Free Web NovelChapter 432: Chapter 428: Food Court’s Grand Opening
The others didn’t share Feng Ling’s reservations. They all thought it was a great arrangement. Staying with Xinghua was not only convenient, but they could also look out for each other.
Grandpa Guan was also very satisfied and had many good things to say to Xinghua and Lin Shuying.
Lin Shuying was a down-to-earth person. She had suffered a lot herself and was currently living in Gu’er’s house, so when she saw others in trouble, she felt it was only right to lend a hand.
Xinghua, even more so, said she would definitely get along well with Feng Ling and treat her like an older sister.
And so, Feng Ling and Guan Yicai settled in at Li Zhi’s home.
During the day, Feng Ling would go to the shop with Xinghua, while Guan Yicai would visit the Sun Family. In the evening, Feng Ling and Xinghua returned together. Afterward, she would come to the Sun Family’s home to help with dinner. After eating there, she would go back to the Li Family’s home to clean up. In the mornings, she would also wake up early to make breakfast.
Both Xinghua and Li Zhi were very pleased with Feng Ling. Xinghua said Feng Ling was very smart and diligent. She was perceptive and would do all the chores in the shop without being told. She even found time to learn knitting from Xinghua and was a quick study.
Li Zhi found Feng Ling to be hardworking, quiet, and sensible. He didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable with them living at his place.
「And just like that, it was August.」
Gu’er was now eight months pregnant, and her belly looked quite large. Cao Qiu had mentioned several times that Gu’er’s belly was bigger than other women’s, and she suspected there might be two babies inside.
Gu’er didn’t think so. ’In the past, pregnant women’s bellies weren’t that big because they didn’t have enough to eat. With poor nutrition, how could their bellies get large?’
But ever since she got pregnant, Sun Jiaming and Aunt Zhao bought her whatever good food she wanted to eat. On top of that, Li Zhi, Dingzi, and Marina would also buy her any delicacies they came across. Chen Fengjiao often bought her this and that as supplements. ’Eating like this, it’d be strange if my belly *wasn’t* big.’
Besides her large belly, she hadn’t gained much weight otherwise. She figured the baby was absorbing all the nutrients. Because she hadn’t gotten fat, her belly seemed even bigger.
Every time Cao Qiu saw her, she would mutter, "Other women change for the worse when they’re pregnant, but you’re getting prettier and prettier. Looks like it’s a girl for sure. If you give me two granddaughters in one go, it’ll be the death of me."
Gu’er didn’t want to engage with her, but Cao Qiu was telling the truth. Gu’er’s skin had become much fairer than before. After getting pregnant, her skin was extremely fine, firm, and had a glow to it. She really did look beautiful. Gu’er herself felt it would be a girl, as the saying goes that a mother carrying a daughter becomes prettier.
Although she didn’t say much to Cao Qiu, she was still a little scared inside. With such a big belly, whether it was one baby or two, she was afraid the birth wouldn’t be easy. When she remembered how she’d almost died giving birth to Zhang Juan, her heart couldn’t help but tremble.
Thankfully, Sun Jiaming was always by her side. Every night, he would soak her feet in hot water, chat with her, and they would place their hands, one over the other, on her belly to feel the baby move and talk to it.
Gradually, Gu’er’s fear subsided. On the contrary, she began to look forward to the arrival of this new little life.
Every time Sun Jiaming’s large hand covered hers, moving it slowly across her belly to feel the baby’s movements, she felt a special kind of happiness.
"Gu’er, don’t be anxious. The grand opening these past few days has been incredibly crowded. You can’t even squeeze in. You have no idea—if Dingzi hadn’t been protecting Marina, she might have gotten squished in the crowd. I went to check it out the last couple of days, and people were constantly yelling and screaming that their feet got stepped on. There was even a mother with her child, and the kid got pushed far away. If I hadn’t arranged for extra staff who managed to grab the child, he might have gotten hurt. Wait a couple of days until the crowds thin out, and I’ll take you and the baby to get some good food."
Sun Jiaming said this to Gu’er while stroking her belly, a hint of apology in his tone. The food court on the fourth floor had opened, and business was unexpectedly good. Every single stall had long lines of people waiting to eat.
Dingzi had taken Marina there once. He had originally wanted to take his grandmother to try the food too, but seeing the situation, he was too scared to even bring Marina back, let alone his grandmother.
Li Zhi took Grandpa Guan and Guan Fengling once. Guan Fengling hadn’t wanted to go, but Li Zhi said it was their own mall and, since it had just opened, he wanted them to come show some support. So, Grandpa Guan and Guan Fengling went. The crowd was so huge that Guan Fengling was nearly knocked over. Li Zhi had to shield her the whole time to prevent an accident. On top of that, the stall owner knew Li Zhi and prepared their food quickly. Li Zhi took the food and led them up to the fifth floor to eat. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been anywhere to sit; you had to fight for a spot.
Under these circumstances, Sun Jiaming didn’t dare take Gu’er. But Gu’er was a foodie, and turning the fourth floor into a food court had been her idea in the first place. Sun Jiaming felt bad that he couldn’t take her to try the food and see it for herself.
"It’s fine, Brother Jia Ming. The hype will die down in a couple of days. You can take me then. At worst, if it’s still crowded, you can just buy the food and we can go up to the fifth floor to eat."
Gu’er wasn’t concerned. As long as business was good, that was all that mattered. As for eating, there would be plenty of opportunities later. There was no need to rush.
"Okay. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll make sure you get to try everything."
Sun Jiaming nodded in agreement.
"Oh, she kicked me again! This little girl must know I’m playing with her. She’s responding to me."
Sun Jiaming’s hand felt a movement in Gu’er’s belly.
"Good girl, are you playing with your daddy? Do you want Daddy to tell you a story?"
Gu’er also stroked her own belly, her face full of adoration.
"Little girl, want to hear Daddy tell you a story?"
Sun Jiaming asked, looking at Gu’er’s belly.
"Yes, I do."
A childish voice replied. Sun Jiaming was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. He pointed at Gu’er’s forehead and said, "You little rascal. *You’re* my daughter, aren’t you?"
It turned out the childish voice from just now was Gu’er putting it on.
"Your daughter can’t talk yet, can she? I answered for her. Now hurry up and tell her a story."
Gu’er giggled, looking very happy.
"Alright, alright. Story time for my big baby girl."
Sun Jiaming said, the words holding a double meaning, and began his story: "Once upon a time, there was a mountain. On the mountain, there was a temple..."
"...and in the temple, there was an old monk. No, no, that won’t do! Your daughter doesn’t want to hear that one. Tell her an interesting story. You can’t just try to fool her. Don’t look down on her just because she hasn’t been born yet. She can understand you. If you try to fool her now, she’ll fool you back in the future."
Gu’er quickly cut Sun Jiaming off. People in this era didn’t know about prenatal education. In truth, Gu’er didn’t understand it very well herself; she had just heard people talk about it later on. That’s why she and Sun Jiaming would tell stories and talk to the baby in their spare time.
"Fine, I won’t fool her. I’ll tell her the story of the wolf and the little lamb."
Sun Jiaming nodded and began telling the story of the wolf and the little lamb.
’Actually, I know lots of stories. All those different cartoons from later on... I could tell so many of them,’ Gu’er listened attentively, thinking to herself. ’But I don’t plan on telling the baby any of those. Every era has its own creations. No matter how popular those cartoons were later, they aren’t suitable for the present. People’s mindsets wouldn’t be able to accept them. So, what I want to give my child belongs to this era.’
