bookrandom Chapter 286 Giving out lucky money
Chapter 286 Giving out lucky money
In the future, if she encounters a difficult childbirth situation, she will no longer be at a loss. If she happens to meet a wealthy family, she can use this skill to successfully deliver the baby, ensuring the safety of both mother and child. The family will be overjoyed and excited, and the reward money will be plentiful.
Just thinking about it makes me happy!
Lin Xiaotang took out the largest piece of silver from her pocket and placed it in the midwife's hand.
"Mother-in-law, this is a reward for your hard work. Thank you for helping my mother give birth today."
The midwife reached out and looked at the loose silver in her hand. Half a tael of silver, not much. This family runs a pig's trotter shop. Giving only half a tael of silver? They're so rich, isn't it a bit stingy to give so little?
However, recalling the dangerous situation just now, if it weren't for this little girl's idea, if she really couldn't give birth during the difficult labor, it would have been fatal.
Forget about paying her a fee; she'd be lucky if her whole family didn't eat her alive.
It didn't take much effort, and half a tael of silver was a good deal!
After considering it in her mind, the midwife suddenly laughed and said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony. You all take good care of the mother and the baby. The baby is weak after giving birth, so make her more poached eggs. Don't let her eat too much meat or fish, hot or cold food. Make sure she has a good postpartum period."
Liu Cai'er and Aunt Xiangqin responded in unison, "Don't worry, we will take good care of Feng'er and the child. We've all given birth before, so we know how to take care of them."
The midwife left with a smile, and everyone went out to see her off.
After seeing the midwife off, Lin Xiaotang took out some loose silver coins to give out lucky money to everyone, starting with Aunt Xiangqin.
"Grandma Xiangqin, this is a small token of my father's appreciation, just for good luck."
When Aunt Xiangqin took a look, she was shocked to find that it was a piece of silver, worth at least several hundred coins. Her eyes widened in shock, and she was so excited that her tongue was tied in knots.
"Little Tang...you gave your aunt so much lucky money? Did you take the wrong one?"
Lin Xiaotang replied with a smile, "No mistake, one for each person, everyone gets one."
Upon hearing that everyone had something to offer, Wu Yu immediately gathered around. Shui Sheng and Xiao Jiu, who had gone out to deliver the offerings, also returned. He hurriedly shared the good news with Shui Sheng and Xiao Jiu.
When the two returned, they heard that Liu had given birth and that both mother and child were safe. They were both very happy for Liu and Lin Qingchuan.
Shui Sheng said frankly, "Since everyone has one, let's all join in the fun and share in the joy. We have another person with us today, it's a happy occasion, everyone should be happy."
A few days ago, Xiao Tang had just bought writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones for Xiao Jiu. When he returned, he tried to return the money to Xiao Tang, but she refused to accept it. He felt bad about it, and now he was asking for the lucky money. He was too embarrassed to ask for it. Although Shui Sheng and Uncle Wu Yu pulled him in front of Xiao Tang, he kept his hands behind his back, too embarrassed to accept the lucky money.
Lin Xiaotang took out three pieces of silver and gave them to Uncle Shuisheng and Uncle Wuyu respectively. She reached out to give the last piece to Xiao Jiu, but found that he had his hands behind his back, his face was red, and he looked extremely awkward.
She asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Everyone else has one, why don't you want one?"
Xiao Jiu blushed and said, "You hold this for me, I'll give you mine."
Lin Xiaotang chuckled and said, "What are you talking about? This lucky money is for everyone to share in the joy. If it's for you, just take it. Why are you giving it to me?" She grabbed Xiao Jiu's arm, pulled his hand out from behind his back, and then stuffed the loose silver into Xiao Jiu's hand.
She took out the remaining three, gave one to her fourth uncle and one to her aunt, and gave the last one to Xiaoyu, who had been eagerly waiting for it.
Shen Qianchuan blushed and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Xiao Tang, your fourth uncle has some too? We're all family, why be so polite?"
Liu Cai'er chimed in, "Yes, look at you, child, just give them some lucky money, Auntie..."
Lin Xiaotang immediately interrupted, "Auntie, we don't distinguish between close and distant relatives. We've been family for a long time. Since it's a celebratory gift, let's give it to everyone."
Shen Qianchuan nodded, then suddenly felt a little ashamed. "Fourth Uncle is such a grown man, yet he's not as enlightened as a little girl like you. You're right, we're family, no distinction between close and distant relatives. We should share good things together, and no one is lacking or lacking anything."
"Yes, that's exactly right!"
Everyone received lucky money and was overjoyed. Aunt Xiangqin and Liu Cai'er put the loose silver in their pockets and went to the kitchen to make poached eggs for their younger sister.
Xiaoyu held the loose silver coins, her face beaming with joy, even happier than when she wore new clothes and tied red ribbons during the New Year, because this was her first stash of money.
