The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 191

 

| TBBOTOF | 191

Tang Xu didn’t go to the main room for dinner.

The soup was clear.

“Auntie,” Tang Xu brought a bowl of noodles into the room, looked at her, and sighed inwardly. “Auntie, have some noodles. I didn’t make too much for you.”

He handed the bowl over. Wang Cuicui forced a weak smile.

Tang Erhu looked over, his eyes full of confusion.

“Dad, go ahead and eat. I’ll stay here with Auntie,” Tang Xu pushed Tang Erhu’s shoulder, giving him a meaningful look.

Tang Erhu glanced at Wang Cuicui. They hadn’t said a word to each other; there had been a long silence.

Wang Cuicui waved him off, “Go eat. Xu Ge’er you can go out to eat too; I’m fine.”

“I’m not hungry; I’ll eat later,” Tang Xu said, setting the table and indicating her to place the bowl on it. He then went to get some water and returned with a cup for each of them. 

He took a handful of melon seeds that his grandmother, Wu Guizhi, had roasted, sat down across from her, and said, “Auntie, you eat.”

Wang Cuicui looked at him grabbing a handful of melon seeds, unsure whether to laugh or cry, and helplessly asked, “What are you doing?”

“I'm here to keep you company, Auntie. Do you want this child?” Tang Xu was always straightforward, with no pretense. “I just saw you weren’t very happy earlier.”

Wang Cuicui took a bite of the noodles, a sip of the soup, and a bite of the egg before she responded with a sound of acknowledgment.

Tang Xu cracked melon seeds, waiting for her to speak.

He thought she might say a few things, but instead, Wang Cuicui finished half the bowl of noodles before continuing, “At my age, if I got pregnant again, people in the village would laugh at me.”

“Laugh at what? Laugh at you having a pearl in your oyster? Laugh at my father’s strength? Laugh at you two having a child after two years of marriage? What’s missing from our family? Nothing at all. Do you care so much about what others say about your life? Besides, we’re all looking forward to having a little brother.

Forget what others say; as long as you and my father are happy and life is going well, let them talk. Our family has been talked about before. If we cared so much about others’ opinions, Ah Dong and I would have had a hard time.”

Tang Xu spat out the melon seed shells onto the floor, grabbed another handful, and continued cracking them. 

With a chuckle at Wang Cuicui’s astonished look, he said, “Don’t mind how my father looks now, he may have not said anything but he’s probably thrilled inside, bursting with joy.”

Wang Cuicui burst into laughter. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“What nonsense? I know my father well. He usually likes to talk, but did you see how his hands were trembling when he went out? That was due to excitement,” Tang Xu raised his eyebrows, teasing Wang Cuicui into laughing again.

Seeing her smile and losing her frown, Tang Xu felt relieved and continued, “Auntie, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. The fact that you can conceive at your age means you’re in good health. There are so many people who wish for a child and seek out all kinds of remedies. The ones who gossip are just envious.”

His words were not insincere; those who are bitter often do so because they lack what others have.

Tang Xu lightly tapped his fingers on the small table. Just as Wang Cuicui seemed to be convinced by what he said, he suddenly changed the tone of his speech, becoming slightly serious.

“What I mentioned before was based on wanting to comfort you if you decide to keep the child but are worried about other people’s gossip.”

Wang Cuicui looked at him, a fleeting look of confusion in her eyes.

What does that mean?

Tang Xu sighed, “I’m just sharing my personal opinion. The risks for older mothers are significant. Even if you seem healthy now, if complications arise during pregnancy, not only could it endanger the child, but your own health could be at risk. I hope you understand that I’d rather you remain healthy, even if it means not having this child.”

To put it bluntly, having a second child at forty-four carries significant risks in modern society, let alone at her current age.

Even with advanced medical conditions, there are no miracle drugs; even if there were, they wouldn’t help much.

So, Tang Xu actually hoped that Wang Cuicui would keep the child.

However, based on Wang Cuicui’s reaction earlier, it was clear she was torn between wanting to keep the child and worrying about what others might think. 

He first tried to comfort her, and only now did he share his own thoughts.

Wang Cuicui stared at him, clearly surprised by his words.

“Auntie, my advice earlier was to make sure you don’t decide to keep the child just because of other people’s gossip, fearing you might regret it later. But I can see that you might be impulsively wanting the child, or maybe you do want it; ultimately, it should be based on what you truly feel.” Tang Xu got off the kang, collected the melon seed shells into a dustpan, and swept up the ones on the floor.

Wang Cuicui was completely bewildered by his words.

He was advising her to disregard others’ negative comments and not to act impulsively because of them. She sighed and finished the last two spoonfuls of soup from her bowl, “Xu Ge’er, what do you think I should do?”

She was deeply conflicted about whether to keep the child or not.

“Auntie, you should discuss it with my father. I feel like he might be concerned about your health and might insist on keeping the child.” Tang Xu knew his father well and guessed that Tang Erhu had already started asking.

Had he asked?

He had.

Tang Erhu went into the main room, sat down on a chair, and Xu Ze served him dinner. He accepted it in silence, ate in silence, and quickly finished his meal.

The meal had no taste.

His mind was preoccupied with the news that his wife was pregnant and he was going to be a father.

While he was shocked, he also felt joy, but more than that, he was filled with worry.

Wang Cuicui was in her forties, and in a couple of years, she would be fifty!

