Yang Bin arrived downstairs to find everyone else had already descended.
"Yang Bin, sit here," Guo Xuyang waved.
"Okay, Mr. Guo," Yang Bin replied, taking a seat beside Guo Xuyang.
"Let me introduce everyone," Guo Xuyang said.
"This is my father and my mother.
These are Ilena, Guo Yiyang, Lin Zixuan, Xia Li, Yu'er, and Xiao Si. You can call these ladies sisters-in-law from now on.
These two are Wu Jia and Yang Bin, nurses I just recruited from the postnatal care center of the Maternity and Child Health Hospital today.
Everyone, get acquainted. You'll be spending a lot of time together.
Why isn't Xiao Yun here? Where did Xiao Yun go?"
"She went to the hospital. She hasn't returned," Yu'er said.
"How do you know?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"Xiao Si and I saw Xiao Yun on our way back from the hospital.
Brother Hui and Xiao Li have also gone there."
"So they're not planning to come back for dinner?"
"If they haven't returned by now, they probably won't,"
Xia Li said, checking the time.
"What about Xiao Xi? Why hasn't she come down?"
"She just had her fetal position corrected this morning, and the doctor ordered her to rest in bed. She hasn't been able to get out of bed for the past two days."
"I was planning to ask her to go out for a stroll tonight, but now that's not possible," Guo Yiyang said.
"You should go out less in the evenings. It's not good if you trip or fall in your condition.
It's fine to go out during the day, but at night, with poor visibility, it's better to stay in,"
Guo Xuyang advised.
"Who wants to go out in this heat during the day?
It's cooler at night, and going for a walk is fine,"
Guo Yiyang retorted.
"Look at you all, like pampered generals, waddling around with your big bellies.
What's wrong with staying home?"
"The doctor said we need to exercise more, not just eat and sleep at home. It's not good for either the mother or the baby.
Especially as you get closer to delivery, you can't be lazy.
Otherwise, you'll suffer during childbirth,"
"Which doctor said that?"
Guo Xuyang pouted, clearly skeptical.
He knew that pregnant women tended to be lazier, especially when they didn't want to move once settled.
After all, carrying an extra ten-plus pounds made walking and moving inconvenient.
Xia Li was slightly better, as she was only a little over a month pregnant and not showing much.
"The doctor says this every time we go for a check-up.
It's mainly because our living conditions have improved. If you don't exercise, the fetus can become too large, and the mother will suffer during childbirth,"
Guo Yiyang explained.
"Sister-in-law is right. Moderate exercise for pregnant women is beneficial for both the fetus and the mother,"
Wu Jia chimed in from the side.
"However, compared to exercise, safety should be the top priority.
As Mr. Guo just said, visibility is poor at night, and it can be very dangerous in an emergency.
Even though the weather is hot now, most of us have cars. We can go to the maternity center or a prenatal yoga studio for exercise during the day.
The instructors there are generally quite professional."
"Xiao Xi used to take us to yoga classes regularly and to the prenatal education center for classes.
She just came back from having her fetal position corrected, so she can't go for now,"
Guo Yiyang said.
"We went to see her at noon, and she was sleeping, so we didn't disturb her.
We thought she'd come down to eat with us tonight."
"She should be able to come down in about two days. She said she was quite tired this afternoon,"
Guo Xuyang replied.
"It's like a minor procedure. Even though the correction was done externally, it's still quite tiring," Yang Bin commented.
"Did you go with her?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"I only went once. Jia Jia went more often; she's been in the hospital longer," Yang Bin said.
"Yan Shiliang's technique is indeed excellent. Most babies whose positions are corrected by him are delivered naturally.
One side effect is that the baby might be born a few days earlier," Wu Jia stated.
"Do you know why?" Xia Li and others asked.
"This is what's called disturbing the fetus.
Think about it: the fetus is fine in the womb, and then you use external force to adjust its position. Of course, it's uncomfortable.
When it's uncomfortable, it becomes restless, which can lead to uterine contractions and premature birth,"
Wu Jia explained.
"Will this affect the baby?" Wu Shangqing asked.
"There will be some impact, but it's not significant.
For a situation like Sister-in-law's, with the due date approaching, being born ten days to a fortnight earlier won't have a major impact on the baby,"
"It's good that the impact isn't significant.
I heard them talking about fetal position correction this morning and let them go. I didn't expect it to have an impact on the baby.
If anything were to happen, I wouldn't know how to face Xiao Xi,"
Wu Shangqing said, her voice laced with worry.
"Mom, you don't need to worry at all.
There's also Yangzi. You know how capable Yangzi is,"
Guo Yiyang reassured her.
"No matter how capable he is, he can't give birth. He hasn't experienced the suffering of childbirth,"
"Mom, what are you saying? If I could give birth, you'd be unhappy,"
Guo Xuyang interjected.
"I'm done eating. You all continue,"
Guo Yixiang put down his chopsticks, spoke, and then left.
Indeed, this table was filled with his younger female relatives.
As their father-in-law, it wasn't appropriate for him to listen to them discuss childbirth.
He simply put down his chopsticks, got up, and left.
"See? You've upset Dad," Guo Xuyang said, feigning annoyance.
"He's such an old traditionalist. Aren't sons and daughters the same? I just want a daughter."
"Mom, aren't they all your daughters?"
"Yes, yes, they're dearer than my own daughters," Wu Shangqing quickly added.
She knew Guo Xuyang was teasing her.
However, these daughters-in-law were indeed no different from her own daughters.
Not only during festivals, but even when they went out shopping, they would think of buying her a piece or two of clothing.
Her closet was full of new clothes; she had so many that she couldn't wear them all.
If she were to say these women were less dear than her own daughters, she would be speaking against her conscience.
"Exactly. And yet you still wish for a biological daughter," Guo Xuyang pressed.
"How old am I to want another child? I'm just saying,"
"Mom, if I had been a girl, would you have tried to have another one?"
"Even if you were a boy, you wanted another one to be a companion for you.
But your father absolutely refused, saying he could barely afford to raise one, so we didn't have any more.
Now I think we really should have had another one. After all, having a companion would have been nice,"
Wu Shangqing said.
"I have plenty of friends. Besides, there's Brother Hui.
Now that you and Uncle and Aunt are living in the provincial capital, isn't that better than having another child?"
"That's right. Who says it's not good? Looking at these daughters now, I'm happier than anything,"
"As long as you don't dislike it," Guo Xuyang replied.