November 3rd, 1975.
Today was the day Pan Meijia's newborn baby reached a full month. The healthy baby boy was kicking his feet and waving his tiny fists while spitting out bubbles as he lay on the warm kang bed.
At this moment, Li Lingyun was wiping his son's little buttocks with a wet towel while coaxing him softly. "Ah Huo, be good and stop kicking. If you continue kicking like this, Father will have to give you a bath."
When Pan Meijia returned with a basin of hot water, she saw her husband wiping their son's body helplessly. His hand was stained with some of their son's urine and excrement, but he didn't show any disgust.
Seeing how awkward his movement was, she chuckled and said, "Husband, it has been a month, and you are still so bad at it."
Hearing his wife's words, Li Lingyun gave her a helpless look and replied, "Our son is so small. I'm afraid of hurting him."
"He is not as fragile as you think. It has been a month, and he has grown a lot," Pan Meijia said as she reached out to take the wet cloth from her husband's hand.
"Help me prepare some warm water. It's better to give him a bath, or he will stink when the guests arrive later," she added.
Thinking about how the family members loved to hug his son, Li Lingyun nodded and went to prepare the bath water.
It would be bad if the relatives smelled the stink and turned this matter into a black stain on his son's childhood. In the future, his son would have to find a wife and couldn't lose face because of his negligence.
Not knowing that her husband was thinking too far ahead, Pan Meijia tapped her son's nose and said, "You, ah, always like to bully your father. Don't think you can do as you please just because he dotes and tolerates you."
As if he understood his mother's words, Li Jinghuo stopped kicking and let his mother turn his body left and right as she wished.
Soon after she wiped her son's body clean, Li Lingyun returned with a basin of warm water.
The two of them had been learning how to take care of a baby from Mother Lu, Zhang Dongmei, and Lu Jueyu. Now, they were more experienced when bathing Li Jinghuo, unlike the first time they did it.
After the bath, Pan Meijia dressed her son in the clothes sent by her parents.
These clothes were personally sewn by Mother Pan for her grandson. The fabric was expensive because of its high quality. It was soft and warm, perfect for a newborn to wear during winter.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the Li family arrived. They had invited the village elders, the production team's staff, the family relatives, and some close friends to celebrate Li Jinghuo's full month.
The task of preparing the banquet was given to Dong Li and Chen Jianmin, with Lu Jueyu supervising them. As for Zhang Dongmei and the womenfolk, they came to assist.
While the women were busy in the kitchen, the men were not idle either. They set up tables and benches in the yard. Since it was winter and the temperature was low, they had to build a temporary rooftop and prepare several braziers to keep the guests warm.
At noon, the dishes were ready, and the guests had arrived. During the banquet, most of the relatives gave a red envelope to the newborn baby. Some gave clothes, and some gave items to nourish Pan Meijia.
With the Li family preparing two meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, and one soup, the banquet was more lavish compared to other families' wedding banquets.
The guests had a good time and only left when the sun slanted to the west. After cleaning up the yard and washing the dishes, the Li family finally had time to gather and chat.
At this moment, the sisters-in-law were inside the room chatting. Sitting on the kang bed, Pan Meijia was coaxing her son to sleep while Zhang Dongmei helped her open the gifts.
After opening all the gifts, she handed a list to Pan Meijia and said, "Second sister-in-law, this is the list of the gifts. When you send gifts to relatives and friends in the future, just follow this list."
Hearing this, Pan Meijia nodded and replied, "Thank you for your help, Eldest sister-in-law."
"We are family. This is just a small matter. You don't have to be so polite," Zhang Dongmei replied with a smile.
Sitting across from them, Lu Jueyu took out a thick red envelope from her pocket and handed it to Pan Meijia. "Second sister-in-law, this is my gift to my nephew."
When Pan Meijia saw how thick the envelope was, she was taken aback.
Both she and Lu Jueyu had been best friends before becoming sisters-in-law. Compared to Zhang Dongmei, she had a closer relationship with her. But even so, she couldn't take advantage of this relationship.
"Third sister-in-law, this gift is too much. I can't accept it," she said.
Knowing that she would refuse, Lu Jueyu sighed and put the red envelope directly into Li Jinghuo's clothes. Holding her little nephew's hand, she said, "Who said this gift is for you? This is for my little nephew. Ah Huo, do you like your Third Aunt's gift?"