In the past, when her parents and sister took her out, they would just buy her food, drinks, and toys, and they never gave her a single copper coin, let alone any loose silver.
Having her own savings means she can buy her favorite snacks from now on. She's already thinking about what to buy first.
After giving out lucky money to everyone, Lin Xiaotang walked towards her parents' room. She saw her father lying by the bed. He had already placed her baby brother next to her mother. Both her mother and brother were sleeping soundly, and the room was quiet.
She said softly, "Father, you've been working hard all day. Why don't I stay here and you go and rest? Grandma Xiangqin and Auntie have gone to cook for Mother. They should be making lunch soon. You can come and keep Mother company after lunch."
Lin Qingchuan waved his hand, a hint of regret on his face. "I couldn't be by your mother's side when she gave birth, and I've been regretting it ever since. Now that I'm finally back, how can I go and rest? It's nothing for your father to drive the carriage and travel a little. Your mother's childbirth was the real hardship."
The midwife also said that Feng'er had a difficult childbirth. Fortunately, both mother and child were fine, otherwise, how would he have survived?
Seeing that her father insisted on staying with her mother and younger brother, Lin Xiaotang did not try to persuade him any further. Instead, she quietly took a wooden basin of dirty clothes and some cleaning cloth to clean up the bloodstains and filth and went out to place the basin next to the well to prepare for washing.
Liu Cai'er walked over from the kitchen carrying an empty wooden bucket. She was cooking, and the bucket was empty. She was about to fill it again when she saw her niece preparing to fetch water to wash the blood-stained and filthy clothes and cotton cloth.
She hurriedly said, "Xiao Tang, put it down quickly. These are all bloodstains and filth. Even adults are afraid to see them. How can you, a child, wash them? Put them down first, and your aunt will wash them after lunch."
“Auntie, I’m old enough to understand things now. These things won’t scare me. Don’t worry.”
How could Liu Cai'er be at ease? She thought, what if she frightened Xiao Tang and made her feel scared? What if she couldn't forget these bloody things when she grew up and got married?
"Alright, go check if the poached eggs are done yet. Aunt Xiangqin said hers tasted better, so I asked her to make them. Go help your auntie see if she really knows how to make them or if she's just making them to fill space."
Lin Xiaotang glanced at the wooden basin and hesitated, saying, "These are definitely hard to wash with bloodstains. Why don't we add water and soak them first, then wash them later?"
Liu Cai'er nodded in agreement, "That works too. Let's give it to Auntie. Auntie needs to fetch water anyway, so you should go to the kitchen."
"Ah."
Before Lin Xiaotang could even enter the kitchen, Aunt Xiangqin carried a bowl of thick poached eggs toward Lin Qingchuan and Liu's room. The soup was red, indicating that a lot of red sugar had been added, and there were plenty of eggs in the bowl as well.
Lin Xiaotang followed, and they walked together toward her parents' room.
The bowl was steaming hot, and Aunt Xiangqin was getting old. It was inconvenient for her to open the door while holding the bowl, so Lin Xiaotang reached out and gently pushed it open for her.
"Xiao Tang is so sensible," Aunt Xiangqin casually praised.
When they entered the room, Liu and her child were still asleep. Perhaps they were too exhausted, because Liu was not woken up by their comings and goings.
The child was also well-behaved and sensible. He was wrapped in a small blanket and slept comfortably, breathing evenly, with a rosy face.
Lin Qingchuan took the bowl and said, "Auntie, let it cool down first so I can feed her."
"Okay, but remember to wake her up and make sure she drinks it. Drinking it cold is bad for her health. As she gets older, she'll have diarrhea more often. Also, the baby should be hungry by now. If she doesn't drink it, there won't be any milk and the baby will go hungry, which would be terrible."
"Yes, I understand. It's all thanks to Auntie for taking care of things."
Aunt Xiangqin waved her hand, walked out of the room, and went to cook lunch with Liu Cai'er.
Shuisheng and Xiaojiu cleaned the pig's trotters and burned off the pig hair. Because Liu had given birth, Lin Qingchuan and Xiaotang were busy taking care of Liu and the baby, so they started working early. They were afraid that the two of them wouldn't be able to finish, and they also had to braise the pig's trotters at night, so they had to catch up on sleep in the evening.
The family was busy but harmonious.
Lin Qingchuan waited until the poached egg soup had cooled down enough before waking Liu Shi. If he wasn't worried about Liu Shi getting postpartum illnesses from drinking cold soup, he wouldn't have had the heart to wake her up when she was sleeping soundly.
"Feng'er, drink the fried egg."
Liu woke up groggily and got up, dragging her tired body. Lin Qingchuan immediately helped her sit up and personally fed her a fried egg.
