I Became the Mother of His Child

Song Yuanhuan had always been at a loss with Xu Xiuxiu. Seeing her fall into a deep sleep mid-sentence due to exhaustion filled his heart with reluctance to leave her, but since Xu Xiuxiu had chosen the path of a strong, independent woman, despite his full capability to provide a calm and comfortable life for his wife, he as a man couldn't help but admit how good-looking his diligent and hardworking wife was. Thus, all he could do was support her.

Fortunately, Xu Xiuxiu wasn't the type to get completely carried away with her work, plus she hadn't weaned the twins yet, so every day she was responsible enough to express milk for them despite her early departures and late returns. Because of this, Song Yuanhuan decided to stop lecturing her.

On this day, the sun shone brightly. Xu Xiuxiu set out early from the city and promptly at eight in the morning, alongside the construction site workers, she threw herself back into the construction activities. She worked vigorously from sunrise until the sun hung high in the sky before stopping to rest.

After reaching an agreement with Fei Han on how to handle another part of the site, Xu Xiuxiu went to get a lunch box from the site canteen and sat with Fei Han in a shaded area, chatting and eating together.

Meanwhile, outside the construction site, Xu Jingjing, who was supposed to be busy at Sichuan Pavilion and even wearing the restaurant's uniform, was wandering around like a headless fly, hesitatingly staring at the "No Unauthorized Entry" sign for a long time before steeling herself to enter the site.

However, the construction site was chaotic, with cement, bricks, and sand everywhere. Xu Jingjing, trembling with caution, carefully made her way forward but still nearly knocked over a wheelbarrow used for transporting bricks.

"Ouch," she winced, clutching her knee.

"Miss, this is a construction site; strangers are not allowed. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Just as Xu Jingjing was grimacing in pain, a voice behind her called out commandingly.

"Hello, my name is Xu Jingjing. I am looking for my third sister, Xu Xiuxiu. She's supervising the work here," Xu Jingjing replied with a turn and a smile, first glancing at the speaker's mud-covered clothes before raising her gaze, "Wei Jiaqiang? It's you? Are you working here at the site?" Recognizing the man's face with surprise, she hadn't realized that despite only having met Wei Jiaqiang fleetingly on a train and outside the hospital before, her eyes still managed to pick out the kind and simple man, even though he stood there in a hard hat, covered in dirt.

"Miss Xu!" Wei Jiaqiang was also surprised, his honest voice rang out as he started to reach for the back of his head but then remembered he was wearing a hard hat and awkwardly rubbed his trouser leg instead, "Yes! I don't have much education and couldn't find work back home. One of the foremen in charge of half the construction here knew me. I had worked for him before, and seeing how earnestly I worked, he introduced me here." Wei Jiaqiang's explanation was straightforward, and it seemed to occur to him only at the end to recall Xu Jingjing's purpose, "Are you looking for the lady boss of the site?"

Xu Xiuxiu often supervised the construction work on the site. Despite being a delicate and pretty wife, she could withstand hardship and dirt and even ate the same box lunches as everyone else. Many of the workers had a good impression of her, but still, Xu Xiuxiu was the boss, and they did not dare to address her by her name, so they had agreed to call her the lady boss privately.

"Uh, right, I'm here to find my sister on an urgent matter. Do you know where she is?" Xu Jingjing nodded and pursued.

"I do, she's just ahead, but this construction site is quite big, and you might get confused. How about I take you to her?" Wei Jiaqiang said, seemingly worried as he insisted on guiding Xu Jingjing.

"Sure, thank you." Xu Xiuxiu smiled and nodded. She was no longer the young girl submerged in pain back in her hometown. In Z city, she had found work and life goals, hence her temperament had shifted from gloomy to lively and optimistic.

"It's no trouble, no trouble at all." Wei Jiaqiang quickly shook his head, then took the lead to guide Xu Jingjing, showing no dissatisfaction for missing his mealtime to help her: "Miss Xu, be careful on the site." The girl wearing a pretty outfit was slender and fragile; one couldn't help but worry she might bump into something on the site!

"Okay, I'll be careful." Xu Jingjing, who had bumped into a wheelbarrow at the construction site earlier and was now experiencing knee pain, gratefully accepted Wei Jiaqiang's kind reminder and proceeded with extra caution.

Wei Jiaqiang led the way, with Xu Jingjing following. After a while, they saw many workers sitting in shaded areas, eating. Xu Xiuxiu's clothing was also covered in dust; the morning's work had coated her with a thick layer of dirt. However, being a woman, Xu Jingjing immediately spotted her third sister's figure; just as she was about to shout, a middle-aged man in front suddenly abandoned his lunchbox and darted out, "Wei Jiaqiang, what are you doing? Instead of eating your lunch properly, where have you gone? And who is she? What's she doing here? This is a construction site, you should know the rule about not letting just anyone in. Before the female boss finds out, hurry up and get her off the site." With that, his eyes guiltily darted toward Xu Xiuxiu.

Despite the female boss's usual easygoing and agreeable demeanor, if there was anything wrong, she wouldn't hesitate to scold even the architect Fei Han, let alone the likes of them, the petty foremen. Moreover, the construction site's owner was reliable, paying wages on time every month, which was already quite rare. Outside there were many construction sites that owed workers' wages, and it hadn't been easy for him to find a job for the simpleton Wei Jiaqiang; he couldn't afford to have him mess it up through ignorance.

"Uncle Yao, this young lady is the sister of the female boss; she's here to speak with her on an urgent matter," Wei Jiaqiang explained honestly.

"Really?" Yao Peng asked in surprise, "The female boss's sister?"

"Uh-huh." Wei Jiaqiang nodded. He had seen the female boss once, right outside the county hospital back in their hometown, but at that time all his attention was on Xu Jingjing. When he saw Xu Xiuxiu later on the construction site, he only thought she looked familiar, yet couldn't remember where he'd seen her. It was only after seeing Xu Jingjing that he remembered—the competent female boss was Xu Jingjing's sister.

"I see! That girl, yeah! The female boss is over there in the shaded area. Come on, I, Old Yao, will take you to her right away," Yao Peng immediately turned to Xu Jingjing with a solicitous smile, gesturing to lead the way, "This site is a mess, miss, watch your step." After a sigh of relief, Yao Peng cheerfully spoke and then urged Wei Jiaqiang, who was still dazed, to quickly go have his meal.