It wasn’t just the relatives who were stunned; even the passersby who had come to bask in the celebratory atmosphere were dumbfounded.
Some naive children, seeing Zhao Zongbao being carried out on the bamboo cooling bed, pointed at him and shrieked in alarm, “A man gave birth! A man gave birth!”
“Zhao Dabao had a baby!”
Eldest Sister Zhao, who had come to greet them, shooed the jeering kids away when she heard this. “What nonsense are you spouting? Do you still want some celebratory candy or not? If you keep talking nonsense, you won’t get any!”
The children immediately shut their mouths the moment they heard their candy supply was in danger.
Upstairs, Eldest Brother-in-law Zhao, who had been waiting for some time, saw the car door open and knew that Little Brother-in-law and Little Sister-in-law had arrived. He immediately shouted down from the second-floor window of their three shop fronts, “Time to grab the celebratory candy~!” and began scattering sweets to the street below.
The women and children who had come to enjoy the commotion saw the candy and their attention was immediately diverted. Especially the older women, who loved snatching the celebratory candy from a baby boy’s party; they believed that eating such candy would bless their own families with the luck to conceive sons. Everyone scrambled for the sweets!
When Old Zhao saw his eldest grandson, he was so delighted that his eyes narrowed into slits. Spotting the newborn in the arms of Third Sister Zhao, he couldn’t help but lean in and coo, “So this is our little Kaokao! Kaokao, Kaokao! I’m your grandpa, say grandpa!”
Old Zhao didn’t fully grasp what “Disco” was, finding the name incredibly awkward to say. So he simplified it to the nickname “Kaokao.”
Eldest Sister Zhao even came over to correct him: “It’s not Kaokao, it’s Keke! Di-s-co!!”
Feeling scolded by his daughter in public, Old Zhao snapped impatiently, “What Keke, Kaokao? You think I don’t know what ‘Ke-kao’ means? That’s short for the Imperial Exams from ancient times! You’re practically illiterate and you’re trying to lecture your old man? What don’t I know? I might’ve only finished second grade, but back in my day, a primary schooler was worth as much as a modern-day college student!” He then turned back to doting on the awakened infant in the swaddle, his voice pitched high and sweet as he asked, “Isn’t that right, Keke? When you grow up, you’ll study hard just like your mom, go to a university! Pass the exams, become a top scholar, and get a government job!”
Third Brother-in-law Zhao and Fifth Brother-in-law Zhao carried Zhao Zongbao into the back room. Third Sister Zhao and Fifth Sister Zhao wanted to help Xu Huiqing back to her room as well, but to their surprise, Xu Huiqing simply carried her baby and sat down right in the bustling, crowded courtyard. She smiled and said, “I’ve officially finished my postpartum confinement today. I’ve been lying in bed for a month. Just let me sit here and relax a bit.”
Hearing this, Third Sister Zhao and Fifth Sister Zhao didn’t insist further. They smiled and said, “Well, you sit here then. We’ll go help out in the kitchen.”
Right now, it was Second Sister Zhao and Fourth Sister Zhao who were doing the cooking in the kitchen.
Second Sister Zhao, after all, had a guilty conscience. This was her first time selling her own brother’s biological daughter, and she was terrified. So from the moment Xu Huiqing returned, she had hidden herself by the kitchen stove in the backyard, tending the fire and cooking, not daring to step outside.
Seeing her two younger sisters come in now, she quickly asked, “What are you two doing in here? Youdi and I have it covered here. You should go out and tend to the guests.”
Third Sister Zhao and Fifth Sister Zhao replied, “You two have been slaving away in the kitchen all day, how can we stand idly by? You go out and have some water, we’ll handle things here with Third Sister.”
Second Sister Zhao refused to leave. Then a thought struck her. Xu Huiqing was definitely in her room with the baby right now, and with so many guests present, her parents must have prepared a lot of pastries and candies. This was her chance to go out, have a snack, and maybe even pocket some to bring home for her own son.
