CHAPTER 312: CHAPTER 312: IT WAS AN ACCIDENT

Xu Xiuxiu looked at Doudou in surprise as he walked up to her, explaining his side of the story yet with the sharpness of a little tiger, "Hmm, I believe you." Xu Xiuxiu nodded after a while, her tone calm and free of any complex emotions.

Doudou was taken aback by Xu Xiuxiu’s response, the sharpness in his eyes not having time to fade; perhaps it was due to Cai Tou’s earlier accusations, or maybe because he was actually aware of the entanglement between his parents and his beautiful third aunt. He had braced himself for a few words of reprimand, feeling a sense of injustice nonetheless.

He didn’t mean to scald his little sister, and he was even scared himself, for it was truly an accident. Yet, if he was to be blamed for this accident, he felt somewhat angry and unwilling. However, Xu Xiuxiu’s calm demeanor also took him by surprise; he had assumed he would certainly face a bout of scolding, as his own mother would curse as if he were her sworn enemy.

"You believe me?" After a long time, Doudou couldn’t believe it and cautiously asked Xu Xiuxiu.

"Why? I haven’t scolded you; I haven’t blamed you. Are you surprised or are you sad? Or perhaps you actually hoped I would blame you?" Xu Xiuxiu raised an eyebrow and countered, which indeed showed that Doudou was not inherently bad.

"Just now, I noticed my sister was thirsty, and I wanted to pour her a cup of water. But it was too hot, and I thought to let it cool down. Then, Huizi suddenly bumped into me, and I couldn’t hold it steady and scalded my sister. It was an accident, but I did scald her; you can scold me," Doudou said, clarifying the situation and readying himself to be scolded, which he would not find unjust.

"Okay, I know it wasn’t on purpose. You don’t need to blame yourself. Go outside and play!" Xu Xiuxiu nodded with a smile.

"Hmm." Doudou responded and then left the house with a complex expression, casting a glance at Xu Xiuxiu. Following him were Huizi and Mingzi from Second Aunt’s family, who hurriedly fled, typical of those guilty of wrongdoing.

"This child, how could he be so careless, look at what he did to our Little Baby," said Mrs. Song after all the children had left. She stood there, holding Little Moon who was crying beside Little Baby and looking at the red scald on Little Baby’s arm. Even though the burn wasn’t severe, Mrs. Song couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.

Although she had heard Doudou’s explanation, the sight of Little Baby’s arm still made her mutter a few complaints.

"It’s not a serious injury; some ointment and it’ll be better tomorrow!" Xu Xiuxiu didn’t pick up on Mrs. Song’s slightly resentful tone, "Mom, I might not be able to look after the kids for the next few days. I’m sorry to bother you with them."

"Bother? I couldn’t be happier to look after the children for you! It’s as if I’m not needed to worry about anything; as a mother-in-law, I’m too idle. Now I have the rare chance to help you out for a few days—watching my grandchildren! Why should I worry about being a little tired?" Mrs. Song’s face beamed with smiles, not finding childcare the least bit burdensome.

"How’s my sister-in-law doing lately? And the children, are they well?" Little Baby stopped crying once in Xu Xiuxiu’s arms, merely whimpering softly, so Xu Xiuxiu kindly inquired. They were sisters-in-law, after all, and it wouldn’t be nice to ignore family matters completely when visiting her hometown.

"She eats until full, sleeps plenty, and keeps everyone busy; how could she not be well? The doctor says the baby in her belly is too big and is afraid the delivery might be difficult." Mrs. Song was both annoyed and helpless at the thought.

Because in the countryside, there’s still a deep-rooted belief that eating well benefits the child and not considering that eating too much might make the baby too big for an easy delivery. Wang Qinghua, in particular, couldn’t be talked out of it; any suggestion to eat less was met with fierce rebuffs. She’d go on a tirade, accusing others of being stingy, capable of turning it into a whole host of troubles.

"Oh, then just go to the county hospital to give birth when it’s time! If necessary, a cesarean section can be done." Xu Xiuxiu wasn’t surprised by this outcome at all. Wang Qinghua had been consuming all sorts of nourishing foods since she found out she was pregnant, and she hardly ever moved around—nothing was more normal than this!

"You go ahead with what you’re doing! We’ll have to perform the tribute rites soon. Take it easy on yourself, and if you really can’t handle it, just take a break." The children’s tribute rites were particularly numerous; they would have to traverse the main hall of the house at least a few thousand times, kneeling at every few steps—it was utterly exhausting.

"I know! You can’t carry the boy and girl twins by yourself anyway. Let my dad take you and the kids home first! There are quite a few elder family members around to help for now, and us four sisters can discuss and decide on things together if anything comes up."

"Okay." Mrs. Song thought it over and agreed; it really was too much for her alone to handle, and it might be better to let the old man take her and the three children back home first.

Just as Mrs. Song and Father Song were preparing to take the children back to Song Family Village, Second Aunt rushed in from outside. She had been doing laundry in the backyard and saw the twins sleeping soundly. And with Song Chengguang and Cai Tou guarding closely inside the room, she didn’t think much of it—until Ming Zihui, feeling guilty, came to find her. It was only then that she learned Little Baby had been scalded, and she was instantly frantic with worry.

"Xiuxiu, I’m so sorry! I had seen the kids sleeping so sweetly, and Ming Zihui had gotten his clothes dirty this morning while his parents had also soiled two pieces of clothing working in the fields yesterday. I thought I might as well help the daughter-in-law with some laundry while I had the chance. I didn’t expect an accident to happen just from turning my eyes away for a moment. I’m truly sorry!" Second Aunt said earnestly, obviously very anxious.

It was indeed embarrassing to have an accident happen while trying to help care for the children.

"It’s alright, the scald wasn’t serious." Xu Xiuxiu didn’t blame Second Aunt; after all, she was trying to help with the kids out of kindness and had put in the effort despite there being no merit in it.

"Really, I’m just so embarrassed!" Second Aunt still felt guilty, but after a few words of comfort from Xu Xiuxiu and Mrs. Song, the matter was eventually laid to rest. Then they told Second Aunt about Mrs. Song taking the children back to the Song household.

Once the three children were taken home by Mrs. Song, Xu Xiuxiu felt much relieved but was still extremely busy, with her feet barely touching the ground and her knees turning bruised. Xu Jingjing was even worse off—after a day and night, her complexion was particularly gaunt, her eyes red and swollen from crying so much that she had even fainted once. If it weren’t for everyone’s persuasion, she might have been in an even worse state.

"Xiuxiu, you see our family isn’t short on money, and mom liked lively occasions. Remember when Uncle Xu from the entrance of our village passed away, wasn’t a music band invited to the funeral? I was thinking of arranging a music band for mom too. It’s just a few hundred dollars. What do you think?" After the evening’s tribute rites, Xu Fangfang suddenly came over and started talking to Xu Xiuxiu about this.

"Sure!" Actually, since the person is gone, making a show of it doesn’t really have any meaning, but having the children make the funeral lively is still necessary. Xu Xiuxiu didn’t think much about it and agreed!

"Then I’ll go arrange the band!" Xu Fangfang said excitedly.

"Mm." Xu Xiuxiu glanced at her and nodded.

However, having received Xu Xiuxiu’s approval, Xu Fangfang didn’t simply walk away contentedly. Instead, she stood there, her face a mix of eagerness to please and awkwardness, looking at Xu Xiuxiu.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Xu Xiuxiu furrowed her brows and looked at her, asking.