Drama Couple in the 80s

Chapter 49

Jiang Ya and Liu Xiaopan, at least nominally sisters in law, had never properly met. Jiang Ya didn't return for their wedding, and after Liu Xiaopan moved in, they surprisingly hadn't crossed paths despite being sister in laws for over half a year.

Reflecting back, by the time Jiang Ya emerged from her postpartum confinement and returned from Yongcha City, Liu Xiaopan must have been halfway into her pregnancy, staying mostly indoors to care for herself and rarely venturing out. Despite living as sisters in law for several months, they hadn't encountered each other even once.

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known," Jiang Ya said. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"A girl," Shi Qiaoling replied. "You haven't seen your mother in law these past few days, have you? She's been walking around with a long face."

"Who pays attention to that?" Jiang Ya laughed. She never bothered it, people shouldn't live just to accommodate others' moods.

In the evening, when Jiang Fengchan returned from the city, he brought some prawns and crabs—items not commonly eaten at home. He invited Jiang Ya's family over for dinner to enjoy them together.

Jiang Ya cautioned Shi Qiaoling, "You should avoid eating crab for now, it's not recommended during pregnancy. Stick to the large shrimp instead. Once the baby is born, we'll ask Fengchan to buy you more crab."

Smiling, Shi Qiaoling remarked that she wasn't craving crab anyway and it seemed mostly shell, and she preferred red-braised pork instead.

While the adults were eating, quan quan was put to sleep on a small bed nearby. Unnoticed for a moment, Yanyan accidentally woke up her brother. Jiang Ya quickly picked up quan quan to soothe him, while Song Shixia brought Yanyan over and started peeling shrimp for her.

Song Shixia said, "Hurry up and host a celebration for quan quan already. You missed the traditional full moon feast, and now you've been dragging it out without organizing anything. Relatives and friends have been constantly urging you. If you delay further, Qiaoling will give birth soon, and both children's celebrations might end up happening together."

He Cheng responded, "Hosting a party in the village is quite troublesome - buying food and drinks, hiring a chef, limited space, and needing to clean and rearrange the house. It's just too much hassle. Considering this is our second child, we were thinking of skipping it altogether."

But Song Shixia insisted it couldn't be skipped, relatives and friends wouldn't agree otherwise.

The conversation then turned to Shao Chunlai's family. Jiang Ya asked He Cheng, "Has your mother mentioned anything about Shao Chunlai's family hosting their celebration? Will they do it at twelve days or wait until the full month?"

He Cheng shook his head, indicating he had no idea, Bao Lanxiang hadn't brought it up at all.

In rural areas, baby celebration feasts typically involved only women attending. If Shao Chunlai's family held such a feast, Jiang Ya, as his nominal sister in law, would likely be expected to go. Smiling wryly, she joked, "When we hosted our feast for Yanyan's birth, only her mother came from their side without giving any money, just bringing a hat for our little one. When it's time for Shao Chunlai's feast, I'll also buy them a hat."

Song Shixia responded, "Their family might not hold a feast at all, chances are they won't bother. Even if they don't, you shouldn't visit privately either. After all, you owe him nothing."

"But this is their first child," Jiang Ya argued. "Won't they need to reciprocate social obligations? How could they skip hosting a feast?"

However, Song Shixia believed that Bao Lanxiang and Shao Baokui indeed had no plans for a feast. It wasn't merely because they had a girl, Shao Baokui was from elsewhere and had few relatives or friends locally to invite. Moreover, Bao Lanxiang's maternal family lived far away, with uncertain attendance even among their limited kin.