New Year

It was not until noon the next day that Ye Min learned from Liang Juan that Chai Guihong had given birth to a daughter.

"She is old and had trouble giving birth to a baby in the first place. She was in premature labor due to a fall, so this baby was not easy to give birth to. She had labor yesterday morning and gave birth early this morning." Liang Juan said while eating a bowl of rice.

Ye Min's family didn't cook at noon, so eating in the cafeteria saved time on cooking. She had even washed the dishes. If Liang Juan hadn't come to talk to her, she would have gone back to her room for a nap.

Hearing this, she asked, "How are the mother and daughter doing?"

"Chai Guihong is OK. She is strong and has a good foundation, but she has no milk," Liang Juan said, shaking her head. "Her girlfriend was born skinny and can't drink breast milk. I don't know what will happen to her."

"So what did she drink today? Did they prepare some high-fat powder?"

Liang Juan thought Ye Min was too naive: "How could they be willing to spend this money? The milk that the little girl drank today was fed by Director Li with the help of a woman in the same ward. After the last meal, there is no next meal, and it is high in dry powder. It will be good for the little girl to have malted milk in the future."

Thinking of the way she lay on the hospital bed and refused to even look at her daughter when she visited her in the morning, Liang Juan sighed and said, "It might have been better if she had a son, but it was a daughter. It was an accidental child, and she had a difficult birth. How will she live at home in the future? I don't think Chai Guihong likes this child very much."

Ye Min was not surprised by this. When she first told Chai Guihong that she was pregnant, she was not very happy. Later, she even consulted her about abortion. She said that it was not her responsibility and asked Chai Guihong to go to the obstetrics and gynecology department. Chai Guihong hesitated and gave up the idea after going back to think about it.

As early as that time, Ye Min had anticipated that this child might not be liked by his parents after he was born.

It was because of this incident that she wanted to find a way to facilitate the seminar. The child had already been born into Chai Guihong's belly, and she couldn't help her much, but she hoped that there would be fewer children who were not expected by their parents.

So far, the Women's Federation has held no less than ten seminars, with remarkable results. In the past, the number of military wives willing to collect family planning supplies in the compound could be counted on one hand, but now dozens of them go to the Women's Federation regularly every month to collect family planning supplies.

Although used birth control products are destroyed by burning or throwing them into toilets, the situation is indeed changing for the better.

But the child's situation was indeed worse than she had originally expected.

Ye Min asked, "What are they going to feed the baby? Rice porridge? The baby has just been born, and is premature. Is it okay to feed him rice porridge?"

"Director Li should do some work for Captain Wang, right? Actually, although they have many children, their life is not that difficult. They can grit their teeth and scrape together the money to buy Gaogan powder." I just don't know if the parents are willing to chip in.

Liang Juan didn't say the second half of the sentence, thinking for a while and said, "Or let Chai Guihong think of a way to increase the milk supply. We can't let the child starve to death."

After all, whether a child lives a good life depends on his or her parents. No matter how sympathetic outsiders are, they can only watch and worry.

Ye Min thought for a moment and asked, "Has Captain Wang returned?"

"I came back yesterday afternoon."

"Did he say anything about it?"

Liang Juan thought for a moment and shook her head: "He didn't sleep all night last night. When I went there this morning, he had gone home to sleep, so I didn't see him."

"Ask him. He didn't care about anything when Chai Guihong was pregnant. He wasn't there when she fell. He can't just abandon her and not care about her after the baby is born, right?"

"That's one way. I'll ask Director Li this afternoon," Liang Juan frowned and said, "We have to come up with a plan today on how to raise the child. Since Captain Wang and his family live in the compound, we at the Women's Federation can't just watch them mistreat the child."

"Um."

…

The Women's Federation's intervention was still useful. With Director Li's intervention, Chai Guihong and his wife took out their savings and bought two barrels of high-quality dry powder, intending to get through this month.

No matter how little milk Chai Guihong has, there will always be some if she squeezes it out. If she mixes it with rice porridge, the nutritional value may not be enough, but the baby will not starve to death.

Now that the matter had been settled, Ye Min didn't ask any more questions.

However, after Chai Guihong was discharged from the hospital, she still followed the custom of the compound, brought a bag of brown sugar, and went to visit with Liang Juan and Qian Xiaoyun.

