Chapter 74 Naming

Chapter 74: Choosing a Name

With less than a month left for exam prep, Xie Xinyi didn’t care about the cost of the calls and would phone home every few days to urge her little sister to study hard.

She had originally planned to return home after her confinement period, but Gu Yu persuaded her not to, arguing that it might add too much pressure on her younger sister.

Yes, too much concern can lead to unnecessary worries.

Just like Gu Yu with their daughter—even though he had personally taken care of her several times, the man remained just as nervous. Even when their daughter sneezed, he would act like it was a major emergency.

"Did she catch a cold last night?" the man asked Wen Shuhua, who was changing the baby’s diaper.

"It’s the change of seasons; she’s just having a little trouble adjusting."

Wen Shuhua had long grown accustomed to her son’s overreactions, especially when he asked endless questions. She would respond with a look of disdain and a retort like, "If you think you can do better, then you do it."

She coldly answered her son’s dumb questions and, after changing the baby’s diaper and handing her to Xie Xinyi, began discussing the baby’s full-month celebration with her.

"...The situation outside is still uncertain. Your father-in-law thinks it’s best to keep things low-key."

This time, Xie Xinyi surprisingly agreed with Gu Yu’s father.

With the college entrance exam reinstated, the situation would only improve, but aside from Xie Xinyi, no one else present was aware of this.

Given Gu Yu’s father’s special status, it was especially important to keep a low profile during sensitive times, and she understood this perfectly.

Moreover, a baby’s full-month celebration wasn’t a particularly major event. It would be enough to gather with close relatives for some fun; there was no need to notify neighbors or others.

When Xie Xinyi shared her thoughts, Wen Shuhua smiled and patted her hand, saying, "Our Xinyi is so sensible, unlike some people."

She glared at the man sitting on the sofa holding the baby. "Stubborn as an ox, insisting on making it a grand affair."

Gu Yu heard her but didn’t argue with his mother. He just stared silently at the baby in his arms, neither smiling nor speaking, looking so silly that Xie Xinyi couldn’t help but laugh.

Although father and daughter had known each other for almost a month, it was still like when they first met. The little one waved her hands while the man stared blankly like a statue.

Even without interaction, Xie Xinyi knew how deeply Gu Yu cared for their child—he paid close attention to everything and took every matter to heart.

During her confinement month, if he was home, he was the one who prepared the formula. He would immediately wash any soiled diapers. He made handmade toys for the baby and bought anything he thought would suit her. And this time, with the full-month celebration, he insisted on making it grand...

Xie Xinyi understood Gu Yu’s desire as a father to give their daughter the best.

As a doting father, he prioritized their daughter in everything. Since he didn’t argue with Wen Shuhua about the celebration, it fell to Xie Xinyi, as his wife, to "explain" things to him.

That evening, when Xie Xinyi handed him the list of guests she had prepared, she simply said, "You go and invite them yourself."

She still had three days left in her confinement period, so the task of inviting guests was left to Gu Yu and Wen Shuhua. What preoccupied her during this time was naming the baby and registering her birth.

In this era, unlike in later years, babies weren’t asked for their names right after birth to issue a birth certificate. Without a birth certificate, you couldn’t register the child’s household registration at the police station. In later years, parents would decide on a name in advance, but things were different now.

Household registration for newborns wasn’t as strict back then, so parents could take their time choosing a name before registering.

Due to the planned economy, children were allocated a monthly grain ration of eight jin from birth, increasing by two jin each year. Some families with poorer conditions would register their children immediately after birth. However, Gu Yu hadn’t settled on a name yet, so the registration was delayed.

Grandma Gu and Gu Yu’s father had come up with several names as soon as Xie Xinyi became pregnant, but Gu Yu rejected them all, saying they didn’t sound nice.

Xie Xinyi felt that the elders meant well and didn’t outright reject their suggestions like Gu Yu did. Instead, she discussed with the family and selected one of the names as the baby’s nickname.

Xiao Yueer—a name suggested by Grandma Gu.

Everyone agreed that the name suited the baby’s personality. The names suggested by Gu Yu’s father were too formal and unsuitable for a nickname.

Because his suggested names weren’t chosen, Gu Yu’s father was upset for days. He had hoped Xie Xinyi and Gu Yu would pick one of his names for the baby’s formal name, but Grandma Gu scolded him harshly.

"The child’s name should be chosen by her parents—that’s what makes it meaningful."

Those were Grandma Gu’s exact words. She emphasized that a name was important as it would accompany the child for life and urged the young couple to think carefully about it.

Think carefully.

Xie Xinyi took this to heart and spent most of her confinement month pondering the matter.

Unfortunately, as a science major, she had little knack for poetic or elegant names. After nearly a month of contemplation, she still had no ideas. After careful consideration, she passed the responsibility to Gu Yu.

"Grandma said the child’s name is crucial. Since it’s so important, you handle it."

Gu Yu immediately fetched a dictionary and asked, "What’s the generational character for your generation?"

Generational character?

Xie Xinyi had initially thought Gu Yu might casually pick a few characters like she would, but instead, he asked about her family’s generational naming tradition.

"I don’t know."

