Second Fu lowered his head and wiped his tears covertly.
He had a precious daughter at last, but his mother would soon be leaving him too.
He felt a mix of sorrow and joy.
He must satisfy all of his mother's wishes before she passes.
He would ensure that she would eat well, drink well and dress well. And that she would pass with no regrets.
"I have nothing to say to you. Hurry up and push me to see my precious granddaughter."
Her desire to see her daughter had drowned her hunger.
Second Fu was initially quite sad.
His mother's words pierced him in the heart.
Fine!
He would not be jealous of his own daughter.
Old Mrs Fu was sitting in a wheelchair, asking him to hurry up. Her face was filled with urgency.
"Okay, okay, okay."
Second Fu pulled himself together.
It was better to let his mother take a good look at his daughter, then she would be left with no worries and regrets.
"Wait, get someone to freshen me up." When they were almost at the door, Old Mrs Fu stopped him.
She was unkempt and unbathed, and she did not want to scare her precious granddaughter with her disheveled look.
She must leave a good first impression on her granddaughter.
"Okay, I'll go, I'll go."
Second Fu called Daxing's wife over to help Old Mrs Fu freshen up.
He had to let his Mother leave with dignity.
While Jiang Xinghua was scrupulously helping Old Mrs Fu to bathe and change her clothes, she thought of the grave look on her father-in-law's face just now.
Logically speaking, he should have appeared happier since Old Madam Fu's health seemed to improve. Why was he looking so solemn?
As a daughter-in-law, it was not appropriate for her to ask too much.
"How comfortable!"
After washing up, Old Mrs Fu felt even more energetic.
Seeing this, Second Fu's eyes filled silently with tears.
There was not much time left.
Old Mrs Fu was wheeled to the front yard. At the same moment, Liu Guimei had just returned after buying wine on credit.
Liu Guimei jumped in horror upon seeing her.
She called out ambivalently, "Grandma?"
She had never seen anything like that in her life.
The old lady, as old as an antique, who seemed on the brink of death, had actually come outdoors!
Recently, she was eating and drinking very little. Liu Guimei had thought that she would be passing on in the next few days.
She had not expected to see her coming out in the wheelchair.
Old Mrs Fu interpreted her horror clearly. "Yes, it's me. I'm not dead yet."
What kind of expression was that?!
Was she hoping to see her dead?
In the days leading up to the pregnancy due-date of Second Fu's wife, Old Mrs Fu had been so worried that it could be a boy again that she was unable to sleep and eat well.
Just because of that, people thought that she couldn't make it longer.
"Grandma, I didn't mean it that way. We are overjoyed to see you getting better." Liu Guimei quickly changed her words and appeared happy.
Old Mrs Fu didn't have time to listen to flattery at this moment.
Old Mrs Fu specially reiterated to her, "Your mother-in-law has just given birth. Take on more chores at home. Don't keep thinking about slacking off."
Old Mrs Fu knew her second granddaughter-in-law very well. Not only was she full of complaints, but she was also slow when tasked to do something.
She was unlike her elder granddaughter-in-law, who was quick in both her thinking and her actions.
Liu Guimei felt attacked by such direct criticism, but could only say, "Okay."
She only pouted unhappily at their backs upon seeing that they were almost out of sight.
She couldn't help but complain, "Great, now there's another mouth in the house to feed. No, two mouths."
The old one stopped dying, and there was the new addition of the young one.
It was terrible to live a life like this. They were so poor that it was as if the only things they had left were their heads.
"If you ask me, Grandmother's condition has improved, and Mother has given birth to a girl for our family. That's double the blessings for our family," Jiang Xinghua beamed.
The family was indeed a little poor.
However, it was more important for the family to be safe and happy.
Liu Guimei looked at Jiang Xinghua as if she was looking at an idiot.
She wondered what the mind of her sister-in-law was made of.
The entire family was about to starve to death, yet she still saw it as double blessings. When the time came, they would probably have to cry and beg for money on the streets.
"Argh, this won't do. My stomach hurts so much. I have to go to the toilet." She was halfway through her task when she left again stating a call for nature.