It was the fourth day after Chai Guihong gave birth. In fact, in her case, she could have stayed in the hospital for a few more days. However, although the medical expenses for military dependents giving birth were reimbursed, it was impossible to do it without spending a penny. Chai Guihong was reluctant to spend the money, so she went home as soon as she could walk again.

Because she was in confinement after giving birth, when Ye Min and others visited, all the windows in Chai Guihong's room were tightly closed.

She had been with the army for seven or eight years, and had only used the subsidy given by the army to repair the house before moving in, and had never taken care of it since. Several pieces of glass inlaid on the front and back windows of the master bedroom were broken, and she blocked them with cardboard to prevent air leakage.

So even though the sun was shining brightly outside, the light in Chai Guihong's room was not very good and was very dim.

But the place was cleaned up fairly neatly, with things neatly arranged. However, Chai Guihong herself did not look well, with a sallow complexion and little energy.

The child was also like this, wrapped in a worn-out swaddling cloth, and the hat on his head was probably given by someone else and was patched. These were secondary. The important thing was that the child was born prematurely and was underweight, so he looked skinny and pitiful.

But no one said that the child was pitiful in front of Chai Guihong. Instead, they praised the good features of the little girl's face and said that having a daughter in middle age is a blessing for a couple. They also indirectly advised her to treat the child well.

Chai Guihong didn't know whether she heard it or not. She just nodded lightly without expressing her opinion.

She was quite enthusiastic towards Ye Min and Liang Juan, and said to them with a smile: "Thank you so much for that day. If it weren't for you, I don't know if I could have survived."

Liang Juan pretended to be angry and said, "You are in confinement after childbirth, so you shouldn't say such sad words."

Ye Min said: "We are all neighbors, and we should help each other. You should take good care of yourself and don't think too much."

Chai Guihong responded: "Hey!"

After they chatted for a while, Liang Juan looked up and asked, "Is Captain Wang not at home?"

"He went to the military camp." Chai Guihong replied.

"He didn't ask for leave?"

"I was hired for a few days, and today I was picked up and sent to the army," Chai Guihong said. "That's good. Now that we have a child, our expenses will increase. If he has a good job, the burden on the family will be less."

In fact, a few days of vacation does not affect anything. Soldiers have annual leave, which is about one month every year. You can take it together with the Chinese New Year, or split it up.

Chai Guihong and Wang Jie's hometowns are far away from each other. Since she brought her children to follow the army, it is common for her not to go back for two or three years, so she does not lack the ten-day or half-month vacation.

But since Chai Guihong had already made excuses for Wang Jie, if they continued to say this, it would inevitably be suspected of sowing discord, so she agreed and said, "That's right."

Because they had to go to work in the afternoon, the three of them did not stay at Wang's house for too long and left in less than 20 minutes.

Qian Xiaoyun didn't say a word on the way back. She was about to give birth, and seeing Chai Guihong and the child like this, she felt a little uneasy.

Ye Min noticed her mood change and asked Liang Juan after separating from her: "What's wrong?"

Qian Xiaoyun paused, shook his head and said, "...Nothing."

"What's wrong with us talking about this?" Ye Min stopped and didn't go into the house. She looked at Qian Xiaoyun and guessed, "When you saw what was happening at Chai Guihong's house, did you think of yourself?"

"A little bit." Qian Xiaoyun sighed.

"Hmm..." Ye Min thought for a few seconds and said, "Your situation is different from Chai Guihong's. Captain Wang is... hard to say. She has given birth to several children herself. This child came unexpectedly and had a difficult birth. Even if it went smoothly, it would be difficult for her to change her mindset. But Ding Yang is a responsible man. You should be able to feel this in life."

Qian Xiaoyun nodded: "Yes."

"It's your first child, and you and Ding Yang are looking forward to it. You've prepared so many clothes and diapers for the baby before it's even born. I believe that no matter whether it comes smoothly or with difficulty, you both love it." Ye Min advised, "So you are different, and you don't need to think too much about others, understand?"

"I understand," Qian Xiaoyun smiled helplessly, "Maybe it's because I'm pregnant. I can't help but have wild thoughts recently."

"It's always like this when you're pregnant. I've been like this before," Ye Min said. "I think it's okay to have wild thoughts, but you have to find the right balance. There's no need to be sad because of something that doesn't make sense."

"Um."

After they finished talking, they walked into the house.

