Chapter 142
Gu Xi stayed at the health station for two days. After confirming that everything was alright, she was able to go home with her child.
When they left, Xu Yuansheng carried the things, Feng Min held the child, and Shen Mingzheng wrapped Gu Xi in a blanket to keep her from catching a cold before carrying her home.
Back home, Gu Xi and the child were settled in the bedroom.
Gu Xi noticed that a single bed had been added to the room, right opposite her bed. However, because the room was large, the addition of the bed didn't make it feel cramped.
Shen Mingzheng explained, "I had this bed delivered to you. It's inconvenient for you to sleep here during your postpartum period, so I'll stay here with you."
Gu Xi thought the arrangement was quite good.
The child was so small that she had to be very careful when she slept, afraid of accidentally rolling over onto him. Although the double bed was big, it was a bit cramped with two adults and a newborn baby.
The couple were new parents, and it was inevitable that they would be overwhelmed and flustered when taking care of a newborn baby for the first time.
Fortunately, Qiao Hui and Feng Min lent a hand these past two days, teaching them how to do it; otherwise, the two of them probably wouldn't even know how to feed the baby water or change diapers.
When we got home, the child woke up and started whimpering.
His eyes were not yet open, and his voice was soft, like a kitten meowing, but it didn't sound like he was about to cry.
Shen Mingzheng already had some experience. He first checked the child's bottom and, after confirming that it was clean, he knew that the child was probably hungry.
According to his mother, when a child cries, it's either because he needs to poop or he's hungry.
Gu Xi sat back on the bed, took the baby from him, and breastfed the baby.
The child was still young and didn't eat much. He quickly finished drinking and his little mouth moved slightly before he fell asleep again.
Children this young are at the age where they should be eating and sleeping, and sleeping and eating.
Shen Mingzheng carefully took the child and placed her next to her, then asked in a softer voice, "Xixi, do you want to take a nap? I'll wake you up when it's time to eat."
There was still some time before dinner, and Xu Yuansheng and Feng Min were cooking outside.
Gu Xi shook her head, "I've been sleeping a lot these past two days, so I'm not sleepy now." Then she added, "Big brother, talk to me for a bit."
Shen Mingzheng pulled up a stool and sat down on the edge of the bed to keep her company.
Gu Xi looked at the child's sleeping face, then at him, and suddenly said, "Brother, it's not a daughter, are you very disappointed?"
Before giving birth, when the women in his auntie family predicted that the baby in her belly might be a girl, he seemed quite expectant. Even when Xiang Yun and Gu Tuantuan came to visit, he would occasionally stare at the two little girls. Without asking, it was clear that he was imagining what his daughter would look like in the future, and whether she would be as cute as the two little girls.
Little did they know, their wives were all wrong; the baby they gave birth to was a boy.
Gu Xi said, "I've heard people say that having a son brings temporary joy, but having a daughter brings joy for a lifetime."
This is just hearsay, of course, from the internet, but many real-life examples confirm it: many people who have daughters are truly happy for a lifetime.
She felt quite disappointed that it wasn't her daughter.
"It's alright," Shen Mingzheng said truthfully. "Whether it's a boy or a girl, they are our children."
He adjusted his mindset quickly, and soon accepted the baby's gender after the birth, since the baby's gender is predetermined and cannot be changed at will.
As he said, whether it's a boy or a girl, they are all their children.
Gu Xi held his hand, squeezing and playing with it intermittently. She liked his hands very much; they were well-defined, broad, warm, and strong, with thick calluses on his fingertips and some small scars.
She felt safe and secure every time she was held by those hands.
Although she tried to be gentle, the pressure she applied was still quite strong, causing some pain.
Shen Mingzheng remained unfazed. Let her play if she wants; playing with her own fingers is better than playing with other parts... cough.
Gu Xi comforted him, "Actually, it doesn't matter whether it's a daughter or a son, they'll all get married eventually anyway."
Shen Mingzheng: "...Why does my son have to get married?"
What has she thought of this time?
