"It's only a six-month difference. He can come over now and stay with Xiang Dong. They're only six months apart."

“Okay, then let him stay.” Li Cuihua agreed.

"Xiangting, are you going to stay at your aunt's house? Do you want to study with your brother Zhiyuan and brother Xiangdong?"

Song Xiangting nodded happily. "Auntie, I'll be good."

Looking at the handsome little boy, Zhang Hongmei smiled and patted his head, then asked Lu Jing to take Song Xiangting to find Xiang Dong.

"Third Aunt, Su Chen should be giving birth by now. Why is there still no sign of labor?"

"Yes, Liuxu is due to give birth next month. The two of them will keep each other company, and the two babies can be sent over together in the future."

Zhang Hongmei wouldn't tell Li Cuihua that Er Lengzi might come back in the next couple of years; it wasn't decided yet, and it wouldn't be good to say it out loud.

The old lady didn't stay for dinner, but Xiangting stayed, and she went home alone.

The next morning, Zhang Hongmei received a call from Er Lengzi: "Hongmei, Su Chen gave birth early this morning, and it's a boy."

Neither of the two people on the other end of the phone showed much surprise. It was all the same old stuff, and being a boy, he really didn't have any heart.

"Brother Er Lengzi, I actually secretly prepared girls' clothes, hoping Su Chen would have a girl. I didn't expect it to be a boy again. What's wrong with our family? Why don't we have any girls?"

Er Lengzi also sighed, "Although I am a lonely person, I wish I had more people in my family, but I already have two sons. If the third child were a daughter, it would be perfect, but it's still a son."

"Hongmei, let me tell you, Su Chen said that Liuxu is most likely carrying a boy, so the things you prepared won't be needed."

"Who can argue with that?"

"Alright, a boy is fine too. Let's name him Liu Xiangbei."

Okay, I've called Great-Grandma and Third Aunt to share the good news.

Zhang Hongmei put down the phone and laughed. She didn't know what was going on. Why were there so many boys? She had heard Wang Ying and others gossip that many families had several daughters. If they couldn't have a son, they would keep having more. According to population statistics, there are still more girls than boys under the age of fifteen.

But when he got to the people around him, there wasn't a single girl among them, which was truly unbelievable.

During lunch, I told Hu Peizhen, Gu Chuanming, and Zhang Xingguo.

Xiang Dong, who was eating, smiled. "Auntie, does that mean I have a younger brother?"

"Yes, you have a younger brother. Your father said his name is Liu Xiangbei."

"Haha, this name sounds just like mine. Xiangting, we have a little brother now."

Song Xiangting nodded with a smile, "Yes, we have a younger brother now."

"Hongmei, the willow catkins will be growing soon, won't they?" Zhang Xingguo asked Zhang Hongmei after thinking for a moment.

"Well, they're only about a month apart, they should be giving birth next month."

The old lady came over in the afternoon. "Hehe, Er Lengzi's family is finally going to flourish."

"Yes, Brother Er Lengzi has three sons, which is quite a lot."

The old lady stayed, mainly because she couldn't bear to part with Xiao Wu; that child was the best at making her happy.

“Hongmei, do you think the children are all coming in clusters? After you gave birth to Zhenye and the others, Ping An, Zhiyu, Qingyang, Chongyu, and Qihong were all a year or two apart. Now that you have Xiaowu and the other two, a few more children are coming soon.”

"That's really how it is. I never really thought about it before, but our weddings were always close together."

"Yes, they already have nineteen children together. And Stone's wife is about to give birth, so that's twenty."

"That's right, there are two classes now." Zhang Hongmei laughed heartily. It really was true; Wang Ying had given birth again, making it twenty-one.

When Zhang Shouyi returned home and saw his wife so happy, he was quite puzzled.

"Honey, what's the good news? Can you cheer me up?"

"Yes, I was thinking about the children. Su Chen gave birth today, and it's a boy. This afternoon, Grandma said that after Liu Xu gives birth, there will be twenty. Actually, there's Zhao Yulun, Liu Zhengtai, and Wang Ying's baby, so there are twenty-three."

Zhang Shouyi laughed to the side, saying there weren't that many.

It was June 25th when I received a call from Shi Tou that evening. “Sister Hongmei, Liu Xu has given birth. It’s a boy, weighing seven pounds and eight ounces. His name is Liu Chaoyang.”

"Hehe, congratulations on becoming a father. You must be more careful now."

"Yes, I know, I'm a father now."

"Yes, that's right. You need to take good care of Liu Xu. Although Su Chen has finished her postpartum period, there are still many things you can't take care of when you're taking care of two mothers and a baby by yourself. You need to be careful."

"Okay, I understand. I've taken the next few days off."

"Okay, did you call my three main people?"

"Yes, I've made the call. I'll call Grandma right away to tell her the good news."

"Okay, go ahead and call. The old lady just went back yesterday. She'll be very happy to hear this news."

Zhang Hongmei put down the phone, looked at the chubby little boy who was staggering towards her, and smiled knowingly.

"Little Wu, why did you learn to walk so early?"

Xiao Wu grinned, revealing four teeth, and yelled "Ahhh!" at his mother.

"Alright, alright, you should go back to your brothers."

Another month passed, and Zhenye and the others were also on vacation. The four of them didn't wait for the results and went directly to Shanghai by plane, where Liu Jingze took them.

“Brother Zhang, the children have really grown up, and we have less and less time to spend with them.”

"Yes, they've grown up. You still have Xiao Wu and the other two."

“That’s different,” Zhang Hongmei said with a sigh.

"Hehe. What's the difference? The four of them even want to study in the US."

"Hmm, Zhenye told me that it must be Annie and Daniel who want the four of them to go, right?"

"It should be. Before they left last time, Annie specifically talked to me about this issue."

"Let them go if they want. It's good for them to see the world."

"I'll have Zhao Qingyu and the other nine come along. Their foreign language skills are all pretty good now, and we'll have someone tutor them for the next two years. There shouldn't be any problems."

"Are they allowed to? Kong Mingde's three family members are fine, but what about Zhao Changlong and He Chuanyong's positions? Are their families allowed to travel abroad?"

"Yes, don't worry, I've arranged everything."

"Hehe, quite a few went this time, thirteen in total."

"Liu Chongyu also went there."

"Chongyu has no problem with his education and knowledge, and he's fine going abroad, but will the old lady agree?"

"This was agreed to by Liu Jingze, and I think the old man is aware of it."

"Oh, Brother Zhang, should we send Ping An and the others?"