Chapter 134
The three of them arrived at Zhou Lin's house excitedly, but were stopped at the door.
Zhou Lin said calmly, "Ah Jin and Xiao Taozi just fell asleep. He was exhausted these past two days and it was only with great difficulty that he was able to fall asleep."
Zhou Qiang gave an awkward smile: "Oh, I see. We've come at the wrong time."
"Then, brother, we'll come to see you and your nephew another day."
As Bai Jin spoke, she took out a bowl of meatballs from the basket. "These were just fried by Mom a couple of days ago. They're really crispy. Have some, Big Brother and Big Brother Mom."
Zhou Lin shook his head and said, "A-Jin shouldn't eat anything too greasy these days. Let's take it back for Mother and Father."
How did the three of them get there, and how did they get back to the Zhou family?
Zhou Qiang and Bai Jin had been away from home for a long time, so his father-in-law helped them rent a small courtyard in town so that he could study there.
If it weren't for that heavy snow that prevented him from returning to town, he wouldn't have been able to go home until he was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.
Zhou Qiang, who had never been treated so coldly by Zhou Lin before, was quite bewildered and felt a little flustered.
“What’s wrong with my brother? Judging from his appearance, could it be that, as Mother said, he believed what others said about her? What bad things did they say about her that made him so heartless?”
Zhou Ming's husband knew, but he couldn't say anything and could only remain silent.
The three of them were turned away at the door; they couldn't even get into the courtyard, let alone see Little Peach.
Zhou Wu sneered, "What did I tell you? You even brought things over. Now you've learned your lesson, haven't you?"
Zhou Qiang put down the bamboo basket in his hand and asked, "Mother, what bad things are the villagers saying about you? My elder brother wasn't like that at all."
Zhou Wu's face stiffened. "They're just unbearable words. Only your brainless brother would believe them."
After saying that, he went into the kitchen and busied himself with something.
After Zhou Lin chased the three away, he quickly closed the courtyard gate.
Mu Jin needs to rest and recuperate now, and she will never let anyone her husband dislikes bother her.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Lin went to visit relatives in the Mu family alone, carrying two full baskets of gifts. When he returned, he brought back a Mu Bai.
Mu Zhou hadn't returned home before the heavy snow and was stuck at the academy. Zhou Ling felt that this year's New Year was missing something.
Since there was no other way to visit relatives, they went with Mu Bai.
Newborn babies change every day. Compared to yesterday, Mu Bai felt that Xiao Taozi had grown a bit more.
After all the relatives in the village had left, Zhou Lin finally had some free time to take apart the bedding downstairs and wash it clean with well water and soapberry powder.
Unfortunately, it was too cold, and the clean cloth that had just been hung on the drying rack froze stiff in no time.
I don't know when it will be dry.
Zhou Lin went back into the house, picked out the cotton that had been stained red with blood, and hung the rest out to dry like cloth. He used a stick to fluff it up, just like he did with hibiscus.
After finishing my work, I went to the chicken coop, caught the chicken that I had raised the longest, slaughtered it, plucked its feathers, put it in a pot with red dates and hazel mushrooms, lit a small fire on the stove, and slowly simmered it.
Zhou Lin asked Yun Fulang, who had come to help at the time, about the baby. He said that the baby needed to be nourished during his postpartum period, and that chicken soup made from an old hen that had been raised for two or three years was more nourishing than that made from a young chicken.
When the family first moved in, Mu Jin had only a few chickens left from the ones she bought from town.
Zhou Lin thought that he still needed to buy about ten old hens from the village.
Little Peach does nothing but eat and sleep these days, and occasionally poops and peees. Zhou Lin has to wash about ten diapers a day.
Fortunately, we had plenty of hibiscus prepared; otherwise, even drying them by the earthenware stove wouldn't have been fast enough in this weather.
Time passed quietly as Zhou Lin busied himself washing urine containers every day.
