[Look, look, Fuman, look at the little chubby boy!]

Little Fuman could only hear the name but couldn’t see the person, and she grew anxious.

The couple couldn’t help but chuckle.

Lan Qingshuang subtly lifted the baby a little higher.

Bathed in the light, the baby’s delicate, fair little face came into view for everyone.

Grandma Deng was the most surprised, as she had witnessed the baby’s condition the most. She had been visiting every day but hadn’t taken a close look until now. In just a few days, the baby had transformed completely.

“How did the little one get so fair?”

At birth, she had been red and purplish, looking quite frightening. But now, she was as white as a little dough ball, utterly adorable. Her eyes were big and dark, her eyelashes long, her nose delicate and straight, and her lips full and fleshy—every feature was simply beautiful.

Ye Zhoushan puffed out his chest proudly. “She takes after her mother.”

Lan Qingshuang was very fair, with a cool-toned porcelain complexion, and little Fuman was even fairer than her mother. Blushing under the teasing gazes of the others, Lan Qingshuang shot a glare at Ye Zhoushan.

Grandma Lin had also helped when Fuman was born and had seen how frail and red the baby had been. Now, she was equally amazed.

“The little one is doing so well now. You two take good care of her, and she’ll bring you plenty of blessings in the future.”

Lan Qingshuang’s health had been damaged during childbirth, and she wouldn’t be able to have more children. Her situation was similar to that of Grandma Lin’s son. Feeling a sense of mutual understanding, Grandma Lin grew even fonder of little Fuman.

“Earlier, I didn’t know the little one had improved so much and didn’t dare to hold her. Now, I simply must give her a hug.”

Little Fuman smacked her lips and swayed her head leisurely.

Go ahead, hug me. Fuman is full of blessings.

Amused, Lan Qingshuang handed the baby to Grandma Lin.

Grandma Lin cradled her, patting her gently, and then held her out toward Dong Dazhuang.

“Dazhuang, look at your little sister. See how adorable she is.”

Dong Dazhuang showed no reaction, and the three Dong women sighed helplessly.

Little Fuman finally caught sight of the chubby boy who was the topic of conversation. Her tiny hand, which had somehow freed itself, reached out toward him and patted him earnestly.

Pat the head, no more dread. Chubby brother, be good, don’t be scared.

Everyone’s attention had been on little Fuman, and when she moved, all eyes followed. To their surprise, Dong Dazhuang, who had been unresponsive, suddenly blinked and looked at Fuman. Then, he opened his mouth and burst into loud, wailing tears.

“Wahhh… little sister, there’s a wild boar!”

“Waaaah…”

The boar is dead. We eat meat now. Chubby brother, eat meat!

“No, I’ll give it to little sister to eat.”

“Giggle giggle…” The mere mention of meat made the toothless little one beam with joy.

Seeing his sister laugh, Dong Dazhuang wiped his tears and giggled along.

The adults were stunned. The three Dong women, in particular, had red-rimmed eyes and were flushed with excitement. If they weren’t afraid of startling the children, they would have hugged them tightly and cheered.

Grandma Lin nuzzled little Fuman with her wrinkled cheek. “You truly are a little bundle of blessings. Grandma Lin thanks you, little Fuman.”

Dong Muxiang quickly reached out. “Mom, let me hold her too.”

Dong Muxiang had raised her nephew since he was little and was very skilled at holding babies.

Little Fuman’s big eyes met those of the fragrant, pretty older sister, and she grinned widely, looking utterly delighted.

Pretty sister, pretty mommy, ugly daddy.

Ye Zhoushan, who had been innocently caught in the crossfire, could only sigh.

Lan Qingshuang tried hard to hold back her laughter, not wanting to inflict further damage on the baby’s father.

The others couldn’t hear Little Fuman’s thoughts, and Dong Dazhuang had only unconsciously caught a snippet before losing the ability again. But the baby’s cooing, milky voice was incredibly soothing, and everyone couldn’t help but smile along.

“Auntie, auntie, Dazhuang wants to hold sister too!”

The chubby little boy struggled out of his mother’s arms, tugged hard at Dong Muxiang’s clothes, and pleaded.

