Chapter 78 Secret Recipe: Anything Can Be Found in Dreams.

The new female relative next door, Zhong Li, has a small oval face, but it's a bit sunken and her features aren't very defined, making her look somewhat like a flat fish. She has fair skin and is considered quite attractive among the female relatives, but she's a little thin.

She has a small face, thin eyelids, thin lips, and even thin skin. You can see clear veins on her forehead, and there are some fine freckles on her cheeks. If you don't know her well, you would think she is a thin, sickly, oval-faced beauty just by looking at her photos.

When people see her in real life, many will think of Feng Lazi from Dream of the Red Chamber.

She speaks with a lot of energy, which inexplicably makes her seem very imposing.

Zhong Li has three children: a ten-year-old daughter, an eight-year-old daughter, and a six-year-old son. Previously, the couple had been living in a small one-bedroom apartment. The daughters slept in the bedroom, while she and her husband slept in the living room with their son. The apartment did not have a bathroom, so they had to go downstairs to use the public toilet.

Zhong Li had been hoping for her husband to get a promotion so they could move to a bigger house. But just when she had given up and was about to change careers, they unexpectedly moved into a new house. The family moved into a two-bedroom apartment. Although the apartment wasn't much bigger, only twenty square meters more, it had a separate bathroom, and Zhong Li was very satisfied.

After moving, Zhong Li used a cabinet to partition the master bedroom, dividing the spacious master bedroom and balcony into three rooms of different sizes. Each of her three children now has their own room, while she and her husband share a smaller bedroom. This is a common choice for many families with multiple children: the children share a larger room with a partition, while the couple shares a smaller room.

After the whole family had their own independent space, Zhong Li walked with a confident stride. She even piled up a row of honeycomb briquettes under the living room window and covered them with a cover, making the most of the space without affecting the neighbors' passage.

Zhong Li is a bit of a chatterbox and loves to strike up conversations with people. Whenever she sees someone passing by, she'll strike up a chat with them. She's very good at making small talk. If there are no outsiders around, she'll chat with her two daughters. When the three of them talk together, no one can get a word in edgewise, as if they're talking at triple speed.

The other two men in the house didn't dare to say a word.

Whenever Qin Xiangxiang passed by Zhong Li's house, Zhong Li would grab her and start a tirade about family matters, saying things like whose mother-in-law was arguing with her daughter-in-law again, whose child stole money from home to buy snacks and got beaten, or whose child took money from their parents to buy soy sauce, secretly spent the money, and then urinated into the soy sauce bottle to pretend it was soy sauce and brought it home.

Qin Xiangxiang sometimes found it amusing to listen to Zhong Li's chatter, but listening to Zhong Li's rapid-fire speech made her head buzz, and Qin Xiangxiang felt exhausted for her.

Qin Xiangxiang's belly is getting big, and she will give birth in a little over a month. She gets tired easily and can't stand for long. Every day she goes downstairs for a short walk and then goes home to lie down. If Zhong Li catches her, she'll have to listen to some family gossip.

But after listening for two or three days, Qin Xiangxiang had had enough. How did Zhong Li know so many stories about naughty kids? After hearing her stories, Qin Xiangxiang went back and had a dream where she gave birth to three more brats. One of them peed in a vinegar bottle, another smeared dog poop all over his face with firecrackers, and the third insisted on wearing a fertilizer bag to school...

"Mom! I want to wear the shaking pants!" the three chubby little boys shouted in unison.

Qin Xiangxiang woke up from the nightmare in fright and needed to eat some fried yellow croaker and watch her son being supervised by his father to do ten pages of math problems to calm her nerves.

Before having a child, she didn't want to hear Zhong Li talk about her unruly child at all.

However, Zhong Li wouldn't let her off the hook, and would say a few words to Qin Xiangxiang every time she came home.

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Don't mention those naughty kids to me anymore. It's so annoying. They should all be doing math problems."

Zhong Li asked in surprise, "Don't you think this kind of child is quite energetic?"

Qin Xiangxiang yawned: "I don't think so."

She longed for the kind of soft, princess-like daughter from fairy tales, a little baby who would snuggle in her mother's arms, wanting to hear the story of the Ugly Duckling.

Zhong Li noticed her protruding belly and asked softly, "The baby in your belly...did your husband specify the gender?"

"His demands are useless; what is, is." Qin Xiang thought to herself, "I want a daughter, I want a girl."

Zhong Li whispered in her ear, "If your husband asks you to have a boy, I'll tell you a secret to guarantee a boy. I had two daughters before, and finally had a boy, all thanks to a secret recipe given by a folk doctor in the countryside."

Qin Xiangxiang was shocked: "What secret recipe?"

"It's what traditional Chinese medicine calls it. Morning is the time when Yang energy first rises, so you should try to accumulate Yang energy at this time, do you understand?"

Qin Xiangxiang: "...I don't quite understand."

"You've seen the Yin-Yang Bagua diagram, right? When Yang reaches its extreme, it becomes Yin, and when Yin reaches its extreme, it becomes Yang. And men are Yang, women are Yin, and when men and women unite, Yin and Yang are in harmony."

Qin Xiangxiang asked curiously, "Then how can I ensure I have a boy?"

The little drama queen is curious: is there really such a secret formula? If she did the opposite, would she be able to have a daughter?

"So your man really wants you to have more boys, right? Then I'll tell you the secret. Don't be surprised, it's true." Zhong Li said, straightening her face. "Tell your husband that if he can't have a boy, it's because his yang energy is insufficient. He needs to replenish his yang energy in the morning. To replenish yang energy, he needs to nourish yin and replenish yang. Every morning, he should drink a cup of his wife's morning urine. This way, he can nourish yin and replenish yang, harmonize yin and yang, and have a boy in one go."

