"It's been eight months," Afu leaned back against the cushion, shifting his position. He smiled and placed a hand on his belly. "This child is quite a handful. When the pregnancy was early, I was sick every day, and now that the months are advanced, it's constantly rolling around in my belly, never still for a moment."
"That means the child is healthy. It's better for children to be lively. In the later stages of my pregnancy, my mood affected my health, and my two children were unwilling to move. They've been listless since birth."
Speaking of his children, Li Fulang's face was filled with happiness. He turned to look at the two children sleeping soundly in the bedding, "Look, their bodies aren't very good now, unlike other children."
"I think these two children are quite good," Shen Xuan put down the smoothie in his hand and said softly, "They're so worry-free, and brother-in-law isn't so tired."
"That's true," Li Fulang nodded. "It's fine for boys to be quiet, but if Xing'er, being a girl, is like this when she grows up, what then?"
Li Xing was the elder sister, and Li Ren was the younger brother.
"Xing'er is gentle and quiet. Perhaps she'll be a literary scholar in the future."
Shen Xuan didn't think much of it. Whether it was a girl or a boy, liveliness had its advantages, and being quiet also had its advantages. No one dictated whether it was better to be lively or quiet.
He had no special requirements for his and Lu Yu's children, as long as they could grow up healthy.
While these three were chatting about the children, Gu Yi and Zisu couldn't join in. They just smiled with them and ate the smoothies in their hands.
Afu wanted another bowl after finishing one, but Gu Yi stopped him, "Brother-in-law, no more. Sister specifically told me to keep an eye on you."
"Yes, it's not good to eat too much cold food. If you're really feeling hot, ask Ah Da to bring another basin of ice," Shen Xuan said, about to instruct Ah Da to bring more ice.
"Young Master, no need. This room is quite cool now. I'm just a bit greedy," Afu supported his belly and slowly straightened up, stopping Shen Xuan. "It's not easy for the Lu family head to get this ice."
Afu, since marrying Gu Yitong, still called Shen Xuan "Young Master," but he also had to show his different status. Thus, he referred to Lu Yu as the "Lu family head."
Lu Yu had people dig the ice cellar in the winter. It wasn't large, but it was enough to store ice for the entire summer.
Zheng Mansion also had an ice cellar, and the government provided support for the winter ice harvesting.
In the freezing cold, people would go to the river to harvest ice, find ways to transport it to the ice cellar, and then cover it with straw and soil, compacting it tightly for sealing.
Currently, the women were either taking charge, seeing patients, or doing accounts.
It was the hottest time of late July, and the academy was on vacation. Several men gathered at the Lu Mansion, eating the ice smoothies that Lu Yu had invented not long ago. Two basins of ice, freshly transported from the ice cellar, were placed in the room, making it very comfortable.
"It's alright. My wife specifically instructed me before I came that if we ever run out of ice, the Lu family head can send someone to Zheng Mansion to get it," Gu Yi said with a smile, helping Afu lean back against the cushion again, his eyes full of smiles.
"Indeed, Yi'er's way of speaking is different now. After spending so much time with Miss Zheng, your speech has picked up some official tone," Zisu, who had been sitting quietly eating ice smoothies, interjected with a smile, teasing Gu Yi.
"Has it?" Gu Yi closed his mouth and carefully recalled his previous sentence.
"Look!" Afu pointed at Gu Yi and said to Zisu with a smile, "Yi'er is still as honest as before. When it comes to joking, he hasn't changed much."
This remark made everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Shen Xuan coughed a couple of times from laughing and put down the unfinished smoothie in his hand. "I think Afu has changed the most. I've never seen him joke with us like this before. Now he even teases Yi'er."
"His temperament has really become much more cheerful. It's a far cry from when he first got pregnant," Shen Xuan said with a smile, looking at Afu stroking his belly, and then he also placed a hand on his own belly. "Back then, I was truly worried to death about you."
"Yes, yes, brother-in-law's appearance back then was truly frightening. I'd tease him every day, and although he'd smile, he wasn't really happy inside," Gu Yi added in agreement. The current Afu was like a different person from Afu in those days.
"I'm so grateful to all of you for those days," Afu said emotionally, his eyes turning red. "I'm very happy and very fortunate now."
Seeing Afu lower his head with his eyes turning red, they exchanged glances and thought: Oh no!
Although Afu had changed now, it seemed that due to the pregnancy, his emotions were easily uncontrollable. He was probably going to cry again.
"Miss Gu deserves all the credit for Afu being so well now. We only played a supporting role; the real credit goes to Miss Gu," Shen Xuan quickly interjected, trying to steer away from the topic that had moved Afu.
"Yes, yes. For the two months before Afu got married, no matter how we tried to comfort him, he couldn't be happy. But after marrying Miss Gu, his mood quickly improved, and every day was sunny. We dare not take credit," Zisu echoed Shen Xuan's words, teasing Afu.
Gu Yi looked at Zisu speaking with a smile and finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had truly let go.
Afu, as everyone had expected, blushed after being teased for a few sentences, his face full of happiness.
"Zisu, have you really not considered going to the academy?" Shen Xuan once again extended an invitation to Zisu for the male academy.
"But I don't know anything besides singing, dancing, and playing music, and I'm not literate."
"No, the number of students in the academy is increasing, and academies in other towns are also gradually emerging. The resistance to men receiving education is becoming smaller, and many students there want to learn these skills," Gu Yi took over the conversation and continued.
"When the two of us were at Yuman Hall, your talents were all better than mine. You were the top performer at Yuman Lou. If you wanted to become a talent instructor, you would certainly be qualified."
"Still no. If someone like me goes to the male academy, it won't be good for their reputation."
Zisu refused again, and they couldn't say much more.
As they were talking, a baby's cry came from the bed, soon triggering another baby's cry, the sounds rising one after another.
Li Fulang, as a father, reacted immediately. He scooped up his younger son, Li Ren, into his arms. Seeing Li Xing beside him also start to cry, he reached out his left hand and, with Shen Xuan's help, held both children in his arms.
"Are the children hungry?" Afu propped himself up with one hand on the bed, anxious to see what was happening.
"Probably," Li Fulang nodded and handed Li Xing to Shen Xuan beside him. "Ren'er is probably hungry. Xing'er was likely woken up by Ren'er's crying."