After the meal, Shen Yu distributed gifts to everyone in the family, including Xiao Wangcai, Uncle Gao, Aunt Gao, and Sister Lin. Sister Gan, who went to the Xu residence and brought some glutinous rice balls, also received some. The Xu residence and other relatives and friends also prepared gifts, which were left unopened.

Xiao Yunhai is a children’s toy, while Xiao Wangcai’s gift is more affordable, as it is simply food.

Meng Tao and Xu Zhen each had a suitcase filled with beautiful dresses, accessories and jewellery. Meng Tao's suitcase contained several sets of famous local cosmetics. Shen Yu was not interested in cosmetics as he liked his wife's natural look. But Meng Tao liked to tinker with these things and said that she wanted to make money by selling cosmetics in the future. So Shen Yu brought some back for her reference.

Shen Heping also got some men's accessories inlaid with big gems and diamonds, but he didn't like them and gave them to Xu Zhen. However, he was quite curious about the two bottles of foreign wine, which he had never seen before. He opened one on the spot, frowned after tasting it, and said that it tasted better than the fruit wine that Taotao made herself.

Meng Tao: “…”

I'm not messing around, okay? I made it exactly according to the fruit wine recipe.

After the whole family gathered together and talked and laughed for a whole night, little Yunhai finally felt sleepy. He had developed a habit of going to bed at ten o'clock and generally would not wake up after falling asleep.

Xu Zhen took the baby grandson away, and Shen Yu Mengtao was completely free without having to take care of the child. A short separation is better than a new marriage, and a night of spring is worth a thousand gold. The couple quickly closed the door, turned on the light and went into their space to make love.

The next morning, Shen Yu returned to his unit to report on his work. In the afternoon, the whole family went to Xu's residence. Shen Yu congratulated his eldest cousin Xu on the birth of his daughter. Meng Tao had already run over to bring little Duoduo to Shen Yu: "This is the little cotton-padded jacket, caring and warm. Isn't she cute? Isn't she pretty?"

Shen Yu looked down at the baby in the cradle and nodded: "Cute, beautiful."

Cousin Xu smiled from ear to ear, looking at his precious daughter with eyes full of doting. Seeing Meng Tao wanted to give his daughter to Shen Yu, he hurriedly stopped her and took her in his arms: "The baby is so delicate and tender, he doesn't know how to hold her, don't make her cry!"

Shen Yu: “…”

I can't hold a baby? Has my son grown up in vain?

Meng Tao was also speechless. Her cousin was probably too happy and lost his memory, forgetting that Shen Yu became a father before him.

The gift Shen Yu gave to Xiao Duoduo was a pair of cute plush bears.

Little Tangyuan got a little lion. He took a bite of it first, tasted it and found it not tasty and its mouth was full of hair, so he threw some of it away without giving the little lion any face.

The Xu residence invited Mr. Meng, Liu Yongsheng and others to the dinner party. Relatives and friends gathered together and drank and chatted until after ten o'clock in the evening.

After Shen Yu came back from his business trip, he got a week's vacation, but he could only take it in Beijing or nearby areas, because his unit might come to him for questions from time to time. After discussing it, the couple decided to go on vacation to Beidaihe as a family, just like they did last year, take a boat out to the sea, eat seafood, swim, and get a healthy tan.

After returning from Beidaihe, Shen Yu went to work, Meng Tao also pretended to read seriously, and life returned to normal.

Meng Tao would put on makeup from time to time, change her appearance and go to the black market and the Friendship Store, and buy any rare antiques, books and paintings she saw.

Whenever she came across old furniture that was very old but still sturdy, she would buy them all, regardless of size, and send them to her two "villainy houses", asking Zhu Chunlin to look after them and find ways to repair or mend any broken ones.

Zhu Chunlin was stunned when he saw the yard full of old objects made of golden nanmu, red sandalwood, mahogany and pineapple. What impressed him most was the exquisite craftsmanship of the older generation. The more he looked, the more he liked and fascinated he became. He was deeply aware of his own shortcomings. If he wanted to repair the broken old objects, he had to study harder.

As a result, the young carpenter, who already valued his time and worked hard to master his craft, rarely showed up. Every day he was either working with the master craftsmen in the factory, or in Meng Tao's villa, repairing old items with his master craftsmen.

Meng Tao naturally had to pay them, and often asked Uncle Gao to bring them food and drinks, which made the old masters more motivated.

In August, Xiao Duoduo was one month old, and the Xu family held a grand banquet in the festive mood. There were some discordant voices in the middle, but they were suppressed in time and did not affect the atmosphere of the wedding banquet.

It was caused by Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu, but it was more likely instigated by Gu Yingying's aunts and cousins, including Gu Fangfang, Gu Wanwan and several so-called sisters and cousins.

She entered the Xu residence under the pretext of visiting her sister and celebrating her niece's full moon, but she shouted loudly, questioning Gu Yingying: It's fine if you don't let your father and uncle return to Beijing to attend the full moon banquet, but why don't you notify grandpa, grandma and aunts? Your dear grandpa and grandma have to learn the date from others, and you let the elderly squeeze on the bus to come here, you are really unfilial! Among the noisy people, Gu Fangfang and Gu Wanwan's voices were the sharpest and harshest.

Xu Hengkai and Shen Yu had the Gu family members taken away as quickly as possible and sent directly back to their residence. It seemed that they were not allowed to go out today to prevent them from causing trouble again.

