It was just a warning to her, reminding her that she and Zhao Zongbao already had two children, that they were bound together, to tell her not to go too far, to let Father Zhao, Mother Zhao, Second Sister Zhao and the others off, and to use the child to make her soften.
But she could never forget the words Zhao Bei coldly spoke to her after Xiaoxi’s accident in her previous life.
Without even glancing at the infant in Third Sister Zhao’s arms, she went straight back to her room with Xiaoxi in her arms.
After resting for over an hour in the car, she had regained much of her strength, though her arms were still weak, her body like noodles, desperately needing nourishment and rest.
The three Zhao storefronts were two stories, with the sales area in front and living quarters in the back.
Xu Huiqing found her room, carried Xiaoxi inside, and had just laid her gently on the bed when she woke up, her little hands still tightly clasped around Xu Huiqing’s neck, refusing to let go or go to the bed.
This was completely different from Xiaoxi’s reaction when Xu Huiqing found her in her previous life.
Back then, Xiaoxi, at just over seven, had also been timid and afraid, but that fear was directed at everyone, including her.
She didn’t dare touch anything in the house; her eyes were filled with fear and timidity—a stark contrast to her current trust and dependence on Xu Huiqing.
Many details she hadn’t noticed in her previous life now stood out in comparison, and Xu Huiqing realized the difference. For a moment, her nose stung with bitterness, and her hatred for Second Sister Zhao, for Father Zhao, Mother Zhao, Zhao Zongbao, and for that couple intensified.
Seeing that Xiaoxi didn’t want to sleep on the bed, she didn’t force her. Instead, she sat down on the wooden sofa chair with Xiaoxi in her arms, placing her on her lap, and helped clean the still-remaining clumped rice bran from her hair.
After a long while, Xu Huiqing held Xiaoxi and softly said, “If little Xiaoxi is awake now and doesn’t want to sleep, shall we have something to eat and then sleep, okay?”
Xiaoxi nestled entirely in Xu Huiqing’s embrace, her arms wrapped tightly around her, not speaking.
Xu Huiqing patted her back gently, over and over: “Xiaoxi won’t be scared anymore. Mommy has found Xiaoxi. Mommy will never lose Xiaoxi again. Just trust Mommy this once, okay? I’m sorry, Mommy didn’t protect Xiaoxi well before, and let Mommy’s precious baby be stolen away.”
After all, Xiaoxi had been an only child for over three years, doted on by Xu Huiqing. Even though Father Zhao and Mother Zhao preferred sons, with only one grandchild in the family, Father Zhao, Mother Zhao, and even her aunts had all shown her love. So now, Xiaoxi was nothing like the seven-year-old in the previous life who had suffered three years of abuse and reacted to everything like a frightened bird. Instead, under Xu Huiqing’s comfort, she expressed her own thoughts normally: “Second Aunt and my new daddy and new mommy said that Mommy gave birth to a little brother and didn’t want Xiaoxi anymore, and would sell Xiaoxi!”
Xiaoxi’s words stabbed like a knife into Xu Huiqing’s heart. She cupped Xiaoxi’s little face in her hands, looked into her eyes, and told her earnestly, word by word: “Second Aunt and that husband and wife are all liars. They are bad people. Everything they said was to deceive Xiaoxi. They are not your new daddy and new mommy. They’re bad people, and the police have already arrested them.” She paused, looking into Xiaoxi’s clear, bright eyes, and continued: “Mommy will never sell Xiaoxi, because the person Mommy loves most is Xiaoxi. Mommy can do without anyone but can never do without Xiaoxi. Do you understand?”
The little girl just quietly looked into her mother’s eyes, as if verifying the truth of her words, then nodded as if she had gotten the answer she wanted, nestled back into Xu Huiqing’s arms, and yawned.
She had slept for a while on the road, but being so young and it being so late, she was tired.
Just then, Mother Xu’s knock came at the door. “Huiqing, bring Xiaoxi out to eat something!”
Xu Huiqing carried Xiaoxi out. Mother Xu again tried to take Xiaoxi, but Xiaoxi still remembered that it was Mother Zhao who had sent her to the countryside to Second Aunt’s house, where Second Aunt had discussed giving her away. So when Mother Xu reached out to hold her, she had no reaction, just clung tightly to Xu Huiqing’s neck like a koala. No matter who tried to take her, she didn’t respond.
Earlier by the roadside outside, with no street lights and the dark, Mother Xu hadn’t seen the filth and wretchedness on Xiaoxi. Now she saw the dried clumps of hog feed and rice bran in Xiaoxi’s hair, and the dirt all over her. She couldn’t help but say with pained anger, “These people who shorten their own lifespans, such a good child and they still want to…”
The word ‘sell’ hadn’t left her lips before Xu Huiqing cut in: “Mom, go heat some water for me. I’ll take a bath later.”
She actually wanted to bathe Xiaoxi, but Mother Xu didn’t know that, thinking that Xu Huiqing, who hadn’t bathed for a month in the hospital, wanted to wash herself. She quickly stopped her: “You can’t bathe now. Wait until midday tomorrow when the sun is strong. You’ve just finished your postpartum confinement; you can’t catch a chill!” But she quickly went to the kitchen to heat water.
The Zhao Family Kitchen had a stove, but it wasn’t often used; they used a coal stove instead.
The Xu brothers and the sisters-in-law were all still awake. Seeing Xu Huiqing come out with Xiaoxi in her arms, they yawned but suppressed their exhaustion to say, “Now that Xiaoxi is found, we can rest easy. You don’t know how much Mom worried about you. You’ve just finished your month of confinement; you still need to rest well, or all that postpartum care will be for nothing.”
