Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

When Zhang Haiyan entered, she was carrying two large, flapping roosters in one hand and a basket full of eggs in the other.

She started shouting as soon as she entered the courtyard.

"Aunt Song, what a joyous occasion! A perfect match of a dragon and a phoenix, such good fortune is unparalleled in the entire commune."

Song Xianglan was squatting by the well washing the soiled diapers when she heard this, she stood up.

"Haiyan's here! Come inside quickly. I have several big roosters at home, what are you going to do with them?"

"In our Qingyang tradition, postpartum women eat rooster stewed in red yeast rice wine. It's safer to eat roosters raised at home." Zhang Haiyan put down her things, leaned closer, and whispered, "Aunt Song, I heard from Aunt Liu that you're looking for someone to help take care of your baby?"

Song Xianglan nodded.

"That's the plan. Huijun will have to take good care of herself during her postpartum period after having two children, and try to hold the babies less and rest more. I'll be busy with the kitchen and taking care of the babies all by myself, and I'm afraid I won't be able to take good care of them."

Zhang Haiyan volunteered.

"Do you think I'm a good fit? My three kids are all over a year old and weaned, so I don't have to take care of them. I also have Xiaotian and Xiaoyu at home to help look after them. I can come during the day and go back at night, so it won't interfere with anything."

Song Xianglan was pleased with Zhang Haiyan's decisiveness and immediately made the decision:

"Okay! I'll give you twenty yuan a month. You'll be in charge of taking care of the kids. I'll take care of Huijun's affairs."

"twenty?"

Zhang Haiyan's eyes widened. This was more than she could earn as a temporary worker in the city. "Aunt Song, this is too much. We're all from the same village..."

"Not many. Taking care of twins is hard work, so it's settled." Song Xianglan made the final decision.

The next morning, before dawn.

Apprentice Gan Zhibin rode over on his bicycle, with freshly slaughtered pig kidneys and ribs hanging on the back rack.

Song Xianglan took the bright red pork kidneys and went into the kitchen to start working.

She cut the pork kidney in half, and with a flick of the knife, removed the white membrane in the middle.

Immediately afterwards, the cleaver swiftly sliced ​​across the surface of the kidney slices, instantly creating a dense, cross-shaped pattern, cutting them into even small pieces.

Heat the iron wok and pour in a spoonful of reddish-brown sesame oil.

When the shredded ginger is fried in the pan, its spicy aroma fills the air.

Song Xianglan pushed the pork kidneys into the pot, and with a flick of the spatula, the kidneys quickly curled up and changed color.

She picked up a small bucket of red yeast rice wine from the side and poured it in with a "whoosh" along the edge of the pot, instantly filling the room with the aroma of wine and meat.

Add water and simmer for a while.

Before taking it off the heat, she grabbed a handful of brown sugar and sprinkled it in.

After it was cooked, I put it in a soup bowl and brought it to Shen Huijun.

Shen Huijun leaned against the headboard, watching Zhang Haiyan change the baby's diaper.

Song Xianglan pushed open the door and brought in a steaming bowl of pork kidney soup. "Huijun, drink this bowl of pork kidney soup while it's hot. I've already spoken to Zhibin, and he'll be sending pork kidneys over every day for the next two months."

"My mom spoke with the old fishermen today. They caught some red crabs and brought them over. We fried them with sesame oil and ginger and ate them."

Shen Huijun took the bowl and took a sip.

His brows furrowed slightly.

"Mom, why is this soup sweet?"

"Our local remedy is brown sugar, sesame oil, rice wine, and pork kidney. It's best to use the principle of 'like cures like'," Song Xianglan said, watching her daughter-in-law drink it. Then she checked on the baby in the swaddling clothes next to her. "Breakfast hasn't been cooked yet. This is just to tide you over."

Shen Huijun was both amused and exasperated.

"This breakfast is more nourishing than the Lunar New Year meal."

Chunxia's voice came from the courtyard: "Auntie, I'm here!"

Chunxia ran into the house, her face beaming with excitement.

She said that her grandfather was overseeing the sales point at the brigade headquarters, and she came specifically to help wash diapers.

This girl worked tirelessly, grabbing the diaper basin and walking towards the well, muttering as she went, "I'm going to marry Xiaochuan, so I'll be the child's aunt."

Song Xianglan couldn't stop her.

In the end, he had no choice but to say that if she came to do the work, he would definitely pay her wages.

Chunxia... I don't lack money, I just lack gossip.

You guys go into town to fight and argue without taking her along, which makes her so anxious that she's practically begging to move next door to the Song family.

After settling in at home, Song Xianglan went to the brigade headquarters in the morning mist.

She dialed a long-distance number to Shanghai. When Shen's mother answered the phone, her voice was still hoarse.

"My dear in-laws, Huijun has given birth! A pair of twins, a boy and a girl, the older one weighs five pounds and six ounces, and the younger one weighs four pounds and nine ounces. Both mother and children are doing well," Song Xianglan announced loudly.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

Shen's mother felt uneasy. When Song Xiangdong had his accident, she almost made Huijun abort the child.

