Chapter 589. At Grandpa’s House
“Dad, Dad.”
In the small yard of Grandpa’s house, Wen Yang was seriously repeating to his daughter, “Come, learn from me, Dad.”
The once exquisite little courtyard had not been properly maintained for a long time—leaves and weeds were everywhere, with only a patch in front of the gate still somewhat clean. The big black dog in the yard had passed away long ago, leaving only a stone-brick doghouse and a rusty iron chain.
Ning Chu came out of the house slowly, holding a sugar orange, “Why are you calling her Dad?”
“I’m teaching her to speak.”
Their daughter babbled some unintelligible sounds, completely ignoring Wen Yang’s lesson.
“Here, an orange.”
Ning Chu split the sugar orange in half and handed it over, saying, “I’m going to the little shop to check. Grandpa and Grandma are probably there watching others play mahjong.”
It was rare for them to bring their child along, and she intended to surprise the elders, but although the door was wide open, Grandpa and Grandma were nowhere in sight.
This situation was quite common, but Ning Chu hesitated a bit as she walked towards the little shop.
Unlike the apartment buildings in the city, she still didn’t know her neighbors’ names here; in this little village, almost all the elders recognized her and knew she had once been a man.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be reluctant to visit Grandpa; every time she brought tonic wine, it was Wen Yang who went to get it.
It wasn’t New Year’s, and standing at the village entrance, she saw very few people; most of the doors were tightly shut, with only a couple of old men and women visible.
Ning Chu arrived at the busiest little shop in the area. As soon as she opened the door, she was choked by a thick cloud of smoke and began to cough.
The noisy space quieted for a moment.
When she looked up, she found that the small room had two tables of mahjong. Apart from the eight people playing, there were several elderly folks chatting and watching the game, including her Grandpa and Grandma.
“Grandpa…”
The sudden intrusion caused most of the old men to turn and look at Ning Chu. Feeling a bit shy, she called out softly, her head bowed, and hurriedly moved forward.
“Why didn’t you say anything before coming?” Grandma beamed, getting up and affectionately wrapping her arms around Ning Chu, “I haven’t seen your child yet; you brought her back this time, right?”
“Yeah.”
Among the younger generation, only Ning Chu had inherited her Grandma’s same kind of curvature, making her the most preferred grandchild in her Grandma’s heart.
“Let’s go~ to the street to buy vegetables and get something you love to eat.”
Grandpa rolled up his sleeves and jokingly scolded, “Wen Yang comes every now and then, but you hardly come over the whole year; this time you actually made the effort to come. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was my grandson.”
Ning Chu could only awkwardly chuckle, “Well, it’s not bad to treat him like a grandson…”
Under the gazes of the crowd, she felt uncomfortable, and she could vaguely hear discussions about her, but it was all too jumbled to make out a single sentence.
“Let’s go, let’s go…”
She pulled her Grandma’s arm, heading out, “Wen Yang is waiting for you two; he didn’t eat breakfast before coming and is starving.”
Grandpa and Grandma were both in their seventies or eighties, but the Succubus age pretty well, so Grandma looked to be around forty or fifty, slightly plump, and remarkably healthy.
However, Grandpa’s face was already marked with age spots, and though he still stood straight, he walked a bit unsteadily.
Ning Chu thoughtfully supported her Grandpa. Suddenly, she envisioned herself and Wen Yang, old and gray, walking unsteadily in the future.
Looks like they should ease up a bit—I want Wen Yang to still have the same energy as Grandpa when he’s seventy or eighty and not be so worn out that he’s half foot in the grave…
Back in the small courtyard, Grandpa and Grandma immediately spotted the stroller in front of Wen Yang.
“Grandpa…”
Before Wen Yang could finish his greeting, the two elders eagerly went up to him, pushing him aside to lean down and check on the baby in the stroller.
“Oh~ What a beautiful little girl~”
Hearing Grandma’s praise, an inexplicable sense of achievement surged within Ning Chu, and she proudly placed her hands on her hips, saying, “Do you even know who her mother is~ How could she not be pretty?”