Among all her sisters, she had married the worst, ending up with a man deep in the mountains of Five Peaks Mountain Township.
As soon as Second Sister Zhao stepped into the courtyard, Xu Huiqing spotted her.
The firecrackers and skyrockets had ceased by now. The relatives in the yard had just finished giving their red envelopes to the newborn and were finding seats, cracking melon seeds and eating peanuts and pastries. Xu Huiqing turned her head and locked eyes with Second Sister Zhao.
Seeing Xu Huiqing, Second Sister Zhao immediately tried to turn and flee back to the kitchen, but Xu Huiqing called out loudly, stopping her in her tracks. “Second Sister, sorry to trouble you with caring for Xiaoxi this past month. I’m out of confinement now, so I can look after her myself.” As if searching for the child, Xu Huiqing’s eyes scanned the area around Second Sister Zhao. Pretending to be puzzled, she asked, “Huh? Where’s Xiaoxi? I haven’t seen her for over a month, I miss her terribly. Hurry and bring Xiaoxi out so I can see her!”
Second Sister Zhao instantly grew tense. She wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist and forced a dry laugh. “There were so many people today, so I didn’t bring Xiaoxi along!”
Xu Huiqing said with a smile, “Today is her own little brother’s one-month celebration. How could his big sister possibly be absent?”
She then called out to her older brothers, who were sitting in the courtyard watching some others play cards. “Third Brother! Eldest Brother-in-law!”
Eldest Brother-in-law Zhao had just finished scattering candy upstairs and was coming down. He immediately ran over with a grin upon hearing Little Sister-in-law call for him. “Little Sister-in-law, you called? What do you need? Just say the word!”
Despite his usual habits of drinking, whoring, gambling, and smoking, his mouth was sweeter than honey.
Xu Huiqing smiled and said, “Xiaoxi is at Second Sister’s house; she didn’t bring her back. I miss her terribly. Could I trouble you to drive my Third Brother over to Second Sister’s place to pick up Xiaoxi? I’ll pay you back for the gas later.”
At this time, Eldest Brother-in-law Zhao’s family was still under his father’s control and was quite wealthy. He couldn’t care less about a pittance for gas money. With a wave of his hand, he declared generously, “I thought it was something serious! Isn’t picking up Xiaoxi a given? Just you wait!”
Among Xu Huiqing’s older brothers, the third brother, Xu Huifeng, had the most lively temperament. Hearing his sister call for him, he hurried over with a grin. “Going to get my niece? I’m on it!”
Old Zhao, who had been happily entertaining guests while doting on his eldest grandson, saw that Xu Huiqing suddenly wanted to bring his eldest granddaughter into this. His face immediately darkened as he scolded her fiercely. “With all these guests here, your Brother-in-law needs to entertain them. You want to send him to get Xiaoxi? It doesn’t matter if Xiaoxi isn’t here, and you are forbidden from going!”
Almost everyone in the courtyard had been gathered around Xu Huiqing and the newborn. When she spoke, everyone—except those at the card table—had turned to watch her. Now, seeing Old Zhao suddenly erupt in anger, they all looked at him in surprise.
Eldest Brother-in-law Zhao, who never knew how to read the room, smiled and said, “We’ve got Third, Fourth, and Fifth Brothers-in-law here, what do they need me for? My Little Sister-in-law has a point. How can Xiaoxi miss her own brother’s one-month celebration? I drive fast, I guarantee I’ll bring her back before noon!”
Holding his car keys, he called out to Second Sister Zhao: “Second Sister, let’s go, get in the car. I’m driving to pick her up!”
Old Zhao panicked. “That little brat Xiaoxi is just a girl! Why should it take so many people? We’re so busy today, and you need a whole crowd to pick up one measly girl? Does her Second Aunt not have to wash vegetables and cook anymore?”
