Zhang Dehong could tell from the midwife's expression that she had misunderstood, so he quickly explained, "This is my wife and I've been looking forward to this little girl for so long. I love her dearly. I just wanted Qingqing to hold her first. I hope this child will be as beautiful as Qingqing in the future."
The midwife immediately beamed with joy upon hearing this, saying, "I understand, I understand," and handed the baby to Xia Qingqing.
Xia Qingqing's hands trembled slightly as she held the baby. This was the first time she had ever held a newborn, and the baby felt so tiny and delicate, as if she could break it with the slightest bit of force.
After holding the child for less than a minute, Xia Qingqing immediately handed the child to Zhang Dehong: "Brother Dehong, please take the child quickly."
Zhang Hongde skillfully picked up the baby and, seeing Xia Qingqing's relieved expression, couldn't help but tease her, "Qingqing, you need to learn how to hold a baby properly, otherwise you won't be able to hold your own baby after you have one."
"Hehehe~", Xia Qingqing laughed without saying a word, secretly complaining in her heart that after the shock she received today, she wouldn't dare to have any thoughts about having children for the next few years.
As for whether I want to have my own child in the future, I'll talk about that later.
The two little ones also came closer to their father, standing on tiptoe to see their newborn little sister.
Zhang Shundong looked at his tiny little sister in his father's arms and frowned unhappily: "Dad, didn't you say that my sister would be as pretty as Qingqing? Why does she look like a wrinkled little old man?"
Zhang Shunnan echoed his brother's words: "My sister is ugly and not pretty."
Zhang Deshun's smile froze, and he growled softly at his two sons, "You two brats, shut up!"
“When you two were born, you weren’t even as pretty as your little sister. If I ever hear anyone say my daughter is ugly again, I’ll spank them.”
After saying this, Zhang Dehong took the baby to the room, as newborns shouldn't get cold.
Only after his father left did Zhang Shundong dare to show a resentful expression.
My dad told me he was going to have a beautiful little sister soon, but instead, he got such an ugly little sister, and he won't even let anyone say anything about it.
Xia Qingqing didn't expect that this child was also a bit obsessed with looks. He had high hopes for his sister's appearance, but found that it was different from what he had imagined, which is why he was so disappointed.
Xia Qingqing chuckled and ruffled Zhang Shundong's hair: "Xiao Dong, I was just as wrinkled as your little sister when I was born."
"Sister Qingqing, is what you said true?" Zhang Shundong's shattered hope was rekindled, and he looked at Xia Qingqing expectantly with bright eyes.
"Of course, your younger sister will definitely be prettier than Qingqing in the future."
——
Zhang Hongyan had also heard about her daughter's rescue during the day, and looked at Xia Qingqing with a strange gaze while eating.
In fact, not only Zhang Hongyan, but Xia Heping and Gou Dan's eyesight wasn't much better either.
Under the strange gazes of the three people, Xia Qingqing felt a chill run down her spine: "Mom, why are you looking at me like that? It's creepy."
"Qingqing, I've heard about what happened today. How come you suddenly became so strong? Liu Caixia must weigh over 100 pounds, right?" Zhang Hongyan asked, her voice full of doubt.
She knows her own daughter well; she's already quite strong enough to lift Gou Dan, let alone a pregnant woman about to give birth.
“Yeah, sis, it’s always hard for you to carry a bucket of bath water, and Dad has to help you carry it,” Gou Dan said before his dad hit him with his chopsticks.
"Don't talk nonsense. I just wanted to help your sister carry it. Besides, your sister was injured."
Xia Qingqing awkwardly touched the tip of her nose, and deliberately trembled the hand holding the chopsticks: "Well, I was just anxious to save the person. I didn't think about anything at the time, and I mustered up my strength and picked the person up."
"Mom, look, my hands are still shaking a little. It's because I used too much force all at once."
Zhang Hongyan glanced at him and saw that his hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold the chopsticks. She immediately felt sorry for him: "Oh dear, next time you encounter something like this, don't be so reckless. Not only will you suffer, but if you accidentally knock someone down on the way, you won't be able to take responsibility."
Xia Qingqing knew her mother meant well, and earnestly agreed: "Next time I definitely won't do it myself, I'll find someone else to help me."
Seeing that her daughter listened to her advice, Zhang Hongyan nodded in satisfaction: "That's more like it."
Having dispelled the three men's suspicions, Xia Qingqing secretly wiped away a bead of sweat.
It was really hard to explain why she suddenly became so strong, so she could only bite the bullet and make up an excuse. Fortunately, her family trusted her, so she could just make something up.
She thought the matter was over, but little did she know that this was just the beginning.
The next day, Xia Qingqing became famous. Her story of carrying Liu Caixia and running wildly was spread far and wide, and people from all around knew that there was a strong woman in the Shihe Production Brigade.
This made her the center of attention among all the older women and aunties.
"Hey, have you heard? Zhang Dehong's pigs suddenly went into labor in the pigsty. It was Xia Heping's eldest daughter who carried them back home."
"Goodness, Liu Caixia isn't exactly light. She must weigh at least 130 or 140 pounds. How could a little girl like her carry someone that far?"
“Absolutely right, my sister-in-law saw it with her own eyes.”
"I didn't expect the Heiwa family's daughter to be so amazing. She looks so skinny, but she's got some strength."
"I originally thought this girl was too thin and weak to do any work, and not suitable to marry as my daughter-in-law, but now I don't have to worry about that anymore."
"You old hag, you're dreaming! Qingqing from Hongyan's family is a high school student, and she's good-looking. Do you think she'd be interested in your son?"
"Pah, it's not your place to say whether you think it's good enough or not."
When these rumors reached Xia Qingqing's ears, she was stunned. People wanted to marry her as their daughter-in-law because of her strength, and she really was grateful.
Xia Qingqing never expected that someone would actually send someone to her door to act as a matchmaker because of her great strength.
This family hired Cai, a famous matchmaker from the surrounding area. She has arranged countless marriages for couples, and even though she is almost sixty years old this year, she is still working hard on the front line of her career.
With her signature charming smile on her face, Cai the matchmaker greeted Zhang Hongyan warmly as soon as she entered the Xia family's gate, saying, "Hongyan, your Qingqing is so lucky!"
Zhang Hongyan was puzzled: "Aunt Cai, what do you mean by that?"
“I’ve found a good family for your Qingqing. They’re in the next brigade. They’re very well-off. Zhuzi is their only son, and everything in the family will belong to the young couple.”
"Zhu Zi is a very upright and honest man, and he is also filial. His relationship with his wife will be good in the future."
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