Chapter 65: Full Name and Nickname
Chapter 65: Full Name and Nickname
Truthfully, Ji Jianyun had several names on his mind. The baby was born now, so how could he not have thought of a name? This was his first child.
However, he felt that the name he thought of was a little tacky. He wanted the name to be Tianci—Ji Tianci1.
This was the son the heavens had bestowed on him, so he thought it was a good name. But since his wife had thought of a name, he will listen to his wife’s suggestion.
“His name is Ji Reng,” Su Danhong stated.
“Ji Ren?” Ji Jianyun asked in a daze, and nodded soon after. “Ren is good. Benevolent, kind-hearted2.”
Su Danhong was suddenly unable to laugh or cry. “It's not ren, it's reng.”
She wrote the character on his hand and said, “Reng, with the good fortune character means good luck. Our son's name is Ji Reng.”
Ji Jianyun was surprised, then smiled and said, “Okay, we will call him Ji Reng. What about his nickname?”
“For his nickname, let’s call him Renren.” Su Danhong chuckled.
Ji Jianyun said, “Isn't that a little feminine?”
Although he loved his son, the nickname Renren was not masculine enough.
“It’s what we will call him when he is a child. We will use his full name when he grows up. There is nothing feminine or not feminine about it.” Su Danhong made the final decision.
She did not accept the custom of giving a crude name3 for children here, just because they say a crude name was easy to support. How could it be like that? She was not going to call her children something like Hou Wazi, Daya, Erya4, and so on.
Therefore, they decided on the name Ji Reng, and the nickname Renren.
The following month was going to be Su Danhong’s confinement.
In the past, when she was taught by the gynecologist her mother invited into the mansion, it also involved learning about confinement. Confinement was not easy and extremely difficult to follow.
Especially in the first three days, when the postpartum liquids had not been completely discharged. The food was very light, and because it was the first child, the breast milk came later. Renren did not get what he craved for until the third day.
With the spiritual spring, Su Danhong's body recovered quickly, and the postpartum liquid was cleaned out in three days. When the breast milk came, Mother Ji began to make chicken soup for her.
Although salt could not be added yet, the chicken soup was very fragrant. Also, Renren had a big appetite and had to have milk. Even if Su Danhong was afraid of becoming fat, she still had to pinch her nose and drink it.
There was also how well Mother Ji took care of her. That’s why Su Danhong had enough milk.
The village already knew that Su Danhong had given birth to a big plump boy. Feng Fangfang and Ji Mudan came by to see him.
Particularly Feng Fangfang, who said that she would come over and take care of Su Danhong during confinement. Mother Ji didn't stop her. Ji Mudan didn't say anything about it, nor did Mother Ji. Mother Ji was not going to stop Feng Fangfang from coming if she came, but she also was not going to force her to come.
For the next few days, Feng Fangfang came over to cook. Hou Wazi said that it would be nice if he could eat at his third uncle's house every day.
Third uncle's family had meat to eat every day, which was better than his family. If his family had meat to eat on Sunday, then that was pretty good.
Hou Wazi was not the only one with these thoughts. Even Ji Jianguo was looking forward to Feng Fangfang going over there to help.
She brought back a bowl of food every day. Half of it was meat, and the other half was vegetables. It was also very delicious.
When Ji Mudan knew about it, she came and asked Feng Fangfang, “Eldest sister-in-law, what's the matter with you? Why are you still serving her during confinement? Are you really letting her be like a daughter from a wealthy family?”
In the past when she gave birth, she was all on her own. Her mother-in-law only brought a basket of eggs and two hens.
Feng Fangfang didn't want to talk to her. She understood that it would be better to get closer to Danhong. Their statuses were similar now since both families had given birth to sons. Meanwhile, Ji Mudan had given birth to two daughters. Even though the girls were loved, they were no match for a son when it came to living in the countryside.
She felt that she had something to talk about with Danhong, but had nothing to talk about with Ji Mudan.
Moreover, she was worried that Ji Mudan would fight her for the job of helping with Su Danhong’s confinement. During this period, she had meat every day, and Hou Wazi had a poached egg for every other meal. Thus, she would rather take on this job!
After putting up with Ji Mudan with a few words, Feng Fangfang went on with her work. She took the diapers out of the washing machine to dry. They were almost dry and were easy to finish drying in the sun.
Ji Mudan angrily snorted and went back.
Feng Fangfang glanced at her leaving and her lips twitched. She could not completely ignore Ji Mudan.
However, she vowed to stay away from Ji Mudan in the future.
After drying the diapers, she brought in a pot of pig's feet soup5. The soup was very nourishing.
Su Danhong picked out the pig's feet and said with a smile, “Let’s leave the pig’s feet for Hou Wazi to eat. He likes this. He nibbled two of them when he came over last time.”
“That kid is a glutton and likes everything. Don't worry about him, Danhong. Just eat, you need it for your milk,” Feng Fangfang said at once.
“I drink soup everyday, but isn’t there enough milk coming out? None of the milk powder that Jianyun bought was used,” Su Danhong said.
Feng Fangfang nodded, “You really don't have a choice during confinement. I wasn’t in your situation when I was going through confinement, but eldest sister-in-law also didn't have your ability to embroider.”
Her words were lighthearted, indicating that she understood what was going on.
How else could Su Danhong’s confinement be so good? It’s because she made her own money. What several grown men made while working outside did not compare to what she earned alone.
Feng Fangfang couldn’t be jealous because of how capable and skilled Su Danhong was.
Mother Ji also came over often to help out. Feng Fangfang didn't say a word about it, because Su Danhong never forgot to think about their parents over the past year. Without saying anything, Feng Fangfang could see that Su Danhong was very filial. Thus, why should she care if Mother Ji came to help during confinement?
How could the other three daughters-in-law dare to speak up? Mother Ji would just block them with only one question: Which one of you has been as filial as Danhong?
Presently, Feng Fangfang could clearly see that their parents wanted their third son to provide and take care of them. This was even better for her. Feng Fangfang was required to provide for their parents since the responsibility fell on her family as the main branch and she was the eldest daughter-in-law. Now that their parents had a different idea, it was not too late for Feng Fangfang to appreciate that.
When it came to what Feng Fangfang said, Su Danhong just smiled and did not say more. After drinking pig's foot soup, she felt her chest swelling a bit.
This usually happens.
She held Renren so he could eat. Renren happened to be hungry and began to eat.
As time went by, the little guy looked whiter and softer. With the small clothes Su Danhong made for him, he looked similar to the babies on New Year pictures, which was a very rare sight to see.
Even Feng Fangfang, who also had a son, could not help but remark, “Renren is growing so well!”
With that said, Su Danhong felt something warm in her arms. She suddenly looked helpless. The little guy peed again.
“I told you, you have to make a sound when you need to pee. Why are you so silent every time? Do you want to be beaten?” Su Danhong questioned her son.
The little guy turned a deaf ear to what she said and concentrated on eating the milk. After eating, Feng Fangfang changed his diaper. He was comfortable and went straight to sleep.
- 天赐 (tiāncì) – it means bestowed by heaven LOL
- Benevolent(仁慈) and kind-hearted(仁爱) contains the character ren (仁)
- 贱名 (jiànmíng) – so it’s a thing in the countryside to give your child a nickname of something that’s ‘easy to raise’ like an animal in the hopes that they will grow up well
- Reminder that Hou Wazi is Baby Monkey, Daya and Erya mean Eldest Girl and Second Girl respectively
- Pic