Good Baby C02

Chapter 2

After hearing the sounds outside, Fan Chunxiang hurriedly finished her work and went out. Seeing An’an shrink in his shy manner, she couldn’t help but smile.

She gestured with her hand at Li Datou, signaling that dinner would be ready soon.

Their once poor and dull life had been infused with boundless hope and light with the arrival of this child. It was as if they suddenly had something to look forward to.

Li Datou nodded to indicate that he understood. After Fan Chunxiang went inside, he subconsciously reached out to gently pat the little one’s belly, his nose catching the faint scent of milk from the child.

To him, ensuring the child was well-fed and properly clothed was the most important and happiest thing.

At this age, human infants were supposed to eat little and often, and with so much time having passed, An’an’s stomach had already shrunk.

This action made Xie Shi’an feel a bit itchy. He pursed his lips, looking somewhat displeased. Li Datou thought he was starving, so he quickly placed Xie Shi’an back into the crib.

He went to the sink to wash his hands again, recalling the process Fan Chunxiang had taught him for mixing milk powder. He then entered the room.

After being placed down so soon after being held, Xie Shi’an furrowed his little face. His hands were already clenched into fists as he stared longingly at the direction his father had walked in.

He had been locked away in that dark, sunless place for so many years, and throughout those long years, he had used his time to recall every bit of his time spent with his parents.

Even when he repeatedly flipped through all his memories, there had never been a scene like where Li Datou held him in his arms, let alone comforting him.

His father’s reassuring embrace didn’t last long before he was back in the crib. Naturally, Xie Shi’an was unhappy. His eyes widened in disbelief, his face filled with confusion.

Did you really leave me here? Did you really just leave me here and walk away?

Li Datou came out with a bottle of milk. When he saw Xie Shi’an’s watery eyes, he noticed that An’an, upon seeing him, bared his toothless gums in a grin. It made him feel indescribably at ease.

He handed over the bottle, and Xie Shi’an, now familiar with how to use it, securely held it and began drinking deeply.

Li Datou stood by, watching as An’an drank with vigor, a smile spreading across his face, and the fine lines on his forehead became visible.

At this moment, Fan Chunxiang had just finished making dinner and called Li Datou to come in.

There was pickled vegetables, stir-fried greens, and white rice. For them, three hundred days of the year were like this, with Fan Chunxiang only willing to include some meat for festivals or special occasions.

While they were eating, they also moved Xie Shi’an’s crib into the kitchen. A child this young couldn’t be left out of sight; it made them uneasy.

Having drunk half a bottle of milk, Xie Shi’an watched them eat, his throat visibly working as he swallowed several times.

Although his little belly was already swollen from the milk, leaving clear traces on his clothes, another few sips could make him spit up. But, when he saw others eating, he still felt the urge to snack, smacking his lips as if that could somehow relieve his craving.

Fan Chunxiang, seeing how cute he looked when he smacked his lips, nudged Li Datou with her elbow. Li Datou followed her gaze.

Just as Xie Shi’an had clearly swallowed his saliva, he locked eyes with his father, quickly turning to look at his mother, only to find she was also watching him. His little face turned bright red.

He lowered his head, pretending to focus on fiddling with his hands, as a way to ease his embarrassment.

Li Datou worked hard during the day collecting trash, but he was exhausted. While Fan Chunxiang washed the dishes and tidied up the kitchen, he went outside to clean the yard. The two of them finished their chores around the same time.

Fan Chunxiang could hear people talking but couldn’t speak herself.

Li Datou had been deaf since childhood, and the couple communicated entirely through sign language. The yard was very quiet, with only the occasional soft babbling of Xie Shi’an.

It was peaceful, yet warm.

After finishing the dishes, with hot water still boiling in the pot, Li Datou retrieved An’an’s clothes, and together with his wife, they gave Xie Shi’an a bath.

Since their work mostly involved collecting trash, no matter how much they washed, their hands remained dark, a stark contrast to Xie Shi’an’s delicate skin.

After the bath, Xie Shi’an, now in clean pajamas, sat on the bed, holding a rattle and gently shaking it. In the dim light, his clear eyes looked extraordinarily beautiful.

Before going to sleep, Li Datou was still communicating with his wife in sign language. Once they sold the scrap they had collected, they planned to buy a few new, nice clothes for An’an.

Other people’s children wore bright, new clothes, but An’an couldn’t keep wearing discarded old clothes forever.

Fan Chunxiang touched An’an’s slightly stiff clothes, and seeing his tender skin marked with red impressions from the fabric, she felt a pang of sympathy.

Children’s clothes in the store were mostly expensive. The money they brought last time was only enough to buy one set, so now he was wearing a used old outfit that a neighbor had been about to throw away.

Xie Shi’an didn’t mind. He had no awareness of their thoughts, smiling broadly, lost in happiness.

Children grow quickly, and after playing with his father’s arm for a while, he leaned over to his mother’s arms and fell asleep.

His even breathing in the quiet night was incredibly soothing.

At this point, System 250 had finally shaken off the sadness of parting with the points it had accumulated over a lifetime. After seeing Xie Shi’an peacefully asleep, it generously spent a point on a bottle of red wine for itself.

Although this old monster host didn’t quite match what it had imagined, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

At the very least, the child seemed obedient.

Previously, it was just the two of them living together. Li Datou worked hard every day, and after deducting their living expenses, they could save some money.

But now things were different. Now, they had an additional child to take care of. Right now, they not only had to worry about food and clothing, but when the child started school, there would be more expenses.

The heavy pressure fell on Li Datou’s shoulders, but he didn’t feel tired. On the contrary, he worked happily every day and even arranged for another cleaning job through connections.

Eight hundred yuan a month, waking up at four in the morning every day—this would be incredibly hard for most people, but Li Datiao was very content.

