Chapter 39 Wang Juan's Scheme
Just as the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, Zhao Fei was finally able to place the two little ones side by side on the makeshift bed in the main room—a bed made of several chairs pieced together and covered with a thick quilt.
He was slumped in a dilapidated rattan chair next to him, fully clothed, his eyelids drooping heavily.
Just as I was drifting off to sleep, a soft humming sound began.
He opened his eyes with a start and saw Yizhen, her little face scrunched up, her mouth pouting as she searched for food.
He quickly got up and hurriedly mixed warm water, scooped out formula, and tested the temperature. Only after putting the bottle into his daughter's mouth and watching the little one suckle contentedly did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, a familiar, unpleasant smell wafted over. Oh no, the baby peed.
After feeding one and relieving the other, and finally coaxing them back to sleep, it was already bright outside the window.
Zhao Fei leaned back in the rattan chair, looking at the two angelic sleeping faces, then looked down at the milk stains and unidentified water marks on his chest and cuffs, and shook his head with a wry smile.
In just one night, he gained a profound understanding of how Wen Xiaoxiao had endured the past few months.
These were just two nights of good food and sleep with minimal disturbance, while she spent her days alone, day after day.
I'm completely wide awake.
He tiptoed to his feet, went to the yard to fetch a basin of cold water, and buried his face in it. The icy sensation invigorated him.
Then he went into the kitchen, took out the two crucian carp that Wenbin had brought yesterday, squatted at the door, and silently scaled, gutted, and cleaned them.
Bring the water in the pot to a boil, add ginger slices and scallion segments, then put in the cleaned fish.
Soon, the milky white fish soup began to simmer over low heat, releasing a rich and delicious aroma.
Wen Xiaoxiao was awakened by this fragrance.
She slept more soundly than ever before, and when she woke up, she was somewhat disoriented and unsure of where she was.
Hearing the noise from the kitchen, she quickly got up and went to the main room, where she saw Zhao Fei carrying a large bowl of steaming fish soup out of the kitchen.
"Awake? Perfect timing, drink it while it's hot." Zhao Fei put the bowl on the table. "A batch of pigs is leaving the farm at noon today, I have to keep an eye on them, I won't be back. I'll probably be late tonight too."
He took out ten yuan from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Yidi, who was rubbing her eyes as she came out of the west wing: "Yidi, go to Grandma Liu's steamed bun shop at noon and buy some steamed buns to eat with your second aunt."
He then turned to Wen Xiaoxiao, his tone leaving no room for argument, and urged her, "Remember to eat those donkey-hide gelatin and red dates. Don't skimp on them, and don't forget."
He looked at her still frail body, his voice deepening, "Your body is your own, but it's also the children's. If you collapse from exhaustion, what will happen to these two children?"
He paused, looking intently at her, the words "What should I do?" swirling in his throat.
In the end, he swallowed it back, only saying, "Be good and eat on time."
Under his calm and concerned gaze, Wen Xiaoxiao's nose tingled, and she nodded emphatically: "Yes, I remember, big brother."
In the morning, after both children had fallen asleep, Wen Xiaoxiao actually found out those supplements.
She broke off a small piece of donkey-hide gelatin, put it in a small bowl with red dates and longan, added water, and steamed it slowly in a steamer.
The unique, sweet aroma, tinged with medicinal notes, filled the air as the donkey-hide gelatin melted. She picked up the bowl of dark brown, thick soup and drank it slowly and carefully.
From that day on, it became an unwavering habit for her.
In the evening, Zhao Yidi watched her little sisters in the stroller in the yard, while Wen Xiaoxiao prepared a simple dinner in the kitchen—porridge, steamed buns, and stir-fried vegetables.
Just then, the courtyard gate rang.
Li Yugu walked in carrying a bundle.
She looked somewhat haggard, her eyes darting around, unable to look Wen Xiaoxiao in the eye.
"I...I came back to get a few changes of clothes." Li Yugu's voice was dry as she quickly went into her room and rummaged around packing. When she came out again, her bundle was quite bulging.
She stood at the doorway of the main room, watching Wen Xiaoxiao's thin back as she busied herself at the stove. Her lips moved for a long time before she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Xiaoxiao... over there... the child is young and can't be left alone... Wang Juan, she... sigh, Mom is so sorry..."
Wen Xiaoxiao paused, her hand holding the spatula straightening. She didn't turn around or say anything, but continued to stir-fry the vegetables in the pan.
