After giving birth, she no longer had to worry about how to manage household chores and take care of the baby while living with her mother-in-law. During this sweet phase where the two women were getting along, Lin Shiheng quickly hired a nanny. Although they both felt it was a bit expensive, it must be said that with the nanny present, neither the mother-in-law nor daughter-in-law had to work, which truly eliminated the reasons for conflict.
In the more than a month since He Xuezhus confinement, Li Chunhua’s precious little bundle had perfectly transformed into her little granddaughter. If it had been before, she might not have cared much for her granddaughter, expecting her son and daughter-in-law to have a boy. But now, she was aware that her son could no longer have children. This child would be Lin Shiheng’s only offspring.
When He Xuezhu was brought home, Lin Shiheng specifically invited a highly praised old Chinese medicine doctor who was well-regarded among military officers for her treatment. Although she had suffered little hardship since her husband was in the military and had been well-nourished, the old doctor advised that it was the perfect time during her confinement to properly restore her health.
Li Chunhua immediately volunteered to take care of her granddaughter! Initially, Lin Shiheng tried to advise her against it, saying she was too old and that infants are unpredictable and often noisy; it would be better to let the nanny care for the baby. However, Li Chunhua firmly believed that a nanny would only do it for the money and wouldn’t care for the child as attentively as she could.
Fortunately, it turned out that the baby was indeed very well-behaved; she hardly cried unless she was hungry or needed a change. After a few days of taking care of her, Li Chunhua didn’t seem exhausted from looking after the baby at all; instead, she looked even more radiant and energetic than before, prompting Lin Shiheng to stop holding her back.
People’s hearts grow fond. If, at the beginning, Li Chunhua cared for the child simply because she was “her son’s only child” and “his only granddaughter,” then after more than a month of care, she found herself truly adoring her fair and tender granddaughter, whose features were slowly revealing a delicate beauty, and who was sweet and not prone to tears.
The little girl, nicknamed Leyang, was indeed a lovely baby. As Li Chunhua put it, the child was clever, inheriting her parents’ best traits, and it was obvious that she would grow into an attractive child.
When the celebration for the baby’s full month was held, nearly all the military wives in the courtyard attended, including Zhou Qianqian. She stood at a distance, looking gloomy, gazing toward the fair-skinned, slightly rounded-faced He Xuezhu, whose warm and happy smile indicated she was being well cared for.
Her mother-in-law was holding the tiny infant with a face full of love, proudly showing her off to others, saying, “Our Leyang is really well-behaved, she never fusses, only cries a couple of times when she’s hungry.”
“Look at this sweet little face, isn’t she beautiful?”
The baby was in her swaddling blanket, and Zhou Qianqian could see that she had her eyes closed, with long, beautifully curved eyelashes. Adding to the charm were her delicate features, clearly foreshadowing that she would grow into a stunning beauty.
Zhou Qianqian had never thought that being too beautiful as a girl was a good thing. Seeing a neighbor’s daughter who was too attractive attracted the attention of a fat and ugly wealthy man, who came to their home with money to take her away. If that wealthy man had treated her well, it would have been one thing, but he was known to be abusive when drunk. Zhou Qianqian had envied her neighbor’s daughter’s beauty, but after that incident, she felt all her envy dissipate.
After all, if she had such looks, any suitor who came knocking with money would surely be eagerly accepted by her parents. In Zhou Qianqian’s mind, no one would truly care for girls.
However, today, this notion was completely overturned.
She watched as someone reached out to touch the fair and lovely face of the swaddled infant, only for Li Chunhua to quickly step in, hugging the child and avoiding the gesture, saying, “Her skin is soft and she’s still so little; we don’t want to hurt her.”
When someone teased her about being so protective of her granddaughter, she responded confidently, “My Xuezhu is such a good girl; she gave birth to a daughter who resembles her, of course, I have to cherish her to the core.”
He Xuezhu was wearing a beautiful pearl necklace, and someone joked about whether it was a gift from Lin Shiheng, asking why he didn’t buy her gold instead. The man, who had just come in to greet the guests, smiled as he replied, “Snowzhu has such fair skin that golden jewelry does not suit her. I bought her a few gold bracelets, but she finds them too heavy to wear.”
Others then jestingly asked Li Chunhua why her son bought his wife a pearl necklace and gold bracelets but didn’t buy anything for her, the mother.
Li Chunhua smiled and lifted her chin proudly, showing off, “Didn’t you all see? Why are you still asking?”
She outwardly appeared composed, but inwardly she was quite pleased. Initially, Shiheng only thought of buying something for her as a way to acknowledge her hard work raising the child, but it was Li Chunhua who insisted that he should also buy something for Snowzhu, who had given birth. Thus, her son thought to buy something for his wife as well.
Every time Li Chunhua saw her son and daughter-in-law standing together with good feelings, she would internally marvel, realizing that it was all thanks to her efforts. Without her, how could this dense young man Shiheng keep He Xuezhu so happy?
Holding her equally cherished granddaughter in her arms, Li Chunhua felt a great sense of satisfaction, but then she caught a glimpse of Zhou Qianqian, standing distantly with a sullen expression, causing her brows to furrow slightly.
Their family was celebrating a joyous occasion; why did she show up looking like she was mourning? Wasn’t this bringing down the mood?
As it was almost time to begin the festivities, Li Chunhua could not help but pull over Sister Zhang to ask her about it.
Sister Zhang sighed heavily and glanced back at Zhou Qianqian, saying, “She’s probably feeling down because she had a miscarriage not long ago; she lost a baby boy and hasn’t fully recovered yet, and her mother-in-law and husband have scolded her too.”
Li Chunhua’s previously displeased expression turned sympathetic. “She had a miscarriage? What happened?”
Sister Zhang shook her head. “The pregnancy was originally unstable; she went to the hospital to keep the baby safe, but for some reason, she walked out into the hall and caught a draft, and it seems she was also somewhat agitated. She couldn’t keep the baby.”