Qin Xiangxiang: "?!"

"Don't disbelieve me, we use this kind of fertility secret formula in my hometown, it guarantees a boy."

"Don't think urine is dirty. Urine is also a collection of human essence. In the past, children's urine was used as a medicinal ingredient."

“It’s true.” Zhong Li was particularly eloquent, and her earnest manner made it easy for people to believe her.

Qin Xiangxiang: "But I want to have a daughter. Do I need to reduce the man's yang energy? How do I do that?"

Zhong Li was stunned.

"Should we pour a bucket of cold water over his head?"

When Li Jianzhi returned home, Qin Xiangxiang relayed Zhong Li's words to him, maliciously urging, "Do you want to try and see if it works? Zhong Li said she can guarantee you a son."

Li Jianzhi was speechless and choked with emotion.

Who are these new neighbors who moved in next door?

He looked down at the woman's face and found that his "good wife's" eyes were almost overflowing with mischief and teasing.

"What if I want to have a daughter?" Li Jianzhi turned to look at her with a mischievous grin. "If I have a son, I'll drink your urine in the morning, and if I have a daughter, you'll drink my urine at night? Is that what you call nourishing yin and yang?"

Qin Xiangxiang slapped him across the face and snorted coldly, "I think you're asking for a beating."

Li Jianzhi teased her on purpose: "Wife, why don't we give it a try? Maybe their secret recipe is real."

"Get out."

"So easily amused, yet you still try to amuse others? Foolish girl, think about it."

Qin Xiangxiang was furious, feeling that it was because the man in front of her was a bad person that she was unlucky enough not to be able to have a daughter.

“I think Zhong Li is right. You are just a little too masculine. Li Jianzhi, why don’t you learn to be a little more timid and gentle?”

Li Jianzhi: "..."

"Honey, let's stop arguing. After this baby is born, we won't have any more, whether it's a boy or a girl."

Li Jianzhi: "Anyway, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. If I don't have children and grandchildren, I will enjoy my blessings. Whether it is a boy or a girl is its own business. It can find an X or a Y to accompany it. It's not like we are forcing it."

Qin Xiangxiang: "I am not willing to give birth to a daughter. My maternal grandmother, my mother, and myself were all very beautiful when they were young. We have been going on for several generations. We can't let the line end with me."

Li Jianzhi hesitated, as if he wanted to speak, and Qin Xiangxiang stared at him: "What are you thinking about?"

Li Jianzhi: "Anything can happen in a dream."

Qin Xiangxiang: "???? Li Jianzhi, you bastard, you actually want me to dream!"

“Dreaming is the fastest way.” Li Jianzhi chuckled. “You want a daughter? Isn’t that easy? I’ll teach you a way to raise a daughter virtually. You can call me Dad now, and I’ll have another daughter named Xiangxiang.”

"Good boy, call me Daddy."

Qin Xiangxiang slapped him twice back. She sat on the bed and gently stroked her belly. Although she wanted a daughter, she knew that she couldn't force it. Anyway, she wouldn't have any more children after this one. Whether it was a boy or a girl, two unlucky sons would be two unlucky sons.

After all, the most important thing in life is to love yourself. Whether or not she has a daughter, Qin Xiangxiang wants to live a wonderful life with good food, good drink, and good sleep.

Li Jianzhi is right. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. If I don't have children and grandchildren, I will enjoy my blessings.

"Whether it's a boy or a girl, the most important thing is to teach them to love and cherish their mothers, to make them feel sorry for their mothers." Li Jianzhi was thirty-six or thirty-seven years old when he transmigrated. By the time he reached that age, his peers were all married and had children, their parents were getting old, and even his comrades-in-arms were starting to hold funerals for their parents. When you get old, it's inevitable to feel lonely when you go back to an empty room. You need someone to talk to. Children are not the most important thing. What you need is a companion who cares about you, whether male or female.

In the military, one of the things that many people feel guilty about is that they couldn't be by their parents' side during their final moments, and many people didn't get to see their parents one last time before they passed away.

By the time I received the news, my parents had already passed away, so I had to ask for leave to go back for their funeral.

Li Jianzhi has seen many comrades-in-arms suffer pain and regret when they cannot see their parents one last time. Some young officers who have just graduated also suddenly realize that their parents will die and they will not be able to accompany them for many more years. They cannot accept that they cannot be by their parents' side to see them one last time when they are dying. They are making a fuss about retiring from the army as soon as possible and going home to fulfill their filial duties.

Li Jianzhi himself is better off. Before he transmigrated, his mother had remarried and had a daughter. He would spend time with his mother during his vacations. Now, this Li Jianzhi from Northeast China has two other sons with his mother. He just needs to send money back to his mother every month.

In Li Jianzhi's view, having children is about bringing more "human touch" and youthful energy to the surroundings; whether the child is a boy or a girl doesn't matter. As people get older and their parents die, their past kinship networks collapse and break down, but children are the ones who rebuild and solidify those networks.

It takes immense courage for a person to live in this world without any relatives or friends. Most ordinary people need the emotional support of their family and loved ones.

Li Jianzhi considers himself an ordinary person. He needs a lover to accompany him for life, and he also needs children with blood ties as eternal family.

With a lover and relatives, even the mundane daily life is filled with happiness.

"You only want the child to feel sorry for his mother, but don't you feel sorry for his father?" Qin Xiangxiang touched her belly, feeling that the man in front of her was becoming more and more adept at sweet talk.

“It’s enough that you care about me.” Li Jianzhi grabbed her hand. “In a family, the mother is the bond that holds the whole family together. If you run away, our family will fall apart. I have to hold on to you with the children.”

Qin Xiangxiang: "..."

Is that why she didn't run away?