The mothers in the ward and their families burst into laughter.
Families from the adjacent wards, still holding their newborns, had come outside their rooms to watch the commotion.
Among them were families who had been in the hospital for several days, as well as newcomers. Didn’t they all know whether Zhao Zongbao had come to the hospital to care for Xu Huiqing? They were the ones who had been carrying newborns around the corridors, exposing them to sunlight for their jaundice.
With all this noise, Zhao Zongbao was still lying on the bench, pretending to sleep as if he had no idea what was going on, even snoring lightly.
No one needed Zhao Zongbao to speak—his mother defended him instead, anxiously saying, “You’re a daughter-in-law, how can you not know how to care for your man? He’s out there as a grown man working hard, earning money.
Do you think the money for your hospital stay just falls from the sky? Isn’t it only right that he comes here to take care of you? Am I not looking after you? As a daughter-in-law, if you can’t even show him a bit of compassion, can’t even give him a bite to eat, are you even human?” She pointed accusingly at Xu Huiqing’s nose and turned it around: “I’ve never seen such a heartless woman like you!”
She then forcefully grabbed the bowl of soup from Xu Huiqing’s hands, spilling some chicken broth onto the bedside table as she tugged it away.
The nurse bringing the postpartum meals couldn’t stand it any longer and shouted, “You, old lady, does your son need the postpartum meals meant for his daughter-in-law? Snatching the food right from under her nose? You must have never eaten well in your life!” Then she pointed at Zhao Zongbao, who was lying dead still on the bench: “You just lie there and say nothing while your mother steals your wife’s postpartum meal? Say something!”
Thankfully, he wasn’t her own son; otherwise, she would have openly scolded him, “Are you dead or what?”
Zhao Zongbao was indeed hungry. The chicken soup noodles made by the nurse were incredibly tempting.
But now he couldn’t sleep anymore either. He opened his eyes and impatiently snapped at his mother, “Mom, can you stop making a fuss? That’s Huiqing’s meal. If I want to eat, I know how to go to the cafeteria, don’t I?”
Earlier, the nurse next to the bed had helped Xu Huiqing take the postpartum meal back and cleaned up the spilled broth from the small table. She said, “Exactly. A grown man with hands and feet—where else would he eat? I’ve never seen a man snatch his wife’s postpartum meals before!”
Out of Zhao Zongbao’s sight, she silently spat: Such shamelessness!
Now everyone in the ward—the new mothers and their families—all knew how harsh Zhao’s mother was!
Zhao Zongbao couldn’t stand being at the hospital any longer. Frustrated, he ran his hands through his hair and, equally impatient, said to Xu Huiqing, “You’ve been here half a month. You should be well enough, right? I’ll come get you tomorrow!” Saying that, he strode out and found a guesthouse nearby to catch up on sleep.
He had always enjoyed going to the dance halls in the neighboring city and Wucheng. This time, taking advantage of Xu Huiqing’s hospitalization in the neighboring city, he had a great time, going to discos every day and becoming familiar with many local young men and women.
After playing around in discos and ice skating rinks, he realized just how profitable running dance halls and skating rinks could be. Besides dancing and skating in the neighboring city, he planned to return to Shuibu Town and set up similar venues there. He already had a location in mind—a dilapidated house less than two li from the town center.
He had to admit, his past success in business was due to his strong drive. Once he had an idea, he went to hang around dance halls in the neighboring city, from those with five-yuan admission to ten, twenty, and thirty-yuan ones—he tried them all.
He wasn’t considering the twenty- and thirty-yuan places for now. For the cheaper ones, all they needed was a wide cement-floored area, some colorful rotating disco balls, big speakers, and a player. Just turn off the lights and pump the music loud—that’s a dance floor.
He could easily handle the audio equipment since his family sold home electronics and already had TVs and VCD players for playing dance videos. What he hadn’t figured out yet was how to source alcohol.
Originally, he wanted to sort out the alcohol supply before going back home, but in the past few days, he noticed Xu Huiqing was being ungrateful—not only disrespecting his mother in the hospital but also him. He decided to teach her a lesson and planned to send her home early.
Once she was home alone and still in her confinement period, what she could do, he’d make sure she felt it.
Men are heaven, women earth; women should stay home, taking care of the husband and in-laws. She had only been away for a few days and already dared to defy his mother!
He was a man of action. The next day, he came back to the hospital, settled all the medical bills for Xu Huiqing’s stay, and arranged for her discharge.
The hospital agreed she had recovered enough and didn’t stop them from leaving. Usually, mothers stay three to five days after childbirth before going home for confinement. Zhao’s family letting their daughter-in-law stay half a month was already very generous.
Zhao Zongbao deliberately refused to take a taxi this time. Instead, he insisted on taking the minibus home.
There was no minibus directly outside the hospital. To take one, they first had to get on a bus from the hospital entrance to South Station, walk a couple hundred meters to the South Station Bus Terminal, then catch the minibus inside.
