There was a saying on this side of Hexi Village that newborn children were well fed, so it didn’t matter if the mother had no milk in the first two days. But even having said that, people were still in a hurry to have their children fed.

When Zhao Liu saw that Zhao Lingyu had given birth, she immediately asked Cook Li to go to the nanny to ask for milk. Before going there, she specifically said for a few words, “Take a clean handkerchief, soak it in hot water, and bring it over. Let her wipe it before milking.”

This was what Jiang Zhen had explained to her for a long time. She did not know why he was so particular for a man.

Cook Li replied and immediately took Ruo’er, covering the ceramic cup with a clean handkerchief. She asked for milk.

The two women who were nursing their children lived not far from the Zhao family, so it was not long before they found one of them.

“I still have to wipe it? You are very particular,” the woman said a little disapproving, but she carefully wiped her chest with the handkerchief before the milking began.

The Zhao family asked her for milk. They not only gave her money but also agreed to give her chicken and pig feet to hasten her milk production. For the sake of money and food, not to mention just wiping her chest, she would be happy to take a bath every time.

Since babies ate less, as soon as the small cup of milk was half full, Cook Li went back in a hurry. Hearing that the milk had come, Jiang Zhen immediately proposed to feed her himself. He watched this child grow little by little in Zhao Jinge’s stomach. He simply loved her too much and could not wait to want to do everything for her.

The man who had lived for more than thirty years and finally became a father didn’t want to give his child to someone else.

“I’ll feed her. You are a strong man with thick hands,” Zhao Liu hurriedly said. She was looking forward to having a grandchild, so having one this time, she could not wait to take care of this child completely.

“I’ll do it.” Jiang Zhen was very persistent.

Zhao Liu did not dare to object in the end and could only give the bowl and spoon to Jiang Zhen.

The milk was brought back wrapped in a hot towel, so it was still warm. Jiang Zhen scooped a little with a ceramic spoon and carefully fed it to the child. It was not easy to feed the baby, but Jiang Zhen still took it very seriously. The more he saw of the child in his arms, the more he liked her and even wanted to nuzzle her a few times. But he couldn’t. He had a beard. What if he accidentally stabbed the child? The child was so tender, and when he touched her face, it was as if he hadn’t touched anything.

Jiang Zhen not only nursed the baby but also insisted on changing her diaper. He liked the child so much that he could not rest assured to give it to the others. For example, Zhao Liu . . . He could not believe that she wanted to tie the child legs! He firmly disagreed to it. For what reason should his daughter be tied up? How uncomfortable would that be? Her little legs were so strong, so why should he not let her kick with them happily?

If Jiang Zhen was her daughter-in-law, Zhao Liu might have used her experience to “teach” Jiang Zhen, but Jiang Zhen was not, and at the moment the Zhao family was even entirely dominated by Jiang Zhen.

Jiang Zhen was not willing to have the child’s legs tied up, so Zhao Liu did not do it. She was also soft-hearted. After listening to Jiang Zhen saying that it would be uncomfortable, she even regretted it and secretly said to Zhao Jinge, “I didn’t think it would be uncomfortable. I knew my mother wouldn’t tie you up at the beginning . . . I heard it at that time.”

Zhao Jinge, who had no recollection of his infancy, looked dazed. But if Jiang Zhen didn’t want it, then let’s not do it.

The Zhao family went in and out, all pounced on the child. The village at this time, even without Zhao Liu’s bragging, began to envy Zhao Jinge.

“Jiang Zhen is really good to Zhao Jinge. He is not willing to let him go out and even stays at home with him.”

“There was nothing wrong with Zhao Jinge, but a midwife and even a doctor were invited. . . I gave birth all by myself and even my mother-in-law had little time to take care of me.”

“Yes . . . he also spent money to buy milk for the child to drink. Generally, when the ger gives birth to  a baby it would just be given some rice soup. “

 

. . .

 

Zhao Jinge did not think much about it, but he knew that some people in the village would envy him. Even he thought he was enviable. However, he was also a little depressed.

Jiang Zhen has been holding the child all the time, which made it impossible for him to take a good look at his child.

Originally, Zhao Liu planned to take the child with her and Cook Li and sleep with them at night. For this reason, she cleaned up the firewood room that Zhao Jinge used to give birth to the baby and planned to sleep there with Cook Li at night. But Jiang Zhen didn’t agree.

Zhao Liu was okay. It was her grandchild . . . but why should his child sleep with Cook Li? Although Cook Li looked quite clean, she did not bathe every day. What if there was something dirty on her body? But if she was left with only Zhao Liu, it would be too much to ask her to take care of the child. Finally, Jiang Zhen made a decision.

“The child will sleep with me and Jinge at night!”

He had a comrade in arms who got married, but the elderly on both sides could not help them. In the end, the young couple had no choice but to bring up their children on their own, so he didn’t believe that he couldn’t do it.

