“When I hear this name, I thought of the pet name ‘Little Fish’. San Bao is quick-tempered and likes to blow bubbles. This name suits her very well.”
As San Bao liked to blow bubbles, given Zhai Hua’s cultural standards, her first reaction was naturally the name Zhai Yu (fish) once she heard Elder Lin mention the name.
Miao Jing felt paralyzed. “Hua Hua, if you are married to Dongzi and have children in the future, remember not to participate in the naming of my maternal grandchild. Let the in-laws help you name them. If they can’t, let Dongzi wreck his brains. You just have to pick the one that you think is the best from the pile of names.”
If she were to let Hua Hua take the initiative to name her maternal grandchild, she was afraid that her grandchild’s name would be reduced to flowers, birds, fishes, and worms kind of names.
“…” Zhai Hua knew that she had been looked down upon by her own biological mother.
She had really misunderstood when she heard San Bao’s name. Facing her biological mother’s distrustful glances, Zhai Hua did not have a choice. She could only snort in exasperation and silently accept her mother’s suggestion.
A name such as little fish could be used as a pet name. But official name? Forget it.
No one objected to the name that Elder Lin gave San Bao. As such, the names of the three babies were decided that day.
Zhai Sheng was a hands-on person. From the three babies’ birth until now, he did not seem to have been of any help although he was the father. He had not done anything. As such, today, Zhai Sheng had something to do. Before the end of Qiao Nan’s classes, he brought the household register of family members to the Public Security Bureau.
When Zhai Sheng came out of the place, the household register of family members had three more striking names: Zhai Yi, Zhai Xin, and Zhai Yu.
Henceforth, the Zhai family of five had become a family of eight.
“Nan Nan, take a look at this.” Just as Qiao Nan sat on the front passenger seat, Zhai Sheng stuffed a small booklet in her lap.
Qiao Nan looked at Zhai Sheng suspiciously and asked Zhai Sheng what he wanted her to see. Zhai Sheng smiled but did not reply. Qiao Nan could only lower her head and pick the item up. “Household register of family members? The names of the three babies have been decided!!”
After knowing that the three children had names now, of course, Qiao Nan’s first reaction was to feel happy.
Very soon, Qiao Nan’s smile turned stiff. Shouldn’t she be informed when the names had been decided? Shouldn’t she also take a look at the names?
Although the names of the three babies should be given by the elders and she would most likely not express any differing views, she was not involved at all in the naming of her three children despite having given birth to them after much difficulty. No matter how Qiao Nan thought about it, she felt a little regretful.
“Don’t be like that. If the three babies find out about today’s matter when they grow up, they will definitely laugh at you. You will be spending more time with the three babies than me. In the future, I will miss out on much more.” Zhai Sheng did not hesitate to expose his scars for the sake of coaxing Qiao Nan.
As a first-time father, Zhai Sheng also very much wished that he could spend more time with his children and witness each moment of them growing up.
Unfortunately, he could not do so.
Upon hearing that Zhai Sheng’s joking tone carried a sense of heaviness and disappointment, Qiao Nan felt guilty. She quickly opened the household register of family members. “Zhai Yi, Zhai Xin, and Zhai Yu? These three names sound so pleasant. Which one came from you?”
Looking at the names of the three babies, Qiao Nan’s eyes lit up. These three names were excellent. She did not have any comments on them.
If she were to be the one naming them, she might not be able to come up with something better.
“Da Bao’s and Er Bao’s names were jointly thought of by the old master, Dad, and me. San Bao’s name was given by Elder Lin.”
“Master came up with the name? Did you decide on this matter or…” Qiao Nan was very shocked. San Bao’s name was given by her master. If the old master and her father-in-law knew about it, would they flare up at Brother Zhai for taking matters into his own hand?
As the mother of the three children, Qiao Nan did not feel angry after learning that her master was the one who named San Bao. Instead, she felt overjoyed.
Her master was already so old. Besides the auntie who took care of him, he did not have anyone else or relatives by his side. Qiao Nan’s heart ached very much for him.
She was someone who did not have an affinity with her parents. Besides her in-laws, only Zhu Chengqi, this godfather, and Elder Lin, this master, treated her best. Although she was not related to them by blood, they were very good to her, and their treatment to her far exceeded that of her biological relatives.
However, Qiao Nan also had a lot of problems.
She was only a student and could not earn money. She did not have the opportunity to be filial to Elder Lin.
She knew that Elder Lin was staying alone. Qiao Nan wanted to bring the three babies to keep Elder Lin company and liven up the atmosphere at the house of the Lin family. However, what was troubling was that she had to study. She did not even have enough time to keep the three children company. How could she have so much time to bring her children to see Elder Lin?
It could be said that Qiao Nan had already tried her best to squeeze out some time. Sometimes, she simply revised her studies at the house of the Lin family.
There was only one Qiao Nan. She could take care of her master, but what about her mother-in-law?
Her mother-in-law was not willing to follow her father-in-law around nowadays because she wanted to take care of her grandchildren.
Her mother-in-law was not afraid of suffering and helped her take care of the children. Qiao Nan could not possibly let her mother-in-law feel disappointed and lonely due to her filial piety for her master.
Qiao Nan had considered many ideas on how to make Lin Yuankang, this master, happier, especially after the three babies were born.
The three babies were not only her children. Hence, she could not decide on many things alone. Zhai Sheng was also not by her side. No matter how many plans Qiao Nan had in mind, she could only put them aside temporarily.
Unexpectedly, Zhai Sheng took the initiative to give the right of naming San Bao to Elder Lin. This had fulfilled one of Qiao Nan’s wishes.
“Will the old master and father-in-law be angry about this?” Now that her wish had been fulfilled, Qiao Nan looked like a smiling kitten that had just stolen a fish.
She really did not have a choice. Elder Lin was very old now and different from the typical elders. He liked to have the little ones surround him. Elder Lin did not have anyone who could keep him company by his side. He was very lonely.
Qiao Nan was not afraid of other things. She was just afraid that Elder Lin would gradually contract some psychological problems due to too much loneliness. Psychological illnesses were more terrible than physical illnesses. One would only have the determination to live on if they had hopes and desires in their hearts. If their will to live was reduced, then…
Qiao Nan greatly cherished the kinship that she finally had after much difficulty. She hoped that Elder Lin could live to a hundred years of age and watched the three babies grow up.
If it was possible, Qiao Nan wanted to support Elder Lin financially when he was older but Elder Lin did not require that. Hence, she did not want Elder Lin to also lose out on experiencing the joy of grandchildren surrounding him.
Elder Lin had never talked about this in front of Qiao Nan or put Qiao Nan in a difficult position. However, Qiao Nan was very sensitive. She could feel it even though Elder Lin did not say anything.
From time to time, she could sense that Elder Lin felt that he was old and past his prime age. She often felt fear and trepidation at the thought of this. She wanted to dismiss the feelings of ‘old wood was rotting’ that were subconsciously revealed by Elder Lin.
