◎ Third update ◎ 

Sun Zhiqiang succeeded in his matchmaking date in one go. It’s not clear if the new clothes helped a lot, but he and Widow Zhou met once, understood each other’s situation, and decided to settle down. Both were middle-aged and kept things simple; no grand banquet, just a pound of fruit candy distributed around the courtyard to announce their marriage. 

After getting off work, Liang Baozhen and Zhou Yun looked at Sun Zhiqiang, who came to distribute some wedding candies, and congratulated him. 

“Zhiqiang, your wife is really beautiful. Come around often, and if you have any questions, just ask.” Zhou Yun, who was always kind, greeted Sun Zhiqiang’s wife warmly. 

Liang Baozhen also said sweetly, “Brother Sun, congratulations on your marriage. May you have a happy life.” 

“Thank you, thank you, Xiao Liang. It’s all thanks to you that you reminded me to buy new clothes; otherwise, I still wouldn’t be able to find a wife.” Sun Zhiqiang introduced them and had Widow Zhou meet everyone. 

Widow Zhou’s name was Zhou Yuehong. She had short hair that reached behind her ears. She had a dignified appearance and must have been quite good-looking when she was young. She spoke eloquently and was good at warming up to neighbors. 

“Aunt Zhou, we’re from the same clan. We should visit each other often, as long as you don’t mind,” Looking at Liang Baozhen again, she praised her even more, “Your granddaughter-in-law is so beautiful. I have never seen such a beautiful girl in my life.” 

They had a very pleasant conversation and continued distributing wedding candy to the neighbors. 

On that day, the courtyard was filled with endless sounds of congratulations. 

There have been many happy events in the courtyard recently. Late one night in early August, Cheng Caili’s house was suddenly noisy. Zhou Yun, who had a light sleep, woke up first and went to help. 

Cheng Caili’s due date was approaching, and her mother had moved in to be ready. It was expected that she would give birth this week, so the noises likely meant that the moment was drawing closer. 

Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen also got up and put on their clothes. Cheng Caili had been sent to the hospital by her biological mother and Lu Yuan. When Zhou Yun returned to the room, she smiled and said to them, “Go back to sleep. Caili’s water broke, and she’s been sent to the hospital now.” 

The two nodded, and Liang Baozhen looked at Cheng Caili’s now dark house again, hoping that she could give birth smoothly. 

The next day, Liang Baozhen woke up, washed, and prepared to go to work at the State Cotton Factory. As soon as she walked out of the house, she heard Xiaoya report the news, “Sister-in-law, Aunt Caili gave birth to a daughter.” 

“Already?” Calculating the time, it had been over five hours, which is considered fast these days. 

“Yes, Aunt Li and Grandma just told me after they came back from the hospital.” 

“Did they tell how Sister Caili is doing? Is she okay?” 

Zhou Yun had just come back from the next room. When he heard Liang Baozhen’s question, she quickly replied, “It’s all good. Mother and daughter are safe.” 

The family of five sat down to eat breakfast. Zhou Yun thought of Cheng Caili’s mother-in-law’s expression and couldn’t help but say, “It’s just that her mother-in-law doesn’t look very happy.” 

Cheng Caili’s mother-in-law had been hoping for a grandson, and now, seeing a granddaughter, her smile seemed a bit forced. 

“There’s nothing to be done about it. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, she can’t control it.” Liang Baozhen was thinking about going to the hospital to see Cheng Caili after getting off work in the evening. “Grandma, should we take a few eggs and a bag of brown sugar?” 

“Alright, that should be good. It’s a thoughtful gift.” 

After work, Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie had dinner in the factory canteen, and then rode their bicycles to the Municipal Hospital. 

Cheng Caili was lying on the hospital bed. She was in good spirits and was drinking a bowl of brown sugar eggs. When she saw Liang Baozhen and her husband coming over, she put down her bowl and spoke. Her voice was still a little hoarse, “Baozhen, Xiao Xu, you are here. Come and sit down.” 

There were quite a few people in the ward. Liang Baozhen had met her in-laws once or twice. At this moment, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were there, as well as Liu Nianhua. Many people from the courtyard had also come to visit. 

There were too many people, so Lu Yuan took his clothes out to wash and talked to Xu Shengjie. There were only women in the room, and he felt uncomfortable staying there. 

