Zhou Xing'er: "…?"
Liu Guihua walked over with some nervousness as well, reaching out to feel Zhou Xing'er's forehead. She asked with concern, "Xing'er, did you get too much sun out there and bake your brain? This child's barely old enough to do anything—how could he possibly talk?"
Zhang Fangfang went so far as to curl her lip and muttered under her breath with disdain, "Exactly. Talking nonsense this early in the morning. If a half-year-old milk-baby could rattle off a whole pile of words like that, he'd be some kind of demon."
By now, Zhou Xing'er finally snapped back to reality.
Xiao Tiedan was only six months old—there was no way he could speak!
So, what she had heard just now was Xiao Tiedan's heart-voice?
【Waaaah waaaah waaaah! Pretty auntie isn't lying! I really did pee! It's all wet and stuck to my butt, and it feels so awful! Mama, hurry and look at my little butt—it's really turning red! Boo-hoo-hoo, my butt hurts!】
Xiao Tiedan wailed pitifully inside his mind while crying out loud even harder, his voice growing more heart-wrenching by the second.
That settled it completely for Zhou Xing'er.
She hadn't misheard.
She truly possessed the superpower to hear a baby's heart-voice!
Zhou Xing'er's heart churned with shock, waves crashing within her. But for now, she had to get through this immediate crisis—she absolutely could not let her family think she was possessed.
Zhou Xing'er took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her astonishment, and a somewhat sheepish smile quickly spread across her face.
She patted her forehead and said to Li Xiulan with a playful pout, "Aiya, Sister-in-law, Ma, don't take me seriously. I just saw Tiedan crying so hard, his little body sagging down and his bottom wriggling around, so I made a wild guess. Just teasing Sister-in-law on a whim. I was only joking."
Hearing Zhou Xing'er explain it that way, everyone's taut nerves finally relaxed.
Liu Guihua patted her chest and glared at her with mild reproach, scolding, "You dead girl, joking like that first thing in the morning—you scared your mother half to death. I thought you'd stayed overnight in town and ruined your brain."
"…What Little Sister said makes some sense." Li Xiulan looked at her son with a touch of heartache. "Tiedan is usually a very good baby. He only makes a fuss like this when he's wet or has pooped. I gave him a feel just now, and it does seem a bit damp. Let me unwrap him and take a look."
With that, Li Xiulan carried Xiao Tiedan over to the wooden bed nearby, carefully untied the little quilt wrapped around him, and then pulled open the coarse cotton diaper.
The moment the diaper came off, a wave of warm, damp air wafted out.
That thick coarse cotton diaper was now completely soaked through, heavy and almost dripping with moisture. Xiao Tiedan's chubby little bottom and inner thighs, having been soaked in urine for so long, had already turned slightly red.
"It really is wet—soaked right through." The moment Li Xiulan saw her son's reddened bottom, her heart ached terribly, and she blamed herself over and over. "No wonder he was crying so hard. It's all my fault. I didn't feel carefully enough just now. I kept thinking the diaper had only been changed a short while ago, so I wanted him to keep it on a bit longer to save myself from having to wash so many diapers every day. With this hot weather, having it all wrapped up must be truly miserable for him."
As soon as Xiao Tiedan's diaper was removed, his bottom met the cool air, and his crying immediately quieted down into soft whimpers.
Meanwhile, in Zhou Xing'er's mind, that milky, childlike voice let out another immensely satisfied long sigh.
[Phew… finally untied, so much cooler. Pretty Auntie is so good. If not for Pretty Auntie, my little bottom would've hurt to death. Mama, next time don't skimp on diapers anymore, my bottom really hurts.]
Listening to Xiao Tiedan's inner complaints, Zhou Xing'er couldn't help but purse her lips and smile.
This little guy, young as he was, sure had a lot of thoughts in his head—and he even knew it was her who had helped him.
Wait, was something not quite right?
Logically speaking, Xiao Tiedan was only half a year old. Even if she could hear the child's Heart-voice, a six-month-old's Heart-voice shouldn't be able to speak like this, right?
Could it be… her nephew was a transmigrator or a reincarnator?
