The young couple were indeed novices, and at first, they fumbled a lot with childcare.
Fortunately, they had a generous inheritance.
They hired two experienced wet nurses to help, which made things much easier.
The new parents felt less pressure.
The children lived with them and saw their parents every day, naturally growing attached to them.
At first, Su Miaomiao was a bit shy, looking at the two babies with a mix of fondness and unfamiliarity. After a period of adjustment with Cheng Hao, she transitioned into her parental role, which she found quite interesting and amusing when playing with the children.
The household became much livelier.
However, babies at this age mostly just eat and sleep, and then sleep and eat.
It wasn't that much fun yet.
The babies' full moon celebration soon arrived, and everyone gathered together again from far and wide.
It was as lively as ever.
Cheng Dazhuang's children were quite grown now; the elder two could already walk and talk.
Bringing them along this time made things even more boisterous.
Even Uncle Ji watched with joy, saying that when his young lady and young master grew up, they would be able to play with them.
When Cheng Dazhuang and his family arrived, they immediately started hugging the babies one by one. This took up most of the day, and everyone doted on them endlessly.
The two babies didn't cry.
Chenxi was the most aloof, with a serious little face, calmly observing everyone with her eyes.
She was difficult to make laugh.
Chaoyang, on the other hand, was much easier to amuse, giggling when played with and staring at whoever held him.
But if Chaoyang was placed in front of Chenxi, seeing Chaoyang's silly giggles would make Chenxi laugh too. Occasionally, she would happily kick her feet, showing the good sibling bond between them.
As parents, Cheng Hao and Su Miaomiao were very satisfied. It should be like this.
The brother and sister should love each other dearly.
For the full moon celebration, they also invited a fortunate elderly woman to bathe the children, followed by the 'zhuazhou' ceremony.
Under everyone's expectant gazes, Chenxi grasped an abacus and a calligraphy brush, while Chaoyang grabbed a gemstone and some gold. The younger one naturally preferred shiny things.
This delighted everyone.
Everyone teased that the twins had completely opposite personalities, just like their parents.
The elder daughter seemed to resemble her father more, while the younger son resembled his mother.
Su Miaomiao protested, mumbling, "Clearly, Cheng Hao is the one who loves money the most!"
Cheng Hao, however, playfully teased her, "Then you don't like the abacus or practicing calligraphy either."
Su Miaomiao then said, "It's all like you, all like you!"
Cheng Hao hugged her and comforted her, "It's not entirely like me. They have their own lives, and this is their own choice, unrelated to us."
Su Miaomiao thought about it and agreed. No matter what others said, from her and Cheng Hao's perspective, they respected their children as independent individuals and would never, like their own parents, impose their own ideas on their children.
Absolutely, absolutely not!
However, Cheng Hao had finally returned to normal recently. Su Miaomiao had comforted him for a long time, whispering many things to him, reminding him that having children was a result of their thoughtful consideration and discussion together, wasn't it?
So he shouldn't look so self-blaming and shouldn't overthink it.
Su Miaomiao, having decided on something, would never regret it, just as she had resolutely chosen him. Even with their quarrels, she still couldn't leave him.
Cheng Hao was thus appeased.
After that, things returned to normal.
Their relationship, however, became even closer than before, increasing without decrease.
Everyone watched with much emotion.
They had never seen such a loving couple; they were truly one of a kind.
The news of the young couple's affectionate relationship had long spread throughout the neighborhood, and someone had even written novels about them.
They were quite popular recently.
Su Miaomiao almost died laughing when she found out; people were even writing fan fiction about them.
She even had someone buy it for her.
She read it with great interest.
The imagination of ancient people was indeed remarkable.
After the babies' full moon celebration, everyone dispersed again.
They had arrived with their belongings packed full and departed with their hands full.
For these old friends.
They had traveled from all directions over the years, coming at least once a year from such a distance.
Such camaraderie was truly unparalleled.
The young couple was also generous with their own people. Every time, they would have Uncle Ji prepare generous return gifts for them. The fabrics and goods from the capital were more fashionable.
So, they always prepared plenty for them to take back, so they could keep up with the latest trends.
Cheng Dazhuang's village and the villagers from Gao Dashan's side watched as they made the arduous journey of a thousand miles each year to catch up with their old friends.
But they also returned with carts full of rare and exquisite items, all extremely precious.
The villagers were speechless.
Because this was a mutual journey.
They prepared heartfelt gifts to send, and in return, they received heartfelt gifts.
One could only say that such a life-and-death friendship was truly enviable!
So envious!
Everyone's lives had truly settled down. Those who were meant to have children had them, and those who were meant to start families and careers had done so.
Cheng Xiaoxi was even going to be proposed to; the rumor was that it was the eldest daughter of aé•–å±€ (security escort agency).
She had been chasing him around every day.
This had greatly startled Cheng Xiaoxi. The young lady was very spirited and generous, directly telling him to let her be his wife! She promised to treat him well.
This had shocked Cheng Dazhuang and the others, and then they became amused spectators.
Initially, Cheng Xiaoxi was quite scared of her. He had never met a girl with such a personality; she was even more assertive than his sister-in-law, Su Miaomiao, and could hardly be described as cute.
But this young lady was straightforward and cheerful. Seeing his fear, she said they could be friends first!
Later, no one knew what happened.
By the time Cheng Xiaoxi came to his senses, he was already completely under the young lady's spell.
It was no surprise that they eventually married.
Cheng Hao and Su Miaomiao even took their nine-month-old babies to attend the wedding banquet.
The two children had also grown considerably.
They could babble now.
Chenxi was quiet, but Chaoyang was truly a handful, babbling all day long.
He spoke only in baby talk, uttering one or two words at a time.
Fortunately, their parents had raised them from scratch, so they could usually understand.
This led to some very amusing scenes.
Chenxi would sit aloof in Cheng Hao's arms, watching Chaoyang babble and make whimpering sounds. Then Su Miaomiao would say with cool indifference, "You want snacks?! No, not giving them to you. Want toys?! No, not now. You should go to sleep, stop causing trouble!"
Su Miaomiao usually had a fiery temper and would bicker with her own son.
She was very childish.
Although they believed in respecting their children's wishes, once they became parents, they realized that the boundaries needed to be managed because children had no concept of good or bad.
For example, Chaoyang, if he liked something, would want it constantly and play with it endlessly. He could eat more even after being full and had been uncomfortably overfed several times.
Finally, after seeing the doctor, it was the same old doctor who said he had simply eaten too much.
He advised the wet nurses to monitor his feeding.
These words made the wet nurses blush with embarrassment, and the parents themselves laughed heartily.
This kid.
When playing, he was also very absorbed and would even drag his sister to play.
Chenxi, being aloof, sometimes didn't want to play with him because Chaoyang was too troublesome and persistent, his personality exactly like his mother's.
She used to be a pest, and now there was another one successfully added to the family.
Su Miaomiao was reaping what she had sown, in a way.
Cheng Hao often teased her about it.
But no matter what.
Although the new mode of life with children was noisy and chaotic, they both enjoyed it.
As childhood sweethearts, they had once again reached a new milestone in their lives.
They were very happy.