“Brother Lu, congratulations, you’re finally a father.” 

The feeling of finally becoming a father is self-evident. Lu Yuan walked with the wind, and the smile on his face never faded. “Thank you, thank you. It was not easy. Our Caili suffered a lot to give birth to a child, and today she finally gave birth to this baby.” 

Looking at the wrinkled newborn baby, Lu Yuan’s heart softened, and he really wanted to hold the baby in his arms and give it some love. But Caili was wary of him and worried that he would accidentally hurt the baby with his clumsy hands and feet, so she had to learn from him first. 

“By the way, Shengjie, how are you doing?” Now that he’s a father, he still worries about Xu Shengjie. “You and Xiao Liang have been married for a year; are you planning to have a child?” 

“When it comes to children, it will come. You can’t rush or stop it.” 

“That’s right.” Lu Yuan thought about the years before him and his wife and how anxious he was that their baby never came. Now it’s finally all right, and his lovely daughter is finally here! 

In the ward, Cheng Caili’s family had just gone home to get clothes for her, and her in-laws were helping to take care of her. Even though they weren’t too happy about it, Lu Yuan’s mother had to fulfill her role.

Her mother-in-law cooked a bowl of brown sugar eggs for her tonight, but when she looked at her granddaughter, she felt disappointed. 

Lu Yuan has an older brother and two younger sisters. The eldest brother gave birth to a daughter, and the two younger sisters are not married yet. Lu’s mother had high hopes for Cheng Caili’s baby, hoping it would be a big fat boy. Unfortunately, it was a granddaughter! 

“Caili, your mother will come over soon. Mo Mo and I will head back first.” 

“Okay, Mother, take care.” 

Liu Nianhua and Liang Baozhen nodded to Cheng Caili’s in-laws as they left. Now, only the three of them remained in the room. 

“Caili, isn’t your mother-in-law staying to take care of you?” When Liu Nianhua gave birth, her in-laws had to help take care of her no matter what. It’s not about whether they are busy or not; it’s just about showing their attitude. 

“She’s not happy.” Cheng Caili lazily leaned on the bed, feeling content and relieved in her heart. She was finally relieved the baby had been born, and seeing the tiny bundle made all the pain worth it. “Lu Yuan’s mother wanted a grandson. My mother said that when the baby came out this morning, she was the first one to rush over and ask if it was a boy. When the nurse said no, her face fell.” 

“She was that obvious?” 

“Of course. But I don’t mind. It’s actually better she’s not here. It saves me from seeing her upset over her granddaughter. I don’t want to see her frown and be unhappy either. My little girl is so adorable; how could she complain? As long as the nutritional expenses and gifts for the baby are taken care of, I’m fine.” Cheng Caili was at ease. The money from Lu Yuan’s parents was what mattered; their presence was secondary. She just wanted some peace and quiet. 

When the child grows closer to her maternal grandmother in the future, the other grandmother shouldn’t worry too much. 

“That’s a good idea you have.” Liang Baozhen and Liu Nianhua smiled at each other, thinking that Cheng Caili had a relaxed approach.

How many daughters-in-law have difficulty getting along with their mothers-in-law? They are either worried about the relationship between them or have to please their mother-in-law all the time. Liu Nianhua used to be like that. She had to be very careful in front of her mother-in-law and lived a very restrained life. Thinking about it now, it’s really frustrating! 

A month later, Cheng Caili had returned to work at the supply and marketing cooperative. Her own mother helped take care of the baby, and her in-laws provided financial support, buying nutritious items like milk powder and canned fruit for the family each month. Cheng Caili’s father-in-law had also given ten yuan to the young couple yesterday. 

On the baby’s full moon, Liang Baozhen came to visit. Cheng Caili was thrilled to finally vent about the hardships of motherhood. 

“Taking care of a child is really tiring. This little one loves to mess around, and it’s causing a lot of trouble!” 

“But you still love her.” 

“Of course. You don’t know how beautiful my daughter is. She looks just like me!” Cheng Caili gestured at the baby whose hair had not even grown out yet. “Tell me, do her eyes and nose look like mine?” 

At the side, Lu Yuan, who was washing the baby’s diaper, came over and said, “I think it looks like me, too.” 

