I Became the Mother of His Child

Xu Xiuxiu was soon wheeled out of the delivery room. Nowadays, there are not many beds in the county hospital, so typically, women who have had a normal delivery stay in the hospital for a couple of hours for observation. If there's nothing wrong, they are sent straight home to start their confinement. Song Yuanhuan was worried about Xu Xiuxiu and originally wanted to pay for her to stay in the hospital for a couple of days, but it was the end of the year and there were fewer nurses and doctors in the hospital, so they didn't agree. Regrettably, Xu Xiuxiu had to go home after a mere two hours of observation.

In the latter half of the night, Song Yuantao and Song Yuanming also rushed to the hospital, possibly knowing that the hospital wouldn't let the new mother stay at the end of the year. They were concerned that Song Yuanhuan and Mrs. Song might not be able to take care of both the children and Xu Xiuxiu, so the two brothers braved the wind and snow to make their way to the county hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital and heard that Xu Xiuxiu had given birth to boy and girl twins, they were both overjoyed. Song Yuanming, being the younger one, was especially astonished at the sight of the two similar-looking babies.

"Why is my little niece so tiny? Did all the nutrients go to my little nephew?" Song Yuanming remarked, frowning as he noticed that the boy was noticeably bigger and heavier than the girl.

Song Yuanhuan was standing by the bedside, gently caressing Xu Xiuxiu's pale face, his heart aching for his wife who had endured so much. However, upon hearing his brother Song Yuanming's words, anger welled up in him too. The little guy, comfortably asleep, moved his small mouth unaware that his dad was glaring at him crossly for having hogged so much nutrition from his sister.

Clearly, the boy, who weighed a full two pounds more than his sister, was already not in his father's good graces, which didn't bode well for his future! This man, who valued girls over boys and had been yearning for a daughter so eagerly that his heart trembled at the thought, couldn't be happy, could he? He finally got the daughter he had longed for, but she was bullied by his son. How could he, as a father, be pleased?

Merely thinking about how the little rascal had tormented his wife for hours, while the daughter, clearly more sensible from birth, hadn't troubled her mother at all and arrived obediently within ten or twenty minutes, unlike that clueless little boy! These thoughts made Song Yuanhuan involuntarily shoot his son, who was blissfully asleep, another disapproving glance.

Before long, Xu Xiuxiu's two-hour observation period was up, and the nurse came to inform them that the patient could be discharged and go home. Exhausted from childbirth, Xu Xiuxiu was still deeply asleep.

Song Jiabao, the driver in the village, had driven them to the county hospital, and knowing that the childbirth wouldn't be over in a short while and the weather had turned cold, had informed Song Yuanhuan before taking the tricycle back to the village with a puttering sound. Song Yuantao and Song Yuanming had come to the county hospital in the dark of night precisely because they knew that Song Jiabao had taken the tricycle home. They had dragged a wooden cart to pick up the family from the county hospital. Although the wooden cart wasn't as fast as the tricycle, with two quilts padded on it, it made quite a comfortable place for Xu Xiuxiu.

The journey from the county to Song Family Village was obviously much slower without the tricycle, and the manual effort was a bit strenuous. Moreover, with the wind and snow in the late night, what was normally a little over an hour's walk turned into two hours.

Mrs. Song and Song Yuanming had been protecting the two children all the way. Mrs. Song, attentive as ever, took care of the little girl, while Song Yuanming held the little boy. Knowing that the babies, having just been born, were fragile and should not be exposed to wind or snow, they wrapped the blankets around the children tightly, fearful that the twins might catch cold or fall ill.

Song Yuanhuan was at the front, pulling the cart, while Song Yuantao was at the rear, helping to push. The group had worked hard and only reached home around one or two in the morning. Yet, lights still shone from the Song family's house, clearly indicating that everyone was anxiously awaiting the return of the mother who had been in labor. Song Chengguang, because of his young age, had already been lulled to sleep by Song Yuan Yao. Aside from this, the only person in the Song family who didn't seem concerned was the eldest sister-in-law, Wang Qinghua, who had eaten her dinner and gone to bed early with her daughter.

"Is everyone alright?" Father Song, smoking his pipe in the main room, saw that all who had gone to the county hospital had returned safe and sound. When he saw his wife and youngest son each holding a wrapped bundle, his aged eyes suddenly lit up, twinkling with surprise, "Are... are these two new babies?" His tone echoed his shock.

"Yes! A pair of boy and girl twins! It's the first for the Song Family Village! And both mother and three children are safe and sound." Now that Mrs. Song was home, she felt calmer. Her daughter-in-law had given birth to twins, and although the little girl was somewhat frail, the doctor had said with careful nurturing she would surely thrive. Mrs. Song felt much of her anxiety lifting, and happiness naturally started to take its place.

"Really! Oh my goodness! My second sister-in-law is amazing." Song Yuan Yao exclaimed with delight, rushing over to see the babies. She looked at the delicate little girl in Mrs. Song's arms, then at the little boy her brother was holding, reaching out to play with the little one, but then she hesitated and drew her hand back.

"Big sis, please take the little nephew for me! My arms are getting stiff from holding him." Song Yuanming, after all, was a young man, and had there been any other way, he wouldn't have held the child himself—having no experience with such small babies, this was the very first time he was holding a baby so tiny and delicate. He had been tense and had hardly dared to breathe freely on the way back. Now that they were home, he was eager to hand over the child.

"Alright! Give him to me!" Song Yuan Yao said with a chuckle, looking at her brother before skillfully taking the child in her arms, her posture quite proper.

"By the way, Yuanyao, did you keep that ginseng chicken soup I had warmed up in the pot? When your second sister-in-law wakes up, give her some to drink. She gave birth to two children tonight, which really took a lot out of her." Though Mrs. Song was holding the child, she didn't forget about her hardworking daughter-in-law, recalling the ginseng chicken soup she had prepared quickly during the day. There was a majority of it left, and now that it was warm, it would be perfect for Xu Xiuxiu to drink and replenish her strength when she awoke.

"My eldest sister-in-law said she wasn't feeling well recently and drank it when I wasn't paying attention," Song Yuan Yao said, furrowing her brows and biting her lip with a disheartened tone. Just when she'd been trying to coax Song Chen to sleep, she found that the pot of chicken soup was empty right after she returned.

"What?" Mrs. Song immediately raised her voice, her hands holding the baby shaking slightly, "Why didn't it choke her! She's so thoughtless. That was soup I'd made for Xiuxiu. What does she want with ginseng chicken soup when she's perfectly healthy and unable to have children? How can she be so gluttonous? She doesn't fear exploding from overeating!" Mrs. Song yelled angrily, then noticed the little girl in her arms frowning at the sound of her raised voice. She calmed her anger and lowered her voice, but it was still clear how angry Mrs. Song was at the moment.