It's warmer at home than in the hospital.
Having not slept well last night, Xu Qingning quickly washed up and went to bed. After Zhao Jingyu brought the child back to the room, she took the child and went to sleep.
Seeing Xu Qingning put the child on the big bed, Zhao Jingyu asked in confusion, "Doesn't he have his own crib? Why is he sleeping in our bed?"
The crib is all made up, and the bedding is all new.
It's thick, neither too soft nor too hard, and it's as comfortable as you want it to be.
"He's so small, are you going to let him sleep alone?" Xu Qingning hugged the child in her arms and scolded him, "The crib is for him to play with, of course he should sleep with me when he needs to sleep."
"I want to sleep with you too." Zhao Jingyu walked to the bedside, looked at the child, touched her face, and took the washbasin outside to wash up.
The old ladies had already left after looking after the children.
Zhao Futang and Yang Yuelan busied themselves boiling eggs, and then soaked red paper in water to dye the eggs red.
We give these to relatives, friends, and neighbors who come to visit the children. In Jiaodong dialect, it's called "giving rice soup and returning red eggs."
It was so cold that the faucets at the public water fountain were frozen. Zhao Jingyu went back inside to get a thermos and scalded the faucets. He was brushing his teeth when he saw Xiao Tingshen walk in from outside, looking listless.
His parents dropped him off at the entrance of the alley and went back to work, telling him to come back and rest on his own. Liu Yuzhen said she would buy a chicken for him to eat after get off work.
Zhao Jingyu ignored Xiao Tingshen and continued brushing his teeth and washing his face.
"Jingyu, congratulations on becoming a father." Xiao Tingshen stopped and looked at him, a forced smile on his face. "Wenya also gave birth, so I'm a father now too."
"Congratulations, congratulations." Zhao Jingyu wiped his face with a towel and said casually, "Xiao Tingshen, I remember you and Tang Wenya didn't admit to the pregnancy back then. How about that? You've contradicted yourselves, haven't you?"
Xiao Tingshen's ears turned red without him realizing it: "It's all in the past..."
“For you, it’s in the past, but for us, it’s not.” Zhao Jingyu insisted on bringing it up, and said coldly, “Now you know the difficulties my wife went through back then, right? She was pregnant and was forced to have an abortion and go to the countryside. Tang Wenya was pregnant but hid it and stayed in the city to marry you. What does that show? It shows that you are selfish and vicious and bullied my wife.”
Xiao Tingshen was speechless and went home without saying a word.
Zhao Jingyu is a very rude person. He brings up old grievances as soon as he opens his mouth. It's impossible to associate with him.
When they got back to the house, Xu Qingning and Xiaotianbao were already asleep. Xiaotianbao was sleeping soundly next to her mother like a kitten, her little face was rosy, and her little mouth was smacking as if she was nursing.
Zhao Jingyu carefully got into bed. The mother and son took up most of the bed, leaving him almost no room to lie down.
After thinking for a moment, he picked up Xiaotianbao and put her on the crib. Before he could pull his hand away, Xiaotianbao started crying loudly, as if she had been abused.
Xu Qingning quickly sat up and saw that he had put the child on the crib. She scolded him, "Give the child back to me right now."
"I tried to soothe him, and he stopped crying quickly." Zhao Jingyu was both amused and exasperated. He picked up the little sweetheart and walked around trying to comfort him, but the little guy wouldn't listen and started crying loudly, even shedding tears.
"Give me the child right now." Xu Qingning felt heartbroken.
Zhao Jingyu quickly put the child in her arms, looking helpless: "This little guy is so naughty, he's made it so that I, his dad, have nowhere to sleep."
"Why don't you have anywhere to sleep? Go sleep with your parents." Xu Qingning turned to her side, unbuttoned her clothes to breastfeed. The little baby sobbed a few times before starting to nurse. He sucked hard and managed to get a little milk out.
"I don't want to sleep with Mom and Dad, I want to sleep with you." Zhao Jingyu leaned closer to look and asked, "Do you need my help?"
He just wanted to help out.
I had no other ideas.
"I already said I don't need you." Xu Qingning was embarrassed by his question; what man keeps asking about this kind of thing...?
After the child fell asleep, Xu Qingning picked up her cotton-padded jacket and trousers, preparing to go to the bathroom. Zhao Jingyu stopped her and whispered, "Go check over by the bathtub."
"What are you looking at?" Xu Qingning asked, puzzled.
"You'll see when you look." Zhao Jingyu said mysteriously. Xu Qingning went over to take a look, somewhat surprised and embarrassed. "When did you do this? How could I possibly do this in the house..."
Below the bathtub was a simple squat toilet, made of cement, directly connected to the sewer.
Only he could come up with something like this.
Yang Yuelan wouldn't let her go out either, and brought in a bucket, saying that Zhao Jingyu should take it out for her when she was done using it, as she was too embarrassed to use it herself.
“It’s too cold outside, the faucets are frozen, you can’t go out.” Zhao Jingyu said seriously, “Don’t worry, just rinse it with water after you’re done. Anyway, you’re the only one using it. I’ll put the bathtub back on during the day, no one will notice.”
