During her free time, Su Xuezhen had also thought about how to take care of the baby after giving birth. The maternity leave at the hospital was only 56 days. By that time, the baby would be less than two months old, probably just beginning to lift its head. In her heart, she preferred to have her own mother take care of the baby. They got along more comfortably, and Zhang Guangxiang understood her well. She wouldn’t treat the child badly.
But there was also Su Xianguo at home, who was so busy with work he barely had time to set his feet down. Zhang Guangxiang had just retired, and asking her to come immediately to take care of the child made Su Xuezhen feel a bit guilty, so she never brought it up.
It was also hard to ask Lou Guilan to come help. After all, her younger sister-in-law Cen Mei was still a child herself and needed adult supervision. So when she heard Lou Guilan offer to come help, she quickly declined, saying, “Xiaomei is still young and needs someone to look after her. We’ll figure out another way to take care of the baby.”
Zhang Guangxiang saw this as her opportunity and smiled as she spoke: “In-laws, how about I do it?”
“I’ll be retiring next year anyway. If I suddenly become idle, I probably won’t know what to do with myself. Helping them out for two years would be perfect. Once the first two years are over, it’ll be easier.”
Lou Guilan exchanged a glance with Cen Jianjun. They hesitated and didn’t immediately agree. Of course, they also wanted to help care for the child. Just the night before, the couple had spent half an hour talking about it before bed. Cen Mei was already in elementary school and wasn’t home during the day, so Lou would have time to come and help during the day, then switch off in the evenings when she and her husband got home from work. It would be a bit of a daily hustle, but it would only be for two years.
Cen Feng joked with a smile, “Everyone wants to help, huh? How about you take turns? One year each.”
That actually wasn’t a bad idea. Lou Guilan’s eyes lit up, “Let’s do that then. We’d feel bad having you take on both kids all by yourself. Let’s take turns—one year each. Fair and square.”
At that point, Zhang Guangxiang couldn’t really say no. Truth be told, it was customary for the husband’s family to help out. But there was one point she insisted on. “Let me do the first year. I know Xuezhen’s habits better.”
The first year after giving birth was the most sensitive time. Since she had volunteered, Lou Guilan naturally didn’t object. “Alright then, let’s go with that.”
“Xuezhen, what do you think? Is this arrangement okay with you?”
Truthfully, this was already the best solution they could come up with. Su Xuezhen raised her tea as a toast and stood up with Cen Bai. “Then we’ll be relying on you, Mom and Dad.”
Cen Bai drank his wine in one go, silently thankful for the effort both sets of parents were putting into their little family. But he wasn’t one for emotional speeches, so he cracked a joke instead: “Once the two little rascals grow up, they’ll thank you themselves.”
Lou Guilan scolded him for being so unserious. “I want to take care of them.”
“No thanks needed.”
By the time they finished dinner, night had fully fallen. But the streetlights hadn’t been turned on yet—Hongjiang City typically didn’t turn on the lights until after eleven, to save money.
The way back wasn’t very convenient. The four members of the Cen family left first, having come on two bicycles. Cen Jianjun rode with Lou Guilan, and Cen Feng rode with Cen Mei. They needed to use a flashlight, so Cen Bai tied one to the front of Cen Feng’s bike with wire. “Be careful with Xiaomei, don’t ride too fast.”
“Don’t worry.”
Cen Feng nodded confidently. He gave the bike a push, and the flashlight lit up brightly, casting a stark white beam across the road. He rode behind, following the path illuminated by the light, while Cen Jianjun rode ahead, also benefiting from the brightness.
Lou Guilan waved to the couple. “You two go home and rest early.”
Cen Feng had Cen Mei sit on the crossbar at the front of the bike—it was safer that way, and he could keep her within his arms. The little girl was already drowsy, her body swaying sleepily. He turned and said to Cen Bai, “Brother, we’re heading out.”
“No need to see us off.”
Cen Bai waved the flashlight as a farewell. Su Xuezhen waved too and shouted, “Be careful on the road!”
“Got it!”
That was Cen Feng’s reply.
After sending off their family, the couple went back inside. Su Xianguo and Zhang Guangxiang were still sitting on the long bench by the door, enjoying the evening air. The Su family lived close by, so it didn’t matter if they left later. Since they had arrived late, they didn’t want to leave too early either.
“Later on, tidy up the side room. Everything the baby needs should be prepared in advance. These days, even tailoring clothes takes over a month.”
Zhang Guangxiang slightly regretted not teaching Su Xuezhen how to use the sewing machine to make clothes. Otherwise, she could’ve made some baby clothes herself. “Don’t throw away any old clothes, especially the cotton ones—keep them for making diapers.”
“With two kids, they’ll go through at least ten diapers a day. Even if you wash them the same day, they might not dry in time. You’ll need at least forty or fifty cloth diapers to be safe. Add in all the other miscellaneous expenses, and wherever you can save, do it.”
Cen Bai nodded. “Alright, I’ll clean out the side room in a few days.”
Zhang Guangxiang thought for a moment. She’d said what she needed to say—there wasn’t much else to remind them about. “The baby’s not due till next year. Still early. There’s time to get ready.”
She poked the quiet Su Xianguo beside her and said, “What about you? Got anything to say?”
Su Xianguo’s gaze was deep, making Cen Bai feel a little uneasy. Then he asked, “Xiao Bai, you’re not someone who prefers boys over girls, are you?”
That was a loaded question—answering it wrong could lead to big trouble. Cen Bai panicked and shook his head repeatedly, almost falling off his chair. “Absolutely not. This is our only child.”
