Under these circumstances, Haitang couldn't help but smile as she looked at the child. "Go play, I'll take care of the child," she said, ruffling Dongfang Chen's hair as she looked at him.
“No, Mom, I’ll help you take care of the child,” Dongfang Chen said. “Besides, I really enjoy taking care of my little sister.” He smiled as he looked at Haitang, and Haitang, seeing Jia Leka’s smile, couldn’t help but nod with a touch of pity.
"Okay, let's take care of our little sister together." Haitang looked at Dongfang Chen, knowing in her heart that this child had a strong sense of responsibility. When Haitang looked at the child, she reached out and hugged Dongfang Chen, whose face turned red.
"Mom...I..." a little nervously, Dongfang Chen said, "Mom, I'm all grown up now." He didn't want his mother to hold him anymore now that he was all grown up, but Haitang just smiled and looked at Dongfang Chen.
"Yes, I know you've grown up, but in Mommy's heart, you're still a little baby. Be good and let Mommy hold you," Haitang said. Dongfang Chen looked up at Haitang and nodded.
When he looked at his mother, he leaned directly into Haitang's arms. Haitang had just given birth and was breastfeeding, so she had a milky smell on her body, which the child was familiar with and liked.
At this time, he fell asleep nestled in Haitang's arms. As Haitang watched Dongfang Chen fall asleep, she gently ruffled the baby's hair, saying, "He really is a child."
When Xiao Xiang came in, Haitang shook her head, put the child down, and let Xiao Xiang bring Dongfang Meng in. Dongfang Meng quickly fell asleep in Haitang's arms.
Haitang spent about a month in postpartum confinement. After finishing her confinement, she did not go out immediately because her body odor was too strong and would be easily recognized. Instead, she began to embroider sachets for herself.
Then they went to check on the vegetable garden. Since Haitang was old enough to walk, Dongfang Chen quickly went out to play. The mermaid baby still couldn't walk. "Why isn't the mermaid baby coming out yet?"
"Mom said that the baby mermaid is too small now, and its fish legs are soft. It will be able to walk later," Dongfang Chen said, and the little beastman nodded.
"I heard you have a new little sister," the little beastman said, and Dongfang Chen nodded.
"Yes, the two who came after the mermaid baby are a younger brother and a younger sister," Dongfang Chen said with a smile. "They are both our family members. One is named Dongfang Meng, and the other is named Dongfang Yu."
"Oriental fish? It sounds delicious." Upon hearing this, the little beastman spoke up, and Dongfang Chen immediately put on a stern face.
"Little fish aren't tasty, mermaid babies aren't for eating." Dongfang Chen immediately became fierce, and upon hearing this, the other little beastmen nodded in agreement.
When Dongfang Chen returned, he started to bathe the baby. He changed the water for the mermaid baby. Xiao Meng, on the other hand, asked Haitang, "Mom... those people said the mermaid baby is delicious."
"Silly child, baby mermaids aren't tasty." Haitang looked at Dongfang Chen and said, "He's very fierce. If they were in the water, it's hard to tell which one would eat which one."
"Really? Mom, is the mermaid baby a fast swimmer?" Dongfang Chen asked, looking at Haitang. "I can only stay in the water for a short while, but he can stay submerged for a long time."
Dongfang Chen's words were tinged with envy. Haitang looked at Dongfang Chen and said, "Mermaid babies can stay in the water for a very long time, but... don't forget, mermaid babies can't stay on land for too long."
If the baby mermaid stays on land for too long, it will dehydrate and die. It also needs salt water to grow better. Hearing this, Dongfang Chen nodded and reached out to grab the baby mermaid's hand.
Seeing how much Dongfang Chen liked the children, Haitang breathed a sigh of relief. Dongfang Chen was a very good older brother and took good care of his younger siblings. Haitang was very happy about this.
There wasn't much gossip about Haitang rarely going out, but those who were interested started to find it strange.
"Why hasn't Haitang shown up these days? She rarely goes to the school either. It seems that she started appearing less in front of outsiders after Dongfang Long left," a beastman said from the commercial district.
"Yes, but I heard it's because Dongfang Long was too heartbroken when he left, and he's been sick for quite some time. And... more importantly, there's no possibility that Dongfang Long will come back. It's understandable that Haitang would fall seriously ill. And I heard it's probably because of her own heartache, which hasn't healed yet."
"How did you know?" someone asked, and another person immediately said something.
"I was reading a novel called Dream of the Red Chamber. There was a delicate female character in it who was always thinking about things and crying all day long. She made herself sick and eventually died. This is called a heart ailment, which is very difficult to cure. But I heard that Huo Qiu was worried that Haitang might do something rash, so he found a baby fish outside and sent it to her."
"Baby fish?" Someone was slightly taken aback.
“It’s a baby mermaid. My child said it’s from a fairy tale. I heard it’s a beastman from the ocean. Actually, I don’t know what the ocean is. It’s just that it must be a very mysterious place. I heard that people from the Holy Land went to steal it, but they got poisoned on the way and the baby fell into the ocean and was picked up by the Tiger Clan.”
“Children are delicate and die from dehydration, it’s really troublesome.” A beastman said, and Haitang didn’t stop him, even though it was something that could be heard by others.
However, when she thought about how people outside claimed she was like Lin Daiyu, constantly crying and looking sickly because of Dongfang Long's departure, she admired their imagination.
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