◎ First update ◎ 

After Liang Baozhen took a month’s leave, Zhou Yun insisted she observe her confinement period. During the day, she took care of the baby and read books, but Zhou Yun stopped her several times. 

“Baozhen, don’t read during the confinement period. Be careful not to strain your eyes, or you’ll end up like Grandma who have trouble seeing things.” There are many rules during the confinement period. At first, she even brought out a winter quilt to wrap her, but Liang Baozhen firmly refused and persuaded Grandma Zhou to drop the idea since she didn’t want to end up with heat rash. 

Flipping through the pages, Liang Baozhen continued to persuade her. “I’ll just read for a little while. Don’t worry, Grandma; my eyes are fine.” 

“You child, you’ll understand the consequences when you get older,” Zhou Yun sighed. Young people nowadays always have their own ideas. “I used to know a female coworker at the factory who didn’t rest properly during her confinement period. After that, she felt pain in her body every time it was windy or rainy. How does that saying go?” 

“If you don’t listen to the advice of the elderly, you will suffer the consequences.” Xu Shengwei, who was sitting in the living room while drinking from his water, suddenly remembered and spoke. 

“You know a lot!” Zhou Yun looked at her grandson and smiled as she teased him. 

Xu Shengwei, who had officially joined the Youth Palace table tennis training team, was quite busy now. Every day after school, he rushed to the Youth Palace and trained until eight or nine in the evening. By then, most of the people in the courtyard had settled down, and he was the only middle schooler still moving around. 

Today, he came back early because the Youth Palace was closing early for electrical maintenance, so training only lasted an hour. 

“Grandma, Second Brother wants to have a confinement period too.” Xu Shengya was sitting at the dining table in the living room doing her homework. She was about to take the high school entrance examination, and whether she could be admitted to a good high school depended on this. 

“Hehe, the confinement period is nice; you can eat a lot of delicious food.” Xu Shengwei felt greedy when he smelled the fragrant chicken soup and the daily egg custard. 

“You? You’re a man, and you still want to have a confinement period? Okay, go give birth to a baby tomorrow, and then Grandma will take care of you during the confinement period.” 

“No, no, no, forget it.” Xu Shengwei patted his belly. The thought of him giving birth was terrifying! 

When Xu Shengjie returned, he saw Xu Shengwei leaning over the table, watching Xu Shengya do her homework but he was clearly getting scolded by his sister. 

“Why are you disturbing Xiao Ya while she’s doing her homework?”  

“Brother, this isn’t disturbing; it’s supervising!” Xu Shengwei had managed to take half a day off, which was rare. He didn’t even go out to play and just stayed at home. 

“Whether Xiao Ya can get into a good school depends on this exam, so she has to work harder.” 

“This year is great; our family has one taking the college entrance exam and another taking the high school entrance exam. Xiao Wei also made it into the Youth Palace table tennis team. After Baozhen and Xiao Ya finish their exams, let’s treat ourselves to a meal at the state-run restaurant!” Zhou Yun became excited as she spoke. With a great-grandchild born and everyone striving to improve, how could the old lady not be happy? 

“Grandma, are you treating us?” Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya looked up at her. 

Smile lines appeared in Zhou Yun’s eyes. She patted the pocket of her double-breasted shirt and said generously, “Grandma will treat!”  

“Wow!” Xu Shengya hurriedly lowered her head to focus on her homework. They were going to eat at the state-run restaurant! 

Xu Shengwei ran over to Grandma and started to massage her shoulders and back. “Grandma, make sure to order some meat!” 

“You can eat as much as you want,” Zhou Yun said as she patted her grandson’s hand.  

Seeing that the two were so happy, Xu Shengjie took a sip of water and went to the room. Liang Baozhen was still lying on the bed reading a book.  

Little Shanshan lay quietly beside her mother and slept. No matter how loud the noise outside was, it didn’t wake her up. 

“Shanshan is still asleep?” Xu Shengjie walked into the room, sat down next to his wife, and leaned over to touch his daughter’s face. 