Before we knew it, it was time for Little Peach to turn one month old.
In early February, the weather was still bitterly cold, and the snow on the mountains had not yet melted.
Today is Xiao Taozi's full moon celebration. Mu Jin and Zhou Lin didn't invite many people, only their closest friends. Because they were all acquaintances, although there weren't many people, it was still very lively.
Little Peach was obediently held by her little dad. She had phoenix eyes just like Mu Jin, slightly upturned, and her skin was also like Mu Jin's, fair and tender, like a milk cake.
Mu Nianjun was so fond of it that she held it tightly and didn't want to let go.
Mu Jin was happy to have some free time. Yesterday, after finishing her postpartum confinement, she asked Zhou Lin to boil two pots of water so she could take two thorough baths and wash her hair.
I feel much lighter, like I've lost ten pounds.
Back in the house, he didn't want to sleep in the same bedding he'd been using for a month anymore; it just smelled bad. He was grateful that Zhou Lin had been able to sleep next to him for so long.
With a wave of his hand, he ordered Zhou Lin to change all the bedding, so he could finally get a good night's sleep yesterday.
Mian gently ran her index finger across Xiaotaozi's smooth little face, and for the first time regretted not having given birth to a son.
"If Little Sweetie were a man, she would definitely marry Little Peach."
Standing next to Mu Nianjun, Mu Sheng immediately said with delight, "I have a son. Come, come, A Lin, let's talk about the betrothal gifts. Any amount is fine, as long as I can afford it."
Mu Nianjun gave him a playful, reproachful look.
At this moment, Zhou Lin is most fond of Xiao Taozi, and her husband's words will only earn her a disapproving look and nothing more.
As expected, Zhou Lin punched Mu Sheng in the shoulder. Although he didn't use his full strength, it still looked quite painful.
Mu Sheng grinned and said, "Oh, if you don't want to, then don't. Why did you hit me? My little Weiwei is only two years old. I took a punch from his future father-in-law for him. If he grows up and doesn't respect me, I'll have to pay him back for that punch."
Zhou Lin knew Mu Sheng was joking and laughed, "Where's Xiao Weiwei?"
"She's too cold and doesn't want to go out no matter what I do."
"By the way, big brother, what's Little Peach's real name?"
"Zhou Yaoyao, the peach tree is young and tender, its blossoms are bright and beautiful."
"Good name, Yaoyao, will you call me Uncle?" Wen Zhaoran gently held Xiaotaozi's little hand and said softly.
Hibiscus: "..."
At an age when Little Peach was still completely dependent on whoever fed him, it was truly difficult for him to speak.
Bai Qiqiu clapped his hands, "When I have a child, I will name him Zhuohua. It sounds nice, and it sounds like we're brothers from the same family."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "The name has been decided for Xiao Taozi's younger brother. Qi Qiu, you're too late."
Bai Qiqiu felt a pang of regret. "Zhou Zhuohua sounds nice too. Let me think, there are many good poems in the Book of Songs. I must choose a name that sounds most like a brother to Xiao Taozi."
Mu Zhaoye: "......"
Everyone wanted to marry Xiao Taozi, but her husband wanted their children to be Xiao Taozi's brothers.
Mu Jin chuckled and said softly, "You and Zhao Ye should work harder tonight and get pregnant first, then it's not too late to think about it later."
Mu Mian sighed, "It's so good to be literate; it makes your name sound nicer."
Zhou Chuxue smiled and said, "Your little sweetheart's name is also very nice."
Uncle Mu smiled and stretched out his arm, whispering to Little Peach, "Come here, come to Grandpa."
Although Mu Nianjun was reluctant to part with the sweet-smelling little peach in his arms, Uncle Mu was, after all, an elder, so he smiled and gently placed the child in Uncle Mu's arms.
The group chatted and laughed, and Little Peach, who had been looking around with her big eyes wide open, gradually closed them.