“Look, when sons grow up, they leave their parents to make their own way in the world. After they get married and have children, they rarely live with their parents. Isn’t that the same as marrying off a daughter?” As she said this, she looked at him and pointed out an example in front of her.
In the future, when the children grow up, it will probably be the same. They can't live with their son and daughter-in-law. It's like their son has gotten married and moved out.
Shen Mingzheng: "..."
Shen Mingzheng knew she had many fallacies, but he had to admit that her fallacies always had a certain logic to them, making them hard to refute.
He was speechless, especially after he understood the look in her eyes.
If it weren't for his special circumstances, he would have been led astray by her and thought he was "married off".
That night, Shen Mingzheng stayed to sleep with his wife and children.
Feng Min was a little worried, "Are you really sure you can handle this? Maybe I should stay and sleep with Xixi, I can help take care of the child too."
"Mom, you get some rest tonight. I'll take care of Xixi and the baby," Shen Mingzheng said. "I'm a father now too, and I need to learn how to take care of a child."
His mother is getting old, not like she used to be. He was worried that she wouldn't sleep well at night and would wear herself out by helping to take care of the children during the day.
It would be better to let his mother get a good rest at night and take care of the child during the day, so that Gu Xi can rest.
Hearing him say that, Feng Min stopped pressing him and smiled, "I remember when you and Mingrong were born, your father said the same thing. You are indeed your father's offspring."
Shen Mingzheng: "..."
Although Feng Min was worried about the young couple, she thought that one night would be fine, so she let them try to take care of her while she went back to her study to sleep.
After confirming that Feng Min had arrived, Shen Mingzheng tidied up the study and let her sleep there.
**
After Gu Xi and her child returned home, several of the women from the family compound came to visit her. Qiao Hui would come every day, sometimes alone, and sometimes with her daughter.
Qiao Hui's daughter is over two years old. She can run and jump, and speaks in a sweet, childlike voice. She is exceptionally cute.
Feng Min was extremely fond of her and hugged the little girl, kissing her several times.
The little girl wasn't shy at all; she pouted and kissed back, making Feng Min beam with joy.
She hugged the child and sighed with Gu Xi and Qiao Hui, "When I heard that Xi Xi gave birth to a son, I wasn't surprised at all, because our Shen family has never been born a daughter."
In Shen Mingzheng's generation, there were no girls in the Shen family, only boys.
Now that it's the next generation, I haven't seen any of them have daughters. I'm afraid the next generation will also be destined to have sons.
“Back then, I always wanted to have a daughter, but in the end, Mingrong was born, and it was another son.” Feng Min sighed. She should have realized long ago that the Shen family was only destined to have sons. Even her daughter-in-law gave birth to grandsons, not the girl she longed for.
Gu Xi also looked regretful, "I also thought this baby was a girl."
Qiao Hui was amused by the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but after seeing Feng Min, she finally understood why Gu Xi had been thinking about her mother-in-law ever since she became pregnant.
They are more like mother and daughter than mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
If she hadn't confirmed that Feng Min was Commander Shen's biological mother, she would have really thought that Feng Min was Gu Xi's biological mother.
Not only Qiao Hui misunderstood, but everyone in the family compound also misunderstood.
Everyone in the family compound thought Feng Min was Gu Xi's biological mother. Judging from how much she cared for Gu Xi, she was even closer to her than a biological mother, taking meticulous care of Gu Xi and the child.
When Ye Fenghua learned that Gu Xi had given birth, she rushed back over the weekend and brought several chickens to help Gu Xi recover.
She came to see Gu Xi and the child, and praised the child, saying that the child looked like Gu Xi and would definitely grow up to be a handsome young man.
Seeing Feng Min bringing chicken noodle soup to Gu Xi, she quickly stood up.
Feng Min sat down beside her and said gratefully, "Comrade Ye, thank you for bringing the chicken to Xixi. I heard from Xixi that you have been taking good care of her since she came here. Thank you so much."
