If flowers bloom, youth will naturally follow.

"Waaaaah, I don't want to be a girl," the chubby boy wailed.

To be honest, the least boyish thing about him is his baby voice; if you only hear his voice but don't see him, he's actually quite cute.

"Stop crying!" Xia Tian shouted.

Little Fatty immediately stopped crying, startled. Summer had never been so fierce to him before. He sobbed, "Look, you know I'm a girl and you're already bullying me!"

“What’s the use of crying? Since things have come to this point, we have to accept our fate…” Commissar Xia Tian continued to torment Little Fatty.

In the factory office, Xia Donghai and his wife sat in silence, one sitting and the other lying down, each smoking and worrying about their son, Xiaopang, and their family.

"The most embarrassing part is yet to come. If this gets out, where will I put my face?" Xia Donghai lay on the sofa with a look of utter despair. For someone as concerned about his reputation as him, the thought of the terrible rumors that would circulate after Xiao Pang's illness got out made him break out in a cold sweat.

Ma Dongmei sighed as well, saying, "It's truly shameful: I'd rather have been born a girl!"

"Damn it, what bad luck!" Xia Donghai cursed.

“Xia Donghai! You can’t do this in front of the child! The doctor said it’s not the child’s fault, Xiao Bao’er is also a victim,” Ma Dongmei said, frowning.

"I know, it's my fault! Isn't it okay if it's my fault?" Xia Donghai said impatiently.

While Xia Donghai was feeling irritable, he received another call from his superior. The donation amount had been tallied, and he was the top recipient, receiving 20,000 yuan. He was asked to attend a celebration banquet that evening.

He agreed with a smile, but after hanging up the phone, he felt dizzy and lightheaded.

"You..." Ma Dongmei saw him casually hand over 20,000 yuan and burst out cursing, "Xia Donghai, are you crazy?! I don't care how you usually act all high and mighty! But now Xiao Bao'er's medical expenses are 100,000 yuan and the raw materials will cost at least 50,000 yuan, and you still have the mood to give away 20,000 yuan to someone else?"

“Oh dear, you don’t understand. You can’t not take this money. If you don’t, people will look down on you.” Xia Donghai frowned, took out his phone book, and made calls to everyone, whether they owed him money or not, until he raised 100,000 yuan.

"This 100,000 yuan is for Xiaobao'er's surgery! You can steal or rob the rest, but don't touch this money!" Ma Dongmei preemptively took control of the money.

If Xia Donghai were in the hospital crying with his face covered, he would definitely do everything he could to operate on Xiao Pang. However, after half a day of calming down, coupled with a hint of resentment at the embarrassment, he chose to postpone Xiao Pang's surgery.

After making this decision, he felt less upset, his pity and guilt towards Xiao Pang lessened, and he even felt like smiling.

He grinned and put his arm around Ma Dongmei: "Good wife, let's postpone Xiaobao's surgery for now. We need to focus on the immediate problem. I promise you, I'll sue the people who owe us money tomorrow. The first thing we'll do when we get the money is to pay for Xiaobao's surgery, okay?"

Ma Dongmei could never refuse Xia Donghai in her entire life; for better or for worse, she always chose to believe him.

Having resolved three major threats, Xia Donghai gladly drove to the appointment. Donating so much money, it would be like wearing fine clothes in the dark if he didn't show his face.

……

Xia Donghai was brought back drunk again that night.

Ma Dongmei was already used to it and skillfully washed him: "You're so carefree! With such a big event happening at home, you still have the mind to drink so much!"

Xia Donghai, his face flushed, sat up with a grin and went to hug Ma Dongmei: "Xia Tian's mother, I asked the hospital, and the doctor doesn't recommend you have children. They said there are risks for older mothers. I will not let you have any more children, even if it means losing your family line, I won't let you take the risk."