Or maybe this cheat wasn't actually about hearing Heart-voices, but about translating the child's words? Translating them into simpler, more colloquial words for her to hear?
Li Xiulan looked at the soaked diaper with some distress. In this era, there were no disposable diapers in the countryside—they used coarse cotton cloth woven at home as diapers, washed and sun-dried for reuse. But after long use, the cloth would stiffen and chafe the bottom, and frequent washing made it wear out easily.
"This diaper, after being washed so many times, is already a bit torn." Li Xiulan sighed, reluctant to throw it away.
Liu Guihua walked over, took one look, and said, "If it's torn, don't use it anymore—no point letting it hurt the child's skin. In a bit, find an old piece of clothing in the cabinet and cut it up to make new diapers for Tiedan. Now that our family has the heavens' blessing and the vegetables are growing so well, once we sell them, Mama will buy new cloth for Tiedan's diapers!"
"Ah, thank you, Mama." Li Xiulan's face showed a grateful smile.
Li Xiulan cleaned Xiao Tiedan up, washed his bottom with warm water, and changed him into a clean coarse cotton diaper. Now Xiao Tiedan was finally comfortable. Lying on the bed, his pair of dark, shiny big eyes looked at Zhou Xing'er as he blew bubbles from his mouth and giggled non-stop.
Zhou Xing'er felt her heart melt watching him, and couldn't resist reaching out to poke his chubby little cheek.
At that moment, Xiao Tiedan's sparkling eyes stared at Zhou Xing'er, and that milky, childlike voice rang out in her mind again: [Pretty Auntie is so good, Auntie smells so nice, I like Pretty Auntie the most!]
Zhou Xing'er pursed her lips and secretly smiled, feeling absolutely delighted inside. This little guy was truly a lovable little joy.
Old Man Zhou raised his head, looked at Zhou Xing'er and Liu Guihua in the room, and said loudly, "Xing'er, since the vegetables in the field are growing so well, let's not waste any more time. The sun is good today—let's give them a quick wash and hurry to push the vegetables to the county town to sell. If we're too late, the people buying vegetables will have gone home to cook, and we'll miss our chance."
Liu Guihua wiped her hands on her apron and hurriedly walked out of the room, nodding, "Right, the old man is right. Dazhu and Erzhu have gone to work in the fields, so only the few of us are left at home. Old man, you're the strongest—you push our big wooden cart, and have Xing'er go with you. Xing'er can read, has a good memory, and can help with the accounts."
Zhou Xing'er walked out and said with a smile, "Mom, I was thinking the same thing. The tomatoes and cabbages in our field have grown too big—one cart can't hold too many. Let's pick the reddest tomatoes and the biggest, most solid cabbages to load up first. Dad and I will head out now."
Zhang Fangfang stood nearby, looking at the baskets of bright red, large tomatoes, her eyes sparkling. She came over, swallowed, and said, "Little sister, these tomatoes look so plump and juicy. I've lived twenty years and never seen tomatoes this big. If we take these to the city, the city folks will definitely fight to buy them. Dad, little sister, you must go slowly on the road and not bruise or damage these beauties."
"Don't worry, second sister-in-law, Dad and I will be careful," Zhou Xing'er said as she helped Old Man Zhou load two baskets of large tomatoes and several big cabbages onto the wooden pushcart.
This wooden pushcart was made by Old Man Zhou himself from hard wood. Although it was somewhat old and creaked as it moved, it was especially sturdy. Old Man Zhou used hemp rope to firmly secure the bamboo baskets to the cart frame, then covered them with a clean, damp cloth to prevent the sun from wilting the vegetables on the road.
Old Man Zhou let out a turbid breath, gripped the handles of the pushcart with both hands, straightened his back with effort, and shouted, "Up!"
The cart full of heavy vegetables was steadily pushed up by him. Zhou Xing'er pulled a thick hemp rope in front, helping Old Man Zhou lead the way and save effort.
Liu Guihua stood at the door, watching the backs of father and daughter, and called out loudly, "Watch the cart on the road, don't fight for the right of way with others! Don't worry if you can't sell everything, come back early for dinner!"