Chapter 376 - 378: The In-Laws Are Coming
Soon, Gao Guoqiang and Sun Yuhua had returned, and both children were carried out by Zheng Xianghong and Sun Yuhua for Gao Guofu to see.
Gao Guofu was originally proud to have the twin grandchildren of his own, but Xia Xiao had also given birth to twins, and now upon seeing Xia Xiao’s children, and then thinking about his own grandchildren, his grandson seemed fine to look at, but his granddaughter was as tiny and frail as a kitten, looking like she might never grow up, which is no wonder they decided to arrange a godparent.
Initially, Gao Guofu and Lin Xuebi were somewhat dissatisfied when they learned that Wang Xueyong made their grandson’s godparent Liu Haiguo, thinking it’s better to send the child back to his maternal family for support.
However, Wang Xueyong explained to them that he only wanted to keep an eye on the child, so they said nothing more.
When Gao Guoqiang got his hands on his grandson, his heart was filled with vigor, and he asked Gao Guofu how the twins were, Gao Guofu looked at the twins in Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong’s arms and compared them, his smile somewhat strained.
Moreover, observing Xia Xiao’s twins, who were quite well-developed, even Gao Guofu, who had two grandsons, felt quite envious.
Yang Hua had given birth to two sons for Gao Jianmin, but Gao Jianhua and Wang Xiumei had been married for several years without children, and now Gao Guofu and Lin Xuebi were even thinking of adopting their second grandson out to Wang Xiumei.
After all, the Wangs only had one daughter, Wang Xiumei, and eventually everything would belong to her anyway, if Wang Xiumei couldn’t have children, adopting Yang Hua’s son would mean that all future properties would still belong to their grandson.
One could say Gao Guofu and Lin Xuebi had a beautiful plan in mind, but Wang Xiumei was no fool, naturally, she disagreed now, she still held out hope for her own child, naturally wanting to give birth to her own, who would want to adopt.
At this moment Zheng Xianghong deliberately asked Wang Xiumei whether she was pregnant yet, and Lin Xuebi couldn’t even muster a smile, in the past Wang Xiumei was the cherished one of the old house, even though she had not yet had a child, Lin Xuebi put up with it, but since Gao Guihua married Wang Xueyong, the conflict between Lin Xuebi and Wang Xiumei had started.
Especially when they thought of adopting the second grandson out to their younger son, and Wang Xiumei actually disagreed, Lin Xuebi was even more upset.
But her son had married into another family, becoming a stay-at-home son-in-law, nowadays Wang Xiumei’s parents were still alive, Gao Jianhua was considered a kept man, where was he to have any say.
Gao Guofu and Lin Xuebi did not stay long and soon departed.
Before leaving, Mrs. Wang looked at the twins with a pang of regret, if her son had married Xia Xiao, Liu Haihua would have been out of the picture.
Although Liu Haihua had given her a grandson, Liu Haihua was not some untouched maiden, and what’s more, she was a woman who had been married off before, and if her son, who already had a wife and granddaughter, got involved in this, he’d be ruined.
So at this moment, Mrs. Wang felt very uneasy, as she thought Liu Haihua and her son’s affair was a ticking time bomb, and even with her warnings, nothing could prevent Liu Haihua’s actions.
Moreover, the old man still didn’t know, otherwise who knew how furiously he would react, Mrs. Wang also kept the matter secret for her son, but she was extremely uneasy.
Wang Yuncai rode the bicycle with Mrs. Wang on the back, Gao Guofu and Lin Xuebi following behind, as Wang Yuncai pedaled swiftly, Mrs. Wang said, "Yuncai, stop pining over Gao Jiaxing, I’ll find someone else for you to marry."
Wang Yuncai remained silent, then said, "I want to marry a soldier."
"Fine," Mrs. Wang agreed, as long as her daughter was willing to marry, that’s all that mattered.
At the Gao family’s home, as soon as Lin Xuebi and the others left, Zheng Xianghong breathed a sigh of relief, dealing with these people was truly exhausting.
