Chapter 658 - 341: Parenting Guide (Part 2)

Chapter 658: Chapter 341: Parenting Guide (Part 2)

Qingmu walked over, also holding a large bowl, and asked, "What is it?"

Juhua was just about to speak when little Hulu decided he’d had enough. Seeing her hold up the spoon but turn to talk to someone else instead of feeding him, he had apparently grown impatient. ’A rumbling tummy is more important than being polite,’ he must have thought. Taking matters into his own little hands, he tugged Juhua’s arm toward him, opened his mouth wide, and looked up at her expectantly.

Seeing this, Huai Zi and Qingmu burst out laughing.

Juhua chuckled too and quickly said, "Oh my! Our Hulu is so smart. Even if you’re not a big talker, you definitely won’t let anyone walk all over you. No one will be able to bully you in the future. That’s the way to be, don’t hold back. Here, have another bite."

Having finally gotten a bite, Hulu was delighted. Sitting in his baby walker, his little feet kicked wildly. He then pulled himself up by the walker’s edge, trying to get closer to Juhua, and greedily gobbled down the egg and rice she fed him.

Qingmu watched his son’s energetic display, looking extremely proud. He sat down beside them, smiling at the boy and occasionally feeding him a few grains of plain rice.

Just then, Liu Yunlan hurried over, still wearing her apron. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she said to Juhua, "Juhua, you go eat. I’ll feed him. I saved a plate for you on the stove, so you don’t have to squeeze in at the table with the others."

Juhua replied, "There’s only a little left, let me finish feeding him. I eat many small meals throughout the day, so I’m not that hungry. Why don’t you go eat first?"

Liu Yunlan insisted, "You should go eat first. After I’m done, I can just wash the dishes and feed the pigs. I’ll feed the baby now and put him down for a nap, and you can rest with him after your meal. Otherwise, once Zhao Feng wakes up and starts crying, none of you will get any sleep."

Juhua realized that was true, so she handed the bowl and spoon to Liu Yunlan to feed Hulu and hurried off to eat.

When she got to the kitchen, the scene made her smile. Zhao Qing must have been trying to wolf down her meal while her little brother was asleep. The little girl was sitting by the kitchen stove, holding a large, coarse porcelain bowl that seemed far too big for her. It was piled high with food, and she had her head buried in it, shoveling in bites and chewing as fast as she could. She looked just like a little child bride from the old days—the kind who would be hurriedly eating by the stove. ’Yes,’ Juhua thought, ’if only there were a little less food in her bowl, the picture would be complete.’

Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. "Qing’er, slow down, don’t choke. It’s okay if your brother wakes up and cries for a little while. You saw what happened this morning—he cries for a bit and then stops."

Zhao Qing looked up, chewed vigorously a few more times, and swallowed the food in her mouth. Her bright, dark eyes looked at Juhua as she explained, "I can’t. If he wakes up now, he’ll need to be cleaned up, his diaper changed, and then he’ll need to be fed. He won’t put up with being hungry, and his crying is deafening."

Juhua served herself some food and sat down at the small square table. "You still don’t have to rush so much," she said as she ate. "Your mother is the one who should be busy with all that. Your brother is still tiny, and his bones are soft. You really shouldn’t be the one holding him to go to the bathroom. You might not be able to hold him steady, and he could fall. So, just eat a little slower. Eating too fast is bad for your stomach."

Hearing this, Zhao Qing put her legs together, rested the bowl on her lap, and shook out her arms. "Sigh! I took too much. My arms are sore from holding the bowl."

Juhua smiled and asked, "Why are you using such a big bowl? Isn’t it tiring to hold? Come over here and eat at the table, then you won’t have to hold it." ’She must be doing it to save herself a trip,’ Juhua guessed.

Zhao Qing shook her head. "The stool is a little too low, so it hurts my neck to lean over the table. I just thought I’d get one huge bowl so I wouldn’t have to go back for seconds."

Juhua watched her with a gentle smile. ’During this busy farming season, she seems even more stressed and hurried than her parents. Sigh... such a little adult, already worrying about family matters at her age.’

Just then, Shi Tou’s mom also came in to eat. Juhua said to her, "Auntie, you’re so lucky to have a daughter as thoughtful as Qing’er. Even when she’s eating, she’s worried about her little brother, afraid he’ll wake up with no one to watch him."

Shi Tou’s mom boomed in her loud voice, "She just likes to make a fuss over nothing. What can she really do?" She dished out her food and sat down to eat with Juhua.

Juhua shook her head. ’These parents never consider their children’s feelings. They have a perfectly well-behaved, obedient child, but the way they talk makes her sound worthless. It really hurts a child’s fragile heart.’ Disapprovingly, she said aloud, "Qing’er is still so little, but every day she helps watch her brother, tends the fire for you, sweeps the floor, wipes the tables, feeds the chickens and ducks, and prepares the vegetables. Is that not enough? She’s just learning how to do chores. You should teach her more instead of always saying she can’t do anything right. It’s not like she’s a teenager. In any case, I think Qing’er is wonderful."

Seeing Juhua praise her daughter so highly, Shi Tou’s mom was also very pleased. She laughed and said, "If you praise her like that, it’ll go straight to her head."

Juhua saw Zhao Qing blush and fall silent, so she added, "No, she won’t."

After eating and cleaning up, Juhua took little Hulu to her sister-in-law’s bed for a nap. She was sleeping soundly when the piercing cries of Zhao Feng woke her up. She turned her head and saw that Hulu had been woken up too. His little hand was in his mouth, and he was staring at Juhua with his wide, dark eyes, not making a sound.

Juhua struggled to sit up, propping herself with one hand on the bed. She smiled at Hulu and said, "That Zhao Feng is such a crybaby, not at all like my well-behaved Hulu—you wake up and don’t even fuss at your auntie. Hulu baby, you’re the most well-behaved!" She teased him in a sing-song voice, gently tapping her finger on his lips. He happily kicked his chubby little legs and giggled up at her.

As the aunt and nephew were playing, Yun Ying walked in, smiling. "Lazybones, get up already. Everyone else is busy working. Hulu, you should get up and help your dad transplant rice seedlings and help your mom cook."

Juhua laughed. "Transplant seedlings and cook? Give him another ten years. Is Changyu’s wife feeling okay?"

Earlier that morning, Li Changyu had asked her to take a look at his wife, saying she was feeling a bit unwell.

Yun Ying smiled and picked up little Hulu. "I’m fine," she said as she started walking out. "I think I just wasn’t used to the new environment and caught a little chill."

Once in the courtyard, she held him over the chamber pot so he could relieve himself. Then, she turned little Hulu over, laid him face down on her lap, and skillfully changed his diaper. When she was done, she held him upright. Having taken care of his business, Hulu felt much lighter. He wrapped his little arms around her neck and snuggled his face into the crook of her neck, looking utterly content.