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"Phew~ truly three little ancestors," Yan Jinsu smiled warmly, kissing each child gently on the forehead.
As long as the little treasures don’t mind the new bed, that would be really great.
Aside from being a bit crybaby-ish, they are actually quite easy to take care of. [I feel like a real mother now.]
After Yan Jinsu soothed the three little buns to sleep, Wang Chuni had already hastily eaten her dinner earlier and ca over to replace Yan Jinsu, so she could go out and join the family for the reunion dinner.
When it was said that Wang Chuni had returned, Aunt Wang had also co to help these past two days, knowing that Yan Jinsu had brought people back, Aunt Wang even ca over to boil hot water in the morning.
But she went back as soon as it was ti to cook lunch, thinking that the family had just co back and would definitely want to be together; she missed her daughter, but not so much that she couldn’t wait a little longer.
Yan Jinsu was aware of this, and after dining with the family, she went back to her room to swap with Wang Chuni, advising her to go ho for the family reunion tonight and co back tomorrow morning.
With Yi’s wife helping out tonight, and several older children taking care of Xiaojiu and Xiao Shi in the front yard, Yan Jinsu only needed to look after the three little buns.
Wang Chuni was not proud, and happily nodded her head all the while, then went to the front yard to tell her godmother Zhou Xiuhua, and only then did she take the New Year’s gifts Zhou Xiuhua had given her to take ho, and walked ho in the dark.
Because Yi’s wife had taken the children back to her own parents’ house, Yan Jinsu didn’t really have the heart to ask her to stay and help, it was more about comforting the young girl Wang Chuni.
Before leaving, Yan Jinsu also stuffed her a big red envelope, on top of her previous salary and the New Year’s bonus. This was an extra bonus that Yan Jinsu gave for the careful attention Wang Chuni had given to the children.
After sending Wang Chuni away, fortunately, Sister Tao and Sister Gui were still there.
And the kang bed in her room was indeed very large, able to accommodate five children plus her with plenty of room to spare, so Sister Tao and Sister Gui were also arranged to sleep there.
Yan Jinsu slept in the middle while Xiaojiu and Xiao Shi were taken care of by Sister Tao and Sister Gui, respectively.
She just needed to take good care of the three little buns.
Fortunately, although the three little buns were crybabies, ever since solid food was added during the day, they only needed to drink milk once before going to sleep at night.
Yan Jinsu had originally planned to wean them off breast milk after the New Year, given that they were already seven months old. But with the sudden decision to go back to her hotown, they had to take the train and adapt to a new environnt, she was afraid they wouldn’t cope well, so she didn’t wean them off completely.
Now seeing that the three little buns were adapting well, Yan Jinsu felt that once she was done with the Lantern Festival arrangents, she would wean them off breast milk for good.
In fact, from the ti they were five months old, their grandma Zhou Xiuhua had specially sun-dried so coix seeds, Euryale seeds, and sweet potatoes to grind into fine flour, and after adding solids, they would only need breast milk when it was ti to sleep.
Because of the reduced frequency of breastfeeding, Yan Jinsu’s milk supply was gradually decreasing.
It was only Xiao Shisan who still needed to find Mommy’s milk in order to sleep soundly each ti; Xiao Shiyi and Xiao Shier had already adapted to formula.
They could drink it more fully and it tasted better. Yet, Xiao Shisan was the most delicate one, always needing Yan Jinsu to cuddle him closely for him to really sleep soundly.
The next day, Xie Tiesheng invited his nephew, the village chief Xie Jingqiang, to co over, and the family calculated the number of banquet tables to be set up for tomorrow, then prepared the at and vegetables accordingly.
These purchases were to be made by Xie Jingwei and the newly returned Xie Jinggang, with Zhou Zhenghui conveniently accompanying them, getting the chance to practice being an assistant.
He and Xiaozi had decided to have their wedding banquet on the Lantern Festival, as they had already registered their marriage early. Xie Tiesheng and his wife were not the kind to show off; they were practical rural people who believed true happiness for their child was what mattered.
They simply asked Zhou Zhenghui to invite so family mbers over for a warm gathering, to act as witnesses.
Zhou Zhenghui then invited his third uncle and his wife, and Zhou Yilang and his wife over. As there was still so ti until the Lantern Festival, they would co over two days in advance. After all, with Zhou Yilang and his wife being sowhat local, having them as the witnesses would give the villagers of Qingfeng Village a stronger sense of reality.
