Fate
Manbao and the others followed Chen's mother into the main room in a line, watching as she attempted to feed the child.
The milk still had a strong scent, clearly different from the rice soup he had tasted earlier, so the baby instinctively spat it out.
After several failed attempts, Chen's mother grew increasingly anxious. Such precious milk should not be wasted so easily.
Determined, Chen's mother pressed the baby's lips together, forcing the milk into him without removing the spoon.
Qian was startled by this and quickly pulled her hand away. The baby began to cough, his face first turning red and then slightly blue as he struggled to move his limbs, his movements slowing down.
Manbao was displeased, pushing Chen's mother aside and picking up the child. Turning to her mother, she said, "Mother, take him."
Qian swiftly took the child, cleaned up the milk he had spit out, and gently soothed him. As his movements slowed and his cries reduced to soft whimpers, she carefully resumed feeding him.
She addressed Chen's concerned mother softly, "Children have their own temperaments, just like adults. When people are uncomfortable, they will naturally feel upset." As adults, we can express our discomfort by crying or complaining, but a baby can only express it in their own way. "It's only natural for them to be unhappy."
Qian continued, "You heard the doctor say that this child is in a fragile state due to the severity of his distress." Added to his hunger, his temper is bound to be worse than that of most children. "At times like these, we must be patient; otherwise, arguing with a newborn only results in more suffering for ourselves."
Chen's mother nodded, glancing at her aunt. "Aunt, let me take over the feeding."
"No need," Qian smiled. "You are still recovering, and I have nothing pressing to do here. Allow me to assist with feeding him."
Qian placed a towel over the child's chest and continued to feed him, allowing him to spit up as needed.
During breastfeeding, it is normal for babies to spit up, and this goat's milk was no exception.
In Qian's view, since the Bai family had provided an entire goat, there was no reason to worry about the baby not having enough milk.
She patiently played the feeding-and-spitting game with the baby. When compared to adults, most children have a greater capacity for patience.
Indeed, whether from exhaustion, a desire to stop spitting, or sheer hunger, the baby eventually drank the milk without further resistance.
By then, the small bowl of milk was nearly empty.
Chen's mother looked at the half-wet towel with a heavy heart. However, when Qian glanced over, she returned to the kitchen to fetch another small bowl.
Qian finished feeding the child.
The baby continued to smack his lips, but Qian did not offer him more milk. "A baby's appetite is small, but they need to be fed frequently." Feed him again in an hour.
Zhou Hu entered from outside, asking with concern, "Did he manage to drink the milk?"
Qian carefully cleaned the milk stains from the baby's skin and smiled, "He drank it."
Zhou Hu breathed a sigh of relief as he gazed at his newborn son and then at his wife. "From now on, we will name this child Sanshou, in order of succession after his older brothers."
This had been the name they had chosen for the child since Da Fu's birth, suitable for either a son or a daughter.
However, since the baby's birth, he had refrained from naming him, as both he and the doctor had doubted the child's chances of survival.
After the baby drank the milk, the hope for his survival seemed more promising.
Qian, who is experienced in raising children, was far more skilled in childcare than Chen, despite Chen being a mother of two herself.
So, the couple listened attentively to her advice. As she was about to leave, Zhou Hu presented her with a large bowl of sweet wine for her to take home.
He grinned, "Aunt, this sweet wine is good for replenishing blood and warming the body. Please take it back and let Daluoge try some."
Zhou Daluo had been recovering from a bleed sustained in a fight.
Qian accepted the gift without hesitation, taking it from Manbao and Baishanbao, who had volunteered to carry it.
Naturally, she could not carry it alone, so Baishanbao helped her.
Qian was not as frail as she appeared. She took the basket from the two individuals with a dismissive glance and said, "Go home now."
Zhou Hu had considered sending some sweet wine to the Bai family but hesitated, thinking it was too modest a gift.
Qian, oblivious to such social subtleties, led the two children back to the Zhou household.
She could not help but praise the two children, especially Baishanbao, ruffling his little head and saying, "Saving a life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda." Regardless of whether Sanshou survives, you have already accumulated good fortune for yourself.
Baishanbao looked at her with bright, eager eyes.
The Zhou family's excitement lasted only for a day as friends and relatives came to see Chen and the baby, bringing gifts of rice, flour, and eggs. After fulfilling their social duties, they dispersed to attend to their own affairs, leaving plenty of work to be done in the fields.
Chen's mother stayed behind to care for Chen because Zhou Hu's parents had passed away two years earlier, leaving no one else to tend to her.
Manbao and Baishanbao, feeling a connection with Sanshou, visited him frequently after school. Chen remained bedridden, but Sanshou visibly grew each day.
First, his complexion improved from the previous pallor; it was suggested that he needed to consume eight small meals a day. Then his red wrinkles began to fade, and his features became more distinct. Finally, his cries grew louder, and though not alarming to Manbao, they were more pronounced.
As a result, Chen's happiness grew even though she was still bedridden.
Manbao was so captivated by the baby that she forgot about the poria. When Zhou Silang returned limping with a basket of wild mushrooms, she realized that the poria had still not been found, despite the success of the mushroom business.
Unfortunately, it seemed that this business was now facing setbacks.
Zhou Silang was enraged as he set down the basket. "Though the mountain has been divided, there is no known claim to the wild produce there." But those two families chased us away with hoes. If we had been a bit slower, they would have stolen the entire basket of mushrooms from us.
Zhou Wulang was equally incensed, "Fourth Brother fell behind carrying the basket and even took a fall." Fortunately, he didn't break any bones, or there would have been consequences.