The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 584 - 583: Acting Cheaply

Chapter 584: Chapter 583: Acting Cheaply

Mo Xueheng was quite reliable in handling matters; he had pulled up all the medical records from Pei Tang’s birth to the present at their hospital.

And unexpectedly, Yan Yi didn’t mind the trouble and carefully went through them one by one.

Seeing him read so attentively, Mo Xueheng couldn’t help but be curious, "Whose kid is this?"

Without looking up, Yan Yi said, "If you feel like you have too much free time, I can suggest to my uncle that he increase your clinic shifts by two every week."

Mo Xueheng was so shocked he almost jumped up.

Hurriedly tucking away his curiosity, he picked up the medical chart from the desk and, leaving the words "I’m going to make rounds, take your time" behind, he decisively made his exit.

If his schedule got any busier, he might as well just go meet the King of Hell.

...

Pei Tang’s physical condition was relatively good, and he didn’t frequent the hospital often.

Yan Yi quickly finished all the case files and paid special attention to today’s visit. Afterwards, he called several teachers and alumni who had made contributions in the field of pediatrics and consulted with them about infant growth and development.

The next day.

After seeing a patient, Yan Yi got up, hung the "Not Receiving Patients" sign on the door, closed it, and picked up the phone on his desk to call back home.

"Do I have any packages?"

"Yes, young master. There’s one air-shipped from the Capital that just arrived a bit ago."

"Send the items to my residence."

"Okay."

By the time Yan Yi returned to his place, Ning Yuan had already arrived and was heartily enjoying a meal at the table.

Upon seeing him come in, Ning Yuan casually asked, "Hey Yan, have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"Then come join me, this just arrived, still warm."

Saying that, he got up and courteously helped Yan Yi by setting out a clean pair of chopsticks and a bowl on the table.

Yan Yi hung up his coat and, unbuttoning his cuffs, sat down at the dining table.

After eating for a bit, Ning Yuan suddenly remembered why he had come, "What did you call me over for?"

Yan Yi swallowed his food leisurely, "I pulled some strings to get you two boxes of children’s nutritional supplement. Take them back for Enbao and Manman."

Following his gesture, Ning Yuan glanced at the items on the coffee table and offhandedly said, "Enbao and Manman don’t lack nutrition. Those kids are growing so hefty, I can barely hold them anymore."

"Then forget it, I’ll give it to someone else."

Ning Yuan blinked, "Actually, I..."

But Yan Yi had already stood up, walked to the coffee table, and picked up the phone to dial out, "Sis, can you come over this afternoon? I’ve got some things here, could you deal with them for me?"

Ning Yuan: "..."

When Yan Yi returned to the dining table, Ning Yuan couldn’t help being skeptical, "Yan, why do I feel like you’re giving this gift with no sincerity? I didn’t say I didn’t want it, and you’re already trying to give it away."

Yan Yi looked at him, "Not cherishing when in possession, regretting once lost, in psychology, this is called negative affect based on cognition; in layman’s terms, it’s called being cheap."

Ning Yuan: "..."

You called me over specially just to call me cheap?

Couldn’t you have done that over the phone?

No, why should I put up with being insulted?

...

"Mingzhu, I’ve sent some things to your house,"

Upon receiving a call from Yan Su, Shen Mingzhu didn’t pay much attention.

Since Yan Su started working at Ning’s company, she was mainly responsible for business dealings, often traveling far and wide, even going abroad for business negotiations, bringing local specialties from each place to her.

It wasn’t until she got home after work that Shen Mingzhu realized Yan Su had sent her two big boxes of children’s nutrition supplement.

The packaging seemed simple, without even a manufacturer’s name, but a "special supply" mark was printed in the corner of the box.

These two characters were enough to showcase its extraordinary origin.

She called Yan Su, curious about why the other side would think to give this to her.

