Chapter 44: Full Moon

◎ Who Does She Resemble? ◎

Wei Xiaolong also thought that today’s dishes were especially good, so he asked Wei Mother, “Mom, where did you get the lamb from?”

“Your brother-in-law brought it back last night. He said that your sister’s been eating this lately, so I stewed it. Your sister can’t eat too much on her own, so I just made the rest into a hot pot. I’ve already washed the vegetables, so you can just dip them in and eat.”

The real situation, though, was that Wei Mother noticed that her daughter only drank the soup and ate little meat, so she added some more water and simmered it, turning it into a lamb hot pot.

Unaware, Wei Xiaolong and Wei Third Sister-in-law didn’t notice that the lamb soup tasted a bit weak, and they ate it happily, even picking at the bones.

Wei Mother thought it tasted pretty good. Although she had added a bit more water, it was still meat, after all!

After lunch, Wei Xuan woke up, and Wei Third Sister-in-law finally had time to go inside and check on the baby.

After a few days of growth, the little one had grown quite a bit. At least, after seeing the baby, Jiang Che no longer doubted that the child was his biological child.

Wei Third Sister-in-law wasn’t very good at small talk, so she just kept complimenting how good-looking the baby was.

Wei Xuan began to wonder if she, as the mother, had too high of standards. Honestly, even if it was her biological child, Wei Xuan couldn’t say that the baby was particularly good-looking at this stage. The baby looked a little better than when she was first born, but that was about it.

Wei Third Sister-in-law didn’t notice the twisted expression on Wei Xuan’s face and kept praising the child. It was Wei Mother who noticed and quickly interrupted her daughter-in-law: “Alright, enough talking about that. While Xiaolong is here, let him take you to tidy up the place. You two can come back here for dinner tonight.”

Once her daughter-in-law was sent off, Wei Mother looked at Wei Xuan with a disapproving expression and said, “Is this how a mother behaves? You’re even criticizing your own daughter.”

Wei Xuan was innocent. She was just trying to be realistic about the little girl’s flaws! Yes, she wasn’t beautiful now, but no matter how she looked, she was still her flesh and blood. How could she possibly dislike her?

That night, Wei Xuan complained to Jiang Che: “You know, in Mom’s eyes, does Yuan Yuan have any flaws at all? You didn’t see how my third sister-in-law praised Yuan Yuan this afternoon, acting like she was an angel sent from heaven. If you didn’t know better, you’d think Yuan Yuan was a little fairy. I just couldn’t stand it, so I frowned a little, and then Mom accused me of disliking her.”

To Wei Xuan’s surprise, Jiang Che didn’t take her side this time: “Our Yuan Yuan is beautiful, after all. No matter how much you praise her, it’s still not enough.”

Wei Xuan shot him a glance: “I wonder who was worried the other day about her not getting married when she grows up.”

“Cough, cough…” Jiang Che awkwardly coughed twice. “You better not bring this up in front of our daughter. What if she understands and thinks I’m criticizing her?”

“Hmph.” Wei Xuan turned over and went to sleep, ignoring him.

The day after Wei Third Sister-in-law settled in, Wei Xuan asked Jiang Che to take her to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Wei Xuan had already discussed this with Sister Hong before taking leave. When she saw Jiang Che bring someone along, Sister Hong immediately asked with enthusiasm, “Xiao Xuan has given birth?”

“She’s born, born a daughter. Here’s a red egg. Sister Hong, please help me distribute it to everyone later.”

Sister Hong had a good relationship with Wei Xuan, so she didn’t hesitate to take the red egg and agreed, “Okay, a daughter is great, daughters are thoughtful. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the red egg distribution.”

Jiang Che wasn’t worried, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, he pointed to Wei Third Sister-in-law and introduced her: “This is my wife’s third sister-in-law from her family. She’s here to cover for my wife. I’ll need to trouble Sister Hong to help her out.”

“It’s no trouble. Xiao Xuan already told me about this. Just leave her to me. You go ahead with your work,” Sister Hong replied with a smile.

Once everything was settled, Jiang Che didn’t linger. He had to head to work.

After Jiang Che left, Wei Third Sister-in-law, feeling a bit awkward, smiled at Sister Hong. However, Sister Hong was very friendly and asked her to find a place to sit while she went ahead and distributed the red eggs before the supply and marketing cooperative opened.