An An had already fallen asleep in the master bedroom. Feng Aiyun was embarrassed to sleep in Ye Min and Meng Cheng's bed, so she didn't lie down. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed and read a book.

Hearing the noise, she raised her head and asked in a low voice, "Are you back? How is Xu Guihong?"

She didn't know Xu Guihong before. She only found out that she had just given birth to a child when she heard Ye Min and Qian Xiaoyun talking about it these days. She was just asking casually and didn't show much concern.

Ye Min knew what she meant, but didn't elaborate. He just said, "It's okay. Didn't you sleep at noon?"

"I can't sleep." Feng Aiyun closed the book, shook it in front of Ye Min and said, "I took your book."

Seeing that she was holding a medical book, Ye Min asked, "Interested?"

"I was just killing time. I didn't understand it." Feng Aiyun said frankly. Then she realized something and asked curiously, "Don't you give out candies when you give birth to a child? Why did you come back empty-handed?"

The family conditions of the residents in the compound are not too bad, so no matter whose family has a baby, they will buy some candy and prepare it, and give some to those who come to visit, as a token of their appreciation.

There may not necessarily be a wedding banquet for a full month or a first birthday. It's easier for boys, but girls generally don't have a banquet. These days, favoring boys over girls is still the mainstream idea.

Holding a wedding banquet doesn't necessarily bring good things. For example, An An's full-month banquet was held in such a grand manner that some people in the compound speculated that Ye Min and his wife did it to collect gift money.

God have mercy on them! After returning the toys that Liang Juan and her husband used to buy their children, even if Ding Yang's ten yuan gift money was included, they still lost money.

Ding Yang still had to pay back the ten yuan, not counting the wedding gift. Next month, Qian Xiaoyun would give birth to a baby, and they would definitely give her a big red envelope, so they really didn't use An An's full-month banquet as an excuse to spend money.

But the person who could say such things would never listen to their explanation. Although Ye Min felt upset, he could only let them do as they pleased.

Having said that, although holding a full-month banquet may not necessarily bring good things, the Wang family is one of the few families that has no intention of doing so. I estimate that there will be a lot of discussions in the next two days.

Feng Aiyun was also a little shocked after hearing this: "This is too much."

Feng Aiyun didn't say which one it was, but Ye Min understood and said, "As long as the mother and daughter are safe."

"Too."

…

December came to an end shortly after Xu Guihong’s child was born.

On New Year's Day, Ye Min invited Mr. Dong to her home for dinner as usual. Also with them were Mr. and Mrs. Ding Yang. There were only two people in their family at the time, so the holiday was not lively enough.

It was a sunny and warm day, but the wind was also strong. The food would cool down after a while if left outside. Although the dining room and living room were connected, they only occupied a corner and there was not enough space for so many people. So they put the coffee table against the wall and placed the dining table in the middle of the main room.

The meal was very rich. In addition to the specialties from their hometowns, there were also many local flavors, such as mushroom hotpot.

This summer, Ye Min and his friends went up the mountain several times and picked a lot of mushrooms. They couldn't finish them in one day, and they would go bad if left for too long, so they simply dried the extra ones in the sun.

Ye Min didn’t dry much, and when dried it only weighed a few pounds, but dried goods don’t take up much weight, and a few pounds of mushrooms can be eaten for several meals after being soaked.

Before New Year's Day, Ye Min fried mushrooms at home several times. Now there is only half a bag left, which she used for hot pot.

The first time Meng Zheng went up the mountain to pick mushrooms, he always felt like he was poisoned after he came back. He was afraid to eat the cooked mushrooms and asked someone to pick them into his bowl.

But after tasting it, Meng Zheng immediately forgot about the poisoning, and the mushrooms in his bowl were piled higher than anyone else's.

Seeing the pile of mushrooms in her brother's bowl, An An was very envious. She would be two years old after the Chinese New Year, and her vocabulary had expanded a lot. She could express her needs coherently. She pointed at Meng Zheng's bowl and said, "I want some too, so many!"

It's a good thing that the child can eat, although An An's appetite is a bit too good. Except for her slender limbs, her face and belly are round. But losing weight is not something a two-year-old child can do, so Ye Min also scooped a large ladle of chicken and mushrooms for her.

Although Ye Min and other adults were more reserved when eating than the two children, they all had good appetites. After eating, they were all sweating profusely and their stomachs were bulging when they were touched.

