Fang Meili and Fang Meihao stepped into the ward and saw Fang Meixiang lying on the hospital bed, her face still a little pale, her bangs damp with sweat and sticking to her skin.
"Big sister." "Sister." After calling Fang Meixiang, they immediately looked at the little one in the swaddling clothes. She was sleeping soundly, her nostrils twitching slightly, and she occasionally let out a soft whimper.
"So cute!"
"Your two aunties are here! They've come to see their nephew!" Fang Damiao greeted them with a cheerful rubbing of his hands.
"Mother, when were you born?"
"It's dawn."
"Sister, you must have suffered a lot this time, right?" Fang Meili asked.
Fang Damiao stopped smiling and nodded, saying, "Meixiang has worked hard. We'll have to make sure she gets some nourishment when we get back."
"Tch, what are we going to use to make up for it? We'll still have to have Mom bring us food." Fang Meili muttered under her breath, her eyes never leaving the child. She gently touched the little guy's cheek with her fingers, and the soft touch made her smile.
"Mother, you've both stayed up all night, take a rest first, we'll keep an eye on things here."
"We cooked sweet potatoes and eggs and brought them over to eat first."
When Fang Shugen's mother heard at home that Fang Meixiang had given birth to a son, jealousy instantly welled up inside her.
She muttered to herself at home, "That lazy, good-for-nothing Fang Damiao, who has no parents, has already had a son!" Then she looked at Hua Mei's belly and said urgently, "Your belly should work harder and give birth to a grandson too!"
Hua Mei hasn't had her period for a long time, so it's almost certain she's pregnant.
Fang Meixiang was discharged from the hospital and went home to recuperate after giving birth. It happened to be the Chinese New Year, and all the good food was concentrated during this period. Every bowl of meat in the house was always reserved for her.
"Da Miao, you have to take good care of the child in the first few years. You need to get up and check on him more often at night. It will be easier to take care of him once he turns three." Fang Meixiang's mother would help take care of the child for a while whenever she brought him food, and she would always remind him of this when she came back.
"Yes, we'll definitely take good care of him. We're waiting for Dongqiang to bring honor to our family!" Fang Damiao said firmly.
The child's name was Fang Dongqiang. At this time, the family planning policy had been implemented, and rural households whose firstborn child was a son could only have one child. This meant that Dongqiang was their only son, and Fang Damiao placed high hopes on him.
During her postpartum period, Fang Meixiang ate well and had a rosy complexion, and her milk supply was plentiful. Fang Dongqiang changed every day. His wrinkled little face at birth gradually smoothed out, and after the postpartum period, his skin became smooth and fair, and his eyes became bright and clear, like black grapes.
Just after the Lunar New Year, a new topic of conversation emerged in the village—a beautiful woman with a child came to Fang Sandi's house, but she was a madwoman.
"I heard she got pregnant after sleeping with a man, but he didn't want her, so she went crazy."
"Have you seen it? Everyone says it's beautiful, but just how beautiful is it?"
"What do you mean beautiful? She's dressed like a vixen!"
"Then you'd better keep a close eye on your man, lest he be bewitched." The women gathered together, and there wasn't much to say about this.
The men were more direct: "Isn't Third Brother impotent? He still married such a beautiful wife, what a waste."
"What, are you envious?" someone teased.
Everyone in the village knew about Fang Sandi. When he was about ten years old, he fell off the back of an ox and hit a rock, injuring his lower body.
At first, I went to the commune health center, and later I went to the county hospital. They prescribed a lot of medicine, but none of it cured me.
He had two older sisters. In order to continue the family line, his parents risked having another child. As a result, his mother died in childbirth due to her advanced age. His father could not accept the fact that his wife was gone and his son was unable to have children. He drank heavily every day and eventually died from excessive drinking.
After this incident, the villagers all said that his ancestors had committed some sin. Fang San Di's grandfather was a castrator before the liberation, specializing in castrating livestock. Everyone said that the cow was a reincarnation of the cow that his grandfather had castrated, and it had come back to take revenge.
Later, the matchmaker also found women with children for Fang San Di, but no one was willing to come after hearing about his situation.
Things only took a turn for the better when Yu Jihong was mentioned.
Yu Jihong had a child last year without getting married, which her family felt was a disgrace. They wanted her to marry out with her daughter, but she refused. However, when she heard about Fang Sandi's situation, she immediately agreed.
"A beautiful madwoman marrying a useless man, who knows what kind of trouble that will cause?" The women became more and more worried as they talked.
Several cunning men in the village, without even having seen her, had already harbored wicked intentions. They even deliberately took a detour past Fang Sandi's house, craning their necks to see what this "beautiful madwoman" looked like.
In the fields, rice seedlings need to be cultivated and the paddy fields need to be plowed. The rapeseed is also in the bolting stage, so it needs to be fertilized and weeded. Yu Jihong stayed at home for a few days and saw Fang Sandi busy with all the work, so she took the initiative to ask him to go to the fields to work with her.
She was born with a beautiful face, with naturally curved willow-leaf eyebrows and slightly upturned eyes. Even though her eyes were often vacant, she still had a charming look about her.
Her skin had a healthy rosy glow, a delicate nose, and rosy lips that seemed to exude sweetness even with the slightest purse. Even in loose-fitting clothes, her slender waist and well-proportioned figure were still evident.
Yu Jihong carried her daughter and followed Fang Sandi to the fields.
She wore a slightly faded corduroy blouse with a small flower embroidered on the frayed hole in the cuff, and a chunky wool vest over it.
Her hair was styled into a shiny braid that hung over her shoulders, with stray hairs held back with yellow plastic hair clips, making her look exceptionally energetic.
"Hey, this outfit doesn't look like someone going to work in the fields. It looks more like someone visiting relatives."
"Calling her crazy is an understatement; she's more normal than most people. She even takes care of herself while working."
"This figure doesn't look like someone who has given birth."
"What a pity. The woman didn't respect herself and went crazy when the man disliked her. She ruined a perfectly good person like that." The murmurs rose and fell.
Some people even teased Fang San Di, saying, "Third Brother, happy wedding!"
Fang San Di glared at the man but didn't respond.
Yu Jihong, however, seemed not to hear, her back ramrod straight, exuding an indescribable arrogance, as if she couldn't see the gazes of those around her.
During breaks from work, Yu Jihong picked a few newly opened purple clover flowers, twirled the flower stems between her fingers, tied them into small bunches with thin grass stems, and gently inserted them into the outside of her braids. When she encountered the small white flowers of shepherd's purse, she would pluck three or five and pin them to the hair clips at her temples, like a few tiny white stars.
She looked at her reflection in the puddle by the field and smiled with satisfaction.
"What a madman, who would wear wildflowers on their head?" people whispered nearby.
But Yu Jihong ignored the warnings and continued to do as she pleased.
The pale purple petals of the milkvetch clung to her hair, swaying as she worked. She deliberately swung her braids wildly, giggling as she called out to her daughter by the paddy field, "Daughter, look!"
Fang Sandi looked up at her, thinking to himself: Only a carefree, slightly crazy woman like her would be willing to marry me. Yet, he also thought she looked really beautiful at that moment.
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