After teaching the energetic Lu Xiangxi, he packed up the things he needed to prepare for the next day and fell asleep to a dreamless night.

The next day, he went to Wen family’s house to discuss the hundred-day banquet.

Speaking of which, he had visited the Wen family twice since he woke up, and was turned away both times. The rest of the time, he only sent Wen Yan things or wait under the tree at the entrance of the village. For some reason, he came to their door this time, and there was an inexplicable feeling of nervousness.

He fumbled with the copper ring, but before it clicked, the door opened from the inside. Wen Yuanxing walked out with a basin of water, his clothes tucked into his belt, his square face still cold and indifferent. However, this time, he didn’t slam the door shut. He simply tilted his head to signal Jiang Zhou to come in, then he took off his shoes and went outside to pour water.

Li Yue was making breakfast on the stove. When she heard the noise outside, she asked, “Is Yanyan awake? Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? Is Xiao Yi awake? Does he need milk?” There was no reply for a long time.

Jiang Zhou poked his head out from inside and she saw that it was Jiang Zhou. She didn’t say anything but greeted him, “Come in and sit for a while. Yanyan hasn’t gotten up yet. Xiao Yi was very noisy yesterday. He hardly let me sleep half the night.”

Jiang Zhou had been here several times before, so he entered comfortably, familiar with the door and the way.

Wen Yan was still sleeping in the room he had stayed in before going out. He was curled up in the quilt facing the bed, his hand resting on Xiao Yi, holding him to prevent him from moving.

Wen Yan’s sleeping posture was very standard. He didn’t sleep like other people who slept on their backs. He was well-behaved and quiet when he slept. Even his breathing was shallow. If you didn’t listen carefully, you couldn’t hear it at all.

Jiang Zhou didn’t want to wake him up, so he sat on the edge of the bed and watched the two of them sleep. However, after a while, Xiao Yi opened his eyes.

Children were very active. When they woke up, they reflexively puckered their lips and wanted to cry. However, before he could cry out, he saw someone above his head making faces at him.

The face wrinkled together, trying to look like a pig, and Xiao Yi was stunned for a moment.

Just when Jiang Zhou thought he had successfully coaxed him, Xiao Yi pursed his lips and was frightened into crying, “Wow…”

Jiang Zhou’s expression froze, and he quickly reached out to comfort him. Unexpectedly, Wen Yan woke up when he heard the crying.

Wen Yan opened his eyes drowsily and saw Jiang Zhou in front of him. He hugged him reflexively, rubbed his neck with his eyes closed, and muttered, “Zhou-ge, who is here? Why is he crying?”

Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but smile, and it reminded him of how Wen Yan used to act in the morning, always the clingiest and confused when he woke up.

Jiang Zhou was held in his wife arms and couldn’t move as Xiao Yi cried again. After a while, Wen Yan woke up completely. Ignoring the awkward posture, he turned around to comfort Xiao Yi and said, “Heat a bowl of milk.”

Jiang Zhou saw Xiao Yi crying for the first time. He looked different from his usual cuteness. His face was wrinkled, and his chubby hands were swinging, attempting to soothe himself. Unfortunately, his chubby hands were too short to reach his face properly, so he only ended up crying even more.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but smile. He wondered why his little one was so adorable. Even when he cried, he seemed cuter than other babies.

Realizing that Xiao Yi was genuinely hungry, Jiang Zhou hurried to the stove to prepare some milk.

Wen Yuanxing had returned and was sitting by the fire. When he saw Jiang Zhou approaching, he just nodded.

Jiang Zhou asked, “Have you eaten?” to which Wen Yuanxing replied, “Yes, I’ve eaten.”

Jiang Zhou then asked about the milk, and Wen Yuanxing simply lowered his head, broke a branch, and tossed it into the stove.

Seeing Wen Yuanxing’s behavior, Li Yue scolded him, wiped her hands, and lifted the cover on the table to bring a bowl of milk to Jiang Zhou, saying, “Is Xiao Yi hungry? We always have milk ready in the morning. Feed him quickly.”

Children tends to get hungry easily and eat less in a single meal but more frequently, so they always keep milk on hand.

Jiang Zhou brought the bowl in, and Xiao Yi, still on Wen Yan’s chest, was getting restless. He seemed to have smelled the milk and exclaimed “Ahhhh” toward the door.

Wen Yan sighed, “I don’t know whose temperament he’s following. He’s very greedy, wanting to eat everything he sees and take a bite.”

Jiang Zhou fed him using a small spoon, as children often fidget while eating, fearing they might spill the milk.

After finally finishing the milk, Xiao Yi was full of energy and bouncing on the bed again. Wen Yan had to hold him to let him move around.

Jiang Zhou asked, “Are you tired?”

Wen Yan shook his head, saying, “I’m used to it. He always needs to exercise after eating. The bigger he gets, the more he wants to practice walking.”

Children at this age were typically quite active.

After a while, Xiao Yi got tired and fell asleep. Wen Yan cleaned up, brought breakfast to the table, and sat down to eat.

Jiang Zhou noticed that they were having whole grain porridge, and Li Yue had given him an egg.

It seemed that the price of eggs had gone up recently, perhaps due to Jianghou’s cake business. They used to cost three or four wens, but now they cost five wens. Fortunately, he had a prior agreement with Lu Dalang to keep the egg prices stable, but he couldn’t help worrying about the future of his cake business.

.

After breakfast, Jiang Zhou discussed the Hundred Days Banquet with Father Wen and Mother Wen.

Both of them wanted to prepare a grand celebration. After all, it was an important day, and they hadn’t been able to hold a big celebration for Xiao Yi’s birth due to Jiang Zhou’s absence. Now that he was back, it seemed natural to have a lavish event.

However, Wen Yan disagreed.

“Zhou-ge’s business has just begun, and he’s at a stage where he needs significant investment. Plus, he doesn’t have much money on hand. Why should we squander it?”

As if anticipating Jiang Zhou’s response, Wen Yan quickly interjected, “Please don’t argue, Zhou-ge.”

Wen Yan presented a well-thought-out plan, weighing the pros and cons. He suggested a more modest gathering, inviting only close relatives to share a meal.

He couldn’t bear to see Jiang Zhou working so hard. Jiang Zhou was nearly destitute at the moment. Starting from scratch, he faced the bitter winter weather every day to run his stall and went to bed very late. While he never complained, Wen Yan understood his hardship and knew that he was doing it all for their sake.

He just wanted to emphasize that they didn’t need extravagant gifts. All they needed was to give Xiao Yi the love he deserved so that he could grow up well.