◎ Second update ◎ 

Xu Shengjie took the materials for assembling the radio home. The meal was almost ready. After the family finished dinner, Xu Shengjie was tinkering with the radio while Liang Baozhen was helping Xiaowei with his homework. 

Next year, Xiaowei and Xiaoya will take the high school entrance examination. Whether they can go to high school or directly enter a technical secondary school will depend on this. 

There is absolutely no problem with Xiaoya. Her academic performance is among the best in the school. But it is Xiaowei who makes people worry. 

“Xiaowei, study hard with your sister-in-law and your sister.” Zhou Yun still hopes that his grandson can continue his studies. Xu Shengjie encountered a lot of change back then and did not have the conditions to continue his studies. He joined the military at a young age and sent allowances and wages back home every month. 

Times are different now. Studying is important, and every family hopes that their children can work hard and get into university. 

“I know, grandma.” Xu Shengwei frowned and scratched his head. He felt dizzy just looking at the math problems. It was no wonder he couldn’t help yawning when he was studying… 

Liang Baozhen also understood the principle that haste makes waste, so she explained the problem to him and let him think it over while she looked at Xu Shengjie assembling the radio. 

The man’s distinct, nimble hands moved skillfully among the small, precise parts, assembling and adjusting with expertise. He slightly bent his back, his face sharply defined under his hair, with a high nose bridge. He was so focused on the semi-finished radio in his hands that when he noticed a warm gaze beside him, he glanced up. His dark eyes reflected Liang Baozhen’s charming figure. 

“Is it almost done?” Liang Baozhen came over with great interest. She thought Xu Shengjie was handsome even without saying a word when he was tinkering with the radio. His slender fingers flicked and clicked lightly as if he was about to finish. 

“No, I just found out that a part is missing. I’ll go get it from Hong Saner tomorrow.” Xu Shengjie put the unfinished radio aside and took a look at his wife’s belly.

Liang Baozhen’s belly isn’t very noticeable, and if no one tells you, you can hardly tell that she’s pregnant.

“Any movement?” 

“No.” Ever since Liang Baozhen felt the fetal movement for the first time the night before, Xu Shengjie became excited and wanted to touch it all the time. 

But Liang Baozhen was more interested in Xu Shengjie’s past, she moved her wooden chair next to him and asked about his military days, “Did you assemble radios when you were in the army? Oh, and you can also make furniture.” 

“Not just that; I can do many things.” Xu Shengjie reminisced and slowly told Liang Baozhen. 

“When we were stationed in the mountains for training, we were really bored in our spare time. We just sat there and fed mosquitoes every day. Later, we had competitions to catch hares, pheasants, and snakes.” 

“Eh~” Liang Baozhen frowned in disgust. She was most afraid of snakes, and she got goosebumps just thinking about them. “You’ve never eaten snake meat, have you?” 

If Xu Shengjie had eaten a snake, she would never kiss him again!!! 

“No,” Xu Shengjie doesn’t like to eat those strange meats. He dares to catch snakes, but he won’t eat them. “But some of my comrades did.” 

“Alright, enough about that. It’s making me uncomfortable just listening to it.” Liang Baozhen lifted up her long sleeves, showed him the goosebumps on her forearms, and urged him to change the subject. 

Xu Shengjie smiled and rubbed her arm, “Why are you so scared?” 

“I’m just afraid of them. I’m not afraid of other things. And then? You just assembled radios?” 

“Not just that. We played cards or saved up some cigarettes to smoke. Cigarettes were valuable; having a cigarette could help get things done.” 

The training volume in the military is heavy, and his feet are almost numb after the training. He can’t fall asleep at all when lying in bed. The nicotine in cigarettes was a good tool to numb the nerves, and it felt like coming back to life with a puff. 

“You need to smoke less.” Liang Baozhen remembered that more and more people were paying attention to the harm of cigarettes. Smoking is more likely to cause lung diseases, and she didn’t want her husband to have lung problems. 

“It’s just one cigarette a day. I’ll listen to you.” Xu Shengjie even showed off, “I haven’t had a single one today.” 

Liang Baozhen looked at him and felt like he was similar to Liang Baoling, who had completed her homework beyond the required amount and was asking for praise! 

