The Sweet Litte Fulang (SLF)

Chapter 194 - Setting things up

Lu Gu returned home alone, and as soon as he entered, he heard Xiao Ling crying from the bedroom.

Shen Yan was at the kitchen door peeling a pear that had wilted a bit. There were two small soft, dark spots, so she used a knife to cut them out. Hearing the baby's cries, she quickly put the pear down. Seeing Lu Gu enter, she smiled and said, "Brother Guzi, you take over—I have juice all over my hands."

They'd bought a lot of pears last time, and with time, they'd either started to soften or develop black spots. These past few days, they'd been eating them quickly to avoid waste, and this was the last one left.

"Sure, go ahead," Lu Gu replied, hurrying to the bedroom. He picked up Xiao Ling, who was lying in bed, and quickly realized his pants were wet—he'd wet the bed again.

"Goodness, that's a lot of water!" Lu Gu chuckled, gently soothing Xiao Ling as he held him, then reached for clean pants and a fresh diaper from the chair beside the bed. He playfully said, "Good thing your Mom and Dad weren't lying here, or they'd have to run away from you!"

Xiao Ling didn't understand the words, but his cries started to calm. Lu Gu removed the wet diaper, and seeing the baby had settled down, he laid him on the bed to change him. Noticing the shirt was also wet, Lu Gu used it to wipe Xiao Ling's legs and bottom, then dressed him quickly in fresh clothes.

"He wet the bed again, huh?" Shen Yan said, entering while eating her pear. Glancing at the lifted bedding, she remarked, "Good thing it's sunny today. If we wash it, it'll be dry by tomorrow."

"Exactly!" Lu Gu agreed, smiling as he placed Xiao Ling in the wooden cradle by the bed, letting him settle there while he stripped the bed. Thanks to their abundance of bedding, each room had at least two thick cotton quilts and two or three lighter ones. This was more than Lu Gu had ever imagined owning; in the past, he barely had one worn-out quilt to keep warm in winter.

Opening a storage chest, he took out fresh quilts that had been recently sun-dried, laying them out carefully. Meanwhile, Shen Yan was playing with Xiao Ling at the cradle, swinging the pear in her hand as he reached out with his chubby arms, wanting to grab it.

"Oh, you want this?" Shen Yan teased, shaking the pear. She made a funny squeaky sound with her tongue and laughed, "You can't eat it yet. Only Auntie can eat it!"

As Lu Gu made the bed, he laughed and said, "You're tempting him now, but if he starts crying, I'll leave him to you to soothe."

Little ones were all the same. Whether it was Zhao'er or Xiaoling, they always wanted what adults were eating. Experience with Zhao'er had taught Ji Qiuyue to avoid eating snacks in front of him. Lu Gu followed the same rule with Xiao Ling to avoid setting him off.

"Good idea. Between the two, one's fussier than the other, and I can't manage them when they start crying!" Shen Yan quickly polished off her pear, sneaking away to wash some softer fruit for Xiao Ling.

Once the bed was ready, Lu Gu turned to see Xiao Ling lying happily in the cradle, cooing and babbling as he waved his little hands in the air, occasionally grabbing the red string tied around his wrist—a good-luck charm Wei Lanxiang had picked up at the temple, just like the one Zhao'er wore.

"Whose little paw is this?" Lu Gu cooed, scooping up Xiao Ling and giving his tiny hand a light kiss. He called outside, "Yanyan, could you bring some warm water?"

"On it!" Shen Yan called back. A moment later, she came in with a bowl of softened fruit for Xiao Ling and a basin of warm water. Together, she and Lu Gu washed his hands and face with a cloth.

As the two busied themselves with chores and childcare, Ji Qiuyue returned at noon to cook, carrying Zhao'er on her back. With Shen Yaoqing and Shen Xuanqing away, it was just the four of them and the two children for lunch and dinner.