Chapter 74
Xixi, whose little hands were wrapped tightly in the sky blue quilt and unable to move, opened her mouth and whined to express her dissatisfaction.
Pei Xingzhi smiled silently, then rocked the little one in his arms. A magical thing happened: the little Xixi, who had been whining, became quiet.
The nurse next to her widened her eyes. "They really are a father-daughter bond. I held her and coaxed her for a long time."
Pei Xingzhi whispered, "I'm sorry."
The young nurse waved her hand. "No, no, I'm used to it. I'll be leaving now. Baby, call me if you need anything."
At that time, they were the only family members in the ward. Meng Wanqiu was the last one to be admitted, but unexpectedly, she was the first to give birth.
After coaxing the little girl to sleep, Pei Xingzhi gently placed her next to Meng Wanqiu. The little girl shrugged her nose, as if she sensed a familiar scent, and her little mouth actually curled up.
Pei Xingzhi felt soft-hearted. He stood up, closed the window, and sat beside the bed, quietly watching the mother and daughter sleep.
In the meantime, the other two pregnant women had given birth and were pushed back to the ward one after another. The two children born to Wan Xixi had bad tempers and kept crying.
Meng Wanqiu had expended a great deal of energy, yet the noise didn't wake her. The little one, however, was disturbed. Her mouth pursed, her face wrinkled, and she began to cry at the top of her lungs.
The nurse next to him said that the little one was hungry, so he asked Pei Xingzhi to wake up Meng Wanqiu and feed her.
However, Pei Xingzhi was reluctant to do so, so he temporarily handed the child to the nurse and took out the milk powder and bottle from his bag. The bottle had been scalded with hot water before it arrived, so he just added milk powder. The hot water was in the kettle, so he just poured it in.
After Meng Wanqiu became pregnant, Pei Xingzhi read a lot of books and learned a lot from Aunt Feng, so he naturally had no problem making milk powder.
I held the little guy back in my arms. As soon as I put the pacifier to his mouth, he opened his mouth on his own initiative, put the pacifier in his mouth, and started sucking it in big gulps.
In just four minutes, she had finished the whole bottle of milk.
Pei Xingzhi's mouth curled up, apparently inheriting her mother's big appetite. Normally, a newborn's milk powder should contain 20-30 ml, but Pei Xingzhi, worried that the little one wouldn't be full, made 40 ml, and the baby finished it all.
Pei Xingzhi tried to take the bottle away, but she was still unwilling to do so, her little mouth tightly holding the bottle. When Pei Xingzhi pulled it, she started to cry out, her little brows furrowed, and she looked very dissatisfied.
But after she finished the bottle of milk, Pei Xingzhi didn't continue to pamper her. He let her lie on his shoulder and gently patted her back. After she burped, the little one fell asleep again.
Time came to the next day.
Meng Wanqiu felt like she had slept for a long time. There was a faint smell of disinfectant at the tip of her nose, and her body felt refreshed.
I opened my eyes drowsily and saw Aunt Feng packing something by the bed. I felt a warm pressure in the crook of my arm.
Meng Wanqiu lowered her eyes and found that the little guy was lying next to her, his face rosy, breathing lightly, and sleeping soundly, like a little stove.
As she looked at him, Meng Wanqiu's eyes softened.
"Oh, Xiaowan is awake." Aunt Feng looked at Meng Wanqiu in surprise.
Meng Wanqiu only then realized that Aunt Feng was holding the little guy's clothes. She looked around and didn't see Pei Xingzhi, so she asked, "Aunt, where is he?"
Aunt Feng folded the little one's clothes and put them aside before she smiled and said, "The little one just peed, and Xingzhi went to wash her diaper. She said it would smell if she left it here, and she was afraid it would bother you."
Meng Wanqiu propped herself up with her hands and tried to sit up, but the little guy next to her slid into the quilt and pulled her into his arms. The little guy nudged himself against her chest, as if trying to find a comfortable position, and then continued to sleep soundly.
"Hey, put on some clothes quickly." Aunt Feng quickly took Meng Wanqiu's coat from the shelf next to her and put it on her back. "The hospital gowns here are too thin. You're in confinement after childbirth. Don't catch a cold."
Meng Wanqiu nodded. Although she felt a little hot, she still put it on obediently.
At this time, Pei Xingzhi came in. Seeing Meng Wanqiu wake up, his eyes lit up with joy. "You're awake. Are you feeling unwell?"
She walked over and hung the washed diapers by the window, wiped her hands, and then walked to the bed.
"No, I'm fine." Meng Wanqiu had just checked his pulse and found that he was a little weak. He just needed to have a good rest.
