"We’ll aim for two children in three years!"
"Right, two children in three years!"
The two elders suddenly joined forces, and Yang Ming and Xiaoxiao exchanged glances, both feeling somewhat embarrassed and lowering their heads.
The elders were drinking more and getting louder, boasting more and more about their own children’s merits.
"My dear in-laws, my son is the scholar of ten villages’ awestruck radius, to have him as your son-in-law is certainly no loss."
"My daughter’s no slouch either. Don’t be fooled by our rough appearances; she’s a master of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. As your daughter-in-law, she’s more than qualified."
"My son will surely be successful in the future. He’s going to pursue official titles."
"My daughter’s already thriving. If it wasn’t for her joining your family, could you have enjoyed such prosperity?"
"My son is so handsome!"
"My daughter is also beautiful!"
Listening to the two elders boast about their children, Yang Ming and Xiaoxiao found it no different from childlike squabbling—no one’s children could ever be anything but perfect in their own parents’ eyes.
Yang Ming even leaned in to whisper in his wife’s ear, "Your father is right, you are beautiful."
"..." Could he not blatantly lie? She couldn’t even believe that herself.
Seeing that both parents had drunk too much, Xiaoxiao’s mother quickly intervened, "Old man, that’s enough, drink less."
"Today is a joyful day, it’s our first meetup with the in-laws, how can we not drink a bit?"
"..." These two old ones are probably not leaving the table anytime soon.
Seeing this, Xiaoxiao approached her mother, "Mom, Yang Ming and I are going to go rest in our room."
"Alright, you two head off. The doctor should be arriving soon."
Xiaoxiao and Yang Ming made a swift escape from the scene, leaving the two elders to their bragging contest, which probably wouldn’t escalate into anything serious, and took their chance to slip away.
Once they were back in their room, Yang Ming stated seriously, "Wife, we have to work hard and not let down our fathers’ hopes. We’ll aim for two children in three years."
"What am I, a pig?" Xiaoxiao pouted.
"A sow can have several piglets at once, you only have one at a time, how can you be compared to a pig?"
Her cheap husband explained the differences between her and a pig so earnestly, Xiaoxiao was so frustrated she could have spat blood, "No birth, no birth, no birth."
Yang Ming then touched his wife’s belly and said with a doting expression, "Last time we consummated our marriage, do you think there might already be a baby in here?"
Upon hearing this, Xiaoxiao’s mind buzzed. When was the last time, and was it during a safe period? Xiaoxiao started counting on her fingers.
"What are you counting?"
"I’m calculating whether our last consummation was during a safe period."
"What is a safe period?"
"Research in our place has deduced that there are a few days every month considered a safe period when one can’t get pregnant, and there are a few days known as the dangerous period when it’s easy to get pregnant."
"..." His wife’s place was that advanced in research, even knowing these things?
"So the last time, which period did we fall in?"
"Be quiet, I’m counting," said Xiaoxiao, continuing to fiddle with her fingers.
A moment later, Xiaoxiao visibly breathed a sigh of relief. It was a safe period.
Seeing his wife , Yang Ming furrowed his brow. Did she not want to have children? If she didn’t want to, then so be it. As long as she was happy, that’s what mattered. Her return was already more than he had hoped for.
"Husband, don’t get me wrong, I’m just too young right now. Research in our place has shown that it can be dangerous to have children at too young an age. Let me grow a little older, okay?"
"Sure, I’ll listen to you."