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Chapter 348: Chapter 338: The Days when Granny Wang was There
Shen Yunfang cleared out the west room, allowing Dashuan and Wang Da-niang to stay there, as there was nothing taboo between a mother and her son. While Dashuan was around, Li Hongjun specifically took a day off to take the two into the city for a day of roaming.
Following his wife’s instructions, Li Hongjun bought a set of clothes for Dashuan and his family, and for the two children. On the third day, when Dashuan was about to return home, he stuffed them into his big bag.
Seeing that they were new clothes, Dashuan refused to take them, which led to another tussle between the two big men. In the end, Li Hongjun prevailed, forcing Dashuan to board the train home with a bag full of items.
Of course, if Dashuan and the kids had something new, Wang Da-niang couldn’t be left out. As soon as Li Hongjun sent Dashuan off, Shen Yunfang brought out two sets of clothes for Wang Da-niang, which also took some convincing for her to accept.
While fondly caressing the clothes, Wang Da-niang complained, "You can’t do this in the future, ah. I’m here to help, not to enjoy your hospitality. I’m too old for this; half my body is already buried in the yellow earth. What do I need new clothes for, it’s a waste."
Shen Yunfang couldn’t possibly listen to her; in her previous life, she had lived from youth to old age, and she knew that every woman, no matter what age, likes to wear new clothes. Wang Da-niang was just used to being frugal; even if she had the cloth, she would make clothes for the children first and just make do for herself.
Shen Yunfang couldn’t let Wang Da-niang just make do. After all, she was here to help with the postpartum care; surely she deserved some benefits.
Wang Da-niang officially settled down at Shen Yunfang’s place and took over most of the housekeeping duties, such as cooking, cleaning, and feeding the quails. But when it came to laundry, Shen Yunfang felt too embarrassed to ask Wang Da-niang to do it, so Li Hongjun took care of it when he returned home in the evenings.
That day, just as Sister Wu happened to come over for a visit, the three adults were chatting while Pangpang played on the kang bed, when suddenly Shen Yunfang clutched her stomach and cried out in pain.
"What’s wrong? What’s wrong?" Wang Da-niang jumped in fright.
"Could it be time for the birth?" Sister Wu asked anxiously.
After a wave of contractions passed, Shen Yunfang caught her breath and said, "It seems like it’s time."
Wang Da-niang was flustered and kept calling for the midwife. It was Sister Wu who kept her head. Seeing that Shen Yunfang might not give birth immediately, she and Wang Da-niang helped her walk towards the health clinic.
Li Hongjun and Shen Yunfang’s little girl was born in the army’s health clinic. Since it wasn’t Yunfang’s first-time giving birth, the process with Erpang was even more straightforward than with Pangpang. It started with pain in the morning around nine, followed by a rush to the clinic around ten twenty, and by noon, Erpang was born. The efficiency of it impressed the attending doctor.
Li Hongjun, holding his little girl, sat by his wife’s bed and felt his life was complete. "Thank you, wife." 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
"What’s there to thank me for? Do you like this big gift? If you like it, then take good care of it." Shen Yunfang had not suffered much during childbirth, so she was still in high spirits and able to joke with Li Hongjun.
"Do I even need to say it? She’s my daughter," he said with an inexplicable pride in his voice.
Shen Yunfang clicked her tongue a few times. It was good that her daughter was looked upon fondly, but seeing her husband’s smug expression, she couldn’t help but want to tease him. Why, when Pangpang was born, this proud father hadn’t been like this, eh? Maybe it was because Erpang was born right before his eyes that he felt an even more extraordinary bond.
Li Hongjun brought his daughter closer to his face again to marvel at her little red cheeks, which seemed to blossom as he watched, and then gently kissed her cheek with a smack.
"Alright, alright, don’t let Pangpang get jealous seeing this. Isn’t it time for you to go to work? Hurry up," Shen Yunfang said, feeling a toothache from the scene and decided it was time to shoo him away.
Li Hongjun didn’t move a bit, still holding his daughter and watching her with great delight, "I took some time off, you just had a baby, I need to be here to watch over you."
Shen Yunfang pouted, thinking to herself, it’s not me you’re staying for, but your daughter.
Ignoring the father-daughter duo, Shen Yunfang lay on the hospital bed, slowly closing her eyes to get some rest.
Although Li Hongjun didn’t want to let go of his daughter, he was always paying attention to his wife. Seeing her close her eyes and her breathing becoming deep and steady, he stood up, cradling his daughter in one arm while freeing the other to pull the blanket over his wife. He also bent down to kiss her and said softly in her ear, "You’ve worked hard, my dear!"
Shen Yunfang’s lips curved up slightly.
When Shen Yunfang woke up in the afternoon and made sure that everything was fine with her, she wrapped up herself and the baby and had Li Hongjun push them home on his bicycle.
Wang Daye had prepared the house early, the kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) was toasty warm in the April weather, and the chicken soup that had been stewing since noon was steaming. It was as if the scent of chicken soup permeated the air over half the residential area.
"Quick, get on the kang, cover up snugly with the blanket, now is the time when you can’t afford to catch a draft," Wang Daye said as she watched Shen Yunfang being tucked into the blanket so only her head was showing. Still not satisfied, she wrapped a headscarf she had prepared specially around Shen Yunfang’s head.
"Wang Daye, I don’t need this," Shen Yunfang protested. She had just taken the headscarf off upon entering the house, why put on another?
"How can you go without? This is not something to take lightly. If you don’t pay attention now and the wind gets to your head, you’ll regret it when you’re old and get headaches," said Wang Daye, a woman of experience. These were all lessons handed down from the older generations.
Li Hongjun, of course, took Wang Daye’s side, swatting his wife’s hand as she tried to cause trouble, saying, "Everything the elder says is for your good, just listen to her, don’t you dare take it off."
Shen Yunfang rolled her eyes in resignation. Last time, during her confinement, it was Li Hongjun who took care of her, and she didn’t wear a headscarf indoors then either, and she was fine, so why the fuss this time?
However, she couldn’t argue with Wang Daye, so she just continued to wrap up. Henceforth, she began the coddled life of being waited on hand and foot like a brooding hen.
The family didn’t keep chickens, but Li Hongjun somehow managed to get a few hens and kept them in the yard, instructing Wang Daye to slaughter one every few days to stew soup for Shen Yunfang.
But Shen Yunfang simply didn’t have the constitution to produce breast milk, no matter how much soup she drank, she just didn’t lactate. She was truly frustrated.
Li Hongjun couldn’t take extended leave to stay home and care for his wife and child, so he went back to work on the third day. From then on, Wang Daye officially took over the duties of looking after Shen Yunfang’s confinement.
Wang Daye stuck to the old ways of caring for the child, but she was very clear about her role: she was there to help, not to hinder. When it came to caring for the postpartum woman and the child, she would consult with Shen Yunfang and go along with whichever opinion won over. Of course, in the end, it was mostly Shen Yunfang who persuaded her to do things her way.
Certainly, Shen Yunfang couldn’t boss Wang Daye around as she did Li Hongjun, given the elder’s age. Thus, her daytime chores were limited to cooking, while she saved up laundry, such as the baby’s diapers and her clothes, for Li Hongjun to wash when he got home from work. Taxue also resumed her old job of dealing with the chamber pot.
Wang Daye complained several times, arguing that despite her age, she was strong and could handle the chores, wondering why they had to wait for Li Hongjun to return home tired from work to do the washing. However, Shen Yunfang was adamant, and eventually, Wang Daye had no choice but to relent.
As for little Pangpang, the arrival of his sister saw him heartlessly sent off early to kindergarten to ’experience life.’
