A Rolls-Royce pulled up to the Qin family’s old mansion.
Song Xinya stepped out of the car. Grandma Qin, who had been waiting at the door with eager eyes, walked over to Song Xinya holding a parasol, shading her with it while exposing herself to the scorching sun.
“The sun is especially harsh today. We can’t let our Yaya get sunburned.”
Song Xinya looked at the elderly woman standing in the sun and gently pushed the parasol handle toward her.
“Grandma, I’m fine. Please be careful and don’t get burned yourself.”
Grandma Qin smiled warmly, still keeping the parasol fully over Song Xinya’s head. “Our Yaya is the most important.”
Qin Yuhe: “Grandma, I’m quite exposed to the sun too.”
Old Madam Qin: “Let yourself burn.”
Qin Yuhe let out a scoff and gave a wry, wordless smile.
In the presence of his wife, his own grandson was worth less than a dog.
Under Grandma Qin’s constant care with the parasol, Song Xinya entered the living room.
Old Master Qin and Qin Hanxiao, Qin Yuhe’s father, were sitting and drinking tea. When Old Master Qin saw Song Xinya, he stood up.
“Yaya is here.”
Song Xinya greeted him politely: “Hello, Grandpa.”
She then looked at Qin Hanxiao, who was seated in a chair, intending to show proper respect by saying “Hello, Father,” but Qin Hanxiao kept his head down, either sipping tea or fiddling with the tea leaves, acting as if he hadn’t noticed Song Xinya’s arrival. His attitude was cold, putting on an air of importance.
Qin Yuhe walked over to Song Xinya’s side. “Sorry about that, my dear. My dad has a case of arrested development. Don’t mind him.”
Qin Hanxiao looked up at Qin Yuhe. “Who’s arrested? Who are you calling arrested?”
Qin Yuhe: “Oh, so you can talk. I thought you’d swallowed acid and burned your throat mute.”
Qin Hanxiao was speechless with fury.
Qin Yuhe: “Since you can talk, at least greet my wife properly.”
Qin Hanxiao knew that if he didn’t, Qin Yuhe wouldn’t let it go, so he looked at Song Xinya and said, “Yaya is here.”
Qin Yuhe took Song Xinya’s hand and led her away. “Ignore him.”
Qin Hanxiao was left in silence—
Even after he’d greeted her, his good son still wouldn’t let him off the hook.
The dishes were all set on the table, filling the room with enticing aromas.
As Song Xinya moved to sit in a certain spot, Old Madam Qin quickly said, “Yaya, don’t sit there. Come over here and sit in this seat.”
What difference did the seat make?
Song Xinya sat where Grandma Qin indicated and looked at the food on the table.
Soon, she noticed the difference.
In front of her, the food laid out included: black beans, soybeans, seaweed, corn, and buckwheat.
Black beans—to supplement estrogen, promote ovulation, and nurture quality eggs.
Soybeans—to supplement isoflavones and enhance female fertility.
Seaweed—to supplement iodine and promote ovarian health.
Corn—to supplement tocopherols and delay ovarian function decline.
Buckwheat—its niacin content boosts metabolism.
In front of Qin Yuhe, the food laid out included: tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, leeks, eggs, and loach.
Tomatoes—to supplement lycopene and improve sperm vitality.
Pumpkin seeds—to protect the prostate and enhance male fertility.
Leeks—to nourish the kidneys and strengthen virility, improving sperm motility.
Eggs—to supplement vitamin A and promote spermatogenic cell division.
Loach—to supplement arginine and promote sperm production.
During the meal, Old Madam Qin asked, “Yaya, have you been busy lately?”
Song Xinya: “Not really. I haven’t been working recently. I’ve been tutoring my younger siblings at home and keeping Little He company.”
Old Madam Qin: “Your grandpa and I have been quite busy lately.”
Hearing this, Song Xinya naturally asked, “What have you and Grandpa been busy with?”
