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In the first week after the baby was born, she mostly slept and only allowed her parents to hold her.
It wasn’t until the second week that she let her grandmother hold her, and gradually began accepting others.
After her first month, she had grown accustomed to being held and wanted to be cuddled by anyone familiar as long as she wasn’t sleeping or needing to be fed.
Now, held by Wen Sheng, she yawned and rubbed her eyes, then started laughing and even tried to put her tiny fingers in Wen Sheng’s mouth.
Earlier, she would put Jiang Lin’s and Cheng Rushan’s fingers in her mouth, but now she preferred to give her own fingers to others to chew on.
If someone acted happy about it, she would giggle and make everyone laugh.
Especially Xiao Bao and He Liang, who could laugh and play with her for a long time.
Jiang Lin, Xiao Bao and Da Bao were in the yard reading and doing homework, while Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi were cooking. Wen Sheng was holding the baby and strolling around the yard.
He walked around the front and back yards, checking on the students as they did their homework.
The baby watched curiously, making little noises as if she was trying to communicate.
Wen Sheng responded in kind, as if they were having a conversation.
When Xiao Bao encountered a difficult problem, he consulted Da Bao.
Da Bao said, “When it’s my turn to hold the baby, don’t snatch her away.”
Xiao Bao replied, “I’m not insisting on holding her.”
Da Bao reminded him, “Do you forget how you used to cling to me when you were younger?”
Xiao Bao said nothing, determined to solve the problem.
He finally did and immediately went to hold the baby.
Wen Sheng sat on the steps with the baby on his lap, while Xiao Bao leaned over, holding a bright sweet potato flower to amuse her.
“Little sister, wear the flower.”
The flower was large and colorful, catching the baby’s attention.
She focused on it as Xiao Bao moved it around, her eyes following the movement, though it seemed a bit tiring for her.
“Ha ha ha,” Xiao Bao found it very funny.
Da Bao finished his homework, packed up his bag, and came over to play with his sister, commenting, “Her eyelashes are so long.”
Jiang Lin stopped writing, got up, and walked around a bit.
She laughed, “You all have long eyelashes too.” The three siblings all had long, thick, dark eyelashes that were very beautiful.
Xiaobao was seriously counting, comparing who had more eyelashes between baby Bao Sheng and Dabao.
Dabao: “Childish.”
Xiaobao: “If you’re not childish, don’t play with Bao Sheng. Go play with adults if you’re so mature. Hehe.”
Dabao rolled his eyes at him and took a milk tablet from his small pouch, popping it into his mouth.
Xiaobao: “!!!”
Dabao then took out another piece, waved it around, and gave it to Wensheng to eat.
Xiaobao: →_→
“Waa~~” Bao Sheng started crying, her eyes following Dabao’s hand as it moved.
When the treat didn’t end up in her mouth, she got upset.
Xiaobao: “Haha, serves you right for showing off and causing trouble.” He pounced and grabbed Dabao’s pouch, only to find one milk tablet left, which he angrily popped into his mouth.
Dabao, the sneaky one!
Dabao began to whistle, the tune smooth and pleasant, immediately catching Bao Sheng’s attention.
She stopped crying, her big black eyes fixed on him.
Cheng Rushan came back from outside.
As soon as he entered, he saw Jiang Lin studying, and the children entertaining Bao Sheng, who was giggling happily.
Seeing him return, they cheered.
As Cheng Rushan approached, Bao Sheng started babbling, though no one knew what she was saying, it was clear she was excited because he was back.
Jiang Lin sat on a small stool, resting her head on her hand, “Brother Shan, do you think our daughter is a bit too clever?”
At this age, babies aren’t supposed to recognize people clearly, their eyesight isn’t that good yet.
But Bao Sheng had this knack for distinguishing between her dad, brothers, and others, which was quite remarkable.
Cheng Rushan washed his hands, took off his outer shirt, and wore only a vest.
Then, he picked up his daughter and kissed her little hands.
Bao Sheng babbled and tried to put her tiny hand into his mouth, as if feeding him.
Cheng Rushan gave her a big kiss, “Sweet little piggy paws.”
After being out all day, Wen Sheng’s stubble pricked at the baby’s soft little hands, making her laugh with a giggle.
Yan Runzhi called out, “Time for dinner.”
Jiang Lin packed up her books.
Da Bao noticed Xiao Bao had left his things scattered and asked him to clean up.
