Chapter 60
Zhuang Zhuoyuan's prediction was correct; five days later, he indeed received his "two children." Although Edward was held up by company matters and had to delay his arrival in Hong Kong, he still managed to pack and send everything that needed to be delivered. Before the family could even properly examine the two robot children, one of them started crying.
"What should we do?" The new dad was flustered, and Madam seemed at a loss as well.
Only Jennie, who had helped her daughter take care of her child years ago, remained remarkably calm. She rummaged through the box and took out the bottles and diapers that had been sent with her, placing them on the table and confidently declaring, "Try them!"
Keep trying until the behavior stops.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan's first experience with a baby involved holding and rocking the child for nearly an hour before he could finally rest. During those fifty minutes, the baby's cries never stopped. To be honest, he was a little overwhelmed. Watching others take care of a child seemed so easy, but he realized how difficult it truly was when he tried it himself. Iris let him experience the first stage completely and reached out to take over. The father, who had just "put the baby to sleep," was especially careful, afraid she would wake up again.
Looking at the two cautious newbies in front of her, Zhuang Zhuohua thought of the nursery upstairs and suggested, "Next time she cries, maybe we can put her in the cradle?"
Jennie shook her head: "Psychologically speaking, babies under six months old need to be held when they cry to give them a sense of security. If you just put them in bed and play with them without holding them, the effect will be different, and the baby may develop psychological problems later in life."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who was sprawled on the sofa, turned to look at his wife. Iris raised an eyebrow and nodded, giving him an affirmative answer.
"There should be relevant books in the study. I'll find them for you to read once you've adjusted to the daily routine of taking care of a child." AK was right; no amount of theoretical learning is as direct as practical results. After this week of training, Zhuang Sheng should be completely transformed.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan is now thankful that Iris is only carrying one baby. If there were two babies crying in the hall at the same time, he really wouldn't know what to do.
For two consecutive nights, he was kept awake by the baby, who woke up every two or three hours and wouldn't be quiet for at least an hour. Even if Iris weren't pregnant, Zhuang Zhuoyuan wouldn't want to wake her in the middle of the night, so he basically took on the task of caring for the baby at night. Fortunately, the package arrived on Thursday, and after enduring Friday, Zhuang Sir could finally escape the nightmare of working during the day and caring for the baby at night.
Iris was on holiday during his shift, so Mr. Zhuang, who missed happy hour, was in high spirits. Hearing that there was a hot pot feast at Su Wenqiang's house in the village, he immediately dragged his wife along to join the fun. Jennie offered to help take care of her for the morning, but Mr. Zhuang, who had gained some experience, decided after a moment's consideration to bring his "good daughter" along as well.
"Who told them to laugh at me at PC Bar that day? I'll show those bastards what a great dad I am now."
Iris chuckled to herself in the back seat, holding the baby. After two days of caring for the child, Zhuang Sheng was so sensitive that he wanted to install a special infant car seat in the car immediately. Even this morning, he refused to let her sit in the front seat while holding the "baby".
The group of buddies, who hadn't yet witnessed the power of the scoring doll, were still quite interested in it. Seeing Zhuang Zhuoyuan bring it again, they all crowded around, wanting to touch it. Xie Jiaxing was even more surprised: "Zhuang Zhuoyuan, do you really have to carry it with you all the time?"
"The current setup is until the end of this week. She'll give us, mainly to give Ah Yuan's dad, a rating, including how long he held her, how well he took care of her, etc., all of which will be factored into the score." She then handed the doll to Xie Jiaxing, and Iris leaned over and put her arm around her husband's shoulder. When Yu Xueli picked up Su Wenqiang, a group of people gathered by the roadside to play with the newcomer. The men present were considered rough but actually quite gentle, not daring to be too forceful in their pinching and touching. But when Yu Xueli arrived, the atmosphere changed drastically. Zhuang Zhuoyuan, seeing his roughness, was both frightened and distressed: "Hey, be careful with my daughter. She cried this morning. Don't make her cry again, or you'll be responsible for comforting her later."