"Xinghua, my period just came and I won't be able to work for a while. Please boil the wormwood water in place of me."
Without waiting for a response from Jiang Xinghua, Liu Guimei moved away quickly.
Jiang Xinghua did not say anything.
She was the kind of person who would help out wherever she could and did not mind doing more than she was tasked. She was willing to help her family unconditionally and extremely easy to talk to.
She thought that it would be a good time to boil the water now. Mother would unlikely catch a cold in the afternoon since it would be pretty warm. It would be just right for Mother to freshen up later.
In the house
"Sweetie, Grandma is here to see you." Old Mrs Fu was wheeled to the bedside. She smiled and wrinkles filled her face.
"Mother, why are you here?!" Mdm Fu was very surprised.
"My Sweetie was born. How could I not come?"
Even if she couldn't get up from the bed just now, she would have crawled over just to take a look.
Seeing this, Mdm Fu got out of bed and began to help Old Mrs Fu out of habit. Old Mrs Fu hurriedly waved her hand and said, "No, no, no. Second Daughter-in-law, just sit on the bed. You have to rest properly during your confinement period."
Mdm Fu was not used to her unusually gentle and easygoing tone.
She had never seen that before in the past few decades.
Giving birth to a daughter for this family truly meant a lot. Mdm Fu was able to better take in the meaning of this statement now that she has experienced first-hand even her mother-in-law's special treatment of her.
Mdm Fu pretended to scold her husband, "Old man, what are you doing? How could you ask Mother to come over personally?"
Second Fu shrugged, "What can I do?"
In this family, there were two women whom he had no say over.
One was his wife, and the other was his mother.
When could he ever stop what they wanted to do?
Now, there was another one—his precious daughter.
A sweet burden.
"Of course I have to come to see my Sweetie." Old Mrs Fu held Mdm Fu's hand and shed tears of gratitude. "Second Daughter-in-law, you're the heroine of our family."
With that, she took out a jade bracelet from her pocket and put it on Mdm Fu's wrist. "This is our Fu family's heirloom. I'm giving it to you now."
A cool sensation spread from her wrist. Mdm Fu looked down and saw that the jade bracelet on her wrist was emitting a green light. It was exquisite and beautiful.
"Mother, how could you give it to me!"
Though she loved it, she knew that this was still a precious item, treasured and cherished by Old Mrs Fu.
"It's fine as long as I say so. No one is more suitable to receive it other than you."
Because she had bloomed a flower for the Fu family.
Even if she wanted the moon and stars from the sky in return, she would try her best to get them for her.
Mdm Fu touched the jade bracelet on her hand lovingly. She was filled with emotions.
She had not expected that her mother-in-law would treat her so well, even giving her an ancestral treasure, for giving birth to a daughter.
Her sister-in-law used to desire this jade bracelet.
"Thank you, Mother."
She has prepared a gift for both the mother and daughter.
"Come, come, Sweetie. This is Grandma's first gift to you." Old Mrs Fu took out a small gold lock from her pocket without blinking and said to Second Fu, "Put this on my Sweetie."
"Mother, it's too expensive. You should keep it for yourself."
Her daughter was still young.
"Dear, just accept what Mother gave you." Second Fu's words had a hidden meaning.
"That's right. I can't bring it with me when I'm dead. Why would I keep these things for myself! I'm regretting now that I have saved up too little. Otherwise, they'll all be my Sweetie's dowry in the future."
She could not die now. She had to live longer and save more money.
Then, she could build a secure financial foundation for her Sweetie in the future.
Second Fu and Mdm Fu looked at each other.
Right, from now on, they would have to save up dowry for their daughter.
This would sustain their motivation to work hard from now on.
Second Fu received the gold lock and rubbed his hands nervously. "Darling, daddy will put it on for you."
"Easy."
"Do it tenderly."
"This was given to you by your grandma. Your grandma dotes on you. Your father dotes on you too, and your mother dotes on you, too. You're the only one whom the entire family dotes on," Second Fu muttered.
So noisy!
Who is this!
Fu Xing'er frowned and slowly opened her eyes.