Chapter 85

Zhang Chunying’s pregnancy was something the whole family never expected.

Su Xiaoxiao’s return to her parents’ home while pregnant was already a great joy, and upon her return, Zhang Chunying, who had never gotten good news for many years, was also pregnant.

The village’s elderly Chinese medicine practitioner, over seventy years old, felt Zhang Chunying’s pulse and said she was pregnant.

Honestly, Zhang Chunying herself couldn’t believe it. Her menstrual cycle had always been irregular, sometimes early and sometimes late. But this time, it was indeed late by almost a month. She had never experienced such a delay.

Zhang Chunying touched her belly and said “Xiaoxiao, you are truly the child of Guanyin Bodhisattva. I haven’t been able to conceive for so many years, and I thought I would only have Xiao Bao in this lifetime. But as soon as you became pregnant, I became pregnant too.” ^[1]Guanyin Bodhisattva is one of the most famous bodhisattvas in Buddhism. She is all-compassionate, having pity and mercy on all living beings, saving the suffering upon hearing their calls with … Continue reading

Su Zhenhua couldn’t stop grinning, but he still said “Big brother also has only one child, right? If you can’t get pregnant, you can’t. Having Xiao Bao is enough. Why are you in such a hurry?”

Zhang Chunying glared at him and touched her belly happily. “What do you know? Big brother and sister-in-law chose not to have more children themselves. But I want to have a daughter as beautiful as my sister Xiaoxiao.”

The Su family doted on their daughter so much. If she could have a daughter as well, the Su family would surely be more delighted.

Su Zhenhua was nonchalant and said it directly without thinking. “You’re not as pretty as my mother, and I’m not as handsome as my father. How can we give birth to a beautiful daughter like Xiaoxiao? Xiaoxiao and Han Cheng will definitely have a beautiful daughter.”

Zhang Chunying was so angry that she hit him. “If I’m not pretty, why did you insist on marrying me back then? Liu Shuixian is pretty. Why didn’t you marry Liu Shuixian?’

Li Yufeng glared at her daughter-in-law and said, “Oh, stop it, you two. The more you talk, the more absurd it gets. You’re two grown adults and still have no filter. This year, we have a double blessing in our family. Tomorrow, I need to slaughter the big rooster that Han Cheng brought as a thanksgiving offering for the ancestors.”

Zhang Chunying suddenly remembered that Liu Shuixian seemed to have had a blind date with her brother-in-law in the past.

A few children behind them whispered. Xiao Fantuan said “Xiao Bao, my mom is pregnant with a sister, and your mom is also pregnant with a sister. So, won’t our family have two sisters?”

Xiao Bao shook his head and said, “Grandma said that until the baby is born, we won’t know if it’s a sister or a brother.”

Xiao Bao hugged Xiao Doubao tightly and nuzzled his head with his chin. “I still hope my mom gives birth to a little brother as well-behaved and pretty as Xiao Doubao.”

Xiao Fantuan glanced at his uncle and aunt, shaking his head. “That’s probably not going to happen. Look at my dad and your dad.”

Xiao Bao looked at his tall and handsome uncle. Well, his father is actually very good-looking, but he couldn’t compare to his uncle.

With a sad expression, Xiao Bao said “Then my mother should give birth to a younger brother, and my aunt should give birth to a younger sister. What if my mom gives birth to an ugly sister like Lai Di? She probably won’t be able to get married.”

Xiao Zhuzi asked him curiously. “Who is Lai Di?”

Xiao Bao explained, “She’s a girl in our class; she always has a runny nose, and she’s always dirty.”

“Okay, stop talking about her.” Xiao Fantuan was the most afraid of dirt and ugliness. He didn’t want to think about the year he spent at Zhou Cuihua’s house.

Xiao Bao’s bed was not big enough, so Su Xiaoxiao could only let the four children sleep in her room, while she and Han Cheng went to sleep in Xiao Bao’s room.

Han Cheng took the children to wash up, and Li Yufeng pulled Su Xiaoxiao aside to speak privately. “You and Second Sister are three months apart in your pregnancies. When the time comes, I’ll come over to take care of you during your postpartum period and then return to take care of her. Mother actually hopes that Zhang Chunyin becomes pregnant a little later. Babies are easier to take care of after they’re six months old. If I can help you take care of yours for over six months, it would be great.”

Su Xiaoxiao rested her head on Li Yufeng’s shoulder and said, “Mother, I’ve heard that taking care of the postpartum period is very hard work. Won’t it be too hard on you?”

Li Yufeng patted her daughter on the back of her hand and said, “As long as you’re well, Mom won’t be tired. Don’t worry. When the time comes, Mom will definitely be there with you.”

Su Xiaoxiao nuzzled Li Yufeng’s neck and said, “Mom, you’re so good. I really want to have a daughter, and I’ll love her as much as my mom loves me.”

Li Yufeng glanced at her daughter and asked, “What if you have a son? Won’t you love him?”

Su Xiaoxiao’s dimple appeared as she smiled sweetly. “I think Mom loves me the most. Even if you combine Second Brother and Big Brother, they can’t compare to your love for me.”

Li Yufeng hugged her and said, “My sweet daughter, I can still recall how tiny you were in the past, and in the blink of an eye, you’ve grown as big as Xiao Doubao. Before we knew it, you became as big as Xiaobao. Now you’re going to be a mother too, and Mom is getting older.”

