Duoxi: "The aunties said that pink looks best on baby girls, so we asked my older brother to take the sauce to Aunt Guo to exchange for pink fabric. Auntie, we'll show you the clothes when we finish them."

Yu Rujia herself wasn't even sure if the baby in her belly was a boy or a girl, but the little ones were already preparing things for their little sister. Had they taken such a big step?

Yu Rujia tentatively asked, "What if Auntie's baby is a boy?"

Hearing this from outside, Dorjee scurried in, his legs trembling, and said, "Mom, it's not a baby boy. I heard from my aunts that if you keep calling out 'sister' to your belly every day, it's definitely a baby girl."

Duole ran in following his older brother, nodding in agreement: "Yes, it must be my sister. We call her name so many times every day."

Well, the whole family is looking forward to their little sister, and Yu Rujia doesn't want to dampen their enthusiasm, so she'll let them be happy for a while.

If at worst, they really do have a son, then all the things that Duolu and the others prepared will come in handy.

Children under three years old have no sense of gender, so it's not a problem to raise a son as a daughter.

In this atmosphere, the baby began to move around when he was four or five months old. Duoshou learned prenatal education on his own and would read the newspaper to Yu Rujia at a fixed time every day.

The little guy specifically chose articles that were written in a more engaging way to read aloud, and sometimes the baby would actually react. I don't know if this reaction was instinctive or a response to hearing him read the article.

In short, when I saw the fetus moving more and more frequently, I chanted the mantra "longevity" even more enthusiastically.

It would be even better if you didn't say "Little sister, I'll read it to you again tomorrow" after each reading.

Amidst the pink attacks of Duoluduoxi and the constant calls of Duojiduole for her younger sister, Yu Rujia diagnosed that she was pregnant with another son.

That evening, Yu Rujia told Gao Shujing about it: "Shujing, it seems like we two are destined not to have a daughter."

She herself doesn't care whether she has a boy or a girl, but this pulse seems to be a little unfair to her brothers who are always thinking about their younger sister.

Gao Shujing gently stroked her belly, and said with some regret, "Is this another son?"

Yu Rujia nodded: "Most likely."

Gao Shujing sighed, "A son is fine. Whether he's a boy or a girl, he's our child, and I don't mind."

Yu Rujia: "You know that Duofu and the others have always wanted a little sister. Duolu and Duoxi have worked hard to make sauces for this, and they have exchanged a lot of pink fabrics for them. Now they have made more than a dozen sets of clothes."

"If I give birth to a boy, wouldn't that just be letting them get their hopes up for nothing?"

Gao Shujing: "It's alright. They're young and don't understand the difference between boys and girls so clearly. Just let them raise the newborn as a girl."

"Once the children are a little older and have had their fill of raising a little sister, we can tell them the child's real gender then."

Well, if even the biological father doesn't mind raising his son like a daughter, then Yu Rujia is even less likely to mind.

Those aren't pink clothes at all; they're clearly the older brothers' love. So many new clothes—that's something so many kids can only dream of.

Yu Rujia's pulse diagnosis was always very accurate. In December of 1975, she gave birth to her youngest son.

As soon as the baby was born, a bunch of little radishes perched on the window started chattering at Gao Shujing, asking if the newborn little sister was pretty, completely oblivious to the fact that Yu Rujia had given birth to a son.

Under these circumstances, Gao Shujing couldn't bring himself to say anything discouraging, so he didn't immediately correct their ideas.

Gao Shujing: "It looks beautiful. In a few days, when the baby grows a bit more, you will be able to see him."

Dorje threw himself at him, hugging his leg and pleading, "Dad, can I see my sister right now, just for a moment?"

Duole immediately hugged his father's leg, as if he wouldn't let go until his father let him see his sister: "Dad, I want to see my sister, now, just to see her."

The little guy is the youngest in the family. All his older brothers have seen newborn babies, but he's the only one who hasn't. I'm really curious!

Duolu said he had plenty of experience with newborn babies, and with his hands on his hips, he said smugly, "You guys don't understand, do you? Newborn babies are extremely weak and can't be exposed to the wind."

"The weather is so cold now, what if she gets cold? We'll have to wait a few days until the baby is feeling better before we can see her little sister."

Duoxi held her two younger brothers' hands and said with a smile, "For our sister's health, let's wait a few more days."

The midwife opened her mouth as if to say something, but before she could speak, Huang Guihua pulled her out.

Duofu chased after her and gave her a red envelope and six red eggs. He also gave six red eggs to Huang Guihua, saying, "Thank you both, aunties."

Huang Guihua asked, "Is the chicken soup ready? Your aunt will need some things after your Aunt Xu and Aunt Zhou finish cleaning up."

When Yu Rujia gave birth, several families who were close to her came to visit.

Huang Guihua went out to see the midwife off, while Xu Huiniang and Zhou Yanhong stayed inside cleaning up the soiled blankets and beds.

Duofu said earnestly, "It's simmering in the kitchen, so Auntie can have some whenever she wants."

From the moment Yu Rujia initiated the plan, they began preparing to kill a chicken. Duofu declared that they couldn't let down the family's great contributor, no matter who else was sacrificed.

As soon as Huang Guihua and the midwife stepped out of the Yu family's gate, the midwife asked the question she hadn't finished saying earlier: "Yu Qingqing clearly gave birth to a son, but they all call him 'sister.' Why didn't you let me explain it to them?"

Huang Guihua laughed and said, "Look at their family, they have a string of boys. They're a family that's lacking sons. What they lack is daughters."

“From the moment Rujia became pregnant, the whole family hoped it would be a daughter. The children diligently prepared a lot of gifts for their ‘little sister.’ If you were to tell them now that Rujia gave birth to a son, could they accept it?”

In order to learn more about their younger sister's preferences, the boys asked all the acquaintances in the neighborhood.

Almost everyone in Shangfen Brigade knew that the Yu family desperately wanted a daughter.

The midwife was from Shangfen Brigade, so she naturally knew about this. But does that conflict with telling them the child's true gender?

The midwife asked, puzzled, "They'll find out about this sooner or later, so what's the difference between telling them now and telling them later?"

Huang Guihua: "Rujia gave birth for an hour or two, and then there's so much stuff to pack up. The family is busy. If you tell them now that it's not a sister, it's a brother."

"The children must be so disappointed. We don't have time to comfort them now. Let's not make things worse today. We'll tell them after we've sorted things out."

Yu Rujia was young and healthy, and she also took a natural birth pill, so she gave birth to the child in just over an hour.