◎ Third update ◎   

As the clock struck midnight, Liang Baozhen gave birth to a baby girl weighing five pounds and three ounces on May 5, 1978, at three minutes past twelve. 

Xu Shengjie felt worried as he looked at his wife, whose hair was soaked with sweat while she slept. 

“Nurse, my wife…”   

“She’s just been through a tough time; let’s get her back to the ward to rest,” the nurse said while showing the baby to the family. “Congratulations, you have a daughter!” 

As she spoke, she secretly glanced at the faces of the family in front of her and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that they all looked happy.   

Just yesterday, she had shown a newborn baby to another family. When they saw it was a girl, the family’s faces fell, which made her feel a little uncomfortable.   

The baby wasn’t theirs, so why did they look so unhappy? The nurse handed the baby to Zhou Yun and told everyone to return to the ward. 

Liang Baozhen woke up the next afternoon. She opened her eyes in a daze, and the first thing that caught her eye was the white walls. The lower part of the wall was painted dark green, which was the standard decoration of a hospital.   

Giving birth is both time-consuming and exhausting. Liang Baozhen still felt a bit weak, especially from the pain throughout her body. Even the slightest movement made her uncomfortable. The only relief was that her belly was no longer so big.

Her eyes wandered around the room until they met Xu Shengjie’s gaze. 

“You’re awake!” Xu Shengjie had taken the day off to stay by her side. 

Zhou Yun had just brought some boiled brown sugar eggs from home. The two eggs, along with the brown sugar water, were sweet and delicious. Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya originally wanted to stay in the hospital. They stared at their little niece for a long time, reluctant to take their eyes away, but they had to go to school today, so they could only yawn and go to school.   

“Hmm.” Liang Baozhen screamed so many times last night and could only groan in pain. Her voice was still a little hoarse. “Where’s the baby?”   

“She’s sleeping.” Xu Shengjie gently picked up his daughter. She was so small that he held her very carefully, afraid of disturbing the fragile little one. “Look.”

Liang Baozhen stretched her neck and saw that Xu Shengjie was holding their baby.   

The newborn baby was red and a little wrinkled, with her eyes closed and a slightly open mouth. She’s sleeping soundly. When Liang Baozhen thought that this baby came out of her, her eyes became hot. “Put her back, let’s not disturb the baby.”   

“Mmm~.”   

“Be careful with her.” While speaking, Liang Baozhen’s gaze followed the little one closely. 

Xu Shengjie had never been so cautious in his life. He held his baby gently and put her down with care. He was using the posture and movements his grandmother had just taught him; he almost hesitated to touch her at first. 

“How do you feel now?” Xu Shengjie sat back down beside his wife’s bed. Seeing her frail appearance, he felt distressed. “The nurse said if you’re in a lot of pain, you can take some painkillers.” 

“Forget it, I don’t want to take medicine.” Liang Baozhen felt that she could still bear it, so she just shook her head.   

“Then you should eat something first.” Xu Shengjie helped her sit up against the headboard and fed her the red sugar egg soup.

When Zhou Yun entered the room, Liang Baozhen had just finished eating.   

“Baozhen, you’re awake?” Zhou Yun had gone out to fetch water and felt relieved to see her granddaughter finally awake. “Do you feel better? Remember to tell us if you’re uncomfortable.” 

“Mmm, I know, Grandma.” Liang Baozhen spoke a little and fell asleep again because she was so tired. 

When she woke up, the moon was already high in the sky and this time, her family from her mother’s side had come to the hospital. 

Liang Baozhen saw her mother, Song Chunhua, and almost couldn’t hold back her tears, “Mother!”   

After experiencing childbirth herself, she finally understood her mother’s hardships. Especially now, she was at her most vulnerable time, and she missed her mother especially.   

“Finally, you’ve given birth! My dear daughter, you’ve suffered!” 

Song Chunhua and Liang Zhigao received a call from their son-in-law, who called the commune from the post office at noon, and only then did they learn that their daughter had given birth. The two quickly asked the team leader for a letter of introduction and hurried into the city.   

Liang Baoying and her siblings couldn’t come because the team leader felt the number of people going into the city was too high and only issued two letters. 

The two set off immediately without any delay, but before leaving, they took away an old hen that they had just raised and asked Liang Baojun to look around to see if he could get a exchanged more chickens to feed Liang Baozhen during her confinement. 

“Baozhen, make sure to rest well,” Liang Zhigao was in a good mood since he became a grandfather again, but he felt a little uncomfortable looking at his daughter, he knew she needed to rest well during her confinement. 