Not to mention how common minibus overcrowding was these days—carrying an extra twenty people was normal. Just walking from the ward to the hospital entrance was one or two hundred meters, and then another fifty or sixty meters from the hospital entrance to the bus stop, where they’d have to wait at least ten minutes for the bus.
Locals taking postpartum mothers home would wrap them in thick cotton hats and coats, terrified they might catch a chill. As soon as the mother left the ward, they’d load her straight into a local tricycle and head home.
Even rural women admitted to hospitals were carefully cared for on the journey back. They’d lie on bamboo beds padded with thick quilts, with the newborn nestled alongside, covered with heavy blankets. Four or five strong men would carry or support them all the way to the bus station or arrange a tricycle so the mother wouldn’t have to walk a single step or feel any wind.
But the Zhao family was not like that.
Xu Huiqing’s own family hadn’t come to help her, so naturally no one cared about her health. Zhao Zongbao was deliberately testing her patience, and Zhao’s mother, though aware that postpartum women shouldn’t catch drafts, had never been well cared for herself during pregnancy.
She wished her daughter-in-law would suffer all the hardships she had endured and certainly wouldn’t warn Zhao Zongbao.
Xu Huiqing sat on the bed, watching as Zhao’s family packed their things.
Zhao’s mother originally wanted Xu Huiqing to hold the newborn while she fetched the diapers and bedding they had brought when they first arrived in the city.
Xu Huiqing obediently took the newborn from her arms, but as she got out of bed, her arm suddenly weakened, and she staggered forward sharply, almost dropping the baby!
Zhao’s mother was terrified!
The newborn cried out loudly in fright.
This was the precious golden grandson the Zhao family had forced Xu Huiqing to bear. In a panic, she snatched the baby back, cradled it carefully, and scolded Xu Huiqing, “Are you trying to get yourself killed? You can’t even hold the child properly, what else can you do?”
A nurse standing nearby saw she was about to hit Xu Huiqing and quickly stopped her: “Your son is standing right there. If you don’t give the baby to him, how is the mother supposed to hold the child? Don’t you know the mother hasn’t recovered yet and is still very weak?”
The family members in the ward gathered around to watch the drama, urging Zhao Zongbao, “Hey, you’re a grown man—aren’t you going to help your wife? Don’t tell me you want her to do all the work? Let your mother hold the baby while you get her things!”
Zhao Zongbao had been raised as the little emperor of the family, with no responsibilities. He was used to everything being handled by Zhao’s mother and his five older sisters. After the sisters married, it was Xu Huiqing’s turn.
When Zhao’s mother heard someone suggest her son should do any work, she refused immediately, clutching the baby and the bedding tighter to herself. “He doesn’t know how to do anything. I’ll carry him!”
Xu Huiqing steadied herself against the bed, looking as if she could barely stand and needed support.
The other women and families in the ward saw her trying to leave and quickly warned, “You can’t just go out like this! If you catch a cold, it could cause lasting problems—headaches for life! You better wear a hat. If you don’t have a hat, a towel will do. If worse comes to worst, wrap your head in your clothes!”
They also scolded Zhao’s mother: “Your daughter-in-law is young and inexperienced, and you’re old but don’t understand either? How could you let a postpartum woman go out like that?”
Someone pulled the speaker aside, whispering once the Zhao family had left the ward, “Forget it, there’s no use saying anything. That old lady wants her daughter-in-law to suffer, and that man never takes responsibility for anything!”
Outside the ward, Xu Huiqing looked at Zhao’s mother carrying the bedding and postpartum supplies on her back, the newborn in her arms. She was naturally thin, and the bulky bedding made her look even more frail.
She called out softly and hesitantly, “Mom, give me Xiao Bao. You’re carrying too much by yourself.”
At this moment, Zhao’s mother didn’t dare hand over her precious grandson. She held him tightly and said, “Fine, go ahead, but I don’t dare give my eldest grandson to you. If you drop him, I wouldn’t even know where to cry!”
She gently rocked the baby in her arms, soothing him.
There was no elevator in the maternity ward; the building was only two stories, with green-painted concrete stairs.
Xu Huiqing held the handrail, slowly making her way down step by step.
Some family members with babies nearby couldn’t help but scold Zhao Zongbao, “You should be supporting your wife! Don’t you see she’s still weak? Why not get a bamboo bed to carry her? You should be carrying her!”
Hearing this, Zhao Zongbao pretended to be ready to carry Xu Huiqing, but Zhao’s mother quickly pulled him back, “Carry her? Let her walk herself! I gave birth to six kids; don’t I know? She’s still bleeding. If that got on you, you’d be in big trouble. Hurry up and go!”
She pushed Zhao Zongbao forward.
He turned hesitantly between Zhao’s mother and Xu Huiqing, awkwardly asking, “Huiqing, can you walk by yourself? If not, I’ll carry you.”
In the past, Xu Huiqing’s kind nature meant she would grit her teeth and push through to walk by herself.
But now, as she clung to the handrail, swaying unsteadily, she suddenly lurched forward like a stiff stone hammer, headbutting Zhao Zongbao hard right in the nose.