Gu Yihan knew that to live well in this family, she had to curry favor with Grandma Gu.
So she decided that from this day on, she would smile whenever she saw Grandma Gu, to make her feel that they were fated to be connected.
“Eldest daughter-in-law, take this child to the second daughter-in-law’s room and have her breastfeed her,” Grandma Gu said. “I’ll take a few eggs over to Gu Lǎopózi.”
“Yes, Mother.” With that, she took the baby and carried her to Zhang Cuihua’s room.
“Younger Sister-in-law, I’ve brought your second daughter back to you.” Wang Ni looked at Zhang Cuihua, who was lying motionless on the bed.
She placed the baby directly on the bed, then pursed her lips and left. Who does she think she is, a high-born lady?
Only after her sister-in-law had left did Zhang Cuihua turn to look at the child. Psychologically, she disliked this child completely.
She knew the difficult birth wasn’t the child’s fault, but she just couldn’t bring herself to like her.
Gu Yihan looked at Zhang Cuihua. Her cold and disgusted gaze let Gu Yihan know how she should treat this mother-in-name from now on.
Because no matter how well-behaved or endearing she tried to be, Zhang Cuihua would never truly like her.
A person’s aura was a strange thing. Some people would just dislike you for no reason, and this was a constraint that couldn’t be broken just by being obedient and sensible.
Grandma Gu (the neighbor) lived alone. Her children and husband had all died on the battlefield. The town leaders looked after her, and she held some sway in the village.
“Is Sister-in-law Gu home?” Grandma Gu called out, standing in the courtyard. Grandma Gu (the neighbor) came out of the main hall with mincing steps. Seeing Grandma Gu, she said, “Younger Sister-in-law, you’re here.”
Grandma Gu quickly handed her the basket of eggs. “Sister-in-law, thank you for your hard work delivering the baby for my troublesome daughter-in-law. These aren’t much, just a few eggs for you. Please don’t mind.”
Grandma Gu (the neighbor) didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted them. “How could I mind? These are a real treat.”
She took the eggs into the kitchen, then returned with the empty basket and handed it to Grandma Gu. She said with a cheerful smile, “Has your daughter-in-law’s baby been named yet?”
Grandma Gu smiled and said, “The child’s grandfather and father haven’t come back for lunch yet. We haven’t had a chance to name her.”
Grandma Gu (the neighbor) said happily, “How about I give the child a name? This child and I are fated. I’ve delivered so many babies, but she’s the only one who smiled the moment she saw me.”
Grandma Gu was delighted. “Of course, that would be wonderful! You’re one of the few educated people in our village. It’s her good fortune to be named by you.”
Grandma Gu (the neighbor) thought for a moment. “Let’s call her Gu Yihan. ‘Yi’ from ‘yírán zìdé’ (content and at ease) and ‘Han’ from ‘hàndàn niàn jiāo’ (a delicate lotus bud). I hope that when she grows up, she will be exceptionally talented and knowledgeable.”
Worried that they wouldn’t know how to write the name when registering the birth, she found a piece of paper and wrote the three characters for “Gu Yihan” on it, folded it, and handed it to Grandma Gu.
Grandma Gu reached out, took the paper, and put it in her pocket. She didn’t bother opening it to look; she wouldn’t have recognized the characters anyway. She just felt the name sounded very pleasant. After bidding farewell to Grandma Gu (the neighbor), she headed home.
Gu Yihan felt so hungry. This mother of hers hadn’t fed her a single drop of milk. Was she planning to starve her to death?
Although Gu Yihan had stocked powdered milk in her Dimension and could even prepare it with her consciousness, she wasn’t going to do it. Since Zhang Cuihua didn’t want to breastfeed, the whole family should know about it, right?
Soon, afternoon arrived. Grandma Gu had finished making dinner.
“Grandma, I’m hungry,” Gu Hao said as he ran over, with Gu Daya and Gu Meng trailing behind him.
“If you’re hungry, hurry up and help me serve the food. You’re all a bunch of little debt collectors,” Grandma Gu grumbled as she walked.
Gu Hao, 10, and Gu Daya, 7, were the children of the eldest son, Gu Aiguo, and Wang Ni.
Gu Meng, 5, was the child of Zhang Cuihua and the second son, Gu Aidang.
Back when Gu Meng was named, Zhang Cuihua, priding herself on her few years of schooling, had mocked Wang Ni. She said Wang Ni favored boys over girls, only bothering to find a proper name for her son while calling her daughter “Daya” (Big Girl). The two sisters-in-law had been at odds ever since.
Soon, Grandpa Gu, Eldest Uncle Gu, and Gu Yihan’s current father returned, and everyone in the family was present.
After calling for everyone to eat, they all sat down. Grandma Gu began to portion out the food. Those who worked in the fields got three steamed buns each, while the children got one.
Gu Hao held his bun and said, “Grandma, one isn’t enough to fill me up. Can you give me another one?”
Grandma Gu angrily placed another steamed bun in Gu Hao’s hand. “You should be content. You can at least eat your fill now. Back in the day, we only had wild vegetable soup and wild vegetable cakes. You should be secretly rejoicing that you can eat coarse grain buns now.”
Gu Hao wasn’t angry; he happily ate his steamed buns.
“Mother, why don’t I see Cuihua?” Gu Aidang asked his mother worriedly, thinking Cuihua had angered her and was being punished by not being allowed to eat. His wife was still recovering from childbirth!
Looking at her second son, who had forgotten his mother after getting a wife, Grandma Gu said angrily, “She gave birth. After you finish eating, go kill a chicken and stew it for her to help her recover.”
Gu Aidang’s face lit up instantly. “She gave birth? A boy or a girl? But isn’t it too early?”
Grandma Gu said irritably, “A girl.”
Gu Aidang wasn’t displeased to hear this. He and Cuihua were still young; they could have more children.
Gu Yihan felt the time was right. The people in the courtyard had been eating for a while. She gathered her strength and let out a heart-wrenching, ear-splitting wail!
The Gu family members in the courtyard jumped in fright. Grandma Gu immediately ordered her eldest daughter-in-law, “Quick, go inside and see what’s wrong. Why is she crying like that?”
Wang Ni had no choice but to go and check. When she entered the room, she saw the baby wailing with her mouth wide open, while her younger sister-in-law pretended not to hear and paid her no mind.
Wang Ni could only step forward to check. She found that the baby hadn’t moved from the spot where she had placed her.
Had she not been fed?
She tentatively felt the baby’s bottom; it was dry. If she had been fed, wouldn’t her diaper have been changed at least once?
Her eyes darted around. So you want to act all high and mighty, she thought. Just watch how I deal with you.