Linxia

Chapter 188, Reward

Tian Xuan said exhaustedly, and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. She was unaware of what happened next, such as taking out the placenta and cleaning the blood stains, as if she was exhausted.

Fang Lin tiptoed to see his daughter. Looking at this ugly little girl with a long head and swollen eyes, he felt a sincere joy in his heart as if they were connected by blood.

Granny Mo wrapped her up and handed her to Fang Lin, saying, "Be careful with the child. If you notice her lips are purple, hold her upside down and slap her feet until she cries."

"We have to wait until the baby is one month old to name her, so let's call her Maomao first!" Although it was a girl, Fang's mother was still happy and took out a big bag that she had sewn long ago.

The birth of his granddaughter marked the continuation of the Fang family's bloodline, and Father Fang was filled with joy. However, as he was not good at expressing himself, the way he expressed it was by pacing back and forth at the door with his hands not knowing where to put them.

The whole family was immersed in this joy for the whole day.

……

Before going to bed at night, Tian Xuan said to Fang Lin: "Although it has been washed, it may still smell of blood. Brother Lin, how about you sleep in the next room?"

"Sister Xuan, what nonsense are you talking about? There is nothing dirty on the bed. Mom washed it all. How can there be any bloody smell?"

Fang Lin paused, then continued, "My mother said that after a woman gives birth, her lower body will be in great pain and it will be difficult to get up. I will sleep at your feet, and if Maomao cries, I will get up and help you."

Tian Xuan tried to persuade him again, but failed. However, she felt warm in her heart. This feeling of comfort seeped into her heart, and it seemed that the pain in her body was nothing.

"Brother Lin, you are so kind. I heard from others that in many alleys, when women give birth, the men have to sleep separately because they are afraid of the smell of blood, the noise of the children at night, and the pain of the women's wounds. They can't sit up and can only kneel on the bed to hold the children..."

"Then you still want me to sleep over there?" Fang Lin asked.

Tian Xuan smiled and said nothing. She loved Fang Lin to her core and would rather suffer herself just to make him feel better.

At night, I don’t know what was wrong with Maomao, but he started crying very loudly after a while.

Fang Lin looked at the worried Tian Xuan and said, "The little girl can actually cry loudly, which proves that she has passed the first hurdle of coming into the world and will not be in danger anymore."

After hearing this, Tian Xuan's worry turned into joy.

But crying once was fine, but crying repeatedly was exhausting, especially in the dead of night, the crying was particularly heartbreaking, making Fang Lin and Tian Xuan panic.

It was not until Fang's mother came over, held Maomao and rocked him, pacing back and forth, that she gradually calmed him down.

After Fang's mother put Maomao down and went back, the little one started crying again after a while. Facing the crying baby, Tian Xuan's motherly instinct made her kneel on the bed and pick her up despite the pain in her lower body.

Fang Lin couldn't bear to watch, so he took Maomao. Tian Xuan must have suffered too much during the day, and was in pain and tired. She leaned there, and fell asleep without knowing when amid her daughter's crying.

He laid Tian Xuan flat and coaxed his crying daughter over and over again, patiently. After a night, he also had dark circles under his eyes.

……

The postpartum period here is very particular, and no green food is allowed. It is said that if a woman eats vegetables, she will suffer from diarrhea, so many families have steamed dried vegetables, dried cowpeas, and dried sword beans for every meal, which are so dry that they are difficult to swallow.

Fang Lin scoffed at this, saying that it made no sense, that eating those things would only cause constipation, which would be fatal during bowel movements, and might even cause hemorrhoids.

He persuaded Fang's mother to make Chinese cabbage soup, spinach soup, egg soup, and old hen soup for Tian Xuan every day, using all kinds of methods to nourish her. As a result, Tian Xuan had plenty of milk and was able to feed Maomao well every day.

Tian Xuan didn't know how to do it as it was her first time giving birth. Fortunately, Fang's mother had experience and taught Tian Xuan to rub salt on her chest to make it rough so that it would not easily crack when the hair was sucked.

These things saved Tian Xuan a lot of pain and she didn't develop any chronic illness.

With careful care, my daughter's hairy head gradually grew rounder, her neck was covered with thick black hair, and her puffy eyelids disappeared, replaced by a pair of big double-lidded eyes.

The little cat Guaiguai and the little dog Huahua have not gone out recently. They stay close to Maomao like two loyal guards.

Especially Guaiguai, who was originally a lively and active child, but after having Maomao, he often squatted beside us and was very well behaved, sometimes for half a day.

The little girl often reaches out to them, and seems to know that these two guys will accompany her as she grows up.

