10
That night, the three children slept in bed like little pigs. Xiao He was the worst sleeper, with one leg propped up on her sister's stomach and the other almost kicking her brother off the bed. Zhong Wan was terrified. She carefully separated the three children, rearranged them into a safer position, dimmed the bedside lamp, and quietly left the room.
Are they all asleep?
Chu Qinghuai stood at the door waiting for her, holding two glasses of milk in his hands.
Zhong Wan shushed them, and the two quietly walked into the study. Only after the door closed did they sit down with a sigh of relief.
Putting the three children to sleep every day is a challenge. If one of them starts acting crazy, the other two will inevitably follow suit, making Zhong Wan's head buzz.
But they were relatively well-behaved tonight. I don't know if they were tired or what, but they fell asleep after only a short while of being crazy.
"Tomorrow after get off work I'll go to the bookstore and buy a few picture books to read to them before bed. I've seen other people raise their children this way, saying that they should be exposed to language from a young age. And I don't believe it anymore, they can't fall asleep after listening to stories."
She rolled up her sleeves, took a piece of white paper from under the table, and said to Chu Qinghuai, "Let's begin."
The evening meeting, which was between the two of them, officially began.
First, Zhong Wan carefully calculated the family's savings. After buying the house, there was still over 100,000 yuan left, which was originally intended for the unborn child. However, plans can't keep up with changes, and this amount of money is definitely not enough now.
With three more children, the quality of life will inevitably decline much more than expected; this is an unavoidable problem.
Money makes the world go round, but without money, you'll only keep falling into dire straits.
The familiar feeling of suffocation returned. The two of them were terrified of being poor. Looking at the string of numbers they had calculated, they dared not make a single wrong move this time.
It seems like life has gone back to square one, but unlike before, both of them have enough experience and courage to face the challenges head-on. They don't complain or regret.
"Officer Chen sent me a message last night saying that the subsidy would arrive next Monday, two thousand yuan per child."
Zhong Wan's eyes widened. "So that's six thousand a month?"
"Yes."
Zhong Wan suddenly regained her confidence and twirled the pen in her hand. "It's pretty good. It's almost more than my salary."
Chu Qinghuai marked the number one on the paper and wrote as he spoke: "Spend half of this money and save the other half. Use it all on them and we won't touch it. Let them take the money they save later. I'll go open a bank account tomorrow."
Zhong Wan understood what he meant and nodded in agreement: "Sure, this is the babies' money."
Even without this subsidy, the two of them would work hard to earn more money so that they could have a better life.
Then, Zhong Wan listed the fixed monthly expenses, including children's clothes, toys, daily necessities, and money for emergencies, which added up to a considerable sum.
With three more mouths to feed, meals can no longer be as casual as they were when it was just the two of us at home. Regardless of the variety, each meal must be nutritionally balanced, and the children, at this age, even need to drink some formula milk to supplement their nutrition. All of these things need to be put on the agenda.
From major topics like education and learning to minor ones like wet wipes for wiping hands and faces, Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai discussed for over an hour, taking four full pages of notes before they felt confident enough to calculate their approximate quarterly expenses and conclude that raising children is indeed not cheap.
After putting down her pen, Zhong Wan finished the last sip of milk, rested her chin on her hands, and sighed, "I can't believe I've become a mother."
Chu Qinghuai was still writing something seriously. The soft yellow light made his focused face look gentle. He echoed the other person's words, "I didn't expect that either."
"Qinghuai".
He paused, then looked up.
"Shall we treat them as our own children?"
Her expression was serious and earnest; she wasn't even asking for his consent, but rather issuing a notification.
"I know," Chu Qinghuai said, trying to lighten the mood with a joke. "What? Are you worried I'll mistreat them? I'm not a stepfather."
“That’s not what I meant. I know you’ve always been quite resistant to having children, and I was afraid it would make you unhappy.”
Chu Qinghuai held her hand with his left hand, continued writing with his right hand, his head lowered, and every word he said reached Zhong Wan's ears: "You don't need to worry, I like them very much, and I will learn to be a good father."
For some reason, the image of three small bitter gourds suddenly popped into my mind.
His eyelashes trembled, and a sudden, sharp pain shot through his head, but it only lasted a few seconds. He coughed lightly and then said, "These spirits need their biological parents to accompany them as they grow up. We don't know how long the three children will live with us, so let's try our best to help them return to their biological parents."
Zhong Wan's mouth opened slightly, already feeling reluctant. "Okay, you're right, we'll help the babies find their families as soon as possible."
-
At the start of the new week, Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai got up early to make breakfast for the babies, as they would be taking them to daycare soon.
For children, leaving their parents is absolutely cruel, especially since they have just built a deep bond with their mom and dad and are now forced to learn to separate, their little shoulders bearing a burden as heavy as a castle.
At the dinner table, Zhong Wan once again reminded the three children that they should listen to the teachers at the daycare, not fight with other children, and tell the teacher in time when they need to use the toilet.