“Are you planning to have another boy? So she’ll have a companion.” Grandma picked the child up from the stroller and turned her head to ask.
“This…” Ning Chu looked over at her husband.
Wen Yang firmly refused, “Let’s skip that; having a child is too tough—one daughter is enough.”
The memory of Ning Chu’s painful delivery a few months ago was still fresh in his mind, and at that moment, he felt helpless, only able to offer verbal comfort. Every time he thought back on it, his heart ached. He absolutely didn’t want to see Ning Chu go through that again.
“We need a boy to carry on the family line~”
“It’s fine; I don’t care about that.”
Grandpa nodded, “What age are we in? When I’m gone, let’s see how often they offer up incense for me.”
“Can you say something auspicious?” Grandma glared at him with mock anger, “What do you mean ‘gone’?”
Usually, Grandpa was in charge at home, but when scolded by Grandma, he didn’t object, just discretely changed the subject. He bent down and picked up the child from the stroller, “Come~ Let your great-grandpa hold you.”
“She’s really pretty, her eyes are like Ning Chu’s, and her nose resembles Wen Yang a bit,” Grandpa chuckled, “When she grows up, she’ll definitely be a big beauty.”
The usually obedient and quiet daughter looked at her great-grandpa, pouted her lips, and cried out loud.
The sharp wail instantly frayed Ning Chu’s nerves. She hurriedly stepped forward, panicking as she reached out:
“Grandpa, I’ll hold her. She might not be used to it.”
The sound of a baby crying was something she could never tolerate; it was sharp and high-pitched, enough to give anyone a headache.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry, that’s your great-grandpa…”
Grandma rode off on her electric bike to the market, while Ning Chu paced back and forth in the yard, trying to soothe the baby.
Grandpa looked at the two of them and asked Wen Yang, “How’s work going? Can you support the two of them?”
“Recently expenses have been high, plus there’s a mortgage to pay—whatever I earn just goes out, and my wallet keeps getting thinner.” Wen Yang shook his head in distress, “It might get better after a while; the baby just arrived, and there’s a lot we need to buy… for example, that stroller cost over a thousand, and Ning Chu insisted on getting it, saying it could be used until she’s five.”
Grandpa laughed, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes, “By five, she’ll be able to run around; who would want to sit in it every day?”
Wen Yang shrugged, “Buy it anyway, as long as it makes her happy.”
“Hubby! Hubby!”
Ning Chu rushed back to Wen Yang, a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead and her eyes glistening with moisture, “She’s been crying, nonstop…”
“Is she hungry?”
“No… I’ve checked everything.”
Flustered and anxious, she shoved the baby into Wen Yang’s arms: “The diaper’s changed, she won’t drink milk, and I’ve tried distracting her for ages, yet she still cries.”
Wen Yang soothingly comforted his wife while also soothing the baby, “Don’t panic; what kid doesn’t cry?”
“There must be a reason for her crying… Is she sick? Should we take her to the hospital? She’s never cried like this before.”
“Is it too hot?”
“Ah?”
Wen Yang carried the baby towards the house, complaining, “On such a hot day, you dressed her in two layers; you’d feel uncomfortable if you had to wear them for long.”
“I wear two layers at home too…”
“The air conditioning runs twenty-four hours here; look, her face is all red.”
Sure enough, once they entered the cool indoors, the baby’s crying noticeably softened.
“You need to calm down; don’t panic just because she’s crying,” Wen Yang said, looking back at his wife, who was trailing closely behind, “You didn’t used to be so anxious.”
“I… um.”
Ning Chu replied while still nervously peeking at their daughter in Wen Yang’s arms.
It was obvious she hadn’t absorbed any of it.
Wen Yang sighed lightly, “It’s fine; if she keeps crying, just let me handle it. When you get worked up, it just makes things chaotic.”
Ever since they had their daughter, Ning Chu had clearly changed a lot.
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