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Chapter 384: Chapter 384: What a strange mother-in-law!
Just as Lin Fengying finished cleaning the baby, Tong Yao pushed the door and entered. She looked at her strangely and said, "How come you’re back so soon, have you found any formula? The baby’s cries are wearing out."
Upon finishing her sentence, she noticed a woman following behind Tong Yao. As someone who’s had a child, Lin Fengying was quick to notice the woman’s full chest, indicating she was lactating. At least her grandson wouldn’t go hungry now.
The woman held a bundle of handmade cotton clothes in her arm. Hearing the pitiful cries of the baby, she quickly handed the clothes to Tong Yao and took the baby from her. She sat down, pulled up her dress, and started feeding the baby without any hint of embarrassment.
Having gone without food for a day, Yuanyuan finally got to feed on breast milk, and he stopped crying, swallowing the milk with shut eyes.
Seeing this scene, Tong Yao breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Thank you, Sister Axia. If it wasn’t for you, I really wouldn’t know where to find formula at this late hour." She had never taken care of a baby this small in either of her lives.
Wang Xia had only just moved to the residential compound last month. Her baby was just over five months old and usually had a good appetite, with enough breast milk to feed him. Upon hearing that Tong Yao was struggling with a baby who’d been hungry for a day and had soaked his clothes in pee, she hurriedly brought over some spare clothes her baby didn’t wear.
At the time, she didn’t have the chance to ask for more details. Now, seeing the miserable state of the baby, she asked in confusion, "Whose baby is this, and why didn’t his mom come with him?"
He wasn’t just picked up from the street, was he?
During these times, finding abandoned babies wasn’t unusual, so Wang Xia speculated as such, considering she knew that Tong Yao and Si Chen didn’t have any kids.
In normal circumstances, what kind of mother would leave her one-or-two-month-old baby in someone else’s house?
Just as Lin Fengying was about to reply, Tong Yao spoke first, "This is my brother’s baby. My mother-in-law sneakily brought the baby from Li City while the baby’s parents were distracted. Therefore, nothing was prepared." She didn’t bother to save face for Lin Fengying and bluntly told the truth.
Wang Xia looked surprisingly at Lin Fengying, who blushed in embarrassment. She wanted to explain, but she didn’t know how.
As a mother herself, Wang Xia knew too well how it felt to have someone secretly taking her child away. The next time she looked at Lin Fengying, her gaze was not as friendly. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
"In this freezing weather, the baby has ridden the train for so long and has been hungry all day, his clothes are soaked. What if he falls sick?"
Tong Yao replied, "I have already notified my brother to come and get the baby."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Lin Fengying was suddenly thrown off her poise. She hurriedly said, "Yaoyao, when I left, I left a note for them, saying we would have the baby here for half a month and then return him. Why would you tell them to come?"
She had gone through so much trouble just so that Tong Yao could spend some time with the baby. Wouldn’t it be a wasted effort if the baby is taken back now?
Before Tong Yao could reply, Wang Xia interjected, "Ma’am, what you said is not right. You were already wrong when you took away the baby without anyone’s knowledge, and now you’re not even letting the parents take the baby back. The baby needs breastfeeding, separating him from his mother for half a month could cause her milk to dry up."
If it were her mother-in-law, she would have already started a fight.
"You young people don’t understand, I brought the baby here for a reason." Being lectured by a younger generation hit Lin Fengying’s pride, and she looked a little upset.
Wang Xia replied, "No matter the reason, you can’t let a one-month-old baby be separated from his mother! If my mother-in-law had secretly taken my son, I would have pulled out a knife and fought her. You brought a one-month-old baby this far on a train. What if you had met a child trafficker?"
Look! The baby is so cute and chubby, what if he was kidnapped? It would cost his parents half their lives. This mother-in-law seemed decent, but she doesn’t seem to make much sense.
Lin Fengying, her face flushed with embarrassment, had initially not planned to discuss these matters in front of outsiders. However, considering Tong Yao’s lack of appreciation and her insistence on letting Lijuan take the baby away, she decided to speak the truth.
"I’m bringing the child of my youngest daughter-in-law, all for the sake of my eldest daughter-in-law, right?" Lin Fengying looked at Tong Yao, her voice was soft but her words hit hard. "Yaoyao, don’t be angry, but I’m going to tell you the plain truth. You and Xiaochen have been married for a year or two. Lijuan, who married later than you have given birth, and you haven’t shown any signs at all. I sent you some traditional remedies, but you didn’t take them. I had no choice but to bring your nephew here, hoping you would catch some of his luck. If you’d get pregnant, I wouldn’t have to go to these lengths. "
"..."
Wang Xia was taken aback by Lin Fengying’s words. She was surprised that she’d gone to the trouble of bringing her grandson over for this reason.
My god!
What a peculiar mother-in-law!
Her son is a doctor, yet she doesn’t have faith in medical science and instead believes in these weird superstitions.
Tong Yao snorted, "Mom, it’s not just my responsibility to have a baby. Also, Xiaochen is a doctor, if there were any problems with us, we’d go to the hospital to check. If everything is fine, we’ll have children eventually. What are you doing this for?"
Before Lin Fengying could respond, she continued, "Aren’t Xiaochen and I treating you well? You’re not lacking food or money. Can’t you just live a comfortable retired life at home? Why do you need to meddle in things and make everyone unhappy?"
Lin Fengying was at a loss for words after being criticized by Tong Yao. After a moment’s silence, she replied with tears in her eyes, "Fine, fine, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t be so nosy. I’m guilty just for caring about you folks. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have so many kids."
After saying these words, she wiped her eyes and went straight into the restroom.
Wang Xia hadn’t expected this act of kindness would lead her to hear family gossip from Dr. Si’s house. She thought: Tong Yao seems to have a leisurely life on the surface, but it turns out there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Now that Tong Yao and her mother-in-law had just had a disagreement, Wang Xia didn’t want to say anything else. After the baby was full and asleep, she skillfully changed him into dry clothes and a new diaper. She had Tong Yao bring over an empty bowl and filled it with breast milk.
"If he’s hungry at night, heat this up and feed it to him. I’ll come down and help you feed him in the morning. I produce plenty of milk, so feeding two kids is not a problem."
Tong Yao thanked Wang Xia profusely and walked her to the door. As Lin Fengying was still not out, Wang Xia pulled Tong Yao to the side and whispered, "Your mother-in-law seems to be a schemer. When Dr. Si comes back, she might go and complain. You’d better be careful and don’t let her stir up any trouble between you two."
Even though she hadn’t interacted with Lin Fengying before, based on her actions, Wang Xia was convinced that she wasn’t a good mother-in-law.
Si Chen and Tong Yao usually appear to be very affectionate. It would be a pity if their relationship got spoiled by mother-in-law’s instigation.
