Chapter 310: Hello, children are good
Chapter 310: Hello, children are good
That afternoon, Sister Zhou came to the Jiang Family.
She dressed simply and neatly, with her hair combed tidily and pinned up at the back of her head.
Round-faced, with a kind smile, just like an elder from one’s own family.
Shen Qingqing had a good first impression of Sister Zhou.
Previously, they had someone helping out at home, but the hours were not fixed, and it wasn’t long-term.
When no one was home, they would cook for the old man, accompany him on walks, and with someone looking after him, others could leave the house without worry.
Now that Sister Zhou is here, Madam Jiang didn’t neglect anything.
There are two little babies at home, and Sister Zhou was busy taking care of them, leaving no time for the elderly.
There is a postpartum woman who needs care, and every few days, someone must go out to buy groceries.
The kids need someone.
The postpartum confinement also requires someone to attend to it.
The old man’s health is not good, so someone has to pay attention to his condition.
If there is not enough help, it would be challenging to manage everything.
The best solution is to maintain the status quo.
When the household is short-staffed, call the previous helper to come temporarily.
The payment is settled per visit.
The only addition to the family was Sister Zhou, responsible for taking care of the two babies; everything else remained the same as before.
Madam Jiang: "You don’t have to do the house chores, just look after Xiao Man and Xiao Xi."
Sister Zhou knew her boundaries.
The Jiang Family arranged it this way for a reason, if she were to do everything and fail to take good care of the twins, it would be her fault.
She assured, "I have experience with childcare and will try my best to take good care of Xiao Man and Xiao Xi."
"Of course, if I do something wrong, please feel free to tell me, don’t hesitate, or it would be enabling my mistakes."
She said the last sentence in a teasing tone.
But her attitude was sincere; it was clear she wasn’t just flattering, intentionally trying to please the Jiang Family.
Not only Shen Qingqing, but Madam Jiang and the others also thought Sister Zhou was good.
Whether she truly was good depended on her future performance.
Taking care of children is no joke, even with help, they couldn’t completely let go.
Since they had children, they had to be responsible for them.
Madam Jiang had been nudging for grandchildren for years, and now that her wish was granted, she couldn’t help but offer more support to the young couple.
For convenience in child care, Shen Qingqing asked Jiang Zhixun to clear out a room upstairs for Sister Zhou to stay.
"Once my maternity leave is over, I’ll return to work, and during the daytime, you and my mother will take care of the kids; I’ll handle them at night."
Sister Zhou thought Shen Qingqing truly had it tough.
Taking care of one child is already hard enough; their family has two, which requires even more time and energy.
She told Shen Qingqing, "I’ll follow Teacher Shen’s arrangements, but what’s most important is your health, if needed, I can take the kids overnight."
Once back at work, Shen Qingqing would have less time with the kids.
Only after work could she hug them and play with them for a while.
If the son and daughter didn’t cry at night, there wouldn’t be much of a problem with her taking them overnight.
But if they cried a lot, she might have to heed Sister Zhou’s advice and let her take the kids overnight.
Jiang Zhixun didn’t spend much time at home, unable to be with the kids himself.
He felt sorry for his wife having to work and take care of the kids.
"Don’t push yourself too hard, as long as you’re well, our kids can enjoy life."
Shen Qingqing retorted, "I’m not stupid, if I can’t hold up, it’ll have to be hard on Sister Zhou."
She’s just an ordinary person, if she handles everything herself, it could wear her out.
Balancing work and family is something Shen Qingqing is still figuring out.
Things would get better after a while.
The house needed thorough cleaning every few days, the adjacent room was clean, requiring no particular tidying, and was ready for move-in.
So, Sister Zhou was settled in that way.
And Jiang Zhixun also returned to duty after his leave.
Now the house was staffed adequately, giving him some peace of mind.
Shen Qingqing ate well and drank well, she didn’t have to hold the kids, and didn’t have to wash diapers either.
Her only task was to breastfeed the children.
With enough nutrition, there was no worry about milk supply, and her mother-in-law solved everything else for her.
Day by day, Shen Qingqing’s mindset became more relaxed, and her condition was great.
That day, Shi Yu called her, teasing Shen Qingqing, "Your status at your in-law’s is enviable."
Shen Qingqing laughed and asked, "Aren’t the Chen Family also treating you well?"
"Yes, they’re all good."
Shi Yu wanted to see Shen Qingqing’s twins, "When you have time, take a picture of them and send it to me in the Northwest, so I can see what they look like, otherwise, I might not recognize them when we meet in the future."
Previously, when Shi Yu brought her kid to Beijing, the Jiang Family had kept two photos.
They were kept in the album.
Shen Qingqing often flipped through it with Madam Jiang, looking not only at their family’s photos, but also those of relatives and friends.
Shen Qingqing found it quite interesting.
"Once they’re a month old, Jiang Zhixun will take leave to bring them over, I can’t handle it alone."
Shi Yu, having been through it, understood how challenging it was to take children out.
"My mischievous little one, taking him out was a headache, and you have two; you’ll have your hands full in the future."
Shen Qingqing: "Stop scaring me."
Shi Yu couldn’t help but laugh, "I’m just giving you a heads-up, taking care of two kids is indeed a headache, but seeing how cute they are, it’s all worth it."
Shen Qingqing nodded silently.
Even though her mother-in-law didn’t let her do anything, she still felt tired when getting up at night to feed the babies.
But seeing how adorable they were, it seemed worth it to be a bit tired.
She couldn’t see the twins, but Shi Yu shared many child-rearing experiences with Shen Qingqing.
Finally, she told Shen Qingqing, "You are the kids’ mom, but first and foremost, you are yourself, make sure to take care of yourself well, so you’ll be fine, and so will the kids."
"How come you sound just like what Jiang Zhixun says?"
Shi Yu laughed, "Your Mr. Jiang seems more aware than my Chen Shaojie."
Chen Shaojie was emotionally intelligent and pleasant to be around.
Jiang Zhixun couldn’t compare to him.
Shen Qingqing said, "That’s because you haven’t seen him being annoying; he’s just as irritating as before."
These words from Shen Qingqing sounded like playful banter to Shi Yu’s ears.
Trying not to laugh, she gave Shen Qingqing advice, "If he’s annoying, deal with him, don’t keep it inside, you still need to breastfeed, what if you get too stressed and lose the milk?"
"Can stress really stop milk supply?"
"Of course, that’s why you’re the most important one, as long as you’re well, the kids won’t suffer."
Shen Qingqing laughed, "Alright, I’ve got it, I’ll make sure to stay chubby."
The words "chubby" made Shi Yu laugh.
She couldn’t quite imagine what Shen Qingqing would look like if she gained weight.
"As long as you’re healthy, being too overweight isn’t good either."
Having discussed the important matters, Shi Yu switched to talking about things in the Northwest.
"Lin Fengmian is nowhere to be found, there’s been no news, and her mother-in-law is clamoring to get her son remarried, not taking proper care of Lin Fengmian’s child. Zhou Xiaomei couldn’t stand it and brought the child home to raise. Now Lin Zhidong is so touched, he almost treats Zhou Xiaomei like a queen, as long as he’s on leave, he doesn’t let Zhou Xiaomei do anything."
Shen Qingqing: "Zhou Xiaomei is so generous, she deserves to be treated that way. Raising a child isn’t just about feeding them, with so much she has sacrificed, Lin Zhidong has to acknowledge and remember it."
Shi Yu agreed, "If someone sees Zhou Xiaomei’s sacrifice as taken for granted, it would definitely sadden her. Luckily, Lin Zhidong understands, or else there wouldn’t be a peaceful day at home."
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