Chapter 129 First Birthday Banquet "I think I'm definitely pregnant with a baby this time..."
"Let her hate me forever..."
"Heh, I won't let her scheme succeed." Li Hongmei sneered, her sarcastic gaze sweeping over the young man in front of her, as if trying to see through the figure behind him.
In the distance, spring is in full bloom, and the grass grows wildly, like sharp thorns, desperately pushing its way out of the ground to compete for the scarce oxygen.
A sudden gust of evil wind, carrying dust and sand, unexpectedly slapped at their faces.
The earthy smell filled her nostrils, and Li Hongmei coughed, taking a long time to recover.
"I'll forget about her soon." She said stubbornly, her voice nasal, with a few tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes from the dust.
Li Yaozu gently patted his sister's back to make her more comfortable.
The young man seemed to have grown up overnight, his still somewhat immature face now covered with a layer of resolute determination.
Li Hongmei mentally sketched her younger brother's features, which gradually overlapped with the image of her father from her childhood.
"Sister, this is the money Mom left for you, take it." After handling his mother's funeral, Li Yaozu followed her last instructions, sold everything he could in the house, and came to Xinjiang alone.
He spent some of the money on the way there, and then used the money he earned from his part-time job to make up the difference, rounding it up to a whole number.
Li Hongmei looked at the small cloth bag in her younger brother's hand. It was a familiar design; she had sewn it herself years ago.
"Keep it for yourself. Do you think I don't know what kind of person she is? Why would she give me money willingly?"
So many years have passed, and she no longer expects to get anything from her mother.
Now that he knows he was just an abandoned baby that Li Huandi picked up, the anger he had been holding in finally dissipated in the merciless spring breeze.
It's good that she's not his biological child. What a light and easy way to say "not his biological child." She couldn't even bring herself to hate him anymore.
With a hint of relief in her eyes, Li Hongmei looked earnestly at Li Yaozu and said, "Thank you for telling me this. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have continued to hate her for the rest of my life."
"Now that I know I'm not their biological child, I don't even have the right to hate them anymore."
Li Yaozu avoided Li Hongmei's gaze and insisted on giving her the money in his hand: "Sister, just take it. You have to raise a child now, and there are many places where you need to spend money."
"No need..." Li Hongmei raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes and said in a casual tone, "Your sister has money now."
“Working on construction sites is too hard and you don’t earn much money. If you need money, you can go into business with your brother-in-law.”
She knew her younger brother wasn't particularly capable, but he wasn't malicious either. Now that they were in Xinjiang, she felt she should at least take care of him a little.
Li Yaozu stubbornly replied, "No need to trouble you and brother-in-law, I can earn money myself."
"Okay, my daughter's first birthday is in a few days, at the Huyang Hotel." Since the other party didn't appreciate it, Li Hongmei didn't plan to say anything more. She picked up her bag and turned to leave.
"Come if you want."
"Sister, please help me change my name too. I want to take Dad's surname." The young man blurted out, and Li Hongmei stopped in her tracks.
He didn't want to be ridiculed with such a name anymore. Yaozu, Yaozu, with his cowardly and incompetent appearance, how could he be worthy of such a name?
His older sister takes their mother's surname, Li, so he should take his father's surname, Zhao.
"Let's call him Zhao Ping'an. When Dad passed away, all he wanted was for our family to be safe, sound and healthy."
After Li Hongmei finished speaking, she left.
Li Yaozu, no, now Zhao Ping'an, stood there dumbfounded until Li Hongmei was out of sight, before turning back to continue his work.
…
Wu Min's first birthday party was a grand affair. Wu Wei lavishly booked the entire Huyang Hotel and invited many of his business associates.
On the day of the banquet, all members of the Chen family, who were considered Li Hongmei's second family, attended.
Zhao Ping'an also arrived, wearing a brand-new leather jacket, and was seated next to Chen Mian.
Chen Mian chatted with him briefly and then learned that Aunt Li had actually passed away.
When I saw her last October, she just looked a little tired. Life is truly unpredictable.
"So you're staying at your brother-in-law's house now?" Chen Mian assumed that Li Yaozu had come to stay with his sister.
Zhao Pingan shook his head silently.
"So where do you live now?" Chen Mianmian continued to ask.
“There are dormitories on the construction site,” Zhao Ping’an said. “Sister Mu Mian, I’m not called Li Yaozu anymore. My sister gave me a new name, Zhao Ping’an.”
Just as Chen Mianmian and Zhao Pingan were exchanging pleasantries, Wu Wei put his arm around his wife's waist and walked onto the stage together.
Li Hongmei was still holding Minmin in her arms.
"Thank you so much for all my relatives and friends for attending my daughter's first birthday party. If there is anything I have done poorly in terms of hospitality, please forgive me."
Wu Wei raised his glass, beaming, and said, "I have more good news to announce today: my wife is pregnant again, haha!"
"Congratulations, Mr. Wu! Congratulations, Mr. Wu!"
"It has to be Brother Wu, this makes a perfect combination!"
