Chapter 93.1

After Sister Guihua returned to the family compound, the North gradually entered winter, and the family compound was once again blanketed in white.

During her confinement, Lele often ran over to Sister Guihua’s house to see the baby.

However, newborns slept a lot, and every time she went over, the baby was usually asleep.

Lele would set up a small stool for herself, sitting by the crib, watching the baby sleep.

But sometimes, when the baby cried loudly, Lele wasn’t very patient. When the baby cried, she would often run back home and tell Wen Nuan, “Mom, the baby is crying.”

“He’s crying so loudly!”

Wen Nuan would smile at her and say, “Auntie and Grandma will soothe the baby. You can also bring your toys for him; the baby will surely be very happy.”

At that point, Lele would say, “Then I’ll wait until he stops crying before going back.”

“Wait a moment! I want to bring him a rattle!”

Compared to the bigger kids, Lele wasn’t that generous, but she was surprisingly generous toward Sister Guihua’s little baby.

Many times, even though she knew the baby couldn’t eat her snacks and couldn’t play with toys yet, she still took her things every time she visited Sister Guihua.

Once, Gu Qinghan reminded her that it wasn’t necessary to bring anything since the baby couldn’t eat snacks yet and didn’t know how to play with toys.

However, Lele tilted her little head and asked her dad, “What if the baby suddenly grows up and wants to play with toys? What will we do?”

Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan both found it amusing; perhaps in Lele’s mind, babies grew up to be her size all at once.

—o—o—o—

That night, Wen Nuan prepared milk powder for Lele and noticed that it had started to snow outside again. She planned to let Lele drink her milk and then go straight to sleep.

Wen Nuan placed the cup with milk powder in front of Lele, reminding her, “Lele, drink your milk first. Then we’ll brush your teeth and go to bed.”

Probably due to the cold weather, the little girl had been sleeping longer than before, often not waking up easily in the mornings.

Fortunately, the factory had gotten into a routine, and everyone had become familiar with their work. There was no need for her to handle everything personally, so Wen Nuan didn’t have to go back so early in the mornings anymore.

Lele was playing with the tangram that General Lu had sent from Beijing last week, using the pieces to create a small house.

Without lifting her head, she muttered softly, “I want to make a little car for the baby.”

“Aunt Guihua said boys all like little cars.”

Although the family had lit the stove, things on the table would still cool down quickly. The warmest place in the house was probably just the kang bed.

Wen Nuan sat down beside Lele and guided her to adjust the positions of the tangram pieces, helping her to assemble a little car. “It’s done. If you don’t drink now, it’ll really get cold.”

Previously, Gu Qinghan had given Lele frozen milk pops, and after having them a few times, Lele had started to dislike drinking milk.

However, over the past few months, Wen Nuan had Chen Meijiao help her buy some milk powder in Beijing, and General Lu would occasionally send a can or two, so they had stored away two cans at home.

Reluctantly, Lele crawled over to the cupboard by the kang bed and slowly picked up the enamel cup, frowning. “Mom, I want to drink from a bottle!”

Wen Nuan glanced at her. “You’re so big now; you shouldn’t use a bottle anymore.”

Once spring came next year, Wen Nuan planned to send her to kindergarten, and she definitely could not use a bottle then!

Sister Juxiang’s son was also in kindergarten, and except for those infants under two who were fully in daycare, basically no children used bottles; they all had enamel cups.

Lele looked at the large cup in her hand, huffed unhappily, and asked, “Only little babies can use bottles?”

Wen Nuan guessed that she had probably seen a bottle at Sister Guihua’s house, which explained her fixation on it. “Mmm,” she said, and then added, “Look at Xiao Dong and Sister Xiao Mei; they don’t use bottles either.”

Lele seemed to understand, and after saying “Oh,” she began to drink the milk from the enamel cup.

She had just taken a few sips when the baby from Sister Guihua’s house suddenly started crying.

The sound of the little baby was particularly loud, so they could all hear it clearly.

Wen Nuan hadn’t thought much of it at first; after all, such a small baby just drank milk and slept, and cried for various reasons.

They would cry when hungry or when their diapers were wet and dirty.

But just in the next second, Lele, who had been drinking milk on the kang, suddenly hopped off, holding her cup of milk. While putting on her shoes, she said, “The baby is hungry; I’m going to feed him.”

Wen Nuan almost laughed at her but realized Lele was genuinely heading for the door, so she grabbed the back collar of Lele’s clothes and said, “The baby doesn’t drink the kind of milk you have, Lele. You can’t go.”

