Chapter 48: The Full Month Celebration

Jiang Cuihua couldn’t bear to let her grandson be given such an unpleasant name.

Liu Yinyin’s house only had one bedroom, so at night, Jiang Cuihua couldn’t stay any longer.

Seeing that her mother was reluctant to leave, Liu Yinyin smiled helplessly. “Mother, don’t worry. The two of us can’t even handle one baby?”

Jiang Cuihua gave her a look and instructed, “I just can’t help but worry. If anything happens, have Gu Cheng come and find me at home.”

Liu Yinyin had thought it would be easy, but being woken up multiple times a night was truly exhausting.

Gu Yanyan cried when he was hungry, and he cried when he was wet. Throughout the night, the couple got up seven or eight times.

Liu Yinyin only had to breastfeed and put him back to sleep, while Gu Cheng took care of changing diapers.

Still, she was inevitably disturbed, and after a night of interrupted sleep, she was completely drained. As soon as morning came and Jiang Cuihua arrived, she quickly handed the baby over to her.

Pulling the covers over herself, Liu Yinyin immediately fell into a deep sleep.

There was no need to wake her up for nursing. Since Gu Cheng had brought back a bag of formula milk yesterday, they could feed the baby that for now.

She was utterly exhausted.

Noticing the bloodshot eyes of her son-in-law, Jiang Cuihua quickly urged him to get some rest as well.

Finally, they made it to the baby’s full month. Liu Yinyin couldn’t hold back any longer and hurriedly heated water to take a bath.

During the day, Jiang Cuihua cared for the baby, and at night, Gu Cheng took over. Liu Yinyin’s postpartum recovery period had been relatively easy.

However!

Not being able to bathe for so long was truly unbearable. If it weren’t for people stopping her, she would have given in much earlier.

It was already early December, and several rounds of snow had fallen in the village—not heavy, but enough to make the weather bitterly cold.

But that didn’t matter. Liu Yinyin had a fireplace in her room, so she simply moved the bathing tub inside. That way, she wouldn’t feel cold at all.

She ended up using two full tubs of water before finally feeling clean. The first tub was so dirty it was unbearable to look at.

She hadn’t bathed in an entire month. When she felt uncomfortable, she had only wiped herself down with a towel. She had washed her hair twice, but her body still felt sticky and unpleasant.

Even she found her own scent unbearable—she had no idea how Gu Cheng had managed to sleep beside her every night.

She had actually suggested that he sleep at the Liu house with Liu Mingyuan for a while.

Liu Yinyin could have then shared a bed with Jiang Cuihua, which would have made it easier to care for the baby. Otherwise, Gu Cheng had to work during the day and stay up at night looking after the child—it was simply too exhausting.

But Gu Cheng had refused, saying that his wife and child were his responsibility, and he couldn’t just leave everything to them.

At last, the difficult days were over, and Liu Yinyin let out a deep sigh of relief.

Gu Yanyan’s full month banquet was scheduled for the following day, which happened to be Gu Cheng’s day off, saving him the trouble of taking leave.

In addition to hosting a full month banquet, rural traditions dictated that families who had welcomed a new son should also distribute red eggs and red sugar cakes to their relatives and friends—one portion per household.

Of course, this only applied to baby boys. If a baby girl was born, this step was often skipped.

For instance, when Yang Guizhi’s daughter was born, they only had a simple meal with a couple of close relatives on the full month, without any red eggs or sugar cakes.

During lunch that day, Jiang Cuihua discussed the matter with Liu Yinyin. She said, “According to tradition, the red eggs and red sugar cakes should be distributed at the husband’s family home. We shouldn’t break the rules. Talk to Gu Cheng and have him take them to Shili Village tomorrow.”

Liu Yinyin put down her bowl and said, “Mother, I’ve already discussed this with him. We’ll distribute them in both villages.”

Their family of three lived in Liu Yinyin’s home, so it wouldn’t be appropriate not to do anything there. The villagers were watching, after all.

Besides, they weren’t stingy, and they could afford it.

Jiang Cuihua was delighted. “As long as you’ve agreed on it, that’s good. If it’s too much, you can distribute fewer. It’s the thought that counts, and people will understand.”

Traditions were set, but people were adaptable. Some families that were struggling financially replaced the red sugar cakes with steamed corn buns instead.

Liu Yinyin didn’t want to do anything out of the ordinary, but she also didn’t want to be too frugal. “We’ll do the same as other families in the village—two red eggs and one red sugar cake per household.”

Jiang Cuihua did some calculations and looked slightly troubled. “That’s going to take more than a hundred eggs.”

During her postpartum confinement, Liu Yinyin had been eating two eggs boiled with red sugar every morning without fail, in addition to the household’s daily consumption.

Since she had been recovering, Liu Yinyin hadn’t had the chance to secretly take eggs from the system.

As a result, their current egg supply at home was quite low. Even including the eggs at the Liu family’s house, they only had around fifty in total.

Liu Yinyin said, “Mother, can you help me borrow some eggs from the villagers? Borrow as many as possible—we’ll need at least two hundred.”

It wasn’t just for distributing red eggs; they also needed eggs for the banquet.

Jiang Cuihua was taken aback. “Borrow?”

She had assumed her daughter would just buy them.

“Yes,” Liu Yinyin nodded. “We have egg ration tickets at home. When I have time, I’ll go to the county to buy more eggs and return what we borrowed.”

Liu Yinyin was speaking nonsense with a straight face. She did have several egg ration tickets, but buying eggs was out of the question.

Her real plan was to smuggle eggs out from the system.

Jiang Cuihua chuckled. “Well… that works too. I’ll go around the village this afternoon and see what I can get.”

Everyone faces difficulties from time to time. Both Liu Yinyin’s family and the Liu household had good reputations in the village, so borrowing some eggs wouldn’t be a problem.

The red sugar cakes were a simpler matter. There was still plenty of red sugar at home, and they had enough cornmeal as well.

“There’s quite a lot to do. I’ll ask your sister-in-law to come help tomorrow,” Jiang Cuihua said.

They needed to boil and dye the red eggs, make the red sugar cakes, and prepare several banquet tables.

Liu Yinyin added, “Let’s invite the whole family over for a meal tomorrow.”

Jiang Cuihua hesitated. “That’s a lot of people.”

According to custom, when villagers attended banquets at other homes, only one representative from each household would go.

If entire families came along, no one would be able to afford hosting such an event.

Liu Yinyin spoke as if it were only natural. “They’re our closest family—what’s wrong with having them over for a meal? Besides…”

She paused before delivering a decisive argument. “We don’t know if anyone from Gu Cheng’s side will show up. Mother, you all have to be there to back me up.”

Jiang Cuihua immediately sat up straight, slapped her thigh, and declared, “No problem! If they show up, we won’t be afraid. I’ll have all your brothers come tomorrow.”

She had three sons—just the thought of it made her stand taller.

In the countryside, having sons was a source of confidence.

That afternoon, Jiang Cuihua went out to borrow eggs.

Meanwhile, Liu Yinyin stayed home to take care of the baby.

A one-month-old infant was completely different from a newborn.

His tiny face was now soft and fair, making him look like a little angel.

Unlike when he was first born—when all he did was eat and sleep—he could now stay awake and play for four to five hours a day.

At the moment, Gu Yanyan had just finished eating and was lying on the bed, his big, round eyes wide open as he played with his fingers.

His little feet kicked from time to time, and his adorable expression melted Liu Yinyin’s heart.