Chapter 558: No Way
Chapter 558: No Way
Tan Ruan had forgotten to remind Zhou Chengsen about the things he needed to avoid after getting the rabies vaccine. She only remembered after leaving and came back to do so.
Tan Ruan approached the three of them and said to Zhou Chengsen, "I forgot to remind you earlier. After getting the rabies vaccine, you need to avoid certain foods. No alcohol, no spicy or greasy foods, no foods that can cause allergic reactions, like various seafood, raw chicken, beef, mutton, taro, leeks, and so on."
Zhou Chengsen, who couldn’t live without seafood, was speechless: "..."
Tan Ruan added, "Remember to come back in two days for the next shot. I’ll be waiting for you."
Zhou Chengsen: "..."
He felt like he was dealing with a primary school teacher!
After giving her final instructions, Tan Ruan said goodbye to Jiang Xia and the others and left.
The incubation period for rabies can be very long, sometimes even decades. Tan Ruan was worried that Zhou Chengsen might take it lightly and not complete all five shots. This disease can only be prevented with the vaccine. He had been bitten while saving her, and she needed to ensure he completed all the shots to feel at ease. Otherwise, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life if anything happened to him.
Zhao Chenglei said, "When it’s time for the next shot, I can drive you. You can save some time by coming in a car."
"We’ll see!" Zhou Chengsen had no intention of coming back.
He had traveled a long distance just for one vaccine shot. He didn’t have that much free time, and the round trip would waste half a day. Besides, the doctor here wasn’t very skilled, and the shots were extremely painful!
His buttocks were still sore!
The three of them left the hospital and got into the car.
In the car, Zhao Chenglei said to Zhou Chengsen, "Dr. Ruan is Dr. Gao’s niece. We should invite her for dinner sometime."
Zhou Chengsen took out the documents for the afternoon meeting from his briefcase and replied casually, "Sure."
Zhao Chenglei added, "She’s the niece of Dr. Gao’s spouse. Zhijie Ruan is her cousin. Why did she call you ‘uncle’? That makes you the same generation as Dr. Gao."
"How should I know? Ask her yourself."
Zhao Chenglei: "..."
Zhou Chengsen had no interest in talking about Tan Ruan!
His buttocks were still tingling.
If it had been a stranger giving him the shot, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But being given a shot by someone he knew a little bit was embarrassing!
He had never felt so awkward in his life!
"I’ll check the content for the afternoon meeting."
He opened the documents and stopped talking.
Zhao Chenglei dropped Zhou Chengsen off at his workplace and then drove home.
As they passed the police station, Jiang Xia said, "When are we going to register the children? We also need to finalize the adoption of Zhou Zhou."
Zhao Chenglei replied, "I’ll take care of it this afternoon."
They were going out to sea tomorrow, and there wasn’t much to do in the afternoon, so it was a good time to handle the registration.
By the time they got home, it was already noon, and the three children were crying loudly.
Great-Grandma and Caihua Tian were both helping to hold and soothe them.
As soon as Jiang Xia parked the car, she quickly got out, washed her hands in the courtyard, and went inside.
Caihua Tian sighed with relief when she saw Jiang Xia, "You’re finally back!"
Zhou’s Mother said, "The children must have been looking for you. They didn’t want to sleep all morning, wouldn’t drink their formula, and cried for over an hour."
Usually, the children were easy to take care of. They would play for a while after eating and then fall asleep. But today, they hadn’t slept all morning and wouldn’t drink their bottles, even when being comforted with breastfeeding.
Great-Grandma said, "These children are really smart. They’ve learned to recognize people so quickly."
Jiang Xia went to Caihua Tian and gently held the little sister’s hand, saying softly, "Were you looking for Mommy?"
Holding her hand wasn’t enough; the little sister continued to cry loudly.
"Mommy will go upstairs and change clothes, then I’ll come down and hold you." After walking back and forth to the hospital, Jiang Xia felt it was safer to change her clothes before holding the children.
She quickly went upstairs to her room to change.
Zhou’s Mother followed her upstairs, comforting the children as she walked, "Mommy is coming, baby. Don’t cry."
