After saying that, the midwife began to bathe the baby. After going through the procedures, the water in the basin had already cooled down. Poor Little Linlin was stripped naked, and then put into the water. These days, Xiaocao bathed the little fellow nearly every day. The little fellow had gotten used to bathing once a day, so when his swaddling clothes were opened up, he still remained obedient and quiet. However, when the little guy was stripped naked and placed in the slightly cold water, he was suddenly startled and began displaying his amazingly loud voice, crying loudly.

The midwife smiled and said, “The young master is certainly someone who is blessed. With a ‘ringing basin’, one shall be blessed with good fortune and happiness.”

Then she started bathing the little guy. As she washed him, she recited the congratulatory speech, “First, wash your hair and be a nobility. Next, wash your waist and each generation will have a higher rank. Clean your lower body, and you will become a county magistrate. Clean your armpits, and you will become a senior official of a prefecture.”

The other midwife placed a ball of mugwort leaves with a slice of ginger as the base on the baby’s forehead and burned it in a token manner. After that, she combed the baby’s hair and tidied his appearance, while saying, “Comb three times with a comb...