"Brother Cheng, Brother Cheng! Pea, Pea's head..."
Today marks the fifth day since Han Cheng's son, Han Tong (also called Han Pea), was born.
Outside the window, in the cool shade cast by the bamboo forest, Han Cheng was squatting on the ground, holding a branch in his hand, sketching something on the earth. Beside him squatted the first carpenter of the Green Sparrow Tribe, Lame.
What Han Cheng was discussing with Lame was the cradle.
At first, Han Cheng had planned to make the cradle himself. He had started working on it.
However, his craftsmanship was poor, and woodworking was not his strong suit. After more than a day of work, the finished product resembled nothing more than a wooden frame tied together with two ropes, looking like a rough cot.
After inspecting it for a while, Han Cheng could no longer bear it. He took the shoddy cradle apart, which was crude and uncomfortable to touch.
He had no choice but to ask Lame for help.
With sharp eyes, the idle shaman quickly noticed the situation and approached, carrying a rabbit. He was the most eager to observe when Han Cheng worked on something new.
The new inventions introduced by Han Cheng account for a large part of the tribe’s current state.
Thirdly, since the God he believed in had never shown any interest in him, he had to follow the Divine Child closely to witness any miracles.
After several years, the shaman had been through many trials with Han Cheng, and he could proudly say he was the most experienced shaman in the Green Sparrow Tribe.
Thus, many things that would have surprised him in the past no longer had that effect, and sometimes, he would even complain.
After figuring out what Han Cheng wanted to make, the shaman pondered for a moment, then couldn't help but imitate Han Cheng by sniffing a little.
His imitation was not very successful because when Han Cheng made that motion, there was no snot, but for the shaman, a glimmer of moisture appeared under his nose—
As people get older, they can’t help but tear up or get a runny nose.
The shaman’s inner complaints about the cradle stemmed from the fact that babies in the tribe had never used a cradle and had grown up just fine.
To him, the idea of making a cradle seemed unnecessary.
Despite his complaints, the shaman could understand Han Cheng's feelings as a first-time father, even though Han Cheng’s feelings seemed to surpass those of other fathers in the tribe.
Therefore, the shaman didn't say anything. After all, this was Han Cheng’s child, and it was normal for this child to be slightly different from the others.
As the shaman silently complained to himself, a voice of urgency rang out from the house, and Bai Xue called out.
Having just explained the cradle's design to Lame and planning to discuss the materials, Han Cheng was suddenly startled. What happened to Pea?
Without a second thought, he sprang to his feet and rushed back to the room in just a few steps.
One can’t view the situation with normal logic regarding someone who has just had a child.
Han Cheng burst into the room and saw Bai Xue holding little Pea in her arms, looking like she was about to cry. One of her hands was supporting Pea's head, and she tilted her head constantly, glancing at it.
What was wrong with Pea's head?
Seeing this, Han Cheng's heart sank.
He asked urgently, rushing to her side and bending down to check Pea’s head.
His movements were swift and hurried at first, but as soon as his hand touched the spot where Bai Xue had placed hers, his touch naturally became gentle.
But when his hand touched that spot, Han Cheng was startled, as it felt like there was a swelling there.
Han Cheng quickly took little Pea from Bai Xue’s arms to check what was happening.
The tiny child was soft all over, and his neck couldn’t support his head. When looking at his head, Han Cheng had to support it with his hand. After a few days of practice, he was now able to hold the baby properly.
Han Cheng could see what was happening after lifting little Pea and supporting his head.
The right side of Little Pea’s head, toward the back, was noticeably tilted and somewhat flattened.
After being startled, Han Cheng’s heart calmed, though he also regretted forgetting about this issue.
Little Pea habitually tilted his head to the right when he lay down. If you tried to move his head to the other side, he would almost always cry.
So, Han Cheng and Bai Xue Mei had allowed him to tilt that way, and this was the result.
Han Cheng regretted forgetting that a child’s bones are soft and that staying in one position for a long time could cause the head to tilt.
Fortunately, since Little Pea was still young, his position could still be corrected if they corrected it in the future.
This was the drawback of being a new parent. There were always things they hadn’t considered, and they often panicked when something went wrong.
Han Cheng explained this to Bai Xue, and her anxiety finally eased.
Whether it’s primitive people or those who came later, the love of a mother never changes.
Of course, there are a few exceptions.
Little Pea was placed back on the prepared bed, and Han Cheng got some hemp cloth, folded it, and placed it under the right side of his head to tilt it to the left.
As soon as the cloth was placed, little Pea immediately resisted, wriggling his arms and legs, squinting his eyes, and opening his toothless mouth to cry.
Crying didn’t help at this point. Even if he cried more, Han Cheng wouldn’t remove the cloth. Otherwise, by the time he was a month old, his head would be tilted to his grandmother’s house.
It was a bit cruel. Just after naming him Han Tong and Han Pea, hoping he would grow into a tricky little "copper pea" who couldn’t be steamed, boiled, or squashed, his head had already started tending. It was a slap in the face that came quickly.
Though Bai Xue Mei didn’t want to see little Pea cry, she knew it was for his good. She learned from Han Cheng’s example and gently patted little Pea, lying on the bed, humming “Ao~ Ao~” in a comforting manner.
Han Cheng stayed in the room, which now smelled strongly of urine, then went back outside to discuss the cradle with Lame.
Before he had children, Han Cheng couldn’t stand to stay in a room filled with such smells for even a moment. But now, he had completely gotten used to it.
The cradle was very important—not just for his son but for the entire tribe's children.
Han Cheng decided to promote the cradle throughout the tribe once it was completed. This would significantly reduce the burden on the tribe women, who had to calm the babies and help free up more of their time for other productive tasks.