Old Master Zhai caressed Da Bao’s head while he gazed at Qiao Nan. To him, Qiao Nan was like a mother hen who laid golden eggs. “It is a pity that the country does not allow us to have more than one child. Nan Nan, you are a good child. The three children are very good indeed.” If Da Bao had a few more siblings, the Zhai family would have a better future.
Of course, they must be children of his grandson and granddaughter-in-law.
Miao Jing was proud and at the same time troubled. “Old master, you must not say this to your friends. If they hear this, they will gang up to bully you.”
Zhai Sheng had a late marriage. Back then, Old Master Zhai’s former comrades would tease and laugh at him for not becoming a great-grandfather and not having any great-grandchildren despite his age. Unlike him, they had a great-granddaughter or great-grandson, and the four generations were living under the same roof.
They did not count on having five generations under the same roof. But having four generations was doable.
It was a pity that they had four generations under the same roof, whereas Old Master Zhai did not have any great-grandchild. Their grandchild had already grown up to be sensible children, while Old Master Zhai had no one with him. They could not help but hold their head high and brag to Old Master Zhai, making him turn green in anger.
But they were long-time friends and they knew each other well. They would not bear grudges but would laugh it off.
However, everything changed after Qiao Nan gave birth to triplets.
The Zhai family welcomed their fourth generation, and most importantly, they had three babies in one go. Old Master Zhai had far more great-grandchildren than his former comrades.
All of them were soldiers and they were loyal to the country and the organization. Since the country implemented a national planning policy, they would not go against it either.
In that case, those who had a great-grandson would not have a great-granddaughter, and those who had a great-granddaughter would want a great-grandson.
Old Master Zhai was the only one who was smiling from ear to ear. He had a great-granddaughter and two great-grandsons. Other families only had one baby, while his family had three babies, and two of them were boys and one of them was a girl.
It was a rare blessing.
Therefore, how could Old Master Zhai complain that the country forbade them from having more children and they did not have enough children at home when they already had three babies? The other families only had one child. They must be full of complaints.
Old Master Zhai stopped himself from laughing at his daughter-in-law’s words. He stroked his beard. “The triplets are so well-behaved. The more the merrier.” His grandson was brought up by him, and the former did not let him down. He had good judgment. Like her mother, Qiu Chenxi was not a good girl.
Qiu Chenxi was still single despite her age. Old Master Zhai could not help but express his displeasure toward her. “Luckily, Zhai Sheng has the same judgment as me. If he had a poor judgment like his dad, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like at our house now. It’s good that I have kept a tight watch on him.”
One could tell that Old Master Zhai disliked Qi Minlan and her daughter, Qiu Chenxi. In fact, he was displeased with his own son, Zhai Yaohui, as well. If Old Master Zhai had not insisted on having Miao Jing as his daughter-in-law, and Zhai Yaohui had made his own decision, Qi Minlan might have ended up as the daughter-in-law of the Zhai family.
If his daughter-in-law was a different person, Zhai Hua and Zhai Sheng, who were good and upright, might not become the children of the Zhai family.
If Qiu Chenxi was born into the Zhai family, Old Master Zhai would rather not have Zhai Yaohui as his son. He had caused the family to be in a mess. There was no way that Zhai Yaohui could answer to Old Master Zhai and the veterans who contributed to nation-building.
Zhai Yaohui was in a meeting. He could not help but sneeze at the mention of his name, attracting the attention of other people around him.
Zhu Chengqi looked at Zhai Yaohui with slight contempt. “Has Chief Zhai been in poor health recently? The weather is good, yet you caught a cold. The children are still young and have a weak immune system. When you return home, make sure to keep a distance from them.”
Zhu Chengqi finally became a grandpa. He adored the bubbly and cheerful grandchildren. Unlike Zhai Yaohui, who was reserved, Zhu Chengqi showed his affection for the triplets openly.
Zhu Chengqi received the treatment that Qiao Dongliang was denied. When the triplets saw Zhu Chengqi, they would address him as their grandpa and clung onto him like little monkeys, refusing to let go.
Zhai Yaohui was unable to be this close and affectionate to them.
Seeing that Zhai Yaohui seemed to have caught a cold, Zhu Chengqi was not worried that Zhai Yaohui was sick and the enemy would stand to gain. Instead, he was worried that Zhai Yaohui would bring the virus back home. He hoped that Zhai Yaohui would be conscious and steer clear of the triplets so that he would not pass the virus to them.
Zhai Yaohui might not worry for his grandchildren, but he could not bear for his maternal grandchildren to fall sick.
Zhai Yaohui felt grumpy. He had a closer relationship with the three children. “Chief Zhu, thank you for your concern. Don’t worry. I did not catch a cold. It’s just that my nose feels itchy. The three children are used to having my company. They will throw tantrums if they did not see me.”
No matter what, they belonged to the Zhai family.
Once he reached home, he could hold the triplets in his arms. Zhu Chengqi might be envious, but he could not do so.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not spend as much time with the triplets as him.
The older one was, the more one behaved like children. Besides, men were childish by nature. Zhu Chengqi’s and Zhai Yaohui’s mental age might not add up to more than ten years old. Everyone present was at a loss for words.
Peng Yu’s father, Peng Chunhua, felt deeply about this.
Among everyone present, he was the only one who did not have any grandchildren. Peng Yu was single. The rest of the people had at least one grandchild while the Zhai family had three grandchildren.
The equation in the office was as follows: the Zhai family, followed by the Zhu family, the other families, and lastly, the Peng family.
Thinking of the equation made Peng Chunhua see red.
