Chapter 747 - 646
Chapter 747: Chapter 646
With Wu Xiaowen along, Xiao Man didn’t go to the airport to see Tang Haocheng off. Instead, she went to the Lu family’s home to visit Yang Liu’er.
Uncle Lu had gone out with the old men in the neighborhood, but Lu Jian Country and Weiwei were home. Weiwei opened the courtyard gate for Xiao Man and took the mesh bag of fruit from her hands. He was happy to see her, but also complained, "Aunt Xiao Man, you haven’t come to play with me in so long. Is it because you have two little brothers at your house now, so you don’t like me anymore?"
"Who said that? You weren’t even home the last time I came over. I haven’t even gotten on your case for making so many new friends and forgetting all about me!"
"No, I didn’t forget you! It’s just that they ask me to go out, and I can’t just say no."
"See? That’s just how it is. Auntie has to go to school and work, and Weiwei is a big boy now. Besides school, you’re starting to have things to do and friends to see. We’ve both gotten busy, so it’s easy to miss each other. But we’ll always meet again, just like now. As long as we’re thinking of each other, we can catch up on everything when we meet, and if there’s nothing to talk about, we can just play. That’s pretty great, isn’t it?"
"You’re right! What you said makes so much sense, Aunt Xiao Man. You sound just like my teacher. I don’t even know what to say."
Lu Jian Country and Yang Liu’er both chuckled. Yang Liu’er said, "Go wash your hands and bring Auntie a bowl of mung bean soup."
Weiwei agreed and headed to the kitchen. He didn’t forget to grab a few apples from the fruit bowl to wash. He loved the apples Aunt Xiao Man brought the most. His mom said that Aunt Xiao Man’s family ate high-quality fruit, which was why it tasted especially good.
Xiao Man checked Yang Liu’er’s pulse and looked her over. She hadn’t seen her in about half a month, and Yang Liu’er had actually gained quite a bit of weight—she was even sporting a triple chin now. Xiao Man teased her a bit, telling her to eat less no matter how good her appetite was. She also told her to get more exercise and take frequent walks. Otherwise, not only would it be a difficult delivery if the baby was too big, but losing all this extra weight afterward would be torture.
Yang Liu’er glared at Lu Jian Country. "This is all your fault! You’re always telling me to eat, eat, eat! You’ve turned me into a fatty. Are you just waiting to get tired of me so you can find someone slim and pretty to replace me?"
"No, no! I would never think that! In my heart, my treas—AHEM! The mother of my child is forever the most wonderful, the most beautiful, the one I love the most! No one can replace you, not even a goddess descended from the heavens!" Lu Jian Country’s face went pale with panic. He rushed to declare his loyalty, spouting a smooth stream of cheesy, sweet nothings. His wife was pregnant, after all. It was tough, and her moods were unpredictable. He couldn’t risk making her angry.
He then turned to Xiao Man anxiously. "But how can she not eat? She gets hungry all the time, and she’s been especially hungry lately. I’ve been strictly following the doctor’s orders, scheduling small, frequent meals for her. She even has to eat twice in the middle of the night. Only then can she sleep soundly. Otherwise, she’s so hungry she just tosses and turns and can’t rest well. What if she gets a stomach problem from the hunger?"
Xiao Man was speechless. ’Eating twice in the middle of the night?’ She couldn’t help but be reminded of the saying, "a horse doesn’t get fat without nighttime grass." Lu Jian Country was treating his wife like he was fattening up a horse.
"Small, frequent meals. I’m sure you’ve got the ’frequent’ part down, but I wonder... when you see that big bowl not quite full, do you get ideas and add just a little bit more to the portion? And why is she eating in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? It must have been that she woke up hungry once or twice, and you two went and made a proper meal out of it, and now it’s turned into a habit."