After distributing the red eggs, she came back to arrange things for Wei Third Sister-in-law.

“You’re Xiao Xuan’s third sister-in-law, right? You seem a bit younger than me, so I’ll just call you ‘little sister-in-law.’ You can call me Sister Hong, just like Xiao Xuan does.” Then she pointed to a spot and continued, “This counter is where Xiao Xuan works. You’ll be here. When someone comes, just sell them things according to the prices. If you’re unsure about anything, come ask me. I’ll be right here.”

“Okay, thank you, Sister Hong.”

On the first day Wei Third Sister-in-law went to work, Wei Mother at home was a bit uneasy.

Wei Xuan comforted her, “Mom, don’t worry. The work at the supply and marketing cooperative is simple. Third Sister-in-law won’t have any problems.”

Wei Mother rocked her granddaughter in her arms before saying, “You think it’s simple because you’re smart. Your third sister-in-law isn’t as capable as you. What if she messes up the work and it causes trouble for you?” Wei Mother was mainly worried that her daughter-in-law’s mistake might affect her daughter’s job.

“It’s fine, I’m not worried,” Wei Xuan said helplessly. “I guess every mother thinks their own child is the smartest and most capable. At least, I don’t think Wei Third Sister-in-law is any less capable than me.”

It wasn’t until Wei Third Sister-in-law came home in the afternoon and shared her experiences of the day that Wei Mother finally felt reassured.

After dinner that night, Wei Third Sister-in-law prepared to head home.

Wei Mother followed her outside, and when they reached the door, she grabbed her, glanced around the yard to make sure no one was around, and then lowered her voice, saying to Wei Third Sister-in-law, “From tomorrow on, don’t come here for dinner. It’s best if you don’t eat lunch at the cafeteria either. Just make something yourself and bring it to the supply and marketing cooperative to eat.”

“Ah?” Wei Third Sister-in-law had been eating well these past few days and was enjoying herself. Now that she had to return to her old eating habits, she immediately became displeased.

“Ah, what?” Wei Mother scolded with a stern face, “You need to remember that you’re here to make money. You’ve spent quite a bit already without earning any—how can that be? Anyway, just remember what I said. If you do well, I’ll cook two nice dishes for you to enjoy.”

“Okay.” She had no money in her hands anyway, so she had to follow her mother-in-law’s instructions.

Starting the next day, Wei Third Sister-in-law stopped coming over for meals. Wei Xuan didn’t ask her mother any questions. Since Wei Mother did it, she must have had her reasons, so Wei Xuan just pretended not to know.

Life continued like this, and soon it was the day of Yuan Yuan’s full moon. Wei Xuan could finally get out of her confinement.

Jiang Che must have taken the day off early, and the night before, Wei Xuan wrapped herself up tightly and went with her mother to the nearby bathhouse for a bath. After coming out of the bath, she felt like she had lost three pounds.

Even though he wasn’t working, Jiang Che couldn’t sleep in that day.

Early in the morning, he was first woken up by his daughter’s cries. He quickly got up, took her in his arms to comfort her, and then sent her to her mother to eat.

After taking care of his daughter, he got dressed and got up. Not only were his parents coming today, but his older brother and sister-in-law, three sisters, and his aunt’s family were all coming.

He had to get up early to help his mother-in-law with the work in the kitchen.

Wei Mother, being older, slept very little and was always the first to wake up in the house.

When Jiang Che arrived at the kitchen, Wei Mother had already prepared breakfast. When she saw her son-in-law, she pointed to the big pot and said, “The dumplings are just right. You can eat first, and after you finish, call Nier to get up and eat.”

“Okay, Mom. If there’s anything to wash, leave it for me. After I’m done eating, I’ll take it outside to wash.” In winter, the water was very cold, so Jiang Che had taken on the task of washing Yuan Yuan’s diapers at home.

Wei Mother didn’t refuse him. If her son-in-law wanted to help, she certainly wouldn’t stop him. It was good that she was here now, but once she went back to her hometown, these tasks couldn’t be left for her daughter to handle alone. She wanted her son-in-law to get familiar with the chores so that her daughter would have help in the future.

