Chapter 386 He really won't be coming back.
Zhuang Qin paused for a moment, then gave a vague answer: "Yes, I haven't been feeling well these past few days, so I'm in Beijing."
Fang Hua then casually asked, "You're not feeling well, why didn't you ask Zhizhi to go and check on you?"
Zhuang Qin waved his hand: "No need, no need, it's not a big problem. Besides, I know how busy Zhizhi has been lately. If we have to trouble Zhizhi with such a small thing, how busy will she be?"
After saying that, he smiled and waved to Xiao Zhouji and Shang Shang before quickly leaving.
Fang Hua sat down at the table, still somewhat puzzled: "Didn't Lao He go? Didn't the news say that Lao He also went to southern Yunnan? Why is he back?"
Jiang Zhizhi smiled and said, "Mom, Uncle He's position is different. He's only going there for an inspection. He'll definitely be back soon. Don't overthink it. Let's eat."
With something on her mind, Jiang Zhizhi really didn't have much of an appetite. In order not to let Fang Hua and the others notice anything amiss, she forced herself to eat half a steamed bun and barely touched any of the other dishes. She would occasionally smile and look at Xiao Zhouji and Shang Shang to distract herself.
Looking at the two children's rosy little faces, they would smile and cooperate whenever she looked at them, and Shangshang would sweetly call out "Mom".
Jiang Zhizhi felt a little warmer and smiled as she took the small spoon from Zhou Chengyu's hand: "Let me feed them, Auntie, you should eat quickly."
Zhou Chengyu didn't think much of it and handed the small spoon to Jiang Zhizhi, who ate her meal while chatting with Fang Hua.
The two planned to visit Shang Xingzhou at the hospital after lunch.
Fang Hua also planned: "Sister Chen will stew some chicken soup and send it over tonight. We won't prepare anything else for now; we'll wait until he's discharged from the hospital."
Zhou Chengyu thought it was a good idea: "Don't send any nutritional supplements, there will definitely be plenty of people sending them. When he is discharged from the hospital, we can cook some meat or bone broth and send it over whenever we have time."
Fang Hua nodded, then looked at Jiang Zhizhi: "Zhizhi, you stayed up all night. Go and rest after you eat. We'll go to the hospital after the child's afternoon nap. We'll be back in a little while."
Jiang Zhizhi nodded: "Okay."
After lunch, Jiang Zhizhi suggested taking the two children for a nap: "Mom, Auntie, you two rest for a while before going to the hospital. I'll take them for a nap."
Fang Hua thought it was a good idea. The two children would be well-fed and watered, and it would be easier to coax them to take a nap. They also wouldn't wake up easily.
The only concern is that Xiao Zhouji drinks a lot of water at noon, which might cause him to wet the bed. Jiang Zhizhi was reminded, "Keep an eye on Xiao Zhouji, and pick him up to pee when it's almost time, otherwise he might wet the bed."
Jiang Zhizhi carried the two children back to their room and lay down. Xiao Zhouji and Shangshang were especially excited because they could sleep with their mother that day.
He used to fall asleep easily by being patted on the bed a few times, but now he's excitedly climbing all over Jiang Zhizhi.
Little Zhouji, every time he climbs onto Jiang Zhizhi, will lean over, pout his little mouth, and kiss his mother's cheek, with drool all over it.
Jiang Zhizhi looked quietly at Xiao Zhouji's little face, which resembled Zhou Xiye's, but couldn't manage a smile. She reached out and pulled Xiao Zhouji into her arms, whispering, "Son, do you think Mommy is overthinking things? Daddy will definitely be fine, right?"
Little Zhou is a lively and chubby boy. When he heard his mother say the word "Dad," he giggled and called out "Dad" again.
Shangshang quickly crawled over and lay on Jiang Zhizhi's stomach, calling out "Mommy" and "Daddy" repeatedly, too excited to sleep.
Finally, the two children were exhausted from all the fussing and couldn't resist the sleepiness, so they lay down on the bed in a haphazard way.
