“Sonny was willing to play quietly in your office?” Serena knew her nephew’s temperament very well as she had brought him up. As well–behaved as Sonny was, he was still a three–year–old kid. He was at the age of being naughty, active, and annoying.
Unless there were toys that Sonny liked to play with, he would only sit still for five minutes before starting to touch everything and causing havoc.
“He was still sleeping when I took him to my office. He only started playing after he woke up.”
Realization hit Serena and she laughed. “I told you so.”
“But Sonny wet my bed.”
Zack continued, “I asked Duncan to buy some clothes for him. He went and bought a dozen sets of clothes, as well as a beautiful dress.”
Serena was speechless.
Duncan bought a dress for Sonny!
“Sonny said the dress is reserved for the little sister who will be born to his little aunt.”
Zack stared passionately at Serena when he said that.
Serena knew what he meant. She pinched his face in amusement. “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t take any medicine behind your back.”
“Seren.”
Zack pulled his wife into his arms and placed one hand on her flat belly. “I really hope we can have a little girl as Sonny said.”
Since they were on the topic of having a baby again, Serena asked, “I heard Jasmine mention that anyone who gives birth to a son in your family will be rewarded fifty million dollars by the elders, but five hundred million dollars if it’s a daughter. Is that true?
“She also said that none of the women who have been married into your family so far has gotten the reward of five hundred million bucks.”
Zack said, “I hope you can get Nana’s reward of five hundred million.”
Serena pondered the question and said after a while, “Your family hasn’t had a daughter for generations. Perhaps it just runs in the family. Your family might just be fated to have sons only.”
Zack fell silent for a while before he said, “It’s possible. Our ancestor had a daughter but failed to raise her. Ever since that child passed, no one in the family has given birth to a girl. I remember my little aunt watched her diet closely before she gave birth to Rowan. She ate a lot of acidic food, saying that it’ll promote the conception of a daughter.
“Her pregnancy with Rowan was also different from her first two pregnancies. Everyone thought she would give birth to a daughter. When the fetus took shape, we sought advice from an acquaintance. When that person said that it was a girl, everyone went crazy with joy.”
Zack recounted what happened that year. “I was a teenager at that time, so I had a particularly deep impression of when my aunt was pregnant with Rowan. After hearing that she was going to give birth to a girl, I was also looking forward to her arrival.
“I even secretly prepared a lot of toys for her. The adults in our family bought a lot of pink clothes and shoes, and I also secretly bought her a pink dress. Callum and Kevin were about my age, so they did the same too.
“It happened to be a Saturday the day my aunt gave birth to Rowan. Everyone in the family -old and young, as well as our collateral relatives–was there. The hospital corridors were filled with our people.
“Everyone was overjoyed and happier than when Christmas was here. Nana smiled so brightly that her cheeks were sore, thinking that she was finally going to hold a granddaughter. In the end, the nurse came out with a big fat kid in her arms. Nana immediately grabbed the nurse’s collar and questioned if she carried the wrong baby.
“She even said that my aunt was pregnant with a daughter, so why was a plump boy carried out instead? Everyone suspected that the nurse took the wrong baby. The nurse was between laughter and tears. She repeatedly explained that my aunt was the only person in the delivery room and that she gave birth to a boy.”
Serena wanted to laugh when she heard the story. She could imagine what happened at that time.
Zack continued, “Everyone could only accept the reality. The nurse also muttered that every other family would be thrilled if it was a son. Our family was the only one who asked for a daughter after knowing that it was a son, as if the hospital owed us a little girl.
“The hundred–over people dispersed after knowing that our family gained a ninth son. The firecrackers that were meant to be lit up at home weren’t lit up in the end. Since everyone ught it was going to be a daughter, girls‘ clothes were prepared. As such, Rowan wore pink clothes during the days he was in the hospital.
“Rowan only changed into his brother’s hand–me–downs after being discharged from the hospital, and my uncle dawdled for half a month before buying new clothes for him.
People are saying that our family is like a temple. Nobody in the family can give birth to a daughter, and even if we do, we can’t keep them alive.”
Serena said, “Perhaps it’s bad luck that was passed down in your family, causing your descendants to be born sons and making it difficult for daughters to be raised.”
“It was already like this during my grandfather’s generation, so it might’ve started from my great–grandfather’s generation. We didn’t think about this problem and didn’t ask a fortune- teller for help. These days, there are very few fortune–tellers with real skills. Many of them only scratched the surface but go around conning for some living expenses.”
“There are skillful ones, but there are very few of them. It’s difficult to find out where they’ve retired to.”
Serena was interested in the fortune–telling knowledge left by her ancestors. Her bookstore has many books on fortune–telling, but unfortunately, she did not have the talent to understand them.
Moreover, her customers were middle–school students. Young people did not believe in fortune–telling, so who would read those books? They were placed in the corner of her shelves to collect dust, waiting for a destined person to pick them up and sweep the dust away so that they could serve their purpose.
“Let’s bring this up to Nana someday. She’s old and knowledgeable, so she might’ve heard some legends from experts. I’d like to talk to a fortune–teller. I want to have a daughter.
Zack was afraid that he would end up like his family members from his great-
grandfather’s generation. Giving birth to a daughter but failing to keep her alive would be heartbreaking.
Although medical skills were limited in the past and much more advanced now, sometimes, one’s life could not be bought with money.
Zack’s nana had found a fortune–teller in the past to tell Zack and Serena’s fortune. Would he have a way to solve the problem?
He should more or less know something, right? Nonetheless, someone who only had a superficial knowledge of this probably would not be able to help the Yorks solve this problem.
The husband and wife chatted about having a daughter. Before they knew it, they were back in front of Wiltspoon School.
Zack sent Serena into the store.
He also needed to go back to work, so he did not stay for long before he left.
Serena could not help but chuckle when she thought about how she and her husband were talking about having a daughter during their whole journey here.
“What’s so funny that is making you giggle? Tell me and make me happy too.”
Jasmine placed some sweet treats in front of Serena. “Josh had someone send these over to me for tea.”
“Mr. Bucham treats you very well. He’s considerate and obedient.”
Serena took a piece of the treats.
“He learned that from your husband. If not for Mr. York as an instructive precedent, I wouldn’t even know he’s also a generation wealth.”
Serena smiled. “Zack lying to me sets an example for everyone. It’s actually beneficial.”
Seeing as she was still in a good mood, Jasmine asked nosily, “What did you do this morning? Mr. York specially called me to say that you couldn’t come to the store in the morning and that I’ll have to watch the store. He was very gentle.
“I’ve known him for so long, and yet he has never spoken to me as gently as he did this morning.”
Due to Shawn having a crush on Serena, Zack was aware that Jasmine treated Serena very well. She did not help Shawn pursue Serena. Even so, Zack was a little jealous of how important Jasmine was to Serena.
“Nothing. I was just moved by him last night and ended up sleeping late. He did something romantic for me, and I took a video of it. I’ll look back at it when I’m old.”
While telling Jasmine what happened, Serena showed her the video she took.
Jasmine praised how romantic Zack was after she saw the video. She smiled ambiguously and said, “No wonder you slept late last night. Hehe.”
Her giggle made Serena unable to resist tickling her.
Jasmine laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. She hurriedly begged for mercy.
“A good husband has to be trained by his wife. Seren, your husband will be trained by you to have good morals, physical abilities, and intellect. I couldn’t have imagined the cold Mr. York creating such a romantic scene for you.”
Josh often did romantic things for Jasmine, so she was not surprised at all.
He had a high IQ and EQ, after all.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.