Chapter 154: Prosperity 154: A Glimpse of the Amazing
1973, the twenty-third day of the winter month.
Chu Dai sent telegrams to the Southern Military Region, the Construction Corps and Datunzi Village to announce the good news that his family had a new addition.
The two boys were named Chu Jinghong and Chu Liuying respectively.
Because it was almost the end of the year, Gu Qinglie gave the two children nicknames:
Tuan Tuan and Nian Nian.
Although it was winter, it was not cold on the island, the indoor temperature was 19 degrees.
After Gu Qingqing gave birth, the man wrapped her in a quilt and took her home from the clinic to recuperate. Fearing that she would feel suffocated, he drew most of the curtains in the bedroom, leaving the rest open for ventilation.
Because the window was covered with screens, there wasn't much wind coming in from outside, so it couldn't blow on her.
Gu Qingqing has two children and she doesn't have much milk. Fortunately, her husband bought milk powder in advance, so the children don't have to go hungry.
Xu Nian came to see her with the child in her arms, and Chu Dai and Gu Qinglie discussed what to stew for her in the evening.
"Qingqing, who do these two babies of yours look like?" Looking at the wrinkled red children wrapped in the quilt on the bed, Xu Nian couldn't help teasing her.
"Like Chu Dai." Gu Qingqing said without hesitation, "Or my second brother."
Xu Nian chuckled, and the little boy in her arms, who was wearing a thin long gown, was also dancing with joy.
Xiaoyuer is more than five months old and is very naughty. He wants her to hold him and walk around the island every day and can't stay at home.
"Your two babies might be difficult to take care of. At first I thought they were two boys, with pointed bellies. You like to eat sour food, so I guessed it was accurate." Xu Nian sat on the bed, put Xiao Yuer on the bed and let him crawl by himself. Looking at the two little kids, he said, "How much did your Tuan Tuan and Niannian weigh when they were born?"
"The big one is 15.30 pounds, and the small one is 15.50 pounds." Gu Qingqing was drinking a cup of brown sugar water slowly. She had recovered now. She glanced at the two sleeping children and said, "Niannian is heavier than her brother. The military doctor said that twins should be well-nourished if they weigh 15 pounds. Mine was born before the full term."
Xiao Yu'er bit his fingers and looked at his two younger brothers curiously with his big eyes.
"Fortunately, your second brother is here, otherwise he would be too busy to handle it." Xu Nian teased his son: "Bai Tao is in a mess right now, but fortunately her eldest son is quite obedient and can help."
"By the way, has she come to see you?"
"Not yet. She probably didn't know the letter when she was at the clinic. It's getting late now. She won't come until tomorrow."
Xu Nian nodded and glanced at the milk powder bag on the bedside table next to her. She said, "Tuan Tuan and Niannian don't want milk?"
"I don't have much milk." Gu Qingqing blushed a little: "Maybe we can mix them together in the future."
"Ah, that's fine." Xu Nian patted his son's little butt. "Now milk powder is expensive and hard to buy. Your Captain Chu must have some connections."
Gu Qingqing didn't quite understand all this, so she just shook her head and said, "Why don't you stay for dinner tonight? That way you don't have to go back and cook."
"No, Zhao Ze will bring it back from the cafeteria. He said that the soldiers in the Corps are so excited today that they are discussing what to give them for the baby's full moon."
After taking another look at the blanket, Xu Nian noticed that both children were wearing life-saving locks. He asked in surprise, "Did your Captain Chu buy this?"
"My eldest and second brother asked someone to buy them in advance," Gu Qingqing took a look and her eyes softened. "Chu Dai asked Xiao Zhao to buy two pairs of silver bracelets for the kids from the department store. Xiao Zhao bought four pairs, and he said two pairs were birthday gifts for his nephew."
Xu Nian had heard her talk about Chu Zhao, a brother who grew up with Chu Dai.
She felt a little envious: "Your parents and father-in-law should also send gifts, right?" When she gave birth to Xiaoyuer, no one at home cared about her and the telegram she sent back fell on deaf ears.
"I think so. I just sent a telegram back today." Thinking of this, Gu Qingqing couldn't help laughing, "My second brother was afraid that Chu Dai would give the names of the kids to my parents to choose, so he insisted on letting him send the telegram after Chu Dai chose the names."
"Sister." Shen Sui was standing at the door, his dark eyes looking at her: "Brother-in-law asked me to ask you, is it okay to make chicken soup for dinner?"
"Okay." Gu Qingqing nodded with a smile, then asked, "Have you finished your homework?"
"I've finished writing." The boy stood at the door for a while. He wanted to ask his sister if it hurt, but when he saw Sister Xu Nian was there, he turned around and left, not forgetting to close the door.
Xu Nian looked at his back and smiled. "I heard that it was Ah Sui who ran to the battalion headquarters to find the sentry and asked him to inform Captain Chu to go to the health center. It is said that the kid was extremely anxious at the time. I have never seen him so emotional before."
"This child has a more introverted personality and is good at hiding his emotions." Gu Qingqing felt warm in her heart.
Xu Nian talked to her for a few more words, and reminded her of some things to pay attention to during the confinement period. Finally, he asked, "Do you want me to come and take care of you during the confinement period? Men are bound to be inconsiderate sometimes."
"No need." Gu Qingqing looked at the little baby squirming in her arms and said, "Hurry up and take Xiaoyuer out for a walk. He can't stay still anymore."
