Chapter 15: Where Is Xiao Xi?

Not only were the relatives stunned, even the passersby who had come to share in the good fortune were left speechless.

Some ignorant children, seeing Zhao Zongbao being carried down from the cooling bed, pointed at him and shouted excitedly, “A man gave birth! A man gave birth!”

“Zhao Dabao gave birth!”

Zhao Dajie, who had come to pick them up, hurriedly chased away the noisy children upon hearing this: “What nonsense are you talking? Do you still want to grab the wedding candy or not? Keep it up and no candy for you!”

As soon as the kids heard there’d be no candy, they immediately shut up.

Zhao Dajie’s husband, who had been waiting upstairs, saw the car door open and knew that his younger brother-in-law and sister-in-law had gotten out. He quickly shouted down from the window on the second floor of the three-front shophouse, “Grab the wedding candy~” while scattering sweets below.

The women and children gathered below for the spectacle, seeing the candy, instantly shifted their attention to snatching it. Especially the elders and women—they loved grabbing the candy celebrating the birth of a boy the most. They believed eating the candy from a boy’s birth would bring good luck to their own families, helping them have sons. All scrambled eagerly for the sweets!

Old Zhao was overjoyed when he saw his eldest grandson, grinning from ear to ear. When he saw the newborn in the arms of Zhao Sanjie, he couldn’t help but lean in and shout, “This is our family’s Kaokao! Kaokao, Kaokao! I’m your grandpa, call me grandpa!”

Old Zhao didn’t understand what “Disco” meant, found the name awkward, and simply shortened it to the nickname “Kaokao.”

Zhao Dajie came over to correct him, “Not Kaokao, it’s Keke! Disco!!”

Old Zhao felt embarrassed by his daughter’s correction and impatiently replied, “What Keke, Kaokao? I know what ‘Kekao’ means—it’s the imperial exam from ancient times, short for ‘keju’! You can’t read a single big character, yet you’re trying to teach your old man? What don’t I know? Don’t underestimate me just because I only went to second grade! Back then, a second grader was worth a college student nowadays!” He smiled broadly as he teased the baby waking in the swaddle, using a high-pitched voice, “Is that right, Keke? When you grow up, study hard like your mom, get into university, become the top scorer, and eat the state rice!”

Zhao Sanjie’s father and Zhao Wujie’s husband carried Zhao Zongbao into the back room. Zhao Sanjie and Zhao Wujie wanted to take Xu Huiqing back to her room, but Xu Huiqing instead sat down in the bustling courtyard holding the baby, smiling, “I just came out of confinement today. I’ve been lying in bed for a whole month. Today, let me sit and relax a bit.”

Hearing that, Zhao Sanjie and Zhao Wujie didn’t insist, laughing as they said, “Then you sit, we’ll help out in the kitchen.”

Right now, Zhao Erjie and Zhao Sijie were cooking in the kitchen.

Since this was the first time Zhao Erjie was involved in something concerning her younger brother’s own daughter, she was very timid. From the moment Xu Huiqing came back, she hid herself by the stove in the backyard kitchen, cooking but not daring to go out.

Seeing her two younger sisters come in, she hurriedly asked, “Why are you coming in? It’s enough with me and Youdi here. You two go out and entertain the guests.”

Zhao Sanjie and Zhao Wujie replied, “You’ve been busy in the kitchen all day, how can we be idle? You should also go have some water; the two of us will handle things here.”

Zhao Erjie refused to go out but then thought to herself: Xu Huiqing must be holding the baby in the room right now. With so many guests, her parents must have prepared a lot of cakes and candies. This was a good chance to eat a little and maybe sneak some into her pocket to take home for her son.

Among the sisters, she had the worst marriage—she had married into the remote mountains of Wugongshan Township.

As Zhao Erjie stepped into the courtyard, Xu Huiqing spotted her.

By now, the sound of firecrackers and celebratory bangs had stopped. The relatives in the courtyard had just finished wrapping red envelopes for the newborn and had taken their seats, cracking sunflower seeds and eating peanut cakes. Xu Huiqing quickly saw Zhao Erjie entering.

Zhao Erjie turned her head, intending to return to the kitchen, but Xu Huiqing called out loudly, “Erjie, thank you for taking care of Xiao Xi this past month. Now that I’m out of confinement, I can take care of her myself.”

She looked around as if deliberately searching for the child, then asked in confusion, “Huh? Where’s Xiao Xi? I haven’t seen her in over a month and miss her so much. Hurry and bring Xiao Xi out for me to see!”

Zhao Erjie instantly tensed, clutching the apron around her waist and laughing nervously, “I was afraid there’d be too many people today, so I didn’t bring Xiao Xi!”

Xu Huiqing smiled, “Today is her little brother’s full month. How could the elder sister not be there?”

She called out to several brothers who were sitting in the yard playing cards, “Third brother! Brother-in-law!”

Zhao Dajie’s husband, who had just finished scattering candy upstairs and was coming downstairs, heard his sister-in-law and hurried over smiling, “Sister-in-law, what do you need? Just say the word!”

Although he often indulged in drinking, gambling, and womanizing, when he spoke, no one was sweeter.