……

Seven days later, some neighbors came to visit.

……

Sister Guihua, Su Xiaoqing and Sha Xiaoyun came here together.

"Xiaoxuan, giving birth is not easy, right? It was like this the first time, and it was the same when I gave birth to Xueer. I heard that the second time was much better." Su Xiaoqing said.

"It was not easy, but I only gave birth to a girl. I feel sorry for my brother, my parents."

"Xiaoxuan, don't think too much. It's hard to say. My first baby is Yaer, and the way it looks... this baby will definitely be a boy. Next time, you might also have a boy." Sha Xiaoyun comforted.

She gave birth earlier than Tian Xuan and has just finished her confinement. Unlike Yaer, who is only a foot tall now, this baby is a healthy boy, which makes Xin Laoguan and Xin You extremely happy.

"Yes, it's hard to predict such things." Sister Guihua said, touching her belly with a maternal glow on her face.

After she married Qian Wenyan, she is now pregnant. So far, Qian Wenyan is very good to her and Chen Ye. I wonder if it will change in the future.

Several women were sharing their parenting experiences.

……

Fang Chuanhui and Fang He also came over, and Fang Lin went out to talk to them.

"Chuanhui, how do you feel about this trip to the sea?" Fang Lin asked.

Because the caravan was delayed for some time, the boy only came back a few days ago.

"Brother Linzi, I'm fine. I felt a little seasick at the beginning, but thanks to Chief Jiao for taking care of me. After going out to sea, I saw a lot. Overseas is really different from our Great Xia. There are huge elephants, and they use ivory chopsticks. There is a kind of gem called jadeite, and there is also agate..." Fang Chuanhui said.

Because of Fang Lin's warning, Jiao Huiqing was afraid that something might happen to him, so he treated him like a ancestor all the way. He also knew whose face the other party was doing this for, and he became more and more grateful to Fang Lin.

Next to him, Fang He listened to Fang Chuanhui describing his experiences overseas. Although it was not the first time he had heard it, he was still envious of those wonderful things. Thinking of the missed opportunity because he was a step late, he sighed inwardly.

Fang Lin was fine, he had seen everything in his previous life, he said: "By the way, Chuanhui, Hezi, I know what you mean, but we are all family, there is no need to go through all that formality, next time you come don't bring so many things."

This time Fang Chuanhui and Fang He came over and brought a lot of things with them.

Fang Chuanhui brought a lot of rare and valuable things from overseas out of gratitude for the opportunity to go to sea and Jiao Huiqing's care. Fang He probably remembered his father's advice about Meng He entering the bookstore last time, not to take advantage of Fang Lin, so he brought nearly ten taels of silver this time, which was a lot of money for him. "Got it." Fang Chuanhui and Fang He said.

Fang Lin nodded and asked Fang He: "How are you and Meng He doing? How do you feel about her?"

"It's pretty good...that is, I thought, let's take a look..." Fang He was a little embarrassed when asked. His face turned red. He scratched his head and grunted before answering.

Fang Lin understood. Fang He was still the same. He felt that the girl was okay, but he was not completely satisfied. He wanted to wait and find the script to read it again.

He thought for a moment and gave some advice: "I remember that on the way back to the village, I told you a story about 'monkeys picking corn'. There are few perfect things in this world. You have to think clearly about what you have, what you want, and what you are willing to pay for it."

Fang He listened and seemed to be thinking about something.

At this time, he noticed that Fang Chuanhui winked at him and knew that the other party wanted to talk to Fang Lin alone about the fleet. He understood and found an excuse to go over, leaving Fang Chuanhui to talk alone.

Fang Chuanhui then said, "Brother Linzi, Chief Jiao told me that during this voyage, the Yang family concealed 50% to 60% of the profits in the accounts..."

Fang Lin nodded slightly. He was not surprised that Jiao Huiqing knew this. The other party had been in the Nanyang caravan for so long, it was impossible for him to hide these private matters.

"Jiao Huiqing revealed this to Chuanhui. It seems that he is trying to curry favor with me and protect my back door. He is a smart man. As for the Yang family..."

He frowned. Although he had expected this, he still underestimated the greed of the Yang family. He sighed, "That's how big families are!"

Speaking of the Yang family, Fang Lin also had a good relationship with them: when Yang Balang stole the ice cellar, he failed to gain anything and the Yang family came to him, and it was he who helped to mediate between Yang Balang and Xu San; a few days ago, when the Gu, Ma, Shao, and Duan families were harassing him, they also asked Yang Zongyi from the Yang family to come and mediate...

