After returning, Bi Qiaoan immediately entered the space.
An'an and Nuannuan sat obediently on the sofa reading. The chicken soup in the kitchen was ready; the broth was bright and clear, and the chicken was tender and juicy—truly a delicacy.
She turned the stove down to the lowest setting, took off her heavy coat, changed into light pajamas, sat on the sofa, and read a book with her two children.
Two hours later, Shen Yanming returned. Finding no one home, he asked his wife to pull him into his spatial dimension. After serving some soup, he went out again.
He had to take the child to the hospital before returning. Only after his wife pulled him into his private space could he rest for a while.
Bi Qiaoan asked, "Why are there so many pregnant women in the hospital? Is it just today that there are so many, or has it been like this all along?"
“There have been a lot of people lately. Think about it, it’s the dead of winter and no one’s out. There’s not much entertainment, so what can people do? Of course, they’ll do things that make them happy. So the birth rate will naturally go up, won’t it?” Shen Yanming said.
Bi Qiaoan glared at him, embarrassed and annoyed, and muttered, "You're being indecent."
Shen Yanming chuckled: "What I said couldn't be more serious. It's just the truth."
Bi Qiaoan ignored him and only asked, "How will you raise it after it's born? With the conditions at the base, it'll probably be difficult."
Shen Yanming ruffled her long hair and said, "The base has a policy that provides certain material subsidies for newborns. How about we have one too?"
Bi Qiaoan: "...No, that's enough. Aren't An'an and Nuan Nuan enough?"
Shen Yanming smiled but didn't say anything.
The couple chatted for a while longer before going to rest. It wasn't until the afternoon of the next day that they took some baby formula and other necessities to the hospital to see Li Wanwan.
The milk powder was unpackaged, so the Li family instinctively assumed that Shen Yanming had switched it at the guard post. Of course, Shen Yanming did indeed go there and exchanged some to mix with his own stockpiles.
Zhang Heping was overjoyed and kept tugging at Shen Yanming, saying, "I have a daughter!"
Shen Yanming couldn't stand his foolishness, so he laughed and pulled him away. But Zhang Heping wouldn't let it go, and went even further: "How about we arrange a marriage between our children? Look at my daughter, isn't she beautiful!"
Shen Yanming looked at the wrinkled little monkey on the hospital bed and his lips twitched: "These things aren't allowed now. My An'an can choose whoever she likes in the future. I, as her father, won't interfere."
"Aren't you afraid he'll fall for someone with bad character?" Zhang Heping asked.
"I trust my son's judgment. Isn't that right, baby?" Shen Yanming said, then poked An'an's little face.
An An nodded enthusiastically and pointed at Bi Qiao An, saying, "I want to find a wife just like my mother."
Bi Qiaoan was overjoyed and kissed An'an on the cheek, making An'an shyly hide behind her father.
Shen Yanming asked Zhang Heping, "When will you be discharged from the hospital?"
"Tomorrow morning. There are many pregnant women at the base, and beds are in short supply. If we hadn't made arrangements in advance, Wanwan wouldn't have been able to check in," Zhang Heping said in a low voice.
Shen Yanming nodded: "Isn't that considered an employee benefit?"
"Yes, you could say that," Zhang Heping said with a smile.
Has Lao Ji been here?
“He came over last night. He probably found no one at my house, so he asked the neighbors. He and Yiren have to go to work today, so they didn’t come over.”
"Hmm. I heard a lot of people helped yesterday, your mother should thank them. Do you need anything?" Shen Yanming gestured with his eyes, indicating that he was going to the warehouse to get something.
Zhang Heping thought about it and realized that he needed quite a lot. There were baby clothes, diapers, sanitary napkins, and various nutritional supplements.
Although my brother-in-law had some, there was no need to ask him for them. So I quietly stated my request.
Shen Yanming nodded in agreement and kept it in mind.
"I'll bring it to you in a couple of days," he said.
“Okay, no rush,” Zhang Heping replied.
Li Wanwan didn't hear anything, but seeing them whispering, she could guess what Zhang Heping was saying. However, she didn't stop them.
Li Wanwan felt that marriage meant two families, and she couldn't always hang out with her brother. Otherwise, her sister-in-law would get annoyed after a while.
After both parties reached an agreement, Shen Yanming left with his family. Later, he found some time to go out with the guard team, took out the items in a secluded spot in the mountains, stuffed them into his backpack, and also hunted a rabbit and a pheasant, which he then carried back to the guard team.
The rabbit was given to Zeng Yiming, and the pheasant was given to Zhang Heping.
After returning, he told Bi Qiaoan, "The matter between Yiming and Xiaoyezi is settled."
"Wow, so fast?" Bi Qiaoan exclaimed in surprise.
Shen Yanming chuckled: "Your aunt thinks it's too slow. She wishes they could get married today and have a baby tomorrow."
"However, they really did move quickly. It's said they got engaged after only four meetings," Shen Yanming added.
"Oh? Tell me, which four sides are they?"
"The first time we met was when we accompanied each other on a blind date. The second time was when we were forced to go on a date by Mr. and Mrs. Ding and Mr. and Mrs. Zeng. The third time was when I gave him two rabbits and he took them to find Ding Xunye. The fourth time was when we were forced by both sets of parents to go hunting and gather firewood together with the guard team. That's how we got engaged."
"Hmm, that's progressing pretty fast. But neither of them seems very enthusiastic. They've had so many opportunities to spend time together, how come they've only met four times?"
"Ha, isn't it all because of the pressures of life? Even in winter, we still have to work. Who dares to be completely idle? It's already pretty good that we've made this progress."
When will they register?
"It'll be in the next couple of days. My aunt said she'll treat us to a meal on New Year's Day, which will be like a wedding banquet."
“Then we’ll have to prepare in advance,” Bi Qiaoan said with a smile.
Time flew by and it was the end of the year. On this day, the family of four went to the Zeng family's house for a meal, bringing some gifts with them.
Mother Zeng had made all the preparations in advance and was just waiting for everyone to arrive.
Since Ding Xunye didn't have any red clothes, she tied a red ribbon around her head.
She wasn't wearing makeup, but an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl is beautiful no matter what. Her cheeks were rosy, like apples, and she was incredibly cute.
Bi Qiaoan made a couple of jokes with a smile and then handed the bag to Zeng's mother. Zeng's mother didn't try to hide it from anyone and opened it to look inside.
Inside were over ten kilograms of peeled corn kernels and various beans, as well as about two kilograms of dried persimmons. None of these were uncommon, but they were still considered good stuff.
Mother Zeng beamed with joy and thanked the couple profusely. Then she began praising Xiao Yezi for being adorable and sensible, perfectly matching her ideal daughter-in-law.
Ding Xunye blushed even more. But Ding's parents were very satisfied. This was good; there would definitely be very few conflicts with her in-laws in the future.
“I’m really looking forward to them having a baby soon. This facility is great; they even give subsidies for having children. While I’m still young, I can help them take care of their child.”
Bi Qiaoan smiled and nodded. The group chatted for a while before starting to eat.
The meal was simple: shredded potatoes, mushroom soup, a stew of radish and cabbage, and stir-fried rabbit pieces. But everyone ate to their heart's content.
After the meal, the couple exchanged a few auspicious words and then went home.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
