Xu Qiushi
Spring has arrived once again, and the tender willow branches sway in the wind. Two white seals on the rusty iron gate of the printing factory under the tree are very conspicuous.
Across the street, Yu Chunsheng stood on the other side, watching from afar.
Before Wang Youli told him that Liu Peng's printing factory was empty, he had already been planning to make arrangements.
Wasn't he going to raise prices to snatch his own orders? So he deliberately placed several orders with the paper mill every now and then, and some urgent orders even required a deposit in advance, making Wang Youli pretend that the factory couldn't do without these orders. His purpose was simple: to make Liu Peng sink deeper and deeper.
That deposit was a small amount of money. Compared to this investment, Yu Chunsheng was more curious about how long Liu Peng's backer would spoil him.
As it turned out, it only lasted one quarter.
After one winter, the printing factory was on the verge of bankruptcy. Yu Chunsheng sighed softly, unsure whether he was relieved that the other party had finally realized they had been tricked, or impressed by Liu Peng's strong business acumen that even the financier couldn't survive for more than a few months.
For Liu Peng's financial backer, remote control made it impossible to see the details; a face-to-face meeting was necessary to clarify the next steps. Yu Chunsheng's suspicions grew clearer, and he found himself heading towards the sealed-off printing factory.
"Old friend, when will you come to see me?"
The next time I saw Liu Peng was on the cover of a newspaper a month later.
On the surface, this guy ruined the printing plant and caused a ruckus for the local court, but behind the scenes, he secretly hoarded some money given to him by his sugar daddy and was about to run away.
Whether you call him stupid or incredibly audacious, as the legal representative of a printing factory, he brazenly swaggered to the train station with his briefcase during the factory's liquidation period, only to be robbed on the train. The thief discovered his bag was full of gold bars and, surprisingly, immediately called the police, leading to Liu Peng's arrest on the spot by patrolling officers.
This is actually an economic case, which usually takes time to process. Perhaps Li Qingmang exerted influence behind the scenes, but the trial was expedited.
From arrest to sentencing, the entire process took only three months. Convicted of multiple crimes including fraud and speculation, and with his previous criminal record, Liu Peng was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Upon learning the verdict, Yu Chunsheng and his group were not very happy, because... Xu Tangmian was about to give birth!
In the hospital corridor, Yu Chunsheng paced anxiously, grabbing anyone he could find, whether it was Li Youlan and her husband or Song Weidong and his fiancé, who were already engaged.
"They've been inside for an hour, why haven't they come out yet?"
As someone who had been through it, Li Youlan comforted him, "Some people have children a little slower, don't worry. Is everything ready?"
"Everything is ready according to your instructions over the phone." Yu Chunsheng clasped his hands in front of his chest, glancing repeatedly into the ward, then turned back to ask them, "Why is there no sound?"
Song Weidong stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. "Giving birth is very physically demanding. Perhaps Tangtang is more strong-willed and doesn't like to cry."
“But…” Yu Chunsheng’s face scrunched up with anxiety. Just as he was about to say something more, a baby’s cry suddenly came from the ward.
He suddenly froze, as if someone had pressed the mute button on his world, and all he could hear was the crying.
His friends' faces flashed before his eyes, laughing and saying things to him, but he couldn't hear a word. He stood there blankly, not knowing what to do.
It wasn't until Li Youlan slapped him on the head and shouted anxiously, "Go see your wife!" that Yu Chunsheng snapped out of his daze and hurriedly squeezed into the already opened door.
Xu Tangmian lay pale on the hospital bed, a strand of hair damp with sweat stuck to her eyebrows, making her look very fragile.
Yu Chunsheng knelt by the edge of the hospital bed and carefully smoothed her hair, then gently kissed her forehead. As he stood up, a hot tear suddenly fell onto Xu Tangmian's cheek.
Seeing Yu Chunsheng's red eyes, Xu Tangmian chuckled: "Are you crying? I haven't cried yet."
Two couples, one middle-aged and one young, were standing nearby. The middle-aged couple was at the foot of the bed, and the young couple was on the other side of the bed. Upon hearing this, they both craned their necks to look at Yu Chunsheng.
The usually imposing Boss Yu now looked like a child being teased by relatives at a dinner party, turning his back to the crowd and covering his face with his hand, seemingly doing something inexplicable.
Li Youlan had played with him when they were children. Seeing him like this, she immediately remembered how Alin used to act awkwardly when he lost a game to her in the rural area of northern Shaanxi. She immediately smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Don't worry about him, let him cry."
"Big sister!" Yu Chun shouted angrily without turning her head.
"My God, how can a child be like this?" Li Yutao's voice suddenly drew everyone's attention.
The newborn baby, wrapped in a small blanket, lay to Xu Tangmian's left, closer to Li Yutao and her husband, so they were the first to see him.
Liu Xingyao casually asked, "Boy or girl?" and then followed his wife toward the child.
“Girl.” Xu Tangmian replied with a smile, but her eyes were still fixed on the back of the person on her right who was shrugging.
"Alright, alright, go look at the child." Xu Tangmian never knew Yu Chunsheng was such a crybaby; he cried so much that she no longer even had the temper to hold him accountable for not paying attention to her.