A group of people cooperatively stepped back from Yu Xueli, including Zhan Hantao and Qiu Junxuan, who were all pulled back a step by Guo Yaozu and Zhang Jiguang. It was clearly a prank, but Yu Xueli was confident and unconcerned: "Let them try to fool me. Do you think I, Yu Xueli, am afraid of a fake doll? I'll lead everyone in the village today!"
As soon as he made the announcement, Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately high-fived. Seeing the couple's reaction, the bystanders knew there was going to be a good show, and quickly cut off Yu Xueli's chance to back out: "Then it's settled. We'll take care of setting up the melon shed today, and you can just help take care of the kids."
Caught off guard, Yu Xueli was about to speak when Su Wenqiang joined the opposing camp. Instead of kicking him while he was down, she changed the subject: "You lot, I thought you didn't know that we're building a melon shed today, not a house. Why are so many people here? Are you building it for the whole village?"
In a moment of cunning, Inspector Zhan first distanced himself from the group and got into the car first: "I'm just here to help. As for them, you can ask them yourself."
Qiu Junxuan remained honest: "Ali asked me to come and help, so I came."
The tone shifted when Zhuang Zhuoyuan spoke. Iris always enjoyed listening to her husband's serious-sounding nonsense, so she smiled even before he started. Sure enough, she heard him say, "The air is nice there, let's treat it as a trip."
Yu Xueli immediately retorted to his absurdity: "The air is better at headquarters, why don't you move there?"
"We can't have a barbecue there, can we?" The couple joked back and forth, remotely opening the trunk. Iris cheerfully introduced what she had prepared, adding a special meal to this month's incomplete Flying Tigers gathering: "Once everyone's done with their work, we can have a barbecue while enjoying some 'poon choi'!"
Ah Zu and Ah Xing both raised their hands and got into the car.
Zhang Jiguang, still bearing the same old Japanese air, pointed at the group of people who had come with pictures: "They're all so hypocritical. I'm the most genuine. I only came because Ali said someone was treating me to a potluck. Now that Iris's barbecue is here too, I'm even happier."
Of the three cars, theirs had Ah Zu and Ah Xing, Zhan Hantao's had Xuanzai and Ah Guang, and the remaining car belonged to Yu Xueli and Su Wenqiang. Iris, seeing that Young Master Yu was being held as a "hostage," couldn't rest easy. After thinking for a moment, she rearranged the arrangements: "Ali, you get in Brother Tao's car. He's more composed, and if the child starts crying, it won't affect him. Besides, Ah Xuan is in the car too, so I feel more at ease. Honey, I'll ride with Ah Qiang, and then we'll talk on the phone. If anything happens, Ali can call Madam's cell phone."
She seemed to have planned for three cars of people to come and watch the show, which immediately alerted Yu Xueli: "Iris, did you and Ayuan plan out the time when the baby would cry?"
"Of course... not! The crying simulation is completely random." Zhuang Zhuoyuan had already retrieved the baby travel bag from the car. Iris took it and handed it to Yu Xueli with both hands. The couple said in unison, "Thank you!" It looked like they had dug a huge hole.
With the atmosphere built up to this point, even though the baby wasn't crying, everyone was quite happy. Yu Xueli gradually relaxed, still wondering if Su Wenqiang could drive his car properly. But just two blocks away, Su Wenqiang's phone rang. Zhuang Zhuoyuan quickly answered his beloved wife's call: "Hello, baby."
Another baby was crying deafeningly in Zhan Sir's car. Yu Xueli's initial reaction was almost to throw it out, followed by frantically rummaging through his bag. He tried feeding it with a bottle, but it didn't help; he frantically changed its diaper, but it was still crying. Yu Xueli suddenly felt completely overwhelmed, but for the sake of pride, he could only force himself to hold the baby in his arms.