“Whether it’s a boy or a girl, I definitely won’t let Xuezhen have a second child.”
This one was already enough trouble. He couldn’t handle a second. As for the baby’s gender, Cen Bai didn’t care at all.
Su Xianguo’s expression softened noticeably, and his voice had an unexpected sense of calm authority. “Even if we parents take care of the baby during the day, you still have to take responsibility as parents at night. It’s only a few hard years. You can’t let the kids become closer to us than to you—that would be putting the cart before the horse.”
“Two kids are actually a good thing—they won’t be lonely. Even if neither of you are around, they’ll still have each other to play with all day.”
The image of two chubby little babies lying on the bed face to face, babbling in baby talk, amused Su Xuezhen. She chuckled softly at the thought.
Looking at her like this, she still seemed like a child herself. Zhang Guangxiang sighed at how time waits for no one and reminded her, “Don’t push yourself too hard at work. Take a break when you need to.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
Su Xuezhen leaned against her like she used to as a child and even tugged on her mother’s hair like old times.
The two of them didn’t stay much longer. They rode their bikes home, and the house finally returned to its usual quiet. It had only been one day, but Su Xuezhen felt like it had been endlessly long. She stretched, “Let’s shower and rest. We’ve got work tomorrow.”
Cen Bai responded with a sleepy “mm” and yawned as well. After showering, they both fell into a deep sleep.
Monday brought two happy events. The first was that Ma Baocheng was being discharged from the hospital. Tests showed that he was recovering well after surgery, and the wound had healed. He basically met all the criteria for discharge.
The second was that the hospital’s approval document had come through: he was officially allowed to assist Ling Yurong in writing a textbook, earning a monthly stipend of 10 yuan.
On the day of discharge, Ma Baocheng’s parents came to pick him up.
This little boy who had suffered so long from illness could finally get out of bed and move around. Seeing that brought genuine joy to Su Xuezhen. Before he left, she gave him an illustrated beginner’s book. “I hope you grow up healthy and safe, Baocheng.”
Ma Baocheng hugged the book tightly to his chest, not yet understanding what “goodbye” really meant. “Will I still be able to see Auntie again?”
“Privately, sure. But let’s not meet again at the hospital.”
Su Xuezhen smiled. The little guy was just too cute—she couldn’t resist and pinched his chubby cheek.
Their family had probably been admitted more times than anyone else this year, so they had a lot of belongings in the hospital. They’d brought all sorts of things over time—just the toys alone filled a whole box. Ma Baocheng’s mother, Deng Jie, was beaming with joy, tears brimming in her eyes as she picked up her son and held him in her arms. “Thank you so much for taking care of our Baocheng.”
They were tears of happiness.
Ma Jian also felt a little emotional. He picked up the packed box. “Let’s go home.”
In his mother’s arms, Ma Baocheng turned in a little circle, resting his head on her shoulder, eyes fixed on Su Xuezhen in the hospital room. He stared and stared until the three of them stepped into the corridor. Suddenly, he asked Deng Jie, “Mom, can we leave the toys here?”
Deng Jie stopped walking. “Why? Don’t you like those toys a lot?”
“This place… other than the uncles and aunties, everything else is scary.”
Ma Baocheng’s body trembled slightly as he pointed at the toy box his father was carrying. “But these toys aren’t scary.”
Deng Jie understood immediately. She quickly told her husband, “Take the box back and give it to Dr. Su. Explain it to her.”
Ma Jian carried the toy box back to find Su Xuezhen. She was no longer in the patient room, but he could faintly hear her voice coming from the consultation room.
He didn’t go in to disturb her. Quietly, he placed the box at her door and turned to leave.
Inside the consultation room, Su Xuezhen spoke gently as she looked at the baby in the arms of a short-haired woman. “How old is your baby?”
The woman avoided eye contact and replied quickly, “Ten months.”
“It’s very hot these days. Don’t wrap the baby so tightly—he’ll overheat.”
Su Xuezhen frowned slightly. The swaddling was too tight—she could only see a tiny face, not enough to judge the baby’s age.
The woman removed the outer layer of the cotton blanket and let the baby cool off, trying to explain, “My child is afraid of the cold.”
That was somewhat understandable. Su Xuezhen asked again, “Is the baby feeling unwell anywhere?”
“He always has diarrhea and throws up after drinking milk.”
“Are you feeding him breast milk or formula?”
“Formula,” the woman answered quickly.
Su Xuezhen jotted it down, then asked another question, “Does he throw up when drinking breast milk?”
The woman hesitated before saying, “No.”
Was that really something she needed to think about? Shouldn’t that kind of answer come naturally?
Suspicion rose again in Su Xuezhen’s heart. “What’s the baby’s father’s name?”
“Wang Chao.”
“What brand of formula are you using?”
Su Xuezhen slowly put down her pen and examined the woman closely, deliberately testing her. “I might need to check the formula’s ingredients.”
“What kind of lousy doctor are you? The baby has diarrhea and throws up, and you think it’s because of the formula?”
The woman stood up with the baby, preparing to leave. “I’m going to another hospital.”
“No, I’ll prescribe the medicine right away.”
Su Xuezhen quickly got up. “Please wait here. I’ll go get the medicine.”
The woman reluctantly sat down again, holding her child, speaking impatiently, “Then hurry up. I’m in a rush.”
Su Xuezhen responded with an “okay,” but instead of going far, she stepped outside and hid around the corner. She signaled to Wei Juan with a wave and mimed a phone gesture, mouthing: “Call the police.”
