Hoping to Conceive

Mrs. Yang swallowed nervously and looked at one of the babies. She called out tentatively, “Yuanzhi?”

“Hee…”

The child seemed to understand. He reached out his arms and grabbed randomly at the air while laughing non-stop.

Shocked by this scene, everyone looked at each other. This was too magical…

Mrs Yang hugged the child and looked at the other child tentatively. “Luyou?”

To their surprise, the baby who was just frowning earlier, suddenly relaxed and laughed just like his brother did

“Hey! How amazing is that?”

The usually calm Yang Feng couldn’t help but slap his thigh and shout in surprise.

It was understandable that he was feeling excited, but the babies were startled by his sudden actions. In the next instant, they stopped laughing and started crying with furrowed brows…

Mrs Yang began to comfort them in a flurry. She didn’t forget to glare at Yang Feng, who was smiling foolishly.

Yang Feng didn’t expect the babies’ emotions to change so quickly. He could only chuckle sheepishly in embarrassment at his wife’s displeasure.

His frightened expression amused the others and everyone started chuckling. Even Mrs. Yang tried to stifle her laughter while comforting their sons.

Yuan Zhi, one should set one’s sights beyond the mountains.

Lu You, to be refined in demeanor and have a bright future.

The two names carry great significance—they represent the expectations and prospects that Mr. Kong had envisioned for the babies.

Xiaoguo smiled and looked behind her. Her smile froze when she inadvertently saw Xiaohua and Xiaohu standing in a corner, looking reserved.

These two kids…

While everyone was rejoicing over the newborn babies, Xiaohua and Xiaohu were feeling neglected. Ever since their little brothers were born, their status had plummeted.

Xiaohua had become more sensible, and Xiaohu had become very well-behaved. He was worried about his parents not liking him anymore.

At this moment, everyone was circling around their little brothers. Xiaohua and Xiaohu stood timidly at the side, not knowing how to approach them.

Why were the babies named Yuanzhi and Luyou while they were given such simple-sounding names, Xiaohua and Xiaohu…?

Xiaoguo was standing close to Mrs Yang, so she gave her a gentle nudge.

The Yang family had never been biased, but they had definitely neglected Xiaohua and Xiaohu today.

Mrs. Yang picked up on Xiaoguo’s hint and saw the two kids standing a distance away from the group.

In an instant, an inexplicable sadness welled up in her heart.

Yang Feng, who had been observing Mrs. Yang, also saw his son and daughter when he noticed her looking at them. Naturally, he noticed their strange expressions. His heart sank, and he walked towards them with a smile.

Yang Feng was quite strong and he picked up the siblings both at the same time.

Xiaohua and Xiaohu were shocked by the sudden feeling of weightlessness, so they instinctively reached out to grab on for support. When they regained their senses, they realized that they were leaning in their father’s arms.

Yang Feng carried the two children to the bed and sat down while keeping them in his arms. “Little Sister and Brother, you should come see your younger brothers too.”

Xiaohua and Xiaohu blushed and looked at their parents shyly.

“Our dear Xiaohua and Xiaohu are looking more like an older sister and brother now,”

Yang Jia spoke as he followed closely behind them.

His words resonated with Auntie Yang, who nodded in agreement and said, “All the children in our family are well-behaved and excellent.”

Xiaohua and Xiaohu were instantly overjoyed. It was great that their parents still loved them even with the arrival of their little brothers.

Xiaoguo looked at the two children and smiled.

She suddenly remembered what Jiang Danhe had mentioned in his letter. It turned out that he was even more thoughtful than herself, and had bought gifts for Xiaohua and Xiaohu in advance, just to prevent the two children from feeling left out.

This Jiang Danhe was becoming cuter and cuter.

After everyone had finished indulging in the atmosphere of warmth and love, Xiaoguo finally spoke up to interrupt them.

“Xiaohua, Xiaohu, I have a gift for you. Uncle Jiang had bought them in the capital while getting the gifts for your younger brothers. See if you like them.”

As she spoke, she handed them the gifts that were wrapped in red cloth.

