Chapter 205: Chapter 191: Third Son Feeding the Baby (Second Update)
When the Song family arrived, the entire Xie family, young and old, was already seated in the restaurant.
Xie Zheng hadnât ordered food yet, saying that they should wait for Uncle and Aunt to arrive, see what they liked, and order according to their preferences.
The meal, on the surface, was suggested by Song Wei as a treat, but as soon as Xie Zheng entered, he had already given a deposit to the shopkeeper, saying they would settle the balance after the meal.
All along, Xie Zheng felt grateful to Song Wei. If it werenât for Song Wei, he wouldnât have been able to leave the private school, return to the academy, and participate in the provincial exam.
If it werenât for Song Wei, he wouldnât have been able to face it calmly when he was criticized after passing the provincial exam and couldnât leave the house.
When he went to Beijing, he received much care from Song Wei.
The small courtyard he lived in now was also obtained thanks to Song Wei.
As for the pickled jar that was at their house, Xie Zheng didnât know how much it was worth, nor was he interested. All he remembered was that if it werenât for his third cousin, his parents and brothers wouldnât have been able to settle down properly in Beijing.
Given their familyâs current situation, they could afford to buy a regular small courtyard, but buying the courtyard would leave them with nothing, let alone capital for his second brother Xie Tao to start a business.
While Xie Zheng was mentally listing the favors he owed Song Wei, the Song family had already arrived.
When Aunt Xie saw them, she stood up and greeted, "Finally youâre here. Brother-in-law and sister-in-law, weâve been waiting for you for quite a while."
Granny Song responded, "Since the two families are gathering for a meal, shouldnât we all be together? Fangniang finished school late, so we had no choice but to wait."
"Come on, have a seat!" Aunt Xie personally pulled out chairs for Granny Song and Old Song.
Wen Wan sat next to Song Wei, holding Jinbao.
Xie Zheng called the waiter over to let Uncle and Aunt order the dishes.
Granny Song had just arrived in the Capital and had no idea what was good to eat, so she let Xie Zheng order.
Old Song wasnât picky and said he could eat anything.
The task of ordering eventually fell on Song Fang.
There were too many people, so they couldnât cater to just one or two tastes. As the juniors, it was natural for them to accommodate the elders.
She ordered several main dishes and a specialty soup based on her parentsâ and uncle and auntâs preferences. Before the waiter left, she also asked for a bowl of baby porridge to be served first.
Thus, Jinbao became the first to start eating.
The little guy couldnât sit very well yet, so every time Wen Wan placed him on her lap, she had to use a hand to support his back to prevent him from falling.
But today with Song Wei around, Wen Wan could relax a bit and just hold onto Jinbao.
Song Wei personally fed him when the porridge was brought over.
The little guy had already had a feed before coming, so he might not be that hungry. After a couple of bites, he turned his chubby face away, curiously looking around at the people nearby.
His little eyes were dark and bright.
"Jinbao, come on, time to eat." His fatherâs gentle voice sounded next to his ear.
The little guy might have been influenced and slowly turned his head back, cooperatively taking a few more bites. But when fed again, he kept spitting it out, leaving his bib covered with porridge and drool.
Song Wei put down the small bowl and took out a cloth to carefully wipe him clean.
Jinbao grabbed the cloth in his fatherâs hand, trying to stuff it into his mouth.
Wen Wan looked at him sternly and took the cloth away.
The little guy extended his hand trying to reach it for a long time but couldnât get it, so he began to cry out of grievance, seemingly holding a grudge against his mom and not wanting her, stretching his body towards his dad for a hug.
Song Wei lifted the little guy from Wen Wanâs lap, placed his large hands under his armpits, and lifted him high a few times. The little guy started giggling with delight.
Wen Wan: "..."
She took care of him day and night, treating him like a little ancestor, yet he preferred his dad whom heâd only met a day ago?
Song Fang sat next to Wen Wan, seeing her gloomy expression, whispered, "When Yuanbao was little, Third Brother took care of him this way. In terms of experience in raising children, Sister-in-law definitely canât match Third Brother."
Wen Wan smiled, "Third Son is Jinbaoâs father. With his dad around, I have nothing to worry about."
There was just a slight heartache over Jinbaoâs fickle nature, switching affections so quickly. He used to think he inherited from his dad, but now, he seemed to have grown skewed on his own.
Once Jinbao was in his dadâs arms, he kept moving around, wanting to be lifted high and then rocked a bit. When the dishes were served, Song Wei barely ate, completely focused on serving this little ancestor.
