Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Ming He, what are you doing here?"

Hearing the voice, Ming He looked up and saw a slightly plump old woman. It was Mrs. Niu herself. He exclaimed with joy, "Mrs. Niu!"

Mrs. Niu had been busy assisting a childbirth in Stone Alley last night, not returning home until dawn and had slept until now. Coming out, she didn't see her husband and children but found Ming He standing in the yard.

Without waiting for her to speak, Ming He suddenly grabbed her hand and started pulling her outside, "Mrs. Niu! Let's go!"

"Where are we going?" Mrs. Niu asked, puzzled.

"Aunt Yue Niang is having her baby!" Ming He said urgently.

"Is it Yue Niang from the Song Sanwu family?" Mrs. Niu inquired.

"Yes, hurry!"

Song Sanwu, who doted on his wife, had notified Mrs. Niu a month ago and even sent a gift yesterday as a reminder to pay extra attention to Yue Niang. Hearing that Yue Niang was in labor, Mrs. Niu understood the urgency and quickly followed Ming He, running towards the Song residence.

"Uncle! Brother!" Ming He, seeing Xiao Yu and Danzi in the courtyard, hurriedly shouted, "Mrs. Niu is here!"

Xiao Yu quickly stepped forward to greet her, "Mrs. Niu."

"Where's Yue Niang?" Mrs. Niu asked directly.

"She's in the inner room with Aunt Liu." After Xiao Yu carried Yue Niang to the inner room, Mrs. Liu hurried back. Being a man, he stepped out of the room to wait in the courtyard, ready to help with whatever was needed.

Mrs. Niu, hearing the intermittent cries of pain coming from inside, judged the situation based on her experience and asked, "Is the water heated?"

Xiao Yu queried, "Hot water?"

"If not, heat it quickly, and a lot of it. We'll definitely need it soon."

Xiao Yu hurriedly agreed, "Okay, I'll do it right away!"

Mrs. Niu first washed her hands in a basin nearby, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped her hands as she walked into the inner room.

Xiao Yu went to the kitchen of the Song family, looked around to familiarize himself with it, then started filling two pots with water. While doing so, he stopped.

"Ran out of water?" asked Ming He.

"I'll fetch some," Danzi volunteered eagerly.

"Come back, start the fire first. I'll fetch the water." Danzi was too small to fetch water. Xiao Yu lit both stoves and then asked Danzi and Ming He to watch the fire while he went to the courtyard to fetch water, pouring it bucket by bucket into the pots in the kitchen.

Soon, both pots were full.

"Yue Niang, Yue Niang!" Song Sanwu, having heard the news, rushed back.

Xiao Yu quickly went out to greet him, "Brother Sanwu."

An anxious Song Sanwu asked, "Brother Xiao, how is Yue Niang?"

"Aunt Liu and Mrs. Niu are both taking care of her inside."

"I'll go have a look."

Although Xiao Yu didn't know the details of childbirth, he knew that a sterile environment was best. Song Sanwu, having been around many people at the escort agency and covered in dust, might not be good for Yue Niang. He extended his hand to stop Song Sanwu, "Brother Sanwu, you're all dirty, it might affect sister-in-law."

Song Sanwu also realized his condition was inappropriate.

At that moment, Mrs. Liu came out.

"Mother," Song Sanwu called out.

"Sanwu is back. I'll go heat the water," Mrs. Liu hurriedly said.

Xiao Yu informed her, "I've already heated it; it should be ready now."

"Thank you so much," Mrs. Liu gratefully responded, fetching a clean wooden basin to fill with hot water, and hurriedly carried it inside.

Song Sanwu, extremely anxious, quickly changed into clean clothes in the side room and rushed into the inner room, only to be scolded out by Mrs. Niu, followed by Yue Niang's cries of pain.

Distressed and anxious, Song Sanwu paced around the courtyard.

Ming He and Danzi, not understanding what was happening, called out from the kitchen, "Uncle!"

Xiao Yu entered the kitchen and explained, "Your Aunt Yue Niang is giving birth."

Ming He asked, "Does it hurt a lot?"

"Aunt Yue Niang is crying out," Danzi said.

"It's very painful," Xiao Yu admitted, although not knowing the exact extent of the pain. He remembered from his past life seeing men in a hospital trying to experience the pain of childbirth. Dozens of men couldn't endure it to the end, indicating the severity of the pain.

Ming He wondered, "Uncle, did my mother also suffer like this when she gave birth to me?"

"Yes," Xiao Yu nodded.

Danzi looked confused, "Uncle, did it hurt like this when you gave birth to me?"

"Brother, Uncle didn't give birth to you! Don't listen to Da Bao's nonsense," Ming He reminded.

Danzi blinked twice in realization.

Xiao Yu, amused, explained the basics of childbirth to the two children.

The children listened intently, though not fully understanding.

"For now, let's focus on keeping the fire going and providing plenty of hot water for Aunt Yue Niang," Xiao Yu suggested.

The two children nodded and watched the stove with great seriousness.

Basins of hot water were continuously carried out.

Shen Yue Niang continued to cry out in pain.

Song Sanwu paced back and forth anxiously, almost wearing out the floor.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the loud cry of a newborn finally came from the inner room. Xiao Yu and his nephews rushed to Song Sanwu, all eagerly looking towards the door.

Mrs. Liu emerged with a joyful smile, announcing, "Mother and daughter are both safe."

Song Sanwu, overjoyed, rushed inside.

Ming He also wanted to go inside.

Xiao Yu held Ming He back, saying, "Aunt Yue Niang is weak, and the baby is still very small. They both need rest. Let's not disturb them now. We can visit in a few days when they've both recovered."

Ming He and Danzi obediently nodded.