Jiang Zhizhi couldn't fall asleep no matter what, feeling a heavy, unventable frustration weighing on her heart.
...
The next morning, before going to work, Jiang Zhizhi went to the hospital to see Shang Xingzhou.
Shang Xingzhou was in much better spirits than yesterday, and his bedside table was piled high with various nutritional supplements and fruits.
Upon seeing Jiang Zhizhi enter, Shang Xingzhou's eyes lit up: "Sister, why did you come so early?"
Her hands were somewhat helplessly hidden under the blanket, tightly clutching the hem of her hospital gown, her expression a mix of calm and surprise as she looked at Jiang Zhizhi.
Jiang Zhizhi brought breakfast from home: "How are you today? Have you had breakfast? At home, we have steamed buns and millet porridge for breakfast. The steamed buns taste good, so I brought you a few."
"My aunt hasn't come back from getting breakfast yet, and I really want to eat steamed buns."
As Shang Xingzhou spoke, he tried to sit up by propping himself up on the bed. Jiang Zhizhi went over and helped him sit up, placing a pillow behind his back: "Have you brushed your teeth and washed your face?"
Shang Xingzhou nodded: "I've finished washing up, and I'm just waiting for Auntie to come back with breakfast."
Jiang Zhizhi sat down by the hospital bed and opened the two lunchboxes she had brought. One lunchbox contained several plump, white meat buns, and the other contained millet porridge.
He handed the lunchbox to Shang Xingzhou: "My aunt is an excellent cook when it comes to fillings. When your brother-in-law was at home, he loved eating the meat and mushroom buns that Sister Chen made the most."
He looked at Shangxingzhou with a smile as he spoke.
Shang Xingzhou raised an eyebrow and smiled, took the bun and took a bite: "I want to see how delicious my brother-in-law's favorite bun is. But in the army, we can only eat dumplings on New Year's Eve and buns the next day."
"It's because we slaughtered a pig for the Lunar New Year, and we had a lot of pork cracklings left over, which were perfect for making dumplings and steamed buns. By the way, the pig we slaughtered this year was one that I raised myself."
After saying that, he scratched his head and said, "I was feeding pigs in the mess hall last winter."
Jiang Zhizhi stared at Shang Xingzhou and smiled faintly: "Why did you go feed the pigs? You must have been naughty and disobedient. Didn't your brother-in-law give you a good scolding?"
Shang Xingzhou shook his head: "No, I don't usually see my brother-in-law either."
“I fed the pigs not because I disobeyed discipline, but because sometimes when we were on a mission, I didn’t follow the leader’s orders. But in hindsight, it turned out that I was right to do so.”
As they were talking, Shang Shiying came in carrying a bowl of rice. He was a little surprised to see Jiang Zhizhi there: "Zhizhi, why are you here so early?"
Jiang Zhizhi smiled and said, "My family steamed buns this morning, so I brought some over to Xingzhou as well."
Shang Shiying laughed: "Then Xingzhou is in for a treat. Sister Chen's steamed buns are absolutely amazing, much better than the ones in the hospital cafeteria."
He placed the patient's meal that had been delivered on the bedside table and urged Shang Xingzhou to eat quickly.
Jiang Zhizhi glanced at her watch and said goodbye to Shang Shiying: "Aunt, you stay with Xingzhou. I'm going to work now. I'll come see him again after I get off work."
Shang Xingzhou quickly shook his head, still with a steamed bun in his mouth, and mumbled, "Sister, you don't need to come. You have to go to work and go home to be with the kids. You really don't need to come. I'll be discharged in a few days."
Jiang Zhizhi did not agree. After leaving the ward, she felt as if she had inhaled countless shards of glass into her lungs, and every breath was excruciatingly painful.
Shang Xingzhou admires Zhou Xiye so much that he always talks about him endlessly, but just now, although his expression didn't change, he avoided all topics related to Zhou Xiye.
So, Zhou Xiye is really in trouble, and it's currently classified as confidential...
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