Chapter 120: Confinement Month
In the evening, Qingyan woke up and saw Qiu Henian still sound asleep beside him. He didn’t disturb him, quietly getting out of bed.
The midwife had advised him to rest but also to walk around a bit, as lying in bed all the time wasn’t conducive to recovery, though he must avoid getting cold.
The house was warm now. Qingyan took off his headscarf in front of the bronze mirror, wrapped it back on, and put on his outer robe before heading to the outer room.
Li Shen was wrapping wontons for Qingyan. Occasionally, she glanced at the neighboring room where Little Bean was sleeping with the door open.
Seeing Qingyan come out, Li Shen stood up and helped him sit down, asking, “Feeling less pain now?”
Qingyan shook his head. “The pain is gone, just feel sore all over.”
Li Shen said, “You still haven’t fully recovered from such suffering. Take it easy for a while.”
Qingyan glanced at the bed in the neighboring room, and Li Shen also looked over.
She remarked, “He’s sleeping peacefully after eating well.”
Qingyan withdrew his gaze. Li Shen continued wrapping wontons, commenting, “This little guy has a good temperament. Even when he’s hungry or needs to pee, he doesn’t fuss much. He just grunts a few times. When he can’t wait anymore, he cries loudly. Just comforting him with a hug usually settles him down. He’s easy to take care of.”
Qingyan asked, “Aren’t all babies like this?”
Li Shen shook her head, gesturing with her chin towards the direction of the county town.
“Your older sister Lanzi used to cry all night long when she was a baby. We lived at the west end of the village, and the next day, people from the east end of the village came to ask me if I hadn’t fed the baby enough.”
Qingyan laughed, and Li Shen smiled and shook her head.
After wrapping the wontons and cooking them until partially done, Li Shen added seaweed and dried shrimp. After a while longer, she took them off the heat, added a few drops of green sauce and sesame oil, tore in some cilantro, and they were ready.
The two of them sat down to eat wontons together. Those meant for Qiu Henian were still uncooked, covered on the table with a basin to prevent the wonton skins from drying out.
Li Shen watched Qingyan finish all the wontons in her bowl and noticed his enjoyment.
He said happily, “Tomorrow, I’ll have San Yao bring back a pound of fresh shrimp from town. I’ll make another batch of wontons with seafood filling.”
Qingyan nodded.
After finishing their meal, Little Bean woke up again. This time, Qingyan tried to change his diaper and wipe his bottom. It was his first attempt, so he was a bit clumsy.
Li Shen watched beside him and chuckled, “He seems to know you’re his mother. No matter how awkward you are, he doesn’t cry.”
After finishing, Qingyan held Little Bean. At first, he felt a bit awkward when he snuggled against his chest, thinking he wanted to nurse. Later, he realized he was falling asleep while listening to his heartbeat.
When he was in his belly, he must have been most familiar with his heartbeat.
…
It was completely dark when Qiu Henian woke up, fully alert. He found himself sleeping too deeply and was startled when he realized the time.
But before he could get up, he saw the swaddling clothes beside him, Little Bean sleeping soundly inside.
Qiu Henian relaxed and watched him for a while. He heard water sounds inside the room and got up, pulling back the bed curtains, stepping down.
Near the basin stand by the hearth, Li Shen was helping Qingyan wash his long hair.
Her approach to postpartum care was different from that of other elders. It was essential not to catch a chill during the month, but that didn’t mean avoiding hair and body washing entirely.
Staying clean was important for recovery, and it was fine to wash as long as one stayed warm and dried off promptly afterward.
This suited Qingyan’s thinking perfectly.
After adding coal to the stove and making it hot inside and out, Li Shen helped Qingyan wash his hair.
Seeing Qiu Henian awake and Qingyan almost finished washing his hair, Li Shen stepped aside, wiped her hands, and said, “I’ll go to the next room. You help Qingyan wash the rest of his body. I’ll take the child over.”
Li Shen took Little Bean away. Qiu Henian asked Qingyan to wait a moment, went to the outer room, and changed the water in the basin.
When he returned, Qingyan had already sat down by the bed, his shirt loosened but clasped with both hands. Qiu Henian thought he might be feeling cold and didn’t think much of it.
After placing the basin of water by the bed, when he tried to help Qingyan remove his clothes, he hesitated to let go of his hands.
Qiu Henian wasn’t in a hurry. He sat down next to Qingyan and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
They had been married for three years and supported each other through everything. There was nothing they couldn’t talk about.
Qingyan bit his lip and let go of his hands, showing Qiu Henian the belly beneath his clothes.
Qiu Henian looked down for a while and understood.
During pregnancy, his belly had grown so large. Now that the child was born, his stomach was loose, soft, and no longer as tight as before.
Qingyan said, “It looks so ugly.”
Qiu Henian got off the bed, squatted in front of him, leaned over, and kissed his soft belly. He lifted his head to look at him and said, “Everything on you, I find it beautiful.”