Xu Huiqing said, “Xiao Xi is at Erjie’s place, but Erjie didn’t bring her. I miss her so badly. Could you please drive with Third Brother to Erjie’s and pick Xiao Xi up? I’ll pay you back for the gas later.”

At this time, Zhao Dajie’s husband’s family was still run by his father, and the household was doing well financially. He didn’t care about a bit of gas money, waving his hand generously, “I thought it was something serious! Of course, we should pick up Xiao Xi. Just wait!”

Among Xu Huiqing’s three brothers, the youngest, Xu Huifeng, was the liveliest. Hearing his sister call, he quickly came over smiling, “Pick up my niece? I’m on it!”

Old Zhao, who had been happily entertaining guests while watching his eldest grandson, frowned and scolded, “There are so many guests now. Your brother-in-law still has to entertain them. You want him to go pick up Xiao Xi? If she’s not here, then she’s not here. No going!”

Most people in the courtyard, who had been gathered around Xu Huiqing and the newborn, quieted down and looked toward her. Upon seeing Old Zhao suddenly lose his temper, many looked at him in surprise.

Zhao Dajie’s husband was always clueless about reading facial expressions. He laughed, “Third, Fourth, and Fifth brothers-in-law are here. What need is there for me? Sister-in-law’s right—her own brother’s full month. How can Xiao Xi not be there? I drive fast. I guarantee she’ll be back before noon!”

He held up the car keys and called to Zhao Erjie, “Erjie, let’s go. Get in the car. I’ll drive to pick her up!”

Old Zhao grew more anxious. “Xiao Xi is just a little girl, why do so many people need to go? It’s so busy today, and all this fuss for one girl? Won’t her second aunt have to stop washing vegetables and cooking?”

Zhao Erjie hurriedly said, “Right, right, I still have to wash vegetables and cook. The kitchen’s still busy. I’ll go check.”

Zhao Dajie’s husband smiled broadly, unfazed. “Third, Fourth, and Fifth sisters are all in the kitchen. How can they not manage without you? Come on, let’s go now. We’ll be back in time for lunch!”

Third brother didn’t hesitate and followed Zhao Dajie’s husband outside.

Zhao Erjie patted her thigh nervously, “Those three don’t know how to cook! I’ve got pig’s trotters simmering in the pot. Don’t let them boil all the water off!”

At this point, Xu Huiqing’s smile faded from her face. Holding the newborn, she said, “If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. I noticed Erjie’s husband isn’t here. Is he at home?”

Zhao Erjie hurried to say, “Your second brother-in-law isn’t home. He went to work and won’t be back for half a month!”

Xu Huiqing’s smile completely disappeared. She frowned and asked solemnly, “Second brother-in-law isn’t home, and you came back without bringing Xiao Xi? I see you brought your own children, but Xiao Xi is only three years old. You left her alone at your house?” She suddenly fixed her gaze on Old Zhao. “You stopped me from going to pick Xiao Xi,” her eyes sharpened, and she turned to Zhao Erjie, raising her voice fiercely, “Now tell me! What exactly did you do with Xiao Xi?”

Zhao Erjie was frightened, looking anxiously at her father and mother. She quickly said, “Nothing happened. How could I do anything to Xiao Xi? She’s with my mother-in-law!”

She turned to Xu Third and Second brothers, “Third brother, please go help me pick up Xiao Xi. I’m really worried since I haven’t seen her.” Then she said to Zhao Dajie’s husband, “Brother-in-law, sorry for the trouble.”

Zhao Dajie’s husband sensed something was wrong but still smiled cheerfully, “Trouble? It’s nothing.”

He started to walk toward the yard’s exit.

Old Zhao hastily grabbed him, “Not allowed to go!”

At this moment, Xu Dage also threw down his cards and stood up, asking Xu Huiqing, “What’s going on?”

Xu Huiqing panicked, “I don’t know. Before I gave birth, my mother-in-law said she couldn’t take care of both Xiao Xi and me alone, so she sent Xiao Xi to Second Aunt’s house for a few days. After I gave birth, I wanted to bring her back, but they kept making excuses.

When I just asked Second Aunt why Xiao Xi wasn’t brought back, she couldn’t give a clear answer and said the second brother-in-law wasn’t home. So that means Xiao Xi was left alone at their house?

Xiao Xi is three years old, and their home is a rural mountain area—how dangerous is that? My father-in-law even stopped Third Brother and Brother-in-law several times from going to pick up Xiao Xi. I’m afraid their family favors boys and took the chance while I was giving birth to sell Xiao Xi!”

She was so anxious tears streamed down her face as she cried loudly and clearly, “I’ve heard them whispering about selling people, no selling people. They must have sold Xiao Xi. Big Brother, Second Brother, please go to the police and help me report this. The Zhao family must be human traffickers! They’re involved in child trafficking! I’ve fallen into a kidnapper’s den!” She sobbed uncontrollably, muttering aloud, “I always said the Zhao family is a poor peasant family for eight generations. Where did they get so much money to buy a big three-front shop and start a home appliance business? It must be from selling children!”

Old Zhao reached out and slapped toward Xu Huiqing’s face, “If you say any more nonsense, I’ll beat you, you troublemaker!”

But Xu Huiqing was quick. She grabbed a porcelain plate filled with sunflower seeds and peanuts from the table, used it to block Old Zhao’s slap, then fiercely smashed it onto his face!