Liu Mama listened to Chen Lan’s words and looked worried. She anxiously asked, “Xiao Lan, how is Xiao Yue now? Is it serious?”
Chen Lan saw that Liu Mama’s face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and wondered if it was from the rush of hearing that Xiao Yue was in labor, or if she was tired from walking so fast.
She quickly explained, “Liu Mama, you! Don’t worry yet. Mama Cui, Doctor Guo and his daughter, my mother-in-law, my mother, and Aunt Xiao Shan are all inside with her. My mother and the others haven’t come out yet, so it should be fine. My mother said that Xiao Yue just started labor not long ago, so it’s still early!”
Liu Mama was relieved. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the sweat from her face. Chen Lan quickly handed her a cup of cool boiled water. Liu Mama didn’t refuse, as she was a bit thirsty. She took the cup and drank it down in big gulps.
Turning back, she asked, “Xiao Lan, are you boiling water to prepare goat milk for the children?”
Chen Lan poured goat milk powder into a large glass pitcher and replied, “Yes! I’m afraid that if the children all wake up at the same time later, I won’t have enough hands to prepare their milk. So, while they are still asleep and I have nothing else to do, I thought I’d prepare it in advance! That way, when they wake up, I won’t be in a rush.”
Liu Mama nodded and said no more, but her gaze kept drifting towards the main entrance.
Seeing Liu Mama’s distracted look, Chen Lan knew she was worried about Xiao Yue. She also wanted to know what was happening inside, so she said comfortingly, “Liu Mama, if you’re worried, why don’t you go in and see how Xiao Yue is doing?”
Liu Mama hesitated and said, “With so many children, can you manage alone?”
Chen Lan continued to persuade, “It will probably be a while before the little ones wake up. If you go in and come back quickly, won’t that solve it?”
Liu Mama thought this made sense. Without further delay, she said, “Xiao Lan, bear with it for a moment. I’ll go and take a look and be right back.”
With that, she no longer hesitated and hurried towards the room.
The water had already boiled by then. Chen Lan continued her work, preparing the babies’ milk bottles first, and waiting for the water to cool slightly before adding the milk powder.
Before long, a rich milky aroma filled the air. The brother and sister, who were playing with their new toys, smelled the aroma and simultaneously looked over. Seeing that Chen Lan had returned, they immediately put down their toys, climbed down from the sofa, and ran over. Jia Hui said in a milky voice, “Mom, smells good, good.”
Chen Lan couldn’t help but smile. She said with a smile, “Jia Hui, does the goat milk smell good, or does Mom smell good?”
At this moment, Jia Yao suddenly interjected, “Mom smells good.”
Jia Hui said indignantly, “The milk smells good, Mom smells good.”
Jia Yao was not to be outdone and said, “Both smell good.”
Chen Lan squatted down, pinched Jia Yao’s little nose, and said, “You little clever one, you have a sweet tongue.” Then, she kissed each of the children on the cheek and asked with a smile, “Does it smell good?”
The brother and sister grinned and nodded their little heads, saying, “Good, good, Mom smells good.”
Chen Lan gently stroked the siblings’ little heads and asked softly, “Are you thirsty? Do you want some milk?”
The siblings nodded their little heads adorably.
Chen Lan stood up, took the milk bottles for the siblings, poured in the goat milk she had prepared earlier, and set them aside. Then, she poured goat milk into the other children’s milk bottles according to the markings on the bottles and set them aside so they could be drunk directly when the children woke up.
She then ordered some small sponge cakes and milk bread from the system. After preparing everything, she held two bottles of milk in one hand and a plate of small bread in the other, and said to the well-behaved siblings who were standing obediently, “Let’s go! We’ll sit on the sofa in the pavilion and eat.”
The siblings ran back to the pavilion again and quickly climbed onto the sofa, sitting down and waiting.
After serving the siblings their milk, Chen Lan had just sat down to rest for a moment when she saw her mother and Liu Mama hurrying out. Chen Lan quickly got up and asked, “Mom, Liu Mama, how is Xiao Yue? Has she given birth yet?”
Her mother smiled and said, “This child, she’s really impatient. How could she be done so quickly! Doctor Guo just checked her pulse and said everything is fine! Aunt Qian, who your mother-in-law brought, is a midwife. She also checked Xiao Yue’s position and said it’s normal, but it’s still too early for labor. She told us to come out and make something nutritious for Xiao Yue to eat, so she’ll have strength to give birth later. That’s why we came out to check on the children, as we were worried about them.”
Chen Lan immediately pulled her mother and Liu Mama to sit on the sofa and said, “Mom, you and Liu Mama sit down and rest. I’ll make a bowl of brown sugar eggs for Xiao Yue. This is her first pregnancy, and we don’t know when she’ll give birth yet. I’ll also make a bowl of noodles for Aunt Qian, Doctor Guo and his daughter, and everyone else. When things get busy later, everyone definitely won’t have time to eat in the main kitchen.”
Her mother thought this was sensible and nodded. Liu Mama also prepared to help Chen Lan, but Chen Lan quickly refused, saying, “Liu Mama, the children will be waking up soon. Mom can’t manage alone for a while. You stay here and lend a hand. Besides, cooking a bowl of brown sugar eggs isn’t a big deal, I can do it myself! Don’t worry!”
With that, she wasted no more time, turned and walked out of the courtyard, picked up a large bundle of firewood from the woodpile, and returned to the courtyard. Just then, she saw Aunt Xiao Shan walking out of the entrance and immediately called out, “Aunt Xiao Shan, come to the kitchen and help me build a fire. I’m going to boil a bowl of brown sugar eggs for Xiao Yue.”
Aunt Xiao Shan reached out to take the firewood from Chen Lan, but Chen Lan didn’t let her help.
Soon, Aunt Xiao Shan skillfully started the fire. As Chen Lan washed the pot and boiled water, she opened the system with her mind and ordered a large bottle of rice wine, two catties in weight.
As soon as the water in the pot boiled, Chen Lan skillfully cracked eight eggs, boiled them for about five to six minutes, added two large spoonfuls of rice wine, and then two large spoonfuls of brown sugar. The air was immediately filled with the rich sweet aroma of rice wine and brown sugar, as well as the eggy fragrance of the eggs. Chen Lan couldn’t help but feel a craving.
She thought that it had been a long time since everyone had eaten rice wine eggs and glutinous rice balls. After she finished cooking this pot and sent it over, she would cook a bowl for everyone to satisfy their craving.
She poured a large bowl of the mixture into a big bowl and handed it to Aunt Xiao Shan on a tray, instructing, “Auntie, please help me take this in for Xiao Yue to eat first. I’m going to cook rice wine eggs and glutinous rice balls for everyone else now. Remember to come out and get them later.”
Aunt Xiao Shan smiled and took the tray, replying, “Okay! I’ll take it in to Xiao Yue right away.”