Chapter Seven: First-time Parents
"Brother Xiao Wu, your mom is really nice. Now we have real family, you've got a dad who cares about you, a mom who's a bit biased, and a big family of siblings."
"Yeah, I'm pretty happy about it. And I snagged a third-generation military, high-ranking wife. Became a dad to a chubby son at 18, doesn't that make me a winner in life?"
"Haha... you're killing me, you really are a winner in life. Tell me, what's your plan next, winner in life?"
"...White rice and braised pork. You had no idea how that meal of coarse grains got stuck in my throat earlier, my neck couldn't even straighten out, I still feel like it's stuck there."
Zhang Guoqing joked as he quickly got out of bed to get dressed. If he really had to stay in bed waiting for his mom to serve him, he feared he'd get struck by lightning. Maybe the Zhang Guoqing from before would have taken it for granted, but he couldn't do it now. With such a loving mom, all he wanted was to be a good son for the rest of his life.
Seeing that his mom wasn't coming in immediately, he quickly kissed his wife. Hmm, looking at the young Zhou Jiao, why did it feel like going back to when they first met?
Zhou Jiao turned her head away, speechless, looking at Zhang Guoqing. She hadn't even washed her face since arriving here, her whole body felt sticky with sweat and smelled like blood. Even the blankets and underwear she wore were from her original body. When could she finally clean herself up?
Glancing at her son beside her, oh dear, where did these old clothes come from, would they even be disinfected? And those ragged cloth strips, were they diapers?
Zhang Guoqing saw Zhou Jiao frowning and sniffing around, pitifully staring at their son and knew what was on her mind. But what could he do? If the accident hadn't happened, his wife and son would be receiving the highest level of care in a private hospital, using the safest and highest-grade supplies, with the best nationwide postpartum nurses and excellent child experts monitoring them.
It wouldn't be like now, where he couldn't even cook a pot of tonic soup for Zhou Jiao. Even during this postpartum period, his mom could at most slaughter an old hen to make soup for her to drink for a week.
After spreading the good news, they'd eat the chickens and eggs, pig trotters sent by her family. If some of them were too poor to send any, like second sister-in-law, well, then a bowl of rice porridge with a little brown sugar was already a blessing from heaven.
Tomorrow he apparently needed to find a way to get some fish, pig trotters, and brown sugar to nourish her. Thinking of the Ah Jiao tonic, birds' nest, and postpartum supplements he had collected, the nursing soups, and those milk powders and baby products, Zhang Guoqing's heart ached, showing a pained smile.
Thinking about it, his eyes darkened slightly, vowing never to give anyone else another chance. If he hadn't cared about that bit of blood relation in the beginning, he would have dealt with them long ago, not given them the chance to cause his wife and son to suffer.
"Honey, hang in there, and make sure you recover well during this postpartum period. Later, I'll ask Mom if we can use a hot towel to wipe you down again, but as for your hair, I really know that's definitely not okay.
Tomorrow I'll find a way to get some supplements from the city for you. There are some things I'll tell you when there's no one around, now's not convenient." Zhang Guoqing heard footsteps approaching, quickly blinking an eye to signal Zhou Jiao.
Zhang Guoqing quickly walked to the small living room to greet Mother Zhang: "Mom, I'll take care of it myself, you've been busy all day and haven't rested yet, quickly lean back and take a break. You don't need to stay up at night, I'll be here, if there's anything important, you can tell me and we'll both remember it together."
Mother Zhang looked at her youngest son with relief. Only Xiao Wu knew she hadn't stopped all day, and it was this son who was close to her heart. The eldest son was a silent type, just working foolishly all day. Filial as he was, he wouldn't say more than a few words all day. The second son, on the other hand, went off to sleep after dinner, not even checking if his mom had gone to bed yet.
"No, you're young, how could you take good care of a child? Mom won't feel at ease. At night, I'll be on alert. After you eat, help Jiao Jiao warm compress her breasts with hot water, massage hard, if it hurts, she has to bear it. Once the milk flows, wake your son to eat, you try first, I'll go see if your dad's asleep."
"Understood, if something comes up, I'll call you. And the child's name, ask if Dad has any taboos, maybe let Dad think of a few, we'll choose when the time comes. Mom, hehe... we'll think of the nickname ourselves, I'm afraid Dad'll name him something like Gou Sheng or Gou Dan."
