When Xu Huiqing woke up, Xiaoxi woke up too. Her large eyes opened, and she instinctively reached out for her mother to hold her. Xu Huiqing naturally scooped her up and carried her to wash her face and brush her teeth.
Mother Xu saw her get up still holding Xiaoxi and immediately tried to stop her. “You can’t carry her! It was bad enough you held her all last night. If you keep holding her now, with Xiaoxi this big, do you even want your back anymore?” She coaxed Xiaoxi, “Be good, Xiaoxi. Your mama just gave birth to your little brother. Her body is still unwell. Xiaoxi is a big girl now; you can’t ask Mama to carry you anymore.”
Xu Huiqing couldn’t bear to hear such things and stopped Mother Xu. “Mom, why are you telling her that? How old do you think she is? How could she possibly understand? I’m fine.”
Hearing the word ‘brother’, Xiaoxi clung tightly to Xu Huiqing, refusing to let go. She buried her face against her mother’s neck. She only loosened her grip when Xu Huiqing carried her to the water basin in the courtyard to wash her face and brush her teeth, finally letting Mama put her down.
Mother Xu watched her brushing Xiaoxi’s teeth and couldn’t help muttering again, “A child this young, what does she need to brush her teeth for? Aren’t those teeth all going to fall out anyway? Hurry up, wash up and go eat something.”
Third Sister Zhao stood there awkwardly, holding the newborn.
She had taken the one-month-old infant out the previous night to gain sympathy and was scolded by Xu Huiqing for it. Now, the awkwardness was overwhelming. Yet, this newborn was Xu Huiqing’s child, and she hadn’t even asked about him, as if the baby wasn’t hers at all.
If one were to say that Xu Huiqing had deep feelings for this child in her past life, after being reborn, that affection felt as though it had been stripped away.
In truth, she understood that her son had been raised to be that way partly because of her.
In her past life, after the first month, she discovered Xiaoxi was missing. She completely panicked. For over three years after that, she searched for Xiaoxi all over the province and even nationwide. She quit her job, neglected her household, and left her child entirely in the care of his grandparents. By the time she found Xiaoxi and returned home, her son had been taught by his grandparents to no longer recognize her as his mother. He only acknowledged his grandparents. He even listened to their words, coming to hit her and hit Xiaoxi, believing she was a bad mother and Xiaoxi was a bad person who came to steal his mom. His rejection was so extreme that she couldn’t even touch him. The moment she did, he would burst into violent tears, punching and kicking her.
On top of that, he would often bully Xiaoxi, hitting her, throwing things at her, and telling her to get out of the house.
When Xiaoxi was first found, her condition was terrible, both physically and psychologically. As a boy, he naturally received all the doting affection of his grandparents and aunts, growing up like a little emperor, just like Zhao Zongbao. Whatever he wanted, he got, from the stars to the moon.
She had poured most of her energy into caring for Xiaoxi, handling everything from food, clothing, shelter, and transportation to her education. At that time, Xiaoxi was already over seven but hadn’t started school yet. Afraid she wouldn’t adapt to the school environment or be bullied, Xu Huiqing, who had been away from the podium for over three years, returned to school to become a substitute teacher. Though not Xiaoxi’s homeroom teacher, she was the class math teacher, and the other subject teachers, because of her situation, also gave Xiaoxi a little extra care.
It wasn’t until Xiaoxi’s condition gradually stabilized, after her son had started kindergarten, that Xu Huiqing had the bandwidth to begin addressing her younger son’s education issues.
But by then, trying to educate him was extremely difficult. It wasn’t just his rejection of her; his grandparents had been constantly brainwashing him. They were terrified he might be won over by her. From his earliest years, they instilled ideas like “Mama doesn’t want you,” “She’s a bad mother,” and “Hit Mama.” Even though, after many years of effort, she poured nearly all her spirit into the two siblings, gradually easing their relationship, and her son slowly became more sensible through growing up and being educated, the ideas ingrained in him from childhood weren’t so easily erased.
