This was Lianhua's first pregnancy, and the labor was long. It took a whole day and night after her water broke before she successfully gave birth to a chubby baby girl.

Madam Qin held her granddaughter, looking her over from left to right, and said with a smile, "Her eyebrows are like lotus flowers, and her mouth is like my son's. She will be well-behaved in the future."

Xia's mother received a red envelope for helping with the delivery.

Xu Genqing hadn't slept for a day and a night. After the child was taken away, Lianhua ate something and fell asleep, and he lay down next to her and slept soundly.

Jiang Zhi and Pi Shi and the others came to check on the child quietly and then left.

Liu returned home a little over half a day later, carrying a bamboo cart and a bamboo basket: "Genqing's mother, I'm bringing you a bamboo cart. Genyou made it in his spare time."

The child is small now, so he can sleep in a basket first, and later he can use a bamboo cart.

Summers in Bavaria are hot and humid, so you can't hold your baby for too long, otherwise they'll get heat rash that's painful and itchy, and they'll cry incessantly.

When children are young, using tall bamboo baskets covered with fine gauze can prevent mosquitoes and other insects.

Once the child gets a little older, they can't live without the bamboo cart. It can be used to sit or lie down, and it's also convenient to take the child out for walks. It's truly a multi-purpose cart.

Now Xu Genyou makes bamboo carts in his spare time to give away. Although they are not as exquisite as those made by bamboo craftsmen, they are still practical and economical.

Qin accepted the gift with a smile: "Sister Liu is so thoughtful. I prepared the sleeping basket. I was just about to ask Genqing to go to town to buy a bamboo cart in a few days. With your family delivering it, I can save myself the trouble."

Looking at the sleeping baby, and seeing that no one else was around, Liu sighed, "Now that you're taking care of your grandchild, you need to learn to be more mature and sensible. Lianhua just gave birth and shouldn't be upset. You need to be considerate of her when it comes to food and drink, and don't argue with her."

Over the years, Qin Shi had been constantly fighting and bickering with her younger relatives over food, leaving a deep impression on the villagers. Moreover, there was the incident before the Lunar New Year when Qin Shi stole lotus money to go to the town market.

Normally it would be fine, but now that Lianhua has given birth and needs to rest during her postpartum period, Liu, the older sister-in-law, has to come and give her a few words of advice.

Qin's smile froze for a moment: "I know, Lotus will not be mistreated."

Liu went on and on about how to care for a new mother: "If Lianhua takes good care of herself, she can have a second child soon. Genqing is your only son, so you should have more children."

It's good if the first child is a daughter; it's like the flower blooms first and the fruit ripens later. If the second child is a son, then with an older sister to take care of things, things will be easier for you.

From now on, don't cause trouble for Lianhua. Just live a peaceful life with the children, help take care of your granddaughter, and you'll be able to earn their filial piety when you're old.

Having been a grandmother for over a decade, Liu was telling the truth and genuinely sharing her experience on how to be a good mother and mother-in-law with Qin.

The two sisters-in-law, who were nearly twenty years apart in age, were actually from two different generations, and Qin Shi had no choice but to accept her good intentions.

As the two were talking, the baby wet himself and started crying. Qin hurriedly changed the diaper.

Liu helped change the baby's diaper, taught Qin how to hold the baby, and woke Lianhua up to feed her quickly, even if there was no milk, the baby had to suckle.

Seeing that Qin didn't understand anything, Liu couldn't help but say, "Look at how clumsy you are! I don't know how you managed to support Genqing before!"

Qin smiled bitterly. She had long forgotten how she took care of the child back then; all she knew was that she was always hungry.

So I don't know how to hold a baby myself, but now the stove is set up to stew chicken and cook porridge for Lianhua, so she can eat anytime.

As for whether she would obediently be a grandmother in the future... Madam Qin thought of the hollow silver hairpin she kept by her pillow, and her heart was filled with warmth.

Jiang's wife said she would think it through slowly, that life is not easy, and that she should live for herself.

I'll give Li Laoshi a clear answer after I've thought it through!

That night, the entire Xu family village gathered together for another meeting.

Although there were fewer than two hundred people, the atmosphere was serious and solemn.

The refugees brought back to the village by Jiang Zhi were participating for the first time, and it was a novel experience for them.

In farming households, there are usually no major issues that require opening the ancestral hall. These are usually family matters such as illicit affairs between men and women or disrespect for elders. In such cases, the clan elders and village chief can make the decision. When should we ask everyone to speak?

Lianhua was the first woman to give birth after the village established a fund.

Jiangzhi had previously stipulated that any woman in the village, whether married or a new bride, would receive a chicken and ten catties of white rice for the first three months after giving birth. Now, this obligation must be fulfilled publicly.

The mosquito coil workshop used its accounts to buy chickens and rice, which were then collected by Xu Genqing.

In front of everyone, Jiang Zhi said with a smile, "This is the food Lotus uses to give birth. If you treat Lotus well, Lotus will give you a piece of chicken to eat."

Xu Genqing knew that Aunt Jiang was joking. He worked at the pharmacy and earned nearly one tael of silver a month, which went to Lianhua. He saved all the money except for buying meat, oil and cloth for his family.

Besides, they raise chickens at home, so they could easily feed Lianhua three.

However, in front of everyone, he honestly said, "This was given to Lianhua by the village, so naturally it's for Lianhua to eat alone. We don't dare to compete with her."

Upon hearing that he didn't fight for the chicken, the villagers burst into laughter. Someone shouted, "If you don't fight for it, your mother will. You'd better keep a close eye on her, or your wife will end up with nothing."

Xu Genqing quickly replied, "My mother treats Lianhua very well!"

"Haha, who would believe that! Everyone would side with their own mother at that time, and it's only good if Lotus says it's good!"

Li Laoshi felt uneasy, but these were things he couldn't explain to others. Sitting there, he was distracted, his mind wandering.

Sigh! Two days have passed, and I still don't know what Sister Qin has thought about it. If she has agreed, she should send me a reply.

Sigh! It's a good thing Sister Qin didn't come today; she would have been upset to hear those words!

In that moment, Li Laoshi, preoccupied with two conflicting thoughts, considered every possible way to say it.

The meeting continued, and after discussing the villagers' welfare, Jiang Zhi announced a second personnel change.

Having narrowly escaped a leak at the workshop, the eight-person team needs to be reorganized.

Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately perked up. In other villages, people would go to the village chief for everything, but in their own village, they had set up a special group.

Although there are many rules and regulations in daily life, forcing everyone to take on both hoes and pens, it is actually quite convenient to get things done. Just last year's collective house repair is enough to tell stories for generations.

Anyway, every time I go to the market, people will ask me about the house repairs as soon as they know I'm from Xujia Village.

They keep talking about how to fix it, so why are you so obedient?

But the villagers couldn't explain why they obeyed.

Everyone agreed to work, and before long, the house was built, and work points were accumulated. Then they worked again to pay off the work points.

Every household had debts, but no one was in a hurry or impatient, and no one came to collect the debts.

In this change, Jiang Zhi replaced Wu Yang, who was originally part of the eight-person group, with Wang Xiaoju, while the others remained in their original positions.

In this way, the division of labor among the eight people became clearer.

Wang Xiaoju and Xu Gensheng manage the mosquito coil workshop, Xu Genyou and Tian Gui are in charge of agriculture, Li Laoshi and Xia Xiucai are the administrative director and financial manager respectively, and Errui and Xiaoman are the backstage managers, responsible for socializing and handling affairs wherever needed.