62
It is clear that a family of five cannot be called a family without any one of them. On the first night without Cai Cai, everyone felt uncomfortable and something was missing.
Although taking care of one less baby would reduce their workload for the two adults, they would rather be more tired than have their baby leave.
When it was time to put Mumu and Xiaohe to sleep, they lay on the big bed listening to Zhong Wan tell stories. With fewer chattering noises around them, Zhong Wan ignored the emptiness in her heart, stroked one of her daughters' hair with one hand, and focused on reading the words in the picture book.
The bed was spacious enough. Chu Qinghuai came out of the bathroom, walked to the other side of the bed, and listened intently to her story. Her melodious voice almost lulled him to sleep, and he closed his eyes, half asleep.
In the dim light, he seemed to hear Zhong Wan say, "It's time, babies, go to sleep. Do you want to sleep with Mommy and Daddy tonight, or go back to your own room?"
Chu Qinghuai opened his eyes and noticed that Zhong Wan closed her book and placed it on the bedside table. He then hugged his two daughters and kissed each of them.
"I want to sleep with Mommy and Daddy!"
Xiao He was clearly not sleepy. She moved her legs around and hugged Zhong Wan's arm, pressing her chubby face against it, hoping her mother would agree.
Since her younger sister had said so, Mumu also revealed her true thoughts, fidgeting and saying, "I'll sleep with Mom."
She always felt like a big kid, and it didn't seem appropriate for her to sleep with her parents. In her mind, it was okay if they couldn't sleep together, but it would be best if they could.
Zhong Wan patted their little bodies and readily agreed: "Sure, you haven't slept here in a long time, so let's sleep together."
Zhong Wan and Mu Mu switched places, letting the two children sleep in the middle. Only then did the children seem to realize that their father was there. Xiao He buried her face in his chest, hugging him tightly with her little arms, saying, "Daddy!"
"Okay, let's go to sleep."
Perhaps because Cai Cai's departure was a big blow to everyone, tonight's family time was exceptionally warm.
Zhong Wan turned off the room lights. As she was plunged into the pitch-black space, all her senses were amplified, and a wave of fatigue washed over her.
She closed her eyes, ready to sleep, but Mu Mu suddenly spoke, her voice loud enough for everyone in the quiet room to hear.
"When is Cai Cai coming home? I miss him a little. Is he scared to sleep alone?"
Zhong Wan opened her mouth, wanting to say that Cai Cai was not a brave child and that he was afraid, but she couldn't say the words.
What should we do? What if Xiao Cai Cai is too scared to sleep? Will she cry and call for her mother in the middle of the night?
Her heart ached with bitterness and pain.
Xiaohe sensed her mother and sister's worry, but she was too tired to comfort them. She rubbed her eyes and said, "When Xiaoqingcai comes home, I'll call him 'brother'."
After saying that, she fell fast asleep.
Mumu moved closer to her mother, as if only in this way could she alleviate her anxiety.
The two children, exhausted from a long day, quickly fell asleep. Zhong Wan, however, was not sleepy at all. She cleared her throat twice and asked, "Chu Qinghuai, are you asleep yet?"
"Get ready to sleep."
"I want to pick some."
"I want to too."
As parents, it's impossible not to miss their children who are away from home, especially when their children are so young.
“He’ll be home soon. Tomorrow I’ll wash and dry the sheets in his room, and we’ll wait for him to come back together.”
Chu Qinghuai moved a little closer to the center, reached out and touched Zhong Wan's hair, his hand sliding down to her cheek, this was his way of comforting her.
-
A week later, Cai Cai still hadn't returned, but Brother Ying did come by, much to Zhong Wanbai's delight. He asked, "What are you doing here? Where's my child?"
Eagle said sheepishly, "The little vegetable spirit hasn't fully recovered yet because he was weak. He didn't develop properly during his first growth spurt, and now he's far behind other little spirits his age. Those old hags said they have to cure him before they can send him back."
Zhong Wan exclaimed "Ah!" thinking something had happened to him. "Is Cai Cai alright?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing." Brother Ying sat at home, eating the children's snacks without restraint. "You still call yourselves his parents, so why didn't he develop properly the first time? Isn't that your responsibility? Humph."
These two selfish humans!
"I don't know what you're talking about." Zhong Wan guessed that there must be a lot of mystical things involved that couldn't be explained right now, but that didn't matter. What mattered was when Cai Cai would recover her health.
She and Chu Qinghuai asked in unison how many more days it would take to see the child. Brother Ying scratched his head and said, "It's uncertain. You two can just wait at home."
"Is he eating and sleeping well every day? Has he lost weight or gained weight?"
Zhong Wan couldn't wait to know the answer.
"Don't worry, he's sleeping soundly."
"Are you eating? What are they serving?"
"They don't eat."
"ah?"
"Why are you so surprised? Your child hasn't woken up since that day."
Zhong Wan was taken aback, but quickly recovered and tried to adapt to the fact that Cai Cai was a little imp.
"Okay, okay."
Chu Qinghuai put his arm around her shoulder and said, "I'll cook something delicious for the baby when he comes back."
"..."
