The ox cart arrived at the Lu Family, and there were quite a few people standing at the doorway. They were all aunties and elder ladies in good company with Xie Jinghao, even Lu Changhong’s old mother had come over with a cane, standing at the front were Liu Sanjin and Lu Changzhu anxiously looking at the ox cart as it drew closer.
Uncle Guai steadied the ox cart on arrival, and the waiting crowd quickly surrounded it.
"My dear grandchild, is this my dear grandchild, oh my, you look so good, all chubby and white. Jinghao must have had a good diet during pregnancy, so the child is well-nurtured," she said in a muffled voice, but between the lines, she seemed to mistakingly regard Xie Jinghao, who was pregnant, with special tenderness.
Lu Changzhu looked at her with a smile and said, "You’ve worked hard."
Shen Meng: "...."
The way this was said, anyone who didn’t know better might think her aged mother-in-law had birthed a young one!
Grandma Chang reached out and touched Xie Jinghao’s hand, it was warm.
"Oh my, Juying you think of everything! The bedding you brought is all thick. Jinghao shouldn’t catch a draft now."
"Absolutely, she has just given birth, we must take good care to prevent ’confinement sickness’. I’ve brought the bedding from Xiao Meng’s house. Old man, you’ll have to take them back for Xiao Meng later. We had no other choice, who else but Jinghao has such a sister-in-law to think of her!"
The other members of the Lu Family heard this but pretended not to, as if it was none of their business what this outsider said.
Lu Jiasheng gently said to the people congratulating his parents, "It’s a girl, I’m blessed with both a son and a daughter now."
Liu Sanjin and Lu Changzhu had both just been accepting congratulatory words from others, but upon hearing his words, the smiles on their faces instantly stiffened, both of them looking at the child on the cart, and also at Xie Jinghao who was about to alight the ox cart, their faces turned extremely unsightly, but given the many people around, they refrained from saying anything unpleasant.
Zhu Juying rolled her eyes and, together with Jin Ling, took a blanket and wrapped Xie Jinghao within it before escorting her into the house.
Shen Meng took out the wedding candy she bought earlier and let Lu Jiasheng distribute it, which made Liu Sanjin grind his teeth in anger.
Zhou Jiaojiao and Wu Xianglan seeing the smile on Lu Jiasheng’s face, both felt a sense of relief in their hearts. No matter whether the child was a son or a daughter, it was good as long as they were born safely. Seeing Lu Jiasheng’s current demeanor, it seemed he would no longer pursue the incident that occurred that day.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as they hoped, Lu Jiasheng handed out candies to everyone except the two of them.
When Lu Jiahe saw this, he also kept his distance. The third brother always seemed amiable, but once he started fighting, he was just like the eldest brother, beating people ruthlessly. He might as well escape as soon as possible!
While handing candy to Grandma Chang, Lu Jiasheng glanced at Lu Jiahe running towards the gate, glaring fiercely. He had no time to deal with him now; he would deal with him after he had settled his wife and child.
Shen Meng took care of things swiftly and hurried back home. Zhu Juying said Xiao Kai was sleeping at home; she only left for a while because she was watching the child sleep.
After so many days away from home, she missed the children and thought she needed to cook them a good meal tonight. With this in mind, she went to the kitchen first, and upon opening the cabinet, she was surprised and her mouth fell open. After all this time, almost nothing at home had been touched, it seemed Zhu Juying also scarcely dared to use anything from the house.
She closed the cabinet and went to the east side room. What she saw was quite concerning; the little one was covered with a thick quilt, sweating profusely.
The difference in childcare concepts between the two generations was fully displayed at this moment. She quickly threw the thick quilt aside, found a thin blanket on the kang bed, covered him with it, and wiped him down with Xiao Kai’s own towel.
The little one moved his mouth and turned over to continue sleeping, even opening his eyes. But this opening was concerning; his lips puckered, almost crying out.
"Mom, I want mom, Xiao Kai had a nightmare."
Shen Meng’s heart was melting as she gently patted his little bottom.
"Mommy’s back. You’re not dreaming, my sweet darling."
This woke Lu Mingkai up, as he wiggled his little bottom and climbed up, staring at Shen Meng for a moment before lunging into her arms.
"Mommy, wuuu... Xiao Kai missed you... Ah~"
"The drizzle has turned into a downpour. Look how wronged you feel. But isn’t Mommy back? Xiao Kai is a big brother now and even has a little sister. Aren’t you happy?"
Shen Meng bounced him up and down in her arms and then tilted her head to give his little cheek a kiss. She was truly smitten; this child was just too adorable. His teardrops fell freely, as if they cost nothing, leaving her utterly softhearted.
"I’m not happy. Don’t leave, Mommy, I don’t want a little sister. I want Mommy."
"Silly boy, it’s your third Aunt who gave birth. Are you going to sleep or not? If not, Mommy will take you to see your little sister. Tonight, Mommy will make you some delicious food, okay?"
"I’m not sleeping. Xiao Kai won’t sleep. I’ll stay up with Mommy."
Overjoyed, Shen Meng held his face and smacked it with kisses several times, before warming up some water to wash his face, rinse his mouth, and let him drink some warm water. Then she took him outside.
"Mommy, Xiao Kai has something to tell you, but you can’t tell anyone else, okay?"
"Alright, go ahead."
Xiao Kai leaned in close to Shen Meng’s ear and whispered, "Grandma Zhu’s cooking is not good. When the brothers and sisters were eating, they almost cried but said it tasted good. They were lying."
Shen Meng: "..."
Could it really taste that bad!!!
After playing at Xie Jinghao’s place for a while, she heard from Zhu Juying that their own family plot had been plowed for them, and the usual vegetables they grew were also planted in two patches, leaving the rest for her to decide when she got back.
Shen Meng had not expected that in the two days she spent in the county, all the work had been done for her at home. After thanking them for a good while, she took Xiao Kai back home. Just as they were leaving, Lu Jiasheng told her about his thoughts on dividing the family. Shen Meng was a little surprised but then thought that since Xie Jinghao almost lost his life this time, it might be good for them to live independently, especially since he had skills of his own.
That evening, after Xie Jinghao finished breastfeeding and had lulled Xiao Gang to sleep, Lu Jiasheng handed her all the money he had on him and the money in his bag.
"After deducting living expenses and your hospital fees, there’s forty-nine left. This is two months’ worth of wage earnings. Don’t worry, from now on, you’ll be the one managing our family’s money. In a couple of days, once you’ve regained more strength, I’ll tell the family we’re splitting off to live on our own. Whether we live in a mud brick house or a shack, it doesn’t matter. We’ll set out on our own. Just look at your elder sister-in-law; you know that managing your own life makes you more comfortable."
"Will it work? Will our parents agree?"
Dividing the family and living independently was certainly hard, but then the thought of a life without such conflict, her taking care of the two children; Jiasheng having skills – their life wouldn’t be too bad. As long as they had a place to live, they could surely make a good life for themselves.
"It’ll have to work. If I go out to work in the future, how could I rest easy with you and the kids staying with them? My parents have gotten muddled now, not thinking things through at all. Just look at your elder sister-in-law; she’s taking care of four kids, and look how well she’s managing on her own."
Speaking of Shen Meng, Xie Jinghao felt a surge of longing in her heart!