In the spring of the seventh year of Xianfeng (1857), it was the spring silk sales season, and the Liu family was filled with joy. After many years, Liu's wife Shen Yuhui was pregnant again and was about to give birth.
Liu Yong, who was in his thirties, was already 32 years old and had been married to Yu Hui for twelve full years.
This year, everyone was extremely nervous, thinking about the danger when Yu Hui gave birth to Qiu Mei. Liu Yong went to the Mission Hospital in Hangzhou to ask a famous obstetrician to be on standby in Liu's house in case of emergency.
Liu Yongniang had been reciting sutras for three days before sending her son to Guanyin, praying to the Bodhisattva to send her a grandson.
In addition to taking care of Dongmei and Qiumei, Hong Ying took care of Yu Hui all the time. During lunch, Yu Hui said she had no appetite, so Hong Ying went to the kitchen to cook Yu Hui's favorite dishes and served them with porridge.
A few mouthfuls.
After the meal, not long after Yu Hui went to bed, her amniotic fluid broke. The three midwives on standby immediately prepared to deliver the baby. As soon as they got ready, the baby fell to the ground.
"Congratulations, sir, it's your young master! It's your young master!" the midwives rushed to announce the good news. Liu Yong, who was guarding the door, was so surprised that he shouted for a big reward.
Liu Yongniang received her reward in the Buddhist hall. She was so happy that she burst into tears and kowtowed several times in front of Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Yu Hui lay on the bed slightly weakly, and Hong Ying held the child in his arms. The child cried as softly as a kitten in its swaddling clothes.
After the midwife finished cleaning up and left, Liu Yong and Liu Yong's mother came in to see Yu Hui and her son.
Hong Ying said: Old lady, Brother Yong, look at the child’s delicate features!
Liu Yongniang took the child, looked at it, and said happily: Look at him, he looks exactly like his father when he was a child, laughing non-stop.
Liu Yongle laughed and said: Did I look like a kitten when I was a child?
Liu Yongniang said: No, look at how human you are now. When you were born, you were not as experienced as our grandson!
Yu Hui said, "This child is smaller than Dongmei and Qiumei when they are born. I don't know if it will be easy to raise."
Liu Yongniang said: "Don't be afraid. This time I'm afraid that you won't have enough milk as you get older, so I specially invited two wet nurses to feed him!"
Hong Ying said with a smile: Sister, don't worry about it. Take a good confinement period and take good care of yourself. I will take care of the child! I guarantee that he will look like a pig within a month!
Liu Yong echoed: Yes, you should take good care of him. Hong Ying is taking care of him!
Yu Hui asked: Have you decided on the name of the child?
Liu Yong said: The child is from the generation named An. He lacks water in the five elements, so he should be called An Lan.
An Lan was about to be full moon, and Liu Yongniang discussed with Liu Yong: Now your business is getting bigger and bigger. In addition to the silk industry, the wharf you have a stake in, and the real estate are very prosperous. An Lan is my eldest grandson, so his full moon wine must be a big one.
There are dozens of tables.
Liu Yong said: Mom, my son understands what you mean, but have you ever thought about it. Nowadays, there are riots in other provinces, officers and soldiers are constantly fighting, and more and more refugees are fleeing into Nanxun. At this juncture, it is not appropriate to make reckless arrangements.
It's better to keep a low profile.
Liu Yongniang suddenly thought of a wealthy family that had been robbed by refugees a few days ago. She felt frightened and stopped insisting.
Liu Yong said again: Yu Hui and I have discussed that setting up a tent in Nanzha and serving porridge for half a month will be regarded as accumulating blessings for An Lan. On the day when the child is one month old, let's invite our close relatives and friends to have a meal!
Liu Yongniang had been looking forward to this precious grandson for ten years, and she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to hold a full-moon banquet to feel proud, but her son refused to do so. Unwilling to do so, she ran to Yu Hui to complain.
Yu Hui quickly helped her mother-in-law sit down and said softly: Mom, your son is reluctant to hold a banquet for your grandson. We have a saying in the countryside that since the child is born, the blessings in this life are limited, so give him a big banquet.
, it may seem like a beautiful sight, but it’s actually damaging his blessings, so don’t do it!
