100-day celebration
The printing factory was thriving, but Yu Chunsheng was too busy taking care of his wife and children to do anything else, so he specifically asked Li Youlan and his wife for help.
Li Youlan and his colleagues had worked in this industry before. When they received Yu Chunsheng's request for help, they specially found a retired master craftsman from Beiping to help Yu Chunsheng manage the factory. Yu Chunsheng also recruited some people from the local area, which allowed him to take time out to take care of his family.
It's almost November after my three-month maternity leave ends, and the weather is starting to get cold again.
Aside from occasionally supplementing the baby with breast milk, most of the childcare work was left to Yu Chunsheng. Sometimes, when Xu Tangmian came home from work and saw Yu Chunsheng with his unshaven beard and hair like a feather duster, she would feel a little dazed.
Despite her dazed state, she had suffered a great deal from pregnancy to childbirth, and the unseen pain still tormented her frequently. Seeing the child's father also suffering, though not as much as she had endured, gave Xu Tangmian some psychological comfort.
Xu Tangmian casually picked up the rattle on the table and teased the child. As the child giggled, she looked at the haggard Yu Chunsheng in the chair and suddenly remembered how tall and handsome he looked at the train station when they first met.
The baby's 100-day celebration is just a few days away. Originally, Xu Tangmian thought that since neither of them had any relatives here, they would just cook some good food at home like it was Chinese New Year and invite a few friends and close colleagues over for a meal.
Yu Chunsheng was probably exhausted by the children and refused to cook another meal. He preferred to spend money to set up a table at a newly opened restaurant in town rather than make do at home.
His exact words were: "My beautiful baby girl is almost 100 days old, of course I have to let everyone see her, how can I just make do at home?"
Another point is that when I found out I was pregnant, I promised the two police officers who helped me with the marriage certificate that I would treat them to a meal after the baby was born. I couldn't very well ask them to come to the village for a feast, could I?
Looking at Yu Chunsheng, Xu Tangmian's eyes became much more dull. When he blinked, his eyes carried a kind of bleakness that seemed to have seen through life. While feeling sorry for him, Xu Tangmian couldn't help but feel secretly pleased that the two of them were sleeping in separate beds now.
If she doesn't sleep until the children do, she'll eventually fall asleep in class.
Seeing how tired he was, and worried that he might forget something while he was busy, Xu Tangmian asked him, "Is the 100-day celebration ready? Have you notified all the people you should invite?"
Yu Chunsheng yawned, "Well... I've invited everyone, so you don't need to worry about it."
"Are you so tired?" Seeing how sleepy he was, Xu Tangmian felt genuinely sorry for him. She put down the rattle and went behind him to massage his shoulders.
Yu Chunsheng was very pleased. After she rubbed his hands a few times, he turned his head, grabbed her hand, and kissed her one kiss after another.
Having spent so many days and nights with him, Xu Tangmian naturally understood what he wanted to do after his behavior.
But she's not fully recovered yet, so even if she wanted to, she couldn't.
She pulled her hand back, and the man who was enjoying the kiss suddenly looked bewildered, "This isn't allowed either?"
“It’s not that it’s impossible, it’s just…” Xu Tangmian leaned on the back of her chair and tilted her head to look at him, as if watching a show. “I’m afraid some people are going to get too pent up.”
Yu Chunsheng smiled sheepishly, bent over, lifted the chair and turned it around, then sat upright in front of Xu Tangmian, pulling her hand and making her sit on his lap.
"It will be a long time..." He buried his face in Xu Tangmian's chest, greedily inhaling the fragrance of her breasts.
"Hmm..." Xu Tangmian stroked the hair on the back of his neck that was digging into her hand, tilting her head slightly, but now was really not a good time.
"Can I use my hands?" Yu Chunsheng looked up, his eyes glistening with tears.
Xu Tangmian found it hard to refuse his request, and seeing that he was indeed taking good care of the child, she let him have his way.