Even though all these things happen, when it comes to interests, the Yang family will not show any mercy if they want to rip you off or cheat a layman like you.

"Chuanhui, you don't have to worry about this. Just forget about it after today!" Fang Lin knew the problem, and now was not the time to fall out.

"For the time being, the sales of my weaving workshop's products still have to go through the Nanyang merchant caravan. Of course, this doesn't mean that I will just swallow my anger and wait for the future..."

He thought about it and said, "Chuanhui, you have to work harder in the fleet and ask Chief Jiao which people have real skills and which are just filling in the gaps. Check and verify them yourself and write down the results..."

Fang Lin and the Yang family both have backgrounds, and each uses their own means within the rules. The Yang family can cheat him of his profits, and he has long been planning to undermine the Nanyang fleet. No one is a white lotus, so no one should blame anyone else.

……

That afternoon, my aunt Sun Hongye came with her cousin and brought two kilograms of brown sugar.

Fang's mother chatted for a while and heard that the flood had receded and the victims had begun to return one after another. She tried to persuade the other party to stay, saying that she could be taken care of if she stayed.

"Yes, auntie, you can just cook in my workshop. My cousin will join the workshop patrol team, and my cousin will enter the weaving workshop... Don't worry about your household registration. I will find someone to register you as dependents."

Fang Lin said this is just a matter of measure.

Sun Hongye is a hardworking person and a good cook. He has asked and she is considered pretty good in the cafeteria. Although she will taste the food while cooking and give more to acquaintances, she does not go overboard and turns a blind eye to minor details. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish.

My cousin Ren Chang is an honest man and a relative, so he naturally stands on my side. He is loyal enough and strong, so he is suitable to join the factory patrol team.

My cousin Ren Xiuer is also very skillful at her work, so it would be a good idea for her to join the weaving workshop.

Aunt Sun Hongye agreed, and gratefully pulled Fang Lin to express her gratitude profusely.

Fang Lin smiled and waved his hands.

I haven't seen this aunt for many years, and I have only met her a few times. I can't say that I have deep feelings for her. It's just that I love her so much that I take care of her. I think that she might be the only remaining relative from my mother's side of the family, so I just take care of her.

……

The next day, Xu Kuo Lao brought his wife over.

"Congratulations, Brother Fang, for having a daughter. Unlike my stinky boy, who is always charming..."

Mr. Xu Kuo talked about Xu Xianwen. Some time ago, he sold his collection of Ma Chao character cards. This was a character card based on his own father. In his opinion, it was a bit like a son selling out his father. He really gave Xu Xianwen a good beating.

"I won't say anymore. I'm so angry that my heart aches. It's my own child. Otherwise, with my violent temper, I would really... Alas!" He rolled up his sleeves and then put them down again.

"Brother Xu, every family has its own problems. Here, this little girl is also making a lot of noise. I haven't slept well for several nights." Fang Lin shook his head.

"Brother Fang, you are not short of money, why don't you move into a bigger house, buy some servants, and let them take care of you?" asked Xu Kuo Lao.

"It's hard to explain. Dad and Mom are used to it here."

The Fang family was indeed not short of money. Fang Lin once suggested moving to a bigger house and buying some servants and maids, but Fang's father and mother were probably used to living in the West Lane alley and were not very willing, so they just gave up.

Now, Fang Lin has to take care of his children by himself, which he thinks is okay. It feels good to raise his children and watch them grow up.

"Let's not talk about this. I just had a new daughter, so I may not have much time recently. Brother Xu still has to keep an eye on the factory..."

"Don't worry, Brother Fang. I'll be watching over it. The factory will be completed soon. But, I asked the Party Director to try to retain the workers, but it didn't work. He said that he might have to rely on Brother Fang for this matter. I think so too. With your reputation among the disaster victims, Brother Fang, you only need to go around and make a visit. It will be much more effective than the Party Director talking all the time."

"That's an exaggeration. Okay, I'll go over there when I have time."

As Fang Lin was talking, he remembered something else: "Regarding the sales of the weaving workshop's products, I have a Nanyang merchant fleet that cooperates with the Yang family. I heard that Brother Xu also has a stake in a fleet?"

Having one more channel is always better than relying on a single channel, the Nanyang fleet.

"Yes, that fleet is led by the Ma family. I was just about to talk about this. I have already made the connection. For the Ma family, having another supply channel is also a good thing."

"So good."

……

It was in Huai'an City that Fang Lin was blessed with a daughter.

Capital.

The matter about the sweet potatoes was preliminarily confirmed, and on that day, Emperor Hongtai summoned Dong Zugao to the palace to reward him.

……

(End of this chapter)