Three more days passed, and Brother Ying did not come to the house again, but Chu Qinghuai, Zhong Wan, Mu Mu, and Xiao He missed Cai Cai every moment.
They comforted themselves by saying that water flows downhill and people look forward, and that excessive longing only makes people more miserable and serves no other purpose.
So the two adults filled their days with busy work and had no time to think about anything else, while the two daughters were sent to the noodle shop during the day. Lin Jiang said she would take them out to play and get some fresh air.
Amusement parks, dinosaur parks, chocolate exhibition halls, zoos, and more—Chen and Lin Jiang took them to all of these places in the past few days. The two little ones had a great time, but the thing the couple heard most often was, "Next time, we want to come with Cai Cai."
The three children get along much better than I expected.
That day, Chu Qinghuai returned home after selling fruit to prepare a meal. Not long before, Zhong Wan called him and said she would pick up Mumu and Xiaohe, so he ignored her and focused on cooking.
Zhong Wan said she wanted to eat braised pig's trotters when she went out this morning, so Chu Qinghuai stewed them as soon as he came back. He is currently picking cabbage and will stir-fry them with cured meat later. Dinner will be ready.
Because the pig's trotters needed to stew for a while, he needed to set a timer on his phone. When he picked it up, he found that there were several missed calls from Lin Jiang on the screen, which he hadn't heard at all since his phone was always on silent.
He called back, "Hey, Sister Lin, what's wrong?"
The other end of the phone spoke in a hurried, trembling voice.
He knew things were going badly.
"Okay, I'll be right there, don't worry."
As soon as he hung up the phone, Chu Qinghuai turned off the stove, washed his hands, and went out.
...
"How could she have an allergic reaction? Xiaohe has never had an allergic reaction before."
“I took them to the park today. There were some pretty lotus flowers in the pond, and we just stood there watching for a little while. I swear I didn’t let her touch them. How could this happen… Qinghuai, didn’t you say Xiaohe was a lotus flower? Could this be the reason? I’m so sorry, what should we do now?”
Chu Qinghuai sat in the hospital lobby, holding Xiao He, whose face, arms, and calves were covered in red rashes. The child in his arms kept scratching because of the itchy skin. He could only gently coax her. He felt heartbroken as he watched the tears fall like pearls.
Upon hearing Lin Jiang's words, his first reaction was to say that it was nothing. She had already worked very hard to take care of his child, and besides, no one wanted to see Xiao He have an accident, so what right did he have to blame her?
"Sister Lin, since the doctor said it's nothing, then it's nothing."
He didn't believe in such a bizarre thing as being allergic to just a few flowers, but the percentage was related to the child's identity as a lotus spirit. He didn't plan to tell Lin Jiang the specifics, only saying, "Sister Lin, I'm taking them home. You should go home too. Thank you for your hard work today."
He looked up and gave the other person and Chen Yu a trustworthy smile, "Don't blame yourselves, this has nothing to do with you."
It was getting dark outside, and he had to hurry and take the children home.
-
Zhong Wan was so busy today that she didn't even hear Lin Jiang calling her. By the time she realized what was happening, Chu Qinghuai had already returned to Jiali with the child. She looked worried and asked Chu Qinghuai anxiously, "This is so strange. Why is she having an allergic reaction for no reason?"
The ointment prescribed by the doctor only provided slight relief to Xiao He's skin. She cried from the itching, and for a few seconds, Chu Qinghuai was not watching her closely enough, and she scratched her skin until it bled slightly, which looked horrifying.
Zhong Wan couldn't bear it, so she took her youngest daughter from Chu Qinghuai's arms and wiped away her tears: "Baby, are you feeling very uncomfortable? Can you bear with it for a little while?"
She asked Mumu, "Did your little sister bump into anything today?"
Mumu shook her head, "My sister only felt uncomfortable after seeing the lotus flowers."
It's all because of that wicked lotus flower that Xiaohe is so upset.
Mumu clenched her fist in anger, and from then on, she never liked lotus flowers again.
However, Zhong Wan didn't think so. It's not like there's magic. How could a person be allergic to something simply by observing it with the naked eye?
Her thoughts were the same as Chu Qinghuai's, who cleverly said, "I think Xiaohe's development period should have arrived as well, and the lotus flower was just a triggering factor."
"So what do we say now? Call Brother Eagle over?"
Chu Qinghuai's gaze shifted to Xiao He. Allergies are not like other discomforts; if they are not treated in time, they can be very painful. As two mortals, they were destined not to be able to cure Xiao He.
"I'll make a call."
Then the two adults looked at Mumu with complicated expressions, and a bold idea took root and sprouted in their hearts.
Xiao He was in unbearable pain and cried loudly. It would be heartbreaking for anyone to see so many red and swollen bumps on her fair skin.
The couple had no choice but to hand the child over to Brother Ying and watch them go to Yunlin.
In less than a day, the house was even emptier, with only Mumu left. She couldn't help but worry, "Dad, Mom, am I going to leave too?"
Her younger siblings left one after another, and she didn't know where they went, but she had a strong premonition that she would soon have to return to Maple Island herself.
Thinking of this, even the pig's trotters in the bowl lost their flavor. Mumu mixed her tears with rice, chewing on the salty rice, her sadness almost overflowing.
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