Pei ChenYe's serious little face began to crack, and his tone was no longer very firm. "I told you it wasn't me."
"It was obviously you. You peed and still won't admit it, shame on you..." said Wanqing with a wrinkle of her nose.
Pei ChenYe seemed to have given up arguing with her. He lifted the quilt and got out of bed, touching his wet butt, at a bit of a loss as to what to do.
On this side, ZhiXia pulled Wanqing over and said in her ear, "Don't say anymore. Brother is a big boy now. He will be shy. Be careful or next time when you make a mistake, brother will laugh at you too."
Wanqing wanted to hurry and cover her mouth with her hands, but her little hands were not clean. She thought for a moment before crawling up.
ZhiXia also got up. Luckily there was Wanqing between her and Pei ChenYe so only her hands got dirty and her clothes were still dry.
She quickly wiped both children's hands and found some clothes to change into, helping them put on cotton-padded jackets and pants before letting them go out and wait first while she tidied herself up before going out to get water for them to wash their hands.
As soon as ZhiXia opened the door, Wanqing went out. ChenYe was hesitant. Just as he was about to leave, he came back, tugging at the corner of ZhiXia's clothes. "Mom, please don't tell anyone else I wet the bed, okay?"
He often heard other women and aunties in the compound talk and laugh loudly about their children wetting the bed.
Although Pei ChenYe was only two years and eight months old, he hadn't wet the bed in a long time. He didn't even remember the last time he did it, he just felt it was very embarrassing.
"Okay, then let's say you accidentally spilled water on it when drinking water this morning." Children have self-esteem too. ZhiXia would certainly not build her own happiness on her son's embarrassment, so she coaxed him. "ChenYe, you're not even three years old yet. It's very normal for little kids to wet the bed. Look, when we were in the army, the brothers in the compound were five or six years old and still wet the bed. So don't feel ashamed. When you grow up you'll be able to control it yourself."
"Mm-hmm, thanks Mom." Pei ChenYe still seemed to be in low spirits.
ZhiXia looked at the wet patch on the bedding and smiled helplessly.
Actually, the excuse she gave could only fool a small child. It definitely wouldn't trick an adult.
Luckily the weather today was good. ZhiXia took the quilt outside and hung it on the clothesline, deliberately keeping the wet side facing inwards.
Pei ChenYe stood watching nearby, looking very satisfied, before standing up with a grin and running off.
Sister Zhang came out from inside and saw ZhiXia carrying the quilt. She hurriedly went over to take it from her. "I just dried this quilt a couple days ago. Old Pei has been concerned about you all coming back."
"I know. Thank you for going to the trouble, Sister Zhang," said ZhiXia, afraid she would overthink things. "I accidentally spilled water on the quilt when drinking water last night. The sunshine today is pretty good so I thought I'd let it dry out."
Sister Zhang had raised children herself, and instantly understood what had happened. She smiled and said, "Next time the quilt gets wet again, just call me to dry it. You can't keep doing it yourself—with a belly that big, it would be bad if you threw out your back."
"I understand, thank you Sister Zhang," ZhiXia smiled and accepted the offer. Her eyes curved into crescents, making it hard not to feel happy just looking at her.
She was in no hurry to go take care of Wanqing and ChenYe, because she saw that Pei JianGuo was already washing their hands for them.
Pei JianGuo was actually very unhappy about it, but couldn't ignore the two children when they both acted spoiled, calling him "Brother".
The two children were the same—after washing hands they needed to change the basin water before they could wash their faces. ZhiXia didn't know where they had picked up that annoying habit. It was a chore looking after them.
After finishing with the two children, which had JianGuo rolling his eyes in irritation, he hurriedly ate breakfast then left for work.
ZhiXia tied bibs on the two children, and accompanied Old Pei to finish breakfast. The two children could both use spoons, so she didn't need to specially feed them.