"Got it, I'll ask. Last time your dad said your nephews' names were chosen according to the family genealogy. He mentioned having your little uncle, a cultured man, take a look, we'll talk about it later. The full name can wait until the first birthday for the family registry. Oh, I forgot to tell you, your nickname was Gou Dan, haha..."
Zhang Dayou could hear his wife's laughter from afar. Laughing so loudly at night, was she trying to attract wolves or something? After a whole day, he felt exhausted. He really was getting old, not in good shape anymore.
"What is it, Mother of the children, that makes you so happy? Tell me and let me be happy with you. You haven't stopped all day, aren't you tired?"
"Nothing much, Xiao Wu asked me to check with you about the child's full name. He said he'll choose the nickname himself, afraid you'd name him Gou Dan or Gou Sheng. I told him he really is called Gou Dan, and you should have seen his silly face~"
"That kid, his grandpa and grandma have been calling him Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu since he learned to speak. Where did this nickname come from? Time flies, we're getting old."
"Indeed, the children are married now. As parents, we've done what we were supposed to do. After the separation, we won't need to work ourselves to the bone like when we were young. In the coming years, we'll slowly make money to help the eldest, with three sons it's tough for the eldest to marry them off just with his wife's help, the in-laws shouldn't have to assist too."
"Mm~ Don't worry, my grandsons are good kids. We'll find someone to help when the time comes. With his two uncles helping, I'm not concerned. Xiao Wu, I'm not worried about him either. He and his wife have a thick private stash, if anything happens, Jiao Jiao's grandpa can lend a hand. It's the second son that gives me no peace. The second son's wife is a troublemaker. As they keep having a few more kids, he's going to struggle to feed the family alone."
"With the second son wanting to work in the city, it doesn't work. The private money they had was probably squandered by the wife. They just fought a few days ago. I'm thinking about asking his uncle to help him work with the production team's pigs, it's easier than farming, and in busy times, there's no time to gossip."
"That would be good. The second couple working, and during leisure times doing some woodwork, after separation they'll build themselves a house, that would be enough to live comfortably."
"I originally worried most about Xiao Wu, never imagined he'd be as blessed as his grandfather said. And Zhou Jiao, don't be fooled by her young age, she understands a lot."
"She sure is, that kid is a Little Genius. You see, which 16-year-old girl isn't all about posturing and pride, but she comes with money and buys us a sewing machine we didn't have at home, she knows how to manage a household.
And don't you think for a second she just brought her dowry money. I heard Zhou Jiao owns a large courtyard house in Beijing, and her household registration is under it. Her grandfather rents it out, and the rent is deposited with her grandfather there.
Also, her dad's pension, it's officially hers, her grandfather didn't want to keep it, meant for her dowry. No matter how Old Sir Zhou wanted to swallow it, he couldn't. This was what the eldest's father-in-law said, he has a brother in that military district."
"Honey, does that mean the grandfather's family is doing well? Why doesn't she stay with them?"
"Who said they didn't think of bringing her back? It's all those village women gossiping. From what my brother said, it's Old Sir Zhou not letting go. He finds excuses like Jiao Jiao's mom not having time to care, and you know her mom's a mess. Plus, apparently, her grandma has heart problems. A few years ago, they had it going to bring her back to Beijing.
Then it fell through somehow. This time, for the wedding, it was Old Sir Zhou who had Jiao Jiao write a letter to her grandfather. I suspect he mentioned that Jiao Jiao and Xiao Wu had a marriage arrangement since they were little." Mr. Zhang finished with clear disdain for Old Sir Zhou, aware that everyone knows his intentions. Without Zhou Jiao, where would he benefit?
Mother Zhang wasn't a fool either. After thinking it through, she understood the advantages of Zhou Jiao not returning to the Lin Family. She quickly spoke to Mr. Zhang about what Zhou Jiao had mentioned. Now that even Mr. Zhang knew, Jiao Jiao should be aware of it too.
Mr. Zhang sighed upon hearing this, saying, "You stay out of it, our Xiao Wu is smart, just follow his lead. Pretend you know nothing, and don't mention it to outsiders.
If we need anything from the Lin Family, don't go through Zhou Jiao either, the blood ties are there, wait until Xiao Wu writes a letter and we hear back from the Lin Family, then we'll know. Besides, even getting a marriage certificate requires her grandfather's family's help.
Our Old Zhang Family is going to produce a remarkable person, hehe, quite the golden baby indeed."