After exerting herself for two hours, He Tiantian felt a surge of heat rush out from her lower body.

Liu was holding a crumpled baby in her arms. The baby had been holding it in for a while, and its face was slightly red.

Ms. Liu quickly turned the baby over and patted him to clear the water from the baby's nose and mouth.

A loud cry broke the tranquility of the summer night. The baby cried so hard that Liu's eyes welled up with tears.

"That's wonderful, wonderful! It's a baby girl!" Liu happily wiped the child clean and wrapped her in the cloth that Sister Yulan had brought.

"What a beautiful little girl, Maruko's mother, she looks just like you." Sister-in-law Yulan happily held the child in her arms, looking at her from left to right, delighted no matter how she looked at her.

I feel even happier than when I held my own baby.

After a while, the placenta was delivered from He Tiantian's belly, and Sister-in-law Yulan cleaned it all up.

Because of sweating, He Tiantian was covered in sweat. Sister-in-law Yulan wiped her body down, changed her into clean clothes, and even combed her hair neatly.

Although He Tiantian was very tired, she didn't want to sleep at this moment.

After finishing everything in the house and cleaning it up, Cheng Ying brought the children in.

Children are very curious about babies and will gather around to stare at them.

The little one was full of curiosity on his first day in this world, looking around with wide-open eyes.

Sister-in-law Yulan fed He Tiantian some water, then suddenly seemed to remember something.

"By the way, Maruko's mom, you've already given birth, but what about the mother goat who hasn't given birth yet?" Now she can't drink goat milk.

He Tiantian also thought of this matter, "It seems that what that butcher Zhang said is not reliable. He said it would be born in ten days or so, but several months have passed."

He Tiantian was on the verge of tears; without goat milk, she would have to breastfeed.

"Don't rush, for now we can only let the baby lie in the mother's arms and suckle to see if there is milk." Liu put the baby in He Tiantian's arms.

He was a tiny, wrinkled little man, looking like a little old man.

"Mother, what's my little sister's name?" Zhao Wanzi asked curiously.

He Tiantian had already thought about the name, "How about Zhao Mingzhu?"

"Great, this name is wonderful, it's like a precious pearl in the palm of your hand!" Liu replied happily. The more she looked at this little pearl, the more she liked her. She wished she could treat her like her own granddaughter.

Although Cheng Ying looked happy, she couldn't help but feel a little sour inside.

She also longs to have a child with the sea, but when will that be possible? What if she doesn't conceive and her in-laws dislike her?

Because He Jiaxi had a baby girl, Liu was busy at He Tiantian's house until very late before going home.

Sister-in-law Yulan also went to bed early that day, as the little one needed to be fed every two hours. However, He Tiantian didn't have any breast milk, so she had to secretly buy infant formula from the mall.

Since we've already bought formula, we might as well buy a baby bottle too, it'll be more convenient that way.

Sister-in-law Yulan looked at the glass bottle in her hand, somewhat at a loss.

"Wanzi's mom, how do you use all these things you bought? I've never seen them before!" Sister-in-law Yulan felt like she had finally seen something new today, as there were many things Wanzi's mom had that she didn't know about.

And that white mat I'm lying on, how come it's so soft? It's like a cloud in the sky.

Later, Maruko's mother told her that it was made of cotton, which wasn't available here. But in the far north, ordinary people could afford it.

Sister-in-law Yulan was incredibly envious; she wished they had something as good as cotton here.

"Unscrew the lid and put water in, then scoop a spoonful of milk powder from the jar and mix it..." Under He Tiantian's step-by-step guidance, Xiao Mingzhu's milk powder was finally prepared.

By the early hours of the morning, everyone was exhausted.

The four children fell asleep without realizing it, and He Tiantian didn't even know when she had dozed off, as she didn't wake up all night.

The next day, when He Tiantian woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

Little Pearl lay quietly beside her, neither crying nor fussing. She would only move her mouth when she was hungry, indicating that she wanted milk.

Now that He Tiantian has given birth, Sister Yulan, who was originally planning to move away, is even less able to leave. Otherwise, there won't be anyone at home to help her during her postpartum period.

This is definitely not something we can rely on Lantern and Maruko, those two kids. They're lucky if they can even take care of themselves.

So Sister-in-law Yulan decided to postpone her return home for a month, and she told Liu Yonghe about it when he came home from work.

Liu Yonghe has moved into his newly built house; he no longer has to live in a haystack.

“Okay, that’s definitely the right thing to do. Maruko’s mother took such good care of our family before, so it’s only right that she stays for two more months.” Liu Yonghe quickly agreed.

He is the kind of person who always repays kindness.

"Oh, it's tough on you. Just make do with what you have at home for now, and I'll take good care of you when I get back." Sister-in-law Yulan held Liu Yonghe's hand, feeling sorry for him.

After suffering through the winter, her husband visibly lost weight.

“Just take care of yourself and the children. The mine has raised wages to 100 cash a month. Once we save enough money, we can eat meat every day,” Liu Yonghe said with a smile.

"Alright, you should go back now. Maruko's mother needs someone to take care of her," Liu Yonghe urged.

Sister-in-law Yulan responded and was about to go outside when a crackling sound of bamboo joints came from outside. It was quite loud in the quiet village.

Sister-in-law Yulan looked outside curiously. "What's going on? It's not a holiday, why are you burning bamboo joints?"

Liu Yonghe also came out. He slapped his forehead and said, "Oh right, today is Zhao Xiangbei's eldest son's wedding. Our family is going too. He and I used to get along quite well at the mine."

Upon hearing this, Sister-in-law Yulan nodded in agreement.

"How about we each contribute five coins?"

Five coins, that's quite a lot.

If it weren't for the honest and kind nature of Zhao Xiangbei and Tao Shi, Sister-in-law Yulan would never have wanted to associate with the Zhao family.

Besides, she's getting close to Maruko-chan now, so she can tell whether they're friends or foes.

Sister-in-law Yulan gave Liu Yonghe five coins, and then hurried back to He Tiantian's house.

He Tiantian was still a little weak and unable to get out of bed.

After hearing the commotion outside, he sent Lantern out to take a look.

When Zhao Denglong returned, he told her everything he had seen, and He Tiantian then realized that today was already the 18th.

"Lantern, meatballs, Mother has something to do, you two go in Mother's place."