08
Zhong Wan had to go to work today, but she was almost late because of the three little ones who were reluctant to leave. She had no choice but to give them a kiss to get away.
She hugged and kissed each of the three children. After saying, "Mommy will miss you all too," she made a half-hearted attempt to look at Chu Qinghuai for two seconds. He then said uncomfortably, "Don't look at me, let's go."
Do you want me to kiss you?
"No, I'm not a child." Zhong Wan was used to Chu Qinghuai's aloof act and his hypocrisy. She waved goodbye to them.
"Bang."
Once the door was closed, Chu Qinghuai shooed the children to the living room to play.
"You can play games and toys, drink water when you're thirsty, ask me for cookies when you're hungry, and tell me if you need anything."
Chu Qinghuai didn't care whether they understood or not, and took his paper, pen and computer and sat down at the dining table to work.
He wasn't unemployed; he ran a fruit supply business, mainly supplying fruit shops and restaurants. He handled all the work, big and small, by himself, so in a way, he was working for himself.
It was only recently that things happened so suddenly, leaving him with three more children at home who needed care. He had to stop working for a few days and hire someone to take care of them. Otherwise, normally, he would never have wasted a single day of earning money.
Chu Qinghuai is an efficient person with a clear plan for his future career. Last night, while everyone was asleep, he searched online for suitable daycare centers, intending to send his three children there during the day and pick them up in the evening. Although it sounds irresponsible, it's the best solution to the current situation.
He thought for a few moments that the children had come at the worst possible time.
However, all three children were very well-behaved. Every time Chu Qinghuai subconsciously observed them, they were playing with the toys and didn't shout, fight, or deliberately disturb him. However, the cramped living room really limited the children's movement.
Thinking of this, Chu Qinghuai suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
However, any sadness vanished in an instant, and he shouted, "Xiao He, don't move!"
Chu Qinghuai quickly got up and rushed over, stopping Xiao He from putting the biscuit on the ground into her mouth.
"The ground is dirty, you can't eat things on the ground." His tone was a little serious. Xiao He was so scared that she froze on the spot. The other two babies looked up when they heard their father's voice.
Is it okay to eat the things on the ground?
"Why not?" she asked earnestly, without any concept of cleanliness.
"There are bugs and dust on the ground; eating it will give you a stomachache."
Actually, Xiaohe didn't quite understand what stomach pain meant, as she hadn't experienced much physical pain in her memory.
She pouted, threw the cookie aside, turned her back, and started playing with her toys, looking angry.
Chu Qinghuai didn't realize it, only feeling that her daughter was being very impolite. She pulled her hand back and made her face her, asking, "Do you know what you did wrong?"
Xiao He honestly replied, "I don't know."
He frowned and continued to reason with her: "The cookie fell on the ground just now, so you can't put it in your mouth anymore, or you'll get a stomachache, do you understand?"
Xiaohe pretended not to understand, and felt very bad after being criticized by her serious father.
“Answer me.”
Chu Qinghuai is indeed a principled man. He forced Xiaohe to admit her mistakes, but he was not familiar with his rebellious daughter, who could not be easily dealt with.
He remained silent, feeling distressed for the first time since having a child, realizing there was a huge generation gap between him and his two-year-old.
"Speak." He could only pretend to be fierce and tell her what was right and what was wrong, but she didn't appreciate it at all.
"I don't want to like you anymore, you're so mean to me."
Chu Qinghuai noticed that Xiaohe's eyes were filled with tears, and her voice was stubborn with a sob in it. She was pouting, and tears were about to fall but couldn't.
His heart skipped a beat.
Having never encountered such a situation before, Chu Qinghuai's hands moved as if they were not under his control, patting her back. His mind was in a mess and he didn't know what to do. He even looked to Mumu and Caicai for help.
The two children quietly moved behind Xiaohe, both of them a little afraid of their father at that moment.
No child wants to see their parents angry.
Mumu spoke cautiously, "Dad, don't be angry."
Xiao He sat on the ground, head down, looking extremely aggrieved, her almond-shaped eyes wet with tears.
Chu Qinghuai sighed, the harsh words he wanted to say stuck in his throat. He could only comfort them in the simplest way. He held his youngest daughter in his arms, the soft touch making him feel unreal. Only at this moment did he truly realize that he was actually the father of three children.
"I didn't mean it, I wasn't mean to you."
"You have it."
Xiao He rested her cheek on her father's shoulder, so sad that she spoke in a hurry.
"I'm just too worried. How can a child pick up things from the ground and eat them? What if they get a stomachache?"
He wanted to reason with her, but the little girl in his arms suddenly asked in a childish voice, "Daddy, do you love me?"
Another blow to the head, Chu Qinghuai felt as if he were about to faint from lack of oxygen. He opened his mouth but didn't know how to answer.
Even Zhong Wan wouldn't ask such a childish and superficial question as whether she loves someone, but this is her daughter asking, and it's not the same kind of affection.
He hesitated.
"I think so."
-
Zhong Wan took several days off, which was unprecedented. So when she returned to the store, her colleagues asked her what had happened at home, and she answered truthfully.
"My child wasn't feeling well, so I took him to the hospital."
She touched her nose, a common reaction when someone feels guilty.
Several curious colleagues were surprised that she had a child, but everyone was very tactful and didn't pry into where the child came from.
They all knew that Zhong Wan and her husband lived frugally. As for why they had never mentioned their child before, it must have been because of financial reasons.
It's not uncommon for many families to send their children back to their hometowns to be cared for by their parents because both parents are unable to spend time with them due to their work. Everyone understands this implicitly, but the way people looked at Zhong Wan was tinged with pity.
