1994: Starting with unpaid leave

Chapter 144 Childbirth is never without suffering.

The eldest sister, Zhou Xiulan, noticed the disappointment in her younger sister's eyes. She reached out and gently brushed a few strands of hair that fell across Xiuyun's forehead, saying softly, "Mom is preparing the New Year's Eve dinner at home. She'll come when she's done. As for Xiuqing—if she comes, you'll be distracted. It's better if she doesn't come—"

As the eldest sister, she was naturally well aware of the conflict between her two younger sisters.

But there's no way to persuade someone about this.

All we can do is appease them.

However, despite saying that, he couldn't help but feel some dissatisfaction with his second sister, Zhou Xiuqing.

She borrowed money from me last month to help her brother-in-law invest in stocks, and now she needs to borrow again this month.

In her opinion, her second sister and her husband were really too unreliable.

"Yes, Xiuyun, Mom wanted to come too, but the whole family is too busy, but we should be able to come see you tomorrow—"

Dong Shaoying echoed her sentiments, fearing that Xiuyun might feel uncomfortable at this moment.

As a woman who had also given birth, she felt she understood Xiuyun's mindset quite well.

"It's alright—with Jian Guo here, I'm not afraid—"

As Xiuyun spoke, a look of pain flashed across her face again.

That's how contractions are; you feel pain every few minutes.

Xiuyun had a delicate face, and the way she gritted her teeth and endured the pain made Dong Jianguo's heart clench.

In her past life, when Xiuyun was giving birth in the hospital, he was still playing mahjong at Zhao Ruidong's house.

I didn't find out I had become a father until my mother came to my door on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Now that I've personally accompanied my wife through it, I realize just how painful childbirth is.

Seeing his wife lying sickly in bed, he was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, and his face showed a bitter expression.

Dong Shaoying found it amusing to see her younger brother looking distressed yet unsure of what to do.

The siblings had been fighting since they were little, and she never thought that Tung Chee-hwa was a man who would cherish women.

This guy has relied on his good looks since he was a child. Although he has never had a serious relationship, there have always been girls around him chattering away.

Things offered to him were worthless. Although Jianguo treated them coldly, it also fostered his inconsiderate personality.

Even when Dong Jianguo and Xiuyun got married, Dong Shaoying secretly felt regret:

What a waste of such a wonderful girl as Xiuyun.

Now my younger brother is successful in his career and knows how to cherish his wife.

In a daze, the little guy who used to always be at odds with me suddenly seems to have grown up.

Seeing Dong Jianguo looking distressed and helpless, his second sister-in-law Zheng Rui couldn't help but advise him, "Jianguo, why don't you go for a walk? You can't help here, and it's painful to watch. When I gave birth to Yangyang, I was in labor for over ten hours before I even got into the delivery room—"

Dong Jianguo shook his head and squeezed Xiuyun's hand: "I'll stay here. I can manage on my own. Why don't you all go back first? — Don't all stay in the hospital during the New Year."

Seeing his insistence, the others didn't say anything more. They chatted with Xiuyun for a few minutes, told her to come back tomorrow, and then left the ward.

After saying goodbye downstairs at the hospital, they each went back to their mothers-in-law's houses.

Let's talk about Zheng Rui, Dong Jianguo's second sister-in-law.

As soon as she entered her mother-in-law's house, before she even had a chance to take off her cotton-padded coat, her sister-in-law Liang Qiuyue greeted her, "Xiao Zheng, you're finally back! Mom and I have been busy in the kitchen all day, come and lend a hand."

Zheng Rui agreed and hurriedly took off her cotton-padded coat.

Upon entering the kitchen, I saw my mother-in-law, Zhang Guifen, cooking in front of the gas stove, while my sister-in-law, Liang Qiuyue, was hiding far away, leaning against the balcony door and eating sunflower seeds.

Sunflower seed shells were scattered all over the ground, indicating that a lot of them had just been eaten.

Zheng Rui was a little unhappy.

Logically, when there's a happy occasion in the family, both sisters-in-law should go and visit.

But my sister-in-law insisted on having something to do and refused to go, pushing all the visiting duties onto herself.

Because Jianguo had helped a lot when his family took over the school store, she would have gone even if her sister-in-law hadn't said anything.

But when you compare them like this, you can't help but feel a little angry.

"Hey, how's everything going, sister-in-law?!"

"It's alright, nothing special. I just finished working too—now that you're back, I can finally relax for a bit! Xiao Zheng, could you help Mom serve the dishes and put them on the table later? I'm going to watch some TV!"

"you----"

Zheng Rui knew that her sister-in-law was lying again, and she was furious and wanted to lash out.

Zhang Guifen, who was focused on cooking, suddenly asked, "Xiao Rui, how is Xiuyun?"

"It's alright, the pain is starting, I guess I won't give birth until tomorrow —"

"Oh dear, Xiuyun must have suffered a lot, right?" Zhang Guifen couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache when she thought of her third daughter-in-law's usually gentle and weak appearance.

Liang Qiuyue, the eldest sister-in-law, who had already reached the kitchen door, turned around and saw her mother-in-law's expression. She couldn't help but raise her voice and say sarcastically, "Mom, why didn't I see this expression on your face when I gave birth to Junjun?! You're not being fair!"

Ever since Dong Jianguo refused to help his eldest brother pull strings, Liang Qiuyue has harbored some resentment towards the third brother's family.

In her view, this was clearly a case of being ungrateful and cutting ties with poor relatives once one has money.

Now that her mother-in-law is so attentive to the couple, she feels even more resentful.

"Sister-in-law, Mom didn't mean anything by it. Besides, Mom loves you so much. Look at all these sunflower seed shells on the floor. Only Mom could put up with it. If it were me and Mom, we would have been lenient by not giving me a good beating!"

Zheng Rui rolled her eyes and retorted sarcastically, leaving Liang Qiuyue speechless.

"Alright, Rui, stop talking and help me serve the food."

"Yes, it's here."

"Whoosh—"

A large pot of eggplant and pork chunks was poured into a plate, steaming and glistening with oil under the kitchen's incandescent light.

"Sister-in-law, move aside, don't get burned!"

Zheng Rui called out to Liang Qiuyue, who was still standing at the kitchen door, and then carried the dishes to the dining table in the master bedroom.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw her husband, Dong Weiguo, still wearing his newly bought leather jacket, chatting with his father and older brother.

"Weiguo, hurry up and take off your clothes, aren't you hot!"

Hearing his wife's call, Dong Weiguo casually flicked his cigarette ash and chuckled, "It's not hot, I'll wear it for a while longer."

Since becoming the owner of the convenience store, interacting with children every day has made Dong Weiguo much more cheerful.

Even her face, which used to be sullen and often gloomy, is now cheerful every day.

In Dong Jianguo's words, it's because children have a lot of yang energy, which has changed the second brother's facial features.

However, as soon as get out of class ended, a group of teenagers would surround him calling him "boss." It's probably rare for someone to remain true to themselves amidst all those calls of "boss."

Seeing that he was still insisting, Zheng Rui couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused.

Although I bought this leather jacket for him, how come he wore it like it was rented?

Upon seeing his second daughter-in-law return, Dong Xuewen straightened his back and asked with some concern, "Xiao Zheng, how's things at Jian Guo's house? Has she given birth? Is it a boy or a girl?"