Lele was so eager that she had even put her small cotton slippers on the wrong way.

Sometimes Lele liked to wear her shoes backward on purpose; it was a quirky habit.

Wen Nuan glanced at the window ledge and saw that it was still snowing. She added, “It’s snowing outside now. We shouldn’t go; it’ll be easy to catch a cold if the door keeps opening and closing.”

In winter, one had to be particularly careful; otherwise, such a small child could get a cold or fever, which would be dire.

Moreover, at this time, Zhou Jianshe had already come home. Sister Guihua’s family had four adults to take care of one small baby, so there should be no problem.

Lele, who was holding her enamel cup, still wanted to go. “Auntie said the baby can drink milk powder too; he can drink this.”

Just as Wen Nuan was about to respond, there was a sound from the door lock, and then the wooden door swung open.

A bone-chilling wind rushed in, making Lele and Wen Nuan, who hadn’t had time to put on their cotton jackets, both shrink back.

Gu Qinghan quickly noticed that his wife and child weren’t wearing any outerwear. He promptly shut the wooden door and secured the latch.

Looking at them, he gently asked, “Aren’t you cold? Why are you still awake so late?”

Gu Qinghan had just seen that only the room light was on; he had thought that both the child and Wen Nuan had gone to bed early. So why did it seem like they were about to head out?

Wen Nuan found it amusing that the man returned just in time and replied with a mix of laughter and frustration, “Your daughter heard Sister Guihua’s baby crying and said she wanted to take milk over to him.”

Wen Nuan really had no way to deal with her; she was still a little girl who needed to drink milk herself, yet she was thinking of feeding the baby.

Gu Qinghan took off his coat and hat, then noticed that Lele was indeed holding an enamel cup filled with milk, looking as if she was really planning to take it over.

So, Gu Qinghan picked up Lele and took the enamel cup from her hand, saying, “It’s snowing outside. If you want to see the baby, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Then he smiled at Lele’s cup of milk. “And have you already drunk this? The baby can’t drink touched milk.”

Just then, Lele, who had been chilled by the cold wind, was no longer so insistent. With a hint of disdain, she told her dad, “Dad, I’m not going; put me down quickly!”

Gu Qinghan had just returned from outside, and while his body was warm, his exposed hands and face were icy cold. When Lele touched his hand, she immediately pulled back.

Moreover, more importantly, the baby next door had stopped crying.

Gu Qinghan didn’t argue with her. After setting her down, he handed the enamel cup back to her and said, “Then hurry and finish your milk. The lights will be out soon.”

Lele walked over to the stove, leaned against the sofa where Wen Nuan had placed a cushion, and sat cross-legged, starting to gulp down her milk.

Meanwhile, Wen Nuan prepared a basin of hot water for Gu Qinghan, saying, “Wash your face and hands quickly, and soak your feet while you’re at it. We’ll go to bed early tonight.”

Wen Nuan had already felt a bit tired; she had originally planned to let Lele finish her milk and then brush her teeth together before sleeping. Who would have thought that Lele would come up with this idea instead?

The factory needed to send a batch of dried vegetables and quick meals to the Border Defense and the research institute in Dongjiang before November.

Considering that these meals were for the soldiers and the experts at the institute, Wen Nuan was reluctant to leave the matter to anyone else. Although many tasks did not require her to do everything herself, she still needed to frequently oversee things.

When it came to food safety and hygiene, both Quartermaster Luo and Wen Nuan took it very seriously.

So during this period, she was as busy as a spinning top, eager to finish sorting out this batch of supplies so she could send them off and take a break.

Gu Qinghan glanced at his wife, his sharp eyes noticing the dark circles under her eyes. While taking off his shoes, he said, “You go lie down first; I’ll help Lele brush her teeth and then come back.”

However, Lele shouted from the side, “No! I don’t want Dad to brush my teeth!”

“I want Mom to help me brush.”

Wen Nuan looked at Lele and smiled. “Objection denied! Who told you not to finish your milk earlier?”

As soon as Wen Nuan finished speaking, Lele dashed off to the kitchen in her little cotton slippers, making a pitter-patter sound.

In no time, she returned with her toothbrush. Standing on her tiptoes, she handed it to Wen Nuan and said, “Mom, help me brush!”

Seeing the adorable look on her child’s face, Wen Nuan couldn’t bear to refuse, so she took the toothbrush. “Okay, but you have to let me brush it well. No slacking off!”

This little one always made noises and tried to spit out the bubbles within moments of brushing her teeth.

