Xiuxiu had been out in the county for a whole day, and having gotten used to staying indoors during her postpartum period, she felt somewhat weary. Additionally, worrying about her children at home made her restless. After seven in the evening, the hospital became completely quiet, so Xiuxiu arranged for the elderly Xu family members to stay in a mid-range inn near the hospital. She and Yuanhuan made their way back to Song Family Village in the darkness.
All day long, Mrs. Song had been watching over the boy and girl twins in the house. Seeing that the night had deepened and neither her daughter-in-law nor her son had returned home, she informed Father Song, gathered a cotton quilt, and planned to spend the night in the children's room. As she carried the quilt across the central room, someone knocked on the wooden gate in the courtyard.
