I Bacame the Mother of His Child-Chapter 59 - 58: Cai Bo Pays a Visit

Xu Xiuxiu quickly walked out of the house, "Who’s there?" Xu Xiuxiu stood guardedly in front of the gate to ask the visitor, but did not directly open it; although it was the ’80s, she still had the necessary caution.

"Little sister, it’s Cai Bo." The raspy voice of Cai Bo rose from outside, weary yet filled with hope.

Xu Xiuxiu was stunned, then quickly opened the gate with a puzzled face, "Brother Cai? Why is it you?" Cai Bo, the contractor introduced by Song Yuanhuan to help with the renovation of Sichuan Pavilion, had once been an admirable soldier.

"Little sister." Cai Bo stood outside the gate, his face drenched in sweat, his gaze full of apology, "I’m here today because I need a favor from you." As he spoke, he bowed to Xu Xiuxiu, a man of over 1.8 meters bending his back for the first time in his life.

"Brother Cai, you don’t have to do this, just tell me what it is! Is there an issue with the renovation of the Sichuan Pavilion branch?" Xu Xiuxiu instinctively thought about the renovation of the Sichuan Pavilion branch, because she really couldn’t think of anything else Cai Bo would need to ask her for, and their only involvement seemed to be with the renovation.

"Little sister, can you settle the payment for the Sichuan Pavilion renovation for me now?" Cai Bo’s dark face looked at Xu Xiuxiu, his eyes filled with hope. After all, it was agreed at the beginning of the contract to pay half of the renovation fee as a deposit and the other half after completion. It was understandable for Xu Xiuxiu to not want to refuse him according to the contract, but he still needed to ask.

Xu Xiuxiu was taken aback, "Brother Cai, do you have some urgent need for money?" Xu Xiuxiu asked caringly, not getting upset over what Cai Bo had said. After all, the final payment would have to be settled sooner or later, and it could be done earlier. She trusted Song Yuanhuan’s judgment; people he recommended shouldn’t be wrong.

"I... My daughter is sick," Cai Bo, usually a strong man, couldn’t help but have his eyes well up, "Little sister, the renovation of Sichuan Pavilion is almost finished, it will be completely done in a few days. These days we’re just finishing up, so, could you settle the final payment to help me out?" The exorbitant hospitalization and treatment fees were suffocating him, and having spent all the savings from his pension and his earnings as a contractor, he had reached a dead end and had no choice but to come to Xu Xiuxiu.

"I’ll settle the final payment for you right away," Xu Xiuxiu responded immediately upon understanding the urgency because of his child, "Please wait outside for a moment, I’ll go inside to get my passbook and withdraw the money." She said, turning to enter her house. Due to the prevailing social norms, Xu Xiuxiu did not dare to invite Cai Bo inside, so she had to let him continue waiting at the doorway.

Xu Xiuxiu quickly grabbed the passbook inside the house and adeptly made two cups of condensed milk before entering the children’s bedroom.

"Nannan," Xu Xiuxiu called out gently to the sleeping Zhao Nan, unable to bear waking him.

"Auntie, what’s wrong?" Zhao Nan was roused from a deep sleep by Xu Xiuxiu, the little guy didn’t have a morning temper but was still slightly groggy upon waking, looking endearing and dazed.

"Auntie has to go out for a bit, you and your brother stay at home and don’t run around. Remember to drink one of the two cups of condensed milk on the table, and give the other one to your brother when he wakes up, okay?" Xu Xiuxiu asked softly.

"Okay," Zhao Nan nodded eagerly.

"Very good," Xu Xiuxiu praised. Then taking the passbook, she left the house, but not before locking the gate, worried about leaving the children unsupervised, "Let’s go, Brother Cai, you come with me to the bank, I’ll withdraw the money for you." Xu Xiuxiu said to Cai Bo, who stood stoically outside the gate waiting.

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Cai Bo said with gratitude, even rubbing his rough hands uncomfortably.

Xu Xiuxiu simply shook her head, and then the two of them went to a nearby postal savings bank. Xu Xiuxiu walked into the bank alone and withdrew the money. "Brother Cai, this is the final payment, please count it." Xu Xiuxiu walked out of the bank with the money she had withdrawn and handed it to Cai Bo, who was waiting on the side.

Cai Bo immediately and gratefully took the money and counted it. After a while, he said, "Sister-in-law, it seems like there is an extra 200 yuan?" Cai Bo questioned as he fiddled with the two banknotes, wanting to return them to Xu Xiuxiu.

"The extra 200 is a token of my affection for the child. Please keep it," Xu Xiuxiu said. She didn’t know what illness Cai Bo’s daughter had, but if it was something that forced Cai Bo to come to her for the final payment for the renovation, it must not be a simple cold or pain. Thus, she felt it appropriate to show her support in some way.

"No need," Cai Bo refused sternly, pushing the 200 yuan banknotes back to Xu Xiuxiu, "I’m already very grateful that you could pay the final sum in advance." He couldn’t accept another 200 yuan from her without cause. He would feel uncomfortable and undeserving.

"Alright then!" Xu Xiuxiu somewhat understood Cai Bo’s character. Although he had already retired from the military, he still possessed the stubbornness and tenacity of a soldier. Therefore, she didn’t press the issue, deciding to find time tomorrow to visit the hospital and check on the child herself.

"Then sister-in-law, I’ll be going now. The hospital is waiting for me to pay the hospitalization fees!" If it hadn’t been for the hospital’s notice today that they would stop treating his child if the fees were not paid, he wouldn’t have rushed to ask Xu Xiuxiu for the final renovation payment.

"Mhm! Okay!" Xu Xiuxiu was also worried about the two children at home. Although she hadn’t been out for long, she feared something might happen to them. So, after waving goodbye to Cai Bo, she hurried home.

When Xu Xiuxiu arrived home, the two little ones had already woken up and finished the two cups of condensed milk she had prepared. Song Chengguang’s hair was sticking up adorably because he had slept in, and Zhao Nan was sitting beside him, acting like an older brother, holding a storybook and reading a story to him.

"Gua gua... gua gua." Song Chengguang wasn’t listening to Zhao Nan’s story. Instead, the little guy was seriously playing with the three green tin frogs she had bought for him, making croaking sounds with his little mouth.

Watching the children play in their own ways, Xu Xiuxiu couldn’t help but laugh, "Nannan, what would you like to eat tonight?" Xu Xiuxiu asked, ruffling Song Chengguang’s hair and then turned her gaze to Zhao Nan.

Since Song Chengguang was too young to choose his food, Xu Xiuxiu always decided what was suitable for him to eat. But Zhao Nan was six or seven years old, an age when he was starting to become sensible. Thus, Xu Xiuxiu almost always asked Zhao Nan if he wanted to eat anything specific, fostering his ability to have an opinion. Initially, Zhao Nan didn’t know what he wanted, but gradually, as Xu Xiuxiu asked him more, he would sometimes speak up if he had a craving.

"I want to eat dumplings." Dumplings were undoubtedly Zhao Nan’s favorite.

"Alright!" Xu Xiuxiu nodded, "Then, Nannan, you watch your brother while I roll out the dumpling wrappers." Xu Xiuxiu entrusted Zhao Nan with the task of looking after Song Chengguang.

That night, Xu Xiuxiu, along with the two children, ate the dumplings and went to bed early. The next day, after finding out the address where Cai Bo’s daughter was hospitalized, Xu Xiuxiu took the two children to the city hospital to visit Cai Bo’s daughter.