Pei Xingzhi felt relieved, propped up the table on the bed, and opened the lunch box at elbow height, which contained pig's trotters stewed with soybeans, scrambled eggs, and fish head tofu soup.
The sight of the milky white fish soup made Meng Wanqiu's stomach rumble.
She hasn't eaten since yesterday afternoon and is almost starving to death.
Aunt Feng saw Meng Wanqiu's eyes widened, and she smiled and took the little guy over, "I'll hold him, you hurry up and eat."
Meng Wanqiu took the bowl and chopsticks, picked up a piece of pig's trotter and put it into her mouth. The pig's trotter had a bean aroma, and it was so delicious that tears were about to come out.
"Slow down, it's all yours. Drink some fish soup first." Pei Xingzhi scooped a bowl of soup for Meng Wanqiu.
"Have you and your aunt eaten?" Meng Wanqiu asked Pei Xingzhi while eating.
Pei Xingzhi nodded, "Don't worry, I'll eat it all."
Aunt Feng walked by the bed, holding the little one in her arms. "I was so scared! I just moved in yesterday, and she gave birth overnight. Luckily, Li Xuezhi went home early this morning and told everyone that you had a daughter. That's when your uncle Feng and I found out and rushed over."
There were only a few pregnant women in the hospital. After a little inquiry, Li Xuezhi found out that Meng Wanqiu had given birth to a daughter. He returned to Xinghua Lane early this morning and spread the news that the couple had given birth to a daughter to the whole lane.
Aunt Feng secretly cursed Li Xuezhi for being sick, but she didn't bother to cause trouble, so she asked Uncle Feng to cook at home first, and she came to the hospital to help the couple.
When they arrived, Meng Wanqiu was still sleeping. After Uncle Feng brought the meal, Pei Xingzhi and Aunt Feng ate it.
Then Pei Xingzhi rushed back. Meng Wanqiu had just given birth, and he planned to do something good to nourish her body.
Uncle Feng couldn't help in the hospital, so after holding the little guy, he went to help Pei Xingzhi.
After Aunt Feng finished talking about what happened this morning, she was still very angry. "That bad guy Li Xuezhi is such an ungrateful person! He forgot who helped take his wife to the hospital after she fell? Now he looks down on us good girls. Humph, having a son is great. Our Xixi parents are not comparable to him."
Meng Wanqiu smiled helplessly and comforted Aunt Feng, "Don't worry about him, he's not in a clear mind."
Pei Xingzhi took the child from Aunt Feng and said, "Please sit down and rest for a while. I'll hold her."
At this time, the child next to him woke up and cried loudly, while the young wife on the bed was still sleeping.
The old woman picked up the child and said, "Oh, my grandson, you are hungry. I will find something to eat for you."
Having said that, regardless of the fact that his young wife was still asleep, he walked straight forward and unbuttoned her clothes.
Meng Wanqiu frowned, and Pei Xingzhi immediately closed the curtain.
Aunt Feng sighed, "Another family that doesn't treat their daughter-in-law as a human being."
Even after the curtains were drawn, the rustling sound could still be heard. The old woman muttered, "You've eaten so much from me, but how come you don't even have milk?"
"Ah - what are you doing?" The young wife woke up and saw that her collar was wide open and her chest was exposed. Her face suddenly turned red to her neck and she immediately pushed the old woman away.
"Oh, little bitch, if you drop my grandson, I will punish you." The old woman was pushed off guard and staggered, cursing angrily.
He was completely different from the kind-hearted person he was yesterday.
"Why are you unbuttoning my shirt?" the young wife glared at the old woman and questioned her.
The old woman held her grandson, who was crying loudly, and said confidently, "My grandson is hungry and needs milk."
Then, Meng Wanqiu no longer heard the young wife's rebuttal. After a while, the other party's patient moaning was heard.
Aunt Feng explained, "Is this the start of breastfeeding?"
Meng Wanqiu covered her chest with her hands. Just by hearing the other person's voice, she felt the pain.
The breasts are sensitive to begin with, and when they are rubbed vigorously, you can imagine the pain the other person is going through.
I couldn't help but ask Aunt Feng with a bitter face, "Should I do it too?"
Pei Xingzhi also looked at Aunt Feng.
Aunt Feng nodded and said, "You have to do it. If you don't remove the milk when it swells, it will get infected."
Pei Xingzhi frowned, not wanting to hurt Meng Wanqiu.
Then Aunt Feng said, "Is your chest swollen now? If not, let's go home and do it gently. We won't be as rough as this family. Let's just drink the milk powder and don't rush to increase our milk supply. When your milk supply increases, you can let the baby suck it, or ask Xingzhi to help. If that doesn't work, try this method again."