Xiao Bao agreed but didn’t do it, so Da Bao reluctantly helped, otherwise, Xiao Bao would end up losing his textbooks or notebooks, causing trouble later.
Da Bao often spoiled his younger brother.
Cheng Rushan, holding his daughter, leaned down to kiss Jiang Lin on the cheek, unable to resist gently biting her tempting lips.
The baby made soft noises, “Mmm, mmm, mmm.”
Jiang Lin understood her daughter’s cue and gave her a kiss, saying, “You’re such a little thing, why are you making such a fuss?”
She sounded like a five or six-month-old.
During dinner, the baby wanted Cheng Rushan to hold her and wouldn’t be put down or laid flat.
She insisted on resting her head in Cheng Rushan’s arm, propped up so she could see everyone eating at the table.
She watched others eat and moved her little mouth as if she were eating too, soon starting to nibble on her own fingers.
Xiao Bao enjoyed his meal, picking up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs. “Mom loves these, and so do I,” he said.
He exaggerated his eating motions to let the baby see clearly.
The baby’s eyes lit up, and her little mouth opened, seeming to expect some food.
She imitated Xiao Bao, moving her jaw like she was eating, showing her strong mimicking abilities even if she didn’t fully understand.
She even touched Cheng Rushan’s Adam’s apple, fascinated by how it moved when he swallowed and spoke, her eyes sparkling.
The family found it amusing but were puzzled by how such a young child could be so clever.
Yan Runzhi laughed, “This child is truly exceptional.”
Xiao Bao asked, “Grandma, wasn’t I smart when I was little?”
Yan Runzhi replied, “Da Bao and Xiao Bao were smart too, just like Bao Mei.”
She reminisced about the tough times when their mother didn’t appreciate her sons much and was often exasperated with them.
They were always hungry and pitiful.
Yan Runzhi placed some pork ribs into Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s bowls, saying gently, “You were smart when you were little, and that’s why you’re so clever now. When I told you a story, you remembered it right away.”
Xiao Bao was delighted, “I think so too.”
Wen Sheng chuckled, “Children’s intelligence comes from their parents, and the parents from their grandparents.”
Jiang Lin put a big piece of pork rib on Yan Runzhi’s plate, saying, “Mom, you should eat too.”
Yan Runzhi was pleased, “Jiang Lin, you’ve worked hard. I’ll take Bao Mei to school with you in the future.”
Wensheng: “I’m going too!”
Dabao: “I said from the beginning that we should follow her to school.”
Xiaobao: “Bao Sheng knows what she wants.”
Actually, after Jiang Lin had been in school for about ten days, Bao Sheng started to protest.
When she wanted to nurse, she would whimper, and she found formula less appealing, gradually refusing it altogether until she was finally taken to school to nurse, which made her happy.
The adults didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just that Bao Sheng wanted to nurse.
Some children don’t like formula or can’t handle bottle nipples.
Every child is different.
Xiaobao, however, believed that Bao Sheng was smart and knew how to get what she wanted.
After dinner, Jiang Lin fed Bao Sheng.
As soon as she finished, Dabao came over, “Mom, it’s my turn to burp her.”
Wensheng, Dabao, and Xiaobao had divided up tasks, taking turns to burp the baby, which helped Jiang Lin and Yan Runzhi a lot.
As long as the three boys were home, others rarely got the chance to hold the baby.
Once Bao Sheng was burped, had her diaper changed, and went to sleep, Jiang Lin said, “Thank you, brothers. Good job, now go to bed.”
After they left, the house quieted down. Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan lay in bed, whispering to each other.
“If I were to transfer…” Cheng Rushan started discussing his career plans with her.
He was currently in the military district, mainly responsible for transportation and discipline inspection.
However, with the ongoing political and military reforms, the military’s influence was being scaled back, moving more behind the scenes and away from direct public interaction.
This meant some military departments would be downsized or simplified, with some responsibilities transferred to the government.
The military would no longer interfere with government affairs, focusing solely on being a support force for the country.
This made it harder to get promoted within the military.
Since Cheng Rushan didn’t come from a traditional military background, he didn’t need to seek advancement within the military and could consider other opportunities.
Commander Han believed that “the military will become the nation’s backup force, but economic development is key.
The government will serve society directly, its role will become more prominent, and it will need more talent.”
He hoped that talents like Cheng Rushan would take up roles in the government or the public security and judicial departments, where they could make a bigger impact.
The provincial transportation department and the newly restored public security and judicial departments were in urgent need of skilled personnel.
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