Chapter 81

Jiang Suihan frantically hugged Chenchen and coaxed him, “Why are you crying? Be good, stop crying, are you hungry?”

Seeing Chenchen’s little face scrunched up in tears, her heart ached. She looked up at Xu Zhao with a pleading expression for help.

Xu Zhao checked the diaper under the baby. It was wet. “He’s wet. I’ll get a new diaper.”

Hearing the cries of her precious grandchild, Su Ying rushed upstairs, her voice echoing before she even arrived: “What’s wrong? Is he hungry, or is it just a wet diaper?”

Entering the bedroom, Su Ying saw Xu Zhao sweating and struggling with the diaper change. He had been at it for a while but was not making much progress.

Without a word, Su Ying took the diaper from him and skillfully changed Chenchen’s diaper with gentle, practiced movements. As if relieved from the fuss, Chenchen’s cries gradually subsided, and his moist eyes seemed to focus on her.

Su Ying held Chenchen, smiling warmly: “Grandma’s little sweet grandson, don’t cry. It’s your dad who’s at fault. He doesn’t even know how to change a diaper. What use is he, right?”

Feeling reprimanded by his own mother, Xu Zhao nervously touched his nose and quickly shifted the topic: “It’s time for feeding, isn’t it?”

Chenchen had been asleep for nearly an hour and must be hungry.

So Xu Zhao busied himself, first sterilizing the bottle with hot water, then preparing the formula. The water temperature had to be just right—not too hot or too cold. He tested the temperature by dropping a bit on his wrist, and only after Su Ying approved it did he finally give it to Chenchen.

Xu Zhao sighed in relief. If it were just him and Jiang Suihan, two novice parents taking care of the baby, it would be a complete mess. Thankfully, his mother was there. Otherwise, not only would they suffer, but Chenchen would suffer as well.

It was hot, and Jiang Suihan felt sticky and uncomfortable. She really wanted a shower.

Xu Zhao disagreed: “No, you’re in the postpartum period, which is very important. We can’t be careless. A month goes by quickly, just endure it.”

Jiang Suihan pulled at Xu Zhao’s hand, looking at him with a pitiful expression: “I’m covered in sweat and blood, it’s so smelly. Can’t I at least take a hot shower?”

Being from the south, Jiang Suihan was used to bathing daily, especially in the hot summer weather. Just sitting there made her sweat, and the thought of not being able to shower or wash her hair for a month was almost unbearable.

Xu Zhao was adamant, unmoved: “I said no, and it’s final. Your health is fragile. Even in winter, your hands and feet are cold, no matter how many clothes you wear. It’s better to get your body back to health during this month, so you’ll suffer less in the future.”

Regardless of Jiang Suihan’s pleas or attempts to persuade him, his stance remained firm: absolutely no.

Seeing that this approach was futile, Jiang Suihan’s eyes darted around, and she began to fake cry, covering her face: “I knew after having Chenchen, my body wouldn’t be as good, my face is rounder now. You must dislike me and don’t love me anymore! You used to agree to everything I said, but now I just want a shower, and you won’t agree. I’m so sad! Men are all the same; once they get what they want, they don’t cherish it. Boohoo…”

Knowing that she was pretending to cry, she covered her face with her hands and secretly peeked through her fingers to see his reaction, but there was not a single tear on her face. Xu Zhao found it funny but also a little helpless, so he pulled her hand down and said, “Okay, stop pretending. I’ll ask Mom for you later.”

Jiang Suihan knew not to push too far, so she reluctantly agreed: “I’d like a glass of water.”

Xu Zhao got her a glass of water. After she finished, he placed the cup on a nearby table and made her lie back down to rest, insisting she stop fussing.

When news spread that Teacher Jiang had given birth, a group of children excitedly came to the house. The small room quickly filled with people.

“JTeacher Jiang, these are flowers for my little brother. I picked them from the mountain.”

“Teacher Jiang, these are the mulberries I picked on the mountain. They are so sweet. I’ll give them to my little brother too.”

“Teacher Jiang, my mother made radish cake. It’s delicious. I saved half a piece for my little brother.”

“Where is the little brother? Why can’t we see him?”

The children chattered nonstop, with each one eager to share their news. The room buzzed with their voices.

Seeing the innocent, bright faces of the children, Jiang Suihan smiled warmly. She said softly, “Thank you all. The little brother is sleeping next door. When he wakes up, you can come see him, okay?”

The children replied in unison, “Okay.”

Jiang Suihan asked Jiang Leyun to take the children downstairs to play and instructed Xu Zhao to distribute some snacks to everyone.

The bouquet of wildflowers was a gift from Zhang Xiaocao. It contained yellow, purple, red, and pink blooms, forming a rather large and charming arrangement.

The more Jiang Suihan looked at it, the more she liked it, and she wanted to find a vase to put the flowers in.

Xu Zhao searched the storage room but couldn’t find a vase. He ended up using an empty fruit jar from before. Jiang Suihan looked at the jar with slight distaste, but it was better than nothing.

