Chapter 87

For the first three days after Zhuangzhuang was born, he was very well-behaved. Except when he was hungry or needed to poop, he would only babble softly and never cry loudly. Chen Qing once thought he was a particularly well-behaved child. However, he did not expect that after three days, Zhuangzhuang would start crying endlessly.

To make it easier to take care of the child, Grandma Sun also moved to another room in their house.

Zhuangzhuang cries so much that he cries for almost six out of twelve hours, especially at night when he cries even more. Zhou Yuan has to take turns with Aunt Sun to take care of him, with Aunt Sun taking care of him for the first half of the night and Zhou Yuan taking care of him for the second half.

Chen Qing couldn't sleep well because the baby cried. The baby would start crying as soon as he touched the bed, so he was basically held to sleep. Zhou Yuan went from not knowing how to hold the baby at the beginning to being very skilled at it now.

That night, after Zhou Yuan switched shifts with Aunt Sun, Zhuangzhuang couldn't fall asleep no matter how he was coaxed. Zhou Yuan held the child and walked around the room, while Chen Qing sat up and asked, "Is the child uncomfortable? Why does he cry like this every night?"

Zhou Yuan also shook his head: "I'll take him to town tomorrow to see a doctor."

Chen Qing reached out his hand: "Zhou Yuan, let me hug him."

"But Mother said..."

Chen Qing felt like crying, so Zhou Yuan had no choice but to put the child in Chen Qing's arms. Remembering what Aunt Sun had said, Zhou Yuan didn't let Chen Qing exert any force, but just let the child lie on his chest.

The baby whimpered against Chen Qing's chest for a while before falling asleep peacefully. Zhou Yuan wanted to put the baby down so Chen Qing could get some sleep, but Chen Qing shook his head: "Let him sleep like this, you should rest for a while too."

"But you're not comfortable like this either."

Chen Qing shook his head: "It's okay, I can sleep like this."

The room finally quieted down. Zhou Yuan was so tired that he leaned against Chen Qing and fell asleep.

Zhou Yuan took the child to see a doctor in town. The doctor only said that the child was healthy, but probably just cried a lot.

Every night thereafter, the baby would sleep either on Chen Qing's chest or Zhou Yuan's chest, and before they knew it, it was time for the baby to turn one month old.

Li Xin would also come over to help during the day, because both Aunt Sun and Zhou Yuan were too tired at night. Aunt Sun would catch up on sleep during the day, and Zhou Yuan would have to arrange the baby's full moon banquet.

"Zhuangzhuang has such a bad temper." Li Xin had just finished feeding Zhuangzhuang. "He cries so much if someone who doesn't take care of him often touches him."

Qi Shuning had come to see Zhuangzhuang earlier and touched his face; the boy was crying his heart out.

"I don't know what's wrong. The doctor said the child is healthy, but just cries a lot." Chen Qing sighed. "An'an and Ningning have never been this fussy before, have they?"

“The child cries relatively little,” Li Xin said with a smile, then comforted Chen Qing, “It will get better as the child gets older.”

Zhuangzhuang's full moon celebration didn't involve many guests; only a few close families were invited, as well as Zhang Xu's family. Zhang Xu's wife made several clothes for Zhuangzhuang, all made of pure cotton.

At the full moon celebration, Qi Shuning also named Zhuangzhuang Zhou Yu. Originally, Qi Shuning had thought of many elegant names, but Zhou Yuan felt they were not suitable. Neither he nor Chen Qing were scholars, and they felt awkward about choosing elegant names for their child. Qi Shuning remembered what he had once said about how he and Chen Qing met again after many twists and turns, so she decided to use the character "Yu" instead.

After the full moon celebration, Chen Qing was out of confinement. Having not seen the sunshine for a long time, Chen Qing felt warm all over after being basked in the sun.

After the postpartum period, Zhuangzhuang became much stronger and stopped crying all night like he did during his confinement. So, Aunt Sun moved back home. She still farmed, but fortunately, Zhang Xu's family had helped her before, so she wasn't in a complete mess.

Having a child makes time fly by. Chen Qing only remembers that she finished her postpartum period during the hot summer. By the time she realized it, Qi Shuning had already left home, and Zhou Yuan asked Meng Qi to accompany him to the capital for the imperial examination.

However, the exam in the capital is in September, and the capital is too far from home. I'm afraid he won't be able to come back to celebrate An'an and Ningning's first birthday this time.

Chen Qing wanted to comfort Li Xin, but Li Xin didn't care: "As long as he does well on his exams, that's fine. I still find it scary when I think about it now. What if something had happened to him on his way back last year?"

"It's normal for him to care about you; if he didn't care about you, you should be criticizing him even more."

From the time Chen Qing finished his postpartum confinement, he and Li Xin often put the children together to play. An'an and Ningning would compete to see who could be stronger. When Zhuangzhuang was learning to roll over, they could already crawl. The two of them would often crawl to Zhuangzhuang's side and babble, drooling all over Zhuangzhuang's face.

When Li the blacksmith jokingly suggested arranging a marriage between their children, Li Xin immediately jumped in to object, saying that An'an, Ningning, and Zhuangzhuang were brothers, and there was no need for such a thing as a childhood betrothal. They would each have their own choices and pursuits in the future, and their future shouldn't be affected by an adult's joke. But if they were truly in love, that would be double the joy.

Chen Qing felt that what they said made a lot of sense. What worried him more was that if one of An'an or Ningning married into the family, he might do something wrong that would affect his relationship with Li Xin.

