When Xia Rong returned to his room, he saw Zhou Xiaohui looking at him expectantly. The anger he felt had mostly dissipated. He went up and hugged Zhou Xiaohui tightly. He noticed that she had obviously lost weight, and he felt very sorry for her. These past few days, he had seen her trying so hard to please him, but he was still angry and his attitude was always lukewarm. Although he felt sorry for her, he couldn't help but feel a little resentful.
Seeing that her husband was finally back to normal, Zhou Xiaohui was overjoyed, and tears welled up in her eyes. Xia Rong felt something wet on her chest, pushed Zhou Xiaohui away, and saw that she was crying. She quickly grabbed a pillowcase and wiped her tears, saying, "Mom said you shouldn't cry, or your eyes will always be watery." Zhou Xiaohui smiled and said, "I'm happy, Rong, you're not angry with me anymore, are you?" Xia Rong wiped her tears and said, "I wasn't angry with you." Zhou Xiaohui said, "I was angry with my mother. I'm sorry, Rong, that's just how my mother is. I'll talk to her properly after I finish my postpartum confinement and ask her to apologize to my mother-in-law." Xia Rong knew what kind of person his mother-in-law was. First, she would never apologize, and second, if she did apologize, the two families would probably never have any contact again. He didn't want to put Zhou Xiaohui in a difficult position. His own mother had also said she didn't want to have any contact with her. Xia Rong said, "It's alright, no need. Mom said she doesn't care about these things." Zhou Xiaohui knew that her mother-in-law was magnanimous, and could only secretly think about how to be filial to her in the future.
The two sat silently for a moment, when suddenly their daughter, Xiao Ran, burst into tears. Zhou Xiaohui quickly picked up her precious daughter to see what was wrong, and Xia Rong also came over. Zhou Xiaohui opened the baby's diaper, and an unpleasant odor immediately wafted out. Xia Rong couldn't help but turn her face away and gag. Zhou Xiaohui angrily said, "This is your daughter, and you still dislike her?" Xia Rong gagled and said, "I don't dislike her, I'm just a little nauseous, ugh." Before she could finish speaking, she started vomiting again. Zhou Xiaohui became even angrier, "Go and get some water to wash her bottom right now!" Xia Rong ran out to fetch water as if fleeing. "Oh, right," Zhao Danxiang, seeing her son come out of the kitchen, asked, "What's wrong? I think I heard Xiaoxinran crying." Xia Rong finally calmed down and said, "She pooped. I'll get some water to wipe her bottom." Zhao Danxiang said "Oh," and turned to get hot water from the stove. Ever since Xiaoxinran was born, Xia Liang had said that the water in the house had to be boiled before making Xiaoxinran's formula. Zhao Danxiang always kept a kettle boiling water on the stove, and there were also two thermos flasks that were always full. Xia Rong took the basin that was specially used to wash his daughter's bottom and filled it with some cold water. Zhao Danxiang added hot water, tested the temperature, and Xia Rong went in to wash his daughter's bottom. He carried it to the room, and with his wife's help, he washed Xiaoxinran clean and changed her into a clean diaper. Xia Rong carried the soiled diaper out, vomiting as he washed. Zhao Danxiang found it amusing and said, "A baby's poop isn't dirty." Xia Rong was speechless. Even if it wasn't dirty, it was still poop! And it smelled so bad, but he couldn't open his mouth to argue, so he could only hold his breath and wash and hang the diapers clean.
The Xia family was watching TV that evening when they heard a knock at the door. Xia Rong rushed out to open it and saw Gu Yanxiao's parents standing there. Xia Rong quickly and warmly greeted them, "Uncle and Aunt, please come in and sit down." Gu Weiguo smiled and said, "You're bothering us so late, aren't you asleep yet?" Xia Rong invited them into the main room, saying, "Not yet, Uncle. Please come in and have some water." Xia Dahe and Zhao Danxiang also warmly greeted their in-laws and invited them to sit down. Xia Rong served them tea, and Han Yulan said, "When Yanxiao's father went down to inspect the area, he helped a farmer, and the farmer insisted on giving him two fish." "We couldn't finish it all, and since your daughter-in-law is still in her postpartum period, we brought it to make soup for you. This fish is very nourishing." Zhao Danxiang thanked them repeatedly, but since she was holding her granddaughter, she couldn't take the fish directly. So she asked Xia Rong to take the fish to the kitchen. Han Yulan saw her mother-in-law holding the child, so she went over to look at the child. She noticed that the child's rosy cheeks were different from when her son and his wife got married; the child had clearly grown up and become beautiful. Xia Rong and Xia Liang, the siblings, were both good-looking, and Zhou Xiaohui wasn't ugly either; her child was also beautiful. Seeing this, Han Yulan felt a pang of longing; she also wanted to hold her grandchildren. After praising the child to her mother-in-law and holding her for a while, Zhao Danxiang said as if she had just remembered something, "Mother-in-law, please sit down. I'll go get something." Han Yulan nodded and continued to play with Xiaoxinran. A moment later, her mother-in-law came over with two pieces of clothing and said, "These are clothes I made for you. The style is the same as the one A Liang designed for me before. You said it looked good, so I made two for you too. I've been busy lately and haven't had time to bring them to you. Since you're here today, I'll just give them to you directly. Please don't mind if they're not very well made." Han Yulan thought that her mother-in-law was an honest person and quickly thanked her, saying, "Thank you so much, Sister Zhao. You have to take care of your daughter-in-law and granddaughter all day, and you're also busy making clothes for me. I feel so bad." Zhao Danxiang said, "Don't be so formal. Since we're in-laws, we're all family. Don't be so polite. Look, you and your father-in-law brought us fish, and we didn't stand on ceremony with you. Don't say anything like that." Han Yulan didn't say anything more. Zhao Danxiang handed the child to Xia Rong and pulled her mother-in-law into the room to try it on. Han Yulan did not refuse and changed into the new clothes her mother-in-law had made for her. The clothes fit her perfectly. Even though she had not measured her own size before, she was still able to make the clothes fit her perfectly. It was truly amazing. Looking at the stitches and the tailoring, everything was done very well. It was estimated that the daughter-in-law had learned from her mother-in-law.
The Gu couple stayed at the Xia family's house for a while before heading home. On the way, Gu Weiguo said, "Your in-laws are both honest and kind people. We should visit them more often in the future." Many people would try every means to build connections with families like theirs, but the Xia family was different. They treated you like ordinary in-laws, without any obsequiousness or fawning. It was very comfortable being with them. Han Yulan thought that she could invite her mother-in-law out shopping sometime. She figured her mother rarely went out; it wouldn't do to be tied to the kitchen all day. Children have their own lives, and elders need their own social circles too. They can't just spend all their time serving the men and the kids.
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