The two kissed passionately for a long time, and just as things were getting intense, little Qiu Shi in the cradle burst into tears.
Xu Tangmian immediately got up to hold the baby, but as soon as she put her arm into the cradle, she saw her hand and remembered what she had been doing before, so she pulled it back.
Fortunately, because we need to change the baby's diapers frequently, we keep a few clean diapers and cotton gauze in convenient places around the house.
Xu Tangmian leaned forward, supporting herself on the desk with her left hand, grabbed a diaper to wipe herself, then tossed it onto the shoulder of the person behind her. She picked up the baby from the cradle and soothed her with soft "oh oh" sounds.
The person behind him let out a long sigh, pulled the diaper off his shoulder to wipe the soiled area, then pulled up his pants and turned around to look at the child.
"Did he pee?" Xu Tangmian hadn't taken care of children much and didn't know, so she turned to ask the child's father who was standing next to her.
Yu Chunsheng reached out to hold the child, but Xu Tangmian frowned and glanced at his right hand, asking, "Is it clean?"
Yu Chunsheng hesitated, then muttered, "It's not dirty there."
"You can't just touch it no matter how dirty it is. You didn't know that the news said that there are germs in human saliva, and children's immune systems are not yet fully developed and are very fragile. Some people kiss a child's face and the child gets herpes, and in severe cases, even encephalitis."
"That serious?" Yu Chunsheng's eyes widened, as if he wanted to print out what he was about to say and engrave it on his forehead. "Then we have to keep a close eye on the 100-day celebration. We can't let anyone else kiss the baby."
Xu Tangmian nodded and watched him walk out with the zipper up, seemingly going to wash his hands.
A little while later he came back, picked up the child, smelled her, and checked the diaper. "No pee? She's probably sleepy. I'll put her to sleep."
Xu Tangmian quickly waved her hand, "No, no, no! Don't let her sleep during the day, she'll be restless at night if she sleeps during the day."
"Go to sleep if you want." The child lay obediently in Yu Chunsheng's arms, her father's large hand patting her back rhythmically.
“I have to do it myself.” Yu Chunsheng glanced at Xu Tangmian with a resentful look, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
Xu Tangmian smiled without saying a word, threw the used diaper into the trash can, and then picked up the basin that already contained several dirty diapers and very shrewdly headed towards the well.
The chickens in the yard were either slaughtered or sold, leaving only three specifically for laying eggs. The crabapple blossoms in the corner bloomed and faded, and the poppies were beautiful for a time.
A rope stretched from the carport to the window in front of the desk, hanging from the withered branches. Once, a rope tied around the neck ended the life of Kong Lin; now, the same rope was covered with colorful diapers.
Yu Chunsheng stood in front of the door holding his child. He looked up and saw chickens clucking in the yard. A black bicycle and a pink women's bicycle were parked side by side in the shed. A swing set swayed in the wind by the shed. His wife was sitting on a small stool by the well, bending over and washing diapers.
The sun was about to set, and the orange glow of the sunset cast a golden glow on her face, making her even more beautiful than the begonias that had once bloomed behind her.
Yu Chunsheng was stunned for a long time, until a cool sensation slid down his face before he realized that he had shed tears again in broad daylight!
Noticing that Xiao Qiushi in his arms had fallen asleep, he gently put the child back in the cradle and then quickly walked towards Xu Tangmian.
"It's cold, let me do it." He snatched the diaper from Xu Tangmian's hand and pulled her up to take her small stool.
Yu Chunsheng was stunned when he reached his hand into the basin. "It's hot?"
"Yeah." Xu Tangmian laughed as if it were a matter of course. "Even if I were perfectly fine, I wouldn't need to wash with cold water in this weather."
Yu Chunsheng then noticed the thermos behind the well and chuckled softly.
He loved her cunning, her playfulness, and her quirky charm.
She was such a wonderful woman, and she had given him such a wonderful daughter. Overwhelmed with emotion, Yu Chunsheng could only manage a slightly abrupt "Thank you."