As for the names of Xie Jianjun and Xie Jianmin’s children, even the original host might not remember, let alone her, since she had transmigrated.

She had no contact with Xie Jianjun’s family, and she had only heard Grandma Xie call Xie Jianmin’s sons "Dog Egg" and "Furry Monkey." She didn’t know their formal names, let alone the generational character for their generation.

Xie Xinyi shook her head and was about to say it didn’t matter when she suddenly remembered that Xiao Yueer would carry the Gu family name—what did it have to do with the Xie family’s generational characters?

"You should ask your aunt. What’s the generational character for your family?" she reminded him. "Xiao Yueer’s surname is Gu, not Xie."

In the northern regions, names were still often chosen based on generational characters. For example, Xie Xinyi’s generation used the character "Xin." Although Gu Yu’s family used two-character names, she remembered Grandma Gu mentioning that Gu Ying’s generation used the character "Jin."

As for their daughter’s generation, Xie Xinyi hadn’t heard Grandma Gu mention it, so she suggested he ask his aunt.

"Your aunt’s children aren’t married yet," Gu Yu frowned thoughtfully and reminded her.

Xie Xinyi realized her mistake and smiled apologetically. "Then you should ask Grandma. She should know."

"Grandma probably doesn’t know either. Last time she suggested names for Xiao Yueer, she didn’t use any generational characters."

Grandma didn’t know either!

Xie Xinyi thought for a moment. "Then let’s just pick something casually—like Flower Bloom, Grass Green, Juan, Qian, Li, Mei, or something." It would fit the characteristics of the era.

"Flower Bloom?" Gu Yu frowned at Xie Xinyi’s suggestion. "It sounds like wishing for wealth and prosperity."

"Really?" Xie Xinyi didn’t think so. "What about Gu Juanjuan?"

Gu Yu: "..."

There was no need to rush; he needed more time to think.

While the couple was racking their brains over what to name their child, on the other side, Wen Shuhua looked at the guest list that couldn't possibly be shortened any further and complained to Gu Haoting.

"It's just a full moon celebration. Why are you so worried? The college entrance exam restrictions have been lifted now—what could possibly go wrong?"

The full moon banquet was Gu Haoting's idea, but he insisted on strictly controlling the number of guests.

Wen Shuhua and Grandma Gu had spent the entire morning discussing it, reducing the number of tables from five to just three. They only invited the closest relatives—not even those from the extended family—yet it still didn't meet Gu Haoting's requirement of "keeping it simple."

"We finally saw our son get married, and now Xinyi has given us such a beautiful granddaughter. Anyone else would be overjoyed, but not you."

You can't expect the horse to run without feeding it.

Wen Shuhua stared at the list on the table, unable to cut any more names. She pushed the notebook toward Gu Haoting and let him decide.

"I can't do it. You cross out the rest yourself."

Gu Haoting skimmed the list: Yalan's family of four, their neighbor Zhang Xin, his younger sister's family who wasn't in Beijing and thus not invited, then Gu Kai and his wife, a few of his closest buddies from the army, and finally, a few colleagues from Xiao Xie's workplace who had visited her, along with her mentor Liu Yinsheng and his wife.

Wen Shuhua had counted it up—about 29 people, just enough for three tables. If he insisted on reducing it to two tables, there was no way to decide who to remove.

Gu Haoting rarely got involved in family matters, especially when it came to social etiquette—he was completely clueless.

When Wen Shuhua said she couldn't do it, he didn't believe her at first. But now, looking closely, he realized it wasn't as easy as he thought.

He frowned thoughtfully and carefully reviewed the number of guests from each family.

Wen Shuhua expected him to pass the decision back to her, as he had for decades. But after pondering for a while, Gu Haoting said, "Leave it to me. I'll think about it some more. You go take care of other things."

He wasn't passing the buck!

Was the sun rising in the west today?

Wen Shuhua watched the man deep in thought and recalled his recent unusual behavior—the arm that suddenly wrapped around her that night, the tightly tucked blanket in the morning, the egg yolk pastries he bought for her because they were her favorite, and his increasingly fewer complaints and impatience...

Could it be, as Gu Ying had said, that her husband—the man who had been cold for decades—had finally come around after realizing their eldest son's true nature?

Wen Shuhua was slow to catch on, but when Gu Haoting noticed she was still standing there, he asked gently, "Don't you have anything else to do? If not, get some good rest. You've been working so hard caring for Xiao Yueer lately."

Wen Shuhua: "!!!"

In all their decades of marriage, this was the first time he had shown concern for her from her perspective.

The man who had been indifferent for so long was no longer impatiently asking, "What are you still standing there for?" or dismissively saying, "Handle it yourself." Instead, he was acknowledging her efforts, understanding her hardships, and considering things from your point of view.

After years of neglect, being cared for so suddenly made Wen Shuhua's eyes well up, and her voice caught in her throat.

"Okay."

She lowered her gaze, trying to sound normal, but Gu Haoting still noticed something was off.

"What's wrong? Is your throat bothering you?"

Wen Shuhua: "..."

Well, it seemed the change was too sudden and too drastic. She was still more accustomed to the emotionally clueless man she was used to.