"I don't know yet," Li Shuhe answered honestly. "My mom said that pregnancy is very hard, and the work of the cultural troupe requires me to travel around all the time. She's afraid I won't be able to handle it."
Xu Ruantang guessed what Li Shuhe didn't say in the second half.
The Shen family has seven members; if Li Shuhe becomes pregnant again, there will be eight.
Right now, she and Shen Qingwen are supporting the family together. If she really stops working in the performing arts troupe in the future, it's easy to imagine how much pressure Shen Qingwen will have to support the whole family on his salary alone.
"Why don't you wait to have children? You can start a small business first, and then have children once you've stabilized your situation."
Xu Ruantang came up with a solution for her: "It's not good for your uncle to stay at home all day and wait to be fed. When the business is stable, you can pay him a salary and let him work in your store."
Li Shuhe's eyes lit up. "Yes, Ruan Tang, you're so smart! This way, not only will my brother-in-law's job be solved, but I can also make money in my business, and I won't have to worry about Qingwen struggling to support the whole family on his own!"
Xu Ruantang smiled and said, "I'm just making a suggestion, but I don't know if your mother-in-law and the others will agree."
This matter sounds simple, but in reality, there are many problems waiting for Li Shuhe.
People say that brothers shouldn't do business together.
This statement makes a lot of sense.
Hiring a brother is different from hiring an outsider. If he does something wrong, being too blunt can hurt feelings.
If business is bad, he'll feel like you're dragging him down.
If business is good, he might get jealous of you, and things could end badly.
Li Shuhe smiled indifferently, "My situation is already like this, can it get any worse? I have to try either way. When I get back, I'll discuss it with Qingwen."
Xu Ruantang and Li Shuhe spent most of the day shopping at the mall.
She bought several sets of clothes for Xiaobao to wear during the changing seasons. When there were fewer people around, Xu Ruantang would take Xiaobao out of the stroller.
Little Bao, with his short legs, grabbed a dress and put it on himself.
His adorable appearance made the sales clerk laugh.
At such a young age, she already knows how to love beauty and wants to wear little skirts.
Since getting married, Li Shuhe has not been as carefree with money as before.
She didn't hesitate to buy pants for Shen Qingwen, but when it came to buying herself a light jacket, she looked at it again and again without making a decision.
Later, Xu Ruantang tried on a trench coat, thought it was nice, and asked the sales clerk to wrap it up.
The two spent half a day wandering around the mall before leaving with large and small bags in their arms.
"Let's go eat."
Xu Ruantang said to Li Shuhe, "I'll treat you to your favorite restaurant."
Just as Li Shuhe was about to speak, she heard footsteps behind her.
Turning around, Shen Qingwen walked towards them.
Li Shuhe asked in surprise, "Honey, what brings you here?"
"I'm free at the office this afternoon, so I'll come pick you up to go home. Mom made dumplings, let's eat them together at home."
Shen Qingwen smiled politely, pushed up his glasses, and took the bags from Li Shuhe.
Li Shuhe looked at Shen Qingwen with some difficulty, "I promised Ruan Tang that I would go to a restaurant with her."
Shen Qingwen blurted out, "Why go to a restaurant? It's too expensive. If Comrade Xu doesn't mind, how about we come to my house for dinner?"
Xu Ruantang didn't want to go, and forced a smile, saying, "No, no, you two go back. I'm taking care of the child; she needs to take a nap at noon."
She used Xiaobao as a shield.
"Ruan Tang, let's go together."
Li Shuhe walked towards her and handed all the items on the cart to Shen Qingwen. "My mother-in-law makes delicious dumplings. You and Xiaobao can go back after you finish eating. Otherwise, there's nothing to eat when you go home by yourself, and Chen Ji isn't here."
Xu Ruantang didn't want to go at all, but Li Shuhe insisted, and even took Xu Ruantang's arm with one hand and pushed Xiaobao with the other.
"Come on, come on, you haven't been to my house yet."
The research institute's residential compound was fairly tidy. The Shen family lived on the third floor, and Xu Ruantang carried Xiaobao upstairs.
Thinking about her first visit to someone's home, she ignored Li Shuhe's objections and bought some pastries and fruits at a stall in the mall.
Shen Qingwen walked in front, and before he could knock, the door opened from the inside.
"Son, you're back?"
A woman's voice came from behind her, but stopped abruptly when she saw the large bags in Shen Qingwen's hands.
"Mom, I ran into Qinghe on my way back from the institute. This is her friend Xu Ruantang, who also works in the military compound."
Shen Qingwen hid the things he was carrying behind his back and said somewhat awkwardly, "These all belong to Comrade Xu."
Shen Qingwen stepped aside, and Xu Ruantang finally saw the person standing at the door.
She was a short woman.
Xu Ruantang was still a little surprised because Shen's mother looked very old, and standing next to Ye Lan, they were from completely different generations.
The woman looked very simple and honest. When she saw Xu Ruantang's kind smile, she quickly made way for her, saying, "Come in and sit down."
"Hello Auntie, this is my first time visiting. I brought some fruit and pastries, please don't mind."
Xu Ruantang nodded politely.
When Chen's mother saw what Xu Ruantang handed over, she quickly reached out to take it, smiling broadly, "You've come all this way, why did you bring anything? Come in and sit down, the dumplings will be ready soon."
Since going upstairs, Xiao Bao has been nestled quietly in Xu Ruantang's arms.
They were carrying a lot of things, and the trolley was placed downstairs.
"Don't worry, everyone in our research institute knows it, so no one will touch it."
Before going upstairs, Shen Qingwen patted his chest confidently and said.
Xu Ruantang believed it too.
After all, that thing was made of iron, and with Shen Qingwen's small frame, it would probably be difficult for him to carry it up.
The Shen family home wasn't large, but it was kept very clean everywhere.
A woman wearing a headscarf was sitting on the sofa, holding a small baby in her arms.
The woman looked young, her eyes timidly watching this side, without moving or speaking.
"Sister-in-law, this is my friend Xu Ruantang."
Li Shuhe stepped forward and introduced herself.
The woman gave an awkward laugh. "Mm."
It still didn't move.
Li Shuhe was not surprised and pulled Xu Ruantang to sit down on the sofa. "Ruantang, you and Xiaobao sit down first. I'll go get you a glass of water."
Xu Ruantang was about to say no, she wasn't thirsty.
A quick glance revealed Shen Qingwen and his mother standing in the small balcony kitchen, picking through a bag of fruit.
Since it wasn't packed in a box, some bumps and knocks are inevitable.
Mother Shen touched each fruit one by one, took out the bruised ones, put them on a plate, and began to wash them.
Shen Qingwen came out of the kitchen and pulled Li Shuhe aside to ask, "What does Comrade Xu's child eat? She's so young, can she eat dumplings?"
Li Shuhe turned around immediately. "Ruan Tang, do you want to make something for Xiao Bao separately? Is she still too young to eat the dumplings that adults eat?"
Before Xu Ruantang could speak, Mother Shen came out with a bowl of fruit, smiling as she said, "You're so big now, you can eat a lot. Qingwen started eating noodles when he was one year old!"
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