Chapter 6: Chapter 6, A Happy Young Couple

Nurse Xu looked at her furious expression and thought to herself, "I wouldn't believe you if you said you wouldn't hit a child with that look on your face, let alone the young mistress."

But she still advised, "Ying-jie'er is still small. Little nursing babies get hungry quickly, and the sun is quite warm today, so taking her out for some sun is fine."

Country children are sturdy, and since the temperature was indeed high today, feeling almost like summer, they had all taken off their outer coats.

So, when Mrs. Wu carried the baby out, no one thought anything of it. On the contrary, neighbors who saw them came over to take a peek and stood there chatting with Mrs. Wu for a while.

"Jin-ge's wife, out shopping?"

Mrs. Wu smiled, "Yes, it's time to start preparing the holiday gifts; there's a whole pile of things to buy."

The woman glanced at the baby in the swaddling clothes and smiled, "Is Ying-jie'er asleep?"

Mrs. Wu lifted a corner of the blanket to show her, "Look, she just fell asleep. She ate once when we came out, so she probably won't wake up for a while now."

The woman looked at the baby's sweet, sleeping face and was immediately charmed.

"Tsk, this child is truly beautiful. That little face is whiter than milk cake."

Everyone loves a pretty baby, and the women all had to offer a compliment when they saw her.

After chatting with them for a bit, Mrs. Wu took the baby to the gold paper shop at the entrance of their home to buy incense, candles, and the gold and red paper used for worshipping Buddha.

She bought exactly the amount Old Madam Liang had requested, and the money she paid was just right.

After buying these, she went to the shop next door to buy some dried zongzi leaves; they could wrap some sticky rice dumplings for the New Year.

Next, she went to buy red paper to cut into patterns for the doors and windows during the holidays.

Once she finished buying these, Ying-jie'er woke up.

She wiggled her chubby little body inside the swaddling clothes, and Mrs. Wu knew she was awake.

"Awake?"

Ying-jie'er made a couple of grunting sounds, signaling an urgent need to pee.

Seeing her little face turning red from holding it in, Mrs. Wu knew exactly what she needed.

She hurried home with the baby, and just as they arrived, the diaper was already wet.

There was no helping it; little babies couldn't control that.

Ying-jie'er felt she had lost face and let out a few "wa-wa" cries to show her anger.

Mrs. Wu laughed as she cleaned her up, changed her into clean clothes, and coaxed her.

"Alright, it's fine now. Didn't I just clean you up? Why is this child so obsessed with being clean?"

Ying-jie'er grunted and kicked her little fleshy legs, showing her defiance.

Seeing her little legs kicking away, Mrs. Wu couldn't help but love her even more. She leaned down and kissed her again; no matter how she looked at her own child, she was just adorable.

In the evening, when Liang Jin returned, Old Madam Liang immediately ordered the food to be served.

Liang Jin was the only grown man in the house, so the whole family relied on him to succeed, naturally putting him first in everything.

Mrs. Wu smiled as she went over to take off his cloak and asked if he was hungry.

Liang Jin studied at an academy run by an old scholar in the next town, and the journey was quite a distance.

If it weren't for his young child, elderly mother, and beloved wife at home, he might not have come back to spend the night.

Old Madam Liang didn't want him to be too tired, so she spoke up, "Jin'er, the New Year is next month. This month, just focus on your studies at the teacher's place. Don't come back at night; it wastes time and affects your lessons."

Mrs. Wu also said, "That's right, there's only a month left until the New Year. Husband, you should just stay at the academy and focus. Mother and I will look after things at home."

In front of Liang Jin, Mrs. Wu gave Old Madam Liang plenty of face.

Old Madam Liang huffed, not buying it.

Instead, she doted on her son, "Fine, eat your meal and go back to rest. No need to come back tomorrow; it's not long until the New Year anyway."

Liang Jin was persuaded from both sides and finally agreed.

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you both. I'll go see Ying-jie'er after I finish eating."

