Summer arrives later in the northern frontier, but the afternoon sun, filtering through the window lattices, still carries a touch of heat. The inner courtyard of the General's Mansion, however, remains cool, with ice basins placed in the four corners, their gentle coolness dispelling the summer heat.
In the center of the warm pavilion, a large, thick woolen rug was laid out, becoming a paradise for the three little children. Yue Ge'er, not yet two years old, was trying hard to stuff a colorful cloth ball into a wooden tub, his little face turning red; Zhou Ge'er was holding a cloth tiger, babbling incoherently, drool dripping from his mouth; the only little girl, Han Jie'er, was the quietest and most well-behaved, sitting in An An's arms, her big, grape-like eyes wide open, curiously watching the "pregnant aunt" on the soft couch opposite.
Shen Zhao leaned against the soft couch, her belly already swollen into a round little mountain. In her hand, she held a delicate rattle drum, gently shaking it to tease the little fish, her face radiating a tender, maternal smile: "Han'er, look at Auntie (An'an and Shen Zhao are cousins) here! Dong dong dong! Doesn't it sound nice?"
The little fish grinned, its toothless mouth agape, and reached out its chubby little hand to grab it.
While protecting Han'er from falling, An'an smiled and said to Shen Zhao, "She loves this sound the most. She dances with joy whenever she hears the rattle drum."
Just then, Yue Ge'er, who had been trying hard to stuff the ball in, finally succeeded. He clapped his little hands excitedly, stood up unsteadily, and mumbled, "Mommy! Ball! Bucket!" But he lost his balance and landed hard on his little bottom on the blanket. He didn't cry. He just paused for a moment, then huffed and puffed as he got up again and continued to try to get his ball.
Shen Zhao couldn't help but chuckle: "Yue Ge'er's personality is just like his father's; he's so stubborn, he doesn't even cry when he falls down."
“That’s right,” An’an said with a smile as she hugged Yue Ge’er, who had crawled over, and wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead. “He’s just like his father when he was a kid, very tough.”
Seeing his brother being held by their mother, Zhou Ge'er dropped the cloth tiger and crawled over on all fours, burying his head in An'an's other arm, looking up at her with his little face: "Mommy! Hug me!"
An An smiled, holding one of her chubby sons in each arm and her little daughter sitting on her lap. Although she was a little flustered, her eyes and brows were full of contentment and happiness.
Looking at this heartwarming yet "chaotic" scene, Shen Zhao touched her belly, feeling both envious and a little worried: "Sister-in-law, look at you taking care of three children all by yourself and it's so...so..." She couldn't find the right words for a moment.
"Chaos and chaos?" An'an chuckled, skillfully adjusting the two squirming little ones in her arms. "You'll get used to it. When your two darlings are born, the wet nurses and nannies will help for the first few months. You'll just be responsible for feeding them and playing with them. It won't tire you out. Once they can crawl and walk, that'll be the real fun."
Shen Zhao imagined the scene of two little babies crawling all over the floor, shrank her neck, and then asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, how will they sleep at night? Will they sleep with you? Won't they roll over on you?"
As An'an brushed away Zhou Ge'er's little head, which was trying to nibble at her clothes, she said, "In the first few months, it was convenient for them to sleep with me at night because I had to feed them and change their diapers. Later, when they got a little older, they slept in separate beds on the small cot next to my big bed. As for sleeping on top of me..." She winked mischievously, "When your older brother comes back and wants to sleep next to me, he has to see if these three little devils are willing! Often, in the middle of the night, some stinky boy will put him in the middle and kick him away."
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