“Yes, she drank some milk and fell asleep again.” Liang Baozhen noticed that her daughter had no other traits except for being able to eat and sleep, just like a little pig.  

Every day after work, Xu Shengjie felt that his daughter had changed a lot. He looked at her closely, studying her eyes, nose, and mouth repeatedly. Then he touched his chin and said, “Has our daughter become a bit whiter?” 

“The baby’s body was red in the first few days after birth, but it’s getting better now.” Liang Baozhen also turned her head to look at her daughter. 

Shanshan was a small bundle of joy, and her soft hair felt wonderful to the touch. While lying flat on the bed, her face was chubby and cute, and while sleeping, her little mouth would slowly open slightly, which made her look so adorable. 

“Shanshan is really beautiful.” Xu Shengjie couldn’t help but sigh as he looked at his daughter who was sleeping soundly. He felt that she was more beautiful than any other baby. 

“Wait until she starts crying; then you’ll see how she looks.”  

Speaking of crying, Liang Baozhen felt a headache coming on. Their daughter cried a few times every day, and even before fully waking up, she would start to wail. If she wasn’t happy while feeding, she would scrunch up her little face and cry. Liang Baozhen felt like she could still hear her daughter’s cries in her ears, even when it was quiet. 

“She’s still beautiful even when she’s crying!” Xu Shengjie was being unreasonable at that moment. Other children looked annoying when they cried, but his own child was different. 

“The you should come and comfort her when she wakes up.” Liang Baozhen quickly passed this troublesome task to her husband. 

People need to experience things themselves to understand them. 

*** 

That evening, the Xu family stir-fried the remaining half of the chicken into diced meat and gave each person a large bowl of steamed buns. When they were finished eating, they tore the steamed buns and dipped them in the oil used to stir-fry the chicken. The steamed buns soaked in sesame oil became soft and flavorful. 

Xu Shengjie was worried about Shanshan even when he’s eating, so he went into the room to take a look and then came out, “She’s still asleep.” 

“Let her sleep; we can feed her when she wakes up.” 

But just as she finished speaking, the room became noisy. 

Little Shanshan, who had been sleeping soundly on the bed, finally woke up. She opened her eyes, and looked around. Her dark, jewel-like eyes moved left and right. Seeing no one, she opened her mouth, frowned her little face, and immediately began to cry. 

“Woo woo woo ah~” 

The tone of her crying rose immediately. Xu Shengjie was the first to put down his chopsticks and go into the room. He gently patted his daughter’s belly and coaxed her softly, “Father is here, Shanshan, don’t cry, don’t cry.” 

But Shanshan didn’t care who he was; she still kept crying loudly! 

Xu Shengjie continued patting her. But he was stuck in this tense moment and didn’t know what to do. 

Liang Baozhen finished her last bite of food, walked into the room, and wanted to laugh at the helpless man sitting beside the bed, “Why don’t you go out and eat? I’ll feed her.” 

“I’m done eating.” Xu Shengjie still wouldn’t give up so he picked up his daughter and walked back and forth in the room, gently rocking her little body in an attempt to coax her, but the little girl simply wouldn’t budge at all. 

Liang Baozhen closed the door and began to unbutton her clothes. She had gotten used to breastfeeding these days, so she could unbutton her clothes calmly. “Bring the baby over here.” 

Sitting on the edge of the bed and holding the baby in her arms, Liang Baozhen brought her daughter closer. In the blink of an eye, Shanshan, who had been crying just a moment ago, stopped and focused on drinking her milk. 

There was still a big, crystal-clear tears on her face, but the little girl didn’t care about that anymore. Feeding was the most important thing! 

“All she knows is how to eat.” Xu Shengjie coaxed the baby for a long time but to no avail. It turned out that breastfeeding was the most effective. 

“At her age, all she does is eat and sleep; she can’t do anything else.” 

*** 

At the end of the confinement period, Liang Baozhen finally saw her older sister. 

This time, Liang Baojun and Liang Baoying came into the city together. They carried a large bag of vegetables and mountain goods. It was their first time meeting Shanshan, and they played with her for quite a while. 