Yan Jinsu had no interest in how to do the shopping herself, so she gave five hundred yuan to her elder brother-in-law to use first.
Additionally, since last year, most of the ticket system in the region had been abolished, leaving only the industrial coupons still in use.
Other necessities, such as food and daily items, could now be purchased with money alone. This greatly facilitated everyone’s shopping experience.
Yan Jinsu entrusted the children to Sister Tao and Sister Gui, and with Wang Chuni accompanying her, she simply took the iron thorn and told Mr. Xie and grandma that she wanted to take a walk up the mountain.
Zhou Xiuhua was just about to stop her but was imdiately silenced by a glare from Xie Tiesheng.
"Third Son’s Wife, be careful on the mountain, and don’t push yourself too hard," Mr. Xie turned his head and kindly cautioned Yan Jinsu with a smile.
"Mhm, Dad, Mom, don’t worry, I’ll definitely be careful," Yan Jinsu replied with a smile, seeing the genuine concern on her mother-in-law’s face, she helplessly explained:
"Mom, don’t worry, I’ve already recovered. You can’t expect to lie in bed for the rest of my life to convalesce, right? Rest assured, if I really can’t manage, I won’t push myself."
"Alright, alright, you said it yourself, don’t overexert. We really have enough vegetables ordered for everyone at ho, so co down from the mountain quickly."
Knowing that she couldn’t stop her no matter what, Zhou Xiuhua just nagged a bit and waved her hand to let Yan Jinsu freely go about her activity.
Seeing Yan Jinsu effortlessly holding the iron thorn weighing over ten pounds along with a bamboo basket she had prepared on her back, what else could Zhou Xiuhua say?
"Wifey, you might as well accompany the Third Son’s Wife. Didn’t you see, Third Son said sothing and then ran off; Ni is upset. Letting her blow off so steam will help dissipate her anger faster."
Xie Tiesheng, having given up smoking his water pipe and now without anything to occupy his hands, could only pat his spouse’s shoulder and explain.
"Do you think I am you, old man? Don’t I know it? I’m just worried that the little girl’s body can’t take it! Ah, she almost had a severe hemorrhage..."
Zhou Xiuhua, being a woman, certainly understood how serious it was for childbirth to encounter such an issue—it was like a brush with death. Just thinking about it made her heart seize with fear.
At that ti, it truly distressed all their relatives.
If there had been any other choice, Zhou Xiuhua would have considered having Ni undergo sterilization. But wouldn’t the sterilization also involve an abdominal operation?
Just thinking about surgery, Zhou Xiuhua instinctively rejected the idea.
"Alright, stop overthinking. With that concern, you might as well think about what to prepare for tonight’s al to entertain your sisters-in-law."
"Oh, right! I haven’t even gone to tell those old friends yet, no, I can’t leave. The kids like Shiyi have just adapted to a new environnt, I can’t just go away!" especially since Ni had run up the mountain again.
Thinking of this, Zhou Xiuhua called out towards the kitchen: "Cai Xia, Cai Xia, co here—"
Compared to her eldest daughter-in-law, Zhou Xiuhua felt that her fourth daughter-in-law, Cai Xia, was better at handling people. For notifying others about sothing, she was more assured leaving it to Cai Xia.
And Xie Tiesheng, seeing his spouse shifting her worries elsewhere, continued on back to the main room with a smile in his old eyes.
There was still a room full of elders waiting for him to attend to.
Zhou Xiuhua called Lin Cai Xia over and while giving her instructions, she also returned to the main room, taking out a large bamboo basket from inside the room, which had been prepared the night before as a New Year’s gift for the sisters-in-law who ca to help.
Nowadays, she wasn’t often in the village throughout the year, and her bonding with these old friends in the village surely wasn’t as deep as before. Asking them over to help now, it was better to be more polite, so everyone would save face.
After all, they say no one minds a generous gift~~
Note: In Ranran’s hotown, barley and Euryale seeds are ground into fine flour, which can be eaten by infants around four or five months old. When starting to eat it for the first ti, it can be made thinner and then gradually thickened into a paste.
This is very good for warming and nourishing an infant’s stomach and intestines.
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