Qian Xiaoyun's digestion was not so good after his belly became big. He always felt like there was food accumulation when he sat down. After eating, he did not sit down but walked around in circles in the main hall.

When they passed the sandbags hanging under the beams for the third time, Qian Xiaoyun asked, "How many people can you beat now?"

“It’s hard to say.”

Qian Xiaoyun asked in confusion: "Why is it so hard to say?"

"So far, I have only fought with Meng Cheng. Beating him..." Ye Min wanted to brag, but thinking of his 100% defeat rate, he couldn't brag, so he said, "I can probably hold out for ten minutes."

Ding Yang, who was cleaning up the dishes, exclaimed, "Are you so awesome now?"

"Is this amazing?" Ye Min was surprised.

"You are so arrogant. Meng Cheng is an invincible master in the whole camp. You have only trained for less than a year. You are amazing to be able to hold out against him for fifteen minutes!" Ding Yang rubbed his hands and invited, "Shall we fight a few moves later?"

Ye Min knew that Meng Cheng was quite skilled, but she didn't know that he was invincible in the entire camp. Thinking that he was not such a low-key person at home and would brag occasionally, she couldn't help but express doubts about Ding Yang's words.

As for the fight, Ye Min didn't hesitate and said, "Okay."

"Then I'll go talk to Old Meng." After saying this, Ding Yang picked up the stacked bowls and plates, turned around and left the main room.

As soon as they walked through the yard and entered the kitchen, Ding Yang told Meng Cheng about his intention to fight with Ye Min. The latter frowned slightly and asked, "Did she agree?"

"Well." Ding Yang put down his bowl and chopsticks and asked, "You don't want to?"

"No," Meng Cheng shook his head, twisted the rag and said, "Be gentle later."

Ding Yang felt something was not right: "Did Xiao Ye say she could hold out for fifteen minutes under your hands? Did you let her?"

It's not that he would give in, but Ye Min was Meng Cheng's wife, so how could he be ruthless when fighting her? He couldn't fight Ye Min like he was fighting his comrades, so he would definitely use less force, and he would abandon any method that could end the fight quickly without thinking.

Although Meng Cheng didn't say anything, Ding Yang understood and patted him on the shoulder and said, "How about this, I'll give her ten minutes and then end the fight quickly. I guarantee she won't lose too badly, okay?"

"That's not necessary." Although he couldn't be ruthless when fighting with Ye Min, he didn't let her go too far. Ye Min could hold out for ten minutes if she couldn't hold out for fifteen minutes in his hands. Ding Yang gave her ten minutes, so that he wouldn't lose badly in the end.

Ding Yang failed to understand Meng Cheng's meaning and said with a smile, "Don't be polite to me. What is the relationship between us? Your wife is my wife's best friend. If I really hurt her, even if you don't settle with me, my wife will be angry with me."

Hearing him say this, Meng Cheng stopped trying to persuade him, chuckled twice, and continued washing the dishes.

By the time Meng Cheng had cleaned up the kitchen, Ye Min and Ding Yang had almost finished digesting the food, so they moved to the yard and stood on each side to stretch their bodies.

Qian Xiaoyun, Meng Zheng and An An each moved a stool and sat under the eaves to watch them fight. After finishing his meal, Mr. Dong was about to leave, but seeing that it was getting lively, he was in no hurry to leave and sat side by side with the three of them.

Meng Cheng served as a referee and stood opposite the four people.

This was an amateur competition, mainly for entertainment, so the referee Meng Cheng didn't say much. After the two men stretched their bodies, he shouted, "One, two, three! Start!"

As Meng Cheng's voice fell, Ye Min and Ding Yang began to move towards each other.

Ding Yang is tall and has long legs, so normally he would be faster, but because of what he said in the kitchen, he was a little hesitant. Ye Min didn't care so much, and after closing the distance, he punched directly at Ding Yang's shoulder.

After all, Dante Yang had been a soldier for so many years, and his reaction speed was much faster than Ye Min's. Even though he was a beat slow to react because of hesitation at first, he still successfully blocked Ye Min's attack.

Ye Min's fist grazed Ding Yang's arm and was pushed away, but she reacted quickly. Seeing that the situation was not good, she immediately adjusted her movements, straightened her left foot, raised her right leg, and kicked forward with force.

