Chapter 43: Yuan Yuan

◎ The Daydream Actually Came True! ◎

Wei Xuan probably knew that she had given Wei Mother a difficult task, so she shyly shrank her neck, feeling a little guilty, and quietly ate her meal.

Wei Mother didn’t notice her odd behavior and was lost in thought, trying to figure out which daughter-in-law would be the best to call.

After a while, she looked up and asked Wei Xuan, “Have you called your sister-in-law? Where will she stay?” Setting aside the fact that her daughter had no place to stay, even if there was a place, they were still running a braised meat business, so it wasn’t ideal to have others move in.

“I’ve already asked Jiang Che to go out and see if there are any houses for rent nearby. We can rent a small one for my sister-in-law, and it won’t cost too much. She can come over here to eat; it’ll be convenient,” Wei Xuan replied.

Wei Mother didn’t pay much attention to Wei Xuan’s words. It’s not like food costs nothing. Her daughter’s family eats well, but when her sister-in-law comes, will she need to pay for meals or not?

If she pays, they might not even make enough money to cover the cost of food. If she doesn’t pay, it’ll be her daughter who suffers.

So, Wei Mother decided that, no matter which daughter-in-law came, she would tell them to bring their own pots and cook their meals, just enough to get by. Having them come was about making money, not enjoying luxury. A bit of hardship was acceptable if the money came in.

That evening, when Jiang Che came back, Wei Mother asked him, “I heard from Nier that you’ve been looking for a house?”

Jiang Che, caught off guard by the sudden question, didn’t respond immediately. He looked up at Wei Xuan and then replied, “Yes, I’ve been looking, but I only had someone ask today. It’ll probably be a couple more days before I hear anything.”

Wei Mother nodded, “I’m just letting you know. The house you rent should ideally have a kitchen. It doesn’t matter if the place is a bit small or run-down. If you’re going to look at places, could you take me with you?”

Jiang Che didn’t mind. Since he wasn’t the one living there, as long as his mother-in-law was happy, that was fine. He agreed right away.

After talking, Wei Mother went to the kitchen to cook.

Once her mother left, Wei Xuan asked Jiang Che, “Did you ask about the house I told you to find?”

It turned out that Wei Xuan hadn’t just asked Jiang Che to help find a place for her mother’s side of the family, but also to inquire about any houses for sale. Mainly, she wasn’t sure when houses were allowed to be bought and sold in this era, so she had to ask Jiang Che to gather information first.

Once Jiang Che saw that their daughter had fallen asleep, he gently placed her on the bed and then said, “I asked around. There are plenty of rental places, but no one is selling. Why do you want to buy a house? Isn’t the place we’re living in fine?”

“Other people’s houses can’t compare to your own,” Wei Xuan replied.

“True. I’ll ask someone else to help me look into it.”

“No rush. Just keep it in mind and take your time to figure it out.” Wei Xuan smiled and asked, “Have you thought of a name for the baby yet?”

When it came to this, Jiang Che frowned and looked unhappy. “My dad already said he’s picked a name. He wants to name the baby Jiang Yuanyan, which has the same meaning as Yuanqing.”

“Yuan Yan, Yuan Yan,” Wei Xuan murmured the name twice, feeling like it didn’t sound like a girl’s name. She then asked Jiang Che, “Which ‘Yan’?”

“Ri’an Yan. Is it not nice? If you don’t like it, we can pick another one ourselves.”

Wei Xuan didn’t dislike it, but she felt the name might be more suited for a son.

But since it was chosen by her father-in-law and had a good meaning, she didn’t say much. She comforted Jiang Che, saying, “Actually, it’s fine if we say it more often. How about we give the child a nickname to call her by?”

“That’s fine,” Jiang Che said, somewhat comforted, and then started thinking about a nickname for their daughter.

“How about calling her Baby? Babe? Beibei?”

