Yan Runzhi figured out how to dress and helped Baosheng put it on.

The pink dress wrapped around the delicate little girl, making her look so beautiful that it was hard to look away.

Baosheng was very excited, clapping her hands continuously and pointing to the mirror on the side.

Cheng Rushan held up the mirror for her, but it was too small to show her full body.

She pointed to the next room where Jiang Lin had a full-length mirror.

Baosheng loved to look at herself there and often kissed herself in the mirror.

Cheng Rushan carried her over to the other room to use the mirror.

Baosheng asked for front, side, and back views.

Her excitement made Cheng Rushan feel that, although the dress was expensive, it was worth it just to see his daughter so happy!

Yan Runzhi laughed and said, “Even at this age, she looks so beautiful. She’s one of a kind in the whole courtyard.”

Jiang Lin woke up and saw Cheng Rushan holding their daughter and adjusting the mirror.

She couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh, who’s being so vain?”

Baosheng, excited, said, “Daddy!” She tugged at her dress, looking very proud.

Jiang Lin said, “Call me, Mommy.”

Baosheng replied, “Ah, ah…”

Cheng Rushan went over and kissed her, while Yan Runzhi went to get another dress for Jiang Lin to try.

Jiang Lin felt the fabric and looked at Cheng Rushan in surprise, “Shan Ge, you really dared to buy this.”

This fabric costs over twenty dollars for kids, which is very expensive!

Her own dress probably cost over thirty dollars.

Some people don’t even earn that much in a month.

The key issue was that Baosheng was still growing, and it was uncertain whether she could wear such an expensive dress this year.

However, the dress was very roomy, so it should fit next year after some alterations.

Yan Runzhi said, “Bao’er’s mother, this one looks great. We don’t have this kind of fabric, and it looks so nice on her.”

Cheng Rushan set Baosheng down so she could look at herself in the mirror and went to help Jiang Lin put on the dress.

She had a curvy figure with a slim waist and long legs, making the dress look beautiful on her.

He zipped up the back of the dress, held her hand, and spun her around.

His eyes were full of admiration as he smiled, “You look even more beautiful than I imagined.”

Yan Runzhi couldn’t stop praising, “Bao’er’s mother is such a great model for the clothes. We should buy more like this for her in the future.”

Baosheng stood in front of the mirror, her mouth wide open, “Beautiful.”

Yan Runzhi casually remarked, “Call me Mommy, not ‘Beautiful’.’”

Baosheng responded, “Beautiful!”

Yan Runzhi then realized, “Our little Baosheng knows that Mommy is beautiful. Yes, you are really beautiful.”

Jiang Lin smiled and gave Cheng Rushan a sly look.

She wanted to take off the dress, saying, “I need to wash it before wearing it again.”

Baosheng refused to take off her dress and insisted on wearing it, reaching up to Cheng Rushan to be picked up.

Cheng Rushan lifted her up, and she tugged at his ears, saying “Hmm hmm,” meaning she wanted to go outside to meet her brothers.

Jiang Lin said, “Call Mommy.”

Baosheng looked at her and clearly said, “Meimei.”

Jiang Lin corrected her, “Say Big brother.”

Baosheng responded, “Baobao.”

When asked to call for grandpa, grandma, or others, Baosheng didn’t say it correctly but could make more sounds now.

Cheng Rushan carried Baosheng and held Jiang Lin’s hand as they went to pick up Da Bao and Xiao Bao.

The two kids were participating in a summer soccer camp and were currently playing a match on the field.

Xiao Bao didn’t like soccer much; he preferred table tennis or badminton, which didn’t require running around so much.

But Da Bao insisted he join and promised to play other games with him later, so Xiao Bao reluctantly agreed.

They were playing against older kids, who were naturally stronger, putting Da Bao and Xiao Bao at a disadvantage over time.

However, their speed and agility helped balance things out.

Da Bao was dribbling the ball but was intercepted by two older opponents.

He was tired and struggling to keep up.

Suddenly, the two opponents seemed distracted, forgetting to block Da Bao.

He took the opportunity, dribbled the ball past them, and scored a goal.

The goalkeeper stood there dazed, calling out, “Fairy sister~~”

Da Bao turned around and saw his parents and sister approaching.

His dad was carrying his sister, and both Jiang Lin and Baosheng were wearing beautiful new dresses.

The skirts fluttered in the wind like mist or bird wings, looking like something out of a fairy tale.

Recently, there had been movies with fairy and magical elements, which everyone found beautiful.

Kids even mimicked the fairies using bedsheets.

To the kids, their parents and sister looked like fairies, and it was incredibly beautiful.

Xiao Bao stopped playing soccer and ran over to admire Jiang Lin and Baosheng’s dresses, saying, “Wow, so beautiful!”

Baosheng, sitting in Cheng Rushan’s arms, wiggled her little legs and pointed at Xiao Bao, saying, “Bao.”

Xiao Bao immediately reached out, “Come, big brother will hold you.”

Da Bao and his classmates also ran over. Da Bao said to Xiao Bao, “You’re all sweaty and might dirty Baomei’s dress.”

Baosheng pointed at Da Bao, saying, “Bao.”

Da Bao replied, “Say Big brother.”

Baosheng said, “Meimei.”

They spent some time on the field and then headed home, where they ran into Wen Sheng returning from the theater troupe.

Wen Sheng exclaimed, “Mom, you look so beautiful!”

Jiang Lin smiled and said, “Your dad bought it new.”

Wen Sheng asked, “Dad, where did you buy it? I want to get dresses for Mom and Baosheng too.”

Cheng Rushan laughed and said, “That’s it, just one piece.”

Wen Sheng replied, “I’ll ask Lu Hang and the others if they can weave this kind of fabric.”

