Yu Jiu smiled and was about to hand An'an to Yu Caihong to hold. Yu Caihong carefully took her and, following Yu Jiu's instructions, supported her little head and bottom, then rocked her a couple of times.
"So light! How much does An'an weigh?"
"It weighed only 6.5 pounds when it was born, but it's much stronger now. It should weigh around 9 or 10 pounds now."
"You guys really know how to raise a baby. Look how fair and tender the baby is. His little arms and legs are just like lotus roots."
Zhang Yan leaned over and touched the baby with envy. An An was really too beautiful. Everyone who saw her couldn't help but touch her little face and pinch her little legs.
"Awoo."
An'an wasn't shy at all. She nestled quietly in Yu Caihong's arms, neither crying nor fussing. When Zhang Yan came over, she even actively interacted with her, reaching out her little hand and letting out a soft "woof." You could tell from a young age that she was an outgoing little baby.
"Aww, can you say 'Auntie'? An'an, say 'Aunt Zhang' and let me hear it."
"Calling me Aunt Zhang makes me feel old."
After Zhang Yan finished speaking, she felt something was off, as if she had suddenly become thirty years older.
"Are you silly? Calling me 'Auntie' will make you look younger, won't it? No, An'an, you have to call me Rainbow Auntie from now on, that will make you look younger."
Yu Caihong is incredibly clever. Her surname plus "Auntie" is practically the standard for a 50-year-old auntie. Calling her "Little Auntie" is how younger people address her.
“That makes sense. It sounds like the child is younger. Let Zhang Yan hold the baby. I was just talking about you and Gouzi. When are you planning to get married? I've already had my child.”
Yu Jiu was also quite curious, since Zhang Yan had initially intended to get married, but after dating for more than half a year, they still had no intention of getting married.
Zhang Yan picked up the child and glanced at the dog beside her.
"You should ask him, right? What's the use of asking me? I'd like to get married, but he has to marry me first."
Zhang Yan sounded a bit sarcastic, probably because the two of them had argued again. Gouzi scratched his ear and smiled apologetically.
"Why are you still angry? I've already said I know I was wrong. We're already preparing for the wedding. I've almost saved enough money. I'll have my mom calculate the auspicious date. Once it's set, we can get married."
He had already planned to bring up marriage, but Zhang Yan's words made it seem like he didn't want to marry her. Weren't they still getting to know each other before? He was afraid that if they got married too quickly, Zhang Yan would abuse him after marriage.
Are you serious?
“Really, I’ve saved up a hundred yuan. That should be enough for our wedding.”
The dog nodded vigorously.
"That's more like it."
Zhang Yan was finally relieved. If Gouzi didn't bring up marriage, she would dump him and find someone else.
"Thank goodness, I almost lost my wife," Gouzi patted his chest to calm himself down.
"Your relationship is really interesting."
Yu Caihong watched another couple, smiling broadly, thoroughly enjoying her gossipy nature.
"We're both younger than you, and I'm already married. Zhang Yan is getting married soon too. Why don't you even have a boyfriend?"
Yu Jiu took the red date and egg soup that Xu Zijiang handed her, took a sip, and looked at Yu Caihong curiously. Yu Caihong loved watching other people date. She didn't seem like someone who didn't want to be in a relationship, but she hadn't had one all these years, which she couldn't understand.
"I don't have anyone I like. My own relationships aren't as interesting as the ones you guys are in."
Yu Caihong was telling the truth. She knew she couldn't go back to the city, and getting married in the countryside might not be a bad thing, but she hadn't met anyone she wanted to date yet. She really felt it was more interesting to watch them date.
"It seems we are your spiritual sustenance, which is quite nice."
Yu Jiu doesn't plan to pressure her into marriage; whether she wants to get married or not is her own choice.
"Come on, everyone, sit down and eat. I'll put An'an back in her room and let her sleep by herself."
"She's not asleep yet, can we just leave her in the room?"
Yu Caihong was somewhat worried.
"Yes, An'an is quite well-behaved. She usually won't cry if she's not hungry and her diaper isn't wet. Even if she doesn't sleep, she won't be bored if you leave her lying in bed alone. Besides, she can't turn over or roll off the bed right now, so it's fine."
As Yu Jiu spoke, she carried An An back to the room.
Zhou Chunrong and Wen Hongjuan, along with Xu Zijiang, brought out the last few dishes.
"Dinner's ready! We're celebrating Yu Jiu's successful transition to motherhood and also wishing our little An'an a full-month birthday today."
"Cheers, everyone."
Everyone drank soup instead of wine, raising their bowls and toasting enthusiastically. There were about ten people here today, filling a table, making it an unusually lively occasion, which shows how much Xu Zijiang and Yu Jiu value little An'an.
Little An'an lay on the bed alone for a while, and since no one was playing with her, she got bored and closed her eyes to continue sleeping, allowing everyone to enjoy a good meal in peace.
Another month passed, and little An'an continued to grow healthily. Seeing that it was almost time, Yu Jiu prepared to go back to work. She first went to the department store to personally tell the manager about her situation.
"I promise it won't interfere with my work, and I won't let An'an bother other customers, okay? Can I bring her to work?"
Yu Jiu was discussing the matter very seriously with the manager.
The manager frowned, looking somewhat troubled.
"This is a department store, not a factory. There's no precedent for this. But... never mind, bring your child over for a couple of days. If she's really quiet and doesn't make a fuss, then you can bring her to work with you. Otherwise, you'll have to leave her at home, or you can just not come for the time being and let Gouzi cover for you."
It's not that the manager was deliberately making things difficult for Yu Jiu. The two have been working together for a year, and the pastry counter has brought her a lot of revenue. The manager's attitude towards Yu Jiu is still very good, but she also has to consider the feelings of the customers who come in to buy things.
If there are children crying all the time, who would want to come in and buy anything? This is a high-end place, not some small place like a supply and marketing cooperative.
"Okay, thank you, manager. I'll bring my child over tomorrow. I'll try it for a few days. If it doesn't work, I'll stay home and focus on taking care of my child."
Yu Jiu said gratefully.
Xu Zijiang is the team leader, and he has a lot of things to do every day. He definitely can't take care of the child every day; he can only take care of him occasionally. So if Yu Jiu can bring the child to work, the two of them can take turns taking care of the child. If not, she will have to stay at home and focus on taking care of the baby.
After all, she didn't want to miss her baby's growth. She was only at work to kill time. The snack counter was already open, and even if she didn't come to work now, the manager wouldn't make her close it.
However, she had another idea. Since the pastries at the pastry counter were selling so well, she wanted to collaborate with another department store and asked the manager to make a connection for her. Their commune had two department stores, and the other one was quite far away, so opening a pastry counter there wouldn't affect business here.
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