The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

Several large men carried the tricycle, along with the rider, out of the gate.

After all, there are several steps from the front yard to the gate.

It's inconvenient to push a cart out of the compound gate.

With a tricycle, a pregnant woman, seven or eight big men, plus Yang Dalin, a strongman, it was actually quite easy to carry her out.

Once outside the courtyard, Ma San'er rode off on his tricycle.

Xu Damao and Wen Xiumei sat on the side of the car to help look after Guo Xiuying.

Yang Dalin's family had two bicycles, and Xu Damao's family had one bicycle, which were ridden by three people, each carrying three more people.

They followed behind and beside the tricycle, escorting it to the hospital.

Yang Dalin was thinking that if Ma San got tired, he could ride the tricycle for him.

Surprisingly, Ma San'er pedaled all the way to the nearest hospital without complaining of being tired.

I never expected this kid to have gained so much strength recently.

I guess he developed those skills from driving for the past two years.

We have plenty of meat, eggs, and vegetables at home.

It's no wonder Ma San gained strength from eating at Qi's house.

Upon arriving at the hospital entrance, Yang Dalin went inside, called the doctor, and brought out a wheeled hospital bed.

Everyone carried Guo Xiuying to the hospital bed.

They carried them up the steps together.

She was taken to the delivery room.

Several women followed Xu Damao and waited at the door.

Xu Damao finally came to his senses.

An older woman named Wen Xiumei told Xu Damao.

"Da Mao, Da Linzi just got back from a business trip today and probably hasn't eaten yet. Let the men go back first."

Some of them have to go to work tomorrow.

Try to notify your parents and ask them to come over, bringing prepared baby clothes or diapers.

It's only right that your mother take care of your wife during her postpartum period after she gives birth.

Also, I'll have Zhu Zi ask you to take a day or two off at work tomorrow; you'll probably need to stay with him for that too.

Xu Damao nodded: "Yes, thank you very much, Auntie."

I was a bit flustered just now, mainly because it was my wife's first time giving birth and she had no experience.

Dalinzi, San'er, Dalige, thank you all for today. You can go back now, since you weren't really of much help.

Some of you will have to go to work tomorrow.

I'll go back and tell you the good news after your sister-in-law gives birth. Aunt Qi, why don't you go back and cook for Dalinzi first?

He just got back from his business trip; it's been so long, and you haven't seen him at all.

Aunt Qi couldn't just leave right now, so she said, "It's alright, Da Mao, don't worry. I can go back after Xiu Ying gives birth and your mother comes."

Yan Hua cooks for him at home, and Da Linzi didn't just leave after only a day or two.

He said he was coming back for the Lunar New Year and would stay until after the holiday.

I'm not in a hurry to go home. I'll stay and see if there's anything I can help with.

After all, it involves the important matter of Xu Damao's wife giving birth.

My aunt's words make sense.

Yang Dalin, Ma San, and Niu Dali went back first.

After all, it was someone else's wife giving birth, and there wasn't much the men could do to help.

It's still inconvenient.

When Yang Dalin got home, Sister Yanhua had already prepared dinner for him.

We had a cozy dinner.

Distribute the gifts to Ma San'er, Sister Yan, and Xiao Ning.

Yang Dalin wasn't sleepy; he wanted to wait for his aunt to come back.

I waited until almost midnight.

Aunt Qi is back.

It is said that Xu Damao's wife gave birth smoothly, and both mother and daughter are safe. Xu Damao's wife gave birth to a daughter for him.

However, when Xu Damao's mother saw that it was her granddaughter, her face fell a little.

However, Xu Damao seemed to like it quite a bit.

They say daughters are good, like a warm cotton-padded jacket; sons can come later.

It seems Xu Damao is a bit of a doting father to his daughter.

That's good. As long as her father doesn't favor boys over girls, this girl shouldn't have to suffer so much in the future.

Xu Damao's father, Xu Fugui, seemed to be doing alright.

