Childbirth 2: Not Just About the Child...
On the third day after birth, Little Meng finally got his official name: Meng Shiwei. According to Jiang Ruoqi, this name was a composite from suggestions in the Book of Songs, the Songs of Chu, and some well-known AI software. She said her requirements weren't high—for Little Meng's name, first, the strokes shouldn't be too many, otherwise he'd be at a disadvantage writing his name in exams when he grew up. It had to be simple, grand, and not clichéd. She never liked being similar to others, and after all the hardship of giving birth to her son, she definitely didn't want a name that was too common. She didn't need the name to have a grand vision or deep meaning; if anything... her expectation for Little Meng himself was to grow up well and be an ordinary person. For the name, she wanted it to be easy to write and also look good. In short, the name Meng Shiwei was fairly catchy and barely met all of Jiang Ruoqi's requirements.
But this put Meng Shang in a tough spot. He racked his brains trying to explain to Yun Dan and Jiang Yun, who had rushed over overnight, the origin of this "stunning" name. First, he fabricated a bunch of ancient poems out of thin air, then even said he hoped Little Meng would learn to assess the situation and seize opportunities. Anyway, just when he was about to run out of steam, Jiang Ruoqi—who had been snickering on the side—finally came to the rescue and interrupted the two grandmothers' relentless questioning.
So, compared to the formal name, "Little Meng" was easier to say. Jiang Ruoqi and Meng Shang were already used to it, and even Yun Dan and Jiang Yun soon got into the habit. Things like "Little Meng is hungry" or "time to change Little Meng's diaper" filled the hospital room during those days, along with Little Meng's occasional cries. This continued until three days after delivery, when Jiang Ruoqi was discharged and transferred to a postpartum care center. True Old Director Meng took leave and came from Hangxiang to visit Jiang Ruoqi and Little Meng.
So the room now had Old Meng, Little Meng, and Little Shang... Ada happened to be there, and on this weird naming loop, she stealthily tugged Jiang Ruoqi's clothes and sincerely suggested, "Please, give the baby a nickname. Your Meng Shang is about to lose his name."
Jiang Ruoqi thought, the surname might be lost, but definitely not the given name. But it really wasn't working—it made Little Meng Shiwei seem like he was stepping into society too early, emphasizing his precocious maturity. So Jiang Ruoqi racked her brains for a whole night and came up with the nickname Yiyi. And she had even more justification for this name. The formal name was Meng Shiwei, with "wei" meaning "only," so the nickname Yiyi made perfect sense. Moreover, her own nickname was Seven... three times seven is twenty-one, so her son being called Eleven (one one) was perfectly logical—this way, he looked like her son.
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