Now, Li Chu and Ding Qiunan no longer need to go home for lunch.

The two children ate at the daycare, while they ate in the cafeteria. After eating, Ding Qiunan could even take a nap on Li Chu's bed in his clinic.

When we first sent our child to daycare, we would sneak over to check on him whenever we had free time. Now we don't need to anymore; he's gotten used to it. There are lots of other kids at daycare, and he's having a great time playing there.

New Year's Eve arrived quickly, and Li Chu and his wife picked up their child early in the afternoon and took him home.

There were basically no patients coming to the hospital before the New Year.

Not long after Li Qin got home, she brought Jia Yuan over. Their neighborhood office was also closed for the afternoon.

As soon as Li Qin arrived, she started helping Ding Qiunan prepare the meal.

There are many people today, and a lot to do.

"Sis, when is my brother-in-law coming back? They should be free this afternoon, right?" Li Chu sat on a recliner under the eaves like an old man, basking in the rare winter sun.

Li Qin was plucking chicken feathers at the kitchen doorway: "I don't know. They said there was a government meeting this afternoon when I left for work this morning."

Wang Ziwen has finally gotten what he wanted. His uncle helped him by promoting him one level, and he is now the deputy district head of Chengdong District and the director of the Grain Bureau.

Li Qin said that on the day she received the notification, Wang Ziwen sat alone at home and got completely drunk.

A deputy director-level official in his early forties has a very high chance of being promoted if he performs well.

Around 4 o'clock, Zhang Meng brought Aunt Wang over, and then helped pick up Ding's father and mother.

Uncle Wang, being a leader, will definitely be back late today.

"Xiao Chu, Junzi wrote to say that Qiaoyun is pregnant, but Qiaoyun is a bit weak. He asked if you could give his wife some nourishing supplements."

As soon as Aunt Wang entered the room, she asked Li Chu a question.

"Auntie, you're really going to be a grandma this time? Congratulations!"

Li Qin and Ding Qiunan also put down what they were holding and offered their congratulations.

Surprisingly, Aunt Wang did not show any particular excitement on her face.

Aunt Wang waved her hand dismissively: "What's there to congratulate? I already had my grandson and granddaughter a long time ago."

After saying that, Aunt Wang went into the living room, picked up Wen Hui who was playing on the blanket in the living room, and kissed her.

"Oh, Grandma missed you so much! Your parents are really something, insisting on sending you to daycare so I can't see you."

After saying that, she picked Wenxuan up and kissed him again.

The two children clung to Aunt Wang, refusing to let go, and kept calling her "Grandma, Grandma."

Aunt Wang was so happy she couldn't stop smiling.

Having watched them grow up, the two children had a deep bond with Aunt Wang.

"Hey, Xiao Chu, I just asked you a question, could you give Qiaoyun something to eat?"

"Auntie, it's definitely good to have supplements, but I need to see the person in person first. I can't just prescribe any medicine for pregnant women."

Aunt Wang was pulled to sit on the blanket by the two children. After listening to Li Chu's words, she nodded: "Okay, we'll see if your uncle can let Qiaoyun come back to take care of her pregnancy. When she first got pregnant, the doctor at the military hospital said that she should find a traditional Chinese medicine doctor to regulate her body. I'm still not very at ease with her there."

Li Chu thought of Li Qiaoyun's mother, whom he had met that day. Judging from her complexion, she was also very weak. It seemed to be hereditary, which explained why she was the only child in her family.

These days, as long as you're healthy, it's rare to see a family with only one child. Most families have at least two or more, and seven or eight is normal, as the country now encourages childbirth.

Wang Ziwen arrived around 5 o'clock, and Zhang Meng followed shortly after to bring Ding's parents back.

Ding's mother also brought over the braised pig's head, trotters, and offal that Li Chu had brought over a few days ago.

Now we just need to wait for Uncle Wang to come back so we can have dinner.

Hearing the firecrackers outside, Li Chu ran to the storeroom and took out the firecrackers he had bought. He strung several firecrackers together and threw them at the front gate to set them off.

There are no boys in the family this year. Wang Jiadong is in the army, and Ding Jianguo is away on a business trip. There's not even anyone to set off firecrackers.

The cannon fire outside hadn't even finished when Uncle Wang returned.

Zhang Meng didn't stay long after sending Uncle Wang back; his wife and children were waiting for him to return home.

My sister and brother-in-law, Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang are not going back tonight; they're staying at Li Chu's place.

Once everyone was present, Li Qin started cooking in the kitchen. The steamed dishes on the pot were almost ready, and Ding Qiunan and Li Chu busied themselves bringing the cold dishes to the table.

With Aunt Ding and Aunt Wang around, the two children don't have to worry about being unattended at all.

With so much delicious food, even the three dogs would be drooling. They sat in a row by the living room doorway, staring at the dining table, just waiting for someone to throw them some bones.

With the food and drinks served and the wine poured, everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together at Uncle Wang's suggestion, their faces beaming with happiness.

I don't know how we ended up talking about children.

The lively atmosphere at the dinner table cooled down a bit, as this year, excluding the two particularly young children, only Jia Yuan was left with her child.

Thinking about how this was the first time their child hadn't spent the Lunar New Year with them, Ding's mother and Li Qin's eyes welled up with tears.

Aunt Wang was also affected by their emotions. She thought of her three sons, none of whom were by her side during the New Year, and her face also turned pale.

Jia Yuan was sitting there with tears in her eyes because no one at home was playing with her this year.

There were only two little ones, sitting in Aunt Ding's and Aunt Wang's laps, constantly saying things that were hard to understand, and pointing at the food on the table, wanting to eat something delicious.

At this moment, Uncle Wang picked up his wine glass and said, "Alright, there's no need to be sad. Whether it's Jiadong, Jianguo, or the three of us, although they couldn't be home for the New Year, the children all have a bright future ahead of them."

As parents, we should be happy for our children. They've grown up, and we can't keep them by our side forever.

Come on, everyone, let's all have a toast and wish the children all the best for the future. That includes Jia Yuan, Wen Xuan, and Wen Hui, of course.

Hobby

The atmosphere at the dinner table gradually became lively again, and the two little ones' innocent and childlike words made the adults laugh.

The meal lasted for more than two hours. After the table was cleaned up, Li Chu brought over the kneaded dough and the prepared dumpling filling.

After the two children finished eating, they were so sleepy that they could barely keep their eyes open. Ding Qiunan put cotton wool in their ears and put them on the bed in the bedroom. They fell asleep in no time.

Tonight, Mr. and Mrs. Ding will sleep in the bedroom with the two children, while the older sister and brother-in-law will stay in the east wing with Jia Yuan, and Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang will stay in the west wing.

As for Li Chu and Ding Qiunan sleeping on the small bed in the study, Ding Qiunan always holds Li Chu tightly when she sleeps, regardless of whether it's hot or cold, so the small bed is big enough for both of them.

After wrapping the dumplings, Li Qin cooked a few for each person, and the rest would be eaten the next morning.

After everything was settled and tidied up, the new year had arrived.

Li Chu led his niece Jia Yuan to set off a few firecrackers at the entrance of the courtyard before everyone went to rest.

Chapter 189 Lively