Witty Wife, Better Life
Chapter 269 - 259 Pangpang’s Name

Chapter 269: Chapter 259 Pangpang’s Name

Qiu Shuping pulled away the little blanket off of Pangpang, inside of which the child was just wearing a pair of split-crotch pants.

"This child is certainly plump." She noticed the child’s arms and legs were as white and chubby as lotus root nodes.

"Mm, he probably ate enough," said Shen Yunfang with a tone of pride.

Qiu Shuping turned her head to glance at her, thinking it must have been her that spoiled him. Such a small child, why feed him so much when he can’t do anything yet?

"Give me the child," Li Hongjun said, "I’ll take him to pee. Pangpang is wearing too little; leaving him like this he could easily catch a cold." He was unhappy seeing his son with the blanket flipped open for all to see and picked up his son from the kang. "Taxue."

The dog Taxue, who had been lying by the door, heard his master call its name and immediately ran under the table, fetching the pee basin with its mouth.

Li Hongjun quickly took his son to pee, then put the child back on the small mattress, dragging it to the other side of the kang to make room for his wife and child so they could both lie down—it was time for his son to eat.

"You and your weird practices, why not use a pee ring like everyone else? The child would have less tossing around and wouldn’t catch a cold," Qiu Shuping said, slightly displeased after being one-upped by her son.

As someone who had been through it all and as a mother who raised five children, she certainly had more experience in child-rearing than they did.

Li Hongjun didn’t want to talk to his own mother. Still, Shen Yunfang, sensing the tension, interjected, "In winter, the pee ring isn’t easy to wash and dry. If it gets wet with pee on the kang, we wouldn’t have enough cloth diapers to change."

After seeing to his wife and child, Li Hongjun withdrew back to the doorway and gave a command to Taxue to take the pee basin outside.

Delighted, Taxue bounded away with the pee basin; it was finally its turn after so many days.

"Oh please, what’s there to wash? A child’s excrement isn’t dirty. If they pee, just dry it over the brazier, and it can be reused. If they poop, it’s even easier. Find a board, if they poop, just scrape it off with the board, clean it up and it’s good to go," said Qiu Shuping as if imparting wisdom.

Shen Yunfang rolled her eyes behind her mother-in-law’s back, secretly relieved she hadn’t let her mother-in-law take care of her during her confinement. Who knows what state Pangpang would be in otherwise?

Li Hongjun also frowned upon hearing this, wondering if that was really how they were raised when they were young.

"Hey, don’t be skeptical now. These are experiences passed down through generations. Just wait, if the child poops or pees, I’ll handle it," Qiu Shuping added.

"We don’t need it. Pangpang is already being trained. Besides, Yunfang’s postpartum confinement will be over in a few days. No need for your help. You and Xianghe just stay for a while to see the child, then head back," said Li Hongjun, firmer than he intended. He hadn’t expected his mother to help out with his wife’s postpartum care in the first place, and now he was even less inclined to ask.

Qiu Shuping originally wanted to retort, thinking how could she just be sent back home by her son and daughter-in-law. But then she remembered that it meant no need to take care of her daughter-in-law, swallowing the words of protest that reached her mouth. Judging by her son’s attitude, he was still angry, but at least she was allowed inside to see the child, so perhaps things were fine. Over time, her son’s anger would naturally fade.

"I did plan to stay a few days to help you look after the child, but seeing how small your place is, Xianghe and I really have nowhere to stay," Qiu Shuping said with a disdainful look at the small kang she was sitting on.

The kang measured two meters by two meters twenty, not small at all. Initially, when they came, they all slept on this kang, and even if they slept side by side, there was still room for them.

But now with Li Hongjun as well as a new child, this kang was a bit too crowded for four adults and one child.

Having a spacious big kang at home, Qiu Shuping naturally didn’t want to cram in here. Besides, staying would mean having to see Shen Yunfang every day, and possibly waiting on her too, which clogged her heart with anxiety. Thus, hearing her son say they didn’t need her, she didn’t protest.