"Okay, okay." Xu Nian was also somewhat helpless: "This child becomes more energetic as the night goes on. I'll come to see you tomorrow."
"good."
During the confinement period, it was the man who helped her with things like wiping her body. She was a little shy at first, but later she got used to it and it was no big deal.
In the blink of an eye, it was the full moon. Gu Qingqing was wrapped up warmly and wore a woolen hat that Bai Tao made for her.
Tuan Tuan and Niannian are in the hands of their father and uncle respectively. Gu Qinglie is ready to shave the hair of his two nephews.
Gu Qingqing questioned: "Can you do it?"
Gu Qinglie was unwilling: "When your brother was fighting, he could even chop off the heads of the enemies, let alone shaving their hair."
Chu Dai frowned and reminded: "This is your nephew, not an enemy."
"I know." Gu Qinglie used a razor to gently scrape his fingertips to make sure he wouldn't hurt his two nephews by slipping his hands. Then he turned around and asked the two people holding children behind him: "Who should go first, Tuan Tuan or Niannian?"
The two children looked exactly the same, and he could hardly tell them apart. He had thought that they would look different like him and his brother, but that turned out to be a mistake.
Gu Qingqing stood behind the man and pulled her son's ear. There was no birthmark behind his right ear. "This is Nian Nian. You can pick one first."
Tuan Tuan has a very faint birthmark behind his right ear, while Niannian has one behind his left ear. It’s not noticeable unless you look closely.
"Let's just call it Niannian. This kid looks a bit like me." He lied with his eyes open. Chu Dai sneered and handed the child to him.
It was a day off today, so the soldiers from the Corps came here after having breakfast in the canteen. They came to the yard with Zhao Ze and his wife. As soon as they came in, they saw Gu Qinglie sitting on a small stool, shaving the baby's hair.
"Can you do this? Why don't you ask me to do this kind of work?" Zhao Ze squatted beside him.
"Who knows if you, the knife-wielding fellow, are home and have time." Gu Qinglie blew the loose hair on Nian Nian's head and touched it with satisfaction, not wanting to hesitate at all: "Give me Tuan Tuan. When I retire from the army, I will open a barber shop next to the army."
Chu Dai carried Nian Nian over. The little boy had no idea that he had a shaved head. He yawned on his father's shoulder and soon fell asleep.
Gu Qingqing looked on worriedly, "He sleeps too much during the day and becomes restless at night. I don't know if this can be corrected in the future."
Xu Nian handed Xiao Yu'er to Zhao Ze and talked to Gu Qingqing: "It can be corrected when he grows up. Anyway, there are several men in your family to take care of the children, and you can sleep peacefully at night."
Gu Qingqing glanced at Xiao Yuer and asked, "How big is considered big?"
Xu Nian was speechless and sighed.
They had lunch at the Chu's house. Gu Qingqing had just finished her confinement, and the men felt sorry for her and didn't let her cook. So they went to the backyard to find some food and rolled up their sleeves to get to work.
Tuan Tuan and Niannian shaved their heads. Chu Dai took a wooden basin and mixed some warm water for the two children to take a bath. After they got in the water, although the two children closed their eyes, their feet kept flapping.
Shen Sui and Gu Qinglie were waiting by the side, each holding a large towel.
The two women went to the room to chat. Zhao Ze held his son and teased them: "You two uncles can be regarded as taking care of the baby and experiencing being a father in advance. Old man, you have to hurry up, right?"
Gu Qinglie leaned against the wall and squinted at the man wearing glasses at the door: "You're starting to tremble now that you have a son, right? I'm not in a hurry. Wait until you have a grandson and then you can get married. Then we can arrange a baby marriage."
Zhao Ze was amused: "Then you are a generation younger than all of us, right?"
Gu Qinglie: “…” It’s over, I’ve got myself trapped.
Shen Sui sighed unnoticeably. What should he do since his second brother is a bit silly?
Lunch was served at noon. Gu Qingqing and Xu Nian ate in the room. The baby was also in the room. The men finally had a day off and wanted to drink and relax, but they were too lazy to care.
Xu Nian fed her son fish paste. Sea fish has few bones and it was chopped into paste and steamed. The little fish loved it.
Gu Qingqing was feeding Tuantuan. She used to feel embarrassed to lift her clothes in front of Xu Nian, but now she doesn't care about that as long as the child cries.
"You can ask Chu Dai to make you some milk-producing soup. I always feel that milk powder is not as good as breast milk."
Gu Qingqing was stunned for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "What are some milk-inducing products? Can you write them down for me? I can't remember them."
"OK."
At night, Chu Dai collected the dried diapers in the yard into the room. Seeing the little woman feeding her baby, he couldn't help but look at her a few more times and slowly sat down beside the bed.
Gu Qingqing felt a little uncomfortable under his burning gaze, "Go make some milk powder for the kids first, it's not enough."
The man hummed, folded the diaper and placed it beside the bed, then went to get the bottle.
When he came in after making the milk, Gu Qingqing asked, "Will long-term drinking of milk powder lead to insufficient nutrition? Sister Anian wrote me a few milk-inducing soups. Will you start making them tomorrow?"
"Okay." The man dropped some milk powder to test the temperature, and then stuffed it into the mouth of his son.
He could hardly tell the two boys apart by their faces, and Gu Qingqing was also a little confused. Before, she often fed one child twice while the other one cried loudly due to hunger. Now, she would check the birthmarks behind the babies' ears before feeding them.
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