Since her husband had to go to the government office early the next day, Wen Wan didnât want him to go hungry, so she quickly finished her meal and got up to swap places with him so he could eat.
Jinbao was just as tired from the fuss and soon fell asleep, allowing Wen Wan a momentâs peace.
At the dinner table, Aunt Xie delicately inquired about Song Fangâs marriage prospects.
Song Fang was too shy to face it, so Song Wei stepped in for her, explaining that there hadnât been any progress because he hadnât yet passed as an advanced scholar, making it difficult to find a suitable match in the Capital.
Now, having entered the Hanlin, his social circle had changed, and they were already seeking a suitable match for her.
Granny Song noticed that Song Wei didnât mention the General Chang Weiâs Mansion and understood, so she and Old Song pretended to know nothing and kept their heads down eating.
Aunt Xie nodded, saying that after marrying into the Xie Family for so many years without a daughter, she had always regarded Fangniang as her own. Now, seeing her transformation at the Hongwen Academy, becoming prettier and more intelligent, she was happy as an aunt. But thinking that her nieceâs marriage was not settled, she couldnât help but worry for her.
Song Fangâs face turned red with embarrassment throughout.
The families parted ways shortly after the meal, and as they were settling the bill, Song Wei realized Xie Zheng had already paid a deposit. Just as he thought to pay the remainder, Xie Zheng beat him to it.
Song Wei could see Xie Zheng wanted to do him a favor, said nothing more, exchanged a few idle words, and left the restaurant.
Back at the courtyard in the alley, Wen Wan placed Jinbao in the cradle and went to the kitchen to prepare a bath for her husband, while Song Fang took Yuanbao to tidy rooms for Old Song and Granny Song.
With plans to move soon to the house near the Hanlin Academy, it wasnât important to have elders in the north room and juniors in east or west rooms; just having bedding to sleep on was enough.
Having just arrived in Beijing during the day, everyone was tired, and they went to bed particularly early that night.
The small courtyard in the alley was unusually quiet in the late autumn night.
In the main bedroom, Wen Wan, having finished her bath, sat by the bed as Song Wei took the towel from her hands to dry her hair.
Wen Wan thought about what she had seen when Jinbao was born and asked, "Husband, did something happen during your exams?"
Song Wei paused slightly, "Yuanbao didnât tell you?"
Wen Wan replied ambiguously, "He did, I just wanted to see how honest you would be with me."
Song Wei wasnât easily fooled, with a slight curl to his lips, "Since Yuanbao told you, whatever he said, thatâs what it was."
Wen Wan wanted to ask more, but Song Wei put down the towel and gently lifted the quilt for her, "Itâs late, and since youâre nursing, you shouldnât stay up too late; itâs not good for you."
Wen Wan had to swallow her words and obediently went to sleep.
As dawn approached, she was awakened by Jinbaoâs crying.
Opening her eyes, Wen Wan put on her outer garments, got out of bed, and adeptly picked up the little one to nurse him.
Clearly starving, the little one hungrily reached out to grab her blouse as soon as he was in his motherâs arms.
Wen Wan unfastened the buttons to let him drink, stifling a yawn.
When Jinbao cried, Song Wei also woke up. Seeing it was still early, he didnât get up, but turned to Wen Wan, asking softly, "Does Jinbao always need to nurse at this time?"
Wen Wan thought for a moment and shook her head, "Not always, sometimes he cries in the middle of the night."
Having raised Yuanbao himself, Song Wei knew the hardships of caring for a child and advised her, "Try to feed him well before bed, so it doesnât disrupt your night too much."
As they whispered to each other, the little one fell back asleep, his small mouth smacking softly a couple of times.
Wen Wan gently removed him, pulling down her nightgown and carefully placing her son back in the cradle.
She turned to meet Song Weiâs gentle gaze.
In the manâs eyes, there was the drowsy laziness of just waking up.
It had been so long since they had seen each other, and Wen Wan couldnât help but be captivated.
Seeing this, Song Wei couldnât help but chuckle, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Wen Wanâs face showed an embarrassed warmth at being found out, and she shook her head, "I just wanted to ask what really happened during your exams?"
Her husband was about to head to the government office, and she didnât want to be left wondering all day.
Seeing her insistence, Song Wei remained silent for a while before honestly recounting what had happened during the exams.
She learned that he had developed a high fever during the exams and, with the room leaking, was thoroughly drenched and fell seriously ill.
Wen Wan couldnât help but sigh; what she had seen when Jinbao was born was a delayed premonition and entirely true.
At the same time, she regretted not being by his side then.
Song Wei said: "Itâs all over now, enduring it has been good, thereâs no need to dwell on it."