In the blink of an eye, it was the Spring Festival of 1975. I represented that soon everything would be different.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Song Lili took Zhang Qinghua and Xiao Baozi to the Fifth Brigade. The second day is the day to visit one's maternal parents' home.
Song Yongren had been waiting for a long time. When he saw the group, his eyes lit up with a smile, and he quickly led them into the house.
After going inside, I gave Xiao Baozi a piece of candy that I had bought from the supply and marketing cooperative. "Eat it quickly, it's very sweet."
"These are my grandpas," the little dumpling said softly, before stuffing the food into his mouth, filling it completely in an instant.
"Xiao Chen is such a good boy," Song Yongren said with a smile. This child is polite and likable.
Song Lili didn't stop them. In this day and age, people rarely see candy, and even if they do eat it, it won't damage their teeth. Why should she stop them?
She patted the little dumpling's bottom and said, "Go play with your brothers." He couldn't sit still here.
The little dumpling wiggled, somewhat unwilling, but not wanting to listen to the adults talking here, so he came up with a solution that satisfied both sides.
"Little sister, I want to play with little sister." This was my aunt's little sister.
Song Lili chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. She didn't know what was wrong with this kid; he just didn't like playing with Song Jianshe's two children.
Every time I asked him to go, he refused.
This time, they've learned their lesson and even managed to change the subject.
However, she didn't insist. "Okay, go find your aunt and go see your sister."
As long as he doesn't cause trouble, I'll let him be.
The adults inside only spoke after the children had gone outside.
Song Yongren asked Zhang Qinghua if his family was alright, and then asked about other things before stopping.
At this moment, Xia Niu and Song Fang brought up the prepared food and placed it on the table.
"Sister, come and eat quickly. This is what I made. Try it and see how it is," Song Fang said with a smile.
Song Lili nodded. She wasn't interested in the topic Song Yongren was talking about, so she just went along with it.
A short while later, Zhang Qinghua, Song Jianshe, Chu Ci, and Song Yongren also arrived.
After everyone had a meal, they sat back down in the main room and continued talking.
"Lili, are you planning to have another child? Xiaochen is already five years old, we can't just have one child."
Song Lili was both embarrassed and incredibly surprised that Song Yongren would say such a thing.
Is she being pressured to have another child? Or is it for a second child?
If she could, she wouldn't really want to have children; one would be enough.
Later I thought about it and realized that one child is too lonely, so I wanted to have another one, but I didn't want to have one now.
In recent years, she has tried every method to avoid having children, but she doesn't know which one worked, and she just couldn't get pregnant.
Now, caught off guard by Song Yongren's sudden urging, she was a little stunned and didn't know how to answer.
The others were also surprised that Song Yongren would bring up such a topic, and they were all a little embarrassed, not knowing how to break the awkward silence.
Finally, Zhang Qinghua said, "When Lili gave birth to Xiaochen last time, her body was somewhat damaged and she was not suitable to have children, so she hasn't had any in the past few years."
"Let's wait a while, until Lili is better, then we'll have the baby."
Actually, he was embarrassed himself, but he couldn't just stay silent.
So, I could only swallow my embarrassment and let the matter drop.
He actually knew in his heart that Lili seemed to not want to have children and was somewhat resistant to it.
He already had Xiaochen, so he didn't force it and let everything take its natural course.
If you have the means, then have the baby; if you don't, it's not a big deal.
However, to my surprise, while my parents-in-law didn't say anything, my father-in-law actually started urging us to have a baby today.
Song Lili was also completely embarrassed, her face contorted with various colors, and it took her a while to regain control of her facial expressions.
Seeing that Song Yongren was still staring at her, she could only bite the bullet and say, "Fine, I'll give birth, okay?"
Think about it, it's fine to have the baby now. But when the policies loosen up in a few years, she'll be busy and won't be able to take care of it then.
If we give birth now, by then the baby will be just the right size, and we won't have to worry about it so much.
That's why I said that.
Upon hearing this, Song Yongren felt relieved.
This has become a major worry for him. Four or five years have passed, and there's still no sign of Lili getting pregnant. He's extremely anxious.
If it weren't for Xiao Chen, he would have doubted whether his daughter could have children.
This time, he finally couldn't hold back and said it. He was relieved to hear Song Lili's agreement.
The atmosphere remained tense for the rest of the time because of that awkward topic from before.
After Song Lili and Zhang Qinghua had been together for a while, Song Lili left with Xiao Baozi. Once home, Song Lili asked Zhang Qinghua a question.
"Is there some rumor going around? Otherwise, my boss wouldn't be urging me to have a baby."
Song Yongren is a father, and this kind of topic is not suitable to talk to his daughter, nor is he comfortable talking about it.
He would never have said such a thing unless he was really pushed to the limit.
Zhang Qinghua shook her head. "No, what business is it of anyone else if we don't have children? Besides, it's not that we can't have children, we just don't want to."
"Aren't you angry with me?" Song Lili looked at Zhang Qinghua, who was becoming more and more charming as a mature man, wanting to know what he was thinking.
Zhang Qinghua shook his head. "Why should I blame you? We already have Xiao Chen. We already have our own child."
"From now on, we can have children whenever we want, and we won't if we don't want to."
Anyway, Zhang Qinghua didn't have any requirements regarding children; he just wanted to have some.
If the first child is a daughter, Zhang Shengtian might still want the couple to have a son. If the first child is a son, Zhang Shengtian wouldn't have anything to say.
He became even less concerned.
“Let’s have another child. Xiao Chen is too lonely and has no one to play with.”
Compared to other people in the village, Song Lili had the fewest children, and no one in her husband's family looked down on her.
Therefore, when people meet Song Lili, they say that she is lucky and married into a good family.
Song Lili sometimes felt speechless. Was it really a good family if they didn't pressure her to have children?
But then I thought about it again and realized that what they said made sense. Families like that are extremely rare, not just in Hongqi Village, but throughout the vast rural areas.
So, she did indeed marry into a good family.
"Are you really willing to have this child?" Zhang Qinghua looked down at Song Lili, not wanting her to force herself.
Song Lili nodded, "Yes, I was planning to have two children anyway, and now it seems like it's time."
She has her own plans and intentions, and having a child now doesn't conflict with those plans.
Seeing that Song Lili was not reluctant at all and genuinely wanted to have another child, Zhang Qinghua nodded and said, "Okay, this time I want a daughter."
He loves his daughter, and he loves that she looks like Lili, so that he can play with her, accompany her as she grows up, and stand up for her if anyone bullies her.
So this time, he doesn't want a brat, he wants a daughter.
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