◎ Second update ◎ 

Liang Baozhen’s almond-shaped eyes widened slightly, as if she had just heard some shocking news. She was already attractive, especially with her expressive brows and eyes. However, the confusion in her eyes only amused Xu Shengjie. 

He reached out and pinched his wife’s face. “Have you never seen the way Zhou Qingdang looks at Sister Hua?” 

Liang Baozhen frowned as she thought about it. In recent months, she had been focused on her pregnancy and hadn’t really noticed what was happening in the west wing. Now that she considered it, she remembered seeing Zhou Qingdang playing with Xiao Long and Xiao Hu a few times. She had only assumed that the two families had a close relationship, so it seemed normal to her. 

“You noticed it?” 

“I’m a man, and men understand other men’s thoughts best. Zhou Qingdang’s eyes are different when he looks at Sister Hua.” Xu Shengjie was a meticulous observer. He had seen Zhou Qingdang talking to Liu Nianhua a few times in the courtyard, with others around, but he always felt there was something different in that look. 

“Really?” Liang Baozhen couldn’t help but want to go out and ask, but then she changed her mind and thought that if Sister Hua didn’t want to talk; it would be awkward to ask. After all, her current situation was special, and she probably wouldn’t want to get involved with others. 

Otherwise, she might find herself in a difficult situation. 

“Aunt Luo said not long ago that she wanted to introduce a match to Sister Hua.” Liang Baozhen sat on the chair, recalled the person Luo Hongmei had mentioned and compared it to Zhou Qingdang. “If Zhou Qingdang really gets together with Sister Hua, that would be quite good. He’s young and has already become a full-time worker. His character is good, and he’s not bad looking. Even his family is not bad. Aunt Zhang has such a good temperament.” 

The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was a good match. 

“I just don’t know if Aunt Zhang would agree?” 

After all, in today’s era, very few families are willing to let their daughters marry a divorced man. Similarly, they wouldn’t want their sons to marry a divorced woman either. If the conditions are decent, there’s no reason for it. 

Liu Nianhua thought the same as she ran home with a red face. 

She covered her chest with her hands and leaned against the closed wooden door, her face flushed. She didn’t know whether she was anxious or embarrassed. She had just come back from work and met Zhou Qingdang. She exchanged a few words with him, as usual. However, he suddenly asked if she wanted to go out with him and started saying some outrageous things! 

Thinking about it now, Liu Nianhua still found it unbelievable, and her heart was beating wildly. 

“Sister Hua, if you want to find someone to live with again, how about me?” 

What kind of foolish talk was that! 

Liu Nianhua’s head almost exploded after hearing these words. He was Aunt Zhang’s unmarried son and the only son in the family. How could he say such words to her?   

“Mother.” Zhou Hu had just been playing in the room when he suddenly heard a loud sound from the door. He came out in his cloth shoes and saw his mother leaning against the door in a daze. “What’s wrong, Mother?” 

 “It’s nothing.” Liu Nianhua looked at her son and calmed down. She squatted down and touched Xiao Hu’s face. “What are you doing in the house?”   

“Looking for marbles.” Zhou Hu smiled foolishly and opened his palm to show his mother the marbles in his hand. “Uncle Zhou said he wants to play marbles with us today.”   

Uncle Zhou?   

“You can’t play with Uncle Zhou Qingdang.” Liu Nianhua felt her hair stand on end just thinking about what he had said today. If Aunt Zhang found out, it might ruin the good relationship between their two families. 

“Mother? Why not?” Zhou Hu looked at his mother pitifully. He had never heard his mother speak so harshly. “Isn’t Uncle Zhou good to us?” 

Liu Nianhua soon realized that she had overreacted and took a deep breath to calm herself. “Everyone has their own family and things to take care of. You can’t always disturb others, okay? There are plenty of kids in the courtyard. Go play with Xiao Wei and Biaozi.” 

Liu Nianhua remained firm in her decision; her family had to stay away from Zhou’s family, especially Zhou Qingdang. They were neighbors, and she didn’t want to cause any issues between them. 

***  

Liang Baozhen sensed that something was off with Liu Nianhua. After dinner that night, Liu Nianhua didn’t come out to talk. She said she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to lie down. Only Xiao Long and Xiao Hu came out to play, and Zhou Qingdang seemed to be fine. He was busy at the door of his house, but he occasionally glanced at the closed door of Liu Nianhua’s house.   

Others didn’t notice it, but after listening to Xu Shengjie’s observation. She couldn’t help but pay more attention to see what was happening. 

“Baozhen, what are you thinking about? I called you, but you didn’t hear me.” Cheng Caili was holding her baby and talking with the people in the courtyard. Everyone adored her little girl, and they often teased her. 

“Nothing.” Liang Baozhen came back to her senses and teased the little girl in her arms, “Sister Caili, what’s the matter?”   

“Have you prepared everything for the baby?” 

“Almost. Grandma has been taking care of it, and my mother also made some small clothes and quilts for the baby.”   

“It will be fine after you give birth. By then, our children will be around the same age and they can play together.” Cheng Caili looked at the children in the courtyard, who were obviously older than her baby, and lamented that her daughter had no one to play with of her age. She might get lonely. 

“Then my baby will just have to wait for Sister Chuchu to take them out to play.” Liang Baozhen rubbed her belly, excited about the thought of her upcoming child. 