"Thank you, thank you. This toast is for everyone." Wu Wei told his wife to take the child to eat, while he went around toasting everyone with his wine glass in hand.
Li Hongmei and her daughter were both wearing festive red dresses. Ji Yu was at work and didn't come today, so she sat down on the other side of Chen Mian.
Chen Mian greeted the little girl, who sat on her lap and asked, "What do you want to eat, baby? Auntie will get it for you."
The little girl pointed at a large bone in front of her, her little hand twitching with anticipation, "Eat... Minmin eat..."
Chen Mian picked up a small piece of braised pork knuckle with chopsticks and prepared to feed it to her.
"No, no, I don't want this." Minmin shook her head like a rattle-drum, her lips pressed tightly together.
"Isn't this what you meant? Do you want to eat something else?" Chen Mian stuffed the meat into her own mouth, thinking of giving the little girl another dish.
"Ah—" Minmin made a series of strange sounds, her two little hands anxiously trying to pry open Chen Mian's mouth.
Chen Mian tilted her head back, quickly swallowed the pork knuckle in her mouth, and looked to her friend for help in a disheveled manner: "What's wrong with her? Why is she arresting me?"
“She doesn’t want to be fed lately and prefers to eat by herself.” Li Hongmei was happy that her daughter was being looked after and began to eat heartily by herself.
She's pregnant, so she can't go hungry.
"She's so young, how can she eat by herself?"
"Just put the meat in her hand and she'll feed herself." Li Hongmei picked up a piece of braised pork, her lips glistening with oil as she ate.
"Ugh? This is so filthy!" Chen Mian couldn't stand it anymore. After arguing with the girl for two more rounds with the chopsticks, she had no choice but to admit defeat.
Afraid of getting oil stains on her clothes, she put the little girl in Zhao Ping'an's arms, saying, "Let your uncle hold you for a while, and your aunt and your mother can rest for a bit."
Zhao Ping'an was suddenly in the arms of a sweet and soft little girl. His whole body stiffened, and he didn't know where to put his hands, afraid of hurting the little girl.
"Uncle, eat." Minmin wasn't shy at all and cheerfully directed him to get her some meat.
Seeing Li Hongmei eating happily, Chen Mian glared at her irritably, "Didn't you just complain that you couldn't take care of the child by yourself? How come you're pregnant again behind my back?"
Feeling guilty, Li Hongmei placed a piece of roasted lamb chop on her friend's plate, saying, "Don't be angry, Mianmian. I just wanted to have a son and a daughter, so Minmin will have a companion in the future."
Chen Mian was exasperated: "Then what about your farm? The corn has just been planted, and it still needs someone to watch over it."
She looked Li Hongmei up and down a few times. "Don't tell me you can take care of your child, get pregnant, and still have the energy to look after the farm."
"Oh dear, I've already invited Aunt Liu back, she'll help me take care of Minmin."
Li Hongmei is very satisfied with her current life. After becoming pregnant with her second child, her husband promised her that he would try not to travel far from home and would stay home to take care of her during her pregnancy.
Aunt Liu also takes care of the daughter, and Wu Cong plays with his younger sister when he comes home from school.
She smiled and touched her still-flat stomach. "As for the farm, I should still be able to take care of it when the corn is ripe."
Seeing her like this, Chen Mian knew she couldn't be persuaded. She shook her head, changed the subject, and started talking about the progress of the agritainment business.
Li Hongmei suddenly leaned close to her ear mysteriously and whispered, "Mian, I think I'm definitely having a son this time."
"How so?"
"Don't you think I've gotten uglier lately? My skin has become so rough."
"No, is it because you've been exposed to the wind and sun lately?" Chen Mian asked.
"No, people say that you become more beautiful when you are pregnant with a girl and less beautiful when you are pregnant with a boy, and your nose will even get bigger."
Li Hongmei showed her friend her nostrils, saying, "If I weren't pregnant with a son, why would my nose have gotten bigger?"
Chen Mian sighed and rubbed her forehead. "What you're saying has no scientific basis. You should watch less of this nonsense. It's not good for the child."
"Fine, don't believe me if you don't want to." Li Hongmei pouted and continued eating.
She gets hungry very quickly lately, eating several meals a day, and has gained a lot of weight.
“Your brother seems like a completely different person; he’s much more sensible than before.” Chen Mianmian observed that Zhao Pingan was taking good care of his niece.
"Why don't you have him come and help you take care of the farm? You two are siblings after all, so you can trust him with that."
Chen Mian continued, "But you'd better keep it a secret from Aunt Li, otherwise I'm afraid she'll come after you to Xinjiang, and then you won't have any peace and quiet."
Li Hongmei paused for a moment, holding her chopsticks, and then calmly stated, "Li Huandi died during the New Year."
"What?" Chen Mian was shocked. "How could a perfectly healthy person just disappear?"
"She went out and fooled around with men, drank too much and had a stroke, and passed away not long after." Li Hongmei picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp.
"If you ask me, this is God's retribution for her." She wouldn't be sad for a woman like that.
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