Chapter 99 - 099: Misunderstandings Brought by the Name
Bai Ruozhu didn’t sleep for long when she started to experience the second most painful thing in her life: breastfeeding. Of course, the first was childbirth, but she never expected breastfeeding to be so painful!
They often say that the best lactation consultant is the baby itself. Bai Ruozhu lay on her side to breastfeed her child. However, she soon cried out in pain. This child wasn’t feeding, he was full-on biting!
"Don’t cry, you’ll frighten the child. It’s going to hurt at first, especially boys, they’re stronger." Lin Ping’er hurriedly offered words of consolation.
Bai Ruozhu pouted. How could she be so unfortunate? She hadn’t even confessed her love to someone before suddenly growing a large belly, carrying around this huge burden every day? Finally managing to give birth after a full day and night of excruciating pain, only to find breastfeeding simply unbearable! Wasn’t this too much?
Luckily, Bai Ruozhu was in good shape and was already producing colostrum during the day. Probably because it was scarce, the child was sucking quite vigorously. After feeding on both sides for about fifteen minutes, Bai Ruozhu looked down and nearly cried again.
It was sore and a little bit of skin had been broken. She sighed inwardly, was this child really so heartless towards her?
Lin Ping’er sighed and said: "Us women really have it tough. It’s still going to get worse. When I first had your elder brother, I’d cry every time I had to feed him."
Knowing her elder brother’s nature, Bai Ruozhu imagined him blushing all the way to the back of his ears hearing this. That was a comfort somehow, and it lifted her mood somewhat.
Since the child seemed unsatisfied and started crying again, Lin Ping’er got up to fetch some rice soup from the kitchen to feed the baby. There wasn’t any baby formula in those times, and people from humble homes couldn’t afford a wet nurse. If the mother’s own milk wasn’t sufficient, the child would have to settle for rice soup.
Sure enough, after drinking a little rice soup, the child soon fell asleep. Newborn babies were pretty peculiar that way; they’d sleep as soon as they were fed, only crying when they were uncomfortable from needing to urinate or defecate.
Finally, Bai Ruozhu could have a moment of peace. Supporting her head with one hand, she lay on her side and watched the tiny life beside her. A day had passed, the baby’s skin was not as red as at birth, and was now quite handsome.
"This child is born with such beautiful hair," Lin Ping’er whispered softly in admiration.
Bai Ruozhu quietly touched the child’s soft black hair. Surely, her prenatal nutrition must have been pretty decent for this child to have such healthy hair?
Looking at the sleeping face of the child, Bai Ruozhu thought his eyes were very long and narrow. He would certainly grow up to be a handsome, big-eyed young man. His tiny nose did not seem to have any distinct shape yet, but it was nicely formed and gave off a delicate air.
She gently touched the child’s earlobe. It was beautifully long. People always said that those with beautiful ears carried fortune in their lives. Bai Ruozhu remembered an elder in her previous life who claimed to know physiognomy, and once said that her small ears signified misfortune and a life of labor. As it was, she not only labored for over twenty years but had also passed away unexpectedly.
But who did the child look like? Would he resemble his father? Would she see her child’s father in him?
Lost in her thoughts, Bai Ruozhu started to feel sleepy. In the end, she decided that the child should resemble her. After all, didn’t they say that sons took after their mothers?
"The child doesn’t have a name yet. Maybe you could think of a nickname for him?" Lin Ping’er suddenly suggested. Bai Ruozhu was already drowsy, thus she gave an incoherent reply: "Call him Dengdeng."
In her belly, the child was always kicking her. This child was a real little scoundrel!
"Dengdeng?" Lin Ping’er clearly misunderstood, partly due to Bai Ruozhu’s sleepy voice.
Unfortunately, Bai Ruozhu was already asleep and unaware of her mother’s question. Lin Ping’er did not want to disturb her daughter further and carefully left the room.
Once she entered the main hall, her eyes welled up with tears. Bai Yihong was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "What happened? Weren’t you fine just now?"
Lin Ping’er sniffed, unable to hold back her tears any longer, and began to cry.
"My poor Ruozhu, even at this time, is still thinking about Chang Sheng. Do you know the nickname she chose for her child?"
"What is it?" Bai Yihong’s heart suddenly clenched. His heart ached for his daughter and his grandson who was born without meeting his father.
"Dengdeng," Lin Ping’er burst into tears after finishing her sentence.
"Dengdeng?" Bai Yihong’s eyes also reddened. The two of them sat there, sighing for a long time.
Little did Bai Ruozhu know that she had caused such a misunderstanding while she was sleeping. Lin Ping’er brought her meals without discussing the matter further, though her eyes looked a bit swollen.
Bai Ruozhu didn’t think much about it, assuming that her mother was just tired from looking after her and the baby. She simply encouraged her mother to have a good rest that night and reassured her that she would watch over the baby. If she needed help, she would call them from the room.
Lin Ping’er nodded without saying anything.
Right at that moment, the baby woke up. He didn’t cry but opened his eyes to look at Bai Ruozhu, although his gaze was unfocused. Bai Ruozhu then remembered, newborn babies’ vision isn’t fully developed; they can’t yet see people. Yet post-birth, she had thought her son was actually looking at her.
She started playing with the baby, and laughed, "Little Dengdeng, you have to behave better in the future. You can’t be as naughty as when you were in mom’s belly, always kicking me. The reason why I gave you this nickname is to remind you forever how you used to bully your mom."
Unthinkingly, she said those words. Yet her listeners were dumbstruck. Lin Ping’er thought she had heard wrongly. Softly she asked: "Does Deng mean stepping on people?"
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Yes, because he was always kicking me."
On hearing that, tears streamed down Lin Ping’er’s face, and she thought to herself, ’My dear daughter, be clear when you speak! Your poor mother cried for nothing. This is too exhausting.’
While Bai Ruozhu was busy playing with the baby, Lin Ping’er ran out to explain the name ’Dengdeng’ to Bai Yihong, who was also initially flabbergasted. After a moment, he managed to say: "What kind of name is that? The previous one was even better."
Rolling her eyes at him, Lin Ping’er retorted, "I would prefer him to be a little troublemaker rather than have my daughter and grandson keep waiting aimlessly for someone!"
Flummoxed, Bai Yihong came to realize the truth of her words.
Over the next few days, the construction of the Bai family’s new building was temporarily put on hold, so as not to disturb Bai Ruozhu and the baby’s rest. The family decided to resume the work after about ten days. This little delay wouldn’t be too much trouble.
The date for the Rural Examination was also drawing near. Bai Zepei mainly stayed inside and hardly ever left. Whenever he could spare a moment, he would spend time with Little Dengdeng. The whole family was smitten with this cute little baby.
In a few days, Bai Ruozhu began producing enough breast milk. Little Dengdeng gradually started getting plump and more adorably chubby.
Some of the villagers with close ties to the Bai family dropped by to visit, bringing gifts for the child as well. Everyone who saw the child praised his good looks, saying that the Bai family was indeed blessed to have such a precious grandson.
Zhou Deshun’s wife quietly asked Lin Ping’er about the child’s name. After learning that the child’s nickname was Dengdeng, she lowered her voice and asked Lin Ping’er, "What about his formal name? Does your father-in-law have to name him?"
Lin Ping’er sighed deeply. She truly believed that her father-in-law didn’t deserve to, but tradition was tradition. Even if they didn’t care about gossip, how would they handle the child’s entry into the family registry?
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The update today is a bit late. Mouka will try to adjust it and aim to update as early as possible in the future~