Old Madam Qin smoothly steered the conversation: “Yesterday, we attended the full-moon banquet for the Zhou family’s great-grandson. The day before, it was for the Wu family’s great-granddaughter. The day before that, it was for the Zheng family’s great-grandson. This whole week, we’ve just been going to full-moon parties and cuddling other people’s little great-grandsons and great-granddaughters.”
Old Master Qin chimed in: “This year is the Year of the Dragon. Lots of people want to have a dragon baby—boys would be little white dragons, and girls would be little dragon maidens.”
Qin Hanxiao: “I’m home with nothing to do all day. If I had grandchildren, I’d have time to play with them.”
It was clearly a set-up to push for a baby.
Song Xinya sighed inwardly: My husband wasn’t lying to me.
With the conversation opened up, Old Madam Qin continued: “Yaya, I’ve been online lately and saw that young people these days have a trend called ‘being DINK.’ Have you come across that?”
She was essentially asking Song Xinya about her views on having children.
Song Xinya answered truthfully: “A woman’s body is her own choice. I respect every woman’s right to decide over her body—let others be themselves, and let myself be me. As for me personally, I like children. In my limited time in this life, I want to have children with my husband, to conceive and raise them together.”
Old Madam Qin: “Good, good, very well said. Grandma loves children too. Don’t worry—when you’re pregnant, I’ll take care of everything for you. I’ll hire ten maids to look after you, eight nutritionists, and six prenatal teachers.”
Song Xinya: “Grandma, isn’t that a bit over the top? I don’t need so many people.”
Qin Yuhe said lightly, “It’s not over the top. That’s exactly how Grandma was waited on when she was pregnant.”
Song Xinya was surprised. So this was what the simple, unadorned life of the rich was like?
Qin Yuhe ladled a bowl of black bean and corn soup and placed it beside Song Xinya. “Eat up.”
Song Xinya picked up a piece of leek-and-loach stir-fry and put it in his bowl. “This takes effort from both of us—it can’t just be me. You do your part too, and eat up.”
Old Madam Qin watched the young couple and quietly covered her mouth with a smile.
After the meal, Old Madam Qin gave Song Xinya a box—
Folic acid.
Grandma Qin: “Since you plan to have children, it’s good to prepare well. You can start taking folic acid three months before pregnancy, and remember to keep taking it until three months after conception.”
This was truly unfamiliar territory for Song Xinya. She had no knowledge about pregnancy preparation yet.
Song Xinya: “Thank you for the reminder, Grandma. I’ll remember to take the folic acid.”
Old Madam Qin: “It’ll still take another month for that wound on Little He’s abdomen to heal. Use this month to get your body into better shape.”
Song Xinya left the old mansion holding the folic acid, following Qin Yuhe.
Old Madam Qin and Old Master Qin watched them from the doorway.
Old Madam Qin, looking at the young couple, recalled her own youth: “I started preparing to conceive when I married you at 22, and I kept trying until I was 40—18 years—and I only gave birth to one child.”
She turned to Old Master Qin. “How come your Qin family’s seed is so hard to take root?”
Old Master Qin: “Since you did get pregnant, it proves our Qin family’s seed is fine. Don’t go blaming it on me.”
Old Madam Qin: “Are you saying my soil isn’t fertile enough?”
Old Master Qin: “I’m not blaming you. Let’s not compare with others—having one child is plenty for us.”
Old Madam Qin: “I hope Yaya and Little He click right away, and best of all, maybe even get a double blessing.”
When she got home, Song Xinya immediately started cramming on pregnancy preparation knowledge.
She calculated her ovulation period based on when her period came.
When Qin Yuhe returned to the bedroom, he saw that on the calendar on the nightstand, seven days were circled in red pen.
“Is this for something important?”
Song Xinya: “These are the days we’re going to have sex.”
Qin Yuhe raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “What?”
Song Xinya stared at him seriously and said, “Here’s my plan: during these seven days of my ovulation period, we need to do it at least four times every single day.”