“Stop,” Wei Xuan almost reached out to cover his mouth. “Let me come up with something.” What kind of names are those? They’re so cheesy.

Jiang Che, feeling rejected, just stared in silence.

After thinking for a moment, Wei Xuan said, “The child was born on the Winter Solstice. How about we call her Yuan Yuan? It symbolizes reunion, and the meaning is good.”

Jiang Che didn’t have any ideas of his own, so he just fully supported whatever name his wife came up with.

He turned to their daughter in the blanket and said, “Yuan Yuan, Yuan Yuan, from now on, your name is Yuan Yuan. Are you happy?”

Just as he was speaking, it seemed like Yuan Yuan had sensed her parents’ joy and slowly opened her eyes.

Jiang Che was stunned. It wasn’t until Yuan Yuan closed her eyes again that he excitedly told Wei Xuan, “Wife, the baby just looked at me. She must really like the name.”

“Really?” Wei Xuan was also pleasantly surprised. This was the first time the baby had opened her eyes since birth, but unfortunately, she hadn’t seen it.

Perhaps she was annoyed by her parents’ constant chatter, because little Yuan Yuan suddenly started crying.

The sound was so loud that Wei Xuan’s mother, who was washing pots outside in the yard, heard it and rushed in, asking, “What’s wrong? Did the baby pee again?”

Jiang Che and Wei Xuan exchanged a guilty glance.

Wei Xuan’s mother, seeing them silent, grew anxious. “Why aren’t you saying anything? The baby’s crying! Quickly comfort her, don’t let her hurt her throat from crying so much!”

Wei Xuan finally reacted and quickly lifted her shirt to feed the baby.

Once Yuan Yuan got her fill, she stopped crying, but her little mouth still twitched, which made Wei Xuan feel heartbroken.

The baby had stopped crying, but Wei Xuan’s mother didn’t let the new parents off the hook.

“You two, really! You’re parents now, and you let the baby cry from hunger without comforting her? You can’t do this next time, especially you, Wei Xuan. The baby is mainly your responsibility. Whether she’s hungry or needs a change, you need to notice right away.”

“Got it.”

Taking care of a child isn’t easy, and this was the sentiment that Wei Xuan and Jiang Che had shared over the past few days.

Since it was winter, there was no need for a full “washing of the baby” ceremony. Jiang Che went to the factory to relay a message to his brother. On the day of the Little New Year, the baby would be a full month old, and the family planned to gather at his place for a meal to celebrate the baby’s first month.

Meanwhile, after a few days of thought, Wei’s mother had made her decision. She decided to have the third daughter-in-law come over to take her daughter’s place.

The eldest daughter-in-law was obedient, but lacked the flexibility in dealing with people. If she offended a colleague, it wouldn’t be good.

The second daughter-in-law was more adaptable, but she was a bit too strong-willed and clever, which made her hard to manage.

After thinking it over, she figured the third daughter-in-law was the best choice. She had some cleverness, wasn’t afraid to humble herself, and had thick skin. Wei’s mother wasn’t worried about her not getting along with the daughter’s colleague, nor did she fear she might have ulterior motives.

Anyway, whatever she was thinking, Wei’s mother could easily suppress it.

And didn’t she say before that she wanted to come here to help? Now, the opportunity was here for her.

After hearing all of Wei’s mother’s reasoning, Wei Xuan asked, “Mom, aren’t you worried that the eldest and second sisters-in-law will be unhappy?”

Wei’s mother replied with a smug smile, “Don’t worry, I have a plan. Think about it: why do they want to come to the city? Isn’t it to help you cover shifts and get your salary every month?”

Wei Xuan nodded.

“Well, that’s settled then. No matter who comes, I’ll be the one holding the salary. The eldest and second sisters-in-law won’t want to come if they know they’ll have to work without pay. They’re not stupid; who would want to work for nothing? And with it being winter, there’s nothing to do at home. Staying at home, curled up for the winter, is much more comfortable.”

