1994: Starting with unpaid leave

Chapter 151 No Breast Milk? Then You Have to Sucker (Two-in-One)

Two days later, on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

"Come on, wife, slow down!"

Dong Jianguo helped Xiuyun back home, with her eldest sister Zhou Xiulan carrying Xiaojuzi and following behind.

Because it was a natural birth, after the hospital checked Xiuyun and confirmed that there were no problems, they only let her stay in the hospital for two days before letting her go home to rest and recover after childbirth.

Although Dong Jianguo was still a little worried, it was better to listen to the advice of professionals in this matter.

So the family of three then returned home from the hospital.

Of course, not everything went smoothly during this period.

Xiuyun didn't know what was wrong at first, but she didn't have any milk after giving birth.

Little Orange was crying loudly from hunger and almost had to rely on milk powder to survive.

It's not that people can't afford it, it's just that there's a general concern that formula isn't as healthy as breast milk.

In the end, it was the eldest sister, Xiulan, who gave Xiuyun a suggestion: to have Dong Jianguo help her eat a couple of bites when no one was around, so the child wouldn't go hungry.

"Thank you, ma'am. I'll have Erzhu take you home!"

"Never mind, it's not far, I'll just take the bus."

"No way! Xiuyun, I'll go downstairs to see my older sister off. You stay here by yourself for a while!"

Xiuyun, carrying the child into the bedroom, nodded. Afraid of waking the sleeping little orange in her arms, she simply waved to her older sister without saying a word.

"Jianguo, women in their postpartum period are most vulnerable to drafts. Let Xiuyun stay home with the baby for now, and don't let her go to the factory."

"And another thing, a woman's temper changes after she becomes a mother. Xiuyun used to be so caring, but that might not be the case now. If you two really disagree on something, Jianguo, you have to be more accommodating to her, you know? You can't let a woman get angry right now, or her milk will dry up."

"Also, don't let Xiuyun eat too much at once. If she gets out of shape, she'll suffer, and you'll suffer too."

On the way downstairs, the eldest sister, Zhou Xiulan, kept giving instructions to her brother-in-law, Dong Jianguo.

Dong Jianguo nodded happily.

These past two days, it's been the eldest sister, Zhou Xiulan, and the second sister-in-law, Zheng Rui, who have been running back and forth to the hospital.

The eldest sister, Zhou Xiulan, is different from the second sister-in-law, Zheng Rui.

I had put in a lot of effort to help my second brother get that small shop, and my second sister-in-law was mainly here to repay that favor.

As for the eldest sister, she genuinely wanted to help.

Moreover, she was mainly worried about her younger sister Xiuyun, fearing that she would be mistreated in the Dong family because she had given birth to a daughter.

"Sister, don't worry, I definitely won't let Xiuyun suffer any injustice!"

"Yeah, I know you definitely won't, but your family—sigh, never mind, I'm leaving now! You should go upstairs quickly, Xiuyun is home alone!"

"Hey, Erzhuzi, drive slower!"

"Alright, don't worry, Brother Jianguo!"

As soon as the red van engine roared to life, Erzhuzi drove out of the Xiju residence with his eldest sister, Zhou Xiulan, in tow.

Only after the car had completely disappeared did Dong Jianguo turn around and go upstairs.

Upon entering the bedroom, I saw Xiuyun lying on the bed, staring intently at the sleeping little orange, her face full of the tenderness of a new mother.

Walking over to his wife, Jianguo gently patted her shoulder and whispered, "Honey, if this child misbehaves in the future, will you spank her?"

"I won't hit her, I love her too much!"

Are you sure?

"Yes, I will persuade them with reason!"

"Really?!"

"Of course it's true! How could I bear to hit such an adorable little one who came out of my belly! And you're not allowed to hit her either!"

Dong Jianguo smiled, not taking it seriously at all.

Whether or not to hit them is not something we can decide now; we'll know when the child starts elementary school and we start tutoring them.

Dong Jianguo also climbed onto the bed, but Xiuyun stopped him with a glare.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Don't go to bed with me, you have germs on you—"

Dong Jianguo: ————

"Honey, I need to talk to you about something. The factory will be back in operation after the New Year, and I'll be busy with factory work. Who are you planning to have help take care of the kids?"

"You gather your troops, I'll go and beg them to come!"

Dong Jianguo definitely doesn't dislike children, and his love for Xiaojuzi is certainly no less than that for his wife.

But liking it is one thing, taking care of children is another.

Newborns have completely different sleep patterns than adults.

