My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Chapter 154 Scientific Feeding

When Zhu Laosi heard that his sister had returned, he quickly prepared a table full of dishes and invited Mrs. Zhu, his sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews to come over for dinner.

Mrs. Zhu held Xiaoxia in her arms and shook her head hesitantly, "Everyone is busy today. Miss Yan went to the county town and won't be back until the afternoon. Mr. Si took the children to write, so your Aunt Shao is the only one at home. I have to stay at home to look after her and Xiaoxia."

Zhu Laosi hurriedly said, "If mother is worried, I will help Aunt Shao over and leave some food for the others."

He was really sincere, and Zhu Meihua still remembered that she was too young to help her mother and three brothers, so she would hold her baby brother and play with him every day. She felt a sense of closeness and pity for him, so she persuaded Mrs. Zhu.

"Mom, Yuanjiang isn't close to here. I finally managed to come back with the children, but my second and third brothers are busy outside, so I can only see my younger brother. Why don't you ask Mom to accompany me?"

Only then did Mrs. Zhu relax, and Zhu Laosi hurried to help Shao Qin.

Shao Qin asked dazedly, "Where's Wan'er?"

"Wan'er has grown up and needs to do something."

Shao Qin asked again: "Is Jingyu studying?"

Mrs. Zhu replied, "The eldest young master has grown up, and it is the young master who is studying now."

Shao Qin laughed: "Jingyu is so capable, but he passed the exam to become an official himself?"

Mrs. Zhu didn't know how to respond, but Boss Zhao was eloquent and talked about all sorts of things, talking about the goods on the market like he knew them all by heart, which made Shao Qin stop worrying about the children.

"No matter how beautiful the pearls outside are, they are not as good as the ones in the palace. Yan'er and the others should wear the pearls from the palace." Shao Qin said, and went to pick up Xiao Xia'er. "Give Wan'er to me, I'll hold her. Hey, why is Wan'er wearing such rough clothes? Who was responsible for the material this year?"

Her confusion made the people present think of the Si family's affairs and feel uncomfortable.

When they arrived at Zhu Laosi's house, Aunt Zhu Si saw that there were so many people and quickly set out a few more sets of bowls and chopsticks. She was afraid that there would not be enough rice, so she went to steam it again. Seeing this, Zhu Meihua also went to the kitchen to help.

Aunt Zhu smiled and said, "Auntie, you must have traveled hard. Go and rest quickly."

"It's not tiring for me, but it's tiring for you. You have to take care of us even with such a big belly."

Aunt Zhu Si's belly has been around for six months. Zhu Lao Si is very considerate and she has gained a lot of weight.

Seeing this, Zhu Meihua couldn't help but give her a few more words of advice: "I see you've gained some weight since Chinese New Year. Although others say that pregnant women need to eat more to raise the baby well, the pain of childbirth is for us women to bear, how can others understand it? The bigger the child gets, the more inconvenient it will be during childbirth."

"Yes……"

Zhu Meihua was not very good at steaming rice, so Aunt Zhu took over and did it herself.

"My aunt is not used to it, so I'll do it."

Zhu Meihua nodded and just helped out. "Doctors outside are different from those in the countryside. They all say that women can't just lie still while pregnant. They need to move around more and pay attention to their diet. Since you've split up the family, there's no elders to help you. I don't think my brother would understand, so please don't be offended if I give you a few more instructions."

"My aunt is doing this for my own good." Aunt Zhu Si said embarrassedly, "After I became overweight, I became lazy. My mother comes to see me every few days and asks me to give birth to a big fat boy. I..."

Her fourth daughter is gone. Although she has reconciled with her mother-in-law now, the rumors that her mother-in-law favors boys over girls are still circulating. Her mother has of course heard about it and naturally hopes that she will give birth to a boy this time to avoid being bullied.

When Fourth Aunt Zhu went out, she saw Mrs. Zhu holding Xiaoxia and teasing her. Xiaoxia was fine at the Si family, but when she went out, she was shy and would only snuggle in Mrs. Zhu's arms, being very affectionate.

She thought of Si Ya, who also leaned on Granny Zhu's arms like this. That was her first child, young and naive, and Granny Zhu loved her dearly, worried that she wouldn't get enough rest and take care of the child, so she would hold her in her arms whenever she had time.

If it weren't for what happened later, their family would still be happy and harmonious now.

Aunt Zhu Si brought over a bowl of steamed eggs and said, "Mom, Xiaoxia is greedy. Here are some steamed eggs. I'll feed them to her."

Mrs. Zhu quickly waved her hands and said, "No, no, Yan said she's still young and can't eat oil, salt, or eggs. I saw you steamed some sweet potatoes, so I'll give them to her."

"You can't eat eggs? How can that be true? I see all the children in the village eat them early in the morning."

This is the truth. Now every household has money and is willing to give their children eggs and meat, especially newborn babies, who are very precious. Eggs are of course the first thing that children eat.

Mrs. Zhu smiled and said, "Yes, when you were little, you didn't have much to eat. Children have been eating eggs since they were young. But Yan said that she can't eat eggs until she's one year old. Otherwise, it's easy to get into trouble. At the very least, she'll get hives, and at the worst, she'll die. Xiaoxia'er is the darling of the Si family, so we have to be careful with her. If you boil an egg, you can give her the yolk."

Aunt Zhu brought over some steamed sweet potatoes and fed them to Xiaoxia one spoonful at a time. When Xiaoxia saw that she was feeding them, she immediately smiled happily and agreed to let her hold the sweet potatoes.

But Mrs. Zhu was not eating peacefully, her eyes were fixed on Xiaoxiaer, fearing that something might go wrong.

Aunt Zhu Si knew her mother-in-law's worries and was very careful. She asked Zhu Lao Si to peel an egg, take out the yolk and feed it to Xiao Xiaer.

The family was having a great time, but there was someone peeking at the door. Zhu Meihua's youngest son Zhao Yu was curious and wanted to go over and talk to him, but someone pulled him away.

It was Aunt Zhu's sharp voice: "What are you looking at? This is not your home. Do you think that just because your last name is Zhu, you are family? Pah!"

Everyone in the room looked cold.

Aunt Zhu didn't leave either. She stood at the door with her hands on her hips and said sarcastically, "You're pregnant and still holding a girl. Aren't you afraid that the baby in your belly will be a girl too? Then..."

Zhu Meihua strode over, slammed the door shut, and cursed, "Where's the barking coming from? Brothers and sisters, those stray dogs outside should be driven away as soon as possible!"

When Aunt Zhu outside the door heard Zhu Meihua call her a dog, she was furious and yelled and cursed for a while. When no one responded, she left angrily.

Mrs. Zhu had already taken Xiaoxiaer over and kept her head down without saying a word.

After a long while, Zhu Laosi finally said, "Mom, no matter if it's a boy or a girl, we like them all. If Qing'er doesn't give birth to a boy, Dachun and Xiaochun will be my sons, and there's nothing wrong with that!"

Mrs. Zhu glared at him. "What nonsense are you talking about? You've divided the family, so just live your own lives. Dachun and Xiaochun are still children. The third brother said so, and you say the same thing. They haven't even grown up yet, and they have to think about six elders in the future, and they have to support several younger sisters. Won't it be exhausting for them?"

Zhu Laosi laughed and touched his wife's belly: "Then let's work hard and try to give Dachun and Xiaochun a brother to share their burden."