Yu Chunsheng took a deep breath, turned around, and squatted down by the bed to ask her carefully, "Are you hungry now? Do you want to eat anything? The chicken soup is ready, and the rice porridge is also ready."
Xu Tangmian shook her head. "I want to go home. I still can't stand the smell here."
"Go home?" Just then, a doctor came over, and Yu Chunsheng grabbed one of them and asked, "Can she be discharged now?"
The doctor glanced at her and gave a standard instruction: "You'll need to stay in the hospital for at least three days. If you recover well, you can be discharged after three days."
"Did you bring clothes, toiletries, and other baby supplies? Also, diapers, formula, and other baby essentials?" Li Youlan was always worried about the young couple.
"I brought everything," Yu Chunsheng replied. "I don't know if I forgot anything, but I brought everything I could. I wish I could move my whole house here."
"Xiao Tao and I will go out for a walk later to see if there's anything we need to buy." As someone who had been through it all, Li Youlan understood that there were many things that new mothers shouldn't be around for outsiders to be present for, so she left that as a prelude.
"Aren't you going to look at the child, Ah Lin?" She raised her hand and beckoned Yu Chunsheng over.
Yu Chunsheng then asked Xu Tangmian with a smile, "Have you seen the child?"
"The nurse showed it to me," Xu Tangmian said honestly. "It's ugly."
"Huh?" Yu Chunsheng didn't believe it and quickly walked to the other side to take a look. He saw that the baby in the swaddling clothes had a wrinkled face, big eyes that were darker than marbles, and a little mouth that was constantly pouting and blowing bubbles.
"How can it look like a monkey?" he blurted out involuntarily.
“They all look like this when they’re first born.” Li Youlan smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Children change every day; they’ll grow up and become beautiful.”
Li Yutao chimed in, "This child was just born, and her nose is higher than most of the students in my class. She's sure to grow up to be a great beauty."
Yu Chunsheng was finally satisfied and straightened his back with pride: "Don't you even know whose daughter she is?"
Li Yutao couldn't stand his attitude and retorted with a smile, "She's your daughter, but the credit belongs to Tangtang! What are you so arrogant about!"
"That's true." Yu Chunsheng leaned over and kissed Xu Tangmian on the cheek again. "My wife, you've worked hard."
Everyone: "..."
"Have you thought of a name yet?" Song Weidong changed the subject.
Xu Tangmian and her lover exchanged a glance and nodded, saying, "We had already thought it through. His name is 'Chunsheng,' meaning to grow in spring. Now it's autumn, so this child is the fruit we harvest in autumn. We'll name him 'Qiushi,' which can be either a boy or a girl."
"Yu Qiushi?"
"Xu Qiushi," Yu Chunsheng said solemnly to his friends.
Knowing that people would find it strange, Xu Tangmian jokingly explained, "His situation is complicated, so it's not appropriate to use his surname."
The others nodded in understanding. Li Yutao exclaimed, "Xu Qiushi? That's a nice name!" Then she nudged Song Weidong and said, "Our children will have to take my surname from now on!"
Song Weidong pouted and said, "Whatever!" But he still muttered under his breath, "Li is too common! I think my surname sounds better."
Li Yutao then argued with him, "What's wrong with Li? This is the imperial surname!"
"Me too!"
"Your surname is 'Zhao'!"
"Then the child can have the surname 'Zhao' from now on."
Is 'Zhao' less common than my 'Li'?
"Alright, alright, you two go outside and argue." Liu Xingyao quickly pushed the two troublesome juniors out.
Seeing the nurse come in with some things, Li Youlan smiled and said to Xu Tangmian, "Let's see if we forgot anything and go out to buy some. Tell him if you feel unwell, and if he doesn't take good care of you, we'll beat him up together!"
"Thank you, elder sister," Xu Tangmian said sincerely.
Li Youlan left the room, and the nurse came forward to close the door, asking kindly, "Are you feeling alright? Is there anything bothering you?"
Xu Tangmian shook her head. "Everything is fine." With Yu Chunsheng's help, she sat up.
"Your physical condition is still very good." The nurse handed the baby to her and carefully instructed, "The first hour after giving birth is the golden time to start breastfeeding. Now that the door is closed, you can try to breastfeed your baby."
The nurse then turned to Yu Chunsheng: "Later, you will learn some massage techniques from me. For a period of time, the baby's mother may experience blocked milk ducts. As a husband, you should learn more about nursing care and take good care of your wife."
Yu Chunsheng nodded with a serious expression.
...
After feeding the baby, seeing Xiao Qiushi curled up quietly in her swaddling clothes, Xu Tangmian finally couldn't help but tear up.
That's nice, she's actually quite cute. Once you get used to her, she's not that ugly.
Xu Tangmian couldn't help but turn her gaze to the side and look at the child's father. He was staring intently at the child, and as if noticing her gaze, he turned his head to look at her as well.
The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously raised the corners of their lips in tacit agreement.
"It seems like it was also autumn when we first met." Tears welled up in Xu Tangmian's eyes.
Yu Chunsheng nodded and said with a sigh, "Thank goodness you lost your wallet."
Xu Tangmian was amused by him and mimicked his tone, saying, "Thank goodness you're a good person."
The sun shines brightly outside the window, and magpies perch on the treetops, chirping away.
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