Fan Chunxiang usually had household chores to do, and now she also had an additional child to take care of, so she couldn’t go out to work. However, she was good with her hands and could knit many beautiful gloves, scarves, and hats from yarn.

Her knitting was very delicate, and the color combinations were beautiful. Every day when she took An’an with her, she would also knit a little.

An’an had a good temperament and was easy to look after. He was very obedient except when he was hungry or needed a diaper change.

The weather gradually became cooler, and little An’an, who could barely sit at first, began trying to walk.

Li Datiao, carrying a snake-skin bag, came back right on time in the evening and pushed open the small courtyard door. Xie Shi’an, sitting there, was drawn by the sound and subconsciously lifted his head.

When he saw it was his father, he quickly stood up and wobbled toward him.

Excited, little An’an ran too fast and fell before reaching his father, sitting down on the ground with a thud. The pain stunned him for a moment.

Seeing this, Li Datiao hurriedly put down what he was carrying and picked up An’an.

At that moment, An’an regained his senses and felt the pain. Tears began to well up in his beautiful eyes, slowly dripping down.

Pouting his lips, he first patted the dirt off his body, then pointed to where he had just fallen.

At this point, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and started crying, “Wah!”

Li Datiao, who didn’t know how to comfort his crying little one, became anxious, sweat beading on his forehead. Hearing the noise, Fan Chunxiang hurried out and took An’an from him.

Li Datiao gestured to his wife, explaining that An’an had just fallen.

At this age, children are full of curiosity, and as soon as they learn to walk, they want to explore everywhere. Falling is completely normal.

Li Datiao knew this very well, but he still felt a little guilty.

Xie Shi’an was not a particularly difficult child. After being comforted for a while, he stopped crying, though his eyes were still red, looking pitiful as he occasionally sniffed.

That night, after the child fell asleep, Li Datiao took a flashlight and patiently dug out the stones from the yard with a hoe, carefully stepping on the ground multiple times to ensure it was even.

Fan Chunxiang saw him working late at night and shook her head helplessly, going over to help.

In this alley, all the small courtyards were like this. Those in slightly better conditions had paved concrete floors, but their family was not in great shape, so they still had the original dirt ground.

They hadn’t bothered about the stones before, thinking they wouldn’t affect anything.

But today, when An’an fell and cried out, Li Datiao felt so heartbroken that he couldn’t sleep that night until he fixed the ground.

The two of them worked late into the night, and once they were done, Li Datiao lay down but soon got up after glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. He quietly got dressed in his sanitation worker’s uniform and went out.

After he left, Fan Chunxiang couldn’t sleep either. She got up, took the bag she usually used for knitting, and sat under the streetlight outside to continue working.

As the sky slowly brightened, Li Datiao, after finishing the area, went to the market and bought some vegetables.

Earlier, he had discovered that An’an had already grown teeth. After being reminded by others, he realized it was time to introduce solid food to the child, so he bought a pumpkin.

After steaming the pumpkin, when it was almost done, Fan Chunxiang went to the bedroom to check on An’an.

At that moment, An’an was sitting on the bed rubbing his eyes, and when he saw his mother enter, he yawned.

He was a very obedient child who understood how hard his parents worked and never caused trouble. After waking up, he would just quietly wait there.

Having been drinking milk powder for so long, it was An’an’s first time seeing the pumpkin in front of him. His dark grape-like eyes were filled with joy.

He looked at his dad and then at his mom, seemingly trying to confirm with them.

“Is this for An’an to eat? Is this really for An’an?”

Fan Chunxiang scooped a piece of steamed pumpkin with a spoon and brought it to his mouth.

An’an cautiously leaned forward, making sure his mother wasn’t pulling the spoon away. After swallowing his saliva, he finally leaned in and ate it.

After feeding An’an, they both had their own meal. During dinner, Fan Chunxiang gestured to Li Datiao, saying that she planned to take An’an to the park today.

While she was knitting yesterday, a neighbor had mentioned that An’an still hadn’t spoken, possibly because he lived with them.

Neither of them could speak, and An’an didn’t have anyone to learn from, which was why he hadn’t spoken yet. Other children his age should already be saying a few simple words.

Both of them had physical limitations and had suffered the hardships that came with it. They deeply hoped that their child would grow up healthy and not end up like them.

After finishing the housework in the morning, Fan Chunxiang took An’an to the nearby park. She brought some of her knitted items and planned to set up a small stall. If there were no customers, she would continue knitting.

It had already been autumn for some time, but the weather hadn’t completely turned cold yet. Most people in the park were wearing light jackets.

An’an sat in the stroller. Because his head was a little bald and he was starting to care about his appearance, he didn’t like his baldness at all. So Fan Chunxiang knitted him a tiger hat.

Fan Chunxiang was skilled at knitting, and the hat was very cute, especially the fluffy ears. As An’an moved, they swayed back and forth, making it irresistibly adorable.

The best model sat nearby, and many people with children in the park were drawn to her. Soon, people began to ask about the prices of the items Fan Chunxiang had made.

Fan Chunxiang couldn’t speak well, but she recognized a few words. Before leaving, she wrote the prices on a piece of cardboard and pointed at the board, apologizing to the customers with a smile.

Most people wouldn’t intentionally make things difficult for someone like Fan Chunxiang. Some of the younger people, seeing how pitiful she was, even bought something from her.

Fan Chunxiang had only intended to take An’an out for a while, but she didn’t expect that her business would be good even before the weather turned cold. Most of the items she had brought were sold.

The hat that matched the one An’an was wearing was the first to sell. The little guy had a sense of crisis when a customer asked if there were any more hats like the one on his head.

He covered his beautiful hat with his hands and gave the customer a wary look.