Liang Baozhen looked at Cheng Caili and then at Lu Yuan and said with a smile, “She looks like both of you.” 

After the confinement period, Cheng Caili can finally eat and drink as much as she wants. Before, her mother and mother-in-law teamed up to control her and didn’t let her wash her hair. They made her drink chicken soup every day, to the point where she was almost sick of it. Now she was ready to make up for lost time. 

On the stove, braised pork was cooking, its caramelized color making it incredibly appetizing. Liang Baozhen, having visited her and the baby, was heading home. 

Tonight, they were having a special meal—fish soup. The fish was caught by Xu Shengjie and workers from the State Cotton Factory in the river. They were boiled into a snow-white fish soup with a fresh and fragrant aroma. After they’d had their fill of the soup, they planned to add potato slices and cabbage leaves and put them in the fish soup and ate it with dipping sauce to make it more filling. 

Liang Baozhen had only a bowl of fish soup and then stopped drinking it. She found the fish soup unpleasant today, and the smell of gasoline on Xu Shengjie, who had helped with the factory’s car, made her feel nauseous. 

“Did you drive again?” 

“Yes, I helped out.” Xu Shengjie smelled strongly of gasoline from driving the factory’s car. “Is it really that bad?” 

He noticed his wife’s face was scrunched up in displeasure. She even moved the stool to the other end a little, really trying to keep her distance from him. 

“Hmm, it smells bad.” Liang Baozhen was fine at first, but the smell of the fish soup and gasoline filled her nose and made her stomach churn. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore, so she put down her bowl and chopsticks, rushed out of the house, and retched. 

“Is it really that bad?” Xu Shengjie panicked. He had come back with a gasoline smell before. Although the smell was not strong, it could be smelled if you got closer. But this was the first time Liang Baozhen had such a big reaction. He was about to go over to see his wife but was worried that he would feel more uncomfortable if he got closer to her, so he asked Xiaoya to go over, “Then I’ll go take a shower and change my clothes.” 

Zhou Yun put down her chopsticks and walked to the front of the house. Seeing her granddaughter-in-law discomfort, she felt something was wrong and whispered, “Baozhen, did you have your period?” 

Liang Baozhen was confused by her grandmother’s question, but she immediately understood what she meant. 

“No, it hasn’t come yet.” 

*** 

The next day, after having a check-up in the hospital, Xu Shengjie, who was anxiously waiting for the report, finally understood Lu Yuan’s feelings and felt very nervous. 

Zhou Yun, with her experience, was almost certain, but they still needed a clear confirmation from the doctor. 

“You’re one month and two weeks pregnant. Congratulations.” The obstetrician handed over the report and congratulated as usual. 

Liang Baozhen was still in a daze. She protected her belly with both hands, but then she thought maybe she was touching it too tightly, so she loosened her grip a little to avoid crushing the baby. 

“Thank you, doctor! Thank you!” Zhou Yun finally felt relieved when she heard this. They were going to have another addition to the family! It was such a great joy. The old lady was so happy that she couldn’t stop smiling. 

Xu Shengjie remained relatively calm, though his right hand was tightly clenched into a fist. He looked down at his wife sitting in the chair and couldn’t suppress his smile. He asked the doctor again, “Doctor, are my wife and the baby both okay? Also, my neighbor got pregnant before and said she received a certificate from the hospital to buy milk. Can you give us one too?” 

He didn’t know much about taking care of a pregnant woman, but he had recently noticed that Cheng Caili needed milk during her pregnancy, so he figured his wife would need it too! 

“The fetus is normal, and all indicators of the pregnant woman are fine. You just need to pay attention to nutrition and drink milk in moderation.” The doctor quickly wrote out a certificate for milk and handed it over. 

Xu Shengjie, who was normally quiet, was unusually talkative this time. He didn’t let his grandmother and wife get a word in. He was a new father and had to ask everything. After listening to the doctor’s explanation, he asked again, “Is there anything I need to pay attention to? I have no experience.” 

The doctor glanced at him and thought that although the man was good-looking, he was too nagging. The doctor just advised, “There’s no need to be so nervous. Your grandmother has experience, and she knows everything. Just be careful not to have intercourse in the first three months.” 

Xu Shengjie:? That’s not what I’m asking! 

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