"Yes, Manman, you’re exactly right! That’s what happened! One night, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling hungry. I said I’d just make a cup of malted milk to tide me over, but Lu Jian Country insisted that wouldn’t be enough nutrition. He got up and cooked me a huge bowl of shredded chicken noodles with two poached eggs. As a result, I got hungry again at the same time the next night, and I ate again..." Yang Liu’er cradled her belly, pouting as she looked accusingly at Lu Jian Country.
Lu Jian Country looked sheepish. "Well, I saw you tossing and turning. I was afraid you were too hungry to sleep, wasn’t I?"
"And look what happened! I’ve packed on so much weight all of a sudden. What am I going to do if I can’t lose it later!"
"Don’t worry, we have Manman, don’t we? Manman’s medical skills are amazing! She’ll fix you right up and get you back to your old figure!" Lu Jian Country said, sounding completely relaxed.
Xiao Man laughed in exasperation. "Oh, give me a break. I’m a doctor who treats illnesses, not a plastic surgeon. I’m not a fairy godmother, either, and I’m definitely not one of those sugar-figurine artists on the street who can whip up whatever shape you want. You two need to get serious. From now on, you have to be very strict about ’small, frequent meals.’ And no more eating in the middle of the night. Even if you’re hungry, you have to endure it. Push through it for two nights to break the habit. Judging by your complexion and all this weight, you’re not lacking in nutrition, so don’t worry. You absolutely have to walk more. Aren’t there those, uh, prenatal exercises? Do them several times a day and don’t be lazy."
Lu Jian Country immediately said, "Okay, exercises it is! I’ll do them with you. We’ll do them together!"
Xiao Man pictured the tall, dark, and sturdy Lu Jian Country doing prenatal exercises and couldn’t help but giggle.
Weiwei brought a bowl of mung bean soup to Xiao Man, then went to get the apples. He gave one to his dad, took a bite of one himself, and then thoughtfully offered a small plate of sliced apple chunks to Yang Liu’er. "Mama, eat!"
Yang Liu’er thanked her good boy, then looked at Xiao Man with a worried frown. "Is this okay to eat? I just had two pieces of cake and a smiling date."
Xiao Man took a sip of the mung bean soup and said with a slight smile, "Apples are fine. As long as you’re not going hungry, just cut back on fried snacks and overly greasy meat dishes. You don’t need to worry too much. Some people stay overweight after giving birth, but others lose it quickly. Breastfeeding burns a lot of calories, too. It all depends on your body type."
Yang Liu’er recalled her pregnancy in her past life. No one had doted on her then, and her weight hadn’t increased much more than usual. But after giving birth, she had indeed become as thin as a piece of paper. ’My body type must be one that loses weight easily,’ she thought. Her confidence was instantly restored. She speared a piece of apple with a fork, chewed on it, and said with a beaming smile, "I believe in myself! After the baby is born, I’ll definitely succeed in losing the weight!"
The moment Lu Jian Country saw Yang Liu’er’s smiling face, he breathed a sigh of relief. He stopped nibbling on his own apple, picked up the plate, and started feeding her pieces, chiming in, "Of course! We can definitely do it!"
Weiwei sat next to Xiao Man, munching on his apple with a CRUNCH, CRUNCH. He blinked as he watched his parents. The poor child was subjected to their public displays of affection every day. He’d seen it all before and was already numb to it.
Xiao Man noticed a house blueprint lying on a square table against the wall and walked over to take a look. Yang Liu’er came closer and explained in a rambling stream: Jianling had her own family now. Although they lived elsewhere, they still came back for meals from time to time. Once they had kids, the Lu Family’s small courtyard would feel too cramped. She and Lu Jian Country had originally planned to find a bigger house, but Old Lu didn’t want to move, saying he’d rather live here by himself. But how could they really let the old man live all alone? As it happened, their next-door neighbor needed to raise money and wanted to sell their courtyard, so Yang Liu’er had Lu Jian Country buy it. The plan was to knock down the wall between the two small courtyards to create a slightly larger one with more room to move around.
Xiao Man also felt that the Lu Family’s small courtyard had a good location and feng shui. Unless it was absolutely necessary—due to demolition, for instance—it was best to keep living there.