"So, the child’s nickname is Pangpang? That doesn’t sound nice at all. Why not name him Treasure or Egg or something?" Qiu Shuping continued to nitpick.

Shen Yunfang frowned in response, glad that she had already decided on her child’s name. Had she left it to her parents-in-law, her son might grow up blaming his parents for it.

"When he was born, he was already chubby, so he got the nickname ’Pangpang,’ and we didn’t put much thought into it," Li Hongjun replied.

"Well, never mind, nicknames are just that. When we return this time, I’ll have your father give the child a proper name. We can’t be careless with his formal name," Qiu Shuping said with a stern face.

"We’ve already chosen his formal name. It’s Li Shichen." They came up with this name flipping through a dictionary on the first night of the Lunar New Year.

"What, you have already named him?" Qiu Shuping’s eyes widened in surprise.

Startled by the sudden loud voice, Pangpang began to cry, and Shen Yunfang quickly patted him, comforting herself by thinking, Hold on, my son, it will be better once the guests leave in the afternoon.

"Mhm," Li Hongjun grunted in response.

"Do your elders not exist in your eyes anymore? Whose grandson’s name isn’t given by their grandparents? How could you just decide on your own?" Qiu Shuping said, sounding increasingly frustrated.

In reality, the old couple were reluctant to name their grandson because they weren’t well educated. Naming the children of their eldest son had taken a lot of effort, to the point where Li’s father even secretly asked the village intellectual for help. However, while they disliked naming, what really bothered Qiu Shuping was that their second son had chosen a name without consulting them first.

Li Hongjun glanced at his mother and said, "This time I came back, I wanted to take Yunfang and the child back to the army with me. We need to get the child’s household registration sorted before leaving, and it would be inconvenient to have to travel back and forth. It was urgent, so I didn’t notify you."

"What? Yunfang is going to follow military life?" Qiu Shuping was shocked again. Wasn’t it said they wouldn’t go? Why the sudden change?

"Yes, I’m not comfortable with Yunfang being here by herself, and now we have a child. It’s safer for them to come with me to the military base." Li Hongjun wanted to say that with Li Hongqi’s trouble-making, his wife and child would be safer under his own wing.

"Then, then, what about this house?" Qiu Shuping’s mind raced, immediately thinking of her daughter-in-law’s house. Although it was a simple farmhouse and a bit small, the yard was large. If they were to sell it, they could get at least a hundred or more.

"What about it? Nothing. It’s my house. Even if I’m moving away temporarily, it’s still mine. Mom, you don’t have to worry, no one dares to occupy my house. Have you forgotten that my uncle is the head of Gaijiatun?" Shen Yunfang said cheerfully, though she knew exactly what her mother-in-law was getting at, but chose not to go there.

"It’s not that..."

"Mom, bro, the meal’s ready. Shall we eat inside?"

Before Qiu Shuping could complete her sentence, Li Xianghe called out from the main room that it was time to eat.

With the child now asleep, Shen Yunfang got up, shifted the sleeping Pangpang to the side, set up the table on the kang bed-stove, and then Li Xianghe began to bring in the dishes.

Li Xianghe hadn’t made much. She saw a few leftover dishes in the bowl cabinet of the main room and several dough-mixed steamed buns, so she just heated them up in a big pot and served them.

There was a soy sauce braised pork knuckle, stir-fried tofu puffs, meat stir-fried with green bean sprouts, and a dish of Yu Xiang (fish-fragrant) shredded pork.

When the dishes were served, Qiu Shuping’s eyes were fixed on them. The spread was better than their own meals during the New Year’s feast, which immediately soured her mood. This should have all been hers; if it weren’t for Shen Yunfang, her second son’s earnings would have fully been her’s.

"Mom, you came in such a hurry, and we didn’t have much prepared. There wasn’t time to make anything fresh, so please make do with these," Shen Yunfang said politely.

As a mother who had recently given birth, she couldn’t eat any of the salty dishes, so in front of her was a specially prepared pot of stewed pig trotters, seasoned with just a little salt.

However, Qiu Shuping’s response nullified her politeness.

"Hmph, this is my son’s house; I’m happy with whatever I eat."

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