ZhiXia told Old Pei about needing to go to the hospital. Knowing that someone from the An family would be accompanying her, he said he would take good care of the two children and for her to go at ease.
After breakfast ZhiXia waited. But the person who came was An Zhiren. As soon as he entered, he said, "Big brother is finally back for a trip and is accompanying Eldest Sister to visit her maternal home today, so little sister, I'll have to be the one to take you to the hospital."
The brothers had originally planned to have Zhou Nan come get her, but were also worried it would seem too deliberately arranged which might make ZhiXia uncomfortable.
ZhiXia was about to give birth and would need people waiting on her, so Zhou Nan would have plenty of chances to impress later on. They were in no hurry this moment.
"Then thank you, second brother," ZhiXia said without further comment. After making some simple preparations, and reassuring the two children, she left the house with An Zhiren.
The bicycle's rear seat was padded with a cushion so it wasn't uncomfortable to sit on at all. Second brother had put some real thought into this.
She felt a little sorry for him. He was such a gentle and refined man. If not for being tricked by Wang Caixiang, he likely would have been someone who cherished his wife very much.
ZhiXia had come to this area of Ping'an Road a few times before, but it was her first visit to the hospital.
The hospital had three floors total and a considerable area, clearly a large hospital. Compared to the one in Lingjiang City it was much more prominent.
In any era it's common for people with connections to cut in line.
An ZhiXian had already paved the way so ZhiXia was essentially walking right in through the back door. An Zhiren brought her straight inside.
After an examination and checking the fetus position, currently there were no issues and her health was very good. But because multiple births commonly have premature deliveries, the doctor recommended she come back for a follow up in ten days, and be sure to increase nutrition.
Also, when nearing delivery, if possible it would be best to stay in the hospital awaiting labor in order to maximize the safety of the mother.
An Zhiren stood at ZhiXia's side, his level of attentiveness even greater than her own. If not for the doctor saying there were currently no problems, he probably would have immediately booked a delivery room for her to stay in the hospital so he wouldn't worry.
After the check up, An Zhiren asked her, "You haven't seen where your third brother works yet right? Do you want to go take a look?"
"Sure, it can count as getting familiar with the place."
An ZhiXian worked in internal medicine. He could handle all kinds of big and small colds, wind-chill, sickness and disease. Compared to the others his work was busier, and his clinic was also easier to find, on the first floor.
Through the window you could see he was currently diagnosing inside, mostly writing prescriptions and handing out medicine, some using pulse-reading and a stethoscope to determine the patient's condition.
"Third brother looks really busy. Let's not disturb him, okay?" said ZhiXia.
Just as she finished speaking, she saw An ZhiXian's gaze sweep over in this direction, instantly revealing a look of pleasant surprise as he signaled them to wait a moment.
An Zhiren glanced at the watch on his wrist. "It's not too far from noon yet. Or we can just wait for a bit, since he needs to eat anyway."
ZhiXia naturally had no objections. An Zhiren went and fetched a stool for her to sit on.
"Little sister, you wait here a moment. I'm going to get you some water to drink," said An Zhiren before walking away.
The hospital was filled with the smell of disinfectant, not too unpleasant. ZhiXia sat in the seat by the window. Outside was an evergreen tree, with lush green foliage.
There were footsteps behind her. ZhiXia assumed it was An Zhiren returning, but when she turned around she saw an unfamiliar man.
The man had a gentle temperament. His black pants and cotton overcoat couldn't obscure his tall figure, and his leather shoes, though not new, shone from diligent polishing. He was also an exceptionally outstanding man.
It was just that when he rested his gaze on ZhiXia, there was a somewhat dazed look in his eyes, faintly tinged with sadness.
"Comrade, what's the matter?" Though she felt no dislike, being stared at like that still made ZhiXia slightly uncomfortable.
Seeing as the man did not seem unreasonable, yet his eyes remained fixed unblinkingly as if seeing an old acquaintance, which was rather shocking.