Zhuangzhuang is exactly like Zhou Yuan, and his appetite is much larger than An'an and Ningning's. The dairy goat they had back then wasn't enough for the three children, so Zhou Yuan bought another one, which was barely enough for the three children to drink.

“Look at Zhuangzhuang, with his long arms and legs, he’ll definitely grow tall.” Li Xin looked at Zhuangzhuang. When Chen Qing asked him earlier who Zhuangzhuang looked like, he couldn’t bring himself to say that he looked like Chen Qing. He was a spitting image of a mini Zhou Yuan.

As An'an and Ningning approached their first birthday, Chen Qing took the children to play at Li Xin's house. Since they had heated a kang (a traditional heated brick bed) at home, it was very warm, and Chen Qing could take off Zhuangzhuang's heavy outer clothes so he could relax for a while.

An'an and Ningning can't walk yet, but Zhuangzhuang has already learned to roll over. Right now, the three children are having a lot of fun playing on the big bed.

An'an and Ningning like Zhuangzhuang. They smile happily every time they see Chen Qing bring him. Zhuangzhuang doesn't like others touching him, but he doesn't get angry even when An'an and Ningning smear saliva on his face. He just wants to roll over and escape their clutches, but unfortunately he is too small and can only roll over.

On An'an Ningning's first birthday, Li Xin's uncle brought Niu Niu back. Li the blacksmith prepared many auspicious items for the children's first birthday celebration.

Books, pens and ink, longevity locks, money bags, snacks, etc.

Li Xin suddenly had the idea to grab a hammer, which earned her a scolding from Zhang Yin.

As the first birthday celebration began, Chen Qing held Zhuangzhuang and watched from the side, already planning in his mind to prepare the same things for Zhuangzhuang when he turned one.

Chen Qing made a big red coat for An'an and Ningning. Now the two brothers looked like two lucky dolls. Looking at all the fun things in front of them, they couldn't help but want to climb over and play.

When Uncle Zhang said the auspicious time had arrived, An'an and Ningning went to whatever interested them without needing any guidance.

An'an picked up a book and tore it up happily.

Ningning picked up a longevity lock, shook it and heard the sound of a small bell, but soon lost interest.

After they had played with everything, they got bored and climbed back to Li Xin's side.

Uncle Zhang's lips twitched, and he only said, "The children have seen all the wonders, and yet they can return to their true selves. They are rare and pure people."

Li Xin secretly thought to herself that he was indeed her uncle, able to smooth things over even like that.

After a brief silence, An'an and Ningning's eyes lit up when they saw Chen Qing in the crowd. They then stood up on their own, wobbling their chubby legs, and walked over to Chen Qing. Chen Qing quickly squatted down, and An'an and Ningning each grabbed one of Zhuangzhuang's arms.

Later, Li Xin said with a smile that Zhuangzhuang is a real man and will probably protect his two older brothers for the rest of his life.

As the year drew to a close, Qi Shuning returned with good news. Although he did not achieve the top rank in the imperial examination, he still ranked fifth in the second class, thus becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). This was truly a glorious achievement for his ancestors.

Li the blacksmith set up a banquet in the village, and everyone came to share in the joy.

However, once his examination results came out, he faced separation from Li Xin. He would have to continue studying and taking exams at the Hanlin Academy, and it would be three years before he could be granted an official position.

Qi Shuning was merely a scholar in the Hanlin Academy, with no real power and a low salary. It wouldn't be easy for Li Xin to take her two children with him to the capital.

So the couple began a three-year long-distance relationship.

Zhang Yin and Li the blacksmith were both worried. After all, it was the capital city. Who knew if something might happen to Qi Shuning if he stayed there? What would happen to Li Xin and the child if he became unruly?

Qi Shuning also considered it, saying that he would not go to the capital. Three years was too long, and he would miss too many children's growth in three years.

Li Xin lay awake all night thinking, and the next day his eyes were bloodshot. He looked at Qi Shuning and said, "You've studied for so many years, all for this opportunity. Go ahead, I'll stay home with the kids and wait for you to come back."

Qi Shuning burst into tears: "I don't want to be separated from you."

Li Xin stroked his hair: "When the child is older, I can bring the child to Beijing to find you. Go ahead."

Qi Shuning's eyes were still brimming with tears: "I don't want to go, I don't want to leave you and the child."

Li Xin had already softened, but seeing Qi Shuning's books on the table, he cupped Qi Shuning's face in his hands and said, "A real man shouldn't act impulsively."

"I……"

“You must keep a clean record in the capital. You know that my brother’s security escorts come to the capital from time to time. I will know your every move at home. If you really abandon your wife who has shared your hardships, I will take the children and beat the drum to appeal.”

"I won't." Qi Shuning leaned on Li Xin's shoulder, her tears wetting the clothes on Li Xin's shoulder.

After the New Year, Qi Shuning went to the capital, still with Zhou Yuan's escort team. Li Xin and the child saw him off to town. As Qi Shuning left, he looked back countless times, finally watching Li Xin and the child's figures become a small dot and then slowly become indistinct.

Three years is neither a long nor a short time. During these three years, Li Xin heard villagers gossip more than once, saying that Qi Shuning had long been blinded by the glitz and glamour of the capital and might have already married a rich young lady, and would no longer remember his wife from the mountain village.

After listening, Li Xin just smiled. It was rare for Chen Qing, who was usually introverted, to argue with the gossiping people while holding his child. He wasn't good at swearing, and after racking his brains, all he could say was that they should apologize to Li Xin.

After the argument started, Zhuangzhuang, whom Chen Qing was holding, shot off like an arrow and crashed headfirst into the man's stomach, causing a tumble.

"Don't you dare bully your little daddy!"