The thing Mi worried about, her father wetting the bed, did not happen. After all, he was an adult, and he knew when to relieve himself when he got up at night to wash the diapers.
Instead, it was the eldest child, who slept soundly through the night, undisturbed by the cries of his younger siblings, who wet the bed.
Early in the morning, with a red face, he got up to wash his pants, fearing being laughed at by his sister and mother.
In the morning, as Jiang Hu got up to cook, the fourth child started whimpering. Mi was worried, afraid that this little brother wouldn't make it if he couldn't hold on.
Fortunately, the second mother woke up quickly, nursed the fourth child, changed the diaper, and held Mi over.
"San Ni, are you hungry too? Mommy will feed you now." The second mother looked at San Ni's big round eyes, and the sorrow brought by the fourth child dissipated mostly.
Mi, who hadn't taken any milk formula for herself earlier, was quickly fed by her mother, and the second mother looked visibly more relaxed.
Luckily, the two kids ate a lot more today, unlike yesterday when they only ate a little bit, so their chances of survival were higher.
Thinking about it, the second mother patted Mi's head: "San Ni, you have to grow up safely with your brother."
Mi responded with a babble, reassuring her mother not to worry, they would all grow up well, the whole family together!
The second mother smiled till her eyes curved: "San Ni is so good, did you understand what mommy said?"
Mi expressed that of course she understood; she wasn't a real baby.
"Second mother, it's time to eat." Jiang Hu brought the porridge over: "I saw there was a little sugar left, so I added it to the porridge for you. Some sweet porridge is good for you too."
The family was very poor, and even this little sugar had been saved up with difficulty.
The second mother, having just fed the kids, was indeed hungry, so she didn't refuse, placing Mi by the bed and taking the bowl.
"Brother Hu, later bring the straw into the house for me. I'll weave some mats; we need to mend the roof to prevent the wind from coming through."
Jiang Hu frowned: "You just gave birth, have a good rest, I'll weave the mats when I get back tonight."
"It's fine, I won't get out of bed, I'll just stay home, and I'll rest if I get tired. Brother Hu, you don't let me go to the fields, and this little bit of housework is not too tiring for me."
Opening up new fields for planting is not easy. Others have their whole family to help, yet she had to give birth at this time, leaving all the work to her husband.
Brother Hu cared for her, letting her have a good postpartum rest, but she also felt for her husband.
Jiang Hu looked at the big hole in the wall; it had been sunny recently, which was lucky, but it was feared rain would come after a while.
He had been busy with the field work recently and indeed hadn't gotten around to it. After hesitating for a while, he said: "Alright then, but second mother, you must rest if you're tired. Just mend a small section; we'll block that hole first and handle the rest slowly."
The second mother nodded repeatedly, even eating more comfortably. Anyway, finding something to do was more reassuring than lying in bed all the time.
"Mom and Dad," the eldest child ran over: "Mom, I don't feel very hungry today."
The second daughter followed closely behind, saying: "Me too, me too. Mom, I was full after eating just a little porridge today; Dad, you eat more, you work hard."
Jiang Hu's face turned dark, just about to scold them to eat, when the second mother touched her belly: "Yes, how strange, I also don't feel as hungry as before."
Jiang Hu was stunned, suddenly realizing that he, too...
Touching his own belly, previously every morning he woke up, his stomach would clutch with hunger and pain, but not today, just a little hungry.
"What's going on? I don't seem very hungry either?" Jiang Hu was surprised; last night he only drank two bowls of wild vegetable soup without sparing a single grain of rice, only a bit of wild vegetables.
Although it was spring, and wild vegetables grew on the mountain, the whole village of Fu'an Village, comprised of dozens of households, had all come as refugees, with no household faring better than another, all relying on wild vegetables from the mountain to get by.
So even though wild vegetables were free, they could not be taken in unlimited quantities and had to be eaten sparingly.
He was an adult and could bear it, so usually, the children and wife were prioritized. Before, he would often be dizzy and lightheaded by morning, but not today at all!
Listening to her parents' words, Mi giggled to herself, of course, they weren't hungry. Last night her dad drank a huge bowl of milk formula.
In the second half of the night, sleeping with the eldest and second children, she also fed them each two doses of children's milk formula. By dawn, when the second mother fed her and her little brother, she lay beside her mother and fed her mother more than half a bowl of milk formula too.
Because there wasn't much opportunity during the day, for their milk formula, Mi prepared more for the eldest, second child, and her parents. After all, they were adults and knew how to drink water if they were thirsty, right?
As for her and her little brother, they were so small that too much milk formula was not easily digested and might cause issues, so Mi carefully followed the ratio for their formula.
Plus, the milk formula was mixed with Spiritual Spring water, so this way, there was no need to worry about everyone not making it!
Mi happily gave herself a thumbs up; being the little homemaker was totally not a problem in supporting the family!
Mi's giggling drew the attention of Jiang Hu and the second mother, both of whom set their sights on Mi.
Looking at Mi's chubby little face, the second mother quickly put aside her previous doubts: "Brother Hu, no matter what, this is a good thing. Saving a mouthful of food means we can endure an extra day."
Jiang Hu nodded repeatedly, and at that moment, someone came over from outside.
"Jiang Hu, second mother, are you home?" It was a voice Mi hadn't heard before.
Jiang Hu hurried out: "Village chief, why are you here?"
"I heard from Aunt Liu that your second mother gave birth to two kids. As we'll all be part of the same village from now on, we should celebrate a bit."
The village chief, Li Mu, about forty years old, was elected by everyone after settling down.
"It's just a pity we're all in the same situation, nothing noteworthy to give, but here's a basket of wild vegetables we dug up this morning, entrusted to me to deliver, so your second mother can at least have a full meal."
Jiang Hu was very touched: "Thank you, village chief, and please thank everyone for me. Once we get through this period, I will personally visit each home to express my thanks."
Don't underestimate this basket of wild vegetables; it was almost several days' worth of food for a family usually.
"Ah, what's the courtesy, we all came as refugees together, helping each other along the way. Otherwise, how would we have made it to settle down? Don't worry about other things; focus on raising the kids well. We fear your family might be the only ones in the village to have children born in the recent year and a half."
The village chief patted Jiang Hu's shoulder: "In the morning, the dew is heavy. Don't stand outside; go back and take care of your wife and kids. I'll be leaving now."
"Thank you, village chief, take care on your way back."
Jiang Hu quickly brought in a basket of wild vegetables, the type that was very tender, clearly carefully selected.
The second mother had a few smiles on her face: "Brother Hu, the villagers are so kind. Once this period is over, we will definitely get better and better."
But Mi keenly caught a word, "refugees"? And the whole village consisted of refugees!
Just now, she was enthusiastic, assuring that she would let everyone live well, but she instantly felt a bit deflated — life was probably even more difficult than she had imagined.
It wasn't just their family that was poor, but the whole village, and even the entire state wasn't very affluent!
Otherwise, how could there be an entire village of refugees? And it's likely not just that.