The sizzling sound of the oil in the pan was particularly clear in the silent air.
Li Yugu stood there for a while, and seeing that Wen Xiaoxiao still did not respond, his face showed a mixture of guilt, embarrassment and helplessness. Finally, he sighed, lowered his head, and hurriedly walked out of the courtyard.
The footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Wen Xiaoxiao turned off the stove and served the dishes.
His face remained expressionless, but the last glimmer of hope deep in his eyes had finally been extinguished.
It was almost 10 p.m. when Zhao Fei returned, exhausted and smelling of the pig farm.
Wen Xiaoxiao hadn't slept, and when she heard the car, she got up to go to the kitchen to heat up her food.
"Don't move!" Zhao Fei stopped her at the door of the main room, his voice hoarse from traveling. "I've already eaten. You should rest."
Days slipped by quietly amidst the baby's cries, feedings, and diaper changes.
In the blink of an eye, the jujube leaves began to turn yellow and fall, and Yizhen and Yibao celebrated their 100th day.
During these three months, Li Yugu came back several times, sometimes to get seasonal clothes, and sometimes to get some rice and flour.
He always came and went in a hurry, barely exchanging a few words with Wen Xiaoxiao, and the time he spent holding the child was getting shorter and shorter.
Her heart seemed to be firmly tied to that small courtyard in the suburbs by her nine-pound grandson.
After Wang Juan finished her postpartum confinement, she did something that left Li Yugu speechless—she ruthlessly weaned her child.
The baby cried his heart out, so she fed him formula, even though her breasts were swollen like rocks and she was sweating profusely from the pain, she wouldn't let her son suckle again.
“Auntie, I have no choice.” Wang Juan sighed at Li Yugu, who seemed hesitant to speak, but her eyes gleamed with shrewdness. “Qingda works hard driving, so I have to go with him, help him collect money and manage the accounts, and keep an eye on things. As for the child, I’m afraid it will be hard on you, sir. Look, he’s still chubby even though he drinks formula.” She pinched her son’s chubby arm to show Li Yugu.
She was already hatching a plan: to completely hand the child over to Li Yugu and use her grandson to keep her mother-in-law in check.
She would drive alongside Zhao Qingda, allowing her to keep an eye on the man while also maintaining control over the finances.
As a result, Li Yugu was overwhelmed and naturally couldn't take care of Wen Xiaoxiao.
As time went on, the mother and her two children were left all alone. Zhao Qingda had no feelings for Wen Xiaoxiao to begin with, so divorce was a natural outcome.
Once she's divorced, she can rightfully marry Zhao Qingda and move into the Zhao family home.
After weaning, her body recovers quickly, so she needs to get pregnant again as soon as possible, preferably with a son, so that she can truly establish herself.
Li Yugu wasn't oblivious to Wang Juan's scheme, but holding her babbling, chubby, and adorable grandson in her arms, she simply couldn't bring herself to say no.
Every time she left that suburban cottage and returned to face Wen Xiaoxiao and her two frail granddaughters, she felt so guilty that she couldn't lift her head. But the next time, she would still be pulled back by her grandson's cries and her son's pleading, "Mom, please."
Wen Xiaoxiao seemed completely numb to it all. All her attention was focused on her two daughters.
Watching them laugh, make "uh-huh" and "ah-ah" sounds, and wave their arms and legs in their strollers...
The two bamboo carts that Zhao Fei bought have finally come in handy.
When the weather is nice, she pushes them around the yard, and occasionally walks to the gate to look at the road outside and the fields in the distance.
With the help of those tonics and Zhao Fei's occasional "feeding," her body gradually recovered. Her face regained some color, and her wrists were no longer frighteningly thin.
His eyes, however, were calmer and deeper than before, like a still, ancient well.
Zhao Fei remains the most stable presence in this family.
He doesn't talk much, but he never misses a day of work. No matter how busy the pig farm is, he tries his best to come back at night.
Sometimes they bring back a piece of meat, sometimes a few pounds of eggs, and sometimes baby powder or socks.
There was an unspoken understanding between him and Wen Xiaoxiao; a single glance or gesture was enough for them to know what the other needed.
However, when he watched Wen Xiaoxiao calmly feeding and soothing him to sleep, and when she occasionally looked up at him and quickly looked away, a soft corner of Zhao Fei's heart would always feel a subtle pain, and something increasingly heavy and almost unbearable.
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