“Shanshan, look who’s here to see you?” Liang Baozhen held her daughter in her arms and pointed at her elder sister and brother, “This is your aunt and uncle.” 

“Shanshan is growing up well, she looks so plump and fair.” Liang Baoying said and admire her sister’s baby. She had beautiful eyes and eyebrows, and her whole body was fair. She was really well raised. 

“Of course, she has a great appetite.”  

“It’s unbelievable that Shanshan is already this big. I heard from Mother that she cried loudly the day she was born.” Liang Baojun was also happy to see his niece. He didn’t like children very much and found them annoying, but he made an exception for family. 

The three siblings talked for a while, and when it was time for Shanshan to drink milk. Liang Baojun went out to talk to Zhou Yun, leaving Liang Baoying inside to keep her sister company. Seeing her sister holding the child skillfully and coaxing the child to feed, Liang Baoying felt she had changed a lot. 

“When Mengmeng was just born, you helped me take care of the baby. But now you already have your own daughter.” 

“Right, I also feel that time flies by in the blink of an eye. Mengmeng is so big now, and Shanshan is almost one month old.” Liang Baozhen’s heart softened when she saw her cute daughter. 

“Next time if conditions permit, I will bring Mengmeng here to see her sister. She was upset at us at home and said that if we didn’t take her to the city to see her little sister, she wouldn’t even have breakfast.” 

“Oh, what’s going on? Didn’t the team leader issue an introduction letter?” Liang Baozhen found it funny when she thought of her niece losing her temper. Mengmeng must have felt very wronged. 

“The team leader said that there are a lot of people who want to go to the city recently, so they can only issue two letters of introduction at a time; more than that is not allowed. Otherwise, people from the countryside will all go to the city, and it will be a mess.” Liang Baoying smiled and remembered that it was not just Mengmeng. “Baoling is upset too. The two of them are sulking together because they want to come to the city to see you and Shanshan.” 

“Next time, make sure to come sooner.” Liang Baozhen sighed; why was it so difficult to meet with her family? “By the way, sister, what did brother-in-law say?” 

Song Jianguo had returned to the city for quite some time, yet there was still no news. A few months ago, Liang Baozhen had inquired with Liang Baojun, who mentioned that he was still planning. After that, she got busy with having a baby and didn’t ask again. 

“There are many people in his family, but their house is small. Jianguo is feeling troubled as well. It’s difficult to apply for a dormitory in the factory. Everyone is waiting. It is not known how long it will take to get one since it’s based on seniority. His mother also keeps on complaining about the poor living conditions at home and said that we need to wait and see before we discuss it again.” 

“Sister, are you just going to keep waiting like this?” Liang Baozhen didn’t understand what her brother-in-law was thinking or whether he would really consider her elder sister and Mengmeng. There were some things she didn’t say, and she was worried about making her elder sister sad. What if he didn’t plan to bring them to the city? 

“I’m urging him.” Liang Baoying was also worried. No matter what, she was still waiting for her husband to come and get them. Apart from anything else, Mengmeng was almost old enough to go to elementary school, and she couldn’t let her education be delayed. 

“Since you have made up your mind, you should urge him more; otherwise…” Forget it, Liang Baozhen couldn’t say this. “Anyway, you should have an idea in your mind. I heard that there are educated youth from other places who got married again in the city after returning. Sister, you have to keep your eyes open. Did he send you his salary during this period?” 

“Yes, he sends ten yuan every month. After he becomes a regular employee, he’ll send fifteen yuan.” Liang Baoying had confidence in Song Jianguo because of this, but now, after being apart for so long, she felt uneasy, especially without a marriage certificate tying them together. 

“Then you have to hurry up and don’t let him delay things any further. You should visit his family today. No matter what, there has to be a fixed date. Otherwise, how long will you have to wait each year?” 

Liang Baoying had actually informed Song Jianguo in advance about her trip to the city. After all, it was better to meet in the city because no one would know her. It was not like in the countryside where Song Jianguo had to avoid people when he sneaked back. 

“I called him yesterday and said we’d meet outside the soda factory at noon today.”