"Auntie, you don't need to thank me. Gu Xi has also helped me a lot. I really don't know how to thank her," Ye Fenghua hurriedly waved her hand, feeling a little embarrassed. She felt that her care for Gu Xi was not even a tenth of what Gu Xi had done for her.
She was truly grateful to Gu Xi, not only for the job Gu Xi had given her, but also for the many lessons Gu Xi had taught her. Just like the stories Gu Xi wrote, they had always inspired her, motivated her to strive for improvement, changed her mindset, and helped her live a better life.
Without Gu Xi, there would be no Ye Fenghua as we know her today.
Feng Min could naturally tell that Ye Fenghua genuinely liked Gu Xi, and she was happy about it. When Ye Fenghua left, she specially packed a bowl of steamed sweet cakes for her to take back to her children at home.
"Auntie, you really don't need to be so polite." Ye Fenghua couldn't refuse, so she had to accept it and said with a smile, "Auntie, you and Gu Xi are truly mother and daughter."
They had just met, and they were already enthusiastically giving her gifts.
Feng Min was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter and asked, "Do Xixi and I really look that much like mother and daughter?"
"Yes, yes." Ye Fenghua felt that her question was a bit strange.
Feng Min said happily, "Although Xixi is not my daughter, in my heart she is just like my daughter."
Ye Fenghua: "..."
When Ye Fenghua learned that Feng Min was not Gu Xi's biological mother, but her mother-in-law, she was stunned.
Which mother-in-law is like Feng Min, treating her daughter-in-law like her own mother? That genuine affection is undeniable, and the intimacy between them, like that of a mother and daughter, is equally undeniable.
Ye Fenghua felt that she and her own mother were not as close as this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Soon, the women in the family compound all learned that Feng Min was not Gu Xi's biological mother, but rather the biological mother of Commander Shen, and Gu Xi's mother-in-law.
This surprised everyone.
When Xu Yuansheng went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy vegetables, someone pulled him aside and asked, "Is Aunt Feng really not Gu Xi's biological mother?"
"No, Aunt Feng is my sister's mother-in-law."
"Really just the mother-in-law?" The other person was skeptical. "What mother-in-law treats her daughter-in-law so well?"
Xu Yuansheng did not offer any further explanation.
These people had no idea what her sister and Aunt Feng had gone through. Her sister had saved Feng Min's life, and Aunt Feng genuinely loved her sister. If it weren't for the Gu family back then... if her sister had become the Shen family's adopted daughter, she and Aunt Feng would have been mother and daughter.
Although there is no such relationship, Aunt Feng does treat her sister like a daughter, which is quite nice.
With Feng Min around, Gu Xi had a very comfortable postpartum period.
Aside from having to get up frequently at night to feed the baby, Feng Min helped take care of the baby during the day, allowing her to catch up on sleep and rest without worry. With ample sleep and nutritious postpartum meals, she gained some weight in just over half a month.
She pinched her soft, round face and felt like she had gained some weight.
Feng Min felt it wasn't enough and tried her best to nourish her body, saying that she should take advantage of the postpartum period to replenish the essence and blood lost during childbirth.
Before coming here, she sent a lot of things over in advance. When she came to the army, she also brought a lot of luggage, all of which were foods and supplements that would help women in postpartum confinement.
Seeing Feng Min bring over another bowl of soup, Gu Xi began to worry: "Mom, if I keep eating like this, will I become fat?"
"Nonsense," Feng Min scolded playfully. "You're so thin, you won't get fat no matter how much you eat."
Shen Mingzheng, who was changing his child's diaper nearby, thought his mother was right. No matter how much his wife ate, she would never get fat. If she could gain some weight, he would like her even more.
At this moment, Feng Min turned her head and glared at him: "And you, you're not allowed to make Xixi eat the tonic soup anymore. Let her finish it herself. It's for her to nourish her body. What's the point of nourishing a grown man like you? From now on, watch your mouth!"
Shen Mingzheng: "..."
He couldn't refuse Xixi's request, but he didn't really want to help her eat.
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