Xu Tangmian was checking if the diaper was dry when she heard this strange remark. Without even glancing at Yu Chunsheng, she subconsciously replied, "Why are you thanking me? I only added hot water because I was afraid I would get cold."
“No.” Yu Chunsheng’s gaze deepened as he looked at her. “Thank you for giving me a home and such a beautiful daughter.”
Xu Tangmian paused, then hesitated for a few seconds before looking down and twisting the hem of her clothes: "Why are you thanking me? Aren't we already family?"
She looked up with a smile, only to see him smiling back at her. A few seconds later, Xu Tangmian finally couldn't help but lower her head, kicking pebbles on the ground as she walked towards him, covering her smile as she urged, "Hurry up and wash, or the water will get cold."
"Yes, Your servant obeys!" Yu Chunsheng twirled the diaper over her shoulder like a handkerchief and bowed.
"Fine, you dare to copy me!" Xu Tangmian angrily punched him on the back a few times.
The two chatted and laughed for a while longer before night fell.
A few days later, Xu Qiushi's 100-day celebration was held as scheduled at a newly opened restaurant in town.
Logically, many procedures should be handled by the parents' elders, but the two are in an awkward position and have no elders who can attend.
As for Li Youlan, Xu Tangmian felt that they had already helped a lot, and it would be troublesome for them to keep going back and forth. Besides, they would definitely bring gifts when they came, and the debt of gratitude would be even more difficult to repay. Therefore, she only told them over the phone to wait until the child's first birthday party to come.
Therefore, all these tasks fell to the two police officers who were invited.
At first, Xu Tangmian was worried that it might have a bad meaning, or that the police officers might not agree. But Yu Chunsheng said, "In my opinion, this is Xiao Qiushi's good fortune. Other families are loved and cared for by their grandparents and maternal grandparents. Although she doesn't have those things, she has the police officers protecting her."
Xu Tangmian couldn't persuade him otherwise, and she also felt it was inappropriate for a 100-day celebration to be held without elders, so she nodded in agreement. Besides, if the banquet wasn't held, they both felt it would be unfair to Xiao Qiushi, their only daughter.
There were no objections on this side, so it was up to others to agree. Fortunately, the two police officers readily agreed.
The two got married by mistake without any feelings for each other, so they didn't hold a wedding ceremony. Xu Tangmian understands that Yu Chunsheng's insistence on holding a ceremony is also to make up for this regret.
The 100-day celebration is supposed to only involve family and friends from both sides. Since the couple had few family and friends, Yu Chunsheng still invited his factory worker friends, former colleagues from the supply and marketing cooperative, and teachers from Xu Tangmian's school to set up several tables, giving it a wedding-like feel.
The child wasn't shy, but Xu Tangmian was worried that if there were too many people, someone might catch a cold or something, so she only let Yu Chunsheng hold the child briefly before she went to greet the guests.
Two police officers and school teachers were sitting at a table, laughing and eating together. Xu Tangmian, who was feeding her child, toasted them with tea instead of wine.
After eating some food, the police officer said goodbye to the couple, explaining, "Recently, some leaders from above have come to inspect, so we can't stay too long. There's still a lot of work to do at the station."
Official business couldn't be delayed, so Xu Tangmian instructed the restaurant staff to cook a few dishes for the police officers to take back.
From this restaurant to the police station in the city center, there is a river that is two or three hundred meters wide. It is the local lifeline river, and people on the other side of the river can only cross by boat.
While the two police officers were taking a boat back to the city, another boat was heading towards the suburbs. Several men with neatly combed slicked-back hair were on board, and their demeanor suggested they were not ordinary citizens.
The female police officer, who loved gossip, turned her head and whispered, "Senior, doesn't that person over there look like our leader?"
The male police officer glanced over and his eyes met those of the leader. Relying on his keen intuition and observation skills, he said to his junior colleague, "Looks? Not like him; but in terms of demeanor, he's at least at the level of a bureau chief."
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