Dong Muxiang didn’t dare let him hold the baby, so she just lowered Fuman a bit to let him see.

The little boy was perfectly content and puckered his lips for a kiss.

Ye Zhoushan panicked, scooping the little boy up. “You’re a boy; you can’t just go around kissing girls.”

Suddenly lifted off the ground, the little boy looked utterly bewildered.

Everyone else burst out laughing.

The group didn’t stay long. They left once Little Fuman started yawning.

Over the next few days, several other families came by. Firstly, to thank Ye Zhoushan for saving their children—whether by coincidence or not, they felt they should express their gratitude. Secondly, to return the IOUs.

Ye Zhoushan naturally refused to accept them, but the others didn’t have the Dong family’s resolve. After a few polite refusals, they took the IOUs back.

After seeing them off, the Ye household, which had been lively for days, finally quieted down.

Lan Qingshuang let out a long sigh. She had been married into Minsheng Production Brigade for over a year but hadn’t interacted much with the villagers. They weren’t familiar with each other, so it was hard to find common ground. But since people had come to visit, she couldn’t ignore them and had to force herself through awkward conversations.

Most of the visitors were women, so it wasn’t appropriate for Ye Zhoushan to entertain them. Her body hadn’t fully recovered yet, and these past few days had exhausted her.

Ye Zhoushan felt sorry for his wife and quickly brought over the stewed soybeans and pig’s trotters he had prepared.

“Eat up, it’s for boosting milk supply.”

“Captain Qianshan specially saved this pig’s trotter for us. With so many people around these past few days, I didn’t get a chance to stew it for you.”

Although the large wild boar had been given away, the hundred-plus-pound smaller boar had still given everyone a taste of meat. Ye Zhoushan had compensated for the large boar, and the villagers hadn’t been stingy, giving him half a catty of meat from the smaller one. The pig’s trotter was something Zhao Qianjin had “abused his power” to secretly set aside—just one. Several families in the brigade had recently had babies and were all eyeing it, so managing to keep one was quite an achievement.

Ye Zhoushan had stewed it without adding anything else, so it still had a bit of a gamey smell. But no one in these times would turn their nose up at food—any edible thing was precious.

“I can’t finish this all. You have some too,” Lan Qingshuang said.

Ye Zhoushan refused. “If you can’t finish it, save it for the next meal. It’s just one pig’s trotter—how much is there anyway? You need to eat well so our daughter has enough milk. Has her appetite been better these past couple of days?”

Lan Qingshuang glanced at their daughter, who was sleeping soundly beside them like a little piglet. “It’s better. Look closely—hasn’t she grown a bit?”

When Ye Fuman was first born, it was no exaggeration to say she was only the size of a palm. Now, it took two hands to hold her properly—she had grown quite a bit. But compared to a normal baby, she was still on the smaller side. Her fair skin masked a multitude of flaws, including her small size, which was why none of the recent visitors had noticed her stature issues—they all just praised how well she was growing.

Ye Zhoushan couldn’t resist kissing his daughter’s tiny hand. “That’s good. Slowly but surely, our daughter will grow plump and fair. Eat up now before it gets cold.”

“I’ve caught a couple of pheasants in the mountains these past few days. They’re stored away, so we have enough to eat.”

Lan Qingshuang didn’t refuse further. She slowly ate the entire bowl of pig’s trotters and soybeans, bite by bite.

Ye Zhoushan took the bowl to clean up. “Uncle Qianjin said tomorrow we’re going into the mountains to check out the situation with the wild boars coming down. I might be gone all day. I’ll keep your food warm in the pot in the morning. When you’re hungry, put on something warm and go get it.”

Lan Qingshuang frowned. “Why are they checking now?” It had been so many days.

“We were busy before, and we were worried the boars might still be lurking on the outskirts, so we waited a couple more days.”

“How many people are going?”

“Over ten. All strong, capable young men. Don’t worry.”

Lan Qingshuang was anything but reassured. This man had a track record. “Don’t you dare show off again. If you exhaust our daughter, see if I don’t deal with you.”

Ye Zhoushan gave an awkward chuckle. He wouldn’t dare.