August 9th, Tuesday, moderate rain.
Li Ye drove to work. As he neared the factory gate, the Big Brother in his bag suddenly rang.
Li Ye slowed down, steering with one hand as he answered the phone.
Then Li Dayong's voice came from the other end. "Brother, Xiao Hui gave birth last night. Come by with sister-in-law when you have time and see the baby."
Li Ye said in delighted surprise, "What? Xiao Hui gave birth? A boy or a girl? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Li Dayong gave a simple-minded laugh. "I only just finished dealing with everything! I was so frantic all night that I forgot everything."
"You could forget something like this? Honestly, you... Which hospital? Which room?"
"..."
Li Ye hung up while grumbling.
Li Dayong and Pei Wenhui had married around this time last year, and about a year later, they had a baby—almost the same pace as Wen Leyu and himself. It showed just how different great families' hunger for heirs was from the toil of society's workhorses.
For them, more children meant more blessings; for workhorses, more children meant more suffering.
After thinking it over, Li Ye used the Big Brother to dial home.
"Grandma, Da Yong's wife had a baby. Hurry and stew a pot of ginseng chicken soup. I'll check in at work first, then come pick you up."
Wu Juying said in surprise, "Da Yong's wife gave birth? A girl or a boy? Her first child was a boy? That really is good fortune."
"What good fortune, Grandma? Xiao Hui is from Hong Kong Island. She can have a second child, a third child."
"Hmph. I've even seen women who had eight daughters, and she still has good fortune. Stop arguing with me."
"..."
Li Ye chatted with his