Chapter 170 (Second Update) 1986 - Child...
Tang Mingli passed her crucial prenatal checkup without any major incidents.
Not long after, Fu Ci also returned to Shenzhen.
It seems like the second half of the year was accelerated, and before we knew it, it was the end of the year.
Tang Mingli stood in front of the calendar, looking at the last page of 1985, and asked her mother-in-law, "Mom, have you bought the new calendar yet?"
Sitting on the sofa knitting a small sweater, Mrs. Fu smiled and said, "I bought it a long time ago, I'll put it on tomorrow."
Tang Mingli sat back down on the sofa, patted her round belly, and sighed, "Time flies so fast."
Another year has passed in the blink of an eye.
Fu's mother felt the same way.
Time flies, but the thought of seeing her baby in less than two months fills her with anticipation.
I believe Mingli feels the same way.
While the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were chatting, Mrs. Fu, who had been taking a stroll in the yard, returned and told them with a smile that the thirty-year-old unmarried young man next door was getting married today.
Tang Mingli had just finished looking at the calendar and clearly remembered that the old almanac said today was not auspicious for marriage... Sigh, this also shows that all those years of education on breaking superstitions were worthwhile.
Joyous occasions should be free of all taboos.
-
On February 2, 1986, the Lunar New Year in southern China, Fu Ci also returned home.
This year, the factory closed for the holiday two days earlier than usual. Tang Mingli knew that it must be because the boss was eager to go home.
Perhaps because Tang Mingli was nearing her due date, Fu Ci hadn't let his wife out of his sight since he returned home.
Tang Mingli laughed at him for being too nervous, even though his due date was still half a month away.
Despite the jokes, Fu Ci persisted.
He knew that the due date wasn't always accurate; it could come earlier or later.
Perhaps because he was too nervous, he would wake up immediately at night if Tang Mingli made even the slightest groan, fearing that she had started labor. But mostly it was just his back aching from lying down for too long.
One day, the couple were flipping through the calendar and counting the days when they somehow started talking about horoscopes.
At that time, astrology was not popular in China, but Tang Mingli did not expect that just by mentioning it, Fu Ci would know.
She asked curiously, "You've also heard of astrology?"
Fu Ci smiled and shook his head, telling her, "I heard about it when I audited a philosophy professor's class in college."
After listening to Fu Ci's explanation, Tang Mingli realized that as early as the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the twelve constellations were mentioned in scriptures translated from outside.
Nearly a century of suffering has made everyone forget that we were once a very powerful and open country.
Tang Mingli counted down the days, saying, "If our child is born before February 18th, he will be an Aquarius baby."
After the 18th, it will be Pisces.
Fu Ci asked with a smile, "Would you prefer your child to be an Aquarius or a Pisces?"
Tang Mingli smiled and said, "Anything is fine. I don't really believe in astrology."
Actually, she believes in the power of birth charts, but being born into a family like the Fu family, she knew without even looking that her birth chart must be auspicious.
Fu Ci hadn't expected his wife's answer.
Although they don't believe in astrology, their words still reveal that they are quite knowledgeable about it.
This is somewhat contradictory.
Faced with her husband's surprise, Tang Mingli could only lean on his shoulder and smile foolishly.
The reason I have some knowledge of astrology is because I had a very unfortunate life in my past life, and whenever things went wrong, I would check my horoscope for the day.
If you're lucky, you'll comfort yourself that everything will be alright.
If you're unlucky, you'll comfort yourself by saying that the reason you had a bad day is because of bad luck.
In times of suffering, faith becomes extremely important.
This is perhaps what people often mean when they say, "The poor consult fortune tellers, the rich burn incense."
When a situation becomes so hopeless that you feel you can't get out of it on your own, you're prone to subconsciously turning to metaphysics. You tell yourself that the suffering is only temporary, and that fate will change on some future day.
Deceiving oneself can sometimes be another form of strength.
His wife's answer was indifferent, but Fu Ci had his own ideas.
"If it's a daughter, I hope she's an Aquarius."
Tang Mingli asked, "Why?"
"When I was in Hong Kong, I saw a book about astrology in a restaurant. The book said that Aquarius women are more free and independent, while Pisces women are more dependent on others."
He hoped the baby in his belly would be a girl.
His daughter should rely on no one but her parents in this lifetime.
Even if he gets married and meets a good husband in the future, he selfishly hopes that his daughter can still have her own independent spiritual world.
Only by being independent can one withstand any unexpected harm.
He's a man, so naturally he understands men.
Most men are inherently base; once the cost of making a mistake reaches a level they can bear, their inherently inferior genes will stir.
However, since Tang Mingli still hasn't started her journey by February 18th, there's no hope for Aquarius.
But it was only two days late.
On the evening of February 20th, after a day of labor pains, Tang Mingli finally gave birth to a five-pound baby girl at the hospital.
Although the horoscope didn't work out as I wished, I did get to have a daughter.
On this day, the Fu family experienced both great sorrow and great joy.