The voices of the group gradually quieted down. Fearing that Xiao Taozi would get cold, they had Mu Jin carry him back into the house.
As the sun began to set and it was getting late, the group reluctantly said goodbye to the sleeping Peach and went home.
Mu Jin tidied up the full-moon gifts that everyone had given to Xiao Taozi and put them into the box that Zhou Lin had prepared for Xiao Taozi a long time ago.
With a carpenter father like this, Little Peach has made more wooden objects than anyone else since she was little.
They all had Xiao Taozi on their minds, and around autumn, they bought Xiao Taozi's full-moon gift.
Zhou Si gave her a longevity silver lock, and Mu Nianjun gave her a pair of plain silver bracelets.
Zhou Chuxue gave them handmade tiger-head shoes and a tiger-head hat, with a circle of white rabbit fur sewn around them; they looked incredibly cute.
Like Zhou Si, Master Zhou Lin and Master Shi Mo gave him a longevity silver lock and a rattan cradle that Mu Heng had woven in his spare time in early autumn.
Mumian gave me a red fox fur coat, the kind a two- or three-year-old child could wear.
Bai Qiqiu, being wealthy and generous, gifted Xiao Taozi a small longevity gold lock.
Wen Zhaoran was not to be outdone; she gave Xiao Taozi a longevity gold lock and a bright green jade bracelet when she turned sixteen.
Mu Bai didn't have much money, so he and Wang Li learned to weave a "grass" rabbit for Xiao Taozi.
Lin Nuo, Lin Huzi, Mu Youyu, and the others all sent some congratulatory gifts. Although they were not as valuable as gold and silver, they were all expressions of their goodwill towards Xiao Taozi.
Mu Jin carefully wrapped each of her most valuable gold lock, silver lock, silver bracelet, and jade bracelet in a piece of fine cotton cloth and carefully put them into the box the shop had given her when she bought them.
Little Peach is still too young to wear these.
The small boxes were all placed into the large box that Zhou Lin had made, and then put into the hidden compartment to carefully hide Little Peach.
The fox fur was wrapped in cotton cloth and placed in the chest and cabinet along with the tiger-head shoes and hat.
Everything else was put away, except for the "grass" peach and "grass" rabbit that Wang Li and Mu Bai had given her. Mu Jin put them in the crib to keep the little peach company.
"At such a young age, he's already a little rich kid."
Mu Jin sighed and smiled, unable to get enough of looking at the little peach sleeping soundly in the crib.
Zhou Lin sat down next to him and said, "We'll have to pay it back later. It's not entirely his yet."
Mu Jin's lips curled slightly. "What kind of father are you? You can't pay back the money, yet you still want to take your own son's full-month celebration gift?"
Zhou Lin was speechless for a moment. He then heard about the emerald green and translucent jade bracelet that Zhao Ran had given him. He had been making furniture from morning till night without stopping, and it would probably take him more than ten years to save up enough for it.
Mu Jin knew what he was thinking. "You should return the gift according to your ability. The most important thing is the sentiment. That jade bracelet is a token of your affection for Xiao Taozi. If you refuse it, he will probably get angry again. Besides, when you return a gift, it's not like someone gives you twenty taels and you return twenty-one taels. Being so calculating is too formal."
Zhou Lin nodded. "I was being narrow-minded."
"What should we eat tonight? I don't want to drink chicken soup anymore. I feel like throwing up just looking at it now."
"Yun's husband said that chicken soup is good for your health. You should drink it for a while longer. You lost a lot of blood when you gave birth to Xiaotaozi, so you need to replenish your blood."
Mu Jin sighed, "I've been taking supplements for a month already, that's enough."
Zhou Lin thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow I'll ask Zhao Ye to help me shoot a few pigeons so I can make pigeon soup for you."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "That's fine too, since I'm not drinking chicken soup anyway."
Mu Jin never imagined that one day she would get tired of drinking meat soup.
Life has gotten better.
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