When it was time to sleep, Han Jianwu watched coldly from the sidelines, wanting to see what Huo Qingqing intended to do.
The two children had already fallen asleep in the middle of the kang, and at some point, the kids had become the boundary between them.
Huo Qingqing still couldn't bring herself to actively slip into Han Jianwu's bed. She blew out the lamp and crawled into her own bedding, just like before.
In the middle of the night, Huo Qingqing's crying woke Han Jianwu. He turned on his flashlight, crawled over, and shook her awake. "What's wrong?"
Huo Qingqing's face was streaked with tears. "Niu Niu is lost."
Han Jianwu shone the light on the two children. "They're right here! Look."
Seeing her daughter's peaceful sleeping face made Huo Qingqing cry even harder. She picked up the child, held her tightly in her arms, and kept kissing her face and pressing their foreheads together.
She soon woke Niu Niu, and the child started crying upon waking.
Han Jianwu carried his daughter and paced around the room until he managed to lull her back to sleep.
After settling their daughter, Huo Qingqing remained in a daze.
Han Jianwu said, "Go back to sleep! They say dreams are the opposite of reality. We still need to get up early tomorrow to go into town."
Huo Qingqing threw herself into Han Jianwu's arms, clutching his firm waist tightly, and murmured, "Han Jianwu, thank you! I'm sorry!"
Han Jianwu: "…"
The man held his hands above Huo Qingqing's head, not daring to hug her back. After a long while, Han Jianwu gently patted her head and said, "It's alright now, let's sleep."
Huo Qingqing nodded. "Okay."
The next day, as soon as he heard the rooster crow, Han Jianwu got up to make breakfast for them.
By the time Huo Qingqing woke up, two large bowls of dough drop soup had already been brought in. Han Jianwu was using a small spoon to scoop batter into the children's bowls.
Han Jianwu said, "You go wash up first. I'll dress the kids."
Zhuangzhuang could speak and express his needs, but Niu Niu couldn't speak and could only communicate through crying, making her much harder to care for.
Everyone in the village said Han Lao Si's daughter was mute, and in her previous life, Huo Qingqing had thought so too.
Yesterday, Huo Qingqing had already examined her daughter and found nothing wrong – she was simply a late talker.
With her professional and extensive pediatric experience, she knew many children didn't speak by age three. Parents would worry endlessly, but eventually they all started talking on their own.
Going to the county town was no easy task, especially with two young children in tow!
They rushed and barely caught the second bus, arriving in the county town at 11 AM. They ate at the state-run canteen, registered a room at the state-run hotel, rested briefly, then hurried to the photo studio.
The most fashionable clothing at the time was green military uniforms, which both Huo Qingqing and Han Jianwu happened to own and had worn when leaving home that morning.
The couple took a photo holding their children, then had separate photos taken of just the two kids.
The photographer said, "How about a portrait of you two as a couple?"
Han Jianwu remained silent while Huo Qingqing said, "Okay!"
The photos wouldn't be ready until the next business day at the earliest, so the couple took their children to the county's largest state-run department store to shop.
Both wearing military uniforms with clean, good-looking children, when they pulled out large-denomination National General-Purpose Coupons, the salesclerks' eyes lit up. They competed to be more enthusiastic, praising their beautiful children and what a perfect match the couple made.
The county department store covered a large area with a complete range of goods. After all, most urban youth were now working in rural areas, making supply and marketing cooperatives in various communes and the county department store the most prosperous businesses. Those who worked in these places were greatly envied.
Huo Qingqing stuffed items into her sack as if they were free, instructing Han Jianwu to just keep an eye on the children.
Most purchases were for the two children. She bought some necessities for herself, but Han Jianwu refused anything she tried to get for him. In the end, she insisted on buying him a pair of rain boots, a pair of liberation shoes, and two pairs of socks.
After bringing the items and children back to the hotel, Huo Qingqing said, "Watch the kids. I'm going to the medicinal materials sales station to buy a few things and will be back soon."
At the medicinal materials sales station, Huo Qingqing purchased some common medicines and also acquired a thermometer and stethoscope. Finally, she went to the county hospital for a gynecological check-up and had an IUD inserted.
They had dumplings for dinner at the canteen downstairs. The county town had no nightlife to speak of nowadays, so after dinner, they took the children upstairs to wash up and go to bed.
At this hour, the children would usually be playing energetically with their older siblings in the yard, far from sleepy. Huo Qingqing played with the two children, guiding her daughter to speak and engaging them in various games.
Han Jianwu began to think she might genuinely intend to stay?
Huo Qingqing had bought Hongying Brand crayons and drawing books. She drew pictures and taught the children to identify what she had drawn.
Their son could basically name them all correctly, but no matter how she tried to teach her, the daughter wouldn't open her mouth.
Huo Qingqing continued patiently drawing. This time, she sketched a doll and showed it to her daughter. "Niu Niu, who is this?"
Niu Niu tilted her head and said in a baby voice, "Wawa~"
Both Han Jianwu and Huo Qingqing were stunned speechless for a moment. Their son jumped up and exclaimed, "Little sister can talk!"
Huo Qingqing then drew a picture of herself and showed it to her daughter. "Niu Niu, who is this?"
"Mama~"
Tears welling up in her eyes, Huo Qingqing hugged her daughter tightly and covered her with kisses. "Call me Mama again?"
The little one fell silent once more.
After that, it didn't work again. No matter who Huo Qingqing drew, Niu Niu would either say "Mama" or "Wawa."
Regardless, it was a wonderful day—their daughter had started talking.
That night, each of them held a child to sleep. Their son insisted on sleeping with his mother, but fortunately, their daughter was fine with either parent.
Not long after falling asleep, their son needed to poop. Han Jianwu got up and carried him to the bathroom. Huo Qingqing handed Han Jianwu two sheets of the toilet paper she had bought that day and said, "From now on, don't use corn cobs to wipe them."
Han Jianwu chuckled lightly and said, "How much better off are they compared to other kids in the village? We carefully picked the soft tips of corn cobs for them. That's good enough, you little rascal." He then leaned down and kissed his son on the cheek.
Huo Qingqing said, "That still won't do. This paper doesn't cost much anyway."
Han Jianwu replied, "Alright, no more corn cobs then. From now on, when we go out, we'll put tissue in their pockets."
Their son said, "Big brother uses dirt clods when he poops."
Han Jianwu said, "You've used them too."
In any case, everyone in Han Family Village used corn cobs, dirt clods, or leaves. Huo Qingqing wasn't surprised at all.
Han Jianwu glanced at Huo Qingqing and said, "When my mother looks after the kids, she'll definitely use corn cobs. She'd never be willing to use toilet paper to wipe their bottoms."
Huo Qingqing said, "Using them occasionally is fine, as long as they don't use dirt clods.Huo Qingqing could barely accept corn cobs, but she absolutely couldn't handle dirt clods.
Han Jianwu said, "I'll explain it to her later."
Huo Qingqing said, "No need to make a special explanation. It's fine to use it occasionally."