Her small face, which had been serious and her lips tightly pursed, slowly began to curve into a smile, and then she burst into a wide grin.
Xiao Bao's round eyes curved into crescent shapes, and a dimple was embedded in the corner of his mouth.
"Oh, he smiled."
Aunt Wang stopped washing the diapers and pointed at Xiao Bao with a surprised shout.
Ever since this child came back with Chen Ji, he's either crying or on the way to cry. It's rare to see him sitting still like he just now, let alone laughing!
Xu Ruantang was completely charmed by Xiao Bao's smile.
There's no way around it, these toddlers who can't even walk yet are just too adorable, genuine human babies.
What's her name?
Xu Ruantang was in a good mood, and looked up at Chen Ji with her eyes slightly narrowed.
Now that you've become a stepmother, it's not unreasonable to ask for the child's name, is it? Children should be called by their names more often.
Xu Ruantang scooped up a spoonful of corn porridge and chewed it.
Mmm, it tastes just like before! Delicious.
"Happy." Chen Ji's cool voice rang out above Xu Ruantang's head.
Xu Ruantang was somewhat surprised.
Chen Gaoxing?
Chen Ji doesn't look like an uneducated person. There are so many books on his desk. Why would he choose such a careless name?
"Chen Gaoxing? The Gaoxing in 'happy'?"
When Xu Ruantang met Chen Ji's gaze, she noticed a hint of sadness. Suddenly remembering that her child's mother had just passed away, Xu Ruantang felt embarrassed.
“No, her surname is Gao, and her given name is Xing, which means lucky.” Chen Ji turned his head and looked into the distance.
His expression didn't reveal anything too unusual. "She took her mother's surname."
Xu Ruantang looked at the baby in Chen Ji's arms and didn't know what to say for a moment.
You say Chen Ji is a devoted man? He just lost his wife, and he's already married someone else...
You might say he's heartless, but in this day and age, he's making the child take the mother's surname.
Xu Ruantang shook her head, deciding not to make things difficult for her poor little brain, and silently reminded herself: one's values cannot be dictated by one's appearance.
She continued drinking her corn porridge, and after a long while, she asked again, "What's her nickname?"
Aunt Wang had been playing dumb and hadn't dared to speak, but now she laughed and blurted out, "Let's call him Xiaobao. The child is too young to understand human speech."
Xu Ruantang disagrees, saying that an eight-month-old baby can fully understand what adults are saying. She suggests simply repeating simple words repeatedly, and the child will gradually understand.
She finished her porridge in a few bites, then put a finger into Xiaobao's hand, saying, "Xiaobao, Xiaobao."
Xiao Bao was looking elsewhere when he suddenly turned around and reached out his little hand to grab Xu Ruantang's finger.
"Xiao Bao is so great!" Xu Ruantang praised without reservation.
Aunt Wang had already washed the diapers and was coming out of the kitchen with a bowl in her hand.
"Auntie, what is this?"
Xu Ruantang stood up and saw the white stuff in the bowl, with a few grains of rice floating in the air.
Aunt Wang pulled over a stool. "Rice oil, Wang Jian grew up eating this."
"Doesn't she drink formula?" Xu Ruantang asked in surprise. She only drinks rice water, no wonder Xiaobao is so thin.
Aunt Wang smiled, looking at him with a "you obviously don't know how to manage money" expression, and said while feeding the baby, "We can't afford milk powder here, that's something city people eat."
Xu Ruantang always felt that this was not right. Chen Ji could afford a dowry of three thousand, and she had been here for half a day and was eating well every meal. How come she couldn't afford milk powder?
"Goat milk or cow milk are fine too. If such a young child only drinks rice water, he will become malnourished."
Xiao Bao is so thin, his immune system must be weaker than other children his age, making him more susceptible to illness.
Upon hearing this, Chen Ji finally looked at Xu Ruantang.
Xu Ruantang thought he also disagreed, so she pursed her lips and didn't say anything more, taking the bowl into the kitchen.
After she left, Aunt Wang muttered to herself, "It's not that exaggerated. That's how I raised my Wang Jian. I stopped producing breast milk when he was three months old. He ate rice porridge for so many years, and he's still a big boy now. My Wang Jian is rarely sick, and even when he does get sick, he recovers very quickly."
After washing the dishes, Xu Ruantang saw a lot of eggs in the kitchen. After thinking for a moment, she decided to crack an egg.
My baby is eight months old. In modern times, he should be eating complementary foods. It's definitely not good for him to just drink rice water all day.
Separate the egg yolk and egg white. Since it was the first time eating it, Xu Ruantang didn't know if her baby would be allergic to egg whites, so she simply didn't add any.
Reserve the egg yolks, then add warm water at around 50 degrees Celsius in a 1:1.5 ratio to the egg yolks.
After stirring, Xu Ruantang used a spoon to skim off the foam on top and then covered the bowl with a plate.
Once the water in the pot boils, place the dish directly on top to steam.
The steamed egg custard was ready quickly, and Xu Ruantang added water to the pot again, as she needed to boil water to wash her hair.
When I came out after washing my hair, Aunt Wang was gone.
Xu Ruantang brought the perfectly warm steamed egg custard into the house.
"Chen Ji, feed Xiao Bao some egg custard."
Xiao Bao was playing on the kang by himself, while Chen Ji sat to the side reading a book. When he saw Xu Ruantang come in with a bowl, a strange look flashed in Chen Ji's eyes.
"She's so small, can she eat?" Chen Ji's voice was deep, his handsome face expressionless, as if he were genuinely seeking confirmation.
How come he doesn't understand anything? Is Xiaobao really his child? Or are all men these days just hands-off parents?
Xu Ruantang was full of questions, but ultimately didn't dare to ask them.
Xu Ruantang subtly withdrew her gaze, nodded vigorously, and answered with certainty, "Of course."
She scooped up a small piece with a spoon and placed it near Xiaobao's mouth, and Xiaobao opened his mouth and ate it himself.
Xiao Bao ate happily, and after finishing, he stared longingly at the bowl in front of him, pawing at it with his little hands.
Xu Ruantang raised her chin at Chen Ji, giving him a "See? I told you so?" look.
She shoved the bowl into Chen Ji's hands, saying, "You feed her. I'm going out to dry my hair. Let her eat as much as she can. Don't force her to eat. If she doesn't want to eat, that's fine."
After saying that, Xu Ruantang turned and left the house, leaving Chen Ji and Xiao Bao speechless.
Chen Ji recalled the sight of Xu Ruantang's hair dripping wet just now, his eyes flickered slightly, and he picked up a spoon to start feeding Xiao Bao.
Xu Ruantang sat in the courtyard, drying her hair with a towel.
The original owner's hair was just like hers; it was really too much and too thick, and it was hard to dry without carefully wiping it.
Estimating that she would have to sit in the sun for at least half an hour, Xu Ruantang wanted to go inside and find a book to read. Before she could even stand up, the courtyard gate was pushed open from the outside.
Then came a sweet, soft female voice: "Brother Chen, are you home?"
Xu Ruantang turned her head to look, and her gaze met that of the woman walking into the courtyard.
The woman was wearing a yellow dress and had two braids with small flowers pinned to them.
With careful makeup, her delicate and pretty face, aside from being a bit dark-skinned, was quite attractive.
"Who are you?" Yao Yulan, carrying a bag, looked at Xu Ruantang with a puzzled expression and a wary look in her eyes.
Xu Ruantang smiled generously, "My name is Xu Ruantang, and I am Chen Ji's wife."
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