Iris calmly provided him with technical guidance time and time again. Zhuang Zhuoyuan, over the phone, also reminded Yu Xueli to be careful with the force he used: "Although it's a baby, please be careful. Don't break my daughter's hand or cripple her leg. If you use too much force, the baby might cry for even longer."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Young Master Yu was practically petrified. Those in the car who heard Zhuang Zhuoyuan's words also felt a chill run down their spines. Azu was the first to protest: "Ayuan, don't make taking care of a child sound like murder and dismemberment, okay?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan replied jokingly, "Grandpa, believe me, raising a child is definitely more terrifying than murder and dismemberment."
The terrorist attack that Mr. Yu Xueli experienced didn't end until he got off the bus. Iris kindly took the doll from his distraught hands, earning his immense gratitude. She then pretended to hand the doll over to someone else, and the circle of people she had gathered under the guise of watching the show quickly expanded. After this incident, no one wanted to take care of children for a while, and even those who had jokingly offered to be their child's godfather all changed their minds.
"It's okay to tease the kids occasionally, but when it comes to taking care of them, please don't bother me."
Iris estimated that the baby would not finish crying for another ten minutes or so. She checked her watch and told Zhuang Zhuoyuan and his group to go to Qi Ma's house, Su Wenqiang's neighbor who needed help, while she stayed in the car to avoid disturbing others with the baby's crying.
It was fortunate she didn't go; otherwise, the chaotic scene at Qi Ma's house would have been even worse because of the crying. It turned out that the village was currently undergoing land acquisition, and most of the villagers' land had been bought by the village chief's son, Ding Youtian, either through coercion or bribery. Only Qi Ma's house remained a tough nut to crack; they had come several times without reaching an agreement. Ding Youtian devised a wicked plan: exploiting Qi Ma's son, Deng Fuqi's, intellectual disability, he tricked him into stealing his mother's seal with a toy gun and stamping it on the land sale agreement.
The orphan and widow lost their land, their means of livelihood, and were about to be deprived of even their home. Qi Ma wept bitterly, pulling at Ding Youtian and demanding that he return the land. However, Ding Youtian, accustomed to wrongdoing, paid no heed to her. He sarcastically boasted a few words about his achievements to the Flying Tigers who had just arrived to help Qi Ma, and then left with his men.
Iris saw them through the car window but didn't think much of it. It wasn't until she carried the baby basket into Qi Ma's house that she realized the atmosphere was very strange. Qiu Junxuan stayed to comfort the pitiful woman, while Zhuang Zhuoyuan took Iris aside and explained what had happened. Iris looked past him at Qi Ma in the chair, then glanced around the room, and continued, "Where's her son?"
"Knowing he had done something wrong, he ran away, and A-Qiang and A-Li chased after him." Just then, Qiu Junxuan's phone rang. Yu Xueli urgently asked them for help. It turned out that Deng Fuqi had climbed onto the crossbeam of the ancestral hall and needed them to form a human ladder to rescue him.
With things escalating to this point, it wasn't good for everyone to stay any longer. So they split into two groups: Zhuang Zhuoyuan, Zhang Jiguang, and Qiu Junxuan went to the ancestral hall to help Yu Xueli and Su Wenqiang, while Zhan Sir, Guo Yaozu, and Xie Jiaxing went outside to set up a melon shed. Iris stayed inside to keep Qi Ma company.
The task was simple, and the men got to work quickly. Once everything was done, except for Su Wenqiang and Yu Xueli, who stayed behind to continue comforting Qi's mother, the seven men split into two cars and drove away from the village to another barbecue spot.
After the charcoal fire was lit, Zhuang Zhuoyuan secretly asked Iris why she hadn't offered to help Qi Ma this time.
Iris's eyes were full of gossip, as if she'd seen through their affair: "Honey, do you remember when I told you that Ah Li might like Ah Qiang?"
With a protector by her side, why should she interfere?
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