The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 285 - 284: Not Disturbing is the Best Blessing

Chapter 285: Chapter 284: Not Disturbing is the Best Blessing

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Pei Ziheng didn’t want to bother with Shen Baolan, as he was in a hurry to deliver breakfast to his mother at the hospital.

But seeing Zhou Hao not far behind Shen Baolan, he changed his mind.

"My mother has given birth to a little sister for me."

When Shen Baolan heard this, she nearly bent over laughing, "She really gave birth to a girl! What a wonderful birth!"

Zhou Hao ran up to Pei Ziheng, his face full of curiosity, "Pei Ziheng, did your mom really have a little sister?"

"Yeah, if I’m lying, I’m a dog."

After saying that, Pei Ziheng gave Shen Baolan’s belly a meaningful glance before leaving.

Zhou Hao stared at his retreating figure for a moment, then suddenly turned his head towards Shen Baolan’s belly and shouted, "Have a little sister! Have a little sister! Have a little sister!"

Shen Baolan’s laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Oh my, why is this little ancestor starting this again?

Zhou Hao, with the heart of a child, had only persisted with the "have a sister" method taught by Pei Ziheng for less than half a month before Shen Baolan managed to distract him with snacks and toys.

However, upon hearing that Pei Ziheng’s mother had indeed given birth to a little sister, Zhou Hao instinctively believed that the method Pei Ziheng taught him was effective.

He wanted a sister too!

Shen Baolan, on the other hand, wished for the opposite. She longed for a son, even in her dreams.

"No more shouting about having a little sister, or I won’t buy you spicy strips anymore."

Faced with Shen Baolan’s threat, Zhou Hao just made a mischievous face, "Don’t buy it then, I’ll have grandma buy for me!"

Having said that, he shouted for a little sister several more times at Shen Baolan’s belly before running away, leaving Shen Baolan fuming.

...

When Pei Ziheng arrived at the ward, Shen Mingzhu was about to have breakfast.

It was brought early in the morning by Auntie Yu from Home—pig trotter soup and steamed dumplings.

Although nutritious, Shen Mingzhu found it somewhat hard to swallow.

The pig trotter soup was meant to help with her lactation and contained no salt; it had a heavy, oily, and fishy flavor, while the dumplings also tasted bland.

Pei Ziheng brought fresh milk and boiled eggs for Shen Mingzhu because she could only boil eggs, and the fresh milk was delivered daily by the milkman.

Shen Mingzhu gave the pig trotters soup and steamed dumplings to Pei Yang and enjoyed the eggs and milk with her son.

Seeing this, Auntie Yu advised, "Madam, it’s not enough to have just eggs, you should drink pig trotter soup to increase milk production."

While peeling eggs, Shen Mingzhu explained her dietary preferences to Auntie Yu.

"For breakfast, I like eating buns, mantou, porridge, noodles, and wontons. For lunch and dinner, I can have stewed soup, but don’t make it too greasy, and it’s fine to add a little salt."

"Oh dear, Madam, women in confinement shouldn’t eat salt at all. Salt reduces milk production and isn’t good for the child either. Listen to me, I’ve taken care of many women in their postpartum month, all with plentiful milk, and their children grew up white and chubby," Auntie Yu insisted.

Shen Mingzhu smiled faintly, "Auntie Yu, that’s an outdated belief. A light diet is necessary for pregnant women, but that doesn’t mean no salt at all. Avoiding salt will not only reduce my appetite but also impede my body’s recovery and the healing of the wounds."

Auntie Yu stubbornly insisted that women in confinement shouldn’t have salt and even tried to enlist Pei Yang’s help in persuading Shen Mingzhu.

"Auntie Yu, please just listen to my wife. The soup really can’t be drunk without salt," Pei Yang interjected.

Seeing that Pei Yang was also siding with Shen Mingzhu, Auntie Yu did not say much more, though her face showed some displeasure.

To smooth over the awkward atmosphere, since after all they would still need each other’s care, Shen Mingzhu took the initiative to talk about the payment for services.

To show her sincerity, she added ten yuan on top of what they had initially agreed upon.

Indeed, as soon as Auntie Yu heard about the extra money, she smiled, her attitude turning warm again.

She couldn’t persuade Auntie Yu to change her old-fashioned views, but money could.

See, problem solved.

After breakfast, Pei Yang came back from home with cloth and bamboo poles, rigging up a makeshift curtain around the hospital bed.

