Since Lin Wan was discharged from the hospital, she has been enjoying various gourmet dishes at home. Mom has been teaching the chef right at home, and while doing so, cooking various nutritious dishes to help her recuperate.

Even godmother, knowing that Liang Hongmei has been making various foods recently and can’t finish them, has been coming over every morning and returning home at night, not only enjoying ready-made meals but also learning a few culinary tricks from Liang Hongmei.

"Recently, I was looking for a nanny for the old house over there. I had people help introduce two, but neither could cook well, not fitting the tastes of the elderly. Mr. Mei’s orderly is back to help care for the elderly, but his cooking skills aren’t up to par either." She muttered while eating Mom’s fried shrimp.

"Isn’t there Xie Lingzhi for things over at my father-in-law’s place? Why let godmother worry about this?"

"Xie Lingzhi is constantly in the hospital taking care of Xiao Chi, saying she’s caring for her son, but in fact, she just doesn’t want to go home to serve the old couple. Xiao Chi can already get out of bed and is almost fully recovered, not needing her care anymore. I’ve heard from people in the compound that she’s been looking at houses outside recently."

"Looking at houses?" Lin Wan was very puzzled. Mei Langchi had just compensated them so much money, half of which came from Mr. Mei and Xie Lingzhi themselves. Yet now there seems to be money left to buy a house.

"Xie Lingzhi feels the old house is eerie and asked Mei Shuping to apply to the army for housing, but Mei Shuping doesn’t want to move. Seeing Mei Shuping refuse, Xie Lingzhi decided to spend her own money to buy a house outside out of spite, insisting they move. Once the house is bought, she’ll move in directly, having Mei Shuping and the elderly leave the old house. Because of this, the couple is secretly competing, and Mr. Mei and Old Mrs. Mei are unaware. If they find out, they definitely won’t move. They’ve lived there all their lives and can’t bear to leave. Seems this matter will escalate."

"Godmother, why are you worrying about these things? Just find them a nanny they like. Tomorrow, let’s go shopping." Moving out of the old house—Mr. Mei won’t move even at gunpoint.

"Alright, we’ll go shopping tomorrow."

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month had passed for nearly half a month, and everything was back on track. The shopping malls opened, offering many new products. Lin Wan was interested in the newly launched rice cooker.

The rice cooker wasn’t expensive for her now, priced at fifty-six yuan. Lin Wan bought two right away, giving one to her godmother.

Since receiving the compensation from Mei Langchi, apart from installing a phone, she hadn’t spent any of it.

She planned to use the remaining money to buy a car. The previous car couldn’t be repaired and was sold to a car factory, fetching only five thousand yuan.

This made Lin Wan terribly upset. Luckily, she recovered a few thousand yuan.

In just a few days, godmother came over again with two black-boned chickens and several fish, saying my father-in-law had sent them to nourish her.

Since moving back to the courtyard house, the Mei elders hadn’t asked about her even once. Surprisingly, her fiancé’s father cared quite a lot.

"Godmother, the black-boned chicken can help nourish, but we can’t finish so many fish."

"It’s only three fish after all. Today, let your mom stew one. The rest can be deep-fried. Isn’t there Lao San here too? Lao San’s appetite is no small thing; these three fish might not even be enough for him."

"About that lad, he hasn’t stopped torturing me these days. Yesterday, it finally ended, and he left with his chef, saying once the restaurant’s ready, we’ll be invited to taste the dishes." Liang Hongmei had been busy for the past two weeks since returning from her daughter’s house.

"That’s also good, keeping himself occupied, sparing him from pestering Mr. Mei." Liang Qian didn’t want this to continue bothering them.

"Have you found a nanny for your parents?" Liang Hongmei asked curiously.

"Found one, just arrived two days ago; she’s clean and efficient, and her cooking is good. The elderly are satisfied, and the matter is finally settled. I made a lot of requests recently because of this nanny issue."

"This time, the nanny was introduced by the people from the compound, from Old Mrs. Mei herself."

"Since she found one and is satisfied, you can stop worrying; that’s good." Liang Hongmei comforted her, tying the two chickens in the corner of the yard.

One fish was simply stewed, while the remaining two were fried into fish pieces. Liang Hongmei asked Liang Qian to take one back when leaving.

She and her daughter lacked nothing, buying whatever they wanted daily.

Recently, they found yellow-skinned pumpkins on the street, and Xiao Wan exactly wanted to drink millet pumpkin porridge. They’ve been having this for breakfast lately.

In the evening, Lin Wan received a call from Han Yi and Little Star, learning Little Star had returned to school normally and was excited about the new books.

On the phone, she praised her dad for wrapping the books in beautiful covers.

"How’s your health recently? Have you gone to the hospital for a check-up?" Han Yi asked with concern on the phone.

