“Nan Nan, have a good rest then.” Miao Jing put Qiao Nan to bed and covered the latter with a light blanket.
It was the end of September now. The summer weather was not as hot as before. In particular, the hospital was different from other places. It felt a little cold here although it was summer.
This blanket was necessary as Qiao Nan was in her confinement and could not take the cold. Otherwise, she would contract puerperal fever or women’s health issues easily.
Old Master Zhai stood up unwillingly. “Okay. Have a good rest, the four of you. You will be able to go home tomorrow. Hua Hua, stay behind and take good care of Nan Nan and the three babies. Right, is the security of this hospital good? Will they lose the children?”
Old Master Zhai was not speaking for no reason. A few days ago, Old Master Zhai read a news report that some children had been stolen from a hospital.
At that time, Old Master Zhai was already furious although the news report did not have anything to do with his family. Now, Qiao Nan had given birth to triplets. Of course, Old Master Zhai was more concerned than anyone about the children’s safety.
“Grandpa, you can rest assured. With me around, I will kill whoever dares to touch a strand of hair of our family’s offspring. Moreover, this hospital was introduced by Dongzi. There shouldn’t be any problem. If any accident occurs, I will get Dongzi to compensate us!” Zhai Hua was a youngster. Naturally, she would be the one remaining behind to stay overnight.
Old Master Zhai could not afford to do so. Miao Jing and Zhai Yaohui had just finished their work commitment and rushed back via a red-eye flight. Their bodies would not be able to take the toll.
“Grandpa, Dad, and Mom, go home and rest. With Sister Zhai Hua around, nothing will happen. I have done all my medical checkups in this hospital when I was pregnant. There won’t be any problem.” She would not bother too much about the process of giving birth. Much of the credit went to the hospital that the mother and all the babies were safe after the delivery. Qiao Nan had a lot of trust in the hospital introduced by Tian Dong.
Miao Miao was also as reluctant to leave as Old Master Zhai. She revealed this emotion as she carefully touched the tiny fists of her granddaughter. The soft and tender feel of the tiny hand that was on the baby’s face crumbled Miao Jing’s heart. “Nan Nan, don’t be scared. Tomorrow, Mom will fetch you and the babies home.”
“Okay, sure.” Qiao Nan nodded seriously.
“Let’s go.” Miao Jing had said a few times that she would be coming to fetch Qiao Nan and the three babies tomorrow but her legs had not moved an inch. At the sight of this, Zhai Yaohui felt that this would not do. Anyway, they would be able to fetch the babies home tomorrow. As such, Zhai Yaohui simply half carried, half dragged, and ‘kidnapped’ Miao Jing away.
Old Master Zhai was in a happy mood because of these three great-grandchildren. As to the ‘flirting’ between his son and daughter-in-law, he did not take it to heart.
When Old Master Zhai got into the car, he even sang the Beijing opera happily. “This is the quintessence of our Chinese culture. When my great-grandchildren grow up, you have to pass it down to them!”
Zhai Yaohui glanced at the overjoyed Old Master Zhai. He could not bring himself to remind him that children nowadays did not fancy this anymore.
In the future, his grandchildren would learn whatever they liked.
Given the love and benevolence that the old master had toward his three little grandchildren, he did not believe that the old master would be so hard-hearted to go against their wishes.
Fortunately, this day would only arrive many years later.
He would let the old master feel happy and become satisfied with his delusion for now.
When the three babies grew up, they would naturally find ways to fight a battle of wits and courage with their great-grandfather. In the end, they would be the victors.
As soon as the elders of the Zhai family left, Qiao Nan barely spoke to Zhai Hua before she fell asleep again.
Perhaps it was because her three children were all by her side. Qiao Nan fell into a very deep slumber. Vaguely, she took in the faint smells coming from her babies.
The babies were very soft and tiny. They leaned by her side and moved occasionally like little worms. Qiao Nan, who was in a deep sleep, could not help revealing a smile that was as gentle as water and as warm as spring.
When it was eight o’clock the next morning, Miao Jing was already at the hospital. She could not wait to fetch Qiao Nan and the three babies home.
Qiao Nan delivered three babies successfully. When Miao Jing came, she brought many sweets and red eggs and distributed them to the nurses who took care of Qiao Nan and the babies, and the doctor who helped Qiao Nan gave birth on that day.
When she finished distributing the huge bag of items, she washed her hands clean. She, Qiao Nan, and Zhai Hua then carried one baby each, boarded the car, and headed home.
Before giving birth, Qiao Nan was staying on the ground floor.
Now that she had finished giving birth, of course, Qiao Nan’s bedroom reverted to the second floor, which was the one that she stayed with Zhai Sheng.
Once she entered the room, Qiao Nan felt that the room seemed a little unfamiliar. She had not come upstairs to look at it for about two months.
Due to this, Qiao Nan did not know when the Zhai family had set up the baby cribs in her and Zhai Sheng’s room. She could tell that two of the baby cribs were very clean and tidy, with the items neatly placed. One of the cribs was a little messy.
Undoubtedly, the Zhai family had prepared the two baby cribs that were neat and tidy long ago.
Twins had become triplets. As expected, the messiest baby crib must have been added by the Zhai family in a hurry today.
“Nan Nan, do we put the three babies directly in the baby cribs or the adult’s bed to sleep with you?” Miao Jing asked while carrying the baby girl in her arms.
The three babies were still too tiny now and they would feel hungry frequently. They would cry whenever they peed, pooped, or felt hungry.
If they were placed on the baby cribs, most likely, Qiao Nan would not be able to carry them over to her side.
“Why don’t you put them on my bed first?” Qiao Nan said with some hesitation. She had not taken care of a child before. She was totally inexperienced in this area. However, Qiao Nan’s instinct told her that it was better to put the children near to her so that it would be easier to take care of them.
“Okay.” After receiving the answer, Miao Jing put the only girl of the family, which was soft and tender, on the bed carefully.
The three babies moved their little heads, pursed their red, tiny mouths, and slanted their heads. They were sleeping soundly.
Before the three babies were discharged, Qiao Nan had already fed them. Hence, they were all very obedient now.
Speaking of breastfeeding, it was a pain for Qiao Nan.
Qiao Nan had never expected breast engorgement and stimulating breast milk to be so painful. The pain was different from the one during childbirth, yet it was also overwhelming.
There were two aunties in the hospital who were professional massagers and experts in stimulating breast milk. The Zhai family was, of course, not petty to Qiao Nan. They had reserved every good service that the hospital offered.
The professionals truly lived up to their name. They were not paid for nothing.
After Qiao Nan was ready to breastfeed, her first drop of colostrum was fed to the only lady, and the other to the second baby, Er Bao. Da Bao was the elder brother and he looked very ‘strong’. Hence, he could only suffer a little and not fight with his younger siblings for the colostrum.