Third Brother Xu said angrily, “When Zhao Zongbao gets out, I’ll send him to his grave again!” Meaning he’d beat him up again!
Among the Zhao sons-in-law, apart from Fifth Brother-in-law Zhao, Fourth Brother-in-law Zhao had already gone home because his children were at home. Eldest Brother-in-law Zhao, being tired, had gone to sleep first. Only Third Brother-in-law Zhao and Fifth Brother-in-law Zhao were still downstairs.
Third Brother-in-law Zhao couldn’t hold out any longer and said, “Since Little Sister-in-law is back, I’m going upstairs to sleep. I really can’t stay up anymore!”
The Zhao family had a TV, but with such things happening, no one had the heart to watch it. The Zhaos and Xus sat distinctly separated in the Central Room of the Zhao family’s back courtyard, waiting for Xu Huiqing to return.
As soon as Third Brother-in-law Zhao left, the three Xu sisters-in-law also couldn’t stay awake any longer and were arranged by Third Sister Zhao to sleep in a room.
Ever since the Zhao family bought the storefronts in Water Wharf Town, there were many rooms. The back courtyard, besides the kitchen and outhouse, had several rooms that were normally used as storerooms. Now that guests had arrived, they were cleared out for temporary lodging.
The Zhao Family Kitchen had chicken and meat, all prepared for the newborn’s full-moon banquet today. Now that the relatives who came for the banquet had left, the food remained. Mother Xu made a bowl of meat noodles and a fried egg for Xu Huiqing.
Xu Huiqing was so hungry her stomach was sticking to her spine, but she still fed Xiaoxi first.
Mother Xu, feeling sorry for her daughter, wanted to take over the feeding, but Xu Huiqing refused: “Mom, go get the bath water ready for me.”
She said it was for herself, but it was actually for Xiaoxi. She herself had no strength at all. If she was dirty, so be it; she didn’t even want to bathe.
Several times in between, the Zhao sisters came over wanting to hold Xiaoxi, but each time Xiaoxi shrank fearfully into Xu Huiqing’s arms. Fifth Sister Zhao was so angry she scolded Second Sister Zhao again and went to prepare Xiaoxi’s bath water.
After feeding Xiaoxi, Xu Huiqing herself ate a large soup bowl full of meat and noodles. Only then did she feel her strength return a bit. She washed Xiaoxi’s hair and gave her a bath, dried the child’s hair, and held her by the stove to dry her hair while she herself soaked her feet in hot water.
After walking mountain paths all day, she had several blisters on her feet, the stinging pain jolting her nerves, giving her a sense that this was reality, not a dream.
Xiaoxi soon fell asleep again in her arms. Several times, Mother Xu urged her to go to sleep first, but Xu Huiqing waited until Xiaoxi’s hair was completely dry before dragging her exhausted body back to the room.
Mother Xu, uneasy, went with her to her room and slept beside her. As she helped her, she grumbled, “You’re showing off now, not listening to an old person’s advice. You’ll know the trouble later.”
Xu Huiqing gently patted Xiaoxi’s back with one hand and held her in the other, even as her mind was exhausted to the extreme, still refusing to sleep.
She had noticed already in the car that Xiaoxi startled badly in her sleep. Her body would twitch repeatedly, her legs kicking, and her mouth whimpering with frightened cries.
Almost the entire night, Xu Huiqing kept patting her gently. Every time Xiaoxi woke from a startle and saw her mother beside her, she would close her eyes and sleep again, only to startle and wake once more in her sleep. Xu Huiqing would quickly reach out to touch her back, pat it, and hum the local lullabies she used when Xiaoxi was little to soothe her.
Several times in the middle of the night, she woke with a start, and in the darkness, her little hand would touch Xu Huiqing’s face, her nose, mouth, and chin, as if making sure her mother was really there. Then she would burrow entirely into her mother’s embrace, pressing close to her, smelling her mother’s scent, and then peacefully close her eyes to sleep again.
When her little hand touched Xu Huiqing’s mouth, Xu Huiqing would kiss her palm and murmur softly, “Baby good, Mommy’s here. Mommy will protect you, will always protect you from now on. Sleep peacefully.”
Her own poor sleep meant that Mother Xu, sleeping at her side, also slept poorly. Mother Xu worried over and over: “Go to sleep! You’ll ruin your own health like this!”
“You just finished your confinement; you can’t push yourself like this. They say the month is over, but for three months after childbirth, you’re still in confinement. Don’t think that after one month, your body has recovered!”
Eventually, Mother Xu couldn’t help but cry, her voice pleading: “Huiqing, be good, sleep a little. Hold the child and sleep a while. I’ll watch over you from the side.”
It wasn’t until past four in the morning, when the window began to show the pale light of dawn and Xiaoxi in her arms finally fell into a deep sleep, startling much less, that Xu Huiqing slowly closed her eyes and fell into a stupor within moments.
When she woke, the bed was empty, the room dim. The bright red curtains with the ‘Wealth and Blossoms’ pattern were drawn, but piercing light still slanted through the gaps from all sides, from the not-so-darkening curtains.
The child in her arms still slept quietly. Xu Huiqing felt a joy at having recovered her lost treasure, so full she wanted to cry, yet also an indescribable fear and anxiety.
She touched Xiaoxi’s warm body, then carefully felt Xiaoxi’s breath at her tiny nose.
Warm! Alive.