“I know, Father.” 

The baby who had been sleeping all day was now awake and staring up at them with her bright eyes. 

“Oh, Shanshan is awake!” Zhou Yun held the child and handed her to Song Chunhua, so she could see her granddaughter. 

Last month, the family decided on a name for the baby. Since they didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl, they picked a name for each. If it was a girl, she would be called Xu Yunshan, with the nickname Shanshan. 

Song Chunhua held her granddaughter, then sat next to her daughter and asked her to look at the baby. “Look, this is exactly the same as when you were a child.” 

Looking at this tiny bundle, Song Chunhua remembered that Liang Baozhen was just as small when she was born. In the blink of an eye, her own child had come into the world. 

Liang Baozhen looked down at Shanshan, who was lying on her bed. The little baby seemed to have had enough sleep and was awake for a rare moment. Her big, sparkling eyes looked as if they had been washed by a clear spring and were full of life. She stared at her mother without moving, her tiny body twisting slightly. With her mouth slightly open as she breathed, she made gentle snorting sounds. 

Reaching out to touch the baby’s face, Liang Baozhen felt a delicate and tender softness, the kind that only babies have. She didn’t dare to use any strength for fear of hurting the child. 

Everyone bought meals in the hospital, and each of them sat in the ward holding a lunch box to eat. Today they were lucky, as there was an empty bed next to them and no one had moved in yet, so everyone could move around. 

“While you were still asleep this morning, Uncle Wei, Aunt Li, Caili’s family, and Nianhua all came over, but you didn’t wake up, so they just took a look at the baby and left.” 

Liang Baozhen’s main priority now is to rest and feed her baby. She doesn’t have to worry about anything else. With a smile, she nodded and continued to play with Shanshan. 

The house was bustling with activity. Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya rushed to the hospital after school. The two families stayed in the hospital until around nine o’clock in the evening before leaving. 

Xu Shengjie will stay in the hospital tonight, while Song Chunhua and Liang Zhigao will stay at the Xu family’s home. Their introduction letter is good until tomorrow, so it’s fine for them to spend the night in the city.  

Once everyone left, the ward finally quieted down.  

“I’m much better now.” Liang Baozhen’s pain gradually faded, replaced by the warmth of seeing her child. Touching the baby’s tiny hands and feet brought her a feeling of comfort.

“Look at her hands. They’re so small.” 

Xu Shengjie was sitting next to her and put his hand on hers as well. Shanshan didn’t know what father and mother were yet. She just looked at the two people in front of her and actually smiled when her little hand was next to theirs. 

“Shengjie, she smiled.” 

“Mmm~.” Xu Shengjie felt his heart melt at his daughter’s smile.  

But the next second, Shanshan tilted her head and fell asleep.  

Liang Baozhen looked at her daughter and then at Xu Shengjie and thought, “She learned that from you.” 

Xu Shengjie tapped his daughter’s nose gently and smiled, “It’s true; she can fall asleep in a second.” 

Liang Baozhen was discharged from the hospital on the evening of the third day to go home to recuperate after giving birth, while Xu Shengjie’s three-day paternity leave had ended, and he had to return to work. 

As soon as they returned to the courtyard, the mother and daughter were put to bed. Neighbors came to Xu’s house one by one to see them, say a few auspicious words, and those who had a better relationship with them gave them some eggs and candies. 

When Cheng Caili learned that Liang Baozhen gave birth to a girl, she felt a moment of regret. What happened to the promised marriage? It was all for nothing! 

However, the little girl was so adorable, and having her accompany her daughter was quite nice. “Chuchu, look at sister Shanshan! In the future, you can play some strings and jump rope together.” 

By the third day, Liang Baozhen had already regained a lot of her strength. She was happy to see Chuchu, who was almost a year older than Shanshan. “It will be great when the two children can walk and go out together.” 

“Baozhen,” Liu Nianhua brought her sons Xiao Long and Xiao Hu over. After getting off work, she learned that Liang Baozhen had been discharged from the hospital and went home to recuperate after giving birth, so she hurried over to see her. “You really didn’t gain much weight after having the baby; your face is still so small. You need to eat more to regain your strength.” 

“That’s right! There’s so much I want to eat right now.” 

“Mother, Aunt Baozhen’s daughter is blowing bubbles while she sleeps!” Xiao Hu didn’t understand what was happening. He looked at Shanshan, who was sleeping soundly with her eyes closed and a few bubbles at the corners of her mouth. He pointed at her little mouth in surprise. 