Second Sister Zhao hastily chimed in. “Yes, yes, yes, I still have to wash vegetables and cook, the stove is still lit! I better go check on it!”
Eldest Brother-in-law Zhao’s face remained wreathed in smiles as he brushed it off. “Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sisters are all in the kitchen. How could it possibly lack just you? Come on, come on. If we leave now, we can make it back before lunch!”
Xu Huifeng, seeing nothing wrong, simply followed Eldest Brother-in-law Zhao towards the exit.
Frantically slapping her thighs, Second Sister Zhao cried, “Those three don’t know how to cook! I’m still braising pig trotters in the pot; don’t let them let the water boil dry!”
By now, the smile had faded from Xu Huiqing’s face. Clutching her newborn, she said, “If you won’t go, that’s fine. I noticed that your husband isn’t here. Is he at home?”
Second Sister Zhao hastily said, “Your Brother-in-law isn’t home, he’s away for work. He won’t be back for half a month!”
Xu Huiqing’s expression had completely fallen away, replaced by a deep frown and a stern face. She demanded, “Your husband isn’t home, yet you came back without bringing Xiaoxi. I see you brought all your own children along. Xiaoxi is only three years old—did you leave her alone at your house?” Her gaze shot sharply towards Old Zhao. “You people are doing everything you can to stop me from getting Xiaoxi.” Her eyes suddenly turned fierce as she glared at Second Sister Zhao, and her voice rose sharply. “Spit it out! What exactly did you do to Xiaoxi?!”
Terrified, Second Sister Zhao looked helplessly at Father Zhao and Mother Zhao, blurting, “Nothing! What could I possibly do to Xiaoxi? My mother-in-law is looking after her!”
She then turned to Xu Huifeng and said, “Third Brother, please, go and help me get Xiaoxi. I won’t be at ease until I see her myself.” Then to Eldest Brother-in-law Zhao: “Brother-in-law, sorry for the trouble.”
By now, Eldest Brother-in-law Zhao also sensed something was off, though his face remained cheery. “What trouble? It’s nothing.”
He started walking towards the courtyard gate.
Old Zhao, in a panic, lunged forward and grabbed him. “I forbid you to go!”
Just then, Xu Huiqing’s oldest brother, who had been playing cards, threw down his hand, stood up, and asked her, “What’s going on?”
In a fluster, Xu Huiqing explained, “I don’t know! Before I gave birth, my mother-in-law said she couldn’t look after Xiaoxi and me both, so she sent Xiaoxi to stay with Second Sister for a few days. After I gave birth, I asked for her to be brought back, but they kept making excuses. Just now, when I asked Second Sister why Xiaoxi wasn’t here, she couldn’t give me a straight answer. She even said her husband wasn’t home, which means she left a three-year-old Xiaoxi all alone in her house! Her house is out in the mountain villages, that’s incredibly dangerous! And my father-in-law has stopped Third Brother and Eldest Brother-in-law from going to get her again and again. I’m afraid this family values sons over daughters so much that they took advantage of my childbirth to sell Xiaoxi off!”
Tears welled up in her anxious eyes. She wept, her voice clear and loud. “I overheard them whispering before about selling someone or something. They must have sold Xiaoxi! Eldest Brother, Second Brother, go to the police station and report this for me! The Zhao family must be human traffickers! They’re running a child-trafficking ring! I’ve walked right into a kidnapper’s den!” Her tears fell rapidly as she continued, her voice a loud, frantic murmur. “I always wondered how a family of eight generations of poor peasants suddenly got the money to buy three large shop fronts and start selling household appliances. It must have come from trafficking children!”
Old Zhao raised his hand and swung it straight at Xu Huiqing’s face. “If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll beat you to death, you troublemaker!”
But Xu Huiqing, quick of eye and hand, snatched a porcelain dish piled with melon seeds and peanuts from the table. She used it to knock Old Zhao’s incoming slap aside, then smashed the dish hard directly into his face!