The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 547 - 546 Hungry

Chapter 547: Chapter 546 Hungry

"Do you want to hold the baby?"

Looking at the squishy little baby that Yan Su handed over, Shen Mingzhu instinctively glanced at Yan Yi and the Yan family members.

After all, she was the only outsider here.

Yan Yi smiled at her, "Hold the baby for a bit. You are Xiaoqing’s good friend; she would be very happy that you came to accompany her baby’s birth."

Only then did Shen Mingzhu take the baby.

Such a tiny, soft bundle, it felt almost weightless in her arms.

Perhaps due to the mother’s biased filter, Shen Mingzhu always felt that Zhong Qing’s twins were not as fair and lovely as her Guoguo at birth.

Of course, she wouldn’t voice such a thought and instead kept on praising how good-looking and adorable the baby was, blah blah blah.

She even found herself so hypocritical that she didn’t dare to look up, afraid of being seen through by Yan Yi, the psychology expert.

It wasn’t until 9 o’clock in the evening that Zhong Qing was wheeled out of the operating room.

By that time, only Zhong family siblings, Yan Su, the nanny who looked after them, and she were left outside the operating room, while Yan Yi and Yan’s mother had taken the twins to the resting ward for feeding.

With the twins, there was no way Zhong Qing alone could provide enough breast milk, so the Yan family had already chosen wet nurses for the two young masters well in advance.

"Sister!"

"Xiaoqing."

"Qingqing."

Perhaps due to the anesthesia still in her system, Zhong Qing seemed feeble and a bit slow to respond.

Her gaze swept past Zhong Yin, Zhong Min, and Yan Su before finally resting on Shen Mingzhu’s face.

She gave a faint smile, "Mingzhu, you came too."

Shen Mingzhu quickly took her hand, gently saying, "It was tough on you. Both babies are healthy. They are in the resting room feeding now. You should get some good rest first."

Zhong Qing nodded lightly, closed her eyes, but her hand still held onto Shen Mingzhu’s.

Shen Mingzhu had no choice but to accompany the mobile bed to the ward.

Zhong Qing’s ward was located in a VIP ward on the top floor. To ensure privacy and security, as well as to facilitate the best recuperation for Zhong Qing and her children, the entire floor had been cleared out in advance and strict security measures were implemented.

There were bodyguards stationed at the elevator and stairwell entrances, and upon seeing Shen Mingzhu, a new face, even the head of the security guards stepped forward to inquire and register.

"It’s just procedure, don’t mind it too much. Even I had to check in. Next time you come, they won’t stop you," Yan Su explained softly.

Shen Mingzhu nodded in understanding.

Zhong Qing was given a suite to herself, while another was for the twins.

Both sides were looked after by many people, and Shen Mingzhu, being an outsider, couldn’t help much. So she took her leave and went back first.

Pei Yang sat alone on the couch watching TV. Seeing her return, he got up to meet her, "You’re finally back. Have you had dinner?"

Shen Mingzhu glanced around the living room and, not seeing the children, asked, "Are the kids asleep?"

"Yeah, before ten o’clock Ziheng took Guoguo up. By now, they must be sleeping like little pigs."

"I’ll go upstairs and check."

Shen Mingzhu, having changed her shoes, was about to head upstairs when Pei Yang pulled her by the wrist, his tone plaintive, "A whole person standing here and you don’t see me, your heart is only set on the kids."

Shen Mingzhu wasn’t usually so worried about the children, but today, stimulated by Zhong Qing’s twins, a surge of maternal love flooded her heart. All the way home she was anxious to see her own children, wanting to hold and cherish them quickly.

She realized too that she had been neglecting and overlooking the man.

If she put herself in his shoes, if she had waited an entire evening, and her partner returned without a word, eager only to see the kids, she wouldn’t feel good either.

With that thought, Shen Mingzhu’s heart softened.

She tiptoed to kiss the man’s chin. Don’t ask why the chin, because that was as high as she could reach.

"I’m hungry, make me something to eat, I’ll come down after I check on the child."

Pei Yang looked down at her with a serious expression but said the most unserious thing, "Where are you hungry?"

Shen Mingzhu’s face flushed with a thin layer of powder, "..."

The old pervert!

...

Early in the morning, before it was light, Shen Mingzhu got out of bed, put on her apron, and started to kill the crucian carp to make fish soup.

The crucian carp was what she had asked Pei Yang to buy from the market the evening before when she called home.

After childbirth, a woman needed to replenish her nutrients the most to recover quickly.

Although with the wealth of both the Zhong and Yan families, Zhong Qing wouldn’t lack for a single bowl of soup, as a friend, Shen Mingzhu only wanted to do what she could to help.

A mother couldn’t consume too much salt, and chicken and bone broths tasted too bland without it; relatively speaking, crucian carp soup was more palatable.

The natural sweetness of crucian carp soup only required a little ginger and salt to be deliciously fresh.

This was all knowledge she had gained from her own postpartum confinement.

The two pounds of crucian carp produced a large pot of snowy white soup.

Shen Mingzhu filled a thermal container with it, and the rest was used to make half a pot of egg and fish soup noodles for the family’s breakfast.

After breakfast, Shen Mingzhu took the crucian carp soup to the hospital, but she didn’t enter the ward; instead, she had the bodyguard give it to Zhong Qing.

One reason was to avoid disturbing Zhong Qing’s rest, and the second was that there were a few important matters at the factory she needed to handle.

"Madam is awake, hungry? The mistress personally made black chicken soup for you, it’s the most nourishing thing to have postpartum."

Haven’t eaten anything since the surgery, Zhong Qing really did feel ravenous.

She took the chicken soup the nanny handed her and after the first sip, she lost her excitement.

Despite having its skin removed, the black chicken wasn’t greasy or offensive, but for lack of salt and seasonings, the soup was extremely bland.

Zhong Qing forced herself to drink half a bowl, then looked up and noticed a familiar thermal container on the coffee table, "What’s that?"

"Oh, that’s the crucian carp soup Mrs. Pei brought over."

"Bring it here; let me try."

The nanny kindly advised, "Madam, crucian carp has a strong fishy taste; I’m afraid it won’t taste good."

"It’s fine."

With no choice, the nanny brought the thermal container over, but instead of immediately giving it to Zhong Qing, she scooped out a small bowl to taste first.

This was a crucial time for Zhong Qing to recuperate after giving birth, and there must be absolutely no mistakes with her diet.

"How strange, this fish soup has no fishy smell?"

Seeing the surprise on the nanny’s face, Zhong Qing pursed her lips with a smile, "Mingzhu’s cooking skills are top-notch, she wouldn’t make me fish soup with a fishy smell. If you want to know her secret, you can ask her next time she comes, but she might not teach you."

The crucian carp soup was milky white and fragrant, and drinking it revealed only sweetness without any trace of fishiness. Zhong Qing drank two bowls, very satisfied.

After finishing the soup, the maternity matron and the wet nurse brought over the two babies.

Haven’t rested since giving birth the day before, this was the first time Zhong Qing held her own children.

Although a first-time mother, Zhong Yin and Zhong Yan had grown up in her hands since birth, so she was quite adept at holding babies.

"He is so ugly."

"Madam, all newborns look like this; they’ll be beautiful as they grow."

"I know," Zhong Qing looked at the child in her arms, her face brimming with a smile and happiness that seemed to fill the room, "I just think he’s very ugly, but in a way I find endearing."

The room full of nannies and maternity matrons all laughed at her words.