Time flies like an arrow, and a month passed quickly. Xiaohua finished her postpartum confinement. Since she didn't have a scale, she could only estimate by looking at herself in the mirror. She estimated that she still weighed about 150 pounds. She probably lost about 20 pounds during her confinement. Right after giving birth, she estimated that she weighed about 170 or 180 pounds.
Although she wasn't obviously thin, she was at least losing weight, she comforted herself.
Her daughter looked even fatter, which worried her. She had so much breast milk that her baby couldn't finish it all, and her daughter had a big appetite, so her growth was naturally impressive.
Sighing, Xiaohua held her child and said, "Girl, let's eat less, don't eat so much, otherwise Mom will really worry that you'll have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar before you're even old."
The little girl then began to wail loudly, burying her head in her arms, wanting to drink milk.
It has to be said that Ye Xiaohua is now feeling like a mother; this little girl is now the apple of her eye.
After Xiaohua finished feeding the baby, her mother, father, and sister-in-law came in.
Her father, Ye Dazhuang, tapped his pipe on her kang (a heated brick bed): "Hua'er, it's not that I want to send you and your mother away. There's an old saying that a married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. You are, after all, a daughter of the He family. Although she is a girl, she is still a girl of the He family. Tomorrow I will have your third brother send you to the city to go back to the He family. You can't stay at your parents' house all the time. The neighbors will start gossiping."
After Ye Dazhuang finished speaking, he winked at Xiaohua's mother and her sister-in-law, then took his pipe and went out. He wanted the two of them to give Xiaohua another lesson in ideology and politics.
Although Ye Xiaohua rarely went out during her postpartum period, she had heard some of the rumors circulating outside, which were nothing more than that she had been kicked out of the He family and that the He family no longer wanted her.
When she married He Yan, there were quite a few people in the village who were jealous of his family. Although He Yan disliked her, he knew she was pregnant and sent her half of her salary and allowance every month. In those days, money could be spent easily, and the Ye family benefited from He Yan's success to some extent, which improved their living standards considerably. This made those gossipy people in the village who couldn't stand seeing others doing well even more jealous.
She gave birth to another girl, and the villagers were saying that the He family disliked that she had given birth to a girl and simply didn't want the child anymore. Her parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law had been keeping quiet and not saying anything in front of her so that she could have a good postpartum period.
In this day and age, it's a common occurrence for a daughter to have her baby at her parents' home while heavily pregnant, give birth there, and then recover at her parents' home. It's fortunate that her sisters-in-law are all kind and not petty, and they were able to accommodate the mother and daughter.
But that doesn't mean she can stay at her parents' house with her child without a care in the world. In this era, there is less tolerance for women. It would be better to go back to the city and the He family. No matter what kind of den of dragons and tigers the He family is, she, Ye Xiaohua, and her child are not going to be bullied to death!
Xiao Hua's mother, Mao Dani, picked up her swaddling granddaughter and looked at her again and again, feeling very reluctant to part with her. This was the love between grandparents and grandchildren, and she couldn't bear to part with her. Xiao Hua was her youngest daughter, and she cared for Xiao Hua's daughter more than anyone else. But she also knew that the child would have a better future if she returned to the city to live with her father, grandparents, and other relatives.
“Hua’er, your stubborn temper has been spoiled by your father and me, but now you’re a mother yourself. For the sake of your daughter, you need to temper your temper when you come to the He family. If your in-laws, sisters-in-law and other relatives say anything unpleasant, just let it go in one ear and out the other. Just treat it as bullshit and don’t take it to heart.”
Mao Dani was illiterate and couldn't speak elegantly, but her words, though rough, were reasonable.
Xiao Hua's sister-in-law, Zhu Mei, chimed in, "Yes, Hua'er, Mother is right. Such a big family, everyone in the family has a secure job, they're bound to look down on us. We'll have food to eat and sleep there, so we should learn to be thick-skinned. Whether they beat us or scold us, we shouldn't take it to heart. Take the medicine your father gave you and try to give He Yan a son. Then your position in the He family will be secure. When you get old and the children grow up, your good days will begin."
As Zhu Mei spoke, she stuffed a large bag of medicine into Xiao Hua's hand.
Xiaohua asked in alarm, "It's not that medicine, is it?"
The reason why the original owner, Xiaohua, was able to get pregnant was because Ye Dazhuang prescribed a medicine for her. Xiaohua added it to He Yan's food, which enabled her to successfully consummate her marriage with him.
Zhu Mei revealed a mysterious smile; "Two doses of medicine, one of which guarantees you will have a son."
Xiao Hua waved her hand: "Sister-in-law, no, no, no, I don't want this medicine, and I don't want to have any more sons. I'm content with my daughter."
"Listen to me, Hua'er. We're doing this for your own good. Here, take it." Mao Dani took the medicine and stuffed it directly into Xiao Hua's luggage.
The next morning, Xiaohua's mother and her sister-in-law got up early to make more than a dozen pancakes, boil more than twenty local eggs, and prepare two jars of pickled vegetables and a jar of cured meat for Xiaohua to eat on the way.
Xiao Hua's mother, Mao Dani, cried as she made pancakes: "When Hua'er went to the He family, everyone looked down on her. Her family home is also a long way away. She suffered grievances and was beaten and scolded, but no one cared about her."
In this era, it was commonplace for women to be beaten and mistreated.
The eldest sister-in-law, Zhu Mei, sighed and said, "It would have been better to let Hua'er stay with my cousin from my maternal family. Although it wasn't a life of luxury, at least she would have enough to eat and wear and wouldn't be mistreated. Her maternal family would be right there, with four older brothers watching over her. Who would dare to bully our Hua'er?"
"Come on, your cousin from your mother's side, he stutters so badly, he can only say one word, I...I...I...I can't say a second word for a long time. Our Xiaohua, who says she can't read a few words, at least she doesn't stutter and speaks fluently. Who says she's a little chubby but has fair skin and good looks, she's a good match for He Yan."
Ye Dazhuang sat on the kitchen threshold, took a puff of his cigarette, and said against his conscience.
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