"I’m doing well, and Bao Bao is very obedient. Nowadays, Mom is constantly finding new ways to feed me, and I’ve gained a whole circle. I go to the hospital weekly; the doctor says the child’s position is perfect and advised me to walk more. When the time comes, I can give birth naturally."

"Good, as long as you both are okay. Mei Langchi hasn’t come to bother you, right?"

"No, according to godmother, he was discharged a week ago. No idea what he’s been up to recently."

"Ignore him. Starting tomorrow, I will be busy visiting various military units. Little Star will be looked after by your cousin for a while. If you miss her, you can call your cousin or Sister-in-law Jiang."

"Hmm, how long will you be busy?"

Han Yi knew she hoped he would be with her during labor, and he smiled and assured her, "There’s still more than a month left, and I’ll be in the Capital City by then."

Lin Wan and Han Yi chatted for quite a while before reluctantly hanging up the phone.

Chen Haichang originally wanted to wait for Lin Wan to give birth and see Little Star’s younger brother, but he had lots of matters to handle at the port. He bought many small items for the unborn baby, along with several cans of formula, before heading back.

Though it’s already February, the weather is still cold. Lin Wan hadn’t prepared anything for the baby, so she quickly started preparing small blankets and clothes to avoid being in a rush later.

By March, Lin Wan’s belly was so large that she couldn’t bend over to put on shoes. Her mother-in-law returned with a large pile of items, mostly small clothes and diapers for the baby.

There’s now a small box at home filled with baby items, which Lin Wan estimates will last until the baby is three years old.

"I thought you didn’t have time to make them, so I made a few sets when I was free at home. The rest were made by your Grandma and Aunt Jin, and they asked me to bring them back."

"Mom, how is Grandma lately?"

"Your Grandma is in good spirits, but she can’t stand for long periods and can only manage trips to the bathroom by herself."

Lin Wan felt worried when she heard her mother-in-law’s words about Grandma.

"It’s serious when the elderly get sick, but Old Mrs. Mei has recovered nicely. Being able to take care of herself is a blessing." Liang Hongmei, being older, understands the seriousness of illness.

"That’s right, being able to care for herself is good. Oh... I forgot to tell you, Shuhua gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. It’s made Aunt Jin very happy; she’s now busy with three children, constantly in a frenzy, and yet she’s very cheerful and couldn’t be happier."

"Twins, huh? Now it’s great, two sons and a daughter. Xiao Gu will be busy in the future." Liang Hongmei was both happy and worried for them. Two sons, which means careful planning for their education, marriage, and having kids, all requiring significant expenses, especially with three children.

"Exactly, but Xiao Gu and Shuhua are both good kids, both capable. They won’t let the children live poorly." Shen Qing said with a smile.

Lin Wan imagined Shuhua managing three children and found it endearing, "Mom, can they manage three kids?"

"They can’t manage them all. Xiao Gu hired two nannies, one for each child."

"Hiring two nannies all at once?" Liang Hongmei was a bit surprised.

"Yes, that’s right. The store can’t do without Shuhua, and once her confinement is over, she has to run to the store every day. Aunt Jin can’t handle it alone, so she hired two nannies, while she looks after the oldest and helps the nannies. Even so, it’s hard to keep up." Shen Qing thought about what she had seen and shook her head with a smile.

"We’re fortunate that Shuhua and Xiao Gu can make money and don’t exhaust themselves too much. It’s just a matter of two or three years. When the children grow up, it will get better." Lin Wan felt this was good.

During Lin Wan’s waiting period for labor, Mei Shuping brought Old Mrs. Mei over once and brought many tonics for her.

During their conversation, Lin Wan learned Mr. Mei had been feeling unwell lately, catching a cold once, and his sore throat worsened. After being checked at the hospital, they found it was caused by inflammation. After several days of IV treatment, the doctors advised continuing medication treatment.

Lin Wan thought Mr. Mei’s illness hadn’t improved and that it was tough to recover due to his age.

Lin Wan pretended to go see Mr. Mei, but Mei Shuping didn’t let her go, saying it wasn’t convenient with a big belly.

When her godmother came to visit the next day, Lin Wan learned Xie Lingzhi had found a house outside and wanted to pay. Mei Shuping disagreed, saying it was a waste of money.

However, Xie Lingzhi insisted on living outside, and Mei Shuping couldn’t persuade her and had to apply for a housing allocation from above.

Based on Mei Shuping’s rank, he could only apply for a three-bedroom house, but considering he was the eldest and needed to care for Mr. Mei, they generously gave him a two-story house in the courtyard opposite.

Once the house was divided, Xie Lingzhi spent a week rearranging the new place and replaced the furniture.

After tidying up, she informed the two elders about moving.

Mr. Mei heard the eldest planned to move, and immediately disagreed, refusing to leave.