Xiaohua and Xiaohu were confused and surprised. They didn’t expect that they would receive gifts as well. After carefully taking the gifts, they expressed their gratitude.

Xiaohua was given a silver bracelet with two bells attached to it. Each time the bracelet was gently shaken, the bells would make a clear jingling sound. The young lady was in love with the gift.

What Xiaohu got was a jade pendant with a cute tiger engraving. He loved it so much that he kept stroking the tiger and showing it off to the others. He even told them that he was the tiger on the pendant, and that made everyone laugh out loud.

Seeing that the two kids had regained their usual liveliness, the adults in the room heaved a sigh of relief.

Zhuang Zhuang stole a glance at Xiaoguo. But… didn’t his father give him anything?

Mrs Yang and Brother Yang felt very guilty and upset when they saw their children’s lonely gazes earlier on. During this period of time, the entire family had been busy looking after the newborns and had neglected their feelings. It was entirely their fault.

“Thank you.”

Mrs Yang whispered to Xiaoguo, as she reached out and held onto her.

She had thanked her so many times over the past few days, but with everything added up, just a word of thanks was not enough to express her gratitude…

Xiaoguo smiled at Mrs Yang and shook her head. There was no need to thank her. She could not forget how well the Yang family had taken care of her and Zhuang Zhuang during the famine. Even though they didn’t have much food themselves, they still insisted on sharing what they had with the two of them. She would never forget this life-saving favor.

At this moment, breakfast was ready. After the group finished their meal, they heard voices coming from outside.

It turned out that some close friends in the village had come to visit. They all knew that the Yang family was celebrating the babies’ full month today, so they had brought eggs and snacks to congratulate them.

According to the customs of Peach Blossom Village, it was not necessary to bring a monetary gift when visiting. Most households were not particularly wealthy, so bringing a small token of appreciation was good enough.

Mrs Yang’s maternal family had also come. Yonghai Luban was among them.

Not long after, the Yang family’s house had become crowded with people. The atmosphere was extremely lively. Some guests were invited, and some had come uninvited. All of them had come to offer their congratulations.

After the two babies had had their fill, they were surrounded by a large group of women. Everyone was fighting to hold the babies and there were no breaks in between.

Fortunately, the babies were mild-mannered, and did not cry after being passed around by so many people. Instead, they smiled and laughed at the women, causing them to feel envious and jealous of Mrs Yang.

The reason why so many people had come to congratulate her was because Mrs Yang was the first woman in the village to give birth to twins. The babies were also the only pair of twins in the entire village, and they were both boys at that.

Once the word got out, the Yang family became the envy of the village.

In modern times, baby boys and baby girls were regarded equally. Since there was gender equality, everyone, regardless of gender, had an equal chance to shine.

However, in ancient times, the difference between the genders was vast.

In this era, girls would get married and leave the family when they reach a certain age. Only boys were seen as the backbone of the family, responsible for carrying on the family name and passing down their lineage.

In this era, the opportunities for men were endless. However, women only have one destiny, which is to get married and have children.

Hence, one could imagine how envious everyone was of Mrs Yang, who had given birth to a pair of twin boys. And even her first child was a boy.

Other than congratulating them, the people had also come here to rub off on some of their luck.

Some of them had brought their daughters-in-law and unmarried daughters. There were also some visitors who were pregnant ladies. All of them had come with the same goal in mind—to rub off on Mrs Yang’s good luck in giving birth to two baby boys.

Even if they couldn’t have twins, one baby was also fine, as long as it came with a penis.

This was the prevailing mindset at that time, and it cannot be said that it was entirely right or wrong. This was the way it was during that era, the opportunities available to women during this time were limited, or even non-existent.

The lively atmosphere of the Yang family was a stark contrast to the other family in the village, who were also celebrating their baby’s one month birthday, but in a much quieter way. The reason for the subdued atmosphere was because they had a baby girl, and only a few people visited them to offer their congratulations. Even firecrackers were left out of the celebrations.

One family’s joy is another family’s sorrow.