Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 595: Chapter 309: Snatching Milk from the Calf (Part 2)

Zhang Huai watched her with a look of frustrated helplessness—it was the same every time she soaked her feet. He grabbed a cotton towel, dried her feet, and carried her to the bed. Juhua’s eyes were half-closed, too weak to even lift a hand. Huai Zi haphazardly removed her clothes and pulled the quilt over her. By then, she was already sound asleep.

Huai Zi shook his head, went back to empty the water, and tidied everything up. Only then did he get into bed, carefully pulling the sleeping Juhua into his arms and resting his own arm under her neck. ’I’ll talk to her in the morning,’ he thought.

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When Juhua finally got to drink the rich, fragrant milk she’d been longing for, she was absolutely over the moon. She adored drinking milk. It was a pity she didn’t know how to use it in cooking; otherwise, things like steamed buns and pastries would surely taste even better with a little milk added.

’Oh well. I’m lucky just to have some to drink. There isn’t much milk to begin with, so it’s not like there’s any to spare for cooking.’

Huai Zi watched her drink with relish from a bowl. He sniffed the air; the smell seemed a bit gamey to him. He smiled, stroking her ear as he asked, "Is it good? I don’t know... it smells a bit off to me."

Juhua held the bowl up to him, smiling. "Here, try it. It’s really fragrant."

Huai Zi bent down and took a sip. He found the taste bland and still a little gamey, completely lacking the fragrance Juhua had described. He chuckled, "I guess I’m just not meant to enjoy this. I can’t taste any fragrance at all."

Juhua knew he wasn’t used to it, so she found some sugar and scooped a little into the clay pot—she had simmered the milk in it, and there was still plenty left. She stirred it a few times and said to Huai Zi, "With a bit of sugar, it won’t be so gamey. Try it again."

Huai Zi shook his head, smiling at her. "Since you like it so much, you should have it. There’s not much to go around. I eat two big bowls of rice per meal; I’m as strong as an ox and don’t need any fortifying."

Juhua knew he was speaking the truth, so she didn’t stand on ceremony and finished the rest of the milk herself.

During breakfast, He was pleased to see that Juhua had drunk all that milk. "How was it?" she asked happily. "Did you like it? Your grandmother said she didn’t get much this morning, so she wanted you to try it first. If it’s good, she’ll milk more tomorrow."

Juhua had drunk over a bowl of milk, and her stomach was sloshing, so she skipped the cornmeal porridge and just put a steamed bun in her bowl. Hearing He’s question, she hurried to say, "It’s delicious, but this much is plenty for one day. Any more and I’d be too full. Besides, if you milk it all for me, won’t the poor calf suffer?"

Her words made the whole family laugh.

From then on, Grandma Yang would milk a small clay pot of milk for Juhua every morning, which amounted to about a bowl and a half. It was, in a sense, snatching food from the calf’s mouth.

On the day of little Hulu’s one-month celebration, relatives of the Zheng Family, both near and far, gathered once again. Everyone, young and old, came to see him. The baby was surprisingly obliging; he let the crowd surround him, his jet-black eyes darting about as he took everything in, but he never made a peep.

Someone wondered inwardly, ’He’s not mute, is he?’

Grandma Yang, fearing people would suspect her grandson couldn’t speak, quickly jumped in before anyone could ask. She told everyone the story of how Qingmu had pinched the baby’s bottom and made him cry, then added how obedient he was, and how his mother only needed to coo at him for a moment before he would stop crying completely.

Juhua’s maternal grandmother, Mrs. Wang, was holding her great-grandson. "Look at those bright eyes," she said with a cheerful laugh. "Our Hulu just can’t be bothered with idle chatter. He’ll surely be like his father when he grows up—a man with a plan."

Liu Yunlan’s mother immediately chimed in, "Isn’t that the truth! It’s rare to see a baby this young be so sensible. He’s sure to have a promising future. Me, on the other hand, I just run my mouth all day for no reason. A regular chatterbox."

The last time she visited her daughter and grandson, she had overheard the conversation between the three family patriarchs—Liu Fugui, Zheng Changhe, and Zhang Dashuan. She’d learned her lesson then about talkativeness, so for fear of offending these sharp-witted people, she made herself the butt of the joke.

Juhua’s two grandaunts were the most delighted of all. The elder one said in a deep voice, "The men of the Old Zheng Family have always been this way—not ones for idle chatter. This child takes after his father and grandfather. Why, even his great-grandfather—my older brother—wasn’t one to talk much. When he put on a serious face, he was so stern that everyone feared him. Even my own father was a man of few words."

This explanation brought a wave of understanding over the crowd. So that was it—the men of the Zheng Family were all of this temperament. No wonder the baby was so quiet.

Liu Yunlan had completed her month of postpartum confinement, and her rest had left her skin fair and smooth. But because there was such a motley crowd today and she had to make an appearance, Juhua made her wrap herself up tightly. Her clothes were bulky and loose, her head was covered with a cloth scarf, and she showed no hint of her graceful figure. She looked like nothing more than a simple woman nursing a baby. Only then did she come out, shuffling in a pair of cloth shoes.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, she handed little Hulu to his grandmother and went to the kitchen to help with the meal.

Juhua and He were busy in the kitchen when Juhua’s aunt, Ms. Zhang, came in to animatedly recount the conversations from the main hall. Hearing her report, both of them burst out laughing.

Juhua said, "What can a baby that small possibly understand? He’s wonderful no matter what. It’s just the adults who don’t like to hear inauspicious words. Aunt, how is Mei’s health?"

Ms. Zhang beamed, her eyes crinkling in a wide smile. "Excellent! That girl is so hardworking, she can’t sit still for a moment. I told her to rest up, but she insists that moving around helps her feel more limber. She’s just so considerate. I was worried about her being at the shop with no one to look after her, so I had her come stay with us."

She was exceptionally pleased with the wife Laixi had married, and she couldn’t help but show some favoritism, which naturally displeased her elder daughter-in-law. This was just another verse in the endless song of domestic life. As she recounted it all to Juhua, she sighed, "It’s just constant friction, endless gossip and muttering. I don’t even bother saying anything anymore. Every girl is fine on her own, but when you put two daughters-in-law together, there’s always something to bicker about. It’s always been like this. I’m just going to split the household and let them manage their own affairs as soon as possible."

He laughed. "That’s probably for the best. It will save you the trouble."

Juhua offered her own words of comfort. "Aunt, Cousin Laifu and Cousin Laixi are both sensible men, and my two cousins-in-law are good women. A bit of idle chatter is just thoughtless muttering; you shouldn’t take it to heart. When a large family lives together, it’s best to be a little deaf and a little mute. If you take every single thing to heart, life becomes unbearable."

He and Ms. Zhang both broke into laughter. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)