Wu Guihua and a few others made an appointment to visit Jiang Suihan together: “What a beautiful child, a boy?”

Chenchen was sleeping beside Jiang Suihan. She looked at him and smiled gently: “Yes, it’s a boy.”

Wu Guihua joked with a smile, “I’ve never seen such a handsome boy before. When he grows up, he’s going to be quite the catch. Little girls will be swarming around him, and you and Xu Zhao won’t have to worry about him not finding a daughter-in-law.”

Chen Xiuni added, “This child seems to have inherited all the best traits from you and Xu Zhao. Just look at him—he’s so adorable that it makes me want to take him home and raise him myself.”

Proud of having a beautiful child, Jiang Suihan also remained modest. “Whether he’s good-looking or not is secondary. My only wish is for Chenchen to grow up healthy and happy.”

Now that she was a mother, she felt deeply about this. Chenchen was so tiny and fragile that it seemed like even a little wind or rain could take him away. All she hoped for now was Chenchen’s safety and well-being.

Wu Guihua empathized, “All mothers feel the same way. We just want our children to be healthy and happy, free from illness and disaster. Has the baby been named yet?”

Jiang Suihan looked at Chenchen with tender affection. “His name is Xu Chen, with ‘Chen’ meaning ‘morning’ to symbolize hope and light.”

Wu Guihua quietly repeated, “That’s a nice name. The meaning is good, and it’s easy to say. Unlike my own children’s names, Dajun and Xiaojun, where if you shout their names in the village, several people might respond because they’re so common.”

Jiang Suihan couldn’t help but reveal Xu Zhao’s earlier attempts. “Originally, Xu Zhao came up with names like ‘Jianjun,’ ‘He Ping,’ and ‘Zhi Qiang,’ which are so outdated and common. I didn’t like them, so I decided to name our son myself.”

Wu Guihua complained, “You cultural folks really know how to choose names. I can’t come up with such nice names. My eldest and second child have ordinary names because their father, who isn’t very imaginative, named them that way.”

Chen Xiuni, irritated by Wu Guihua’s praise of Jiang Suihan, asked, “Xiao Jiang, where’s your mother-in-law? I haven’t seen her around.”

Jiang Suihan casually replied, “She went to rest. After working nonstop for a whole day and night, even young people can’t handle it. I told her to get some sleep. The baby and I can manage with Xu Zhao’s help.”

Her mother-in-law had been running around nonstop, taking care of the baby and cooking for her without a word of complaint. Jiang Suihan felt very grateful.

Chen Xiuni remarked, “Your mother-in-law is really great. When you were only two months pregnant, she rushed from the capital to take care of you and stayed through the New Year without going back. She’s truly a good mother-in-law.”

She then asked, “Did your mother-in-law say when she would return to the capital?”

Jiang Suihan vaguely responded, “It’s not certain yet.”

In fact, she and Xu Zhao had discussed this matter. It would not be good to let her mother-in-law stay here forever, as that would be too selfish. Besides, her mother-in-law and father-in-law have been separated for almost a year, so her father-in-law must have some objections.

They were considering writing a letter to her grandfather, asking him to help find someone suitable to take over, so her mother-in-law could return to the capital.

Chen Xiuni hinted, “It’s better to determine this sooner. Now that the baby is born and Chenchen is so small, needing his mother all the time, what about your work at the school? Are you going to take him with you, like Dai Jia? Or leave him at home for your mother-in-law to care for?”

Jiang Suihan wondered why Chen Xiuni suddenly seemed so interested in her work and replied ambiguously, “I’ve already thought of a solution, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

Not finding out Jiang Suihan’s stance, Chen Xiuni felt annoyed and forced a smile. “Oh, I see. I was just worried that you might stop working because of the baby. That would be a shame since the students at school really like your classes.”

Chen Xiuni had come with a mission from someone else. A new family member with a junior high school education was looking to replace Jiang Suihan at the school. After learning of Jiang Suihan’s pregnancy, she hoped to take over her job. Chen Xiuni was given two yuan and a pack of brown sugar for her help, which she felt was easy enough and agreed to.

However, she didn’t expect Jiang Suihan to be so tight-lipped, and she felt the two yuan were burning a hole in her pocket. She might have to return them, which left her somewhat dissatisfied.

Jiang Suihan changed the subject, engaging Wu Guihua in a lively discussion about parenting tips. They chatted happily, and Chen Xiuni found no opportunity to redirect the conversation.

After Chenchen woke up, Jiang Suihan focused entirely on her son and had even less time to pay attention to her.

After much pleading and persuasion, Xu Zhao finally agreed to prepare a pot of ginger water for Jiang Suihan to use for a body wipe-down. He remained adamant about not letting her wash her hair, despite her persistent requests.

Jiang Suihan accepted this compromise, understanding that it was for her own good. At least she could get a bit cleaned up. Otherwise, she would feel unbearable.

“Is this for me?” she asked, puzzled as she took the letter Xu Zhao handed her. She slowly tore open the envelope, took out the letter, and unfolded it. Her brows furrowed as she read.