Jiang Zhen actually did not have much experience with children, so in the end, it turned into a mess. During the first night, the child woke up every two hours to eat, which left him a little overwhelmed. However, he was young and healthy after all . . . If he were replaced with Zhao Liu, who would be awakened by the child, it would be more difficult for her to fall asleep again. But he was different; he could continue to sleep as soon as he closed his eyes. Then because he was very alert, when the child moved, he would also immediately wake up. Often, without waiting for the child to cry, he would pick her up and hold her. Because there was someone holding her, she would not cry.

The first night after giving birth, Zhao Jinge slept exceptionally well, and on the next day when Zhao Liu asked about last night, he was a bit confused. Zhao Liu gave him a complex look and was also a little envious of her son.

This time, Jiang Zhen grimaced, rubbed his arms.

Yesterday, he ran all the way with Zhao Jinge and later kneaded Zhao Jinge’s waist and then carried the baby around. His arms were a little strained . . . Fortunately, it was not a big deal.

Jiang Zhen was very fond of his daughter, so after Zhao Jinge gave birth, he stayed at home for three days in a row. After three days, both Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had already gotten used to taking care of their child.

Originally, Zhao Liu was bent on letting Zhao Jinge just sit around and not let him touch anything, but Zhao Jinge really couldn’t lie still. He was forced to stay in the bed except going to the toilet, so he simply concentrated on the child. Jiang Zhen did not stop him from taking care of the child, so he quickly learned how to feed the child and change her diapers.

Of course, when they were taking care of their children, they were not too tired. After all there were many people in the family who could help. If nothing else, they did not need to wash the diapers and they also did not need to touch other housework.

After staying at home for three whole days, Jiang Zhen finally said goodbye to his precious daughter and went out. There were still a lot of things waiting for him to take care of outside. Fortunately, the place where he “worked” was very close to his home. He was also the boss. so he could go home at any time.

After Jiang Zhen left, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were finally able to hold their granddaughter. It was not easy . . . When Jiang Zhen was there, they did not even have a chance to hold the child!

“What a beautiful child!”

“It looks so smart!”

“I’ll be a blessed one in the future.”

 

. . .

 

Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui each boasted about their grandchild. After praising her for a long time, Zhao Fugui suddenly said, “This child, what is her name?”

They . . . didn’t seem to have a name for the baby yet?

It was after Jiang Zhen returned home that night that Zhao Liu reminded him that he had not even given the child a name yet. In fact, he thought of some names before, but they were all for boys, but with their little princess, those names could not be used. It’s just, what kind of name should his daughter have?

“Shu, Zhen, Wan, Hui, Fen. The meaning of these words are very good.” Zhao Jinge selected some words.

Jiang Zhen took a look at it, but vetoed them all. It was the ancient times and many girls did not have serious names. It was already good if a girl had a name like “Shufen,” which means “full of parents”, but he refused it. He did not want to give his daughter a name like this. His daughter’s name should be different and unique.

“Then what should we name her?” Zhao Jinge asked.

“I’ll think about it . . . ,” Jiang Zhen said.

Jiang Zhen had been thinking about this for more than ten days, but he could not come out with anything. At this time, Zhao Jinge became impatient lying in bed all day. Although he was forced to lie in bed by Zhao Liu. Most of the time he could still come to eat at the table. Zhao Liu thought it was not good, but Jiang Zhen thought it doesn’t matter. He also prepared hot water to wipe Zhao Jinge’s body and even insisted on giving his daughter a bath.

People in Hexi Village felt that children should not take a bath, but Jiang Zhen looked at his daughter’s uncomfortable wriggling around in heartache . . . What’s more, after he bathed the child, she slept much more soundly.

Jiang Zhen had not thought of his daughter’s name yet, but the construction of the docks had been completed, not only that, Jiang Zhen’s mansion, was also almost complete.

Jiang Zhen felt that although his family had more people, it was not much. So when he built the house, he did not make it too big. People could see the courtyard as soon as they entered. However, although he only built a one-way courtyard, because of the good planning, he also built two floors, so there were many rooms.

The small houses beside the courtyard wall were not included. Other than the main building, there were five big houses facing south, and all of them had two floors. Of the division, Jiang Zhen allocated areas for the dining room, the living room, and built a large kitchen behind the dining room.

In the easternmost house, the upper floor was prepared by Jiang Zhen for Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui’s living space. While the second room on the east side was for him and Zhao Jinge. At that time, they can sleep upstairs and the downstairs area would be used to receive guests and for daytime activities. As for the west, there were many houses available, so it would be no problem to make arrangements when the children became older.

The house was built, but it was empty inside, and all kinds of furniture had to be added. Therefore, Jiang Zhen went to the county town to find a carpenter to customize some furniture.

Unwittingly, the child became a month old, and Jiang Zhen who had written on countless pieces of papers, has not yet come up with a suitable name. He . . . was really not good at naming people.  

 

Edited by: Faro

Proofreader: XLB

 

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