When Mingli was in labor, the pain was worse than if someone were cutting her own flesh out. But when the baby was born safely and the news came that both mother and daughter were safe, everyone was overjoyed.
Fu Ci looked excitedly at the nurse who came to deliver the good news and asked, "When can I see my wife?"
The nurse smiled and said, "You'll have to wait a little while."
The nurse said "a while," but it was only half an hour, but Fu Ci felt anxious as if he had been waiting for half a day.
Because of his anxiety, he, who always paid attention to his neat attire, had long since started to twist his clothes into a tangled mess.
Finally, the operating room door was opened.
Tang Mingli was lying on a transfer bed when she was pushed out by two nurses.
Fu Ci rushed over almost reflexively. Seeing his wife lying on the bed, pale and weak, he was so distressed that he almost burst into tears in public.
She's been sick many years into our marriage, but I've never seen her so weak.
Fu Ci spoke in a trembling voice, "You've worked hard."
Tang Mingli feels that things are actually fine now. She feels much more relaxed after the baby was born. Apart from being a little tired, there's really nothing wrong with her.
But those dozen or so hours before birth were truly agonizing and terrifying.
She couldn't understand why so many women would have the courage to have a second child after experiencing the pain of their first birth. Did their brains really make them automatically forget those pains?
Anyway, she still clearly remembers those painful experiences and absolutely, positively does not want to go through them again.
Tang Mingli was accompanied by her baby when she came out of the delivery room. The nurse holding the baby saw that all the adults were surrounding the mother and couldn't help but joke, "It's the first time I've seen someone not even look at their baby. It's a good thing the baby is too young to remember anything."
Upon hearing this, Madam Fu and her mother finally came to their senses and hurriedly went to the child.
Upon seeing the child, both elders couldn't help but cry.
"My God, is this my granddaughter? She's so adorable."
"My great-grandson, my heart is melting."
The nurse handed the baby over, saying, "Who will hold the baby?"
Both elders instinctively reached out, but Madam Fu quickly withdrew her hand and said to her daughter-in-law, "Your hands are stronger, so you do it."
She's too old. Although her hands don't tremble and her handwriting is still strong and powerful, she's still getting old and might not be able to hold the child properly.
Fu's mother wouldn't give in and excitedly hugged the child.
-
Because it was a natural birth, Tang Mingli was discharged from the hospital three days later.
Perhaps because she was well cared for, or perhaps because she was young and her body recovered quickly, Tang Mingli felt like she had come back to life halfway through her life when she was discharged from the hospital.
Could she really be a pregnant saint...? Ugh.
Having learned her lesson, Tang Mingli quickly stopped thinking that way and patted her chest to reassure herself.
It's terrifying; she's only been out of the world for three days, and she's already forgotten the pain of childbirth.
Back home, Tang Mingli strictly followed the instructions of her elders to observe postpartum confinement.
To avoid tiring her out, the family hired an extra nanny a month before her due date to take care of the baby.
I was discharged from the hospital today and went home. My caregiver has also started working again.
Tang Mingli's main responsibility is to eat well and sleep well so that her body can recover as quickly as possible.
She even suspected that if people at that time hadn't still somewhat believed that breastfeeding was good for the baby, and hadn't been so unfamiliar with formula, they might have simply told her not to breastfeed.
Not breastfeeding would certainly make things much easier, but Tang Mingli was content, and since her baby was a good baby, she didn't find breastfeeding every two hours particularly painful.
Moreover, she really never considered giving her child formula.
Before giving birth, she specifically researched the issue and learned that the quality of infant formula at that time was actually quite problematic.
The power of maternal love is incredible. Just thinking about breastfeeding her child makes her feel that waking up every few hours is not difficult at all.
On the third day after returning home, Fu Ci still showed no intention of going back to Shenzhen. Every day, he did nothing but look at her and the child.
The power of a father's love is also incredible.
Who would have thought that Fu Ci, a man with such a high IQ, would turn into a fool in front of his daughter? The moment his daughter makes a baby whimpering sound, he laughs like an idiot.
Sure enough, after her daughter had eaten and drunk her fill and let out a satisfied "ah-hoo," Fu Ci, as if he had radar, rushed straight over from the study.
"Does your little sister miss Daddy? Daddy's here, Daddy's here to hug you."
The baby had just finished drinking milk and needed to be burped, so Tang Mingli handed the baby to him without hesitation.
Fu Ci skillfully picked up the child and gently patted the child's back.
Tang Mingli smiled as she watched this scene of fatherly love and filial piety, and then discussed a serious issue with her husband.
"The baby has been born for several days, and you still haven't decided on a name? You can't keep calling her 'little sister' all the time."
Fu Ci smiled and said, "I've thought of a few, let me think about them some more."
The two had agreed beforehand that Fu Ci would be responsible for coming up with a name, but Tang Mingli would ultimately decide whether to use it or not.
Tang Mingli joked, "How could someone who was a top student in the 1970s have to struggle so much to come up with a name?"
Given his seriousness, she was curious to see what brilliant name he would come up with.
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