They are in a state of "on-demand" and "fragmented" sleep.

Little Orange usually wakes up several times a day, either because she's hungry or needs to pee or poop, averaging once every 2-4 hours.

At this rate of exhaustion, let alone Xiuyun who is still in postpartum confinement, even a healthy and strong young man like Dong Jianguo would find it hard to endure after two or three days.

Furthermore, as the obstetrician has stated, this sleep pattern in newborns typically persists until they are three to four months old before gradually becoming similar to that of adults.

Sleep deprivation is really exhausting.

Xiuyun thought about it and couldn't help but hesitate.

Generally, childcare is something that is entrusted to the elderly in the family.

However, Xiuyun's mother is currently in poor health, and Dong Jianguo's mother, Zhang Guifen, has not visited the child since birth for some unknown reason.

There was simply no one else to choose from.

"How about I try carrying it myself first?"

"That won't do! You need to rest properly right now. If you don't get enough rest, it'll be a big problem if you develop an illness later."

Although he didn't understand this kind of thing very well, Dong Jianguo felt that tradition should still be respected.

"Xiuyun, if you don't have any objections, I'll ask my mom to come instead—"

"Will this work?" Xiuyun's eyes dimmed.

You could tell from how often her family members came to the hospital that she had given birth to a daughter. Although she didn't say anything, her mother-in-law didn't seem very happy.

"What are you afraid of?! I've already told Mom, I'm her son, if she doesn't help, who will?!"

Xiuyun sighed: "Then you should talk to your mother—"

"No rush, we can have it tomorrow. Honey, what would you like to eat? I made too much yam and pork rib soup yesterday, there's still a lot in the fridge, shall I heat it up for you?"

'

Seeing Dong Jianguo's caring attitude, Xiuyun smiled sweetly and didn't make any more requests. She continued to admire Xiaojuzi's stunning beauty.

Three days after birth, the baby's face was no longer puffy and wrinkled; her skin had become incredibly smooth, making you want to kiss her just by looking at her.

The next day, Dong Jianguo, who had stayed up all night again, called Erzhuzi and asked him to drive him to Paotaitun.

When they arrived at his parents' house, Zhang Guifen couldn't help but feel sorry for him when she saw the dark circles under his eyes.

"What's wrong with you? You haven't had a proper night's sleep in days!"

"Your granddaughter is too young; she doesn't know how to care for her parents!"

Dong Jianguo's reply made Zhang Guifen chuckle: "Then who can you blame? It's just like your father! You were like that when you were little, never letting anyone get a good night's sleep!"

Despite the complaints, I genuinely feel sorry for you.

"Wait here, I'll talk to your brother and sister-in-law and come over to help you take care of the kids."

"However, let me make this clear first: I can only help for a few months. After the baby is 100 days old, you'll still have to take care of him yourselves—"

Otherwise, your dad's side will definitely throw a tantrum!

""

Seeing his mother nod in agreement, Dong Jianguo finally felt relieved: "It's settled! Mom, you won't be helping us take care of the kids for nothing. I'll pay you a salary! And if you do a good job, I'll give you a bonus!"

Zhang Guifen glared at Dong Jianguo and kicked him in the backside: "You brat, I'm after the money, aren't I?!"

But things didn't go as smoothly as they had planned.

Although her mother agreed, when it came to her sister-in-law Liang Qiuyue, she was extremely unwilling: "Mom, if you go to Jianguo's place to help, we shouldn't say anything."

"But what will happen to Dad if you leave? Who will remind him to take his medicine? What about Junjun? Who will cook for him? And what about Baoguo? He's been busy at work all day; you can't expect him to come home and cook for the whole family, can you?!"

"Mom, Jianguo and Baoguo are both your sons, but you also have a grandson on the other side of the family! You have to treat them equally!"

"Besides, Jian Guo has made a fortune in business. He can just hire a nanny, that's how it's portrayed on TV, isn't it? Rich people don't make their own mothers do housework!"

-

Upon hearing his sister-in-law's words, Dong Jianguo immediately became displeased.

Although hiring a nanny is a solution, Dong Jianguo is really not at ease leaving such a young child and Xiuyun in the hands of outsiders.

In 95, in economically underdeveloped areas, it was quite risky to invite a stranger to your home.

Cases of nannies running off with family wealth and abducting children occurred all over the country at that time, and Dong Jianguo still remembers them vividly.

Moreover, raising children is entirely a matter of personal choice.

