I Became the Mother of His Child-Chapter 448: Two Little Babies
"Brother, who is she?" Little Baby gazed at the little girl about her age, then turned her head, her face full of confusion as she asked her brother, who seemed to know everything.
"..." Brother, I don’t know who she is either? Song Chengguang was also somewhat clueless, so he didn’t answer Little Baby’s question.
"She is your little sister." Mrs. Song, hearing the children’s question, spoke up to explain, then turned to Xu Xiuxiu: "She is the little girl that your sister-in-law brought over." With one sentence, the mystery was resolved.
In fact, even without Mrs. Song’s explanation, Xu Xiuxiu had almost guessed the identity of the little girl. After all, she knew that her new sister-in-law’s former husband’s family didn’t have many people, so it was a certainty that they would not abandon a girl of Little Baby’s age. Plus, the padded jacket that the little girl was wearing had been bought by Xu Xiuxiu herself! Perhaps due to a lack of spare clothes, the jacket had become dirtier, but it didn’t stop Xu Xiuxiu from recognizing it.
"Why is she so thin and small?" Xu Xiuxiu couldn’t help but comment from an adult’s innate concern.
"Sigh! She had been starving on and off with her mother before. Now that she’s at our home, she’s been nourished for half a year, but maybe because she shy away from us, fearing we might resent her for eating too much, her mother is also restraining herself, so she remains timid and hasn’t grown much. She’s skinny." said Mrs. Song in a tone of helplessness.
Mrs. Song actually understood the new daughter-in-law’s state of mind very well. After all, it was a second marriage, and she had brought a daughter with her. In the rural language, that’s considered extra baggage. If you meet a decent family, they might willingly take care of the child, but there are plenty of instances where others have been less charitable. Mrs. Song considered herself not too harsh and had advised her eldest daughter-in-law, but the mother wouldn’t listen, and Mrs. Song, not being her own granddaughter, naturally didn’t have much more to say.
"Mom, you guys should come inside quickly! It’s very cold out here!" By now, Song Yuanhuan had also locked the car and started to move the luggage out of the back, including the seafood they had specially bought for the return home. Seeing Mrs. Song and Xu Xiuxiu still standing at the doorstep, he called out to remind them.
"Okay!" Xu Xiuxiu nodded, then turned her gaze to her three children: "Cheng Guang, all three of you come inside quickly, don’t catch a cold standing out in the wind." Xu Xiuxiu said with concern.
"Okay, we know, Mom," the three children obediently nodded their little heads and then ran ahead of Xu Xiuxiu and Mrs. Song, quickly and nimbly entering the house.
The Song family’s circumstances were improving day by day. Mrs. Song had said they had lit the stove in the main room, which indeed made it much warmer than outside. Although the main room was breezy from all sides, the stove was effective, especially placed in the center near the dining table, surrounded by a few small stools, probably for sitting and warming up during leisure times. Father Song was sitting in the main seat of the room, puffing on his pipe.
It seemed that every year when she returned to her ancestral home, the first sight of Father Song was always the same for Xu Xiuxiu, as if nothing ever changed, except that each year the foreheads of the Song family elders were increasingly frosted with white hair. Of course, this year was different from the previous ones because there were two additional people in the house, the new sister-in-law and the little girl she had brought. Xu Xiuxiu wondered how well they would get along.
"Auntie," Song Tianxin, who was also sitting in the main room and toying with a rather large bell by the fire, looked up and greeted Xu Xiuxiu with rare warmth as she entered; it was clear that her trip to Z-city had changed her somewhat.
"Mhm!" Xu Xiuxiu smiled and nodded upon seeing this, feeling relieved that she no longer had to worry about encountering Song Tianxin’s sharp and piercing glare during her home visit for the New Year.
"Mom, it must be the second brother and his wife’s family who have arrived, right?" Just after Song Tianxin finished asking, a young woman of plain appearance but with a warm smile, wearing an apron and clearly busy with cooking dinner in the kitchen, emerged with a timid little "tail" following behind her—the girl who had been playing by the ice pillar outside. By the looks of things, combined with what had been said, this must be Song Yuantao’s new partner, without a doubt.
"Yes, they just got here. This is your sister-in-law, the girl from Xu Village, Xu Xiuxiu," Mrs. Song was quite fond of Wei Dafang and, seeing her come out to inquire, introduced them with a smile.
"Big sister, I’m Xu Xiuxiu." Despite having a headache that was nearly splitting her head, which in the countryside was no more than a common cold (it’s not like she was a child, after all, to make a fuss about it), she couldn’t appear too cold. Even with a cold, it would seem inappropriate and could easily lead to misunderstandings.
"Oh!" Xu Xiuxiu’s greeting was immediately met with an enthusiastic smile from the other party, "Did you have a smooth trip? I’ve got hot water boiling; if you’re tired, you can wash your face, and the meal will be ready soon. You can sit outside for a bit to rest, and I’ll serve the dishes shortly." Wei Dafang spoke warmly, giving Xu Xiuxiu a very favorable first impression, clearly very welcoming.
"It’s hard work, big sister."
"It’s nothing, this is what I should do!" Upon hearing this, Wei Dafang replied timidly, then cheerfully nudged her daughter clinging to her leg, "This is the daughter that the man up front and I have, a bit older than your boy and girl twins by about ten days, named Zhao Ziqi. Quick, Xiaoqi, say hello to your auntie." She gently reminded, her gaze on her daughter filled with concern.
"Auntie," the little girl’s voice was almost inaudible as she spoke.
"Mhm, hello, Xiaoqi." Xu Xiuxiu greeted kindly with a smile. Having a nature that kids tended to love, she radiated good intentions, "Cheng Guang, I’ve prepared New Year gifts for both little sister Xiaoqi and sister Tianxin. Do you know where they are? Could you help Mommy fetch them?"
The three children at home were not at all shy, especially Little Baby, the little girl who was quite bold. Father Song was a very serious and authoritative figure in the Song family, yet the little girl seemed quite fascinated by Father Song smoking his pipe. She trotted over to him coquettishly calling him grandpa and then reached out to play with the tobacco pouch hanging on his pipe, revealing a sweet smile.
Song Chen and Little Moon were carefully watching over Little Baby. Hearing Xu Xiuxiu’s call, Song Cheng Guang responded with an "Mhm" and followed Song Yuanhuan outside to get the luggage. When he returned shortly after, he entered carrying two exquisitely cute cloth dolls.
Although Song Tianxin was already in her teens, girls’ fondness for cloth dolls knows no age, so when Song Chen handed the dolls to Zhao Xiaoqi and Song Tianxin, both girls showed delight. After all, Xu Xiuxiu had selected them thoughtfully; while they may not compare to the various sophisticated dolls of the future, they were still very cute, especially during winter nights when holding them in bed felt very warm.