*** 

Liang Baozhen started to go into labor one evening in early May, right after dinner. The courtyard was warm, and everyone was using fans to cool off. The weather was gradually getting hotter, and a group of children was already craving popsicles. 

Xu Shengjie handed his younger siblings some money and sent them to buy popsicles. The weather warmed up early this year, so the city’s food factory increased the production and started selling popsicles ahead of time. 

Many children in the courtyard pestered their parents for money, and each of them held a popsicle worth a few cents in their mouths.   

Liang Baozhen wanted one too; she hadn’t had a red fruit popsicle in a long time, and just thinking about it made her mouth water. She couldn’t help herself when she saw Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya eating popsicles.   

“I want to eat one too.” She tugged at the hem of Xu Shengjie’s clothes.   

“You’re about to give birth.” Xu Shengjie rarely refused his wife’s request, but this time, he was firm.  

Seeing this, Zhou Yun comforted her, “Baozhen, just wait until you give birth and finish your confinement before eating.” 

“Oh~” Liang Baozhen patted her belly gently, lowered her head, and whispered, “When are you going to come out?”  

Less than an hour after she said this, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, followed by uncomfortable contractions. Zhou Yun, experienced in such matters, recognized that she was about to give birth. 

“Xiao Jie, bring the cart in. Xiao Wei, Xiao Ya, grab the delivery bag. Let’s take Baozhen to the hospital.”  

Since they had prepared in advance, the family moved without panic. Xu Shengjie carried his wife onto the cart, which was borrowed in advance and was more comfortable than riding a bicycle. He let her lie on it and finally covered her with a thin blanket.   

Xu Shengjie pulled the cart, with Zhou Yun sitting on it. The two younger ones were left behind as they rushed to the hospital. 

“Does your stomach hurt?” Xu Shengjie asked while glancing back at her.   

Liang Baozhen supported her belly with one hand and gripped the edge of the cart with the other. As another wave of pain hit, she softly hummed in response. 

She had been mentally prepared but couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. When they arrived at the hospital, her family accompanied her to the delivery room. Zhou Yun held her hand and smiled lovingly, “Baozhen, it’s okay. Just listen to the doctor.”   

Xu Shengjie affectionately touched his wife’s forehead, but a look of anxiety suddenly crossed his face. Feeling nervous himself, he leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Zhenzhen, I’ll wait for you and the baby to come out. Don’t be afraid.” 

“Mm.”   

Liang Baozhen was wheeled inside, and the door to the delivery room closed tightly, shutting out any view of what was happening. 

Xu Shengjie paced back and forth at the door, looking at the delivery room door from time to time, wishing he could go inside to watch over her. But there was still a lot to do; he still had to handle the hospitalization documents.  

Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya ran over breathlessly, and seeing their grandma waiting outside, they ran over quickly, “Grandma, is sister-in-law in there?”   

“Yes, she’s inside.” Zhou Yun looked at her grandchildren running over, all sweating and their backs wet. She quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off the two children, “Why are you running so fast? Sit down and have a rest.”   

“Grandma, where’s my older brother?”   

“He’s handling the hospitalization documents.”  

“Oh.”   

It was just over ten minutes later when Xu Shengjie returned after completing all the documents. Outside, the sky was getting darker, and the round moon was shining brightly above, giving off a silver light.  

The people waiting in the hospital were all anxious and nervous. Except for Zhou Yun, who had experience, the other three were new to this and unsure of what to do. 

It was the first time Xu Shengwei was waiting for someone to give birth. Seeing that more than an hour had passed and his sister-in-law still hadn’t come out, he couldn’t help but get a little worried. “Grandma, when will my sister-in-law come out?” 

“Is it going smoothly?”  

Zhou Yun recalled her own experience during childbirth. The first one was the most difficult. At that time, conditions were not good enough to go to the hospital, so she gave birth at home. It took her seven or eight hours, and it almost took half her life. The second and third children went more smoothly and came out in three or four hours.   

Xu Shengjie remained silent, pressed his lips together, clenched his hands, and stared intently at the delivery room door. 

Suddenly, the door opened.   

The nurse came out holding a baby, and a group of people rushed over. Xu Shengjie made his way to the front to get a look at the newborn child… 

“Li Hong’s family members, please come inside.”   

Xu Shengjie sighed, took a few steps back, and saw a man next to him hurriedly rushed inside. Not long after, the door of the delivery room door closed again. 

There were quite a few families giving birth today. Zhou Yun asked a nearby nurse and learned that five pregnant women had come in that evening. Liang Baozhen had already been inside for three hours; she wondered how things were going. 

When a nurse came out again Xu Shengjie couldn’t help but step forward to ask, “Nurse, how is Liang Baozhen doing? I’m her husband.” 

The nurse was busy trying to find a doctor to check on the situation, so she had no time to answer the family members who were asking too many questions. She just quickly stepped forward and casually said, “She’ll come out once the delivery is done. Family, please be patient and wait.” 

Xu Shengjie retreated to his original position, feeling restless. He had never been so nervous in his life; he was even more nervous than going to the battlefield. 

Four hours later, the door to the delivery room opened again. Xu Shengjie did not move but only looked at her. Then suddenly he heard her voice, “Family members of Liang Baozhen, please come in.”   

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Shengjie heard a loud cry of a newborn baby and immediately stepped inside! 

The author has something to say:   

The little cutie is here! 😭😭😭