Chapter 86: First Update

Chapter 86: First Update

When Qin Yao woke up again, she was already in a hospital ward. Her body was filled with a deep sense of fatigue, yet it was as if she had just experienced a sauna, having shed a heavy burden and regained her energy.

The first thing she thought of was to check on the two little ones. She turned her head to the side, and there they were, lying next to her.

The children had their eyes closed and were sleeping soundly. Their tiny eyes, noses, and mouths made them look like little dolls, warm and fragile in her arms. Their small fists were clenched tightly.

Indeed, it wasn’t a dream. The older brother looked like her, and the younger one resembled Gu Cheng.

Qin Yao breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like a weight had been lifted, and her heart swelled with contentment. It felt as if she had gained the upper hand, filling her with an endless sense of satisfaction.

Little Gu, when you grow up, make sure your big brother doesn’t pick on you!

Qin Yao smiled, wanting to touch these soft little beings but not daring to. They were too small, and she was afraid that if she used even a little force, she might break their bodies.

"Awake? I'll go get Gu Cheng."

Gu Cheng had been staying in the hospital and hadn’t slept all night. It wasn’t until daytime that his excited and uneasy heart finally calmed down, and he dozed off on a chair in the ward’s corridor.

Liu Shuqin called him, and Gu Cheng entered the ward. As soon as Qin Yao saw him, she smiled. "Captain Gu, did you age a decade overnight? Or have I been lying down too long, as if I’ve slept for two or three days?"

Gu Cheng had dark circles under his eyes, and a noticeable stubble covered his chin. However, his pupils were very bright, giving him a spirited look despite his haggard appearance. Qin Yao thought it was strange—in this state, she actually found him quite mature and charming.

It must have been the arrival of their little son that clouded her judgment.

Gu Cheng rubbed his face and sat down next to Qin Yao, looking at her and the children with an unusually gentle gaze. Just last night, he had undergone a transformation.

Since adulthood, with the passage of time, Gu Cheng had never truly felt the reality of aging, as if he had been frozen at seventeen or eighteen years old. He thought he had become an adult.

Now, with his own offspring and the identity of a father, this change in status brought a strange sense of fulfillment to his heart.

This feeling was truly wonderful.

Gu Cheng didn’t touch Qin Yao or the children, afraid of being unclean. He hadn’t showered the previous night, but here in the hospital, he had learned a handy trick from the doctors and nurses—pouring a bottle of alcohol over his hands for disinfection, which worked better than anything else.

After cleaning his hands, he gently pinched Qin Yao’s cheek.

Qin Yao said with disdain, "You’ve dirtied your hands again."

Not to mention that Gu Cheng hadn’t showered, she hadn’t either, and she felt particularly disgusted with herself, to the point that she didn’t dare to touch the children. In reality, neither of them had experience. She and Gu Cheng watched their newborns like first-time parents, unsure of what to do, as Liu Shuqin and Shen Guixiang took charge of the two little tigers.

Shen Guixiang, who had raised five children and already had grandchildren, had plenty of experience in caring for infants. The whole family listened to her, and together with Liu Shuqin, they each cradled one of the babies, taking charge with their years of experience.

Qin Yao felt like a feeding tool.

The two little ones were hungry, their tiny mouths ready for a meal. At first, Qin Yao thought they looked so small and vulnerable, but when it came to nursing, they put in quite some effort.

No wonder people say 'using all your strength is like a baby nursing'—they sure put in some effort!

After staying in the hospital for two days, Qin Yao returned home for her confinement. Gu Cheng had requested leave for her and taken leave himself to stay by her side and take care of her. Even with two adults at home, taking care of the two children was still a chaotic task.

The main issue was that the two newbie parents were not very competent. Whether it was feeding the babies, burping them, or changing diapers, everything had to be learned. With two children, the difficulty was doubled. The only fortunate thing was that the older one didn’t cry much, but the younger one often wailed for no reason. However, after crying for a while without receiving a response from his "best buddy" who had been in the womb with him, he realized it was pointless to cry alone.

Shen Guixiang found it amusing. "Yaoyao, you loved to cry when you were little. Whenever you cried, your fourth brother cried too. That’s just how it is with children. When one cries, the others follow."

"But our Rui Rui is different."

Rui Rui lay there, calmly observing his brother’s cries, as if he were a seasoned observer.

Qin Yao felt that her son looked just like his father but was born with a calm and kingly aura, which truly made his mother proud.

Her younger son, Mingming, could be said to be a reincarnated monkey, lively and mischievous in every way.

Gu Cheng didn’t resemble a monkey, but his second son, who looked like him, was so energetic it was a bit frightening. He loved to howl and would squirm constantly, even while nursing.

The two children hadn’t been given their formal names yet. Each of their grandmothers had given them a cute, auspicious nickname: the elder was called Ruirui, and the younger, Mingming—both common repetitive nicknames.

As the mother, Qin Yao had originally wanted to come up with something more unique, but after thinking for a long time, she couldn’t come up with anything special. She eventually got used to the nicknames her mother-in-law had chosen.

A few days after Qin Yao gave birth, Chen Baozhen had her daughter, Xinxin, on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. The two mothers were both recovering from childbirth at home. It wasn’t until Qin Yao finished her double month of confinement that the two good friends were able to meet and see each other’s children.

