Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 247: 237 or my own child is more important

When Dashuan’s wife heard this, she was shocked and immediately objected, "How could that be, those are for your baby. If you use them now, what will you feed your child if you have no milk when the baby is born?"

"Isn’t there two bags? Keeping one should probably be enough," said Shen Yunfang, who had already thought this through. Although she had pity for others, she could not neglect her own child for the sake of someone else’s. Yunfang felt confident about her own health and was certain she would have milk after giving birth. The prepared milk powder was just for emergencies.

Yunfang’s lack of experience showed; whether a new mother would have milk or not was not determined by her weight or health. Some skinny people would have an abundant supply, while others, who seemed healthy, might end up with none at all, which would be really odd.

"No, no, we can’t be sure what will happen then. It’s best to keep these," said Dashuan’s wife, treating Yunfang like her own sister. She was no less concerned about the child in Yunfang’s womb.

"What should we do then?" Shen Yunfang saw how adamant she was and did not insist anymore, "Or, sister-in-law, you could go back to the canteen and see if there’s any millet porridge left. If there is, bring back a bowl; the child might be able to eat it."

"Ah, that’s a good idea, that works. Why didn’t I think of that? Wait here, I’ll go right now." With that, she didn’t even eat her meal and grabbed an empty bowl, rushing out the door.

A strange silence fell over the ward once more.

Shen Yunfang didn’t know what the little girl was thinking, afraid she was nervous around her and always sneaking glances, so when there was no one else in the room, she refrained from looking at the girl—to act as if she didn’t exist—and hoped this would make her more comfortable.

This time, Dashuan’s wife returned even faster, holding a full bowl of millet porridge.

"When I went out, I saw the doctor and asked if this child could have millet porridge. The doctor said yes, but not to feed her too much at once." She placed the millet porridge down and took a spoon out of the cupboard. "Why haven’t you eaten yet? Don’t wait for me. I’ll feed the child first and then eat later."

She approached the girl’s bed with the bowl of porridge. The girl shrank back a little at her approach but didn’t cry.

"Little miss, you’re Chunya, right? I heard your mom call you that. She went home to get something for you and will be back soon, don’t be afraid. Look, aunty brought you some millet porridge. How about I feed you?" Dashuan’s wife went on and on, not minding whether the three-year-old could understand or not, as she wanted to comfort the girl and lower her defenses.

Indeed, the children from poor families mature early. The little girl quietly pulled down the quilt from her face, revealing her small nose and eyes.

Dashuan’s wife didn’t expect it to go so smoothly at first, so she quickly scooped up a spoonful of millet porridge, blew on it symbolically, and stretched it out in front of the girl.

The girl glanced at Dashuan’s wife, then fixed her eyes on the spoon.

Seeing there was a chance, Dashuan’s wife tentatively brought the spoon to the child’s mouth, "Chunya, open your mouth, it’s time to eat."

After several seconds, the girl cautiously opened her mouth and swallowed the spoonful of millet porridge.

As long as she didn’t resist, eating the first spoonful meant the rest should be easy.

Dashuan’s wife was just talking while feeding the child porridge.

Shen Yunfang ate her meal and watched, and after seeing Dashuan’s wife feed the child more than a dozen spoonfuls, she quickly said, "Sister-in-law, that’s probably enough, maybe feed her the rest later."

Looking at the porridge basin in her hand, Dashuan’s wife felt as if not much had gone down, "Too little, perhaps? Shall I feed her a bit more?"

"It’s enough. She’s just a little thing, and she’s used to being hungry, so her stomach is even smaller. She hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, so this porridge is just enough to settle her stomach. Given her condition, she needs to eat little but often. Wait an hour, then warm up the porridge with some hot water and feed her some more," said Shen Yunfang.

Upon hearing this reasoning, Dashuan’s wife put the spoon she had picked up back down.

The child, seeing there was no more food, neither cried nor made a fuss, but silently pulled up the blanket over herself a bit more, revealing a pair of small eyes, surveying the other two people in the room.

Carrying the porridge basin, Dashuan’s wife came over and sighed just after sitting down, "You see this child, how sensible she is, you can tell she’s suffered. Ah, such a small child, how can her parents bear it."

Thinking about the possibility that the child might have already been abandoned by her parents, Shen Yunfang’s heart also ached. She was over eight months pregnant and talked to the baby in her belly every day; motherly love was already brimming to the point of spilling over. Thus, even though she appeared composed on the surface, internally she couldn’t understand how anyone could abandon their own flesh and blood for the sake of a small amount of medical fees. Were a few years of raising their child not worth more than a little money?

The two of them were wary of the child understanding, so they softly criticized the irresponsible parents in veiled language, and then quickly finished their now cold lunch.

In the afternoon, the doctor from the morning made another visit to check on the child. The child was now better, but the issue of malnutrition wasn’t something that could be healed immediately; it required long-term care.

The doctor knew that Shen Yunfang and Dashuan’s wife had given the child some porridge to eat, so he was very kind to them both. He even took Dashuan’s wife aside to speak for a moment.

The gist of it was that the hospital’s plan for the little girl had come through. If her parents didn’t show up in the next few days, confirming that she had been abandoned, then after a few days in the hospital, she would be sent to an orphanage; the hospital couldn’t let the little girl live there indefinitely.

Another matter was that the hospital was short on staff and simply couldn’t spare anyone to take care of the child exclusively. Therefore, they hoped Dashuan’s wife could help take care of the girl, of course, the hospital would provide the child’s food, so they wouldn’t need to pay for it.

Dashuan’s wife was somewhat troubled. She came to take care of Yunfang and didn’t know how many days Yunfang would stay in the hospital. If Yunfang recovered and was discharged in a few days, she would have to leave as well and couldn’t stay to look after the child.

The doctor expressed understanding, just asking her to help out while she was in the hospital. If they left, the hospital would find another solution.

Dashuan’s wife felt sorry for the little girl from the bottom of her heart, and now that the doctor had put it that way, she didn’t decline and took on the task.

She went back and told Shen Yunfang about it, and Yunfang didn’t say much. They were in the same ward after all; they couldn’t just eat themselves and watch the little girl go hungry. So even without the doctor’s words, they would have taken care of the little girl; at the very least, they could give her a bowl of thin porridge. At the very least, they would do this for the duration of their hospital stay.

After three days of caring for her, the little girl had dropped her guard considerably and was now able to smile at them and even softly call Dashuan’s wife "auntie."