Chapter 8: The Grand Full Moon

Today was the fifth day since Li Chunhua gave birth, and Ma Xiulian had to go to work.

She was strong and earned more work points in a day than Chen Laoer.

Fearing that Li Chunhua would get hungry halfway, she specially boiled two eggs for her before she left, "If you're hungry, eat these first. I will steam some rice for you when I get back."

Her eyes, however, were glued to Helian Qiao's delicate little face, and she said unwillingly, "Guibao, grandma has to go work in the fields. You have to stay home and drink milk properly, understand?"

Helian Qiao, polite as always, uttered a sound, indicating that she understood.

Hearing her soft and tender voice, Ma Xiulian found it even harder to let her go.

"But grandma needs to earn more work points, so she could buy eggs for her Guibao in the future."

The innocent Helian Qiao didn't know how precious eggs were in this era, she innocently blew a bubble, "pop~"

Ma Xiulian immediately broke into laughter, repeatedly calling out "Grandma's Guibao", her voice as sweet and cloying as honey. Li Chunhua listened, incredibly overwhelmed.

Before leaving, she reminded Li Chunhua, "You rest well. If you need anything, let Sanni do it for you."

Rural children mature early; at four years old, Sanni was already helping around the house with light chores, such as serving tea, pouring water, and washing diapers.

Ma Xiulian was efficient, and with that, she picked up her hoe to go work in the fields.

Just as she arrived in the field, Old Lady Song, who always had beef with her, straightened up and started gossiping, "Oh, Chen family, I heard that your third daughter-in-law gave birth to another girl."

Just the other day, Song's daughter-in-law had given her a big fat grandson, and she was now deliberately provoking Ma Xiulian.

Unexpectedly, Ma Xiulian happily responded, "Yes, a little girl, and she's gorgeous."

No one believed she was genuinely happy; they all thought she was delirious after having two worthless granddaughters.

After all, at this time, who wouldn't want to have a healthy little boy!

A boy is strong, and can earn more work points in the fields than women could. In contrast, a girl, once she turns a certain age, will work for someone else's family. They were essentially freeloaders.

It was indeed unfortunate.

Even Old Lady Song curled her lips, not willing to say anything more to mock.

Ma Xiulian couldn't be bothered to explain, instead, she kept her joy at the fairy's extraordinary favor to herself.

She swung her hoe skillfully to turn the soil, hoping to finish her work quickly and go home to cook rice for her daughter-in-law.

She couldn't let her sweetheart starve.

*

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Helian Qiao was one month old.

This past month, Ma Xiulian did everything she could to bring nutritious food for Li Chunhua, but she hadn't put on much weight.

Because Helian Qiao really loved to eat, all the weight went to her.

Now, the baby Helian Qiao was charming and chubby. She looked even more adorable than the lucky baby in the New Year pictures.

This young girl ate even more than the three strong boys in the Chen family!

While Li Chunhua complained a bit, Ma Xiulian couldn't hide her joy, "Having a big appetite is a blessing, our Guibao is a lucky one!"

At these words, everyone in the old Chen family remained indifferent, including Zhou Zhou.

They all got tired of listening to grandma's exaggerated praises of the baby fox for a month, even attributing this year's exceptionally good rice crop to her.

However, this year's rice crop was indeed splendid. Seeing the heavy, golden rice stalks brought a sense of security.

This year, they could celebrate a pleasant end of year season!

On the day Helian Qiao turned a month old, Ma Xiulian cooked a special meal. She stir-fried chunk of bacon with bamboo shoots and made a big pot of egg drop soup with five eggs.

This was the most abundant meal the Chen family has had for half a year. Even Chen Dabao's one-month celebration was not as grand.