Li Jinghuo didn't understand what her third aunt was talking about, but he liked bright colors. So, he grabbed the red envelope tightly while grinning widely.
Since Lu Jueyu had said so and her son refused to let go of the red envelope, Pan Meijia could only smile helplessly and accept it. "Then I thank you on behalf of Ah Huo."
While they were discussing how to raise children, the children were having a meeting in the kitchen.
With the embers burning on the stoves, they stood around watching the sweet potatoes being roasted. With Dong Li and Chen Jianmin watching over them, the adults were at ease.
Using a stick, Dong Huang poked the roasted sweet potatoes and said, "Brothers and sisters, now that we have a new member joining our group, we have to prepare the first meeting gift. Does anyone have any ideas?"
Besides the four babies, there were only Dong Li, Chen Jianmin, Li Jingqian, and Li Jingxu helping her think about the gift. Everyone thought hard about the best gift for the newborn brother, but couldn't think of anything.
Seeing this, Dong Huang turned to her younger brothers and sister. "Ah Yan, Ah Xin, Ah He, do any of you have a suggestion?" she asked seriously.
The three of them were only seven months old and not yet able to talk. Although they had learned to stand and spout unrecognizable words, they were far from able to suggest anything. So, when facing their older sister's inquiry, they only blew out more bubbles and giggles.
Looking at his sister being foolish again, Dong Li let out a long sigh and held Li Jinghe's hands back from reaching toward the stove.
Noticing his friend's expression, Chen Jianmin chuckled and said, "Xiao Huang, your younger brothers and sister are too young. They can't even talk. How could they give you any good ideas?"
Dong Huang looked at him and then at Li Jingxin held in his arms before letting out a sigh and speaking like an adult.
"Brother Jianmin, I've thought about it for a long time and still can't find a good thing to give my little brother. Do you think it's better to give him some money to buy milk instead?"
Chen Jianmin thought for a moment and suggested, "Didn't you learn how to fish from Ah Li? How about we go catch some fish and give them to your Second Aunt?"
Dong Huang frowned at his words and reminded him, "Brother Jianmin, we are giving a gift to my little brother, not my Second Aunt."
Hearing this, Chen Jianmin nodded and explained, "Your little brother is too young to eat anything except his mother's milk. If you give him other things, he won't be able to use them until he's older."
"Since that's the case, it's better to send fish to your Second Aunt. I heard that if a mother drinks fish soup, she'll have more milk to feed her baby."
"Think about it. If your Second Aunt has more milk, won't your little brother be able to drink to his heart's content and not worry about going hungry?" he added.
Dong Huang considered his words seriously for a while before her eyes lit up. She clapped her hands and nodded. "Brother Jianmin, you're so smart! This is a good idea!"
Having made up her mind, she turned to Dong Li and asked, "Brother, can we go fishing tomorrow? I want to catch more fish for Ah Huo."
Dong Li glanced at his friend before looking at his sister. Meeting her excited eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Due to the cold weather, the river and lake had turned into solid ice. If they wanted to fish, they would have to cut a hole in the thick ice first. Although it would be more troublesome, it wasn't impossible. He could also use this to teach his sister how to fish in winter.
After considering the pros and cons, he finally nodded and said, "We can go fishing, but you have to prepare yourself. Fishing in winter isn't like summer."
"You'll not only feel cold, but you'll also have to cut the ice to make a hole before you can fish. It will be very tiring," he warned.
When Dong Huang heard her brother's words, she hesitated. But thinking about her little brother receiving gifts from everyone, she didn't want to be left out. So she clenched her fists and declared, "Brother, I can do it!"
Since his sister insisted, Dong Li finally agreed. "Then you have to wake up early tomorrow."
"Okay!"
Hearing this, Li Jingquan and Li Jingxu also raised their hands and said, "Brother, we also want to go."
Dong Li didn't have any objection and said, "Then, we will come pick you up tomorrow."
While the children were making plans for the next day, the Li brothers shared a drink with their father in the living room.
Now that his sons had their own families and children, Father Li no longer had any regrets. Thanks to his good mood and nourishment from good food and the water from Lu Jueyu's space, his health had improved, and he was able to do some work again.
The Li family's life was getting better and better and became the envy of the villagers. As the temperature grew colder, another year passed, and the new year arrived.