During the Lunar New Year holidays, we had a constant stream of guests, so we kept all the dogs tied up in the backyard during the day to prevent them from barking and scaring the children.

As soon as the Zhou family entered, Zhang Shuzhen, who was busy in the kitchen, saw them immediately and came out with a spatula in her hand.

"Oh, happy new year, in-laws!"

"Happy New Year, in-laws. Look at you, coming out in this freezing weather wearing only a padded jacket."

Wang Chunxiu held Zhang Shuzhen's hand; the two in-laws were exceptionally warm upon meeting.

"Come on, let's go inside and talk. What are you busy with? I'll help you later."

Sheng Liancheng, who was inside the house, also heard the commotion and hurriedly came out to greet them. He and Zhou Mingyuan chatted and laughed as they entered the house.

Upon entering the outer room, one could see various semi-finished products displayed in the kitchen, with steam rising from the edge of the pot lids as something was being stewed inside.

It's obvious at a glance that this is all prepared for today's full moon celebration; it's very lavish.

As soon as Wang Chunxiu entered the house, she took off her coat and went to help Zhang Shuzhen prepare the meal.

Since her in-laws were guests, Zhang Shuzhen couldn't possibly ask them to do chores. After much persuasion, she managed to get Wang Chunxiu to sit down and rest inside.

"Qinglan, is Xinhua asleep? Hurry up and bring him over so his grandparents can see him," Zhang Shuzhen called out to the west room.

"She just woke up and is nursing," Zhou Qinglan replied from the other room.

Sheng Xinhua usually gets up around seven o'clock in the morning, plays for two hours, and then goes to sleep.

I don't know what happened last night, but I got up and played for a while in the middle of the night, so I didn't wake up until nine o'clock.

After feeding the baby, Zhou Qinglan changed her clothes and put on a diaper before carrying the baby to the east room to talk to her parents.

Zhou Mingyuan and his wife were overjoyed to see their grandson.

"Oh my, it hasn't been that long since I last saw the child, and he has changed so much. He looks much better than he did seven days ago."

"Come, come, let Grandma connect you to the line. May our little Xinhua be safe, healthy, and live a long life."

Wang Chunxiu took out a white thread from her pocket, tied ten yuan to the end, and put it around the child's neck.

Hanging a thread is a custom usually performed by the maternal grandparents when they first meet their grandson; they hang a white thread on the child.

In some cases, the elders perform the ritual when the baby is 100 days old.

Most people would tie a few dollars under the white line.

Last time, Wang Chunxiu came when the baby was seven days old. At that time, the baby was too young and had not yet finished the postpartum period, so she was afraid of hurting the baby and did not hang up the net.

This time, Wang Chunxiu specially prepared white thread and money.

Little Xinhua had eaten his fill and slept well. With so many people entertaining him, he was so happy that he kicked his little feet and grabbed at things haphazardly.

Thankfully it was cold, and the sleeves of the cotton-padded jacket were long enough to cover the little hands. Otherwise, with the little guy's nimble hands, he might have accidentally scratched his own face.

Don't be fooled by a baby's soft, seemingly harmless nails; they are actually thin and sharp.

A baby's skin is so delicate that a scratch can leave a bloody welt and easily scar.

"Come here, let me hold the baby. Oh, my dear grandson, I've missed you so much."

Wang Chunxiu was so fond of Xiao Xinhua's cuteness that she took her grandson from her daughter, placed him on her lap, and stroked his little face with one arm.

"Oh my, look how chubby we are! We must weigh almost ten pounds! It's obvious your mother's milk is good; it's good for the baby."

The older generation always says that a new mother's milk is good, and that babies who drink it will grow fat and gain weight.

If someone's child is thin and wiry, people will say that the mother's milk is not good and won't help the child grow strong.

Actually, this is also related to the mother's diet. If the mother eats well and eats nutritious food, the breast milk will be high in nutrients, and the baby will definitely grow well.

If a new mother eats only salted vegetables and flatbread all day long, and can't even get a few eggs, she won't be able to get any nutritious food for herself, so how can she produce good breast milk to feed her baby?

It was a rare treat for Zhou Mingyuan and his wife to see their child, and they were overjoyed. Wang Chunxiu held the child, and Zhou Mingyuan also came over to play with the baby.

Of course, this man only liked the child for a short while. After playing with him for a bit and showing him his affection, Zhou Mingyuan went to talk and chat with Sheng Liancheng and Sheng Xiping.

Zhang Shuzhen asked Zhou Qinglan to sit with Wang Chunxiu in the east room and coax the child, while she went out and led her two daughters to quickly prepare the meal.

Around 10 o'clock, guests began to enter.

Wang Jiachuan, Zheng Xianyong, Lao Hu, Chen Shiliang, Gao Daqiang, and others—some brought their wives and children, while others were alone.

Everyone was carrying something in their hands, such as canned goods, malted milk powder, snacks, or cloth.

Wang Jianshe, Chen Weiguo, and others who were close to Sheng Xiping—those with wives brought their wives along, and those without wives were bachelors—all received some gifts.

Those with wives usually bring small clothes, tiger-head shoes, and tiger-head hats they made for their children, while those without wives usually bring food.

Since we're not going to come empty-handed, we should at least give something in return.

Tang Fengying brought her daughter to join in the fun and to see her younger brother.

Gao Haining and Tang Fengying's child is named Hongmei. She was born last July and is now a little over six months old. She can roll over but can't sit up very well yet.

Tang Fengying's breast milk wasn't very good, and there wasn't enough for the baby, so she started giving him millet porridge and steamed egg custard when he was about four months old.

Little Red Plum is a bit thin, but her big, bright eyes are quite pretty.

The six-month-old girl was very curious when she saw a baby even smaller than herself. She pointed at Xiao Xinhua and made "ah ah" sounds towards her mother.

No one else knew what Xiaohongmei was saying, so they comforted her, saying that this was her little brother, her aunt's little brother, and that they would play together from now on.

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