I Bacame the Mother of His Child-Chapter 36 - 35: Returning to Her Parents’ Home with Company

Once the Mid-Autumn Festival had passed, Xu Xiuxiu's schedule became rather crowded. The reopening of Sichuan Pavilion was set for three days later, and she had to return to Z province early to make arrangements. So, just as dawn was breaking the day after the festival, Xu Xiuxiu got up early, taking Song Yuanhuan and Song Chengguang back to her parents' home.

She had already been back at Song Family Village for several days now. Because of Song Yuantao's incident, Xu Xiuxiu hadn't found time to visit her parents, but she felt she must see the elder couple before leaving; otherwise, it would be quite inconsiderate.

Mr. and Mrs. Xu were aware that their third daughter and son-in-law were coming home for the Mid-Autumn Festival. They also knew about the troubles at their in-laws' household, which was probably in disarray, hardly leaving any chance for a visit. They understood why their daughter and son-in-law hadn't come over yet, but how could they endure not seeing their daughter, son-in-law, and adorable grandchild for so long? The old couple missed them dearly!

Mrs. Xu especially, who had been missing her daughter so much that she started to keep watch at the door several days before the festival, hoping to see her daughter and son-in-law return home. To her surprise, right after breakfast, she spotted Xu Xiuxiu and her family of three walking up the small path from afar and was delighted. She immediately went inside to slice the homemade red bean paste mooncakes that Xu Xiuxiu loved most.

"Dad, Mom," greeted Xu Xiuxiu, entering the door with her family of three, only to see Mr. Xu leaning out with his long smoking pipe.

"Yuanhuan's here too? Come in and have a seat," he said. Then, with a tender look in his eyes, he glanced at Song Chengguang sitting in the stroller. "It's been a few months since I've seen my grandson, and he's grown so much, so handsome. He's sure to be smart."

"Of course," Xu Xiuxiu's highest joy was hearing others praise Song Chengguang, proving that she was doing well as a mother.

Seeing Xu Xiuxiu's flattered expression from Mr. Xu's compliment, Song Yuanhuan couldn't help but smirk. He stepped forward to explain, "Dad, there have been many issues at home recently, so we couldn't come to see you earlier. We don't have much vacation time either; we need to hurry to Z province tomorrow morning. That's why we came early today to see you. Are you both keeping well?" With the incident involving the elder brother of the Song family, it was necessary for the father-in-law to know, but that didn't mean he couldn't offer an explanation.

"All's well, we're fine here! Just take care of yourselves out there," Mr. Xu cheerfully responded, and then, looking at Song Yuanhuan, he added, "I've heard about your elder brother's situation. How's he doing now?" Mr. Xu asked caringly as he led them to sit in the parlor.

"He's recovering very well," Song Yuanhuan sincerely answered the old man's concern.

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"That's good to hear," Mr. Xu nodded and chatted with Song Yuanhuan while starting to fiddle with his large smoking pipe.

"Chengguang is here, right? Don't smoke in front of the child," Mrs. Xu called out as she came from the kitchen with the red bean paste mooncakes and a pot of white sugar tea, and seeing Mr. Xu about to light his pipe, she sternly stopped him.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Xu looked at Song Chengguang, who was sitting dazedly in the stroller, counting the small flowers in his hand. He put down his smoking pipe with a somewhat miffed and sulky expression.

Aware of Mrs. Xu's authority in the family, Xu Xiuxiu didn't say anything. Her eyes, once again catching sight of the sliced red bean paste mooncakes brought out by Mrs. Xu, couldn't look away. "Mom, did you make these bean paste mooncakes yourself?" Xu Xiuxiu couldn't help but exclaim, realizing she and the original body did share some similarities, at least in their shared fondness for red bean paste mooncakes.

"Even as a mother, she still can't act properly." Mrs. Xu looked at her third daughter with amusement as she stuffed a red bean mooncake into her mouth. She then turned to Song Yuanhuan, who was sitting nearby, with a hint of helplessness, "Xiuxiu never likes any mooncakes except the ones with red bean filling. Yuanhuan, would you like to try some?" As she spoke, she placed the tray between Mr. Xu and Song Yuanhuan.

Song Yuanhuan wasn't very keen on mooncakes, but seeing Xiuxiu eating happily, he couldn't help but pick up a piece of the red bean mooncake and take a bite. The sweet, soft, cloying taste was a bit much for him, but he still forced himself to eat it. "It's pretty good," he said, finishing it off with several sips of tea before he finally swallowed it down.

"Right?" Xiuxiu said, as if she had found a kindred spirit. She grabbed another piece of red bean mooncake and handed it to Song Yuanhuan, "Have more, you won't find this shop after this village. You can't buy these outside." At this moment, she completely missed that Song Yuanhuan's praise was just being polite.

Looking at the red bean mooncake extended towards him, Song Yuanhuan's scalp tingled a bit. The sweet cloying taste from his first bite hadn't even disappeared yet, and now he had to force himself to eat another piece? But seeing Xiuxiu's solicitous expression, which was a rare sight for Song Yuanhuan, and not wanting to dismiss it, as he seldom saw this childlike side of her, he stiffly accepted the piece of red bean mooncake.

Biting into the red bean filling, it was as sweet and soft as before, but perhaps because Xiuxiu had given it to him, it didn't seem quite as difficult to swallow as the first one.

Mr. Xu, sitting to the side, couldn't help but want to laugh at the sight of the two getting along so amiably.

He could actually tell that his son-in-law didn't like sweets and had expected him to refuse his third daughter's kind offer. But the boy just stood there dumbly accepting and eating it. Seeing this, he didn't say anything as his son-in-law seemed willing to be teased by his daughter and to accommodate her. It showed that the son-in-law was good to his daughter, and as a father-in-law, what was there not to be happy about?

The three of them chatted happily in the house, and soon after, Xu Jingjing's voice came from outside, "Dad, Mom, I've called the second sister and her elder brother-in-law over." Earlier in the morning, seeing that Xiuxiu and Song Yuantao had come together, Mrs. Xu had sent her fourth daughter, Xu Jingjing, out to make use of the rare occasion of Xiuxiu's visit to invite her married older sisters and their families over for a meal as well, taking the opportunity of the Mid-Autumn Festival to have a family reunion.

"Where's your elder sister and your elder brother-in-law?" Mrs. Xu was busy in the kitchen. Hearing Xu Jingjing's call, she peered out the window and, seeing only her second daughter and son-in-law, asked about the eldest daughter's whereabouts.

"The elder sister and brother-in-law are busy at home! They said they have a lot of sweet potatoes to harvest this year, and recently, there have been a lot of wild boars roaming their village. They need to gather the sweet potatoes early to avoid having the entire year's hard work destroyed by the boars," Xu Jingjing said, while she walked into the main house, leading a four or five-year-old little boy.

"Cai Tou, go and call your grandpa!" Xu Jingjing nudged the little boy with a small braid on his head.

"Grandpa," said Xu Qingqing's son, Cai Yuanbao, nicknamed Cai Tou, who would be turning five just after Mid-Autumn Festival. His adorably clueless look was quite endearing.

"Cai Tou, who am I?" Xiuxiu always had a soft spot for children and smiled as she inquired.

"You are very pretty, so you must be Third Aunt!" Cai Tou looked at Xiuxiu with simple adoration. The boy had actually seen Xiuxiu before, but he was too young then to remember clearly. All he knew was his mother told him that the prettiest person in the family is definitely the Third Aunt.

"Who taught this little sweetheart to speak so sweetly?" Xiuxiu immediately burst into laughter.