“Then how do you know the third sister-in-law will be willing to come?”

Wei’s mother snorted, “The third daughter-in-law is fine, but her family raised her with such shallow eyes, and she’s greedy for good food. As soon as she knows she can get some delicious food in the city, she’ll be more than happy to come.”

Wei Xuan couldn’t help but laugh. Her mom truly understood the temperaments of all three of her daughters-in-law very well.

With Wei’s mother’s decision made, the next day, she had Jiang Che call the family.

When Wei’s third daughter-in-law received the call from her mother-in-law, she immediately began packing her things.

Wei’s third son, seeing his wife happily packing her bags with no sign of hesitation about leaving him and their son behind, felt a pang of frustration in his heart.

Who would have thought that the daydreams his wife had last year would actually come true? Could this be what they call “foolish people have foolish blessings”?

Just after calling the Wei family, Jiang Che found some time to plan on taking his mother-in-law to look at houses. Otherwise, when Wei’s third daughter-in-law arrived, he wouldn’t have anywhere to settle her.

“Don’t worry. Just tell me briefly about these places first.”

The places Jiang Che planned to show Wei’s mother were ones he had carefully inquired about. When Wei’s mother asked, he immediately gave her a rundown of the pros and cons of each location without hesitation.

After hearing him out, Wei’s mother pondered for a moment and said, “Then let’s go check the one closest to your place first.” To Wei’s mother, it wasn’t as much about whether the house was good or not. As long as it was livable, the most important thing was that it was close to her daughter’s home so she could help keep an eye on things.

Jiang Che had no objections. In fact, he was most fond of this one.

Wei Xuan had initially thought that it would take at least an hour or two for them to look at houses, but to her surprise, they returned in less than twenty minutes, both of them smiling.

“So soon? Did you find a place you’re happy with?”

Wei’s mother smiled and said, “It’s just one courtyard away from your place. The place is small, only about ten square meters, but the good part is that it has a shared kitchen. When your third sister-in-law comes, she won’t need to buy a stove or anything. She can cook right there.”

Wei’s mother had initially planned for her daughter-in-law to cook on her own, but after asking her daughter, she found that the stoves and kerosene heaters used in kitchens weren’t cheap. Buying one would cost quite a bit, and her daughter-in-law’s salary for several months might not even cover it. This had been troubling her for a while.

Unexpectedly, the house they looked at today gave her a pleasant surprise, solving a problem that had been on her mind for several days.

So delighted, she immediately decided to rent the place.

Wei Xuan was momentarily speechless. “Mom, I already said to have third sister-in-law come over to eat here. Since it’s so close, why make her go back home after work and cook alone?”

“Even if it’s not for cooking, having an extra kitchen to boil water would be more convenient,” Wei’s mother said, realizing her daughter wasn’t easily convinced. She switched her approach, knowing that when the daughter-in-law arrived, she could privately remind her.

Sure enough, when Wei Xuan heard her mother say that, she didn’t say anything more.

In fact, Wei Xuan wasn’t really being a pushover. She simply felt that since Wei’s mother was helping her take care of the child, it was only right to return the favor and take care of her sister-in-law. After all, they were family—what’s the harm in adding one more pair of chopsticks to the table?

The day after the house was rented, Wei’s third sister-in-law arrived with her luggage.

Since it was Wei’s third sister-in-law’s first time coming to the capital, and to avoid her getting lost, Wei’s mother had called Wei Xiaolong back from school in advance to pick her up at the station.

When he brought her home, it was just in time for lunch.

Wei’s third sister-in-law, who had been feeling a bit dazed, instantly woke up upon seeing the food on the table.

A hot meal at noon—how delicious!

She had known that coming to her sister-in-law’s place would guarantee her a good meal, and on the very first day, she got exactly what she wanted—a chance to eat meat.

Wei’s mother, seeing her with that greedy look, nearly had her mouth watering, turned her head away in disdain.