She had only taken good care of her health for the past two years, avoiding overworking herself. 

The reason she had only one child with the Sun family was not just because of her previous husband’s health, but also because she had her own minor health issues.

Now that she’s pregnant, it’s said she’s in good health, but who knows what will happen after she’s actually pregnant?

The thought of his wife possibly dying after giving birth and leaving him with a child makes Tang Erhu feel overwhelmed with anxiety.

“Old Wen,” Tang Erhu couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up in front of the younger generation at the table, “Is it possible for Cuicui to keep the baby?”

Old Wen, who was eating slowly, had a steamed bun in one hand and chopsticks in the other, holding a piece of fish dipped in sauce.

At the question, he lifted his eyes with a flat expression.

He had seen too many men sacrifice their wives’ health for the sake of having a child, so he was indifferent.

Old Xu, upon hearing Tang Erhu’s question, slammed his chopsticks down on the table with a loud smack.

The already quiet crowd grew even more tense, nervously watching the old man.

Old Xu, frowning and glaring, shouted at Tang Erhu, “You already have several children; why do you need another one? Your wife is at this age—do you want her to die?”

Tang Erhu was stunned and asked, “Can she keep the baby? Is it really possible?”

Old Xu snorted, but did not answer.

Whether she could keep the baby or not was ultimately his decision to make.

Old Wen, after finishing the piece of fish and a bite of the steamed bun, shook his head and said, “She can keep the baby.”

Tang Erhu frowned, “She can?”

“Yes, she can,” Old Wen confirmed with another statement.

Wei Dong, who was beside them, bit into a steamed bun to stifle a laugh that almost escaped.

Tang Li and Liu Yao both burst into laughter, while Tang Yang gaped and turned to look at Wei Xi.

Wei Xi covered his mouth and waved his hand, signaling not to look at him, as he was trying to hold back his amusement.

Xu Ze frowned and asked, “Grandfather, what are you talking about?”

Tang Erhu also wanted to ask what was going on, how could it be that it was both possible and not possible to keep the baby? 

He was on the verge of losing his patience!

“I said, whether she keeps the baby or not, it’s all the same. If she keeps it, she’ll be taken care of like a queen in the palace. If she decides to keep it, just a simple herbal remedy, and she’ll be taken care of for another half month, following the same royal postpartum care methods.”

Old Wen’s lips curled into a smile, deepening the lines on his face, his entire expression full of wrinkles. “It’s up to you whether you want to provide care for a long time or a short time.”

In the room, everyone except the three children who were eating stared at Old Wen in shock.

What?

Old Wen gave them a slight, ethereal smile, his demeanor almost otherworldly.

Then he picked up a piece of tofu and ate it with relish.

Tang Erhu remained silent, looking down at his empty bowl, clearly lost in thought.

Tang Xu entered and saw his father’s resentful expression, raising an eyebrow.

Wei Dong pulled out a chair for him and set down the bowl and chopsticks.

Tang Xu sat down and asked Tang Erhu, “Dad, how’s the meal?”

Tang Erhu looked up at him and asked in return, “How is your aunt?”

“After finishing the noodles, I let her lie down, but she wanted to go back to your room. So I took her over there,” Tang Xu said, feeling hungry. He spooned some fish soup over his rice and ate a large handful of melon seeds to fill up.

Tang Erhu nodded and remained silent.

Tang Xu continued to eat, and Wei Dong served him some fish, carefully removing the bones before adding it to his bowl. He also put in some tofu and a serving of stir-fried bean sprouts with meat.

“These bean sprouts are quite crunchy,” Tang Xu remarked, taking a bite. He looked up at Wei Dong and suggested, “Let’s have bean sprout soup in the morning and make some crispy pancakes.”

“Make both sweet and savory ones. Put in some of those dried shrimp you left out—they’ll add flavor,” Old Wen interjected with a request.

Tang Xu nodded, then glanced at his silent father.

He looked around at the others. Tang Li met his gaze, gestured toward Tang Erhu, and then made a face indicating frustration.

The implication was that Tang Erhu had stirred up trouble and should be dealt with.

Tang Xu quickly finished his dinner, gave his younger siblings a look to clean up, and took the three children with him.

Xiao Bao, sitting in Wei Dong’s lap, clung to his neck and asked to be carried. He wanted to go for a walk, but also wanted his father.

The situation had calmed down, and it was the perfect time to be clingy.

Wei Dong turned to Tang Xu and said, “I’ll take the three of them for a bath.”

“Alright.”

Once everyone had left, only Tang Erhu and Tang Xu remained in the room.

Tang Li returned with a pot of flower tea and a small basket of melon seeds and peanuts.

It looked like they were about to have a tea party.

Tang Xu smiled and waved at her, signaling for her to leave and not cause any more disruption. He anticipated that his father might get upset soon.

Tang Xu poured flower tea for both Tang Erhu and his father. He grabbed a handful of peanuts and set them in front of himself. Then he got a small bamboo bin for the shells and sat down to eat.

Crunch crunch, crunch crunch.

The constant crunching was giving Tang Erhu a headache, and he turned to glare at Tang Xu.

Tang Xu, smiling, handed over a handful of peanuts. “Dad, have some.”

Tang Erhu gave him a sidelong glance but took the peanuts.

“Dad, what are you going to do about the child?” Tang Xu asked, almost causing Tang Erhu to choke on a peanut.

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