Yu Hui smiled again and said: Mom, Dongmei’s father gives money to porridge and accumulates blessings for Anlan. That’s how he truly loves his children!
On the day when An Lan was full moon, the Liu family set up a soup kitchen in Nanshan's Bongfandou, and continued to feed the refugees who had fled to Nanxun for half a month. After the refugees were full, they felt much more at ease, and the number of theft cases in the town decreased a lot.
It was said that there was a war and chaos, and the Taiping Army was present in many places. Nanxun, apart from not having the prosperity of the past, did not have much influence.
I heard that the Liu family gave porridge to their young sons to bring good fortune. Many wealthy families, thinking of their sick and weak sons, wanted to imitate them. Not to be outdone, they continued to do so for several months.
Every month, we will give porridge for a month to accumulate more blessings for the children.
Liu Yong and Yu Hui have been married for twelve years. They are still very happy when they have a son at the age of 32.
On the same day as An Lan's full moon, some of the Liu family's closest relatives and friends came to congratulate them. Even Gu Fuchang came, and Boss Tan and his wife came specially with Yu Hui's father Shen Yonglin. Qiu Xiancha's wife, Mrs. Xu, also came
Come over to congratulate and give gifts.
Qiu Xiancha's wife, Xu's first child, Yu Hui, made him a gold collar. As a return gift, Xu also prepared a gold collar for An Lan.
Mrs. Xu came to the Liu Mansion to give gifts. Yuhui asked Hong Ying to avoid it, but Hong Ying refused. She said: I remember the love of the Qiu family, but not the people of the Qiu family. If I avoid it, it will appear that I have something evil in my heart and am still thinking about it.
As if wearing something.
Mrs. Xu also knew that Qiu Xiancha originally wanted Hong Ying, but was unable to do so.
Mrs. Xu wanted to see An Lan, so Hong Ying generously carried An Lan over and gave her to Mrs. Xu to hold.
An Lan resigned and cried desperately.
He took An Lan and said with a smile: I'm sorry, young mistress, the child doesn't often meet strangers, so he recognizes them.
Mrs. Xu handed the child to Hong Ying and met Hong Ying's eyes. She stared at Hong Ying. She was well-deserved. There are only a few such beautiful women in Nanxun Town. No wonder Qiu Xiancha always mentions her. She said with a smile:
Could this be Miss Hong Ying? She looks like a flower and a jade, and her reputation is well-deserved.
Hong Ying blushed and said, "You are just a little girl. I deserve the honor of being a young lady."
It just so happened that little Anlan was probably hungry and crying. So Hong Ying hugged Anlan to go to the wet nurse, so she left the room.
Mrs. Xu smiled and said to Yu Hui: How can there be a cat in the world that does not steal fish? If such a beautiful old girl is placed at home, the young lady will not be afraid of causing trouble?
Yu Hui smiled and said: Is it right or wrong to give birth to a child? Miss Hongying and I feel like brothers, and I also hope that she will have a good home. I just gave birth to a son now. For more than 10 years, I have wanted them to have a right and wrong, but things have gone contrary to my wishes.
Mrs. Xu smiled and said to Yu Hui: I admire the young lady for being so magnanimous.
Yu Hui smiled and said: Women are meant to have children. You see, that wealthy family does not have three wives and four concubines. If he insists on marrying again, there is nothing you can do to stop him.
Yu Hui's words made Mrs. Xu feel a little uneasy. She thought: Maybe the one at home is still thinking about the one outside.
Mrs. Xu said she had something to do at home, so she left Yu Hui and returned home.
In the living room, Liu Yong was chatting with Gu Fuchang.
Gu Fuchang said: Even though the world is so uneven, Nanxun still has to go back. After all, the foundation is still in Nanxun. Now that Chunsi has been acquired, I also want to go back and have a look.
Liu Yong said: Yes, you can't just ignore what's going on over there. Fortunately, the family members are already in Shanghai, so it's convenient for the men to come and go.
Gu Fuchang wanted to leave. Liu Yong said: Mr. Gu had a simple meal before leaving. Anyway, my father-in-law and others are here today, there are only a few of them.
Gu Fuchang laughed and said: Young Master Man Yue, you are giving porridge in Nanxun, and we are eating and drinking here. It doesn't look like it. Let's talk about it next time.