“Then you have to leave when I use it.” Xu Qingning looked up at him and said coquettishly, “I’ll let you in before you come in.”
She felt a warmth in her heart; it turned out he had thought of this when he was installing the bathtub.
“Okay, I’ll go out.” Zhao Jingyu understood and kissed her forehead. “When we have the means in the future, we’ll move to a bigger house and I’ll build you a bigger and better bathroom.”
She married him when he was penniless.
He was determined to give her a good life.
“Okay, I believe you.” Xu Qingning immediately thought of Wutong Village. Once the land for the house is approved, she will design and plan it out with him to create a home that belongs to them.
Zhao Futang was chopping chicken on the ground in front of the kang (a heated brick bed), while Yang Yuelan sat on the kang picking vegetables. She told him to keep his voice down so as not to wake the children. Zhao Futang said that he couldn't keep his voice down while chopping chicken, and that the children would get used to it.
When Zhao Jingyu came in, Yang Yuelan said that she and Xu Qingning would take care of the child that night, and that Zhao Jingyu could sleep on the kang with Zhao Futang.
Zhao Jingyu said no, that he could change diapers and make formula.
Of course he wanted to sleep with his wife and child; what kind of man would he be sleeping with his father?
When it was time for bed, Xu Qingning was worried that Zhao Jingyu would roll over onto the baby, so she placed the baby on the side near the window and moved the crib there as a guardrail.
Before they returned, Zhao Futang had already sealed the windows from the outside with plastic sheeting. She had Zhao Jingyu test the windows several times, and only when they confirmed that there was no draft did she feel comfortable letting the child sleep there.
Zhao Jingyu slept on the outer side, making it convenient to add firewood to the stove and change diapers, while Xu Qingning slept in the middle, with the child on the inner side.
This is the only arrangement the family of three can make.
With a child in the bed, it felt much more crowded. Xu Qingning, sandwiched between the father and son, felt uncomfortable and couldn't fall asleep, perhaps because she had slept too much during the day.
Zhao Jingyu hugged her from behind: "What are you thinking about?"
"I wasn't thinking about anything, I just couldn't sleep." Xu Qingning turned over to face him. In the darkness, she couldn't see his face, but when she touched his skin, she felt that his body was as hot as a furnace.
Zhao Jingyu took her hand, propped himself up on his arm, and looked down at her: "Do you know what I'm thinking?"
Even though she was in her postpartum period, he could still smell her faint fragrance.
The aroma also has a hint of sweet milky fragrance.
"I don't know." Xu Qingning lowered her eyes, but still leaned closer to him. He rolled over and pinned her down. "I want to kiss you..."
“When I’m out of confinement…” Xu Qingning looked up at him, her ears turning red. He whispered in her ear, “I know, just like last time, I want to wash the sheets.”
Xu Qingning understood and was about to say something when she felt a sharp pain in her chest and exclaimed, "You're hurting me!"
"What's wrong?" Zhao Jingyu turned slightly to the side, his large hand slipping inside her clothes, his tone suggestive. "Does it hurt here?"
"It really hurts!" Xu Qingning pushed his hand away. Her chest was already a little swollen, and his pressure really hurt, and it was getting more and more painful...
Xu Qingning turned on the light and looked at it herself. One side was bigger than the other, so it was definitely blocked. Zhao Jingyu saw it too and quickly said, "Should we ask Mom to come and take a look?"
"No need, just get me a hot towel so I can apply it." When she was discharged from the hospital, Xu Wei told her about several possible situations and how to deal with them, including this one. She said that applying a hot towel would relieve the symptoms, and that the child should breathe more.
They also said that this situation needs to be dealt with promptly to prevent it from becoming too severe.
Otherwise, it can easily cause a fever.
Zhao Jingyu brought a hot towel and helped her lie down: "I'll put it on for you."
"I can do it myself." Xu Qingning was embarrassed to let him apply a hot compress, but Zhao Jingyu insisted on unbuttoning her clothes. "What time is it? Why are you still worrying about these things..."
Feeling the warmth against her chest, Xu Qingning blushed. Zhao Jingyu took in the sight before him, his heart filled with torment, but he still carefully applied a hot compress, his warm breath brushing against her face. "Are you feeling better?"
"Much better." Xu Qingning turned her back awkwardly. "I can do it myself..."
Fortunately, Little Sweetie woke up in time and solved the problem for her. She didn't feel bloated after eating.
"If you had just said so, I would have helped you." Zhao Jingyu sat down to watch without any restraint. "I'm definitely more energetic than him."
Xu Qingning glared at him but didn't say anything.
Zhao Jingyu raised his hand and flicked her nose: "We're husband and wife, why are you being so formal with me? Just wait and see how I deal with you later."
After all that fuss, Xu Qingning was exhausted and relieved. She stopped paying attention to him and fell into a deep sleep while holding her little sweetheart.
Zhao Jingyu, however, couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was that springtime scene...
Thank you for the summer breeze, the watermelon, the swimming pool, and your monthly pass.
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