Ji Xia was taken aback, but seeing that Zhang Hong's expression was not good, she asked suspiciously, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"
Zhang's mother chuckled and said, "Oh dear, she can't eat or drink, so these are useless sitting here. I'll take some back to give her brother some nutrition."
Ji Xia rolled her eyes speechlessly. Seeing her reach for the baby formula and bottle, she quickly said, "Auntie, this bag of formula is specially prepared for the baby. Can you keep this and the bottle?"
"With my own mother around, why would I need formula? Breastfeeding is enough."
"Auntie, my sister-in-law just had surgery and can't eat or drink. I heard she doesn't have enough milk for the first two or three days, and the baby can't go hungry, so I specially prepared formula for the baby."
Zhang's mother didn't think much of it, but she still let go of the baby formula, instead grabbing a baby bottle: "One bottle is enough."
Chen Jing couldn't help but retort, "How can two babies share one bottle? How old is your son? Why is he trying to take his nephew's bottle?"
Seeing that the Ji family members didn't look too good, Zhang's mother finally restrained herself a bit, but she was still muttering curses under her breath.
However, while she spared the baby formula and bottles, Ji Xia did not forget the towels and soap that she had specially prepared for Zhang Hong, stuffing them all into her pockets.
She was about to hit him when Zhang Hong, her eyes red and swollen, screamed, "Are you even my mother? You came empty-handed, and you even took the towel and toothbrush that someone else prepared for me?"
"Why would we need a new one? We can just bring it from home. It won't even last two days anyway, and your brother doesn't have one yet!"
Zhang's mother secretly glared at her daughter with dissatisfaction, which made Zhang Hong turn pale and tremble with anger.
With a dark expression, Ji Zhijun stuffed the remaining items into the cabinet and said in a deep voice, "Mother, Ah Hong is alright now, you should all go home and rest!"
"Where should we rest at this time?" Zhang's mother muttered under her breath. Everyone saw through her true nature and didn't bother to pay her any attention.
Ji's mother looked at the baby a few times with reluctance, and said to Ji Zhijun, "You stay here with him tonight, and go back to the brigade tomorrow? Xia, I have to go home to take care of the family. Can you look after the baby at the hospital during the day?"
"Mom, I have to go to work and then go back to school soon, I don't have time."
Ji Xia frowned, and her mother sighed, "It won't take more than a few days. Why don't you ask your boss for a few days off? After you're discharged from the hospital, bring her home to recuperate."
"Mother, my sister-in-law had surgery, how can she recover in just a few days? The baby is so thin and small, is it suitable for her to go back to the brigade?"
The infant mortality rate in the 1960s and 70s was extremely high, and the biggest problem was the poor medical conditions.
The mother's emotions are also the most unpredictable, and the two babies are premature, making them the most difficult to care for.
In her previous life, Zhang Hong's two sons were frail and sickly. In this life, Ji Xia specially supplemented her nutrition, but she was still born prematurely.
She didn't want to take care of postpartum women. If she did a good job, no one would praise her, but if the baby or the new mother had any problems, the person taking care of her would be blamed. It was a thankless task.
Of course, she couldn't bear to see her own mother suffer. Thinking back to how her mother had taken care of her during her postpartum period in her previous life, and how she had lost over ten pounds from exhaustion, she felt heartbroken.
Not to mention that the autumn harvest and postpartum period coincided, requiring her to take care of the family, the new mother, and two premature babies.
It's better to just pay someone to take care of you!
Thinking of this, she looked at Zhang Lan. Zhang's mother wasn't a very good person, but her three daughters were quite capable.
She smiled at Zhang's mother: "Auntie, my mother has to take care of the house and doesn't have time, and I also have to go to work. Could you let Zhang Lan stay here?"
"How can this be? Ah Hong is already a member of your Ji family, giving birth to your Ji family's child. How can our Zhang family provide someone to take care of her?"
Before Ji Xia could finish speaking, Zhang's mother hurriedly refused. Seeing that Zhang Hong's face was a little dark, she specially explained, "We need people for the autumn harvest. Your two younger sisters should also take this opportunity to earn more work points, otherwise we won't have enough food."
"Twenty yuan for taking care of my sister-in-law for two months, including room and board, plus twenty yuan in wages."
Upon hearing Ji Xia's words, Zhang's mother's eyes widened immediately: "What? Twenty yuan? And it only covers a month?"
"Two months. My sister-in-law had surgery and was in her second postpartum period. We took care of her for two months, and we only took care of my sister-in-law and the two children. We paid twenty yuan."
Chen Jing chimed in, "Twenty yuan is a lot. You definitely can't earn twenty yuan in work points during the forty days of autumn harvest, especially with room and board included!"
That's absolutely right. The brigade earns work points all year round, and on average, each person might not even get twenty yuan.
Zhang's mother immediately beamed with joy: "You paid for these twenty yuan?"
“I’ll pay. This is a matter for our Ji family, so of course it’s me and her father who will pay.”
Fearing that her daughter would reveal that she had paid for it, Ji's mother immediately agreed.
Although she didn't really care about hiring someone to take care of her during postpartum confinement, she wouldn't embarrass her daughter in front of others.
Chen Jing immediately took out ten yuan as a deposit, and Zhang's mother grinned, revealing her large yellow teeth, and readily agreed.
The Ji family is truly foolish and rich. They make a woman need two months of confinement after giving birth, which is unheard of in the surrounding area. In some families, the new mother is already out of bed cooking and washing clothes in less than a week.
However, since the Ji family was taking care of her daughter, they secretly admired Zhang Hong's good fortune and did not refuse.
She took the ten yuan and gave Zhang Lan a push: "You stay here to take care of your sister, and go home after your sister finishes her postpartum confinement."
Ji Xia glanced at her older brother: "My brother will be keeping watch tonight, so come over tomorrow morning. We have a house in the city, so we can make do for one night."
After discussing the arrangements for staying up all night and postpartum care, Ji Xia said, "Sister-in-law, relax and rest. I'll ask the doctor what you can eat tomorrow, and have Zhang Lan bring it to you tomorrow morning."
Zhang Hong smiled gratefully at her: "Okay, I understand. You two go back and rest."
After bringing Ji's mother, Zhang's mother and daughter back to the courtyard, and arranging for the three of them to rest in the guest room, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and stretched in the courtyard.
Seeing that Chen Jing looked sullen, she asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you tired? Thank you so much for today."
As Ji Xia spoke, she reached out and took his hand, then kissed the back of his hand with sincere affection, making Chen Jing chuckle.
He glanced around, then pulled Ji Xia to a corner on the side of the kitchen, hugged her, and leaned down to kiss her.
"I was planning to look for your father today, but then this happened."
After the kiss, Chen Jing felt a little better and complained, "Of all times, it had to be with your sister-in-law giving birth. When can we get engaged?"
"Let's discuss it first. My second brother also said he'll be leaving tomorrow, so we can only get engaged after he comes back."
Ji Xia chuckled softly, put her arm around his lean waist, and leaned against him, saying with a smile, "Let's deliver those two batches of goods first. Making money is the priority. If you feel bored, I'll recharge you."
How do I charge it?
Chen Jing looked down at her pretty face, her eyes sparkling as if they held starlight, and his voice became a little hoarse.
Ji Xia giggled, grabbed his collar tightly with both hands, and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the lips: "Satisfied with this charging method?"
"Little vixen, how can such a short time be enough?" He pressed Ji Xia against the wall and lowered his head to deepen the kiss.
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