Indeed, Li Yufeng loved Su Xiaoxiao the most, and it could be said that the whole family also loved her the most.

Su Xiaoxiao hugged her tightly and said, “Mom, you’re not old. You mustn’t overwork yourself. Take good care of your health and try to spend more time with me. Let’s watch my child grow up, get married, and have children together, and then watch their children do the same, continuing the cycle, okay?”

Li Yufeng’s eyes welled up with warmth, and she nodded, “Okay, Mom will try her best.”

Han Cheng stood outside the door for a while, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere. His own relationship with his parents was not very close, and Yang Mei’s relationship with her parents was also separate and peaceful.

He hadn’t spent much time with his parents, so he didn’t know that the bond between parents and children could be so deep and that they could get along so well. Li Yufeng cherished her daughter as her most precious treasure, and Su Xiaoxiao was equally dependent on her mother.

Love is a two-way street and a cycle. Watching how Su Xiaoxiao interacted with her children, Han Cheng knew that when these children grew up, they would definitely love and rely on Su Xiaoxiao as a mother.

Han Cheng couldn’t help but smile. It was a really heartwarming scene.

“Han Cheng, come in quickly. Why are you standing out here in the cold with so little clothing? Don’t catch a cold.” Li Yufeng pushed Han Cheng into the room when she saw him standing at the door. “Where are the kids?”

“They’ve all gone to bed,” Han Cheng replied.

“They didn’t ask for Xiaoxiao to tell them a bedtime story, right?” She remembers when she was in the military district, the children would pester Su Xiaoxiao every day to tell them some bedtime stories, refusing to go to bed for a day if they didn’t hear any bedtime stories.

Han Cheng: “After Xiaoxiao became pregnant, she told them bedtime stories less often. If Xiaoxiao wanted to, they would listen and not make any noise.”

Li Yufeng nodded while walking and said, “They’re such a good child. I’ll go take a look and make sure they’re not freezing at night without enough blankets.”

Su Xiaoxiao, with a slight smile, reached out for Han Cheng to hug her.

Han Cheng had just finished showering. He took off his coat, but his body was still warm. He got into bed, embraced Su Xiaoxiao, and with his face against hers, he said, “We must take good care of ourselves too and be with our children as they grow up and grow old.”

Su Xiaoxiao kissed Han Cheng’s chin and said, “Okay.”

Xiao Bao’s bed is very small—less than 1.2 meters. On a cold winter night, the husband and wife cuddled together and didn’t feel cold at all.

…………….

The next day, it unexpectedly snowed in Sujia Village. This was truly unprecedented, as it had been years since the last snowfall.

In the central-southern region of South China, it rarely, if ever, snows—truly a once-in-a-decade occurrence.

They say a good omen is heralded by auspicious snowfall, and it seems like this year is a good one.

Feathery snowflakes fell one by one, accumulating on the weeping willows by the small river at the doorstep, making for a beautiful scene.

Several children who grew up in the southern region, from birth until now, saw snow for the first time and were overjoyed, hopping and skipping, saying they wanted to go out and play in the snow.

Fortunately, Li Yufeng made many hats out of scrap fabric during her free time. She wrapped the children’s shoes in waterproof felt paper, put on their hats, and tightly wrapped their necks before letting them go outside.

At this moment, someone came over and called out to Su Weimin, “Captain, the people in the village are worried that it’s getting colder and the fish pond might freeze. Can we release the water to catch fish early? You and Zhenhua should get ready and call on the villagers to take the fish out.”

Su Weimin looked at the weather and thought it was a good idea. If the fish pond froze, it would be a serious problem. He replied, “Alright, I’ll go and make a broadcast announcement shortly, calling everyone to come and help. We’ll also ask each household to come and queue up to receive the fish.”

When Xiao Fantuan heard this, he asked Xiao Bao, “Xiao Bao, what does it mean to release water to catch fish? Does it mean catching fish?”

Xiao Bao nodded and said, “In our production team, we have a large fish pond. During the Lunar New Year, we usually drain the water and catch the big fish to distribute to everyone. When the fish come out of the water, they jump up in groups, some even somersaulting. It’s quite a sight, but we’re worried the fish won’t survive, so we usually do this on the 29th or 30th day of the year. This year, because it’s so cold, we’re doing it early.”

Xiao Zhuzi felt excited as he listened and said, “Can we go down and catch fish?”

Xiao Bao shook his head and said, “No way, the mud in the fish pond is very deep.” Xiao Bao gestured to his waist and said, “It’s probably this deep, and adults don’t allow children to go down.”

Xiao Zhuzi and Xiao Fantuan were both somewhat disappointed.

Xiao Fantuan asked, “Can we at least go and take a look?”

Xiao Bao nodded and said, “That’s definitely possible, but there will be a lot of people watching. So, we should go early to get a good spot, or we won’t have a good view.”

The three brothers exchanged glances, and Fantuan said, “Then should we go now?”

Xiao Bao said, “First, we need to go back to our house and get small stools. We’ll be watching for a long time, and standing for too long will be tiring.”

Xiao Fantuan: “Okay, then let’s hurry.”

You can also read advance chapters on my Patreon