Qingyan lowered her head. Qiu Henian stood up, hugged him, and sighed, “My Qingyan, you’ve suffered.”
Just after giving birth, it wasn’t suitable to soak in a tub of water, so they simply washed up.
After wiping him dry, Qiu Henian quickly wrapped Qingyan in the blanket, keeping him warm.
The room was warm, and before long, his hair was completely dry. He used a headscarf to cover it.
As soon as he finished his hair, he heard Little Bean starting to grunt and whimper in the outer room. Qiu Henian told Qingyan to lie down and said, “You rest first. I’ll go check. He’s probably hungry.”
Feeling clean and no longer sticky, Qingyan felt much more comfortable. He murmured in agreement and closed his eyes, falling asleep in no time.
At night, Qiu Henian put Little Bean in the bed between them. He had thought about taking the child to the neighboring room to sleep, but he was afraid Qingyan might wake up in the middle of the night and call for water, which he might not hear.
Fortunately, Little Bean didn’t cry much. He would whimper a few times, and Qiu Henian would wake up, pick him up, and he would quiet down.
That night, Qiu Henian got up at least four times. But even this experience was with a relatively easy child; being parents was not easy.
Little Bean opened his eyes the next afternoon, and there seemed to be a film over him.
Li Shen said that at this stage, he probably couldn’t see much yet, but when the child wasn’t sleeping, his eyes would wander around, as if he were surveying his surroundings.
During these days, visitors came to see him one after another. When Little Bean was awake, it was as if he were listening to adults chat, his eyes moving around, occasionally looking towards Qingyan.
He was most familiar with Qingyan’s voice, subconsciously searching for him.
At moments like these, Qingyan couldn’t help but touch his tender little cheeks. In these moments, the feeling of blood connection with this child was especially strong.
As Little Bean neared his full moon, his face no longer wrinkled or flushed.
His eyes looked exactly like Qiu Henian’s, while his nose, mouth, and face were like a carved copy of Qingyan’s—it was a striking resemblance.
Li Shen held him in her arms, unable to look at him enough, exclaiming, “This little guy has grown up. The threshold of your home must be worn out from all the visitors.”
Qingyan just smiled upon hearing this. In his heart, he thought that both he and Henian would have to work harder these next few years, earn more money, and ensure that Little Bean would live a comfortable and happy life.
During Qingyan’s postpartum period, Li Shen took care of him during the day. The responsibilities at the shop were managed by Qiuniang and Shen Min.
Qiu Henian finished his work at the shop every day and hurried home to relieve Li Shen. In the evenings, he took over all responsibilities.
Occasionally, when he was halfway through his work and saw freshly made hot braised pork or buns on the neighboring stall, he would put down what he was doing, buy some to take home, and then return to finish his tasks.
Qingyan also got used to him coming home from time to time. When he entered the house, he rushed to give him food, kiss him, then check on the baby, and quickly return to his tasks.
One time, Qiu Henian came halfway home again, carrying a not-so-small wooden box in his hand.
When he entered the house, he washed his hands first, then opened the box to show Qingyan.
Curious, Qingyan looked over and saw several slender jade-like objects inside. They were much thinner, each with a hole at the bottom and tied with soft silk threads on top.
Li Shen had gone home to take a nap, and Little Bean was asleep on the bed with his hands and feet spread out.
Qingyan lowered his voice and asked, “What are these?”
Qiu Henian sat down beside the bed and whispered, “I just went to see the old doctor. These are from him. These jades have been soaked in medicine for over a month. Now they are imbued with medicinal properties. When inserted into the body, over time, they can be beneficial.”
At first, Qingyan didn’t quite understand, but when Qiu Henian lifted the hem of his shirt, he understood.
A man’s body was fundamentally different from a woman’s, whether in sexual relations or childbirth, there was greater physical strain. As they age, there might be some minor and awkward issues.
The old doctor had made these jade-like objects, though they were expensive and not something ordinary families could afford.
For the sake of his health, Qingyan naturally agreed.
With his shirt lifted, he didn’t feel awkward, lying down and voluntarily removing his pants. He spread his legs.
The warm and cool sensation made Qingyan’s legs tremble involuntarily. After a while, he felt it should be about done and asked, “Is it okay now?”
But the man didn’t respond.
Qingyan waited a little longer, unable to bear it any longer, and finally propped himself up with his elbow to look.
At a glance, Qingyan’s cheeks flushed to the roots of his ears. The jade objects had been inserted long ago, leaving only the silk threads at the bottom exposed.
At this moment, Qiu Henian was half kneeling on the ground, his eyes fixed firmly on that area, as if he had been stunned!
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
They moved to the bed. Qingyan lay down, and Qiu Henian knelt on the mattress, reaching out to pull the exposed silk cord gently. Qingyan couldn’t help but tilt his head back.