In his heart, his grandparents always came first. Whatever his grandparents said, was law.
Thinking back on the bits and pieces of her past life with her younger son, Xu Huiqing looked at the child in Third Sister Zhao’s arms.
All her emotions and the energy of her spirit had dissipated with the passing of her previous life. Perhaps there really is a need for some kind of karmic connection between people, and she and this child had none.
In this life, she could certainly take him away with her and teach him from the very beginning. But she had neither the spiritual stamina of her past life, nor that much energy and time – and most importantly, she had no feelings left for him to walk that path from her previous life all over again.
Third Sister Zhao saw her looking at the newborn in her arms and quickly walked over, bringing the baby right up to her. She smiled and said, “Come look at your mama! Your mama is looking at you. She must miss you, too. Give your mama a smile!”
She was speaking to the newborn, but her words were meant for Xu Huiqing.
With extreme enthusiasm, she said to Xu Huiqing, “Mom brought back formula from the hospital. We made him a bottle this morning. The little thing is so well-behaved, such a good eater. He only cries when he’s hungry, and once he’s full, he sleeps. He just woke up from a nap. He probably knew his mama was awake, so he woke up too!” As she spoke, she bent down, smiling at Xiaoxi. “Xiaoxi is awake too? Do you still remember me? I’m Third Aunt!”
Xiaoxi, who was having her face washed by Xu Huiqing, heard the word ‘Aunt’ and, terrified, hid behind Xu Huiqing. She clung tightly to her mother’s thigh, burying her face in it and refusing to come out.
When Second Sister Zhao and Mother Zhao, thinking Xiaoxi was too young to remember, plotted to sell her off, they hadn’t avoided discussing it in front of her. Right in front of the child, she heard them talk about Old Zhao’s plan to sell her far away to avoid her taking up a spot on the household registration, which would prevent Xu Huiqing from forgetting about her.
Even though she was small and couldn’t understand the full meaning of many words, she kept them in her heart. She knew it was her grandparents and Second Aunt who were going to sell her.
Second Sister Zhao had even teased her, smiling as she said, “Your mama doesn’t want you anymore. Now that she has a little brother, she doesn’t want you. She’s going to sell you to buy sweets for your brother!”
“Who told you to be a girl? If you’d just been born a boy, wouldn’t that have been better?”
“When you get to your new father and mother’s house, you have to be obedient and do your chores. Be quick about it. Help your new parents get a little brother soon, you understand? If you don’t, there are wolves on the mountain. If they throw you to the wolves, you’ll be eaten right up.”
When Second Sister Zhao said this to her, she was smiling, but her tone was serious. And she was the one who personally carried her to that household in the mountains. Xiaoxi watched her Second Aunt take the money, then turn and walk away without looking back.
She had run after Second Aunt, crying, but Second Aunt pushed her hard, prying her off. “From now on, those are your new father and mother! That’s your home! What use is following me? Your own mama doesn’t want you anymore!”
She tore Xiaoxi off like a used-up piece of dog-skin plaster.
Second Aunt’s smiling face at that moment was exactly identical to Third Aunt’s smile now.
Xiaoxi buried herself completely between her mother’s thighs, her tiny body trembling. Her hands clutched tightly to her mother’s legs.
Xu Huiqing also noticed Xiaoxi’s distress. She immediately picked her up, sheltering the little girl’s entire face against her neck. One large hand supported Xiaoxi’s little bottom, and the other protectively cupped the back of her head. She said to Third Sister Zhao, “Thank you for taking care of Little Treasure these past few days.”
When Third Sister Zhao saw that Xu Huiqing could still speak to her in such a calm tone, her face blossomed with a delighted smile. She quickly said, “No trouble at all, no trouble! What’s so troublesome about looking after your own nephew? You haven’t eaten yet, have you? This morning, Laidi and I got up and stewed an old hen. Hurry up and have some chicken soup!”