However, the toothpaste in that era was indeed quite spicy. Since Lele usually had candies and chocolate, Wen Nuan always made sure to help her brush thoroughly.

Gu Qinghan was even stricter; regardless of whether the child cried or not, the teeth had to be cleaned thoroughly before he was satisfied.

That was why Lele resisted letting him brush her teeth.

Just when Wen Nuan thought the child was reluctant, Lele suddenly bared her teeth and opened her mouth, nodding vigorously while saying, “Mm.”

Wen Nuan shot a glare at Gu Qinghan, who was laughing, and huffed, “I suspect you’re just trying to brush her teeth painfully on purpose!”

Gu Qinghan couldn’t stay calm at that moment and defended himself with a smile, “Is it wrong for me to brush her teeth more carefully?”

Wen Nuan ignored him and took Lele to the kitchen to brush her teeth. Given the cold weather, they wouldn’t be running to the bathroom.

Wen Nuan lay down on the kang with Lele, and since it wasn’t yet time to turn off the lights, Gu Qinghan lay down on the other side of Lele, sandwiching the child in between them.

Seeing her dad back, Lele looked at him and asked, “Dad, did you wash your feet?”

“Mom said I couldn’t get on the kang without washing my feet.”

Gu Qinghan chuckled lightly, turned to look at his wife and child, and replied, “I did.”

Lele pushed her dad’s shoulder and asked, “Then did you brush your teeth?”

Gu Qinghan, exasperated, said, “I brushed them.”

Wen Nuan yawned and then said, “Stop making noise; let’s go to sleep quickly.”

Suddenly, Lele shouted, “I’m not sleepy! Mom, let’s play rock-paper-scissors!”

As she spoke, she crawled off the kang.

Wen Nuan reached out and pressed her back down onto the kang, covering her with a small blanket. “Gu Qinghan, turn off the lights quickly; this little one definitely won’t sleep if the lights are on.”

Gu Qinghan, having long arms, didn’t need to get out of bed to turn the lights on or off like Wen Nuan usually did. He simply reached out and did it.

But Lele grabbed Gu Qinghan’s arm, laughing, “Dad, don’t turn it off; I want to play for a bit!”

“Tomorrow, I’ll play with you when you get up. Mom is already tired, so let’s let her sleep early.” With that, Gu Qinghan turned off the light, and the room was instantly plunged into darkness.

Since Wen Nuan didn’t like sleeping with the lights on, she had put curtains on the windows.

However, Lele seemed not to feel sleepy. She turned over in the dark, lay on the kang, and asked, “Dad, why don’t you and Mom have a baby?”

Gu Qinghan was momentarily taken aback by her question, not quite sure how to respond. But Lele continued in her baby voice, “Uncle Zhou and Auntie have a baby.”

In the darkness, Gu Qinghan and Wen Nuan both fell silent at the same time.

Then, Wen Nuan directly reached out and pulled Lele into her embrace, smiling as she said, “Little silly, Dad and Mom’s little baby is you.”

“Not at all!” As she spoke, Lele placed her small feet on Gu Qinghan’s arm, folding them comfortably, and said, “I’m not a little baby anymore!”

Wen Nuan understood what she meant; when Lele said “little baby,” she referred to babies as small as Sister Guihua’s child. However, Lele probably didn’t yet understand that little babies grow up!

Nearby, Gu Qinghan asked her, “Then what are you if you’re not a little baby?”

Lele seriously pondered this question and replied, “Xiaodong and Sister Xiaomei said I’m a little friend now.”

“Aunt Juxiang said that everyone who goes to kindergarten is a little friend.”

Wen Nuan listened to the child’s adorable statements, unable to hold back her laughter. She leaned down and kissed her plump little face, saying, “Alright, Lele little friend, if you don’t go to sleep now, you won’t get up tomorrow, and when the little baby wakes up, you won’t see her either.”

This time, Lele finally settled down, withdrawing her little feet that had been resting on Gu Qinghan and yawning.

Just as Wen Nuan thought she would obediently fall asleep, Lele quietly asked after a while, “Mom, can you have another little baby?”

Wen Nuan, half-awake and on the verge of falling asleep, mumbled indistinctly, “Let your Dad have one.”

Gu Qinghan was puzzled.

Lele then happily leaned toward Gu Qinghan and said to him, “Dad, then can you give me a little baby?”

In the dark, the innocent Lele was still waiting for Gu Qinghan’s response. After a moment of silence, Gu Qinghan finally said, “Dad can’t have babies…”

“….”

—o—o—o—