Chapter 71 Applesauce

Obediently, Gu Yanyan let Liu Yinyin undress him.

She stripped him completely and placed him in the wooden basin. The moment he sat down, he started babbling excitedly, flailing his chubby little hands and feet, wiggling his tiny body, and splashing water all around.

He happily smacked the water with his hands, making loud splashing sounds, while giggling uncontrollably. His little hands were surprisingly strong, and soon, water splashed all over Liu Yinyin.

Every time she bathed him, it was like fighting a battle. So, Liu Yinyin simply scooped up some water and splashed it back at him.

Gu Yanyan thought his mother was playing with him and laughed even harder.

Mother and son had a blast playing together, leaving Liu Yinyin completely drenched.

Well, now she needed a bath too.

Lifting Gu Yanyan out of the basin, she wiped him down with a towel and dressed him in a red bellyband she had sewn herself.

The little one was already fair-skinned and chubby, and with the red bellyband, he looked just like the lucky baby from a traditional New Year painting—absolutely adorable!

Jiang Cuihua adored her plump little grandson and held onto him tightly, reluctant to let go.

Liu Yinyin, feeling a bit tired after her bath, decided to take a nap since her mother was there to help take care of the baby.

By the time she woke up, it was almost six o’clock.

Jiang Cuihua, seeing that she was awake, handed the baby back to her and headed home.

Her son-in-law would be back soon, and she didn’t want to stay for dinner at her daughter’s house.

Sure enough, not long after Jiang Cuihua left, Gu Cheng rode his bicycle home.

Liu Yinyin hadn’t started cooking yet. She took a small apple, cut it in half, and steamed one half.

When she saw Gu Cheng come in, she handed him both pieces. “I’ll cook in a bit. You can have some apple first to tide you over. The steamed one—feed it to our son.”

Gu Yanyan was about six months old now and could start eating fruit puree. Apples were easy to digest, so a little bit should be fine.

Gu Cheng, who had never taken care of a baby before, was unsure. “Yanyan can eat this now?”

Liu Yinyin nodded. “…He should be able to. Just mash the apple into a puree with a spoon and let him try a bite first.”

Both of them were first-time parents, clueless about many things, but they had to learn somehow.

Liu Yinyin had asked Jiang Cuihua about it before. Though country children hadn’t really eaten apple puree, Jiang Cuihua had assured her that babies this age could definitely eat rice cereal or porridge.

To make taking care of the baby easier, Liu Yinyin had asked the village’s old carpenter to make a small baby stroller. That way, she could keep an eye on Gu Yanyan while doing chores.

At the moment, Gu Yanyan was sitting in his little stroller. The moment he saw Gu Cheng, he started babbling, waving his chubby hands, wanting his father to pick him up.

Gu Cheng lifted his son onto his lap. Following Liu Yinyin’s instructions, he mashed the steamed apple into a puree with a spoon and brought a small amount to Gu Yanyan’s mouth.

The little one paused for a moment. Though he had never eaten apple puree before, he instinctively stuck out his tongue to taste it.

As soon as he registered the flavor, his eyes lit up as if to say, “Mommy! There’s something tastier than milk in this world?!”

It was as if he had discovered a whole new world. Gu Yanyan immediately leaned forward, eagerly reaching for the spoon, wanting more.

Seeing that the first bite went down fine, Gu Cheng put the spoon into his son’s mouth.

Gu Yanyan opened wide and took a big bite, smacking his lips a few times before swallowing the apple puree.

After finishing one spoonful, he opened his mouth again and let out a couple of little “yaa yaa” sounds at Gu Cheng—clearly asking for more.

Liu Yinyin turned around and saw Gu Cheng patiently feeding their son, spoonful after spoonful, while the little one squinted his eyes in pure satisfaction.

Since they were handling things just fine, she left them to it.

For dinner, she had brought some food from the communal canteen, so she only cooked one extra dish—stir-fried cured fish with garlic sprouts—and made a small pot of white rice.

Gu Yanyan had been fed half an apple and his little belly was already full. The little one, who had enjoyed the delicious treat, was exceptionally happy. He clung to Gu Cheng’s neck and didn’t let go, looking at him with warmth and affection.

Liu Yinyin happily said, “We can feed him fruit puree every day from now on.”

Gradually, she planned to give him egg custard and porridge.

Once he got used to solid food, she could start thinking about weaning him.

The little one was standing on his father’s legs, kicking his feet. Gu Cheng patted his little bottom and smiled, “It’s a pity the supply and marketing cooperative doesn’t have much fruit.”

Usually, only apples were available. Other fruits wouldn’t show up until autumn, but even then, there wasn’t much, and if they waited too long, they might not be able to buy any.

Fruits were not easy to transport and spoil easily. Otherwise, Gu Cheng would have found someone to send them from elsewhere.

Liu Yinyin suddenly thought of Brother Li and wondered if he could get some different fruits over there.

Just then, Gu Cheng had the same thought. He didn’t tell Liu Yinyin not to go, just to be careful.

Hearing this, Liu Yinyin felt reassured.

The next morning, after finishing her classes, she went to the county town again.

With Gu Cheng’s assurance, Liu Yinyin had no other concerns in her mind.

This time, Liu Yinyin went straight to Brother Li’s house.

The door was opened by an older woman, likely the first time she had seen Liu Yinyin. Being unfamiliar with her, she instinctively became a little cautious, sizing her up and asking, “Young lady, what can I do for you?”

Liu Yinyin softly replied, “Auntie, it’s like this—I’m here to buy some vegetables because my grandmother is ill today, so I’m helping her.”

Upon hearing this, Li Auntie eased up and let down her guard. The girl was just a young lady; she wasn’t worried she would cause any trouble.

Li Auntie invited Liu Yinyin in and locked the door behind them.

Then, she led Liu Yinyin into a room. Liu Yinyin immediately felt a chill as soon as she entered, as if the room had been built with something unusual.

The furnishings inside resembled a vegetable stall. There were about a dozen bamboo baskets on the floor, filled with various vegetables such as red amaranth, oilseed lettuce, chives, lettuce, and spinach.

However, there wasn’t much left in the baskets, and the leaves of the vegetables were wilting a bit, as though they had been picked through by others.

What surprised Liu Yinyin was that there were also eggplants, tomatoes, okra, and cauliflower.

Logically, vegetables like eggplants and tomatoes shouldn’t be ripe at this time of year.

She couldn’t figure out where Li’s family had gotten these vegetables from.

At the back of the room, there was also a row of shelves.

On the shelves were jars and bottles of various sizes.

Li Auntie said to her, “You’re a bit late today. These are all that’s left. What would you like to buy?”

The way she sold things was similar to the supply and marketing cooperative. Goods arrived in the early morning, and by dawn, people came to buy. Business was the best in the early morning.

They sold items the same day they received them, and by nightfall, if there were any remaining vegetables, they were sold at half price. Since they were cheap, more people came to buy during that time, most of them hoping to get a bargain.

Of course, this was only for items that didn’t keep well, like vegetables and meat.

Liu Yinyin directly asked, “Do you have grains, meat, and fruit?”

Since she was asking for good items, Li Auntie couldn’t help but look her over again. Seeing her beautiful face and decent clothes, she reconsidered her initial impression.