Asking Pei Xingzhi for help, Meng Wanqiu said "oh" and her face gradually turned red.
Pei Xingzhi remained calm.
Aunt Feng smiled and jokingly said, "What's there to be shy about, kid?"
Snap——
The sound of a slap hitting flesh was heard, and Meng Wanqiu's eyes turned cold.
"Why are you so dry? You ate so many good things from me, but you don't even have milk. You're useless. What's the point of having two breasts?"
The young wife lowered her head, covered her chest, and remained silent.
Then, the curtain on Meng Wanqiu's side was pulled open, revealing the old woman's wrinkled face. A hint of displeasure flashed in Pei Xingzhi's eyes.
"Hey, how can you pull other people's curtains so casually? What if it causes any inconvenience?" Aunt Feng glared at him and questioned him in a bad tone.
The old woman smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, sister, my child is not doing well and has no milk. I just heard you say that your child has milk powder. Can you share some with us?"
Aunt Feng frowned, "If you don't have milk, you can just make some rice soup."
Milk powder is a rare commodity nowadays, so how could it be given to you so easily? Furthermore, after hearing what the old woman had just said, she had no good impression of this person at all.
The old woman's smile faltered, and she continued, "I have rice soup, but my son hasn't come back yet. He must be very hungry. Big sister, please lend me some first."
Before Aunt Feng could say anything, Pei Xingzhi said lightly: "Sorry, we don't bring much." This was the truth. He only brought one bottle and there were no extra bottles.
Meng Wanqiu also said: "Yes, Auntie, if it really doesn't work, give the child some water first."
"How can that be? My grandson——"
Pei Xingzhi was too lazy to talk nonsense and simply pulled the curtain. The little guy in his arms sniffed and was not affected at all.
The old woman's face darkened. She had been so kind and gentle, but this family still refused to give her face. "No wonder I gave birth to a money-losing child. When he grew up, he was also—"
Before he could finish his words, the curtains were suddenly drawn back, revealing Pei Xingzhi's frosty face. There was a chill in his eyes, and his tone was cold and warning, "Say that again."
Pei Xingzhi stood up like a small mountain. The old woman was only at his elbow, and she felt very oppressive.
The old woman's pupils dilated. She carefully held her grandson and took a step back. "You, you, you, what are you doing? This is a hospital."
Pei Xingzhi glanced at the child in the other's arms.
The old woman hugged her grandson tightly and immediately became timid, "I'm sorry——"
At this time, a young woman appeared at the door. When she saw the old woman and the child in her arms, and then looked at the young wife lying on the bed, she felt as if she was struck by lightning.
"Okay, I was wondering why you've been away from home so much lately. You even lied to me and told me you were at my sister-in-law's house. So you were out there helping Hou Jun take care of me? My cousin saw you and your daughter at the hospital, and I thought it was a mistake. But it turned out to be true."
Small? This young wife is not the object of that skinny man.
Meng Wanqiu turned her head to look at the young wife. She seemed to notice her gaze and lowered her head even more.
Seeing that the two of them were about to start arguing, Pei Xingzhi was about to plug the little guy's ears, but when he looked down, he found that the little guy had woken up without him noticing. Shui Lingling's eyes were wide open, and she glanced sideways at the quarrel, as if she was listening to the excitement.
Pei Xingzhi couldn't help laughing and scratched her nose, "Just like your mother."
He looked up at Meng Wanqiu, staring at her without blinking, looking at the old woman for a while, then at the woman. Pei Xingzhi was worried that she had twisted her neck.
The old woman was stunned when she saw the newcomer. She stammered, "Yanhong, you, you misunderstood. This is my niece from my mother's family. There's no one at home to take care of her, so I came here to help."
The woman named Yanhong snorted coldly and pulled the thin man out of the door. She pulled the thin man out by the collar and pointed at the old woman. "You old hag, you're such a good storyteller! I caught you red-handed, and you're still acting. Your son told me everything."
Hou Jun lowered his head, his collar grabbed by the woman's hand, like a mouse caught by its tail. He was cowardly and silent, and he no longer had the courage he had when he confronted the farmer yesterday.
Seeing that the truth was revealed, the old woman stopped pretending and pointed at her bright red nose and cursed: "I just want a grandson, so what? My old Hou family wants to continue the family line. You gave birth to two girls and you don't want to have any more. If you don't give birth yourself, I will find someone else to give birth to a grandson for me."
The rest of the people in the room pricked up their ears silently. This old woman was really amazing.
Yanhong's eyes turned red with anger, and her lips were trembling. "Don't forget, it was your Hou family who begged me to marry into your family. They said that you should treat me as your own woman and that it didn't matter whether it was a boy or a girl. That's why I agreed. If it weren't for my father, your family would have returned to the countryside to farm. Now, you are actually doing this behind my back..."