The mother and daughter even had an argument about this.

She loves her daughter, so naturally she would consider her daughter's well-being.

"I'm glad you're safe. I think..."

"Mother-in-law," Song Xianglan advised, "Huijun has experienced the heart of a mother after giving birth. She doesn't say it, but I know she misses her own mother. If it's convenient for you, please come and stay for a while, even just a few days."

Mrs. Shen had wanted to come anyway, and quickly agreed:

"Thank you, I'll have my boss buy the tickets right away, we'll leave tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Song Xianglan dialed Xincheng again.

The person who answered the phone was Yao Xiangping, Song Xiangdong's secretary.

"Vice Mayor Song has gone to a meeting," Yao Xiangping said politely.

"Tell him that his wife gave birth to a son and a daughter." Song Xianglan's loud voice made the microphone buzz. "Tell him not to just focus on work, but to quickly think of two nice names for the children. I'll hear from him again in a couple of days."

After hanging up the phone, Song Xianglan regretted it.

The child's name should be chosen by the mother; how come she blurted it out so quickly?

When she got home, Song Xianglan told Shen Huijun about it.

Shen Huijun smiled and said, "Mom, let Xiangdong name the child. I'd like two nicknames."

In Qingyang, boys are called "little brother" and girls are called "little sister".

As soon as Da Bao and Er Bao woke up, they ran upstairs to see their younger siblings.

Erbao clung to the cradle, staring intently at the little sister curled up in the swaddling clothes, drooling incessantly.

"Auntie, my little sister is so tiny, can I kiss her?"

Da Bao grabbed his younger brother by the collar and scolded him with a stern face:

"No. Your lips are dirty, don't kiss your little sister and hurt her. I'll recite ancient poems to my younger siblings from now on, they'll definitely become smarter."

Erbao, not to be outdone, stretched out his chubby little finger, stood on tiptoe, and tentatively hooked his sister's palm.

The little girl grabbed it unconsciously, and Erbao grinned from ear to ear, laughing heartily.

"My sister caught me. My sister likes me."

Zhang Haiyan walked over with freshly dried socks and put them on Shen Huijun's feet without saying a word.

"The cold starts from the feet, and you can't be exposed to even a breeze during postpartum confinement. Zhou Fang's two children, at such a young age, already know how to protect their younger siblings."

Shen Huijun hadn't spoken yet.

Song Xianglan quickly got up. "I'll make breakfast. I'll cook you some pork rib congee."

……

Two days later, in the afternoon.

Lin Gang helped bring Shen's mother over.

As Shen's mother got off the bus, carrying two huge suitcases, she was still muttering to herself, worried that the road would be difficult to travel and that the house she would stay in would be worse than the one on the island.

But when she looked up, she saw the Song family's two-story red villa, and the neat and unique one-story red house next to it, as well as the smooth cement ground in the courtyard.

He was completely stunned.

"Mother-in-law, please come inside." Song Xianglan hurried out to greet her.

Without bothering with pleasantries, Shen's mother followed Song Xianglan upstairs to the second floor.

Pushing open the door, she saw Shen Huijun lying on the bed with a rosy complexion. Tears streamed down Shen's mother's face.

"Mom..." Shen Huijun struggled to sit up.

"Lie down quickly. Don't get angry." Shen's mother rushed to the bedside, grabbed her daughter's hand and looked her over carefully. Seeing that she hadn't suffered any grievances, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Haiyan and Chunxia saw this.

Each person picked up a child and went to Song Tingting's room next door.

Song Tingting just finished her exams yesterday and is sleeping soundly.

"Tingting, get up. You've slept too much, you won't sleep well tonight." Zhang Haiyan nudged her.

Song Tingting rubbed her eyes and sat up, glancing at the child in Zhang Haiyan's arms, still looking a little dazed.

"How did the exam go?" Chunxia asked.

"It's alright, the questions weren't too difficult." Song Tingting threw back the covers and got out of bed. "I'm going to check on my sister-in-law."

Zhang Haiyan stopped her: "Don't go yet. Huijun's mother is here. The two of them can have a heart-to-heart talk. Childbirth is a life-or-death experience. Aunt Shen will definitely be worried if she's not here."

Song Xianglan was downstairs preparing to kill chickens and ducks.

Liu Dahua brought over two red crabs; she and Liu Yidao had moved to live in the village.

It was a bit far from where Zhu Zi lived, but near the house of Widow Wang.

"Lanlan. Something's happened." Liu Dahua put Hongxun on the ground as soon as she entered the yard. "I heard that Yang Dashan and Zhang Yujuan did a good job. The arsonist was not found, and he was seriously injured and won't survive."

The call came from the Northwest to the brigade headquarters, requesting that Yang Dashan be allowed to return to Qingyang to await his death as a special case.

He's already on his way back. It would be fine if he died on the way. But if he doesn't, won't that create a moral dilemma for Tingting and Xiangdong?

"He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Could he be setting a fire and then putting it out?" Song Xianglan didn't believe Yang Dashan could do anything good.