He wasn't there during the day, and he didn't know if the child had missed him.

Old Madam Liang saw him placing so much importance on that little girl and immediately felt jealous.

"Go study after you eat. All day long, and you don't even know how to read a bit more."

Liang Jin:...

He had been scolded for no reason again.

Mrs. Wu watched from the side, finding it funny, but she held it in desperately, afraid that if she laughed, Old Madam Liang would throw another tantrum.

After the couple finished their meal, they stood up to take their leave.

The two walked back hand-in-hand, and Liang Jin whispered to Mrs. Wu, "Mother's temper has been getting worse lately. I wonder if it's like the books say—that when people get old, their tempers flare up."

Mrs. Wu burst into a giggle.

She quickly pulled Liang Jin back to their room before she let out a loud laugh.

Seeing his beloved wife laughing, Liang Jin laughed along with her.

When Ying-jie'er woke up and heard her parents' laughter, she also grinned with her toothless little mouth.

Old Madam Liang heard their laughter from far away and was so angry she ate an extra braised pork knuckle.

"Hmph, little vixen, only knows how to seduce my son."

Nurse Xu:...

Isn't it a good thing for the young couple to be loving?

The old lady's sourness was truly unmatched.

Inside the room, after Ying-jie'er woke up and realized her father was back, she immediately kicked her little legs, flapping about and babbling, trying to get her parents' attention.

Hearing the commotion, Liang Jin immediately came over to hold her.

"Yo, is our Ying-jie'er awake?"

Ying-jie'er was in a great mood after being picked up, her two little baby hands flapping and waving excitedly.

Liang Jin asked happily, "Did you miss Daddy?"

"Mm~ mm~"

At this age, a baby could already make nasal sounds. Although it didn't quite sound like "mm," it was a response nonetheless.

Liang Jin was overjoyed to see his daughter responding to him.

Mrs. Wu leaned in, looking at their daughter with him, and said, "You weren't here at noon. Her big eyes were wide open, looking left and right, as if she were looking for you."

Liang Jin laughed, "Is that so? It seems Ying-jie'er is still quite attached to me."

Mrs. Wu also laughed, "Of course, our Ying-jie'er loves Daddy the most, right?"

Seeing her mother putting in so much effort, Ying-jie'er naturally played along, grinning at Liang Jin with her toothless mouth.

Seeing her smile so adorably, Liang Jin couldn't help but hold her for a while longer.

Mrs. Wu watched the interaction between father and daughter, her eyes filled with happy smiles.

——

The next day.

Liang Jin left for the academy early in the morning.

Mrs. Wu got up early to see him off, then returned to catch up on her sleep.

Seeing her turn around and go back to bed, Old Madam Liang complained, "Other wives start doing this and that first thing in the morning. Unlike some people, whose husband works hard at his studies, yet she has the nerve to go back to sleep?"

Mrs. Wu knew these words were meant for her, but she acted as if she hadn't heard them. She swayed her waist, went straight back to her room, pulled up the quilt, and continued to sleep!

Old Madam Liang:...

A disaster, she's a total disaster!!

She pointed tremblingly at Mrs. Wu's back, stomping her feet in anger.

"How did our family end up with such a lazy daughter-in-law! It's going to be the death of me."

Nurse Xu advised from the side, "Please don't be angry. Getting worked up first thing in the morning will hurt your liver. You should go back and rest."

Old Madam Liang refused to give in, "No, I can rest, but that vixen can't. You go, wake her up and tell her to go buy the rest of the holiday gifts."

Nurse Xu felt embarrassed, "The shops aren't even fully open yet, and Ying-jie'er will need to nurse when she wakes up. If she wakes up and doesn't see the young mistress, she'll start crying."

Old Madam Liang pouted and huffed childishly, "I don't care! You go call her!"

Nurse Xu:...

Just keep being arrogant.

Every time you stir up trouble, you never gain anything, and instead, I'm the one who ends up offending people. It's so exhausting.