Liu took a sip; the poached egg was fragrant, soft, and very smooth, and the soup was sweet. It was simply the best bowl of soup she had ever tasted in her life.
In the past, when she had two daughters, she didn't even drink a single poached egg during her two months of confinement. At first, her stepmother-in-law would pretend to cook some thick porridge for her, but later she simply let Qingchuan cook it herself.
Qingchuan felt sorry for him, so she secretly took an egg from the chicken coop, cracked it, and stirred it into the porridge. She finally got to drink porridge with egg bits in it, and she cried for a long, long time because she felt wronged.
When her husband saw her crying, he hurriedly wiped away her tears, comforted her for a long time, apologized, and blamed himself for not protecting her.
Nowadays, life is more prosperous. Not to mention the postpartum period, we don't have to worry about money or being reluctant to eat and drink whatever we want on a regular day.
Liu's eyes reddened slightly, but she was not one to hold grudges. Since separating from the Shen family, she had gradually become indifferent to the situation, and the unpleasantness in her heart dissipated. In the end, she did not shed any tears.
She smiled and said, "Dad, this fried egg is really delicious."
"If Aunt Xiangqin makes it and you like it, I'll make it for you next time. Just tell me in advance what you want to eat or drink. As long as I'm home, I'll take care of your meals."
Ms. Liu nodded, her face beaming with happiness. She now has both a son and a daughter, and her husband treats her well. She feels that her life has been worthwhile.
After she finished her bowl of poached eggs and lay down, the little one woke up, first whimpering, and then bursting into tears.
Liu quickly hugged the little one and let him drink milk. Because he had just given birth, his milk hadn't come in yet. The little one grabbed the milk and sucked hard for a few mouthfuls, but when he couldn't get any milk, he let go and continued to cry.
Lin Qingchuan was at a loss and didn't know what to do. He said anxiously, "How about I make him a bowl of brown sugar water?"
Liu scolded, "A newborn baby can't drink anything flavorful, and you can't put sugar in it. Go quickly and pour him some boiled water, bring another bowl to let it cool down, and bring a clean, unused new spoon. Feed him some tea first."
Upon receiving the order, Lin Qingchuan immediately went out to get busy.
In the kitchen, Aunt Xiangqin and Liu Cai'er were cooking lunch and had already boiled water. When they heard that the little one had woken up but had no milk to drink, they immediately poured tea, cooled it in two bowls, and handed it to Lin Qingchuan, urging him to hurry up and feed the little one.
After the little guy drank a few sips of tea, he smacked his lips and stopped drinking. He opened his eyes and looked around curiously. His eyes were dark and bright, and he was very well-behaved and cute.
Lin Xiaotang leaned closer and saw her younger brother, her heart melting instantly.
"Oh my god, Dad, Mom, my little brother is so cute!"
Liu said gently, "You and Yu'er were even cuter when you were little. The little girl was so sweet and soft that I couldn't bear to look away. But your little brother is also cute. All babies are like this when they are first born, so tiny and cute that it melts your heart."
Lin Xiaotang knew that babies were sweet and soft. When Xiaoyu was little, she often held her and played with her every day. But her family was poor, and her parents didn't even have a bronze mirror in their room. She never saw what she looked like when she was little. Later, when she could walk, she would look at the blurry reflection in the water basin.
However, she has double eyelids, an oval face, and a very regular appearance, thanks to her good-looking parents who passed on their good genes to her.
Lin Qingchuan stayed with his wife and children for a long time. After they fell asleep, he went to the well to work with everyone else.
Two days later, Liu's complexion improved significantly, and she was able to get out of bed and take care of the baby on her own. However, Aunt Xiangqin and Liu Cai'er did not allow her to get up and do anything. They both insisted that she lie down and rest properly so that she could have a good postpartum period.
The pig's trotter shop's business has gradually improved. Many passing merchants bought some and then traveled back by boat to buy more after a while. Some customers even placed orders.
This kept everyone very busy, and in the end, Lin Xiaotang decided to hire two young women to help out at the store.
Firstly, the work in the shop isn't strenuous, so there's no need to ask the shop assistants for help. Bai Ri's father and Uncle Shui Sheng have both gone out to deliver supplies, leaving only Uncle Wu Yu in the shop. The backyard is full of women, and it wouldn't be convenient to hire two grown men to clean the pig's trotters by the well in the backyard. Secondly, hiring young women would be cheaper, which would save on costs.
Lin Xiaotang wrote a simple job posting, and after posting it for a short while, several young women came to apply. This was all within her expectations, because in this era, it was still very difficult for women to find work, unless they could become cooks or wet nurses in wealthy households.
She selected two good-looking and honest-looking women from among seven or eight women, then sent the rest of the women out the door, and also tore down the job postings outside.
The two women in the shop were surprised to see that the person who had greeted them was a young girl. They were first taken aback, then became nervous and flustered.