Yan Gui country pondered and said, "That works. I'll tell them that you can go look for them directly this afternoon."
"Okay."
After their conversation, they parted ways. Zhang Liunian rode his bicycle home. Halfway there, he spotted an old woman selling chicks. Remembering his daughter's fondness for lobsters, Zhang Liunian immediately stopped his bicycle and bought ten chicks to take back.
"Dingling."
"Daddy, you're back?"
Hua Bao, who was playing with lobsters in the yard, heard the bicycle bell and immediately looked up. She stood up, intending to rush out, but because she moved too quickly, she lost her balance and sat down.
Seeing his daughter fall to the ground, Zhang Liunian stopped his bicycle and hurried over, picking her up and asking with concern, "Did Hua Bao get hurt?"
Hua Bao smiled and shook her head, "Hua Bao isn't hurt."
"Jiji..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the chirping of chicks could be heard. Hua Bao turned her head to look and saw a small basket on Zhang Liunian's bicycle, which seemed to contain chicks.
"Daddy, there are chicks," Hua Bao exclaimed joyfully, pointing at the basket.
Zhang Liunian smiled and stroked her head, "These are for Hua Bao. They'll be your little friends from now on. You have to take care of them until they grow up!"
Zhang Liunian carried his daughter to the bicycle, picked up the basket, and removed the lid, revealing ten fluffy yellow chicks. "Does Hua Bao like them?"
Hua Bao had never raised chicks before. Now that she suddenly had them, she was overjoyed.
"Hua Bao likes them very much. Hua Bao will take care of them until they grow up." With that, she hugged the small basket tightly.
Seeing his daughter's happiness, Zhang Liunian's smile widened. Indeed, young girls had no resistance to such things.
"Then let's go build a nest for the chicks!" The chicks needed a coop. However, considering that this mud house was about to be demolished and rebuilt, Zhang Liunian decided to make a movable little nest for them to stay in for the time being.
"Okay, okay! The chicks need a bed to sleep in too."
"That's right, let's do it together."
Zhang Liunian put his daughter aside and found some bamboo tools to start building.
He wasn't skilled at delicate work, but he knew how to make a cage.
Jiang Qingqing, who had just come out of the kitchen, watched her husband and daughter making a chicken coop in the yard. The two, one big and one small, sat together, their faces alight with charming smiles.
...
"Daddy, aren't the chicks eating?" At the dinner table, Hua Bao's stomach was full. She suddenly remembered that the chicks hadn't eaten yet. She propped her chin on her hand and looked at her father.
Zhang Liunian, who was eating, put down his chopsticks and smiled, "Hua Bao can take some rice to feed them."
Hearing this, Hua Bao jumped off her stool and ran to feed the chicks.
"Be careful not to fall," Zhang Liunian said, seeing his daughter jump off the stool, his heart filled with anxiety. She had only been eating for a few days and was already jumping up and down. Recalling her daughter's soft and weak appearance, he couldn't help but be concerned.
He carefully examined his wife and daughter. They were fair-skinned but still thin; they needed to eat more good food.
He picked up the spoon and served his wife a bowl of chicken soup, saying, "Eat more. The doctor said you need to replenish your strength. Your body is still too weak."
Jiang Qingqing, who had almost finished eating, looked at the bowl of chicken soup. She wanted to say she was full, but seeing her husband's concerned gaze, she finally drank it.
Good heavens, after drinking this bowl, she was completely stuffed.
To digest, Jiang Qingqing began to stroll around the house and yard.
Zhang Liunian asked her what was wrong. She said she was a bit full and wanted to walk.
"Then walk slowly," Zhang Liunian instructed, then picked up hot water and stood in the yard to bathe.
Jiang Qingqing was walking by the entrance of the main hall. Hearing the sound of water, she turned to look and saw her husband bathing in the yard wearing only shorts.
He lifted the water bucket with his strong, powerful arms and poured the hot water down. The hot water flowed from the top of his head, over his sturdy chest, his powerful waist and abdomen, and finally sprinkled onto the ground.
Jiang Qingqing leaned against the doorframe, mesmerized, and was still staring even after Zhang Liunian finished bathing.
"What are you looking at?" Zhang Liunian, about to go back inside to change, noticed her unusual behavior as he passed by and stepped forward to speak.
"Ah?" Jiang Qingqing snapped back to reality. As she regained her senses, she saw a pair of firm pectoral muscles right in front of her, so close she could have bitten them. She swallowed hard, suppressed her discomfort, and replied, "I'm not looking at anything."
Zhang Liunian, not sensing anything amiss, nodded and went back into the house to change. When he came out, he saw Jiang Qingqing still leaning against the doorframe, looking at the bright moon in the sky.
A gentle breeze blew her shoulder-length hair, causing her to instinctively shiver and hug herself.
Seeing this, Zhang Liunian turned and brought out a jacket from the house, draping it over her. "Qingqing, why are you still standing here instead of going inside? It's cold outside; be careful not to catch a cold." He then put his large hand around her shoulder.
Jiang Qingqing came back to her senses, nestled in his arms, and pointed at the moon in the sky, saying with a smile, "Time flies so fast. Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here?"
Zhang Liunian thought she was homesick. He looked at the moon in the sky and said, "Yes. If you want to go back and visit, I'll take you."
Hearing this, Jiang Qingqing's smiling face instantly vanished. She grabbed Zhang Liunian's arm and said nervously, "No, I don't want to go back."
She hadn't told Zhang Liunian yet that she had married him without her parents' consent. At that time, she had made the decision entirely on her own.
This was because she knew her parents would never agree.
Seeing her like this, Zhang Liunian looked confused. "Why?"
Jiang Qingqing didn't want to reveal too much. She turned her head, pretending to look outside. "I'm almost due to give birth, aren't I? The bumpy journey wouldn't be suitable for going back."
This explanation was reasonable, and Zhang Liunian didn't press further. They stood outside for a short while, enjoying the cool breeze, and then went back inside.
"Don't move, I'll help you wash," Zhang Liunian said when they returned to the room. Jiang Qingqing wanted to wipe herself clean. Zhang Liunian remembered she was still bleeding and stepped forward, trying to take the towel from her to help her.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qingqing immediately became flustered. Although they were husband and wife, the thought of standing there naked while her husband helped her wash made her want to explode.
"No need," Jiang Qingqing blurted out, then brought the towel behind her back, preventing Zhang Liunian from taking it.
"You're injured, how can you do this physical work? Let me do it, I can."
"No, I can do it myself," Jiang Qingqing firmly refused because she truly couldn't stand there while her husband washed her.
In the past, when they were husband and wife and intimate, it was done in the dark. But now, with the lights on and needing to be watched, she really couldn't bear it.
Zhang Liunian was about to say something more, but when he met her watery eyes, his breathing hitched. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, flustered. "Okay, okay, I won't wash you, I won't wash you. Don't be upset anymore, alright?"
Jiang Qingqing hadn't expected that just by her eyes getting a little teary, Zhang Liunian would become so flustered, hugging and comforting her.