"Okay, youngest child, don’t worry, mom has a lot of good fortune coming her way, she will get better. Stop crying now..."
Zhang Shanni saw her little aunt, who was crying like a child, throwing herself into her arms, and when she saw her bent over her swollen belly, she couldn’t help but feel amused!
Ha, her bulging belly has even become a little table for her?!
"Ah?" Xie Jingzi was still wanting to cry, but suddenly, she felt something gently nudge her chin—
"Pfft, haha, youngest child, it’s your nephew inside protesting to you~" Zhang Shanni saw her little aunt looking dazed, then gently stroked the bulging little bump, speaking with tenderness on her face.
"Sha-, Shanni... child?"
Hearing Zhang Shanni’s hearty laughter, Zhou Xiuhua, who had just had a good rest, opened her eyes thinking it was an illusion, only to be surprised to see her youngest daughter and... the pregnant Zhang Shanni beside her, she exclaimed with surprise.
"Mom, you’re awake? Don’t worry, it’s alright now." Zhang Shanni, upon hearing this weak voice, felt tears welling up immediately.
Even when Zhou Xiuhua was sick before, she had a strong presence; now her voice was raspy and faint, and very weak. If it weren’t for Zhang Shanni’s exceptional hearing, she might not have been able to hear her at all.
"Youngest child, quickly pour some water for mom to moisten her throat."
"Mhm, right away..." Xie Jingzi replied with quivering lips, staggering towards the storage cupboard.
"Thir-, Third child..." Zhou Xiuhua’s old hands trembled slightly, and Zhang Shanni immediately stepped forward to firmly grasp her elderly hand, speaking to comfort her:
"Mom, I’ve come back. Don’t worry, Brother Chen has just been assigned to a task, and he left just after the youngest sent a telegram..."
"Ah~" Hearing this, Zhou Xiuhua nodded in relief, and then seeing Zhang Shanni’s protruding belly, she suddenly felt that she couldn’t collapse yet!
She hadn’t seen the birth of San’er’s child yet, and her clever youngest daughter hadn’t yet married a satisfactory husband, and what about Wu’er, how would his offspring live on... And it pained her to think of Xiao Si and Xiaoqi, such young children with a mother like that...
Having a mother with such a bad reputation was worse than being a child without a mother... If she didn’t live long, what would happen to her grandson?
Perhaps it was this thought that finally sparked some vitality through Zhou Xiuhua’s entire body! Her cloudy old eyes suddenly emitted a revitalized spirit.
Seeing this, Zhang Shanni reached out to hold the old lady’s wrinkled hand, seemingly imparting strength, "Mom, don’t worry, take good care of your health, you getting better is truly our descendants’ blessing."
"Good, good!" Zhou Xiuhua nodded with tears in her eyes. She wanted to say more, but found that her body was too frail, and even speaking felt incredibly difficult.
"Mom, don’t rush, we’ll take it slowly, I’m still waiting for you to help me with the child!" Zhang Shanni said, while gently massaging the clearly stiff fingers of the elderly lady.
Zhou Xiuhua felt encouraged upon hearing this, her eyes brightening as she nodded happily, uttering "Mmm" vaguely, then slowly sipping the warm water served up by Xie Jingzi.
For a moment, the hospital room was filled with joyful laughter...
Despite Xie Jingzi and Zhang Shanni appearing to chat a lot with Zhou Xiuhua, the actual time from when Zhang Shanni entered the room until the three started talking was less than twenty minutes.
Therefore, the other Xie family members who entered just after hearing Zhang Shanni’s voice all exclaimed in surprised whispers, "Youngest brother’s wife?" "Third sister-in-law?" "Third son’s wife?"
Three different male voices rang out at the same time, all filled with disbelief—how could Zhang Shanni be in the hospital room at this time of day? Where is Xie Jingchen [Third son]?
However, it was quite clear that Zhang Shanni was the only one in the room, indicating that she had come here alone.
Upon hearing the exclamations of surprise, Zhang Shanni finally straightened up, supporting her waist, and called out to the three men at the door one by one: "Dad, Brother Jiefang, Wu’er, come on in, Mom just woke up."
As Zhang Shanni called out to them, her peripheral vision caught sight of Xie Jingyang, whose spirit seemed somewhat lacking, and she felt a helpless frustration, especially when she saw him holding the little Xiaoqi in his arms, obviously still asleep like Xiao Si, and dozing off while being carried.
The talking of the adults didn’t even wake them, which showed they must be very tired.
It’s always the children who suffer the most when their parents divorce... Zhang Shanni looked at the two sleeping children, her heart softened beyond measure.
What fault do the children bear? Why should they have to shoulder the mistakes made by adults? Zhang Shanni felt a surge of mixed emotions.
In her heart, she looked down on Wang Xiaocui that woman even more, but Xie Jingyang, that man, was no better.
She believed that it takes two to clap; regardless of the mistakes his wife made, a man who could only resort to silent treatment wasn’t any more mature in mindset.
Meanwhile, the Xie men and Fan Jiefang instinctively looked up at the clock hanging on the hospital wall—It was not even six o’clock in the morning! My goodness, what time did Third son’s wife [Zhang Shanni] start coming over? How could a woman, heavily pregnant, come to the provincial city hospital alone?
The three men, having regained their senses, looked at Zhang Shanni disapprovingly.
However, Zhou Xiuhua, due to her poor energy, didn’t even think about this critical issue.
Xie Jingzi did think of it, but she was so excited and thrilled at her little aunt’s arrival that she forgot about the risks of her little aunt travelling by train while heavily pregnant.
She was just taken up with joy.
Zhou Xiuhua was truly happy to see Zhang Shanni, especially after Zhang Shanni rested for a while and her little face showed a healthy flush, which made the old lady laugh heartily. Although she didn’t have much energy and even her laughter was soft, she happily touched Zhang Shanni’s protruding belly from time to time, truly letting go of her worries.
As long as her mood was lightened, whether it was from taking medicine or the Spirit Core Water that Zhang Shanni specifically added for the old lady, the effect was maximized. The old lady’s complexion clearly looked better as time passed.
Also happy were Xiao Si and Xiaoqi, who woke up amidst the adults’ laughter, still groggy.
When they saw Zhang Shanni’s tender face, they both cried and rushed to throw themselves into Zhang Shanni’s arms. If it wasn’t for Xie Jingzi’s sharp eyes, who saw and was terrified, she might have shouted: "Carefully, don’t rush, Second Aunt has a baby in her belly!"
"It’s okay, it’s okay, your little aunt is just worried about me. Xiaoqi, Xiao Si, come here, let Second Aunt pamper you a bit, Second Aunt missed you guys so much~~"