"It was sent over from the Capital by a friend of Xiaoyi. Xiaoyi originally intended it for Ning Yuan’s two children, but Ning Yuan didn’t want it, so Xiaoyi asked me to deal with it. I thought of giving it to you—it’s perfect for Guoguo to drink, and it’s harmless."

This explanation was impeccable, but Shen Mingzhu still felt it was a bit too coincidental.

Just yesterday, she had taken her daughter for a check-up at the hospital, and Yan Yi happened to be the chief of the psychology department there.

When she initially chose to create a medical record for her daughter at the Medical University Hospital, she had contemplated whether to avoid any appearance of conflict.

But Medical University was the best public hospital in Fengcheng, and considering that Yan Yi’s clinic hours had changed from once a week to once a month, she thought it was unlikely they’d cross paths, so she ultimately chose Medical University.

She hoped she was overthinking it.

The next day.

After breakfast, Shen Mingzhu took out the nutritional supplement the doctor had prescribed, inserted a straw, and offered it to her daughter.

Guoguo frowned and turned her little face away, "I don’t want it!"

After bringing the nutritional drink home yesterday, Shen Mingzhu had opened one for her to try. Guoguo tasted a little bit, then spat it out, refusing to drink any more of it no matter what.

"Be good, drink it so you can grow tall," Shen Mingzhu coaxed patiently.

Little children don’t listen to adult reasoning; if they don’t like something, they simply won’t drink it.

Even Pei Ziheng’s intervention was ineffective.

As the child grew older, she developed her own opinions and was no longer as easily coaxed as when she was younger.

"Don’t drink it then, remain a little shortie!"

After being scolded by Shen Mingzhu, Guoguo became sulky. She pouted heavily, her cheeks puffed up like little buns, and tears started swirling in her eyes.

The father and son duo, one appeasing the younger, the other the elder.

"The nutritional drink doesn’t taste good; Guoguo does not like it. I’ll go to the pharmacy during the day to see if there are other brands," Pei Yang consoled her.

Shen Mingzhu tasted the nutritional drink in her hand, a light medicinal flavor mixed with a hint of bitterness—it wasn’t terribly unpalatable, but it wasn’t tasty either.

Guoguo learned from her; she has always refused to eat anything slightly bitter from a young age, which is why she resists drinking nutritional supplements.

After much consideration, the only option seemed to be to buy some sweetened milk and mix the nutritional drink into it.

Although this would lead to a loss of nutrients, there was no other way.

After finishing her work in the morning, Shen Mingzhu drove to the mall and bought a carton of sweetened milk.

When she returned home, the dining table was already set with food and dishes.

"Where’s Guoguo?"

Not seeing her daughter in the living room, Shen Mingzhu casually asked.

"She was just here; she might have gone upstairs. I’ll bring her down," said Cui Lianying as she put aside what she was doing.

Shen Mingzhu carried the milk into the kitchen where Aunt Yu was stir-frying vegetables. She greeted Shen Mingzhu with a smile and went back to her work.

Shen Mingzhu opened a carton of milk and warmed it up in hot water, then went to the living room to get the nutritional drink.

As she opened the cupboard, Cui Lianying came hurrying down from upstairs.

"Mingzhu, you better check quickly. I don’t know where Guoguo found medicine, but she hid upstairs and drank it secretly."

Shen Mingzhu, too, was startled, worried her daughter had ingested something inappropriate.

When she saw the clear little brown glass bottle in Cui Lianying’s hand, she suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was the nutritional drink Yan Su had sent over yesterday; its bottle was bare without any labels, which led Cui Lianying to think it was medicine.

Shen Mingzhu prepared to go upstairs to fetch and scold her daughter but reached the foot of the staircase only to see her child standing at the turn of the stairs, with innocent and bewildered large eyes.

Perhaps knowing she’d done something wrong, she rushed down the stairs, hugged her legs, and buried her face in her knees, with a face full of appeasement and charm.

"Mommy~"

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