After giving birth, Chen Baozhen had become much fuller, and her daughter, Xinxin, was chubby and fair-skinned. Her mother-in-law adored the baby so much she didn’t want to put her down, and Gao Yingzi treated her like royalty.

The mother-in-law had originally been somewhat partial to boys and was disappointed when she found out it was a girl, feeling down for two days. But when she saw how fair and plump the little granddaughter was, her heart couldn’t help but be filled with joy. The little one was so likable.

"Your two sons really take after their parents well," Chen Baozhen said enviously. Each boy took after one of the parents, making for a perfect balance.

As for her daughter, it was hard to say who she resembled.

Gao Jianguo and Gu Cheng stood in the courtyard. Gao Jianguo glanced at Gu Cheng’s two sons and felt quite upset. It wasn’t because of anything else, but because his daughter had been "beaten to it."

For the past few days, he had been deeply pondering an important "biological" question.

"Captain Gu, logically speaking, my daughter should be the older sister, right?"

Gu Cheng replied coldly, "My younger son was born just a few minutes later than my elder son. Even though he was heavier, being born a second later makes him the younger brother."

"But that doesn’t seem right," Gao Jianguo said. "You see, my Baozhen conceived earlier than your Xiao Qin. Therefore, my Xinxin should have been conceived first, existed in the world first, appeared in the womb first. Xinxin existed before your two children. So, my Xinxin should be the older sibling."

Comrade Gao Jianguo thought he was contemplating a major scientific issue, perhaps the way age calculation had been wrong all along, unnoticed by everyone. Shouldn’t the one who came into existence first be considered the older sibling?

Gu Cheng couldn’t be bothered with him.

Captain Gu had his own concerns. While having more children brought joy, it also brought more troubles, and he missed the days when it was just him and his wife.

After his leave ended, Gu Cheng found Zhao Mingjin particularly unpleasant to deal with. From the beginning, he hadn’t planned on having a girl named "Tiger Girl" or something similar, but it was all because of this guy, and he had "followed the crowd" back then.

Even more annoying was his younger son, Mingming, who looked like him but acted silly and seemed a bit slow. This silly boy was embarrassing his father.

*

When Qin Yao returned to work at the hospital’s publicity office, Director Huang gave her some good news. After almost six months, the film adapted from the novel she wrote had been completed. The county’s cinema was about to screen it, and copies were being sent to various rural communities for screening.

"So fast?" Qin Yao was extremely surprised. In later generations, adapting a film—from writing to casting to shooting and editing—could take one or two years at the fastest, and several years at the slowest. After selling it for just 200 yuan, Qin Yao had thought she would have to wait two or three years, but her child had already been born, and the film was finished.

"Not fast at all, it’s been quite a while," Director Huang shook his head. The film studio had many full-time directors and screenwriters, and they were very efficient. Casting actors was simpler too; whether from dance troupes or local drama troupes, they were all skilled. Filming was efficient, and the more films they made, the more subsidies they received. If a film won an award, it would bring great benefits.

"Go to the cinema and watch it when you have time. How about we from the office go together?"

"Sure."

After hearing this news, Qin Yao mentioned it to Miao Cuiye, who was stunned. "It's... it's already been made into a film?"

Qin Yao couldn’t help but laugh. "Go to the cinema when you have time."

Miao Cuiye said, "I don’t go to the cinema. I’ll find the film projectionist I know and ask him to get me a copy of this film."

"I’ll have him screen it in my hometown during festivals."

Qin Yao laughed out loud.

To be honest, she also wanted to get a film reel to keep at home. After all, it was her first novel written in the 1970s, and although it had been rejected by publishers, it was surprisingly adapted into a movie.

Qin Yao went to the cinema with her office colleagues to watch the film. The movie was by-the-book, but in her opinion, it felt a bit "formal." The actors seemed to be acting rather than living the roles, which was probably due to many of them coming from a stage background and having acted in plays. To ensure the audience could see clearly, the physical movements in stage plays tend to be more exaggerated, whereas film and television performances don't need to be so "hammy."

However, it was undeniable that the film was a feast for the eyes, and watching the entire movie was like enjoying a good story.

The screenwriter did an amazing job adapting the story, adding many details, some of which even surprised Qin Yao, who wrote the original story.

Overall, it was a decent movie.

What Qin Yao didn't know was that while she considered the film merely "very good," others found it incredibly exciting. She had designed many high points and laugh-out-loud moments that left the audience both thrilled and laughing heartily. It was a feel-good, stress-busting movie, in stark contrast to other films that make you cry.

Throughout history, people have always enjoyed watching light-hearted works, and this movie, *"The Woman Militia Member Ye,"* went viral. It was said that people from other communes would walk for hours to watch the film in one commune, and some would even watch it twice.

Despite the film's huge success, Qin Yao didn't receive many actual benefits, except for the initial 200 yuan creation fee.

No matter how good the film was, the audience wouldn't pay attention to who created the story or who the original author was. They would only focus on who the main actors were and how likable the characters were.

Behind-the-scenes workers were rarely noticed, especially in the isolated 1970s.

What Qin Yao didn't know was that although she had little fame among ordinary people, she had gained some recognition in the arts community.

The county cultural bureau even invited her to transfer and work there.