Chapter 88: Life with a Baby

The nickname “Moon” seemed misplaced, as the moon disappeared whenever thunder sounded. Xiaomei was very afraid of thunder and needed to be held in Wen Jiajia’s arms to stop crying during thunderstorms.

At two months old, this was the only time Xiaomei insisted on being held. Wen Jiajia wasn’t annoyed but found it rather unusual.

Fortunately, the thunderstorm lasted only a day. The next day, the sky was clear and blue, as if the world had been washed clean and looked brand new.

Wen Jiajia stood in the yard, taking a deep breath. Her nose was filled with the fresh scent of grass, trees, and soil—a fragrance no top perfumer could replicate.

Spring had truly arrived.

A spring rain had brought new life. Tender green grass sprouted from the moist soil, and dry branches were budding with yellow and green.

The grass appeared green from a distance but wasn’t dense up close.

The greenery in the yard was sparse, but the distant mountains were completely covered in green.

If you looked carefully, you could see some hints of pink.

Wen Jiajia remarked, “Those must be peach blossoms. The peach blossoms on the opposite mountain are blooming, so the ones on our back mountain should be blooming too.”

Zhong Huisheng, who was making a flower net, laughed and said, “There are three signs of Jingzhe^[1]is one of the 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian lunisolar calendar.: the beginning of peach blossoms, the cry of orioles, and the transformation of eagles into doves. Jingzhe is indeed the season for peach blossoms. Are you planning to make peach blossom wine?”

She had learned to make flower nets from Sister Bao and could now do it herself, though at a slower pace. Sister Bao’s speed was four or five times faster.

However, Zhong Huisheng was just doing it for fun. She didn’t value money much and sometimes used a portion of the 15 yuan Wen Jiajia gave her each month to buy clothes and hair ornaments for Wen Chun and Wen Xuan.

Wen Jiajia guessed that the cousin’s family had once been wealthy. Although they had been silent for many years, they might still have considerable savings.

She smiled and said, “Forget about peach blossom wine. I was just joking. We still have three jars of various wines at home. I want to make peach blossom tea. It’s good for beauty and also helps with digestion. But I can’t drink it now because I’m breastfeeding. I’m not sure if it can be dried and kept until I’m weaned.”

Zhong Huisheng understood. “Do you want to lose weight?”

Wen Jiajia nodded. “Yes! I’m at least 20 pounds heavier than before.”

As an online celebrity, she maintained strict control over her weight, even though she wasn’t a beauty blogger.

There was no need to weigh herself. By feeling the flesh on her body and observing the collarbone, Wen Jiajia could estimate her weight.

Before pregnancy, she weighed about 100 pounds. She lost 3–4 pounds in the early stages of pregnancy due to a lack of appetite. In the later stages, she swelled up to 130 pounds.

Now, standing at about 115 to 120 cm tall, she wasn’t fat, but Wen Jiajia disliked the fat on her belly and wanted to shrink it.

“Oh!” She lamented the lack of a beauty salon, noting that a few months of treatment would produce significant results, reducing her need to make various kinds of tea.

After lunch, Wen Jiajia soothed her baby to sleep, wrapped her hair with a cloth, and took a basket to pick peach blossoms.

The peach blossoms on the back hill were in full bloom, and mushrooms and bamboo shoots were also sprouting in abundance.

Wen Jiajia was immediately drawn to the mushrooms she saw along the path. However, when she looked closer, she realized most of them were unfamiliar to her. The red caps and white stems reminded her of the dangerous “red umbrellas and white stems^[2]refer to the visual description of certain toxic mushrooms.” she’d heard about, so she didn’t dare touch them.

She did pick a variety of wild vegetables, including shepherd’s purse, Artemisia selengensis, alfalfa, toon, elm seeds, and dandelions.

Shepherd’s purse was familiar. The aunt had picked up a lot of it by the lake the day before. She blanched it, chopped it up, and made dumplings with it in the evening.

The shepherd’s purse dumplings were fresh and tender. Wen Jiajia ate 20 of them in one go. When she woke up in the middle of the night, her stomach was still full, and every time she burped, she smelled of dumplings.

There’s no need to discuss Artemisia selengensis (water wormwood) in detail. Since shepherd’s purse grows by the lake, Artemisia selengensis naturally does too.

Artemisia selengensis resembles Chinese chrysanthemum and is often used to stir-fry bacon. The taste is average if stir-fried without much oil.

However, its stems can be pickled, and when nearly done, they pair very well with porridge. The aunt pickled all the Artemisia she collected yesterday, saying they could be eaten next month.

As for Chinese toon, elm seeds, and dandelions, they are common wild vegetables in the countryside and taste great when used in scrambled eggs.

Alfalfa, originally used as livestock fodder, has a surprisingly wonderful taste in March. Even when eaten cold, it’s a delicious addition to the spring menu. Unfortunately, after March, alfalfa becomes too mature and is discarded.

After walking and stopping along the way, we finally reached the peach tree.

The peach tree was short but climbable. Wen Jiajia climbed up to the branches to pick flowers. She only picked a modest amount, filling half the basket before heading down.

On her way down the mountain, she picked up a few bamboo shoots and carried them in her arms.

“Auntie, let’s make braised bamboo shoots in oil for dinner tonight,” she said when she got home.

Zhong Huisheng replied, “Great! Wow, these bamboo shoots are really tender. They must have come up after yesterday’s thunder.”

“It’s just that Wei Dai isn’t free these days. Otherwise, we’d have him dig bamboo shoots every day. They’re at their best right now,” Wen Jiajia said as she put down the basket.

