Chapter 716: Aaron Thorne

By evening, Lana Steiner was discharged from the hospital. It was Old Four Huang who picked her up in his tractor. Outside, heavy snow was still falling, and the ground was covered in a layer over a foot thick. When the villagers heard that Lana Steiner, the woman they thought might never conceive, had finally had a baby, they all rushed over to offer their congratulations. Raina had prepared melon seeds, peanuts, and candy, and she graciously welcomed her guests, beaming with joy.

’Even her most troublesome second son now had an heir. Her greatest worry was finally laid to rest. Now, all that was left was her third son. After the New Year, she would have to ask someone to find him a match. It had to be a capable woman who knew how to run a household and could keep him in check. Otherwise, that good-for-nothing spendthrift would blow through every cent he got, and they would only get poorer and poorer.’

"I’m your big sister. You have to listen to me from now on, got it?"

Nancy Thorne leaned over the cradle, watching the little one sleep soundly, her eyes crinkling into a smile. She was bursting with a sense of accomplishment. ’She had rewritten the fate of her uncle and aunt, and her new cousin, too. Her arrival hadn’t been meaningless after all.’

The little one was fast asleep, perhaps dreaming of something delicious. He smacked his lips a few times, waved his tiny hands, and drifted off again, completely oblivious to Nancy’s words.

Lying in bed, Lana Steiner watched with a smile, her serene face aglow with motherly love. She smiled and said, "Your little brother is still small. Once he gets a little older, I’m sure he’ll listen to you."

"Aunt Lana, what’s his name?"

"We haven’t picked one yet. Your Uncle Frederick said he wants to let your Great-Uncle Shane choose."

In the outer room, Frederick Thorne and Shane Thorne were discussing names. When Shane heard that labor had started after midnight, he had an idea. He smiled and said, "Today is the first day of the New Year, the very beginning of the year. Let’s call him Aaron. Aaron Thorne."

Frederick Thorne repeated the name to himself a few times, growing more pleased with it each time. It was a good name—dignified and easy to say. "Thank you for the name, Uncle," he said gratefully.

Shane Thorne smiled, looking pleased with himself. He even shot a defiant glance at Byron Thorne. ’Hmph. At least Frederick has good taste, knowing who can pick a more elegant name. If he’d let Byron do it, the boy would’ve ended up being called Amos Thorne. He’s already run through all the great patriotic names. After you’ve named kids for Celestia and the Army, what’s left? The Village?’

Byron Thorne huffed and turned his head away, not deigning to reply. Inwardly, however, he was green with envy. ’He’d already thought of the perfect name for his grandson: Amos Thorne. What a fine, dignified name! And that Frederick, always siding with outsiders. It was infuriating!’

’Still, he had to admit that the name Shane had chosen, Aaron Thorne, was quite good too. Fine,’ he thought. ’Since it wasn’t easy for Frederick to have a child, I won’t yell at him. I’ll just save the name for my third son’s boy.’

’I’ll have a word with the old lady later. We need to hurry up and find a match for our third son. He’ll be 26 after the New Year. Any later and he’ll be an old bachelor for good.’

And so, the Thorne family welcomed a new boy named Aaron Thorne, who for now was just a scrawny little sprout.

The villagers were incredibly warm and generous. One family brought a chicken, another a basket of eggs. Raina’s side of the family also hurried over with presents. Here in the countryside, postpartum gifts were almost always chickens and eggs. Soon, the eggs in their house were piled mountain-high, and the coop was filled to bursting. Raina cared for Lana Steiner during her postpartum month just as meticulously as she had for Phoebe Thorne.

Every day, Raina would cook a bowl of sweet fermented rice with eggs, a local Vessaria remedy to promote milk production. Each bowl had three eggs and a large spoonful of the fermented rice. There was also a constant supply of chicken soup and crucian carp soup. Lana Steiner’s milk came in so abundantly she could have fed two babies. As it happened, Phoebe Thorne’s own supply was dwindling, so whatever Aaron couldn’t finish was given to Allister. Nothing went to waste.

Raina made the sweet fermented rice herself. She had prepared a small vat of it before the New Year, using glutinous rice they grew themselves. She just had to buy a bit of fermentation starter. She would steam the rice, mix in the starter while it was still hot, stir it all evenly, and once it cooled, pack it into a vat to ferment.