Chapter 1631 - 1626: Yu Si Niang Rebukes Mrs. Li (First Update)

Da Bao’s heart-wrenching cries reached the ears of Yu Si Niang, who just happened to be passing by.

Yu Si Niang hurriedly ran to the door of the room where Mrs. Li was feeding the children and knocked on it with her hand.

"Sister-in-law, are you in there? Why are Da Bao and Er Bao crying so hard!"

Up till now, both Yu Si Niang and Feng Xiaohua thought the one who’d been nursing the babies all along was the elder sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhang.

So everyone had been quite at ease.

Inside the room, when Mrs. Li heard Yu Si Niang’s voice, her heart gave a jolt; she was so scared she almost threw Da Bao out of her hands.

But she quickly steadied herself again.

She checked carefully and found nothing wrong, but then worried that Yu Si Niang would soon question her about why the babies were crying.

Without thinking, Mrs. Li picked up a bowl of water from the table and splashed it toward Da Bao and Er Bao’s bottoms; both babies’ pants were soaked.

Da Bao and Er Bao cried even harder!

Now that the babies had "wet themselves," crying became inevitable, and she could make sure no blame fell on her.

Mrs. Li held Da Bao, wearing a kindly expression, and went to open the door.

Seeing Mrs. Li open the door, Yu Si Niang was stunned on the spot.

She asked, "Why are you the one feeding the babies? Where’s elder sister-in-law?"

Mrs. Li gave Yu Si Niang a silly grin. "Si Niang, elder sister-in-law went to pick spring tea, she’s too busy. Mother handed the job of nursing the babies over to me!"

Yu Si Niang frowned. She had never been able to warm up to this second sister-in-law.

Leaving everything else aside, just the fact that she’d given Sixth Son an aphrodisiac in order to monopolize the tea field was a thorn lodged in Yu Si Niang’s heart that she’d never managed to pull out.

Now that Mrs. Li had been divorced and was freeloading at home, she felt even more strongly that Mrs. Li’s character was bad.

"Why are Da Bao and Er Bao crying so badly?" Yu Si Niang asked.

"Oh, look at my memory—Da Bao and Er Bao peed themselves. I was just about to change their pants when you came, Si Niang, so here you are. I’ll go change their clothes right away!"

Mrs. Li said this and turned to leave.

Yu Si Niang happened to see that Da Bao’s crotch was soaked through.

Her heart instantly felt like it had been pricked by needles.

She stepped forward and snatched Da Bao out of Mrs. Li’s arms.

"This is such a big deal, and you... you actually went to open the door first instead of changing Da Bao and Er Bao’s clothes!" Yu Si Niang reproached Mrs. Li.

Mrs. Li put on a wronged expression. "Si Niang, it’s not like I wanted to. You just happened to knock at that moment; I couldn’t just leave you hanging, could I?"

"Even if you leave me hanging, you can’t leave the children freezing!" Yu Si Niang said righteously.

As she spoke, she helped Da Bao and Er Bao change their clothes.

Yu Si Niang had nursed three children herself, after all; her hands were practiced, her movements gentle.

In her arms, Da Bao and Er Bao quickly stopped crying.

She glanced at the bowl of sheep’s milk sitting on the table and asked, "They haven’t eaten yet?"

"That’s right, I was just about to feed them when the two babies peed. Then you came, so they haven’t had the milk yet. Give them to me, I’ll feed them now!" Mrs. Li said, all enthusiasm.

Yu Si Niang put Da Bao into the cradle beside her and tested the temperature with the back of her hand.

The sheep’s milk was already cold. How could you feed that to the babies?

Her face fell at once. "The milk is cold. If the babies drink it, they’ll get diarrhea!"

"It’s cold already? I’ll go heat it!" Mrs. Li said, reaching for the bowl, and Yu Si Niang just happened to see that under her fingernails was all black, filthy gunk.

How could hands that dirty be used to feed children?

"Don’t... no need! I’ll go milk again and cook it for the babies," Yu Si Niang said.

"Then what about this milk?" Mrs. Li asked with fake concern.

"Pour it out," Yu Si Niang replied without the slightest hesitation.

"All right, I’ll go pour it out, I’ll go pour it out!"

With that, Mrs. Li picked up the bowl of sheep’s milk and rushed out, not sparing a glance for the babies.

Yu Si Niang grew even more certain that she needed to talk to her mother later; the babies simply could not be left in Mrs. Li’s care.

Yu Si Niang wrapped Da Bao and Er Bao carefully in cloth slings, then hung one in front and strapped the other to her back.

Country women sometimes had children one after another, or had twins and no one to help, so they could only manage on their own.

One slung on the chest, one carried on the back, and even one held by the left hand and another by the right.

That was how Yu Si Niang carried the two children as she first went into the kitchen and carefully washed her hands until they were perfectly clean.

She scalded the big bowl used for milking with boiling water.

Then she drew a basin of water and used a clean towel to carefully wash the sheep’s udder, bit by bit, before she began to milk.

Her movements were very gentle, and she was fast as well. In no time, she had a bowl of sheep’s milk.

From the moment Yu Si Niang picked up the babies, they hadn’t cried again.

They rested quietly in her arms and on her back.

Even while she was milking the sheep, Da Bao and Er Bao, catching the smell of milk, instinctively smacked their lips.

They must really be hungry. A touch of softness came to Yu Si Niang’s face, and she sped up her movements once more.

She carried the freshly milked sheep’s milk into the kitchen and took some almonds from the cupboard.

She lit the fire, washed the pot, cooked the sheep’s milk, and added the almonds.

Then she fished out the almonds and took the pot off the stove.

Yu Si Niang went through everything in an orderly fashion. While she did all this, Da Bao and Er Bao didn’t cry even once; both were exceedingly well-behaved.

Yu Si Niang’s heart ached once again.

She carried the cooked sheep’s milk into Da Bao and Er Bao’s room. After letting it cool slightly, she began to feed them.

When she fed Er Bao, Da Bao didn’t cry.

When she fed Da Bao, Er Bao likewise didn’t cry.

Once they were fed, both babies looked drowsy.

Yu Si Niang held the babies and went to Feng Xiaohua’s room.

Feng Xiaohua had been bored; now that Yu Si Niang came, she struggled to sit up.

But Yu Si Niang stopped her.

"Don’t get up, I’ll bring Da Bao and Er Bao over," Yu Si Niang said.

As she spoke, she walked to the side of Feng Xiaohua’s bed, first untying Da Bao from her chest, then lowering Er Bao from her back.

By this time, both babies were asleep, looking very content.

"Thank you, Fourth Sister!"

Looking at the two children, Feng Xiaohua knew her babies had been well cared for.

"It’s nothing. You stay with the children; I’ll go tidy up after breakfast,"

She still had the milk she’d boiled just now and things to clean.

"Mm."

...

On the other side, Mrs. Li, carrying the sheep’s milk she’d cooked herself, did not pour it out as she’d said.

Instead, she took the milk back home. She found her own son, Yu Tiancai, and said to him, "This sheep’s milk is good stuff. Hurry up and drink it, grow up quickly. Your mother’s counting on you to give us a good life in the future!"

Yu Tiancai looked at the bowl his mother handed him and thought of what his grandmother had said—that the sheep’s milk was food for his little brother and sister. His brows furrowed at once.

"Mother, did you steal Da Bao and Er Bao’s milk?" Yu Tiancai asked.

"Bullshit! What do you mean steal? That was milk they didn’t want! I was afraid it’d go to waste, so I brought it back for you, and you dare suspect me!"

Mrs. Li was so angry it was as if smoke were about to puff out of her backside.

Was her son crazy or what?