"Be quiet! This is a hospital." A stern-faced nurse walked in. "Other patients are resting. If you make any more noise, get out."
Seeing the nurse, the old woman's eyes lit up, "Nurse, hurry up and kick this bitch out! She's disturbing my grandson's rest."
Hearing this, the nurse turned to look at Yanhong and warned with a cold face, "If you are not involved, please leave."
Yanhong laughed angrily and looked at the old woman, "Okay, your Hou family is brave, let's wait and see."
As he spoke, he walked to the young wife's bed. The young wife shrank her neck, thinking that the other party would hit her, but Yanhong just looked at her carefully, snorted and left.
Meng Wanqiu saw this from the side, and she noticed that there was no hatred towards the young wife in the other person's eyes, but rather sympathy.
Yanhong walked to the door, and Hou Jun was still standing there motionless, not saying a word and not daring to look at Yanhong.
Snap——
A slap hit Hou Jun's face. Meng Wanqiu noticed that his face swelled up instantly and couldn't help but give him a thumbs up in her heart.
"Oh, Dai Yanhong, you shrew, you actually hit my son! Nurse, nurse, kick her out!"
Dai Yanhong ignored the shouting old lady Hou and said to Hou Jun, "Coward, get a divorce tomorrow and the daughters will be mine."
Mrs. Hou placed her grandson in the arms of her young wife and said, "Divorce is fine. The Hou family no longer wants a shrew like you as a daughter-in-law. After the divorce, Xiaojun can marry my grandson's mother."
After everyone left, Old Mrs. Hou ran over and hugged her beloved son to comfort him, not even caring about her grandson.
The young wife next to her breathed a sigh of relief. When she heard that the woman wanted to divorce Hou Jun and the old lady said she wanted to marry her, a hint of joy flashed in her eyes.
She thought she would go back to the countryside after giving birth, but she didn't expect such a good thing to happen. If Hou Jun married her, would she be able to become a city dweller?
Meng Wanqiu noticed the change in her young wife, and a hint of boredom flashed in her eyes. She didn't expect that there would be a day when she misjudged someone. She thought the other person was simple and honest, but unexpectedly...
Aunt Feng leaned over to Meng Wanqiu's ear and whispered, "I know that Yanhong. She works at a credit union."
At the end of last year, Aunt Feng also retired from the credit union. When she retired, Dai Yanhong happened to be a new employee, and Aunt Feng had some impression of her.
A week after Meng Wanqiu was discharged from the hospital, she learned the follow-up of the incident from Aunt Feng.
Pei Xingzhi has returned to work. He has been a little busy with work recently, but fortunately, Aunt Feng is helping to take care of Meng Wanqiu, so he feels relieved.
It is the end of May now and the temperature is not very hot, but the windows in the room are closed. This is because I am in confinement and cannot tolerate either cold or hot weather.
With more children at home, it is difficult to keep things tidy. The table is filled with all kinds of things for the little ones, and they cannot be arranged neatly. Because you never know when the little ones will be hungry or have pooped, if you put them neatly, it will be very troublesome and time-consuming to take them out.
Aunt Feng went out for something, so only Meng Wanqiu, the child and Xiao Hui were left at home.
The mother and daughter were on the kang, and Xiao Hui was lying on the ground, listening attentively to the movements of the two people, one big and one small, above.
The little guy just woke up and finished his milk. He is now in good spirits. He opened his eyes and looked at Meng Wanqiu. His little mouth moved as if he was not full.
Meng Wanqiu was overjoyed and thought her daughter was so adorable.
The little guy has a big appetite, drinks more milk than other children, and is stronger than other children. He inherited this from Meng Wanqiu.
Seeing the little guy staring at her, Meng Wanqiu became a little eager.
He grabbed a handful of dried fruit snacks from the small table next to him and threw them into his mouth one by one.
"Woo, it's delicious."
The little guy's eyes were wide open, with suspicious saliva flowing from the corners of his mouth, and he was shouting "ah ah ah".
Meng Wanqiu was even happier, and waved the candy in front of her irritatedly, "Do you want to eat it?"
The little girl didn't understand and thought her mother was playing with her. She grinned, revealing her pink gums, and stretched out her two little hands from under the quilt, waving them around as if trying to grab something.
Meng Wanqiu chuckled, stuffed all the dried fruit snacks in his hand into his mouth, and then opened his palm, "Woo woo woo, no more."
The little guy was stunned, staring at his mother's empty palm. His eyes, like black gemstones, quickly filled with crystal tears. His little mouth pouted and he burst into tears.
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