She wasn't unhappy just because she's a granddaughter.

They also said they would hold a banquet in the compound when the baby turned one month old.

My aunt said that on the third day, the neighbors in the courtyard went to the hospital to visit the mother and baby.

Originally, many women would go home to recuperate after giving birth.

Xu Damao said that his wife should stay in the hospital for a few more days.

Go home once your condition has completely stabilized.

Xu Damao did a good job in this regard.

He's a doting husband who's willing to spend money on his wife.

Unlike many women in Beijing who go straight home after giving birth, she doesn't.

It's also possible that Xu Damao is well-off and wealthy.

It's getting late, my aunt said to get some rest.

Let's talk again the next day.

Yang Dalin also went back to his room to rest.

The next day, Yang Dalin first went to the freight station with Sister Yan and Ma San'er.

I also brought some gifts for Station Master Wang of the freight station, Team Leader Li of the fleet, and many colleagues, as a way of wishing them a Happy New Year in advance.

He had too many leaders and friends to visit during the Chinese New Year.

It's good to visit some people in advance so that we can have more time for them.

After all, his relationship with Station Chief Wang was not as good as his relationship with Qi Desheng.

I will definitely visit Brother Qi Desheng during the Chinese New Year.

I spent half the morning at my workplace, and then came to the new courtyard on Dongsi Shitiao ahead of time at noon.

Aunt Qi said she would cook a nice lunch for Yang Dalin here today.

It's not very convenient to live in the No. 95 courtyard of Nanluoguxiang.

It's more convenient to have a detached house here.

Yang Dalin arrived early to prepare to order food.

It saves my aunt from having to go through the trouble of cooking lunch.

Yang Dalin plans to have a get-together with Sheng Ge and Tian Ge here tonight.

Before cooking, Yang Dalin looked around the yard and the room.

The boiler here has never been lit because no one has lived here for a long time.

Yang Dalin lit the boiler. He had plenty of coal and firewood, and he planned to keep it burning from today until it got warmer in the spring.

I also went to check out the west and east courtyards.

There are still many cabbages and radishes that haven't been harvested in the glass greenhouse in the west courtyard.

They also grow other vegetables, such as cilantro, scallions, and garlic.

That's great, you can just dig it up whenever you want.

Yang Dalin glanced at the fruit trees in the east courtyard; some of them needed pruning later.

Xiaoning said that last year the fruit trees here had many flowers but few fruits.

Yang Dalin's family had fruit trees in his previous life, so he had some experience with them.

I've figured out the reason.

It's probably because there was no artificial pollination.

Even in the 21st century, even if there are beekeepers in their vicinity, the pear trees still need artificial pollination.

There's no other way; we can't avoid artificial pollination, or we'll risk affecting the fruit set rate.

Relying solely on bees is too unreliable.

So I'll have to teach Ma San'er and Xiao Ning how to collect flowers, make pollen, and then do artificial pollination.

There's also the problem of a fruit tree bearing too much fruit.

Fruit should also be thinned appropriately.

Otherwise, if there are too many fruits, they won't grow very big.

We also need to prune the branches.

It seems that fruit tree dwarfing technology has not yet been introduced in China.

These fruit trees all need to have their tops removed, branches pulled back, and their tree shape changed.

Don't just focus on growing taller.

That would also affect the sunlight reaching the fruit below.

After looking around the east courtyard, Yang Dalin went to the kitchen to get busy.

The kitchen is also connected to underfloor heating.

The temperature inside has risen by now.

You don't need to wear such thick clothes indoors.

Before his aunt arrived, Yang Dalin had already stewed a chicken, cooked a pot of mutton, and steamed two sea fish.

Aunt Qi came over from get off work and stir-fried two kinds of vegetables. She heated up some steamed buns, and we could eat.

Yan Jie and Ma San'er returned at noon.

The family enjoyed a lively lunch together.

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