Even in relatively developed times, news reports frequently feature heinous cases of nannies and maternity nurses secretly giving children sleeping pills behind their parents' backs.

Therefore, Dong Jianguo would definitely not dare to take this risk with Xiaojuzi.

Thinking this through, he organized his thoughts and slowly said, "Sister-in-law, you have to be reasonable! How long has Mom been taking care of your family? Junjun was raised by Mom from a young age, wasn't he?!"

"Over all these years, have my second brother, my sister, and I ever said anything to each other? Have we ever criticized anyone?!"

"Junjun is all grown up now, why are you still clinging to Mom? Besides, I didn't plan to borrow for long, just a few months. Do you really have to stop Mom from helping me?"

"Hey, Dong Jianguo, what do you mean? Are you saying your older brother and I have taken advantage of your mother? All these years, her food, drink, and shelter have been provided for free, and the house she lives in has been paid for without charge? How dare you say that?"

Upon hearing the mention of money, Dong Jianguo frowned: "Sister-in-law, if you insist on settling accounts, I'll do the math for you."

"When my older brother received the house, the size was based on the number of people registered in the household, right? The size of the house is also linked to the number of people. Logically speaking, this house should have a share for Mom and Dad!"

"Where is their share now? Whose name is the house registered under?"

Liang Qiuyue was immediately embarrassed and speechless.

Theoretically speaking, Dong Jianguo is not wrong.

Although the work unit has a housing allocation system, the amount of housing one can receive depends entirely on the railway worker's family financial situation.

There is no doubt that the more family members there are, the larger the house they will be allocated.

When Dong Baoguo received this house, his household registration book not only had his parents' names on it, but also Dong Jianguo's household registration was transferred to his name in order to get a few more square meters.

So strictly speaking, at least a small part of the house should belong to Dong Jianguo.

However, in the most recent property registration, the house was registered directly under the names of Dong Baoguo and Liang Qiuyue.

No one else's name was mentioned at all.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Liang Qiuyue was speechless this time.

"Alright, we're all family, stop nitpicking."

"Qiuyue, my brother and Jianguo have agreed that they will take care of the baby themselves after the baby turns 100 days old. Besides, I've been so busy taking care of Junjun that I haven't been able to help Jianguo much. This time, consider it my way of making it up to him as his mother."

"You older brother and sister-in-law shouldn't take it to heart!"

After saying that, Zhang Guifen picked up her bag and left the house with Dong Jianguo, which made Liang Qiuyue roll her eyes behind her.

They got into the bread truck parked downstairs, and no one else came out to deliver anything.

Seeing that there was no one in the hallway or on the balcony, Zhang Guifen couldn't help but sigh: "Your dad, I don't know what's wrong with him lately, he's become obsessed with playing mahjong and doesn't even come home."

"Your older brother will probably hold a grudge against me this time too!"

"The current policy is so much better, only one child per family. Look at me, what's the use of having so many?! They're all just a bunch of debt collectors—"

After Zhang Guifen got into the bread cart, she kept muttering to herself.

"Mom, actually I don't necessarily need your help. Anyway, running the factory is quite tiring. I think I'm making enough money now. I can consider retiring while I'm ahead, closing down the factory, and then making a comeback when Little Orange is a bit older."

Dong Jianguo's words startled Erzhuzi, who was driving, and he almost swerved and crashed into the curb.

"Zhu Zi, just drive and ignore what we're saying."

"Okay, okay, stop it! Who are you trying to talk to?!"

"You've poured so much effort into building that factory, step by step, and you just want to shut it down like that? How can I not trust you?"

Dong Jianguo chuckled. Now that the goal has been achieved, there's no need to say anything more.

With Mom's help, everything will go much more smoothly.

Regardless of the circumstances, Zhang Guifen, the mother, has a wealth of experience in raising children.

She raised all four children and one grandson single-handedly.

Therefore, Dong Jianguo always felt that even if his mother Zhang Guifen didn't become a housewife, she could still become a successful businesswoman by working as a nanny or maternity nurse.

He had a smile on his lips and was thinking of saying something, but his mind went blank and he simply leaned back and fell asleep.

Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, Zhang Guifen did not want to disturb her son's rest any longer, so she sat silently in the car and looked out the window.

Only Erzhuzi would occasionally turn his head to look at Dong Jianguo.

He used to think that being a father was good, because you could do whatever you wanted and take care of the whole family.

But now that Jianguo has just become a father, he's already this exhausted. Erzhuzi feels that his energy definitely can't compare to Jianguo's, so—

Let's postpone things like getting married and having children for now.