However, in the end, all these chores were taken over by Jiang Che’s three sisters, who had arrived early.

“Sis, why did you guys come so early? My brother-in-law and nephews are coming too, right? Why is everyone here at once?”

Wei Elder Sister said, “Mom and Dad called us several days ago and said that only our in-laws were here, and they wouldn’t be able to manage everything alone. So, they asked us to come early today to help out.”

“Yeah, yeah, we got up before dawn. Your brother-in-law and the others will come for lunch later.”

While they were talking, Wei Mother walked out of the kitchen, and Jiang Che quickly introduced them.

Once they understood that they had come specifically to help, Wei Mother welcomed them and led them into the kitchen.

Seeing that there was no more work for him to do here, Jiang Che headed back to the room.

Wei Xuan had just gotten their daughter to sleep and was about to get dressed. When she saw him come in, she asked, “Did someone arrive?” She had already heard the chattering voices outside.

“Big sis, second sis, and third sis are here. They’re in the kitchen helping mom with the cooking.”

Wei Xuan paused for a moment: “They came so early?”

In fact, not only had the three sisters from the Jiang family come early, but Jiang Mother had also come quite early. Usually, she had to work, and only occasionally, when she finished work at night, would she come to visit her granddaughter with Jiang Father. She cared a lot.

Today, since she finally had a break, she couldn’t sit still at home. After breakfast, she rushed over here.

Wei Xuan went to the kitchen to eat, and Jiang Che, who was standing at the door of the room, watching the child while waiting for his wife, asked curiously, “Did Dad go to work?”

Jiang Mother nodded: “Let me take a look at my granddaughter. Has she grown more beautiful after not seeing her for a few days?”

Jiang Che pointed toward the room: “She’s inside, sleeping.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mother slowed her steps as she walked inside.

On the kang, Yuan Yuan was soundly asleep, her tiny fists clenched beside her head, her little mouth slightly open. Occasionally, she would make a “puff” sound, which was incredibly cute.

Jiang Mother stared at the tender, snow-white face for so long, not blinking, and eventually, Jiang Che came over.

“Mom, isn’t my daughter especially beautiful?”

“Beautiful, so beautiful.”

“Do you think she looks more like me or like my wife?”

Jiang Mother turned to look at her son, then shifted her gaze back to her granddaughter’s face, carefully examining her: “Her eyes look like yours, long and narrow, but her nose and mouth are like Xiao Xuan’s.”

“I feel like her nose looks more like mine.”

Wei Xuan had just finished eating and entered the room, overhearing Jiang Che’s shameless words. Over the past few days, the topic of who their daughter resembled had led to no less than ten arguments between the two of them. Everyone else agreed that the mouth and nose looked more like her, yet he refused to accept it.

Probably hearing footsteps, Jiang Che turned around and saw it was Wei Xuan. Suddenly, he felt a little embarrassed, wondering if his wife had heard what he just said.

Wei Xuan ignored him entirely and greeted her mother-in-law: “Mom, you’re here?”

Jiang Mother smiled warmly and turned to reply, “Yes, I came to see Yuan Yuan. Is Xiao Xuan in the kitchen? I’ll go say hello to her.”

“Mom, I’ll take you there,” Jiang Che quickly said.

As soon as Jiang Mother entered the kitchen, Wei Mother greeted her: “Mother-in-law, you’re here? Have you eaten breakfast?”

“I’ve eaten, I’ve eaten. I thought I had come early enough, but I didn’t expect you all to be so busy. Is there anything I can help with?”

After sending Jiang Mother to the kitchen, Jiang Che didn’t stay a second longer and returned to the room.

“Sweetheart~”

Wei Xuan ignored him.

Jiang Che sat down next to her: “Sweetheart, I was wrong. I won’t say Yuan Yuan looks like me anymore.”

Wei Xuan wasn’t actually upset about their daughter resembling him, but rather about how childish he was, constantly asking about the same thing without letting it go!

Besides, it was only natural that the child resembled her after carrying it for ten months, right? Wasn’t it annoying for him to keep obsessing over it?

“I won’t argue with you. By the way, have you made any progress with the house you were supposed to find?”

When the topic turned serious, Jiang Che stopped joking and became more earnest.