Chapter 397: Interlude

Chapter 397 -187: Interlude

Evening came.

Jiang Miao received a notification from the nurse that Shuya had woken up.

He hurried into the birthing room.

Shuya was lying on a hospital-style bed, which had been raised so she could sit up at an incline. The nurse had already taken their daughter out of the room.

“Ah Ya! How are you feeling?” Jiang Miao held her hand and gently brushed a lock of hair from her face. Despite having just given birth, her complexion was still rosy and glowing thanks to a specialized nutritional regimen and her regular exercise routine.

“I’m fine,” Shuya said with a faint smile, shaking her head slightly.

“Have some nutritional soup.”

“Okay.” Shuya nodded.

Nurse Bai had already taken the baby outside, leaving the couple alone.

He poured half a bowl of the specially prepared nutritional soup from a thermos. He was about to feed it to her with a spoon, but Shuya took it from him. “I’m just a little tired, not so weak I can’t hold a spoon.”

“Alright. You’ve been through a lot.”

“It was fine.”

Since the year 2000, the rate of cesarean sections among pregnant women in the country has risen sharply. This is mainly due to the abundance of modern nutrition, which causes babies to grow too large in the womb, making it difficult for them to pass safely through a natural birth. To reduce risks, hospitals can only recommend C-sections.

Furthermore, modern women engage in significantly less physical labor or exercise, which has indirectly led to poorer physical conditioning, leaving their muscles unable to push the baby out from the abdominal cavity.

Jiang Miao had specifically controlled Shuya’s diet to prevent the baby from becoming overweight. This, combined with Shuya’s well-exercised body from her long-term fitness routine, was what made this natural birth go so smoothly.

He had originally planned to take Shuya to the hospital on October 5th to await labor, with the scheduled date being October 10th.

Unexpectedly, her water broke early, so they had to attempt a natural birth at home.

Fortunately, everything went without a hitch.

After drinking half the bowl of nutritional soup, Shuya wiped her mouth. “Ah Miao, I plan to rest for a year or two before we have a second child.”

“That’s fine. We’re still young, so we can take our time.” Jiang Miao didn’t mind at all.

After all, they were only twenty-eight. A year or two was no big deal. As long as she wasn’t over thirty-five, the risks to the mother and child weren’t high, especially with a second pregnancy.

Shuya leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes. “Those two projects you gave me last time… I’m planning to start preliminary experiments in half a month.”

“Don’t be in such a rush. Rest for another month or two!”

“No need. I feel fine. I haven’t done any research for over half a year; I feel like I’m getting rusty. I’m so bored with nothing to do,” Shuya refused without hesitation.

“In that case, I’ll stay with you for ten days. I’m planning to make a trip to the Monan Branch on the tenth.”

Shuya kept her eyes closed, resting. “I know. But be careful when you’re out. Things are different now, and a lot of people are watching you.”

“Don’t worry. I never take unnecessary risks.”

“Bring Xiaoxuan over. I haven’t had a good look at her yet.”

“Okay!”

A moment later, Jiang Miao had the nurse, Bai Fang, bring their daughter in.

Shuya’s face was filled with motherly love as she held her daughter. But the moment she took the baby, who had been sucking her thumb, into her arms, the little one suddenly burst into a wail.

“WAAAAH…”

“Huh?” Shuya’s mind went completely blank.

Bai Fang quickly prompted, “Ma’am, try rocking her gently…”

Amid a flurry of awkward movements, Shuya finally managed to soothe her fussing daughter.

Jiang Miao had already chosen a name for their daughter: Jiang Lingxuan, which signified a clever and healthy girl.

He stayed at home with Shuya and their daughter for ten days.

Taking care of a baby was truly no easy task. If it weren’t for the two nurses, two nannies, and his mother constantly helping out, the couple wouldn’t have gotten any rest at all.

October 10th.

Shuya had recovered a great deal through rehabilitation exercises and had no intention of staying idle at home any longer. She began planning her return to research. However, she still made time every day to breastfeed her daughter. As a biological researcher, she was keenly aware of the importance of breast milk for a child.

Compared to formula, breast milk not only has nutrients that are better suited for human infants, but it also offers another crucial benefit: it contains the mother’s natural antibodies, which help the child quickly build immunity to their surrounding environment.

This was especially true since Shuya had been eating the nutritional meals prepared by Jiang Miao; all her physical indicators were exceptionally good, her immunity was very strong, and the quality of her breast milk was excellent.

On the same day, after bidding farewell to his family, Jiang Miao discreetly boarded a high-speed train and secretly headed north.

This time, however, Jiang Miao didn’t take his previous Yangcheng-Jiang City-Capital City route, nor did he take the Gannan-Jinling-Capital City route. Instead, he traveled along an entirely new path: the coastal route.

He made it a point to never take the same route twice on his trips, to prevent anyone from figuring out his travel patterns.

The high-speed train he took departed from Shanmei, passed through the Chaoshan Region, entered Fujian Province and Zhejiang Province, and then he disembarked in Shanghai. From there, he rented a car and drove to Chen Family Town on Chongming Island.

At the Yu’an Reclamation Area in Chen Family Town.

Jiang Miao met with Huang Huobing, the director of Yu’an Farm, who had been dispatched from headquarters last month.

“Boss, welcome to Yu’an Farm for your inspection.” Huang Huobing and the other farm managers immediately began to applaud.

“Alright, show me the farm.”

“Yes, Boss. This way, please.” Huang Huobing led the way.

This Yu’an Farm wasn’t large, only 2,500 mu. The reason it hadn’t been expanded was the limited local arable land. It had taken negotiations with the town government and the use of land-use quotas transferred from Monan Zhelimu City just to secure these 2,500 mu of wheat fields.