No sooner had the curtain been rigged up than a nurse walked into the ward, tray in hand, to disinfect and clean Shen Mingzhu’s wounds. Seeing the curtain Pei Yang had made, she laughed and complimented him on being thoughtful and considerate.

While the nurse was disinfecting and cleaning Shen Mingzhu, Pei Yang drew the curtain, completely shielding the hospital bed.

This scene made the other women in the ward enviously sigh.

After the check-up, relatives from the Pei family arrived one after another to visit and bring gifts, and to have a look at the newly born Little Guoguo.

...

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In the afternoon, Shen Mingzhu woke up from her nap to see Zhong Qing sitting in front of the hospital bed.

With her body tilted to the side, Zhong Qing was watching Little Guoguo in the baby crib and hadn’t noticed that Shen Mingzhu had woken up. It was only after Shen Mingzhu called out that she turned her head.

"Qingqing, when did you get here?"

"Just arrived a little while ago. I saw you were asleep and didn’t want to disturb you."

Zhong Qing raised her hand to touch her face, her light tea-colored eyes carrying a gentle smile, "It’s been hard on you. Little Guoguo really looks like you, both cute and beautiful."

"She should look a bit more like me."

When her daughter was mentioned, Shen Mingzhu’s face also revealed joy and happiness.

Not sure if it was hunger or their voices that woke her, but Little Guoguo hummed twice then suddenly started to cry loudly.

Pei Ziheng, who was standing by the baby crib, immediately tiptoed to pick up Little Guoguo.

"Oh oh, Guoguo don’t cry, brother will take you to Mommy."

Despite his young age and just having become an older brother, his way of holding a baby was remarkably skilled.

"Mommy, it’s time to feed her. She was last fed at 10:30 in the morning, and it’s been exactly four hours."

Pei Ziheng brought his sister over to Shen Mingzhu, his beautiful and delicate little face looking earnest.

"Okay."

Shen Mingzhu smiled and took her daughter from her son’s arms.

Perhaps sensing the scent of her mother, Little Guoguo’s crying gradually subsided, and the next moment, her left eye slightly opened a crack, followed by her right.

Shen Mingzhu was pleasantly surprised.

Since her daughter was born yesterday, this was the first time she had opened her eyes.

"Son, look, your sister has opened her eyes."

Both Pei Ziheng and Zhong Qing lean in to look.

"Guoguo, I’m your brother."

"I’m Aunt Qingqing, hello there."

Both were eager to greet Little Guoguo first.

Although Little Guoguo had opened her eyes, her black pupils were unfocused and after looking blankly for a few seconds, her mouth puckered and she began to cry again.

"She must be hungry."

While comforting her daughter, Shen Mingzhu asked Zhong Qing to help draw the curtains.

Upon smelling the scent of milk, Little Guoguo stopped crying altogether and started to suckle eagerly with her little pink mouth.

Once Shen Mingzhu finished feeding her, Zhong Qing took the opportunity to hold Little Guoguo for a while.

Watching Zhong Qing gently cradle and play with her daughter, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t resist teasing, "It seems you also really like children. Why not have one with Yan Yi sooner rather than later?"

Zhong Qing smiled but didn’t speak, and yet Shen Mingzhu could feel an incomprehensible sorrow looming around her.

Little Guoguo soon fell asleep after feeding, and Zhong Qing stood up to say goodbye.

As she walked out of the hospital’s main entrance, she couldn’t help but lift her eyes to the sky, where a tinge of sadness emerged in her gaze, quickly concealed again.

In Yan Yi’s private apartment, Zhong Qing and he sat facing each other.

"How is she doing?"

Zhong Qing gave a light laugh, "If you care so much, why not go see for yourself?"

After receiving Pei Yang’s call of good news in the afternoon, Zhong Qing immediately called Yan Yi, asking if he wanted to go to the hospital for a visit together.

Of course, Yan Yi wanted to see her himself, to see the child she gave birth to, but he still suppressed the urge.

He didn’t want to trouble her, especially during her postpartum period.

Not to disturb, that was his best blessing to her.

"She just gave birth, my visiting would inevitably be inconvenient," Yan Yi answered.

"Little Guoguo is very small and soft, her eyes and brows resemble her about five or six points, her face is not wrinkled at all, pink and white, extremely adorable," she described.

Listening, Yan Yi could almost imagine his daughter’s face and an unbidden smile appeared at the corners of his lips.

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