I Became the Mother of His Child

The Tangshui City Resort was growing increasingly large. Thanks to the relentless efforts of Ye Hua and Xu Xiuxiu, the luxury shopping center and large amusement park had already started construction. It was expected that Soup City would definitely begin normal operations later this year, and the amusement park and luxury shopping center, at the very least, would be completed around the same time. The amusement park, with its massive scale and somewhat headache-inducing facilities, was anticipated to open much later than the luxury shopping center. Even so, once the amusement park opened, tourism was sure to surge significantly.

Xiuxiu was very confident about this; after all, domestic tourist destinations were not as developed as they would be later, and the famous amusement parks of the future had not yet opened. Magic Valley and Joy Water World at Tangshui City Resort would become the largest amusement facilities on land and water in the country upon opening, filled with anticipation.

Time silently crept by amidst the hustle and bustle, and with the arrival of the summer holiday in July, Xiuxiu received a call from Mrs. Song from the village grocery store.

The gist of the call was that Wang Qinghua was visibly pregnant, and her temperament had become even more demanding. Song Yuan Yao had a falling out with Wang Qinghua before the new year, and now Yuan Yao was awkwardly staying at home for the summer holidays. Taking advantage of her pregnancy, Qinghua constantly found fault with her younger sister-in-law, tormenting Yuan Yao whenever she saw her. With a big belly, no one in the Song Family dared to offend her, leaving Yuan Yao with no choice but to be extra patient with Qinghua.

However, the summer vacation had just begun, and Yuan Yao had already suffered a lot of grievances. Mrs. Song, as her mother, couldn't bear to see her like this, so she thought of her second daughter-in-law. This young girl had never been to Z city. Hearing that her career was very busy recently, and that her three children were without supervision, to the point that she had even hired a nanny, Mrs. Song thought it might be a good idea to send her younger daughter to help her second daughter-in-law, taking care of the three kids' food and accommodations, and simultaneously avoiding Qinghua's influence, resulting in a solution beneficial for everyone.

Xiuxiu had no objections to this; Yuan Yao was not the type to make trouble, and Xiuxiu naturally welcomed her to spend the summer in Z city.

Song Yuanming had just graduated from junior high school this year and was considering whether to attend vocational school or high school. However, he wasn't keeping idle. Yuan Yao, having a good relationship with him and unable to stay at home, made him even less willing to stay home and deal with Qinghua's demanding behavior. When he learned that his sister Yuan Yao was going to Z city for the summer holidays, he was immediately excited to join her.

"Your sister is going there to help your second sister-in-law with Little Baby and Little Moon. What could you possibly do there? Would you have your second sister-in-law split her attention to take care of you, her little brother-in-law?" After some thought, Mrs. Song felt it was inappropriate for Yuanming to go to Z city.

The boy was not a calm one; going to Z city might just add trouble for his second sister-in-law, wouldn't it?

"Mom, I'm grown up now, I know how to take care of myself, I won't be a trouble to my second sister-in-law. Let me go!" Song Yuanming cajoled, shaking Mrs. Song's arm. As the youngest of the Song Family, Song Yuanming enjoyed the best treatment among the four children and naturally felt comfortable being coquettish to his parents, "Moreover, my first sister-in-law is such a troublemaker. If my sister leaves, she will definitely take her anger out on me, believe it or not? Look! The day before yesterday, I just picked a plum from the plum tree in the yard to taste it, and she yelled at me as if I'd carved a piece of her flesh..."

It was just an unripe plum, not even completely ripe, but she reacted as if he had eaten the miraculous Ginseng fruit from "Journey to the West". So dramatic.

"You!" Mrs. Song couldn't help but look at her youngest son with a mix of amusement and resignation, but her tone softened, acknowledging her son's point. Her eldest daughter-in-law could indeed be harsh. It was bearable for her to suffer slight discomfort for the sake of her grandson in the eldest daughter-in-law's belly, but she couldn't bear to see her daughter or her son mistreated. After thinking for a while, she said, "Yuanming, you can go to Z city, but you have to behave yourself, listen to your second brother and sister-in-law, and now that your sister-in-law is very busy, be useful and help out, don't add to the chaos, understand?" Mrs. Song loosened her stance but continued to instruct Song Yuanming carefully.

"Mom, I know." Song Yuanming nodded obediently. Joking aside, he wasn't capable of causing any trouble to his second sister-in-law; his second sister-in-law wasn't like Wang Qinghua, who could make a mountain out of a molehill over trivial matters.

"It's good that you know," Mrs. Song complained once more, then prepared to pack her youngest son's baggage.

"Mom, I can do it myself." Song Yuanming, though the youngest son, was capable of taking care of himself. He handled everything related to school in the county by himself, so packing was certainly not an issue for him.

Although Song Yuanming was capable of packing by himself, Mrs. Song, as a mother, was always worried and thus watched her youngest son pack. Lo and behold, everything he packed was provided by Xu Xiuxiu, from clothes and shoes to the luggage.

"Your second sister-in-law is really thoughtful, she spoils you like her own son! Clothes, shoes, luggage, all were provided by her. As your mother, compared to her, I really haven't bought you much to wear and use." Mrs. Song's eyes involuntarily welled up, thinking back to when their younger kids went to school, having to write with pencils until they were nothing but stubs held with sticks, clothes altered from big to small, and small to underpants and undershirts. Now, looking at the quality and costly items in her youngest son's suitcase, she greatly appreciated her daughter-in-law's capability.

These regular parcels sent in big bundles didn't seem much when distributed among the family, and she had grown used to it over time. But now, seeing all this, her appreciation for her second daughter-in-law deepened substantially, feeling heartfelt respect compared to the eldest daughter-in-law, who wore her out to exhaustion with endless troubles.

Hearing his mother's words, Song Yuanming solemnly examined the items in the suitcase, "Mom, you've finally seen the difference between my first sister-in-law and my second sister-in-law, right! One is older with a bad temper and not clean in her dealings, and always nagging as if someone owes her money. The other one generous, kind to your son and daughter, beautiful and virtuous, blessed with both a son and boy and girl twins, bringing fortune so immense that even the neighbors are envious. The difference is just too obvious. But you know, I think it's because my second sister-in-law is just too good, which just makes my first sister-in-law appear all the worse in comparison." Song Yuanming mentally weighed them against each other, clearly favoring Xu Xiuxiu significantly.