome grandpa, a butcher, becomes much kinder after his little granddaughter compliments him. The children in the family used to be scared of him, but now they all want to cling to him. Still, little Xiangxiang is his favorite.

Before their little cousin came along, the Song boys didn't care for her at all. But once she arrived, who would pay attention to those stiff, smelly brothers? Their soft, sweet-smelling little cousin is so adorable they can't get enough of her.

[The man-eating flower in this story is a little flower sprout, a good friend to humans. She does not eat people, does not eat people, does not eat people. That's important, so it bears repeating three times.]

[The little one in this family is so adorable that no one has time for petty squabbles. The whole family works together to earn money and spoil her rotten.]

[No melodrama. Food and the everyday joys of raising a child, with family love and healing at the heart of the story. The heroine won't date before adulthood. There is a male lead, and the extras include romance after she grows up.]

*

Coming soon: The Evil Dragon Cub's Mom Is the Heroine of a Vintage Novel

Su Zhizhi is held in a woman's arms, and a strange thing is put in her mouth. The woman gently tells her, "Our Zhizhi needs to eat more so she can grow up big and strong."

Su Zhizhi clenches her little fists in protest. Our noble Red Dragon Clan would never eat humans... Huh? What's this? It smells so good! Burp!

Su Zhizhi eats a lot and grows quickly, developing faster than ordinary human toddlers. By the time she's one, the woman is teaching her to say "Mom." Su Zhizhi turns her head awkwardly and shyly declares her claim: "Dear Princess, don't be afraid. Zhizhi will protect you!"

*

When Su Zhizhi is three, she moves with her mom to the Gu family after her mom remarries. Her new dad is far away, defending the country, so she protects her princess at their new home.

Her new grandma is mean to Mom, so Su Zhizhi bravely steps in front of her. She opens her little mouth wide, trying to breathe fire and scare Grandma, then remembers that as a human toddler, she can't breathe fire. Su Zhizhi feels so wronged that golden tears roll down her cheeks.

Grandma Gu looks at the little girl crying before her. Her eyes are as red as a rabbit's, and her little nose and cheeks are bright red too. A hint of tenderness appears on the old woman's fierce face.

Her two older brothers are naughty and make Mom angry every day. Su Zhizhi has seen Mom hide away to wipe her tears several times, and it breaks her heart. That's her princess! Every day, she acts like a well-behaved, obedient human toddler just to make her princess happy. How dare they bully her princess?

Su Zhizhi can't stand it anymore. Today she punches one brother, tomorrow she kicks the other, and the day after that she bites them both. In just a few days, her brothers are as well-behaved as she is.

Tang Wanyi returns from the mountain with a basket of thorny branches on her back, ready to teach the two little brats a lesson with love. As soon as she enters the courtyard, the boys rush over to fawn on her. "Mom, leave this kind of hard work to us from now on. Sit down and have some water. My brother and I will make dinner for you and our little sister."

Tang Wanyi: "..."

Her husband grows more considerate, her mother-in-law grows kinder, and her stepsons grow more sensible. Tang Wanyi decides that maybe she doesn't actually need to get divorced after all.

*

Coming soon: The Delicate, Gorgeous Beauty of the Seventies' Island

[Island life + food + the everyday joys of raising a child. The heroine has a beauty golden finger: her beauty is peerless and invincible.]

Regimental Commander Zhou brings home a stunning, delicate beauty. No one on the island thinks it will work out. Life here is just too hard. A man needs a capable, thrifty wife. What good is a pretty face? It can't feed you, and you'll have to worry about the sea breeze blowing her away and go diving to fish her out.

Less than three days later:

"Who says a pretty face can't feed you? I only took one look at our sister-in-law from a distance, and I feel like I could eat three bowls of rice."

"What's so great about the cafeteria's braised pork? With this long line, I'd rather have our sister-in-law's egg fried rice!"

"The cultural troupe is coming to perform on the island? The troupe's star is singing solo? Who cares? Our sister-in-law could sing a lullaby at random and still sound better!"

Zhou Gu can take it no longer. He flies into a rage. "All of you, get lost! She's my wife, mine, and mine alone!"

My wife is beautiful, so I'm the only one allowed to look at her!

My wife's cooking is delicious, so I'm the only one allowed to... Wait, how can I let my wife do this hard work? I'll do it!

My wife sings beautifully, so I'm the only one allowed to... Why is she singing lullabies? Can't those brats put themselves to bed? She's my wife, mine!

*

Zhou Gu is almost thirty and still doesn't have a partner. He isn't worried, but his widowed mother is. She tricks him into coming home for a blind date with a telegram saying, "Mother critically ill." When Zhou Gu arrives, he finds his supposedly dying mother chasing a hen around the yard with a cleaver in her hand.

Zhou Gu turns to leave, only to collide with Ruan Jiaojiao, who's been brought to the Zhou home by the matchmaker for a blind date.

Ruan Jiaojiao covers her reddened forehead and looks up at him with teary eyes.

Zhou Gu's throat bobs. He has a particular weakness for delicate, soft-spoken young women, and Ruan Jiaojiao is so soft she looks like a fresh crescent moon you could squeeze water from. She's exactly his type.

Zhou Gu struggles to keep his excitement in check and asks her, "Are you willing?"

Ruan Jiaojiao looks at him cautiously. He's so fierce. I'm scared.

She's so scared she's almost crying. Her eyes red, she nods and whispers, "I am."

When the little girl cries, his heart breaks.

Zhou Gu: Stop crying. I'll give you my life.

Ruan Jiaojiao, sweet as milk candy, marries Zhou Gu, whose explosive temper flares at the slightest provocation. Everyone thinks she'll be bullied to death. But the young couple couldn't be happier. Zhou Gu cherishes her with all his heart, giving her the best of everything. She has two children in their first year of marriage and five in three years. All five children join their dad in spoiling their mom. The women on the island envy Ruan Jiaojiao, and the men envy Zhou Gu to death.

Theme: Everyone is equal