Fortunately, Zhong Wan didn't care much about what they thought and always did her job. Unlike before, today she would occasionally drift off and miss her children at home while making the cake.
Once a person has someone they care about, they will feel that time is precious.
So when it was lunchtime, she made a video call to Chu Qinghuai, who was preparing food for his three children at the time.
What are you eating?
Three adorable faces suddenly appeared on the screen, and Zhong Wan's eyes crinkled into a wider smile. "Were you good this morning, babies?"
Mumu knelt on the chair and replied, "Good girl."
Cai Cai raised her hand: "I'm good too."
Xiao He didn't answer. Zhong Wan noticed that she was in a bad mood and asked, "Xiao He, did you have a good morning?"
“I wasn’t good,” she honestly told her mother. Although she was the youngest, she understood that she had upset her father that morning.
"Oh? Why?"
"Dad won't let me eat cookies."
Children's memories are a mystery; only a few hours had passed, and the story had already been distorted in her mouth.
Desperate to know the truth, Zhong Wan said, "Give the phone to Dad, I want to ask what happened."
Just then, Chu Qinghuai packed three meals and placed them in front of each child, telling them they could eat. Then he took away the phone, giving him the opportunity to video chat with Zhong Wan alone.
"Are you having lunch?" Chu Qinghuai's first question was about whether she was tired and whether she had eaten well.
"We've had our meal. The proprietress treated us to grilled fish today."
Chu Qinghuai nodded.
"What did Xiaohe just say? Did you criticize her?"
“She picked up things from the ground to eat, and I said a few words to her.”
Despite Chu Qinghuai's nonchalant statement of the facts, the little guy's words, "Daddy, do you love me?" still lingered in his mind. He really wanted to ask Zhong Wan what to do, but it was clearly not a good time to chat, so he changed the subject: "I'll tell you in detail when you get back."
"Okay, I should be able to get home early tonight."
"Okay, what do you want to eat tonight?"
"Whatever, it's up to you. Oh, by the way, I heard them say today that there's a daycare center near our house. We should go check it out when we have time, or send them there as soon as possible. Otherwise, it's not good for you to stay at home all day like this."
The family's main source of income still depends on Chu Qinghuai working as a supplier, so once the children are settled, his work also needs to get back on track.
"I had the same idea. I looked at a few institutions this morning and they all seemed pretty good. I'll go and choose one this weekend."
"Okay, I'm not going to talk about it anymore. I'm going to take a nap. I have a big order coming in this afternoon."
"Okay, you should rest."
Before hanging up, Zhong Wan asked him to let her see the children one last time. She said with satisfaction, "Thank you for putting them to a nap. You should also take care of yourself and get some rest."
Chu Qinghuai smiled and said he knew.
He put down his phone and glanced at the three children. The scene before him made his eyelids twitch.
Mumu's face was covered in rice grains. Caicai threw away the spinach when he wasn't looking. Xiaohe, driven by curiosity, poured soup into the rice but accidentally spilled it on the ground.
What a bunch of unlucky kids.
You can't scold them, after all, they're your precious child. What else can you do but teach them slowly?
In recent years, Qinghuai has also developed a slight obsession with cleanliness under Zhong Wan's influence. So, regardless of whether they have finished eating or not, he picks them up, shakes them off, and wipes the table and floor clean before letting them continue eating.
-
Zhong arrived home on time in the afternoon, and on her way back she bought cotton candy for the children.
As soon as I entered the door, the three children who were watching cartoons immediately ran to the door and shouted "Mommy".
Xiao He called for her mother the loudest, hugging Zhong Wan's leg tightly. Mu Mu did the same, sweetly saying, "Mom, I miss you so much," which melted Zhong Wan's heart.
Only Cai Cai stood to the side with her hands behind her back, smiling at everyone, until Zhong Wan asked, "Why doesn't Cai Cai come over and hug Mommy?"
He then ran over and threw himself into his mother's arms.
"You guys go watch the cartoon first, I'll wash my hands and then I'll give you the cotton candy."
The three children ran back to the living room.
Zhong Wan came to the kitchen and saw Chu Qinghuai chopping vegetables. She asked, "How was today? Were they well-behaved?"
"She was very well-behaved; she only threw a tantrum twice this afternoon."
Chu Qinghuai smiled, already used to the various disputes that occurred in this family.
With so many children, minor squabbles are inevitable. Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan are both open-minded and relatively easygoing parents. They let their children resolve their own arguments, knowing that they'll make up in no time.
For example, right now, Chu Qinghuai is washing the pot, Zhong Wan is rinsing the rice and cooking it, and there are rustling noises coming from the living room.
"I don't want to see this!"
"I want to see!"
"I hate you, you're a bad cabbage!"
The two adults in the kitchen pretended not to hear and focused on their work. Zhong Wan only gave a token reminder: "Everyone be good and don't fight."
...
"You are an ugly lotus flower."
"I am not."
To prove that her petals were beautiful, Xiaohe clenched her fist. After about two seconds, the delicate pink petals fell off her skirt.
Not to be outdone, Cai Cai pouted and called out Mu Mu's name, "Sister, isn't my little green vegetable prettier?"
Mumu, engrossed in the cartoon, turned around and said: "..."
Shocked, there was no time to stop it.
"Why aren't you done arguing yet?"
Zhong Wan was about to joke with Chu Qinghuai about how temperamental the two little ones were when she suddenly sensed something was wrong. She turned around and the scene before her almost made her faint.
It must be a hallucination.
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