She wasn't too worried about anything else, mainly about food. Mu Mu was fine, but Cai Cai was a bit picky, and Xiao He liked to eat with her hands, which she couldn't change anytime soon. But for now, she didn't have high expectations; she just wanted to be able to eat her fill.
She repeated these words to her three children several times, and they all verbally agreed, but who knows if they would actually do as she said?
"Mom, are we not going to see you today?"
Mumu finished her breakfast and got off the table. She took her favorite little backpack from the living room and put it on her back. As she listened to what her mother was saying, she felt more and more uneasy.
"Yes, you'll be able to see your mother this afternoon."
Mumu thought Zhong Wan had to go to work, which was why she wouldn't see her, so she answered crisply, "Then we'll wait for you at home with Dad!"
Zhong Wan was taken aback and met Chu Qinghuai's gaze. She had a vague sense of foreboding. The latter beckoned her to sit on his lap. "You won't see Daddy today either. Daddy has to go to work."
Now, not only Mumu, but even Caicai and Xiaohe stopped eating and stared at him with blank expressions.
Chu Qinghuai maintained his smile: "Didn't we agree? We're taking you to daycare today, the place we took you to the day before yesterday. Didn't Mumu say she liked it?"
The three of them were still confused.
Chu Qinghuai began to doubt himself. Was there something wrong with his and Zhong Wan's communication skills? Had he been wasting his breath these past two days, and the three little brats hadn't understood a thing?
With the decision already made, he steeled himself and "announced": "Mom and Dad will take you to daycare later. Eat well and play with your toys. You'll see us this afternoon."
A slightly bitter apricot scent lingered in the air.
Mumu climbed off Chu Qinghuai's lap, looked up at the two adults, and asked dejectedly, "Don't Mom and Dad want us anymore?"
Zhong Wan was taken aback. "How could that be? Why would you think that?"
Chu Qinghuai wanted to hug her, but this time Orange Baby didn't want to be hugged and even took two steps back, "Then why did you send us away?"
Zhong Wan thought sadly, "I didn't want this either."
Unlike kindergartens, daycare centers have gentler teachers and don't set many rules. Most parents send their children there because they are too busy. If someone in the family can take care of the child, they definitely wouldn't send their child there.
"Because Mom and Dad have to work and there's no one to take care of you, we're sending you to daycare to eat and play. It's not that we don't want you." She couldn't bear to part with you.
Mumu said firmly, "We can play games at home."
"What about meals? Mom and Dad aren't home."
"We'll stay home and wait for Mom and Dad to come back. We don't have to eat."
Spirits can really go without food. Although being hungry is very uncomfortable and their true forms become less vibrant, they feel safe at home. They prefer to stay at home rather than in unfamiliar places, but Zhong Wan absolutely forbids it.
"No, your parents won't feel at ease leaving you home alone. Be good, okay? I'll bring you some toys this afternoon, alright?"
They all thought it was bad.
But Zhong Wan's words were like a royal decree; they had no choice but to obey.
The sun was shining brightly, but the wind was a bit strong. Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai had the three babies walk hand in hand in the middle, as they were about to take them to daycare.
Mumu and Xiaohe both had two little braids, bobbing up and down, and carried small schoolbags on their backs. Their faces were full of reluctance.
Cai Cai didn't seem to understand what he was supposed to do, but he just followed his sisters and did whatever they did. Today he was wearing those green overalls, which looked adorable, but the shoulder straps kept slipping down, so he kept holding onto them with his little hands.
"Are we going out to have fun?" he asked.
Zhong Wan coaxed him, "Yes, let's go play with toys."
Cai Cai was overjoyed. Besides eating meat and snacks, his favorite thing to do was play with toys. In his excitement, he couldn't help but shake Mu Mu's hand, "Sister, let's play with toys together."
Mumu wasn't in a good mood and replied curtly, "Okay."
But Cai Cai's high spirits vanished as soon as they arrived at their destination. He followed his parents into an unfamiliar place, where pitiful cries could be heard from time to time, which sounded quite frightening.
Xiao He was also a little scared and hid behind Chu Qinghuai.
Zhong Wan took the three children to the classroom and spoke with one of the teachers: "We are parents who registered the day before yesterday, and we are bringing our children here today."
"You have three children, triplets?"
She said no.
The teacher found it strange that the three similar-looking children were not crying or making a fuss, so she led them inside and asked, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
Zhong Wan quickly replied, "I've already eaten."
"Okay, you can leave the child here. We'll pick him up on time this afternoon. You can go now."
The teacher, who looked to be in her thirties and wore black-rimmed glasses, appeared quite wise. Clearly not wanting to chat with the couple, she urged them to hurry up and leave, speaking with an air of experience: "Hurry up and go, or I'll cry when I see you."
When the moment of departure truly arrived, Zhong Wan realized that she would also feel very reluctant to leave. She stood on tiptoe to look at the children in the classroom; they probably hadn't cried.
Chu Qinghuai said from the side, "Our baby is allergic to oranges and green vegetables, thank you for taking care of him, teacher."
"Okay, I understand."
The other party's impatient manner made the two of them not want to stay any longer, so they left without saying goodbye to the children.
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