She assumed that if Xu Huiqing could speak nicely to her, it meant her anger had subsided. That she would relent and let her parents, Zhao Zongbao, and Second Sister Zhao come back!
They all thought that since Xiaoxi had been found and the child was unharmed, they could pretend nothing had ever happened. That Xu Huiqing and Zhao Zongbao’s marriage could continue, that they could all still interact as if everything were normal, and the matter was over.
Xu Huiqing ate in the central room with Xiaoxi. The Zhao sisters and several of the Xu sisters-in-law gathered around to watch her eat.
Seeing she was finished, Mother Xu urged her, “The child has been found, so let the matter rest. Live your life well from now on. After you finish eating, go to the police station and bring your in-laws back. They’re getting on in years; spending a night in there must have been hard. And your husband’s leg, he needs to see a doctor for that immediately!” She sighed. “You girl, honestly. Can’t you talk things over nicely? You just have to be so hot-headed and even call the police. If something bad happens to your husband’s leg, it’ll be too late for regrets!”
“That temper of yours is exactly like your father’s!”
Third Sister Zhao also quickly chimed in to smooth things over, “The old folks were afraid Xiaoxi would take up Keke’s spot on the registration, afraid of the penalties for exceeding the birth limit. The Family Planning Office is strict now; just a few days ago, a woman in our town was eight months pregnant and still dragged off to have it terminated. The old folks were also worried that if this baby was another girl, they’d need to free up a registration slot! Elderly people, you know, which of them doesn’t want to hold a grandson? But now look, everything is fine. Keke is born, and with Xiaoxi, the two just make the character for ‘good’.”
Fifth Sister Zhao, worried Xu Huiqing still held a grudge against Second Sister Zhao, also spoke up to defend her, “Second Sister, she meant well but did a bad thing. She herself aborted five times just to have a son, so she thought everyone was like her – willing to discard a daughter for a son. Afraid you would be put in a spot, she sent Xiaoxi away.”
Xu Huiqing’s eldest sister-in-law from her maiden family also quickly smiled to smooth things over, “Now that the second child is a son, and Xiaoxi has been brought back, you have both a son and a daughter. Xiaoxi doesn’t have to be sent away anymore!”
It was as if everyone had tacitly agreed that aborting a female fetus or sending a daughter away just to have a son was a perfectly ordinary and normal thing!
And indeed, such occurrences were all too common around them!
Second Sister-in-law Xu and Third Sister-in-law Xu, seeing the matter was resolved, began discussing returning to their village. They said to Mother Xu, “Mom, now that things are settled here, I’ll head back soon. I wasn’t home last night; the two kids must be worried sick!”
Mother Xu, looking at her daughter’s calm expression, felt relief in her heart and said, “Then you all go back first. With none of us at home, your father probably hasn’t even thought to feed the pigs.”
Even Eldest Sister Zhao and Fourth Sister Zhao thought there was nothing left to do. They could leave now, leaving Third Sister Zhao and Fifth Sister Zhao to care for the newborn and handle the situation of Father Zhao, Mother Zhao, and the others being temporarily detained.
Xu Huiqing didn’t stop them. She carried Xiaoxi in her arms and went to the town’s tricycle stop to see them off.
As a woman just out of her postpartum confinement month, how could they let her escort them? They all told her to go back to bed and rest well.
Third Sister Zhao, feeling somewhat guilty, placed the newborn next to Xu Huiqing. Together with Fifth Sister Zhao and Fifth Brother-in-law Zhao, she took many red eggs from the Zhao house and bought a lot of pastries on the street to send the guests off at the town’s tricycle terminus.
Soon, the previously bustling Zhao house fell silent and empty, leaving only Mother Xu, Xu Huiqing, and the two children.
Once everyone was gone from the Zhao house, Xu Huiqing instructed Mother Xu to watch the storefront. She then retrieved the keys to Father and Mother Zhao’s room from their usual hiding spot, unlocked their door, and pushed it open.