While talking, Liang Baozhen leaned in and sniffed Xu Shengjie’s collar, she moved her delicate nose to carefully check for any smell of smoke. 

Xu Shengjie suddenly felt a fragrant smell coming from beside him, with a few of Baozhen’s hair strands brushing his neck, tickling him as she checked for smoke. 

Xu Shengjie’s Adam’s apple moved, and the next moment, the woman pulled away. 

As if praising an elementary school student, she smiled brightly. “Not bad, you deserve praise today!” 

Looking at his wife’s bright smile, Xu Shengjie thought that maybe he might as well not smoke tomorrow and just endure it for another day! 

*** 

Liang Baozhen woke up in the middle of the night. She felt hungry and wanted to eat something. 

She shifted her body, and it instantly woke up Xu Shengjie. 

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” 

“I’m hungry.” Liang Baozhen, who had just woken up, spoke in a hoarse and sticky voice as if she was acting coquettishly. Xu Shengjie’s heart softened. 

“What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it.” He immediately sat up and got dressed. 

“No, what time is it? Just make me a cup of malted milk.” Liang Baozhen smacked her lips, craving that sweet flavor. 

At three o’clock in the middle of the night, in the Liang family’s living room, Xu Shengjie was opening the iron lid of a can of malted milk, scooping two spoonfuls into an enamel cup, and picking up the thermos to fill the cup. 

He stirs it quickly and evenly with a spoon, and the malted milk granules gradually melt in the boiling water, exuding an enticing aroma. 

“Be careful, it’s hot.” 

Xu Shengjie carried the enamel cup into the room. Liang Baozhen was leaning against the headboard and took a deep breath, “It smells so good!” 

Since she got pregnant, she has become more and more fond of sweet food and is simply obsessed with the taste. If malted milk was ten times more attractive to her before she got pregnant, it was a hundred times more attractive after she got pregnant. 

She didn’t know why, but she just craved the taste. 

As soon as a spoonful entered her mouth, the sweet and fragrant malted milk filled her with warmth, cutting through the chilly autumn air and warming her stomach. 

“Eat slowly, don’t burn yourself.” Xu Shengjie felt satisfied when he saw his wife drinking malted milk with a spoon, and she looked like she was enjoying it thoroughly. His heart was content. 

He had just bought a can of malted milk half a month ago and hadn’t finished it yet. Today, Liang Baojun sent him two more cans, which would last them a long time. 

“You should have some too.” Liang Baozhen scooped a spoonful and brought it to Xu Shengjie’s mouth. 

“I won’t drink it, you have it.” How could he compete with his wife for food? 

“It’s so cold in the evening, this is really refreshing to drink, why don’t you try it?” 

Seeing that his wife insisted, Xu Shengjie opened his mouth and let his wife feed him. 

The two of them took turns taking a sip and soon finished the whole cup of malted milk. 

When Xu Shengjie came back after washing the enamel cup, Liang Baozhen had already fallen into a deep sleep. Her shiny black hair was disheveled, covering most of her palm-sized face and it made her skin look even whiter. 

Moving quietly, Xu Shengjie got into bed, gently brushed her hair aside, and carefully lay down. He stretched his right arm above her pillow, and as if sensing it, Baozhen placed her hands on his chest, moved her body to the side, found the most comfortable spot in the crook of his neck, and fell asleep peacefully. 

*** 

On Sunday, the whole family rested. But Liang Baozhen followed the advice of Zhou Yun and Cheng Caili and went out for a walk. She went to the Youth Palace with Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya. 

The two had already mastered swimming techniques. It had to be said, they were much better than the dog paddle many people had learned by thrashing around in the river—their strokes were textbook perfect. 

“Sister-in-law, we’re going in!” 

“Goodbye, sister-in-law!” 

Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya walked in together and happened to meet the students of the table tennis class who were finishing their class. Each of them was holding a table tennis racket in their hands and looked very professional. 

Xu Shengwei stared at them for a long time, and after being reminded by his sister, he continued to go to the swimming class. 

There are sofa seats in the Youth Palace for parents to wait. Liang Baozhen took a break and prepared to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to take a look. 

