Babies don’t eat much, but they get hungry quickly.
And they pee a lot.
So, throughout the night, the baby woke up three times.
Song Wei also woke up the moment the baby started crying, but Lin Zhen gently pressed her back down.
“You sleep first. I’ll handle the formula feeding.”
Song Wei yawned. “I’ll feed one. Otherwise, the younger one might start crying too.”
The younger brother wasn’t prone to crying, but he still couldn’t be ignored.
Seeing her insistence, Lin Zhen handed the younger one to her.
He picked up the bottle to prepare the formula and fed the older one while holding him.
“What names should we give them?”
As he fed the older son, Lin Zhen said, “We don’t need to rush with their formal names, but we can choose pet names to call them for now.”
He looked at Song Wei. “You pick the pet names.”
Song Wei’s first thought was to name them after food, like Baozi or Jiaozi, so they’d never have to worry about going hungry.
But then she imagined someone shouting, “Selling baozi!” on the street someday, and the child instinctively responding—which would be a little awkward.
“Let’s call them Nan Nan and Bei Bei.”
Among the four directions—east, south, west, and north—Dong Dong and Xi Xi didn’t sound as nice, so she picked the two better-sounding ones.
“Xiao Nan and Xiao Bei both sound lovely.”
Lin Zhen naturally had no objections.
And so, the children’s pet names were decided.
The next day, when Lin Ping’an eagerly came to see his little nephews, he heard his sister-in-law calling the children by their pet names.
His eyes lit up. “Sis, are they called Xiao Nan and Xiao Bei? Such cute names!”
Song Wei smiled and nodded. Noticing how eagerly he was looking at the babies, she handed him the quieter, calmer younger son to hold.
“Xiao Bei is more docile and easier to hold. Could you help me look after him for a bit?”
Lin Ping’an was more than happy to oblige.
After just one night, Lin Ping’an felt his little nephews had already grown much prettier.
Especially since they had opened their eyes—yesterday, they could barely open them at all.
“Sis, your son has opened his eyes! They’re so big and beautiful!”
Xiao Bei had long eyelashes, and after a night, his skin looked less wrinkled and much nicer.
His eyes were particularly large and round, exactly like Song Wei’s.
Xiao Nan’s eyes, on the other hand, took after Lin Zhen’s—slightly phoenix-shaped. It wasn’t very obvious yet since he was still so young, but compared to Xiao Bei’s, his eyes were a bit narrower and longer.
Moreover, this little one was really strong! Kicking actively in Song Wei’s arms, he not only had a loud voice but also plenty of energy.
Song Wei didn’t dare let Lin Ping’an hold this active one, afraid he might squirm right out of his arms and fall.
“Where’s my brother?”
Lin Ping’an didn’t see his brother and felt a bit indignant. How could he leave his wife alone in the room?
Song Wei smiled and tilted her chin toward the outside. “He’s out there washing diapers and blankets.”
Without diapers, cloth easily got dirty. In just one night, three diapers were soaked, and their clothes and swaddling blankets were soiled.
Early in the morning, Lin Zhen had gotten up and started diligently washing the diapers.
The two babies had just been fed and weren’t crying or fussing. They lay there with their big eyes wide open, looking around curiously.
Even though they couldn’t see anything yet, their little eyes were still very active.
Lin Zhen finished washing the diapers and hung them on the clothesline in the room.
If hung outside in this weather, who knew how long it would take for them to dry? They’d probably freeze stiff before they had a chance to dry properly.
They could only be hung indoors where it was warm.
Song Wei also felt a headache coming on as she looked at the pile of diapers and clothes.
“I thought we had prepared enough, but with changing several sets a day like this, I’m afraid what we have at home won’t be nearly sufficient.”
Lin Zhen said, “Don’t worry. I’ll take some fabric to Auntie or Aunt Xinghua and ask them to help make more. They can either make them at home or come here to use the sewing machine.”
Since Song Wei was still in her postpartum confinement period, Lin Zhen wouldn’t let her do any needlework.
This seemed like the only way.
“I’ll go cook. Lin Ping’an, help your sister-in-law keep an eye on the children.”
Lin Ping’an nodded earnestly, as if he had been entrusted with an important mission.
“Mission guaranteed to be completed!”
Lin Zhen was very satisfied.
…………
The news that Song Wei had given birth to two sons spread throughout the entire Ping’an Brigade.
Even though it was cold, some people still wanted to gather at Lin Zhen’s house to catch a glimpse of the twins.
But early in the morning, Aunt Xinghua stationed herself at Lin Zhen’s doorstep, both to help with chores and to stop those who wanted to see the children.
“It’s too early to see the children. You adults can run around in this weather without getting sick, but Song Wei just gave birth and is still in confinement—she can’t be exposed to the wind. What’s the point of visiting now? Leave whatever gifts you have, and once she’s out of confinement, I won’t say a word if you come to see her.”
“The children? What are you thinking? They’re newborns! In such cold weather, if we bring them out for you to see and they get sick, will you take responsibility?”
Later, several aunts and sisters-in-law from Great-Grandpa’s family also came to help.
In short, no matter what the adults or children said, they weren’t allowed to see the babies.
Lin Zhen was deeply grateful for this.
Aunt Xinghua said to Lin Zhen and Song Wei, “It’s harder for you young folks to say no, but it’s different when we experienced adults step in. Those who are experienced and sensible will understand your situation and won’t come.
If they’re sincere, they’ll just bring some eggs or white sugar as gifts. Even those who don’t know better will understand once I explain things to them and leave on their own. Only those who are shameless would insist on seeing the children.”
Song Wei, eating her steamed egg custard, was somewhat puzzled. “Why are they so eager to see the children?”
Aunt Xinghua sneered. “Some are desperate for children, especially boys, and want to soak up some of the ‘luck.’ Others simply have ill intentions and can’t stand to see others doing well.
Don’t underestimate people. There are those who are jealous and resentful of others’ happiness. They might pinch the children or secretly unwrap their swaddling clothes to make them catch a chill when they come to see them. For such young children, catching a chill could be fatal.”
Song Wei was shocked. “There are really people like that?!”
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