The wind blew up the hem of Jiang Lin’s skirt, lifting the outer layer of sheer gauze. Dabao hooked it with her finger, twisted it, and exclaimed, “Isn’t this the window gauze we use?”

Xiaobao also lifted it and looked, “It looks like a mosquito net to me.”

Wen Sheng said, “It resembles the fabric we use for stage costumes in our troupe. I’ll check for sure later.”

Jiang Lin looped her arm through Cheng Rushan’s and smiled quietly at him, “Shan Ge, the gauze and mosquito net you bought are so expensive.”

Cheng Rushan wrapped his large hand around her slim waist and said, “There’s also one that looks like a bed sheet, but I didn’t buy that one.”

“Ha ha ha.”

When they got home, Yan Runzhi had already prepared dinner. Wen Sheng called out, “Grandma, the crane fabric I brought for my mother last time—can you make a dress for her with it?”

The fabric was so beautiful that Jiang Lin had been reluctant to cut it.

Yan Runzhi smiled and said, “Sure.”

Dabao and Xiaobao asked, “How much was the gauze and mosquito net dress Dad bought? Can we buy similar ones for Mommy and sister in the future?”

Yan Runzhi exclaimed, “!!! You uncultured kids, be quiet!”

Everyone laughed and joked.

After dinner, Baosheng soon became sleepy, so Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan took her back home to sleep.

In the sweltering summer heat, the old-style apartment felt like a steamer at night.

Cheng Rushan first mopped the floor to make it a bit cooler.

“Should we buy a fan?” Back then, fans were still quite expensive, around forty to fifty dollars each, but they could afford two.

Jiang Lin said, “Buy one for your parents.”

Cheng Rushan replied, “They wouldn’t dare use it.”

Jiang Lin said, “Then let’s get one for Wen Sheng, Dabao, and Xiaobao.” She wasn’t as afraid of the heat, and she took a cool shower before bed, wore a tank top and shorts, fanned herself with a palm leaf fan, and kept the window open.

It was bearable at night.

Once they moved to the new unit, it would be much cooler with airflow through the apartment.

After mopping the floor, Cheng Rushan washed Jiang Lin’s and their daughter’s dresses.

Fearing they might be stolen if left on the public balcony, he hung them outside the window.

They’d be almost dry by morning.

Jiang Lin fanned their daughter with a palm leaf fan, watching Cheng Rushan busy around the house.

His broad shoulders, slim waist, and long, straight legs made him very attractive.

Though he wasn’t muscular, he was definitely not weak. He was a sight to behold.

Even after being married for so long, she still blushed and had a fluttery feeling every time she stole a glance at him.

After finishing the laundry, Cheng Rushan came over to swat away mosquitoes and then set up the mosquito net.

“Shan Ge, our construction company has a new leader. Do you have anything to say about that?”

Cheng Rushan turned to smile at her, “How’s the new leader?”

Jiang Lin replied, “Quite imposing, with vision and decisiveness. Very good.”

Cheng Rushan said, “Congratulations, dear.” He put down the mosquito net, took the fan from her, and held her while fanning their daughter.

Jiang Lin wasn’t sleepy despite her nap earlier, so she chatted with Cheng Rushan.

The Provincial Construction Group, a new state-owned enterprise, was currently disorganized, especially at the management level.

They had assigned someone with no technical knowledge to be the director of the technical department, who was constantly giving misguided orders and complaining about the staff.

He even criticized their college graduates for not having degrees, disapproved of their irregular work hours, and found faults with their incomplete designs.

Because he had connections, the senior staff were reluctant to confront him, and the students avoided him as well.

He was in his forties, lacked competence, and enjoyed making life difficult for people, especially pretty female employees who didn’t flatter him.

Jiang Lin had been harassed by him and received unwanted advances, so she avoided him altogether.

She hadn’t mentioned it to Cheng Rushan, but he still knew about it, even though she only vented to Su Xingyun and others about the frustration.

“You would offend people if you took action against him.”

Cheng Rushan kissed her, “We haven’t acted yet. We just had a chat with our department head, who then went to have tea with him.”

Their department head was also a high-ranking official in the Discipline Inspection Commission.

Anyone with a sense of integrity would understand the situation and avoid trouble.

After all, the cultural revolution had only ended a few years ago, and people were still cautious about being accused of misconduct.

Their conversation started seriously but gradually became more playful, eventually moving their daughter to a corner.

…

At some point, Cheng Rushan was woken up. While sleeping, he had his arm around Jiang Lin, and now there was a head nestled in her arms.

He propped himself up and looked by moonlight, seeing that Baosheng had snuggled up with her little butt in Jiang Lin’s arms and was sneakily nursing.

Even though Jiang Lin’s milk had dried up after taking the milk-returning medicine, Baosheng still wanted to nurse from her mother, even though she was on formula.

After a while, Baosheng was still unsatisfied and started to climb over Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin, exhausted and sleepy, unconsciously turned onto her side, allowing Baosheng to settle between them.

Baosheng, now content, wiggled around between them.

Cheng Rushan got up to change Baosheng’s diaper, then repositioned her so she could sleep comfortably.

Soon, she started moving again, her head resting on Jiang Lin’s chin, and she pulled Jiang Lin’s neck to lower her head so their faces were touching.

Her little feet were kicking Cheng Rushan, one foot on his chest and the other on his chin.

Cheng Rushan: “…”

To avoid getting kicked in the nose, he turned to the side and let her sleep however she wanted.

When Jiang Lin woke up, she found Baosheng had somehow ended up sprawled on Cheng Rushan’s chest, with her little hand on Cheng Rushan’s mouth.

Jiang Lin: “…”