Just as she was getting up, a child suddenly rushed over. The child ran quickly without noticing that there was someone in front of him and was about to bump into Liang Baozhen. 

Fortunately, Liang Baozhen reacted quickly and dodged the kid and protected her stomach with one hand. 

“Oh!” The little boy was startled by her quick movement and only then realized he had almost run into someone. 

“Auntie, are you okay? I almost bumped into you; I’m sorry.” The little boy looked about six or seven years old, with well-defined features. Even at such a young age, his high nose bridge and big, bright eyes stood out. He was dressed in beautiful clothes, and his face was clean and fair. It was obvious that he was well-raised at home. 

“I’m fine.” Liang Baozhen was attracted by the child’s sweet voice. When she saw him standing straight and apologizing to her, she thought he was very cute. 

Since she became a mother, she has become affectionate to other children, but this is only true for the cute and well-behaved ones. There are a few particularly naughty and troublesome kids in the courtyard next door in the alley. They have snot in their mouths all day long, their clothes are messy, and they love to roll in the mud. She doesn’t feel any warmth or affection for those children. 

“Little one, where are you going? Why are you here alone?” Liang Baozhen couldn’t help but feel curious when she saw him looking around. 

“I’m looking for my mother.” The little boy pouted, a little aggrieved, “I don’t know where my mother went.” 

“Ah?” Liang Baozhen looked around. There were only a few people at the front desk of the Youth Palace at the moment. Liang Baozhen pointed there and asked, “What does your mother look like? What is she wearing? Is she over there?” 

“No, no.” The little boy shook his head like a rattle. “My mother is wearing a pink plaid blouse today. She is very beautiful, just like you, Auntie.” 

This child is so sweet! Liang Baozhen is soft-hearted and was particularly happy to be praised by a little kid, mainly because the child’s eyes were shining and very sincere. 

“Let me help you ask around.” Liang Baozhen went to find the staff at the Youth Palace and found out that the child was in the calligraphy class. 

“Thank you, comrade. I’ll go look for his mother. They just came in together.” 

“Okay, I’ll help look after the child.” 

“How did you get separated from your mother?” Liang Baozhen started chatting with the little boy sitting next to her. 

“I don’t know either. I just walked and walked and lost my mother.” The little boy was quite calm and spoke clearly, but he turned around and suddenly shouted, “Mother! I’m here!” 

A young woman in a lotus pink plaid blouse trotted over and took the child in her arms. 

“Zhao Zhao, you scared mother to death! How did you end up here?” 

“I don’t know either. I couldn’t find you, so I came downstairs and waited here. Mother would definitely go out from here if she wanted to go out.” 

It turned out that Yang Yan brought her seven-year-old son to the calligraphy class at the Youth Palace today. When they walked to the third floor, Yang Yan met Minister Zheng’s wife in the staff quarters and chatted with her for a few minutes. When she turned around, the child was gone. 

She looked around on the third floor and then went to the second floor. It was not until the front desk staff at the Youth Palace came to inform her that she found out that the child was in the waiting area in the lobby on the first floor. 

“It’s mother’s fault for not noticing you.” The moment Yang Yan realized her child was missing, she broke out in a cold sweat. A huge fear came over her. She still gets scared when she thinks about it now. 

“Mother, it was the beautiful aunt who helped me.” Zhao Zhao was much calmer and pointed at Liang Baozhen. 

“Comrade, thank you!” Yang Yan has a delicate appearance, a scholarly air, and speaks gently. 

“You’re welcome. I’m glad the child is okay.” Liang Baozhen could empathize with the mother. If her own child went missing, she’d be terrified. “Your son is very clever and very well-behaved. He said he would wait for you here.” 

After a brief chat, Yang Yan wanted to go to the supply and marketing cooperative next door to buy some cakes to thank her. Liang Baozhen naturally declined, saying it was unnecessary to accept something for such a small favor, so she pretended that she had something to do and left first. 

After going around to the supply and marketing cooperative on the other side to buy some snacks, Liang Baozhen walked back with the things in her hand. The weather in early autumn was pleasant, neither too cold nor too hot, just right for enjoying the breeze outside. When she arrived at the Youth Palace, she saw Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya, who had just finished their swimming lesson. They were hiding behind the wall and watching something.