Xu Hengkai originally wanted to send Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu away as well, as he really didn't like these two confused old people. However, Grandpa Xu stopped him and together with Grandma Xu, they received the old couple politely and invited them to the banquet to chat with old friends.

The old couple still knew how to save their face. Mr. Gu was chatting and laughing as usual, and Mrs. Gu didn't act like a troublemaker anymore.

Gu Yingying had never expected that the Gu family would seize the opportunity to do this to her. She couldn't help but shed tears. Meng Tao advised:

"They are here to hurt you. If you are really sad about this and lose your composure, you will fulfill their wish. Today is Duoduo's full moon day. You should be happy. Although the baby is small, she can feel the mood of adults, especially her mother."

"Yes, that's how it should be."

In early September, good news came from Mengzhou’s hometown that Meng Jinniu and Bao Dongmei’s first child was born, a baby girl.

The last time Meng Tao went back home, Dongmei was already pregnant, and she couldn't figure out whether she was two months or three months pregnant. Meng Tao had told them that it would be best to go to the county hospital for delivery, or go directly to Mengzhou Hospital, which has a high safety factor and is good for both mother and baby. They have their own courtyard house in Zuo Xingzi Lane, and Aunt Yu and Jinniu can go with them, so they can stew chicken soup for the mother to supplement her nutrition.

The young couple listened to what was said. When Dongmei had a stomachache, they wanted to ask Lin Dagang to send her to the county hospital with a tractor. Coincidentally, Zhang Fu and Yu Li drove to the countryside that day and visited Zhou Cuiling and her son and Jin Niu and his wife. They happened to see Dongmei about to give birth and asked them to get in the car.

After rushing to the county town, Dongmei's stomach pain had gone away, so Yu Li suggested that it would be better to go directly to Mengzhou Hospital. So several people rushed to Mengzhou again and had the doctor check them out. The doctor said that they were lucky to have arrived at the hospital in time, as the pregnant woman's condition was a little different from others.

Sure enough, Dongmei started having labor pains again and didn't give birth until after three in the morning of the same day. Several doctors were busy in the delivery room, but fortunately there was no danger.

Jinniu made a long-distance call from the post office. He was happy, excited and relieved, and kept talking incoherently: "...Sister, it's a good thing I listened to you and came to the big hospital. The doctor said our daughter is too fat, and my wife... Dongmei is also fat, and there is something else I don't understand, anyway, it's very difficult for her to give birth! Dongmei has suffered a lot, I... I don't have any way to help her..."

"Yeah, Dongmei has worked hard! How is she now?"

"Just like that, she just lay in bed. Dongmei said she was fine, but the doctor said she lost a lot of blood and gave her two bags of blood."

"Can she eat? Make her something nutritious."

"I ate it. Zhang Fu's mother-in-law brought me a stewed chicken. Dongmei ate half of it in one go and drank two bowls of soup."

Meng Tao couldn't help but smile: "As long as you can eat, you will recover soon as long as you ensure nutrition every day. Don't worry, what about the baby?"

"The baby is fine, white and plump. He cried very loudly when he was born, but he fell asleep after I fed him some rice soup. He is so well behaved and doesn't make any noise. Dongmei doesn't have milk yet."

"Don't worry, it will come. That's it. I'll go buy the tickets and go back to see them tomorrow. Now hang up."

"Hey, don't hang up... Listen to me, girl. Don't come back yet. We are fine now. It's so hot, and it's a pain to take little Yunhai on the bus. You have to study, so wait until the weather is cooler, or come back after the New Year."

Meng Tao thought about it and realized that if she took the child back, she might not be able to help and might even cause more trouble, so she said, "Okay, then I won't go back for now. I'll send some supplements and clothes and fabrics back to them tomorrow. Please make sure to receive them."

"Oh, okay!" Taurus did not refuse the offer for his wife and daughter and agreed happily.

"Take good care of Dongmei and the child. If you have any questions, ask the doctor."

"I know. Mom is here too. Dad was working in the fields yesterday and couldn't come. Zhang Fu went back early this morning to pick him up."

"Well, Zhang Fu has worked hard, so why not buy him a pack of cigarettes to show your gratitude?"

"Okay, I'll buy him the most expensive bag later, hahaha!"

The news that Jinniu and Dongmei were pregnant was told by Meng Tao to Liu Yongsheng, Han Shufang, Wang Cuixi and the Xu family. On Sunday, when Old Meng came to see little Yunhai, he also found out.

Meng Zhehan is still leading the trainees in closed training at the base.

After Meng Tao's package was sent out, several large packages were sent from the capital to Linshui Village one after another.

In the golden autumn of October, Liu Jianye and Song Anxin held their wedding.

Song Anxin is the eldest daughter, and her two younger brothers have already started working. Most of the Song family's relatives are in Beijing, and together with the children's colleagues and friends, the total number of people is not small. Liu Yongsheng went to the famous Chunyuan Hotel and set up a banquet with fifty tables.

On the wedding day, Meng Tao and Shen Yu went there early to help, but they didn't have to do anything. Liu Jianxin and Sun Hong had returned, and the in-laws had also sent people over. In addition, Liu Jianye's classmates and friends were all in uniform and very capable.

Liu Yongsheng told Meng Tao and Shen Yu that they found out after the two families met that he actually knew Song Anxin's father, who was a few years younger than him and was currently the second in command of a certain defense zone. He was also Song Anxin's uncle and aunt-in-law. When they talked about it, they all had common acquaintances and were basically in the same circle.

So this marriage was a perfect match. The couple fell in love with each other, and the adults were very satisfied.

(End of this chapter)