Guo Xuyang ignored Xiao Yun’s nagging and quickly hung up the phone.
Meanwhile, Li Xiaolu and Hu Jun had arrived at Wang Lihong’s doorstep.
“Uncle, Auntie, I am Li Xiaolu. We are here on behalf of Sister-in-law Xiaohong to pick you and your little brother up to go to the provincial capital.” Li Xiaolu said after knocking on the door.
Zhang Jingyi was momentarily taken aback, not sure if the beautiful girl before her was Xiaohong’s friend, colleague, or someone else. Wang Xukun reacted quicker, pulling Zhang Jingyi’s arm and saying, “You must be Xiaohong’s friend, right? Please, come in.”
“Thank you, Uncle,” Li Xiaolu said as she entered.
“You must have had a tiring journey. Please, sit down and rest for a while,” Wang Xukun quickly offered, preparing tea.
“Uncle, please don’t trouble yourself. It’s getting late, and the sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll arrive home.”
“How can that be? You can’t leave without a sip of water after coming all this way. It’s only noon, you should stay for lunch before leaving.”
“No need. We can eat on the road later.”
“Xiaohong called to say someone was coming to pick us up, but she didn’t mention it would be two lovely young ladies like you. I’ve even prepared some wine.” Wang Xukun said.
“I’m driving and I don’t drink,” Li Xiaolu quickly stated.
“Then we’ll just eat, no wine.”
“Oh, that’s too embarrassing. We had planned to eat on the road after picking you up.”
“It’s already a great trouble for you both to travel so far. If you go back hungry, Xiaohong will scold us. Please, rest a moment, catch your breath, and we’ll have lunch shortly.”
“Where is your little brother? Sister-in-law Xiaohong misses him dearly.”
“He’s in the inner room. Your auntie just went in, he must be hungry.”
“Is it okay if we go see him?”
“No problem, go ahead. He’s just like Xiaohong was when she was little,” Wang Xukun said with a smile.
When Li Xiaolu and Hu Jun entered, the little brother was still crying and refused to eat no matter how they tried to feed him.
“What’s wrong, Auntie? May I hold him to see?” Li Xiaolu asked as she entered.
“He hasn’t been very well these past couple of days, and he hasn’t been sleeping soundly,” Zhang Jingyi said, holding the baby.
“It’s alright. This sort of thing in children can be due to indigestion or a gassy stomach. Let me take a look.”
“How old is your child?” Zhang Jingyi asked.
“I’m a nurse at the maternal and child health hospital, specializing in childcare,” Li Xiaolu replied.
“Really? That’s wonderful.” Zhang Jingyi then put the little brother into Li Xiaolu’s arms with relief.
“Did you check his swaddle earlier? Did Xiao Di soil himself?”
“I didn’t smell anything, so I didn’t open it.”
“Let me see.” Li Xiaolu untied the swaddle and discovered the diaper was wet and there was some stool residue.
“This is caused by indigestion. Does the stool look a bit like milk curds?”
“It does. What does that signify?” Zhang Jingyi asked, leaning closer.
“Indigestion in babies often results in milk curd-like stools,” Li Xiaolu explained, gently pressing and stroking Xiao Di’s belly with her fingers. As a result, Xiao Di let out two loud farts.
“He should be better now. Auntie, are you breastfeeding?”
“Yes.”
“If you’re breastfeeding, there’s not much to be concerned about. You can give him a little warm water with a spoon from time to time. If you’re using formula, it can easily cause indigestion or even constipation, so you need to be careful then.” Li Xiaolu said as she efficiently changed the wet diaper.
“Didn’t Auntie prepare any diapers for Xiao Di?”
“No. I was afraid diapers would chafe his bottom, so I’ve been using cloth diapers. Although it’s more troublesome, they’re breathable and less likely to cause a rash.”
“Diapers nowadays are very convenient. Especially for infants, the quality is quite good.”
“My thinking hasn’t kept up. I still feel diapers are better than cloth. It’s just troublesome to wash them, and they need to be washed with warm water and then boiled in a large pot.”
“You’re in confinement and shouldn’t touch cold water. Even though it’s summer, the chill from the water can penetrate deep into your bones.”
“My husband dotes on me, and since it’s summer break, he washes the diapers and cooks. I only take care of Xiao Bao,” Zhang Jingyi said.
“That’s perfect,” Li Xiaolu said, finishing re-swaddling the baby. “Alright, Xiao Di has fallen asleep.”
“He must feel more comfortable now. He’s been keeping me up these past few days. I kept thinking he was hungry and fed him constantly, but he’d turn away. I never thought to take him to the doctor,” Zhang Jingyi said with a touch of self-reproach.
“Babies can’t speak. When they’re uncomfortable, hungry, have soiled themselves, or need to urinate, they only express it by crying. This requires us to observe their expressions or their diapers. If they’re uncomfortable, they’ll seem agitated and restless, kicking and squirming,” Li Xiaolu explained.
“You’re absolutely right. The little one has been restless these past few days, and he hasn’t been eating well during feedings.”
“Let him sleep for a while. He needs to catch up on sleep when he feels better,” Li Xiaolu said with a smile.
“Thank you both so much. Are you friends of Xiaohong?”
“No, Auntie. We’re here specifically to accompany Sister-in-law Xiaohong. Yangzi is very busy and can’t manage everything, so he arranged for us to specially look after Sister-in-law Xiaohong.”
“If you two are here, who will take care of Xiaohong?”
“There’s another one who didn’t come with us; she’s specifically taking care of Xiao Bao at home. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“The Yangzi you mentioned, is that Guo Xuyang?”
“Yes. He’s a very nice person; he doesn’t let us call him CEO Guo. He said his family calls him Yangzi, so he wants us all to call him that.”
“In that case, young Guo is quite approachable.”
“He’s kind and generous. The last time, when he knew Xiao Di was born, he came over immediately. We were still accompanying him at the hospital. He didn’t even go home; he just had things prepared and came over.”
“I know, I know. We’re planning to stay for a few days this time. I wonder if the house will accommodate us?”
“Of course, it will. Sister-in-law Xiaohong had someone clean up a suite of rooms in the villa on the west side for you.”
“Are you done? Hurry and come out for lunch. The food will get cold soon,” Wang Xukun interrupted their conversation.
“Alright, alright, let’s go out for lunch,” Zhang Jingyi quickly called out.
“Come here to wash your hands, use warm water. We’ve been using solar-heated water.”
“Okay, Auntie.” Li Xiaolu and Hu Jun washed their hands in the restroom and came out. On the dining table, four hot dishes were already laid out: two meat and two vegetable dishes, along with four bowls of soy milk.