HPDBC Chapter 189
Chapter 189
Wen Qian was not someone who was constantly lost in reminiscence, but while caring for this little infant, she frequently recalled her own grandparents.
When she prepared and fed milk to the baby, she would imagine how she was nurtured as a child.
It seemed that adopting and raising this child at Wen Qian's place was a re-enactment of the past – previously she was the child, and now she was the one adopting the child.
This was something she had never imagined before.
Perhaps as she grew older, approaching the age of her grandparents, she missed them more and more.
The infant was also very well-behaved, eating and sleeping soundly every day, in a good state.
As autumn approached and everything was about to be harvested, An An was still too young for Wen Qian to take her outside or travel far.
So Wen Qian inquired with Big Jin's elderly grandmother if she could help look after the child, offering compensation.
The elderly grandmother was growing older, and her family no longer allowed her to do many tasks, but she was never idle and would find things to keep herself occupied.
Wen Qian promised her a certain remuneration to help take care of the child.
Big Jin's family and the grandmother all agreed, as the little one was relatively easy to care for – newborns sleep for extended periods, so having someone watching over them is better.
Wen Qian had no plans to go hunting, but instead gathered all her crops and stored them in her space.
Since Wen Qian worked diligently, within a month, she had collected everything, including the fruits from the trees.
The elderly grandmother marveled at how nimble Wen Qian was, moving in and out so many times, though in reality, she relied heavily on the power of her space to transport things.
At this stage, the little one could not be left unattended, so Wen Qian realized she likely wouldn't be able to visit the hunter's cabin over the winter.
After harvesting the crops, she went to repair a few huts, planning to spend this winter at home.
If possible, she would set traps nearby.
The sheep she had previously ordered from the village was brought back by her neighbors, just in time for winter. Wen Qian's space also had hay and fresh grass.
The infant seemed to be babbling, making incessant cooing sounds, though her baby talk could likely only be understood by infants her age.
Initially, Wen Qian would tiptoe around when the child slept, afraid of waking her up, but later realized she shouldn't do that.
Normal daily sounds were acceptable, and the child would grow accustomed to this white noise and not easily wake up.
If she cultivated an excessively quiet environment from the start, even slight noises could startle and wake the child, which wouldn't be good.
So when the child napped during the day, Wen Qian would cook in the kitchen, draw water from the well outside, or operate her sewing machine in the bedroom.
Sure enough, the infant wasn't alarmed by these everyday sounds but grew accustomed to them, even following the direction of the noises while awake.
Wen Qian discovered the child could now distinguish her voice – when she started cooing and was about to cry, Wen Qian's voice could calm her down.
Caring for an infant wasn't easy, and Wen Qian felt she was observing a specimen by living with the baby.
Sometimes, when bored, she would stare at the sleeping child and wonder if her grandparents had watched her sleep like this before.
Every beloved child must have been watched over while sleeping by their family, out of affection and curiosity.
When snow fell, Wen Qian boiled a pot of water outside and brought it in to place on the heated table.
There had to be warm water at home, as she would need it to clean the child if she had a bowel movement.
An infant's feces smelled just as foul as an adult's, which is why some people would say children are raised on a series of messes.
Newborn infants have no abilities, unlike other animals – lambs can stand shortly after birth, and chicks can peck at grain soon after hatching.
Human babies cannot, requiring at least another year before they can stand.
In order to properly raise the child, she had specially prepared a thick notebook to record the child's daily activities.
The other's obedient appearance, weight, and height would be regularly recorded.
In the future, when the child grew up and could recognize words, she would show this observation diary related to the child.