I Became the Mother of His Child

Xu Qingqing left the Song Family when it was already late afternoon. Xu Xiuxiu, feeling out the mood, turned her head and began to adjust the sleeping positions of the boy and girl twins next to her, her mind simultaneously shrouded in gloom as she thought about Xu Jingjing's situation. The joy of having given birth had also significantly diminished with the troubles revealed by Xu Qingqing.

As evening approached, the fierce wind picked up again outside. This year's winter seemed colder than past years; the snow that had fallen the night Xu Xiuxiu gave birth had yet to melt. Each household had cleared small paths near their front doors to facilitate walking, but looking at the overcast sky above, Xu Xiuxiu knew that tonight might bring another heavy snowfall.

When Song Yuanhuan returned from the county, his stern face was adorned with a beaming smile. In his hands, he carried seven or eight hefty hens, and he also held two carp weighting three to four pounds each: "Mom, these are the old hens I bought for Xiuxiu. They are extremely good for a woman who has just given birth. Make sure to cook a variety of soups for her to drink every day." The Song Family had prepared dinner early on, and Mrs. Song was very patient with Xu Xiuxiu, having killed a hen to stew for her at noon and also having the youngest daughter bring the evening meal to her room.

The Song Family had raised quite a few old hens, which Mrs. Song had specifically raised for Xu Xiuxiu to nourish her body after knowing about her pregnancy. Seeing her son spend money on buying so many additional hens, she frowned and said, "You might as well have bought fish, as carp soup is good for producing milk. But with ten or twenty old hens already at home, enough for Xiuxiu to eat until her postpartum period is over, why go to the trouble of spending money on them?" Mrs. Song scolded, with clear dissatisfaction in her tone.

"Mom! Xiuxiu likes fresh food. She doesn't really like soups that have been left overnight because they change taste. The food she's been eating during her postpartum period doesn't have much flavor, so I just thought it's best to make fresh dishes for her to eat more," Song Yuanhuan said with a relaxed and light-hearted tone.

Xiuxiu was actually much pickier than what Song Yuanhuan described. That young woman typically only ate dishes that were freshly cooked, except for cold dishes. She hardly touched any hot dishes once they cooled down. Soup was something she could just about tolerate, accepting it on the day it was made but never the day after; he knew her temperament well and naturally did not want his wife to suffer. After all, money was not an issue for him, so buying a few more old hens meant nothing.

"Little brother really knows how to dote on someone!" Wang Qinghua sat at the dining table, picking out the fattiest pieces of meat with her chopsticks, yet her gaze harbored a mocking look at Song Yuanhuan, "Mom, little brother has money to spare. It's not a big deal to buy more to have in reserve, concerned that the soups and broths his wife has daily aren't enough. Old hens can be kept if they're not eaten up anyway!" Qinghua continued, reaching out for another piece of meat to stuff into her mouth.

"Hmph!" Mrs. Song gave Song Yuanhuan an approving nod and didn't say much else. But as she turned to get a bowl and chopsticks for her son, she gave Wang Qinghua a fierce glare.

Song Yuanhuan was her son, and Mrs. Song knew exactly what he was thinking. If it hadn't been for Wang Qinghua greedily drinking up the ginseng chicken soup prepared on the night of the labor, would her son have gone out of his way to buy more hens? Wasn't it because he couldn't stand seeing his wife slighted? Thinking of this, Mrs. Song felt increasingly uncomfortable, her glances at Wang Qinghua growing angrier.

Wang Qinghua was shamelessly thick-skinned; she had endured all kinds of looks over the past year and had long since become immune to them. She certainly didn't care about a few glares from Mrs. Song!

"Is the household registration done?" Father Song sat in the main seat at the table and casually asked his second son, who had sat down to eat and was looking relaxed.

"It's done." Song Yuanhuan nodded. The household registration was a significant matter. Now that the child's registration was completed and recorded in the county Police Station, the permit to have a second child was also officially stamped, and Song Yuanhuan's smile grew more tender as he had resolved a major concern.

"Okay!" Father Song nodded, took a small cup of liquor from in front of him, and drank it happily.

"Daddy, eat the meat." Xu Xiuxiu was confined to her bedroom for postpartum recovery, where Song Yuan Yao had already been bringing her meals. Fearing that Song Chengguang would disturb the two little children, Song Yuan Yao decided to eat with Song Chengguang in the main room. Conveniently, Song Chengguang was also very well-behaved, knowing that his mother had given birth to a brother and sister and that he should not disturb them, so he dutifully followed Song Yuan Yao.

But the little fellow was, after all, quite young. He had only heard his parents mention grandparents, but he was still not too familiar with them, so when he saw his own father return home, he immediately became cheerful, even offering Song Yuanhuan the braised pork from his bowl.

"Mmm, Chengguang, you eat too." Song Yuanhuan appreciated Song Chengguang's solicitous gesture, and in a good mood, he also picked a piece of braised pork for his son. The harmony between father and son was quite apparent.

After a quick dinner, Song Yuanhuan handed Song Chengguang over to his sister and eagerly took the household registration book into the room.

Xu Xiuxiu looked at the awkwardly written names of the children in the household registration book with some speechlessness, but she didn't find it too disagreeable. After all, the registrations were handwritten nowadays, which she understood. As long as the children's names were not written incorrectly, she could tolerate any ugliness.

Moreover, her entire mind was preoccupied with Xu Jingjing at that moment. Her feelings toward the girl were complex, and naturally, she couldn't distract herself too much with other matters.

That night, Xu Xiuxiu did not sleep well. The wind and snow started up again outside, and by the next morning, Song Family Village was once again covered in white snow. Xu Xiuxiu initially worried that in this weather Xu Jingjing might not come to visit her, but in the afternoon, she did see the young girl's figure.

As the young girl entered the room, Xu Xiuxiu noticed something off about her. The girl had lost a lot of weight compared to before, her vitality seemed particularly low, and her gaze was very hollow. Upon seeing Xu Xiuxiu, the girl's gaunt face showed a slight emotional fluctuation, which she quickly suppressed. However, her large eyes betrayed her intent to hide her feelings, slowly welling up with tears.

Clearly, life had been cruel to Xu Jingjing, the proud woman who was the youngest child of the Xu Family. Innocent and doted on by her parents and older sister since childhood, she grew up wishful to find a cultured man with a good family background. She dreamed of marrying well, living well, and garnering everyone's approval and envy. But fate, just as she was growing up and longing for a better life, dealt her a devastating blow from reality and kinship, a blow that was enough to alter the trajectory of her life.

"Jingjing, come over and sit down!" Xu Xiuxiu beckoned her, using the same tone she had when she lived in Z-city.

"Sis." Xu Jingjing looked at Xu Xiuxiu and nodded. As she moved forward with an effort to smile, she wanted to share in her sister's joy, to celebrate for her having birthed boy and girl twins, but she couldn't bring herself to feel happy. Tears slowly slid down the corner of her mouth, the taste bitterly shocking.