I Bacame the Mother of His Child-Chapter 58 - 57: Rendezvous at Sichuan Pavilion Again

In the 1980s, children’s clothing in department stores wasn’t as varied as it is now. Even though the styles were rather plain and ordinary, Xu Xiuxiu still enjoyed shopping for them. After all, as a single woman whose mental age had zipped to her thirties, Xu Xiuxiu had to admit she had a particular fondness for cute children’s clothes.

Li Yunqiong was well-off, but she usually didn’t make decisions about Cui Shuo’s clothing. First, relatives and friends often gifted them expensive clothes, and second, most of Cui Shuo’s clothes were trendy children’s outfits sent by his aunt from abroad or imported from Hong Kong. This was the first time she had picked out clothes for Cui Shuo herself, originally just thinking of killing time since Cui Shuo liked the kids at Xu Xiuxiu’s place, so why not shop together.

But once they entered the children’s clothing department and she saw how enthusiastic Xu Xiuxiu was about choosing clothes—now picking up one piece to see how it would look on Song Chengguang, now grabbing a small jacket to try on Zhao Nan, completely ignoring the glaring eyes of the salesperson nearby—Li Yunqiong also felt the rare impulse to personally pick out clothes for Cui Shuo.

"Xiuxiu, what do you think of this one?" Li Yunqiong pointed to a cotton vest hanging nearby, but didn’t reach out to check the material.

"Um! It looks quite nice." Xu Xiuxiu glanced at the vest and nodded before quickly selecting several other items to take to the checkout.

"Could you help me find this in the right size then?" Li Yunqiong straightforwardly asked the salesperson for help.

The salesperson, who had been glaring daggers and was quite displeased, saw her gloomy expression vanish. Had it been some country folk picking and choosing like this on any other day, she would have already lost her temper. But when these two ladies walked in, she recognized the quality in their demeanor. Plus, she saw the stroller that Xu Xiuxiu was pushing, a model she had coveted for a while to buy for her own son, but had given up due to its extortionate price; yet she still thought about it from time to time. So when she spotted the stroller, she reminded herself not to judge based on appearances.

People willing to spend so much on a pram for their children probably wouldn’t hesitate to spend on clothes either. And if her guess was right, the middle-aged woman accompanying them must undoubtedly be their nanny, as could be seen from her carrying the child’s small belongings. Think about it—in these times, people who could afford a nanny were definitely wealthy or noble, and she should certainly be polite to such customers.

After much picking and choosing, Xu Xiuxiu ended up buying two outfits each for Song Chengguang and Zhao Nan. Li Yunqiong, being more extravagant, bought three outfits for Cui Shuo at once. By the time they finished choosing the clothes and left the store, it was nearly noon.

"Let’s have lunch together!" suggested Xu Xiuxiu.

"Sure!" Li Yunqiong, fond of Xu Xiuxiu’s calm and easy-going nature, agreed without a second thought as soon as Xu Xiuxiu proposed they dine together.

"How about we go to the Wu’s Hot Pot nearby? That new hot pot restaurant has received pretty good reviews." The weather was getting colder, making it a good time for hot pot. Plus, Xu Xiuxiu hadn’t had hot pot in a long while. Song Yuanhuan was often busy with military duties, leaving him little time to accompany her. Her relations with other military wives in the Military District were just passable, not enough to go eat hot pot together. The only few she was on good terms with were all stuck working relentlessly at Sichuan Pavilion for her, so even though she was keen to try out this new hot pot restaurant, Xu Xiuxiu just couldn’t find companions.

"I don’t mind, but I wonder if the kids can handle it?" Considering that traditional hot pot was typically spicy, Li Yunqiong’s concern about whether Cui Shuo and Song Chengguang could eat it was understandable.

"They should have clear broth base, we might as well go and ask," Xu Xiuxiu, having been reminded by Li Yunqiong, also thought of Song Chengguang and Cui Shuo, the two children, and hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Okay," Li Yunqiong agreed, nodding.

As soon as the two had finished discussing and were planning to take the children to Wu’s Hot Pot, He Cuixia, who had been quietly following them carrying a large pile of clothes, suddenly interjected, "Madam... the young master mentioned this morning before he left that he wanted you to come home for lunch." Seeing that the two were still planning to have lunch together, He Cuixia immediately frowned and spoke out, her tone heavily suggestive, while she warily glanced at Xu Xiuxiu.

Li Yunqiong was startled upon hearing this and then remembered Cui Shuo’s father’s instruction from the morning, indeed there was such a matter, but she had just agreed to have lunch with Xu Xiuxiu! With that thought, Li Yunqiong looked apologetically at Xu Xiuxiu.

"If that’s the case, then we should each head back first, and next time we have the opportunity we can have a meal together!" Xu Xiuxiu wanted to eat hot pot, but if Li Yunqiong had family matters to tend to, she wouldn’t insist, as they were just acquaintances of similar age and interests after all.

"Let’s do it another day then! I’ll treat you to a meal just the two of us next time, how about we go to the recently renowned Sichuan Pavilion?" Li Yunqiong spoke apologetically, yet she also took the initiative to promise to treat Xu Xiuxiu next time as compensation.

Sichuan Pavilion! Wasn’t that her turf?

Hearing this, Xu Xiuxiu laughed, "Okay, then I’ll wait for you to treat me to Sichuan cuisine at Sichuan Pavilion."

Xu Xiuxiu nodded and took the two bags that Li Yunqiong had asked He Cuixia to help carry, while Zhao Nan immediately stepped forward like a gentleman to help carry a light one.

"Alright!" Li Yunqiong replied while looking ahead at her own son.

"Let’s go." Cui Shuo’s chubby hand was linked with Zhao Nan’s left hand, and he wobbled along with short steps due to the diaper he was wearing, which made his little butt sag and his little legs look short and cute. "Mao Mao," Li Yunqiong called out the little one’s nickname.

When Cui Shuo heard his mother’s call, he stopped, turned his head, and looked at Li Yunqiong with a puzzled look in his eyes and head. Seeing this, Li Yunqiong smiled, walked forward, picked Cui Shuo up, bid farewell to Xu Xiuxiu, and then brushed aside the little one’s reluctant protests and left in the private car that had come to pick them up from their home.

After bidding Li Yunqiong goodbye, Xu Xiuxiu took Zhao Nan and Song Chengguang and was about to head back, but made a special trip to the market before taking them home.

The market wasn’t bustling today and didn’t have a wide variety of items, with only some scattered vegetables and basic poultry and meat available. After asking Zhao Nan if there was anything particular he wanted to eat, Xu Xiuxiu took the initiative to buy some vegetables and meat. At noon, Xu Xiuxiu made a few simple dishes, and Zhao Nan ate his fill until his little belly was round. Seeing this, Xu Xiuxiu let the two children digest their food for a while before hurrying them into the house to take their afternoon nap. Xu Xiuxiu spent quite some effort to finally get the two to fall asleep, but just then, the yard’s gate was urgently knocked on.