Xiao Yu bid farewell to Mrs. Liu.

Mrs. Liu was immensely grateful to Xiao Yu and his nephews, but with her daughter having just given birth, there were many tasks to attend to, and she couldn't properly express her gratitude or entertain them.

Xiao Yu didn't mind. After exchanging a few words with Mrs. Liu, he took the two children back to the Little River Breakfast Shop, picking up the vegetables and meat that had fallen on the ground.

Ming He just picked up a large white radish when he let out a yelp.

Hearing this, Xiao Yu saw Ming He's swollen hand and quickly examined it, noticing several scrapes. He asked worriedly, "How did your hand get hurt?"

"I fell down," Ming He explained about the encounter with the small yellow dog and then proudly added, "Uncle, I'm not afraid of dogs anymore."

Xiao Yu, heart aching with concern, carried Ming He into the shop with one hand while holding the vegetables in the other. After setting down the vegetables, he took Ming He to the bedroom to thoroughly check his clothes and body for any injuries.

Thankfully.

It was a relief that the thick winter clothing had protected his knees. Xiao Yu always worried about the children getting hurt. He had various medicines prepared in the bedroom and applied some to Ming He's hand, gently instructing, "Don't touch anything today."

Ming He nodded in agreement.

During dinner, Xiao Yu fed Ming He, causing Danzi to look on enviously. However, Ming He's hand healed the next day, and he was able to eat by himself again.

Xiao Yu returned to his business with peace of mind.

A few days later, Yue Niang and her baby stabilized. Song Sanwu, in high spirits, brought various gifts to thank Xiao Yu and his nephews for their help on that day. He couldn't stop praising how beautiful his daughter was, clearly a doting father.

Xiao Yu remarked, "She's not even ten days old yet, can you really tell her looks?"

"Of course! She's very pretty!" Song Sanwu turned to Ming He and said, "Ming He, you better grow up well. If you turn out any less, I won't marry my daughter to you!"

Though a rough man, Song Sanwu liked Ming He, a fair and poem-reciting beautiful child, and often mentioned him as a potential son-in-law. Now with a daughter born, he was even more proud.

Ming He, not fully understanding the concept of marriage, shyly hid behind Xiao Yu due to Song Sanwu's enthusiasm.

Xiao Yu patted Ming He's head and asked, "Brother Sanwu, have you chosen a name for the baby?"

Song Sanwu replied, "We've thought of many names. My mother-in-law and wife are particular about it. They say after the baby is a month old, we'll match it with her birth chart and consult a master to finalize her nickname and formal name."

"That sounds good."

"Such trouble!" Song Sanwu said, but his face showed no impatience. Thinking of his wife and daughter, he added, "I can't stay long, my girl needs her diaper changed. I'll be off. Do visit us often."

Before Xiao Yu could respond, Song Sanwu had already hurried off.

Xiao Yu smiled and shook his head, then took Ming He and Danzi to the backyard to sweep leaves. He made a simple swing between two trees and pushed the children as they played.

The children laughed and giggled non-stop.

The uncle and nephews spent a leisurely afternoon together. The next morning, Zhang Wu arrived, and they got busy again.

Once the steamed buns were ready, Zhang Wu carried six baskets to the shop's entrance and set them on the table.

Suddenly, a series of crackling sounds erupted.

Startled, he looked up to see that it was Wang Daji's family setting off firecrackers.

What's with the fireworks out of the blue?

Through the thin smoke, he saw a sign hanging at Wang Daji's house. He could read the five big characters – "Daji's Breakfast Shop."

A breakfast shop!

Xiaoyu, Minghe, and Danzi came out upon hearing the noise.

"What's that sound?" Minghe asked.

Danzi, covering his ears, peeked out, "Is it fireworks?"

As the sound of fireworks continued, Zhang Wu turned to Xiaoyu, "They've opened a breakfast shop."

Xiaoyu smiled slightly and said, "They finally opened."

"They really did open," Zhang Wu said through gritted teeth, his heart burning with anger. Then, turning to see Xiaoyu's expression, he asked in surprise, "Xiaoyu, are you smiling?"

"Can't you tell?" Xiaoyu asked with a smile.

"You seem quite happy about it," Zhang Wu remarked.

Xiaoyu nodded, "Yes, I've been waiting for this for a long time."

Zhang Wu was puzzled.

Just then, a customer arrived. Xiaoyu patted Zhang Wu's shoulder, "Let's attend to the customer first."

While serving the customers, Xiaoyu and Zhang Wu overheard their conversations.

"Did you see? The new Daji Breakfast Shop has opened."

"I heard for the first three days of the opening, buns are only one coin each, and spicy soup is three coins a bowl."

"They also have buns and spicy soup?"

"And porridge too? All for two coins."

"That's so cheap!"

"It's their opening promotion, of course. Why not take advantage of it?"

"Let's go."

"Yeah, let's go!"

“……”

The customers who used to queue for breakfast at their place had dwindled significantly. The breakfast that usually sold out quickly was still available until late morning, while Wang Daji's Daji Breakfast Shop was bustling with a full house.

Customers coming out from there were full of praises for Wang Daji's breakfast.

"Their buns taste pretty good."

"Though not as good as Xiaohezi's, their spicy soup is equally delicious."

"The most important thing is they also serve porridge."

"I think their porridge is quite tasty."

"Yes, they have a variety of options, and the prices are cheap. I'll come back tomorrow."

"I heard he used to sell porridge in the market, now he's selling it from home."

"Selling from home is a good idea, more relaxed!"

“……”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wu couldn't hold back any longer and rolled up his sleeves, ready to confront Wang Daji.

Xiaoyu reached out and grabbed him, "What's the rush?"