Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Warmhearted Good Neighbor

Zhao Minghua came to deliver a gift with his mother.

Chun Nuan went back to the village, firstly to persuade the old lady to move, and secondly to change the medicine for Aunt Luo, and she wanted to thank her for the large chicken leg she gave, which made a big bowl of soup for her eldest sister-in-law.

“Mother, this is Madam Xiao. Madam Xiao, this is my mother, surname Zhou.”

Zhao Minghua, having dined at the Xiao family frequently and grown familiar with them, quickly introduced his mother to Mrs. Xu.

“Mrs. Zhao, Mr. Zhao, please come in, take a seat.”

Being the first genuine guest to the Xiao family since arriving in Shu City, it was a significant visit.

Having managed the Xiao Mansion for years, Mrs. Xu naturally was adept at receiving guests.

Contrarily, Mrs. Zhao saw the distinctive qualities of a large family from the Capital in her.

Secretly, she was amazed: Just as a Madam of the Xiao family, how incomparable Wen was to this Mrs. Xu!

In every sense—appearance, conversation, or hospitality—Mrs. Xu felt like a breath of spring, while Wen seemed to carry a constant sense of arrogance.

She definitely preferred this Madam Xiao over Wen.

Although they had never met before, as both women were mothers and grandmothers, they found common ground in discussing children, becoming so engrossed that there was no sense of unfamiliarity.

In short, it was a very pleasant visit.

While chatting, Mrs. Xu heard her precious elder grandson crying from the inner room.

“Mrs. Zhao, I apologize, please excuse me for a moment. I need to check on the child; my daughter-in-law had a tough night and is sleeping soundly, and I can’t disturb her.”

“Alright, please go ahead.”

After delivering the gift, Mrs. Zhao should have bid farewell, but she didn’t want to leave without at least seeing what Miss Xiao looked like.

When Mrs. Zhao entered the room, Zhu Lingling had also awoken.

“Mother, are there guests?”

Zhu Lingling listened for a while but couldn’t recognize who it was.

“Yes, Mrs. Zhao and Mr. Zhao brought a gift.” Mrs. Xu whispered: “I’ll take the baby out to soothe him, you get some more sleep.”

“Mother, there’s no need, the baby has pooped, I’ll change and clean him up.”

“I’ll do it.”

In the end, neither the mother-in-law nor the daughter-in-law managed to get the baby’s pants on, mainly because the baby was so delicate that they didn’t know where to start.

Indeed, even though Mrs. Xu was a mother of three, she had never personally cared for a child; they were all taken care of by wet nurses and maids.

Exhausted after childbirth, Zhu Lingling had been in a semi-resting state, and when the baby was hungry or soiled himself, it was Chun Nuan who handled it, and now she found herself at a loss.

Mrs. Zhao and Zhao Minghua heard the baby crying for a long while.

Unable to resist, they walked over to stand at the doorway to inquire.

“Mrs. Zhao, sorry, the baby has pooped, we’re changing him, please wait a moment.”

Mrs. Xu was a bit anxious, and Zhu Lingling quickly said: “Mother, let me do it.”

“No, no, I’ll manage it in a moment.”

In fact, she really couldn’t manage, when she got one leg in, the pants on the other leg fell off again.

The baby cried even more fiercely.

“Mother, how about feeding the baby first, he’s probably hungry.”

“Alright, let’s not dress him for now, wrap him in this swaddle and feed him first.” Mrs. Xu had a glimmer of hope: “Is there milk?”

Zhu Lingling blushed with embarrassment, still there wasn’t any.

“Then I’ll go make some rice soup.”

So Mrs. Zhao was surprised to find that the Xiao family’s precious baby was drinking rice soup.

“How can this be? Feeding rice soup, how will the child grow?” Mrs. Zhao was worried for them: “If the young mistress doesn’t have milk, hire a wet nurse?”

Mrs. Xu felt embarrassed; it wasn’t that they didn’t want to hire, but they couldn’t afford it.

In the village, Chun Nuan also reported this matter to her grandmother.

“That child Lingling was never strong to begin with, and since the family incident, she’s been living in fear. She endured hardships traveling to Shu City, and now the baby is premature; it’s normal not to have milk.” The old lady sighed: “Nuannuan, do you think we can move some money around to hire a wet nurse?”

“Grandmother, I’ve thought about it too, and will observe tomorrow. If by tomorrow, the eldest sister-in-law still doesn’t have milk, we must hire a wet nurse.” Chun Nuan, managing the household, was prudent about what to save and what to spend, hoping the soup she made for her eldest sister-in-law would be effective today.

“It’s truly tough on you; I’m just an old woman, adding no value at all, everything depends on you.”

“Grandmother, you can’t say such dispiriting words, as long as you are here, the soul of the Xiao family is. Rest assured, our family will slowly get better.” Chun Nuan said: “Grandmother, move to the town, won’t you see here…”

After a night of storm, pools of water lingered on the ground, and Mrs. Xu along with Mrs. Huang, who came back from town with Chun Nuan, were helping Chunyan and Chun Shu wash the soaked sheets, quilts, and clothes, while Chun An and Chunxin diligently cleaned the tables and benches… the place was a mess.

“Nuannuan, be sensible, there are many at home, and your eldest sister-in-law and the baby need a quiet recuperation. Once her confinement is over, we’ll move.” The old lady insisted: “You see, the millet is turning yellow, which means it’s time to harvest. For a household with women and children like ours, it’s a hard task, let’s postpone the move.”

Indeed, all members of the Xiao family were headstrong, and persuading Chun Nuan was no easy feat.

She had to go next door to change Aunt Luo’s dressing.

“Chun Nuan, I feel the wound hurts a bit, is it because it got wet in the morning?”

“Auntie, from now on be careful not to get it wet.” Chun Nuan said: “If the scalp breaks, it will hurt for a few days; when it heals and new tissue grows, it will itch. You must refrain from scratching with your hands.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you.” Aunt Luo sighed: “That chicken was really troublesome, stuck in a bamboo grove. I searched high and low yesterday afternoon without thinking to look there. After pondering all night, I went early in the morning and sure enough, found it. Luckily, otherwise, there wouldn’t be any chicken soup to drink.”

“Speaking of which, I must thank auntie for the big chicken leg.”

“What’s there to thank, you didn’t charge a penny for changing my dressing.” Aunt Luo said: “Chun Nuan, it’s soon millet harvesting time, your family’s sand field isn’t big, but your household is small in number, harvesting is tough, must be a bit challenging?”

“It’s no problem; we’ll harvest bit by bit, day by day, it’ll be done eventually.”

“Look, my child, says someone who’s never farmed, mature crops need to be harvested quickly in good weather. After the Start of Autumn, if you encounter such torrential rain, the grains will fall, reducing yield; also, if the weather’s bad, un-dried grains will sprout, and sprouted grains are not accepted as rent payment.” Aunt Luo said: “I told the kids’ father to help you for a day when the time comes.”

“Then we’ll pay Uncle Luo for his work.”

“Child, in the countryside, what’s paying for labor?” Aunt Luo said: “During harvest time, we exchange labor with each other; let your Chun Ning come help us for a day, and it will be labor exchange.”

“Aunt Luo, thank you.”

Chun Ning has never harvested grain, exchanging labor with full-grown workers?

The Luo family is genuinely helping—such warmhearted neighbors, truly wonderful!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep