“Madam, the crucian carp soup is ready. I have added a lot of ingredients. It is very tasty.” The auntie carried the bowl of soup as she walked smilingly into the room.
The crucian carp soup was most effective in increasing breast milk.
There was an addition of three members to their family. The auntie had taken a close look at the three of them. From her experience, the two boys would grow up to be as handsome as Zhai Sheng, while the only girl would be as pretty as Nan Nan.
The auntie was all smiles at the thought of how outstanding the three babies would grow up to be.
“Nan Nan, have the soup while it is hot.” Miao Jing’s eyes lit up and she took the bowl of soup from the auntie. She blew on it to cool it down and wanted to feed Qiao Nan.
Qiao Nan stiffened. “Mom, there is no need to feed me. I can drink it by myself.” She merely gave birth to three babies. Her hands were still working, and she could feed herself.
“Will it be too tiring on you?” Miao Jing was concerned.
“…”
“…”
The two young people, Qiao Nan and Zhai Hua, were at a loss for words. How tiring would it be to have a bowl of soup? It would not drain one of its energy.
Zhai Hua placed her nephew next to her niece. “Mom, take things easy. Nan Nan is in good health. Apart from draining her energy when she gave birth to three babies, she is in good condition. Your behavior will frighten others. If Zhai Sheng comes back and sees this, he will think that something has happened to Nan Nan.” Her behavior would scare her family.
“Mom, Sister Zhai Hua is right. I am doing well. There is no need to feed me.” Apart from recovering after having three babies and she could not be exposed to wind, she was doing well and feeling good. Her condition was similar to how she was before she had the babies.
The only discomfort would be that after not having her menses for nine months, her body would discharge lochia after childbirth. It felt similar to having her menses.
However, her menses would end in less than a week.
But she had no idea when her body would stop discharging lochia.
Although the weather in September was not very warm, it was not cooling either. She could not take showers for an entire month despite discharging lochia. It felt as if she had menses but she could not take showers. The bloody smell made her particularly uncomfortable.
“Nan Nan, one has to refrain from taking showers during confinement. You must bear with it.” Miao Jing could tell right away what Qiao Nan was thinking about. After all, she had given birth to two children. “The doctor said…”
“Mom, no! I can’t stand it if I have to go through two months of confinement!” Qiao Nan’s countenance changed. “Didn’t you apply for two months of leave for me? I will be done with the confinement at the end of October and I will be able to go back to school.” Qiao Nan was in a hurry to catch up with her studies and her classes that she had missed in the first half of the semester.
“You are indeed a studious student.” Zhai Hua looked at Qiao Nan with a baffled look on her face. She was definitely not as hardworking as Qiao Nan. “Dongzi has taken down the lecture notes as well as the professor’s teaching materials for September. He will continue to do so in October. If you are able to get back on tracks straight after childbirth, do you intend to catch up with the lessons that you have missed and sit for the final term exams as per normal? I feel that you can take a leave of absence for a year. By September next year, you can continue with your second-year syllabus. It will not affect your studies. You should not overwork yourself.”
She did not understand Qiao Nan at all. She could have taken the easy way out. Why did she insist on making things difficult for herself?
And the most important thing was that the three babies were still very small.
They were only one month old. If Qiao Nan went back to school, there would be no one to take care of them.
Could it be that to Qiao Nan, her studies were more important than her three babies?
If Qiao Nan took a leave of absence from the school for one year, she would have an easier time and she could make use of the one year to take care of her children. Wasn’t this the best of both worlds?
Qiao Nan shook her head, refusing her suggestion. “The babies are still small. They know nothing but to eat, sleep, and cry. These are what they will be doing right now. The babies will only start to recognize faces when they are seven or eight months old. I would rather have a harder time now and work hard in my studies while they still could not recognize faces. When they are about two or three years old and need their mother, I will be able to be there for them.”
As a military wife, it was expected that her husband would seldom be by her side.
Similarly, as the children of the soldiers, their father would not play an active role in their lives either.
Their father would be missing in a large part of their lives. They would be further devastated if their mother had to spend her days in school and could not be with them.
She finally had her own children. She treasured her children more than anyone else.
It was true that she had to make time for her children. But Qiao Nan had given it a serious thought. She knew which part of their growing up years was most crucial and it was then that they needed her around to guide and teach them.
Zhai Hua had no way to rebut Qiao Nan.
Zhai Hua laughed at herself after a long while. “You are indeed a mother. As their auntie, I have not given it a serious thought. I don’t know whether I will be able to understand all these when I become a mother.”
Nan Nan was right. For babies who were less than six months old, apart from sleeping and eating, they would do nothing else. They would be fine as long as they were well-fed and cleaned. The babies would not ask for their mother.
“Sister Zhai Hua?” Qiao Nan felt worried as Zhai Hua agreed with her without any argument. “Are you angry?” Nevertheless, she would stand by her decision.
She cherished her children and she did not feel that her studies would be more important than her children’s health.
“Of course not.” Zhai Hua smiled. “I am not that petty. As long as you make sense, why would I be angry? You are their mother. You are right to make that decision. Nan Nan, it seems that you intend to graduate in less than four years?” This would be very difficult for her!
“Yes.” Qiao Nan admitted honestly. “I have this plan in mind. When I began my college studies, I did not expect that I would become a mother within such a short time and that I would be a mother of three. I was willing to take my studies one step at a time and enjoy my four years of school life. I was thinking of taking things slowly and trying to the best of my ability. Now that I have three babies, nothing is more important than the triplets. I will not give up my studies, but I am willing to make some sacrifices for them.”
Qiao Nan was not muddleheaded. She would not give up her dreams in the two lifetimes for the babies.
She used to think that she would study hard and attain the best results that she could.
However, there was no need for her to do that now.
As long as her results were good enough for her to graduate from college, she would just do whatever that was within her means.
Gao Yan was a good example. Since he could graduate in less than four years, Qiao Nan felt that it would not be too difficult for her.
Qiao Nan had given it a serious thought.
