I Became the Mother of His Child

Xu Fangfang's shouting only seemed to provoke Song Guomin, "How can I not want my son? Doudou is the only seed of the Song family, how could I not want to save him?" Song Guomin, red-eyed with frustration, yelled at Xu Fangfang, "It's all because of you, convincing me to borrow money. What kind of people are Lin Erbiaozi and his gang? The kind that devours without spitting out the bones. I've always said we shouldn't borrow from them, but you just wouldn't listen."

Now Song Guomin truly regretted it! In agony, he grabbed his head and furiously crouched down on the ground, "I deserve to die, it's me who should die! Why did I ever trust what you, woman, said? Don't I know exactly what you weigh? Now look, we are buried in debt, and our son has been dragged into this mess too. I have let down the ancestors of the Song family!" Saying this, his hands rough from labor fiercely slapped his head several times.

"What use are these words now? Why didn't you say this when you borrowed the money? Now that Doudou has been taken away by them, do you think I'm not anxious?" Xu Fangfang also began to cry, clearly regretting deeply, and her tears seemed genuinely sincere, "Xiuxiu, please, please save my Doudou! I will be your ox and horse in the future if you need!"

For her son, Xu Fangfang was ready to sacrifice everything!

But even so, Xu Xiuxiu couldn't soften her heart. 3,000 yuan wasn't a small amount. If it had been just a few hundred, Xu Xiuxiu might have considered it. But you don't cure poverty with instant relief. Xu Fangfang was greedy; if it weren't for her envy of Xu Xiuxiu making some money and her hasty decisions leading to this debacle, even dragging Xu Jingjing into it, Xu Xiuxiu would never be so heartless towards her. Every time she relented, it was a cruelty towards Xu Jingjing.

Faced with choosing between Xu Jingjing and Xu Fangfang, Xu Xiuxiu did not hesitate to choose Jingjing. Therefore, she couldn't sympathize with Xu Fangfang, who deserved her fate.

"Sis, I really can't help. I wish I could, but I don't have that much money. 3,000 yuan isn't just 300 yuan—I can't produce that much money even if you beg me," Xu Xiuxiu said, immediately shifting aside. She did not want to have her life shortened by Xu Fangfang's kneeling.

The bystanders, despite feeling sorry for Xu Fangfang's pleas, saw nothing wrong with Xu Xiuxiu's stance. Indeed! Even clear accounts among siblings! It's reasonable to ask for a loan among sisters, and relatives should help each other within their means. But they were asking for 3,000 yuan! These days, every penny is split into two; 3,000 yuan was a huge sum at a time when few households in the county had ten thousand yuan. To ask for thousands of yuan outright was really too difficult for people, and besides, not having money, you still insist on forcing others to lend you money—there's no logic in that.

"If you don't have 3,000 yuan, you must have at least 2,500, right?" Xu Fangfang, not giving up, pushed further.

"…" Xu Xiuxiu's forehead twitched violently, "I don't have 2,500 either." Xu Fangfang was really something; if she had 2,500 yuan to give, what difference would another five hundred make?

Xu Fangfang, shaking her head, refused to believe Xu Xiuxiu's words.

"Xu Xiuxiu, you can't be so cruel. Think about it, a lot of my current plight was caused by you. If you had agreed to let me invest in your restaurant, would I have opened my own and lost everything? If it weren't for paying the neighbours back, would I have borrowed money from Lin Erbiao? Now look, compounded interests have accumulated so high we can never repay it in this lifetime. Xu Xiuxiu, you owe me, and you must help repay it. If anything happens to my Doudou, I will never let you off in this lifetime." Xu Fangfang, driven by anger, naturally didn't mince her words as she instinctively blamed Xu Xiuxiu for everything.

Ha, ha! Xu Fangfang is still the same old Xu Fangfang!

"Seems like you're truly beyond help," Xu Xiuxiu said disdainfully as she glanced at Xu Fangfang, then turned and walked into the hospital room, slamming the door shut behind her. Just before the door closed, Xu Xiuxiu cast a final glance at Xu Fangfang, "I'm also lucky I didn't have money to lend you. With your crazy, biting-mad dog attitude, even if I had the money, I wouldn't lend it to you, you heartless creature. It's silly of me to waste words with someone who would push their own sister into a fire pit!" After saying this, Xu Xiuxiu looked back at Song Yuanhuan who followed her into the room, then slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

"Xu Xiuxiu, you little slut… come out here! You can't treat me like this, you owe me, you need to compensate me!" Xu Fangfang couldn't borrow the money and couldn't contain her anger, so she cursed outside the hospital room.

The onlookers, seeing that Xu Xiuxiu had already escaped into the room and then looking at Xu Fangfang, who had lost all composure and was pounding on the hospital door while sitting on the ground, shook their heads and dispersed back to their own rooms. It wasn't until the hospital nurses, annoyed by the disturbance, came to intervene that Xu Fangfang's cursing ceased.

Outside the hospital room Xu Fangfang's curses filled the air, but inside, Xu Jingjing was sitting on the bed, not lying down, Mr. Xu stood by the window, gripping his tobacco pipe but not smoking, and Mrs. Xu had tears streaming down her face. When she saw Xu Xiuxiu enter the room, she immediately shot her a disapproving look.

Obviously, Xu Fangfang's voice had not been quiet, and with the poor soundproofing of the era, everyone in the room had clearly heard what Xu Fangfang had said, but even so, Xu Xiuxiu had no intention of being merciful.

"Xiuxiu, your older sister, she…" Mrs. Xu stammered, trying to speak.

Xu Xiuxiu, guessing what her mother wanted to say, interrupted her before she could finish, "Mom, you must have heard what she said outside, I definitely won't lend her the money. If you feel sympathy for her and can't bear anything happening to Doudou, you can go help her, I won't stop you, but don't expect me to help." Xu Xiuxiu detested evil, and although she also felt pity for the child Doudou, she truly couldn't convince herself to help Xu Fangfang.

She, Xu Xiuxiu, was no saint and certainly couldn't do something as noble as repaying evil with kindness.

"Xiuxiu, Mom didn't mean that…" Mrs. Xu was taken aback by Xu Xiuxiu's stern tone.

Xu Xiuxiu turned her head, ignoring her mother's call, and walked over to Xu Jingjing with a smile, "Lie down and rest a bit more. You'll be able to leave the hospital in a couple of days." Saying this, she adjusted the pillows behind Xu Jingjing.

"Mhm." Xu Jingjing nodded, her emotions not fluctuating much, but still managing to show Xu Xiuxiu a slight smile.