Winter and spring bamboo shoots are her favorites. Although bamboo shoots are available in her hometown, those here are especially delicious and of a superior variety. The ones from her hometown can’t compare.

Wen Jiajia removed the cloth from her head, washed her hands and face with soap, changed clothes, and then went into the room to hold the baby.

Xiaomei was still asleep, but perhaps due to a telepathic connection with her mother, she woke up shortly after Wen Jiajia entered the room.

With her round eyes rolling around, Xiaomei made “Oh” sounds, showing she was in a good mood.

Wen Jiajia was also in a good mood. She resisted the urge to kiss her baby and helped her with her needs.

Zhong Huisheng loved bamboo shoots too, and her braised bamboo shoots in oil were a specialty—much better than Wen Jiajia’s cooking.

As soon as the seasoning began cooking, the aroma spread outside the yard.

Passersby would ask, “Jia Jia, is your family eating meat again?”

Wen Jiajia would confidently reply, “No, we’re eating bamboo shoots! The bamboo shoots from the back mountain are ripe and tender.”

Her family couldn’t afford to eat meat every day.

Recently, Wen Jiajia has been paying off debts. Wei Dai had returned 70% of the meat coupons he had received. During her confinement, she had eaten meat every day, sourcing it either at high prices without coupons or with borrowed meat coupons.

Additionally, without working, the family’s meat coupons were running low. When craving meat but wanting to avoid fish, they had to rely on lard and the smoked meat hanging in the kitchen to satisfy their cravings.

Zhong Huisheng managed the household finances well. According to her arrangement, they could only have bacon once a week.

The evening sky, just before dark, was the most beautiful.

Golden, red, blue, and indigo hues mixed like colors on a great painter’s palette, creating a breathtaking view.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan returned with their small schoolbags. Sister Bao had modified their bags, and while the pandas on them looked cute, the shadow of the panda embroidered by Wen Jiajia was no longer there.

Because of this, their bags had become popular among the children in the family compound.

Nowadays, nine out of ten children have pandas in their school bags. Wen Jiajia had seen so many unique pandas recently—more than she ever had in her previous life!

“Aunt, did my Xiaomei cry today?”

As soon as Wen Chun came back, she went to check on her Xiaomei and even learned how to write her name.

Fortunately, her name was simple. The only challenging character was “闻” (Wen), but since it was her surname, she learned it quickly.

Wen Jiajia answered seriously, “She didn’t cry today. She only whimpered a bit when she wet the bed, but after changing her diaper, she was very happy.”

Wen Chun nodded like a little adult, feeling relieved.

Suppressing her laughter, Wen Jiajia patted her head and said, “Let’s go eat. Aunt made delicious food today.”

Wen Xuan joined them at the table, her nose acting like a radar, able to tell whether the food was delicious just by her reaction.

Wen Chun came closer to see. There were shiny braised spring bamboo shoots, golden steamed eggs, a dish of spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and a plate of scrambled eggs with Chinese toon. The food looked even more appetizing than the meat.

Wen Jiajia said, “You guys eat first. I’m afraid Uncle won’t be back until midnight.”

Wei Dai had been staying out late recently. Fortunately, Xiaomei was a deep sleeper and wouldn’t be disturbed.

Wen Xuan added, “Aunt and Auntie, you can eat too.”

“Okay, let’s eat right away.” Zhong Huisheng brought out a bowl of seaweed and shrimp soup.

The taste of braised bamboo shoots was exceptional. As soon as you put them in your mouth, you first experienced the aroma of the seasoning, followed by the fresh taste of the bamboo shoots. The salty and fresh flavor burst into your mouth as you chewed. The bamboo shoots were still tender and crisp, making them particularly delicious.

Wen Jiajia decided that Lei Sun would appear at the dinner table for the next half month.

Raising children made the days pass quickly. It felt like winter had just ended, and now summer was already approaching.

By late April, the weather had started to get hot intermittently. Yesterday, it was still around 10 to 20 degrees with a pleasant breeze. Today, it exceeded 30 degrees, and there were days when short sleeves were necessary at noon.

Wen Jiajia’s cotton-padded clothes were now single-layer garments, and she only needed to put on a coat in the morning and evening.

Xiaomei’s clothes had become quite thin. She used to be carried around with a blanket in the winter, but now it is much easier to carry her. She had grown a lot and was more active, moving her hands and feet around. After holding her for a while, Wen Jiajia’s arms would ache, and she finally understood why Sha Yue had to visit the doctor for her arm.

The little girl was now the most comfortable person in the family. She ate and slept all day, and when she woke up, she was carried to the yard to look at the flowers and grass.

Xiaomei was good-looking, like a doll from New Year pictures—plump, fair, and with delicate features. Everyone in the family compound liked to hold her and play with her.

As a result, Xiaomei wasn’t afraid of strangers at all and always smiled at everyone she met.

Even though she wasn’t afraid of Old Wang, who was the most feared by the children in the family compound, she was a bit reluctant to be hugged by him. If he insisted, she would slap him in the face and then turn around to look for her mother.

However, Wen Jiajia didn’t dare take her out often. People back then didn’t have the awareness to avoid kissing children. When they saw a chubby child, they would often want to kiss their cheeks.

If Wen Jiajia hadn’t kept a close watch, Xiaomei might have been kissed excessively. This led to some people being offended, saying it was odd that Wen Jiajia watched the child so closely and didn’t allow kissing.

There were also disadvantages to changing seasons. Wen Chun and Wen Xuan fell ill during the season change this year.

The weather had been alternating between hot and cold recently, and with the children in primary school, there were no teachers to help them dress appropriately, making them prone to getting sick.