Chapter 408 Another Year
In the middle of the night, Zhang Cui got up to change the baby's diaper. Song Lubai covered her ears with the blanket, but she still couldn't escape the baby's sharp cries.
Chen Yu and Wei Zhao, who were lying on the small bed, both woke up.
Chen Dongyang rubbed his eyes and asked, "Why are the girls crying?"
Wei Zhao tucked the blanket around her and said, "Little sister is hungry, just like you were when you were little, she cries when she's hungry."
After changing the baby's diaper, Zhang Cui placed the baby in Song Lubai's arms, saying, "If you feed the baby one more time, he can sleep soundly until dawn."
Song Lubai pulled the child closer to her and whispered, "Mom, when you leave, please take the child with you. I'm being tortured to death by them."
She hasn't had a good night's sleep since her child was born!
Her maternal love had been worn away by the torment of these two children.
She said that her mother was just joking when she said she wanted her to take the child away; she wouldn't feel at ease if the child was away from her.
Zhang Cui lay down and gently patted the child, saying, "When you were little, you cried because you were hungry. You cried every night. Your grandma wanted to throw you into the well and made us sleep in the woodshed in the yard. Luckily, it was summer and the nights weren't cold. Otherwise, it's questionable whether you would still be alive now."
"The baby cries because he/she is uncomfortable. He/she is either hungry, needs to poop or pee. Crybabies like to be held. Your two daughters are good enough. They don't cry for no reason. Once you have more experience, you won't think it's a big deal. Okay, go to sleep. If the two kids wake up again, I'll clean them up for you. You just go to sleep."
When Song Lubai's breathing became even again, Zhang Cui quietly got up, added another large piece of coal to the stove, and placed it on top.
That way, when it's almost dawn, there will still be embers in the stove, so there's no need to struggle to light it, and the room can stay warm all night.
Fortunately, the two children only make a fuss twice a night at most, allowing Song Lubai to get half a full night's sleep.
When they woke up in the morning, Chen Yu and Wei Zhao looked noticeably unwell.
Wei Zhao stretched and yawned, saying, "I haven't heard a baby cry at night since Dongyang was a year and a half old. It reminds me of when Dongyang was little."
There used to be a childcare worker at home, but the child would still sleep with her at night. However, overall, she spent at most half the time with the child that Song Lubai does now.
Thinking of Zhao Dongmei, who was raising two children alone, Wei Zhao said, "Zhao Dongmei's life is simply unbearable. If she has another one, what will she do in the future?"
Because Zhao Dongmei had become more assertive, Feng Xiaolong had become much more obedient these days, which made Wei Zhao somewhat relieved.
Zhang Cui said while brushing her teeth, "Zhao Dongmei's child will be able to walk soon, right? Once he can walk, we can let go of him."
Song Lubai said, "She had another daughter this year, and that child cries much more than my baby."
Zhao Dongmei's two children are both quite prone to crying. The older one had just calmed down a few months ago, but the younger one has started crying again.
Wei Zhao said, "I reckon she still wants to have more children. I don't know what some people are thinking. If the family's financial situation isn't good enough, they should have fewer children. Having fewer children makes things easier for themselves, and the children can have a better life."
Zhang Cui said, "More children make the house more lively. Adding a child is just adding another pair of chopsticks. These days, it's not like the famine years. How much food does it take to raise a child? Although everyone is struggling financially, we can still raise a few children. Things will be easier once the children grow up."
Wei Zhao smiled but didn't say anything.
Zhang Cui's thinking is not typical, but it can be summarized as having children so that you can wait for the reward after raising them.
But truly qualified parents should think about what they can give their children, rather than expecting their children to repay the family when they grow up. This is the mark of a responsible and qualified parent.
Song Lubai was too lazy to argue with her mother and said directly, "Anyway, Wei Yang and I have already agreed that we will only have this one child. Two daughters are enough."
Zhang Cui opened her mouth, wanting to say how could she manage without a son, but she felt that as her own mother, she couldn't hold her daughter back in front of Wei Zhao, so she kept quiet for the time being and waited for Wei Zhao's reaction.
Wei Zhao said, "You two can decide how many children you want to have. It's your life together, so whatever you do is fine."
Song Lubai liked this about Wei Zhao.
Wei Zhao didn't interfere in what happened between her and Wei Yang in their room. If anything happened, he would only mention it briefly and never interfere excessively.
The room was filled with joy and harmony. Wei Yang and his companions, who had gone to the division headquarters for a meeting to give their year-end summary, had a great time today, standing out among so many cadres from the surrounding regiments.
The commercial office of the 16th Regiment can be considered an experiment and a pioneer. It has achieved remarkable results this year, and the division leaders have encouraged other regiments to learn from the 16th Regiment.
At the meeting, Wei Yang and the others received awards from the division headquarters.
Today's reward isn't a receipt or a towel, but real soybean oil and grain.
Two pounds of meat, two pounds of rice, and half a pound of oil—the reward isn't small, not to mention it's an honor.
Wei Yang went to Song Hai's place again and exchanged two jin of white rice and two jin of white flour with him.
No matter how many Song Hais there were, Wei Yang had no choice but to give up.
Before the New Year, Song Lubai asked someone to send Song Hai a bag of cotton. Song Hai was pleased and naturally happy to help her family get some good stuff.
"The tofu shop delivered a lot of tofu and soy milk today. I'll get you some to take home too."
Wei Yang didn't refuse and paid the money he was supposed to pay.
Milk powder is hard to come by, so it can only be used as an extra supplement. It can't be used for every meal. If Song Lubai's nutrition is insufficient, her milk supply will be insufficient, and if her milk supply is insufficient, the baby won't grow up.
His two daughters were smaller than other children from birth, so they needed to get proper nutrition so that they wouldn't be hindered from growing taller and bigger.
When Wei Yang returned home, his hands were full of things, and his large cloth bag was bulging.
The supply and marketing cooperative of the 16th Regiment sold a limited quantity of goods, so Wei Yang, through Song Hai's connections, bought some biscuits and candy from the supply and marketing cooperative in the city.
The lunchbox used to hold the soy milk was borrowed from Song Hai. The white soy milk was thoroughly boiled, sprinkled with white sugar, and stirred well. It smelled so good that people wanted to swallow their tongues.
This year, we had a good supply of food at home, so we cooked a whole table of dishes for Chinese New Year.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Wei Yang, along with Zhang Cui and the Jianshe brothers, went to the city to pay New Year's respects to Song Hai.
Although Song Hai and Zhang Cui had never met before, it didn't stop them from recognizing each other as relatives.
When it comes to the people and things of the Song family, Zhang Cui and Song Hai can still talk about them together.
Although Zhang Cui disliked the Song family, it didn't stop her from mentioning them to Song Hai in order to get closer to Song Lubai.
Song Hai's family has two unmarried children and two grandchildren who are only a few years old. Wei Yang gave each of them 50 cents.
Back in my hometown, when visiting relatives in the village, giving a child a penny is normal, giving a dime is considered generous, and Wei Yang giving five mao is considered very generous.
On the way home, Zhang Cui tentatively asked, "Are you two really not planning to have another one? It's more lively with more people at home, and you can afford to raise one."
Wei Yang said, "Mom, two daughters are enough. Childbirth is too painful. Lu Bai and I have agreed that we really won't have another one in the future."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
