CHAPTER 454: CHAPTER 454: ALL IN GOOD SPIRITS

Just as the Song Family was going about their tasks methodically and everything was going smoothly, over at the end of the Song men, forced by Father Song to do the grunt work, an unexpected hiccup occurred. Father Song wanted to take advantage of the fact that the New Year had not yet arrived and the weather was good—sunny without rain or snow—to quickly repair the shed in the courtyard. That shed indeed had seen better years; some of its supporting beams and columns were rotting and needed to be replaced.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. While doing the repairs, Father Song’s shoulder got hit by a falling wooden stake from the shed. The labor-intensive task of renovating the shed was supposed to be handled by the three Song brothers, but Father Song had grown accustomed to doing farm work at home over the years. Suddenly finding his children at home and taking over his tasks made him feel quite uneasy. Moreover, as one of the family’s main providers and elders, he simply stood aside and directed the three brothers to get to work.

But old folks are like that! He always felt uneasy about his children handling things, making gestures and speaking up from the side. Seeing that the youngest, Song Yuanming, still wasn’t performing to his satisfaction, he murmured to himself. After all, being young and unmarried, Yuanming was somewhat lacking compared to his two brothers. Besides, being a true scholar, even holding a hammer and driving a nail did not look right with him; such handiwork really wasn’t pleasing to the eye. Anxious, Father Song couldn’t help but snatch the hammer and started nailing himself.

That wouldn’t have been a problem, since Father Song was still capable of handling these basic handiwork tasks. However, unknowingly, the shed, long in disrepair, had its supporting beams and columns almost entirely rotted away. Originally, Father Song had planned to replace these four columns after fixing the supporting beams above them, but plans failed to keep up with changes. While he was hammering, an inattentive moment resulted in him being struck by the collapsing shed. Fortunately, the roof of the shed was nothing more than some plastic film and straw for rain shielding. But ironically, it was precisely the rotting beam that fell directly onto his shoulder. Now his entire left arm seemed to hardly move; in the blink of an eye, his arm swelled tremendously.

The minor collapse of the shed made a considerable noise, heard not only by Xu Xiuxiu and Wei Dafang in the kitchen but also by the playing children who were stunned by the sound. Mrs. Song also froze for a long moment in front of the stone mill where she was grinding tofu before hurriedly going over to check.

"Yuantao! Yuanhuan! Are you guys all right? How did the shed suddenly end up like this? I told your dad earlier to replace those columns quickly—they’ve been used for so many years and have been rotted by the wind and sun. Look, something indeed happened," Mrs. Song said anxiously before running to the shed and seeing her sons supporting a somewhat dazed Father Song.

"Mom, we’re all fine, but dad just got his arm knocked by one of the columns," Yuanhuan replied, his thick eyebrows furrowed tightly, especially since his father’s arm had swollen so severely in an instant, darkening his expression.

"Got knocked?" Mrs. Song’s eyes reddened slightly with disbelief in her tone.

"Yes! Mom, it’s okay, we’re going to take Dad to the county hospital to check," Yuanhuan said, also trying to soothe his mother before instructing his elder brother, "Big Brother, help dad out of the house while I go get the car keys." Yuanhuan frowned, reminding Yuantao who was also looking agitated and anxious on the side.

"Okay!" Yuantao immediately agreed, then he and Yuanming carefully helped Father Song from both sides.

"You don’t need to go to the county hospital; it was just a minor bump. There’s no need to waste money at the county hospital. Let’s just go see Old Song, get some medicine and rub it, and it will be fine," Father Song’s typical rural elderly thought process. Although his left arm was barely moving, he still didn’t plan to go to the county hospital, always thinking that a bit of medicine would suffice and there was no need for anything as severe as a hospital visit, so he waved his right hand dismissing the idea to go to the county hospital suggested by his sons.

"Father, your arm is not lightly injured. We are not short on money, so don’t skimp on it. Let’s go to the county hospital!" Xu Xiuxiu and Wei Dafang put down their kitchen chores and came out. Xiuxiu heard Father Song’s words and thus spoke out.

"Yes! Dad, our second brother also has a car; it’s very fast to the county hospital. Don’t save these few bucks. Old Song is okay for little ailments and pains, but for anything serious, we really need to go to the county hospital." As the eldest son, Yuantao also didn’t want his elderly father to save this bit of money.

"Just give in, old man. What time do you think it is? Just listen to the kids for once!" Mrs. Song spoke with a tone of helplessness. Usually frugal with money, she was quite generous when it came to Father Song.

"All right then, let’s go to the county hospital!" Father Song said, wrinkling his aged face, his tone filled with reluctant compromise.

That was how Father Song was hurriedly taken to the county hospital by several brothers from the Song family. Mrs. Song originally wanted to go with him, but there wasn’t enough room in the car. Thus the women of the Song family stayed at home. Due to the recent hiccup, the children who had been playing boisterously had settled down, with Little Baby and Little Moon standing in front of Xu Xiuxiu, their faces painted with fear.

"Mommy, what’s wrong with Grandpa? Is he hurt? Is it painful?" Little Baby looked up at Xu Xiuxiu, her face full of worry.

"Yes! Grandpa got hurt by accident. So, when Grandpa comes home, what should Little Baby do?" Xu Xiuxiu gently fussed over the little girl’s ponytail as she asked with good humor.

Little Baby hesitated for a moment, her eyes swirling around: "Grandpa is in pain, so when he comes back, Little Baby will blow and make the pain go away." Little Baby spoke with earnest seriousness.

"Mm!" Xu Xiuxiu nodded in praise of Little Baby, "Little Baby is so smart and so good."

"Hehe," the praised little girl shyly smiled.

"Go play nicely! If you get hungry later, go to the kitchen and ask elder aunt or Mommy for something tasty." Xu Xiuxiu smiled and tousled Little Baby’s hair.

"Mm, I got it, Mommy!" Little Baby nodded, then grabbed a small red yarn string and went off to play games with Zhao Ziqi.

"Cheng Guang, you know you should take good care of your little brothers and sisters, right?" Xu Xiuxiu, still somewhat startled by the earlier incident, repeated her cautious reminder to Song Chengguang standing beside her.

"Don’t worry, Mommy." Song Chengguang obediently responded, his demeanor fully that of an elder brother. Little Moon, as a boy, also stood next to Song Chengguang, chest puffed out, exuding a sense of responsibility.

Seeing the unsettled children handling everything well, Xu Xiuxiu, Wei Dafang, and Mrs. Song all smiled. The tension from a moment ago also dissipated, allowing them to play their little games freely. Meanwhile, Xu Xiuxiu and Wei Dafang returned to the kitchen to finish the chores they had left undone.