“Hahaha, you child!” Liu Nianhua was amused by his son’s words. “The little sister is sleeping, and you drool when you sleep too!” 

“I don’t!” Xiao Hu denied strongly. How could he drool? Even if he did, his mother couldn’t tell others about it. It was too embarrassing! 

“Okay, you’re not drooling.” Liang Baozhen smiled and used her index finger to wipe the drool from the corner of her daughter’s lips. She felt relieved to see her daughter sleeping soundly. 

The neighbors didn’t bother the mother and daughter much. They talked for a bit and then left. Cheng Caili and Liu Nianhua walked out of Xu’s house one after the other and ran into Zhou Qingdang, who was returning home. Xiao Long and Xiao Hu quickly called out, “Uncle Zhou!”  

Liu Nianhua didn’t even look in his direction. She just told her two children to go home, do their homework, and stop thinking about playing all day long. After that, she led the two away. 

Zhou Qingdang followed silently behind them and walked towards his home. 

On the first day back at work after taking leave, Xu Shengjie found it hard to concentrate. He was worried about his wife and daughter. When the workers in the workshop learned that his wife had given birth, they all congratulated him. 

“Xiao Xu, you’re a father now.”  

“Is it a son or a daughter?” 

“Oh, it’s a daughter! A daughter is great too.” 

Hong Saner watched his good brother get married and have a baby, and he suddenly felt a little envious. Was he missing out too much? 

“My mother specially thought of sending you ten egg coupons. They are just right for sister-in-law to use during her confinement period.” Hong Saner’s mother thought of this specially. Practical food was important during the recovery period. 

“Thank you.” Xu Shengjie put the egg tickets in his pocket and planned to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy eggs another day. Although his mother-in-law brought some, it was important to nourish his wife’s body during this time, so having more would never be too much. 

As soon as the workday ended, Xu Shengjie seemed to ride the wind back home. He parked his bicycle in the courtyard and went to see Liang Baozhen and their daughter as soon as he entered the house. This time he finally understood what it meant to be deeply worried about someone. 

Shanshan had a good sleep and has now woken up. She is being held in her mother’s arms while drinking milk. Her chubby cheeks bounced with every movement as she enjoyed her meal.  

When Xu Shengjie entered the room, he happened to see his wife breastfeeding. Her snow-white breasts came into his sight, and he subconsciously wanted to step back. But then he thought, why should he retreat while his wife was breastfeeding? 

“Are you breastfeeding?” 

Liang Baozhen knew he was back when she heard the door open and looked over with a smile, “Look at her, she’s eating so hard; she must be hungry after sleeping.” 

The little girl in her arms seemed to understand what her mother said. She drinks milk more attentively. Her small hands waved around unconsciously, with her four fingers put together towards her palm as if she wanted to grab something. 

After drinking her milk, Liang Baozhen handed the child to Xu Shengjie and put on her clothes. In order to breastfeed, she unbuttoned her clothes to expose half of her chest. Now that the child was taken away, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed. 

It wasn’t dark yet, and she felt awkward even though she was at home, so she had just asked Grandmother Zhou to step out for a moment. Who knew Xu Shengjie would come back so suddenly? 

“Pat her back to burp her,” Liang Baozhen suggested. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized something was wrong. His hands were too strong; Shanshan was so tiny that she couldn’t handle a hard pat! “Forget it; I’ll do it. Give her back to me.” 

“No need. I have to learn how to do this.” Xu Shengjie insisted on doing it himself and didn’t want to let his wife do everything. After all, this was his daughter, and he also wanted his wife to get some good rest too. 

“Just be gentle; don’t pat her too hard!” Liang Baozhen expressed her concern. 

Xu Shengjie was very careful. The baby was only a few days old. He gently patted his daughter’s back with his large hand, using very little strength. He remembered his wife’s nagging and his brother’s wailing, worried that he might hurt the child. But he felt like he wasn’t using any strength at all. 

Little Shanshan seemed to enjoy being in her father’s arms. Her belly was round after drinking milk, and her father patted her again and again. Soon she burped and closed her eyes to drift back to sleep. 

“She’s asleep.” Xu Shengjie smiled unconsciously as he looked at his daughter. When he saw his daughter sleeping, he raised his head and looked at his wife as if he’s asking for praise. “How was it? Did I do well?” 

Liang Baozhen buttoned up her clothes, looked at Xu Shengjie, who was beaming with joy. She decided to praise him, “Well done, Comrade Xu Shengjie.” 

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