Gao Guoqiang handed the grandchild back to Zheng Xianghong and went back to work, while Sun Yuhua stayed at home.
Postpartum confinement is an extremely grueling ordeal, and Xianghong could only stay indoors, not allowed to step outside. Zheng Xianghong said she couldn’t be exposed to the wind, and Xia Xiao heeded Zheng Xianghong’s advice. However, being confined to the house with nothing to do was truly unbearable.
Luckily, Xia Xiao had a private space, but she could only sneak a peek when she found a moment, and then she had to immediately exit. She had to watch over the child and also had to be cautious of Zheng Xianghong coming in and finding her, so Xia Xiao earnestly endured her room’s confinement.
Caring for the child, Xia Xiao gradually became adept. Now, at night, Zheng Xianghong and Xia Xiao slept together. After all, there were two children, and she had to nurse at night. Even though they were twins, they didn’t necessarily wake up or get hungry at the same time. Thus, Xia Xiao woke up several times throughout the night, which was extremely tiring.
During the confinement period, Xia Xiao was preoccupied with the twins and even forgot to miss Gao Jiaxing.
But because her time was occupied by the two children, the month seemed to pass by faster, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day Xia Xiao could conclude her confinement.
The twins’ first month coincided with everyone’s day off, no work required, so many people came by to offer their congratulations and see the twins.
It was only that Xia Xiao didn’t see Xia Jing and Yan Hao. Yang Xuehua mentioned somewhat mysteriously that Xia Jing and Yan Hao had gone to the county town, and Xia Xiao didn’t think much of it.
Just before noon, a voice rang out at the door. Xia Jing called out, "Sis, guess who’s here?"
As Xia Xiao stepped outside, she saw Xia Weiguo, Li Wenjuan, Xia Lin, Xia Jing, and Yan Hao at the doorway. Her eyes welled up with emotion as she exclaimed excitedly, "Dad, Mom, how are you?"
"Your father has been wanting to see you, so I took leave to come with him," Li Wenjuan said.
"The in-laws are here, come inside and have a seat," Zheng Xianghong greeted them with an enthusiastic smile.
Gao Guoqiang also invited Xia Weiguo and Li Wenjuan into the house. He hadn’t expected Xia Xiao’s parents to visit, but their presence showed they valued their daughter and grandchildren, which pleased the Gao family.
By this time, Xia Xiao and Xia Jing had already gone to bring out the twins. When Xia Weiguo and Li Wenjuan saw the twins, the smiles on their faces deepened.
Xia Xiao handed the children over to her parents, then went to help serve tea and pour water. Zheng Xianghong and Sun Yuhua busied themselves preparing food in the kitchen.
Seeing Xia Xiao’s parents visit, Sun Yuhua felt a pang of bitterness. She was from the same city as Xia Xiao, yet she had no contact with her own family. Without comparison, there would be no hurt.
Her family was ostensibly better off than Xia Xiao’s, but now it seemed inferior. Since Xia Xiao had given birth to twins, Sun Yuhua felt even more at a disadvantage and bitterly inferior in comparison.
Zheng Xianghong noticed Sun Yuhua distracted and moved her lips to say something but held back.
Zheng Xianghong was aware of Sun Yuhua’s estrangement from her family. It wasn’t that she hadn’t advised Sun Yuhua to visit, but there was nothing she could do if Sun Yuhua was unwilling.
Listening to the joyful laughter of the Xia family in the hall, Sun Yuhua pondered whether she should visit her own family during the New Year, but she hadn’t decided whether to take Gao Jiazhi and her daughter with her.
That was something Zheng Xianghong didn’t know. Otherwise, knowing Sun Yuhua was struggling with such thoughts would certainly have caused some dissatisfaction.
However, with the in-laws’ visit underway, Zheng Xianghong couldn’t dwell on Sun Yuhua’s emotions, focusing only on how to properly entertain Xia Xiao’s parents and ensure the in-laws didn’t feel any lack of hospitality.