Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She had made her will, but after hearing about Qiao Nan being pregnant, Shi Qing had the idea of adopting a child instead. If she found someone to handle the matter right away, she would become a mom even earlier than Qiao Nan, and her child would even be older than Zhai Sheng’s.
With that thought, Shi Qing could no longer sit still. “Mom, sit here and watch the television for a while. I’ll go make a call and see if there are any children who fit my requirements up for adoption.” Since she wanted to adopt a child, she would rather adopt one who was younger so that she could experience everything that other mothers experienced, apart from being pregnant for ten months.
Seeing her daughter so fiery and impulsive, Feng Cheng had the urge to stop her daughter but did not say anything in the end. Forget it. She would simply let Qing Qing do whatever she pleased. Qing Qing was right. She was simply afraid that Qing Qing would not have anyone by her side after she passed away. As long Qing Qing was happy, adopting a child was no big deal, after all.
.
Most importantly, after Qing Qing had a child, the Feng family would never dare to say such embarrassing and awful things again. One day, if Qing Qing were to have a reunion with her and Old Shi, there would still be a child to inherit Qing Qing’s assets. The Feng family would never even get a single cent from them.
Shi Qing and Zhai Sheng were known in the capital for being unmarried and single at such an old age. After Zhai Sheng got married and was expecting a child, Shi Qing followed suit and adopted an infant. What followed was also considered to be news in the capital.
Now that the Zhai family’s daughter-in-law had become pregnant, there would be someone to inherit the Zhai family’s assets. Many were betting on whether the child in the Zhai family’s daughter-in-law’s stomach was a girl or a boy. If it was a girl and if the girl were not to be anything like Shi Qing, the legacy of the Zhai family being chiefs would end at three generations. There would be no possibility of there being a fourth chief in the Zhai family. Of course, if it was a boy and the Zhai family was unable to educate the child well, the Zhai family’s reputation might very well be ruined at that generation as well.
In short, not having a child was a problem, but having a child might not be good news to the family either.
There had not even been a result to the bet on the Zhai family’s matter before the news of Shi Qing adopting an unweaned infant spread through the capital. Upon finding out that Shi Qing had adopted a female infant, many people thought that Shi Qing intended to raise a daughter just like her.
Of course, this matter had only become the talk in the circle because of the Feng family. Many had heard about what the Feng family had done to Shi Qing and her mother at that time. These people looked down on the Feng family but did not go out of their way to embarrass them.
Who would have known that the Feng family would kick up such a big fuss following the appearance of this female infant? It was the Shi family’s business that Shi Qing adopted a child. It had nothing to do with the Feng family at all. The most ridiculous thing was that the Feng family acted as though the child would spend the Feng family’s money in the future instead of Shi Qing’s money. As such, they were infuriated and tried to stand in the way of Shi Qing going through with the adoption, even scolding Shi Qing for being a fool and Feng Cheng for allowing her daughter to do such a crazy and foolish thing.
Ha! They were a bunch of shameless fools who had no self-awareness at all. What was going on in the Feng family’s minds?
The way they saw it, it was better for Shi Qing to raise that baby girl well. At the very least, no matter how bad that girl turned out in the future, she would never be as despicable as the Feng family.
After Qiao Nan heard about the matter, she naturally took Shi Qing’s side and supported her. In both her dream and in reality, the Feng family was nothing more than annoyances to her. To tell the truth, the Feng family was not much different from the Qiao family.
“That’s the taste!” After Qiao Nan received the pickles that Qiao Dongliang had sent over, she could not help but salivate after just one taste of it. “Auntie, could you make me some congee? I’m hungry.” Qiao Nan could not be certain whether she was truly hungry or whether her appetite had been whet by the pickles. That did not matter. All she knew was that she wanted to eat right now.
“Alright.” The auntie got down to work without any hesitation. It was a good thing for pregnant women to have big appetites. Now, Qiao Nan was eating for two. It would be terrible if she did not nourish herself enough now that the baby was growing so quickly. The auntie was only worried when Qiao Nan refused to eat. She was not at all worried when Qiao Nan requested something from her.
Zhai Sheng took a quick whiff. It was sour. Terribly sour. Just the smell alone made Zhai Sheng feel nauseous. He dared not even think about how the pickles would taste if he were to take a bite. Zhai Sheng did not like sweet or salty foods. The sight of all those pickles made Zhai Sheng lose his appetite.
Besides, this was what Qiao Nan wanted to eat. Even if he loved eating them, there was no way he would fight with his pregnant wife to have a taste of it.
“Brother Zhai, do you want to have a taste?” Qiao Nan picked up her chopsticks. Her congee had not yet been served, but she picked up a piece of the pickles for herself to taste. That spicy and sour taste pleased Qiao Nan greatly. Because she loved eating it, Qiao Nan could not wait to share her joy with Zhai Sheng.
Zhai Sheng had intended to refuse, but seeing that Qiao Nan had taken a bite of it, he quietly took a step forward, took Qiao Nan’s hand in his, and took a bite of the pickle. “It’s alright.” He lied.
Zhai Yaohui, who had walked out and witnessed the scene, warned Zhai Sheng with his gaze. They were both men. Could Zhai Yaohui possibly not understand his son? Thankfully, his son cherished his daughter-in-law greatly. This meant that the couple had a good relationship and that his son was happy in this marriage. As such, Zhai Yaohui was pleased. There was nothing more important than his children’s happiness. “Nan Nan, how’s the taste? Why don’t I get the auntie to learn how to make this? We can’t possibly trouble your dad to make this all the time.”
Qiao Dongliang was a rather contradictory person. He treated Qiao Zijin well in one moment and treated Qiao Nan well in the next. Others might not understand Qiao Dongliang, but Zhai Yaohui felt that he could understand him to a certain extent. There was no doubt that Qiao Dongliang wanted to be a good father to both his daughters.
Besides, the Chinese had a saying that one could hardly be the head of a family unless one allowed his successors to make mistakes.
It was inevitable for people to want to mediate differences even at the expense of one’s principles and morals. What Qiao Dongliang had done wrong was that he had not made his limits clear and he himself was not even clear of them.
It was exactly because of Qiao Dongliang’s confusion that he had never become a ‘good’ father in his daughters’ eyes, even though he had tried his best to do so. The contradiction was indeed confusing.
“Alright, I’ll let auntie try it later.” After tasting Qiao Dongliang’s authentic product and then being forced to eat the auntie’s counterfeit product made Qiao Nan feel rather miserable. It would be best if the auntie learned it well.
