The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 284 - 283: Soft and Fragrant Little Sister

Chapter 284: Chapter 283: Soft and Fragrant Little Sister

His son’s words brought Pei Yang back to his senses, as he hurriedly asked the nurse about the gender of the child.

"It’s a girl."

"Good, thank you, you’ve all worked hard."

The nurses were impressed with Pei Yang’s attitude.

In this line of work, they had seen too many families value boys over girls, even some who, upon hearing the child was a girl, turned around and left without a second glance at the mother.

Not only was Pei Yang not unhappy upon hearing it was a girl, he even graciously thanked them with a smile, which was truly rare.

"Here, the child is all yours, I’m not going to carry her in."

"Eh, thank you!"

Pei Yang thanked them repeatedly and cautiously took his daughter, feeling the soft and delicate weight of her, his eyes filling with warmth.

Although he had been a father for several years already, the daughter in his arms was his first experience of longing through ten months of pregnancy and eagerly awaiting the arrival of new life; the happiness and contentment were beyond words.

"Daddy, I want to hold my sister."

"No, you can’t hold her steadily."

Pei Yang flatly refused his son’s request, but he carefully squatted down to let his son see the girl.

"Look, isn’t your sister beautiful?"

Upon seeing the baby’s face, Pei Ziheng couldn’t take his eyes off her, his delicate and lovely face filled with surprise and joy.

The sister does indeed look as beautiful as mom.

"Such a pity, a girl."

The family was enjoying their moment when an annoying, unfamiliar voice suddenly floated over from nearby.

Pei Ziheng coldly glanced over and saw it was the family of another woman in labor, huddled around to watch the excitement and even adding their unwelcome comments.

Pei Yang retorted with a laugh, "I like having a girl. I’ve dreamed of having a girl and now, at last, my wish has come true."

The man fell silent, embarrassed.

Another middle-aged woman came over, speaking with a face full of gossip, "You already have a son; why have a girl? It’s just a fine for nothing, not worth it."

"No problem, I have plenty of money."

The middle-aged woman was also left speechless.

Someone else, seeing the point, mocked Pei Yang, "You must be in a second marriage. Second marriages come with a birth quota, no fine is needed."

"You’re the one with a second marriage! This is my first marriage."

Pei Wenping kicked Pei Yang, signaling him to tone it down.

All of them had children on the same day and might end up sharing the same hospital room. There was no need to offend people beyond recovery.

Pei Yang then quieted down, looking earnestly at his daughter, feeling he could never look enough.

Pei Ziheng felt the same, staring at his newborn sister without blinking, his eyes as tender and deep as a galaxy sprinkled with stars.

...

When Shen Mingzhu awoke again, it was already evening, with a fiery red sunset sprawling across the sky, brilliant and stunning.

She looked around and saw only her son by her side, standing with his back to her in front of the baby’s cot.

Before she could speak, Pei Ziheng seemed to sense her and turned around.

Seeing her awake, his dark eyes instantly brightened, "Mom."

"Hmm."

"Where’s dad?"

"He went home to cook, should be here soon. Mom, are you hungry?"

From being admitted to the labor room last night until leaving today, she had only eaten two eggs and drunk a bowl of brown sugar water. A normal person wouldn’t have been able to bear eating so little over a day and a night, let alone a woman who had just given birth; by now, she was so hungry that she felt as if she could hug and gnaw on a piece of braised pork knuckle.

Pei Ziheng took out some boiled eggs, carefully peeled them, and fed her.

After eating three boiled eggs, Shen Mingzhu felt less hungry. She then asked her son to bring her daughter Little Guoguo onto her bed.

Pei Yang arrived just as mother and child were discussing whom Little Guoguo’s fingernails resembled.

Shen Mingzhu had small hands, yet her nail beds were quite elongated; Pei Yang had large hands, but his nail beds were round and small.

In the end, they determined that Little Guoguo’s fingernails didn’t resemble either of them, having a style all her own.

