"She's breastfeeding the baby. Let's eat first. Leave a plate for her in the pot, and she can have her turn after I finish."
That's how raising children is: whoever has free time eats first, and after eating, you quickly switch to someone else to watch the child.
The baby can't roll over or crawl yet, so you don't really need to watch over him. But once he can roll over and crawl, he'll need someone to look after him even more.
It's easier if there are many people in the family, as they can take turns looking after the child. But if there are few people in the family and no one can help, they have to carry the child in a baby carrier while cooking, and they basically have to hold the child while eating.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuzhen nodded, left a plate of dumplings in the pot, covered it with the lid, and brought the rest inside so the family could quickly eat.
Sheng Xiping ignored all that, devoured a plate of dumplings in a flash, and then hurried to the west room to relieve Zhou Qinglan so she could eat while he looked after the child.
Xiao Xinhua is older now. He can play for a while in the morning, and after drinking milk, he lies on the kang (a heated brick bed), kicks his little legs, and hums and haos to amuse himself.
Sheng Xiping took out the rattle drum that Sheng Xitai played with when he was a child and gently shook it to amuse the child.
With someone to play with, Xiao Xinhua was especially happy, waving his arms and legs and making noises towards Sheng Xiping.
Sheng Xiping put the small rattle drum in his son's hands, but unfortunately, Xinhua was too young to pick it up and could only watch helplessly.
Upon seeing this, Sheng Xiping picked up the rattle drum again and shook it to soothe the child. He couldn't help but sigh to himself, "These days, we really have nothing."
In his past life, he had seen other people raising children with something called a fitness piano or something like that.
Babies this age love to kick and stomp; when their little feet kick the keyboard, the piano makes a sound.
Moreover, that thing also has a crossbeam, on which all sorts of small toys are hung, within easy reach of the child.
He'd seen other people's children, lying there playing for ages.
Forget it, there's no use thinking about it too much. What can I do in this day and age? I'll think of something later and see if I can do anything for my son.
Just as Sheng Xiping was pondering this, the dogs outside started barking.
Startled, Sheng Xiping quickly checked on his son, only to find the little guy lying there having a great time, showing no signs of being frightened.
Sheng Xiping breathed a sigh of relief. That was good; otherwise, there really wouldn't have been a way to settle those dogs.
"Happy New Year, Auntie! Happy New Year, Uncle!"
From the outer room, one could hear Chen Weiguo's movements. Needless to say, he had finished breakfast and was leading his younger siblings to pay New Year's greetings.
"Happy New Year! Happy New Year!" Zhang Shuzhen and Sheng Liancheng quickly greeted Chen Weiguo and the others.
"Quickly, sit on the kang (heated brick bed). Second brother, quickly bring out the melon seeds, candy, and other snacks."
Xiping, Weiguo has come to wish us a Happy New Year with his wife, younger brother, and younger sister.
"Hey, bring the baby to the east room. It's alright, the baby's out of confinement and can see strangers." Zhang Shuzhen called out from the east room.
Sheng Xiping agreed, then picked up his son, wrapped him in a blanket, and carried him to the east room.
"Oh my, this child is so cute and chubby-cheeked."
He looks like Xiping, but is better looking; he probably inherited the best features from both of them.
When Chen Weiguo saw Sheng Xinhua, he was extremely impressed.
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