Ding Yang was caught off guard and was kicked in the side by Ye Min.

Although Ye Min kicked him on the instep and the force was not that strong, he still let out a hiss and quickly stepped back to distance himself from Ye Min.

Several spectators outside the venue saw this and applauded enthusiastically. Meng Zheng even shouted loudly: "Come on, Mom!"

An An couldn't think of a new word, so she followed her brother and shouted, "Come on, Mom!"

Meng Cheng gave Ye Min a thumbs up and said, "Well done."

When the above three people cheered for Ye Min, Ding Yang was able to remain calm, and Qian Xiaoyun also shouted loudly: "Come on, Minmin! Minmin is the best!"

Ding Yang couldn't hold it back any longer and reminded him unhappily: "It's your man who's getting beaten!"

Qian Xiaoyun didn't feel guilty at all, he waved his hand and said, "You have thick skin, so getting kicked is nothing, I just hope Minmin doesn't get hurt."

Ding Yang: “…”

Although Ye Min launched the first attack at Ding Yang, Ding Yang was much stronger than her in terms of physical strength and skills. The main reason why she was able to hit him was because he underestimated her.

After being kicked, Ding Yang quickly adjusted his attitude, put away his previous frivolity, and became serious, which made it difficult for Ye Min to hit him again.

However, it is not easy for Ding Yang to subdue Ye Min.

It was not only because he was concerned about Meng Cheng and Qian Xiaoyun that he was restrained, but more importantly, Ye Min had the ability. Although she had not been training for a long time, she was talented and hardworking, and her sparring partner was Meng Cheng.

Meng Cheng learned martial arts in a military academy, but the things taught in the academy were mostly rigid, with a set of rules for how to block and counterattack a move. This is how students practiced in class, and they would also use the same moves in simulated combat.

It was not until they joined the army and started to carry out missions that they realized that when a person's life is at stake, every move is based on the instinct to kill the opponent, and there are not so many rules to follow.

Meng Cheng's unexpected fighting style was developed through actual combat.

When she first started fighting with Meng Cheng, Ye Min followed the moves he taught her. She didn't know what to do if he changed his moves. But as time went by, Ye Min gradually learned his fighting style and would do whatever it took when necessary.

Not hitting the lower three sides was her last act of kindness when fighting with others.

Therefore, the scenario that Ding Yang had anticipated of letting Ye Min fight for ten minutes and then ending the fight quickly so that she wouldn't lose too badly did not happen.

They fought for about twenty minutes before Ye Min was defeated due to running out of energy.

Because of this, although Ding Yang won, it was no different from a loser. Not only did no one praise him, but Meng Cheng even walked up to him and repeated what he had just said: "Give her ten minutes, so she doesn't lose too badly?"

“…”

Ding Yang defended himself with a stiff face, "I did let her go."

"Did you give in for more than 20 minutes, which prevented you from ending the fight quickly?"

Because of the gender difference, Ding Yang was indeed a little restrained during the fight, but he was not shameless enough to regard this as the main reason why he could not end the fight quickly.

"Ahem." Ding Yang coughed twice and admitted, "I did make some mistakes today. My sister-in-law is much more capable than I thought."

In sharp contrast to Ding Yang is Ye Min, who is still victorious despite her defeat. At this moment, she is sitting in a rattan chair, listening with a smile to the various compliments from Qian Xiaoyun and the siblings.

Meng Cheng injured Ding Yang and praised her again: "You fought very well, no worse than the soldiers in our camp."

It has to be said that Qian Xiaoyun and the other two and the flattery on the barrage screen were not as pleasing to Ye Min as Meng Cheng's words.

Although it was not the first time that Meng Cheng said this to her, and she could hold out under his hands for longer and longer periods of time, at that time she always suspected that he was giving in to her, and it was difficult for her to have a clear judgment of her own strength.

Until today when I had this fight with Ding Yang.

It's not that she didn't notice that Ding Yang was trying to give in at first, and that he was restrained later because of the gender difference. But she wasn't completely without scruples, at least she didn't use the deadly trick that would have gone straight to the bottom.

Ye Min was very satisfied with himself for being able to survive Ding Yang's hands for more than 20 minutes.

She was finally able to be sure that in the future, whether she encountered a drunkard like in the original book, or a group of people blocking her way like Feng Aiyun, she would be able to protect herself.

And, successfully survive.