Shen Mingzhu was truly famished; Even though she had already eaten three eggs, she still ate a full bowl of rice and a big bowl of peanut and pig’s trotter soup for dinner.

Not long after she finished eating, Pei Wenping and Shen Chaobei both came to the ward to see her.

Pei Wenping brought the nanny she had found for her.

The nanny’s surname was Yu, named Yu Caifeng, who had taken care of many women in their postpartum period before, with abundant experience. She immediately wanted to help Shen Mingzhu with lactation, saying that the earlier milk flow was established, the more abundant the milk would be.

Aside from Shen Mingzhu, there were three other new mothers in the ward, each with family members accompanying them, both men and women.

It wasn’t just Shen Mingzhu who felt embarrassed, but Pei Yang also did not want his wife to lift her clothes and breastfeed in public.

He took a clean sheet from their luggage, and he and Shen Chaobei held it up at either end, screening off the head of the bed from outside view.

Seeing this, the other new mothers in the ward all showed looks of envy.

Being women themselves, who wouldn’t want to enjoy the tenderness and consideration of a husband?

With Big Sister Yu’s help, Little Guoguo successfully received her first mouthful of milk.

The little pink mouth sucked vigorously, making smacking sounds similar to a piglet, and as Shen Mingzhu watched, a surge of ineffable contentment and happiness welled up in her.

Having had her fill of milk, Little Guoguo continued to sleep soundly.

Seeing that it was getting late, Pei Wenping called the father and son to go home and rest, leaving Big Sister Yu in the ward to take care of her.

Although Shen Mingzhu really wanted Pei Yang to stay, after considering that they had been up since the previous night, she felt distressed for them and cheerfully told them to go home and rest well, and come back tomorrow.

After the father and son left, Yu Caifeng told Shen Mingzhu to sleep first, and she would watch over her, waking Shen Mingzhu when it was time to breastfeed.

Shen Mingzhu initially felt there was nothing to worry about, but as she closed her eyes, a concern suddenly crossed her mind, what if the nanny was unreliable or accidentally fell asleep, and her daughter was stolen?

As soon as she considered this possibility, her drowsiness vanished instantly.

"I’m not sleepy yet, Big Sister Yu, bring Guoguo to my bed."

"Being a mom, you just can’t get enough of your child,"

Yu Caifeng said with a cheerful laugh as she handed Little Guoguo to her.

Holding her fragrant and soft daughter, Shen Mingzhu immediately felt secure and her eyelids began to droop without her realizing it.

After what seemed like an unknown amount of time, she suddenly felt her arms empty and woke up in alarm.

It was only after she saw Pei Yang standing at the bedside, holding her daughter, that she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Having a nightmare?"

Pei Yang asked gently, bending over slightly.

Shen Mingzhu shook her head and looked at him, "Why did you come back?"

Pei Yang took a seat on the chair and spoke softly with her, "I wasn’t comfortable leaving you two alone with a stranger, so I told Big Sister Yu to go back first and come again tomorrow."

Shen Mingzhu shared the same thought.

It was necessary for at least one of them, she or Pei Yang, to be with their daughter to make sure no harm would come to her.

In an era with poor communication and undeveloped transportation, if a child was stolen or abducted by traffickers, it was likely they would never be found.

Looking at the redness in Pei Yang’s eyes, Shen Mingzhu took the baby and told him to sleep for a while.

Pei Yang, not one to insist on acting tough, spread the cool mat he brought from home on the floor and simply lay down to sleep.

However, Pei Yang was awakened not long after by his daughter, who was hungry and fussing for milk.

He once again improvised a screen with the bedsheet to ensure that Shen Mingzhu could breastfeed comfortably, and while doing so, he discussed plans with her, "Tomorrow I will bring some bamboo poles to set up a canopy frame and then use cloth to enclose the bed so you can change clothes and everything conveniently."

Shen Mingzhu thought this was a good idea.

The next morning, as soon as Pei Ziheng stepped downstairs, he was stopped by Shen Baolan.

"What did your mom give birth to?"