Zhao Chenglei changed his clothes in the car, washed his hands at the faucet, dried them, and then said to Great-Grandma and Caihua Tian, "Give me the children. I’ll take them upstairs to let Jiang Xia breastfeed them."
They handed the children to him.
Zhao Chenglei held one child in each arm and said, "Daddy and Mommy are back. Daddy will take you upstairs to find Mommy!"
Smelling Zhao Chenglei’s scent or perhaps the lingering scent of Jiang Xia on him, the two boys finally stopped crying.
Great-Grandma laughed, "They really can recognize people now."
Zhao Chenglei said, "Thank you. I'll take them upstairs first."
Great-Grandma laughed again, "Go ahead! They haven't slept all morning and refused to eat. They must be both hungry and tired. Once you calm them down, come over for dinner."
"Okay", Zhao Chenglei replied and went upstairs.
On the second floor, Zhou's Mother handed the little sister to Jiang Xia, who breastfed her until she stopped crying.
Zhao Chenglei came up the stairs.
Seeing that both grandchildren had stopped crying, Zhou's Mother smiled, "I didn't expect them to recognize people so quickly. They kept crying, and I couldn't even cook properly."
"You've worked hard, Mom."
"It's not hard, but their crying really breaks my heart." Zhou's Mother then prepared two bottles of formula.
Now, breast milk wasn't enough to feed all three children.
While breastfeeding, Jiang Xia gently wiped the tears from the baby's eyes, "Are you bullying Grandma because Mom and Dad aren't home? That's not right. How can Grandma take care of you all by herself? You're making it hard for her."
Zhou's Mother finished preparing the formula and took the elder brother from Zhao Chenglei to feed him.
Everyone could tell that the elder brother had the best temperament. He only cried because the younger brother and sister were crying.
Soon, the two children finished their bottles and fell asleep.
The little sister also fell asleep while nursing in Jiang Xia's arms.
After burping the children, Zhou's Mother carried the elder brother downstairs first.
Jiang Xia, looking at her daughter who still had tears in her eyes, said, "They recognize people so quickly. What will we do when I go to the capital city?"
Zhao Chenglei replied, "I'll still be here. The children will be with me, so don't worry. Just focus on your studies."
Jiang Xia said, "But you have the fish farm to run. You can't stay home with the children all the time."
Zhao Chenglei said, "The children will get used to it after a few days of crying. We can't stop working and living just because they cry."
"Mom will have a hard time taking care of all these children by herself. We should hire someone to help. We can't keep troubling Great-Grandma and your sister-in-law."
Zhao Chenglei agreed, "Okay."
They would need to find the right people to help.
After lunch, Zhao Chenglei gathered all the necessary documents to register the children and complete the adoption process.
Registering the children was easy since all the relevant birth certificates were in order.
However, the adoption process hit a snag because Zhou Zhou's mother was still alive, which didn't meet the adoption criteria.
Zhao Chenglei, who hadn't been familiar with the process, had to return to the production team to get a certificate stating that Zhou Zhou's mother had remarried and given up custody.
He also needed to get her to sign a document stating that she was unable to care for the child and was giving up custody.
Jiang Xia handed Zhao Chenglei a cup of water, a bit worried, "Will she sign it?"
"Yes", Zhao Chenglei said, taking a big sip.
It had been a hot afternoon, and he was quite sweaty.
Jiang Xia asked, "When will you go talk to her?"
Zhao Chenglei said, "I won't go directly. I'll ask someone to pass a message or arrange to meet her when she visits her parents."
Jiang Xia nodded, "That's a good idea."
Since the other side had said they wouldn't have any more contact, it was best not to involve her current family and disrupt her life.
"Should we tell her that we want to register Zhou Zhou under our name so it will be easier for him to go to junior high school in the city?"
"Good idea."
Zhao Chenglei asked Zhou's Mother to send someone to pass the message to Zhou Zhou's grandmother.
"Mom, just tell her that we want to discuss Zhou Zhou's future upbringing. Don't say anything else. Just that one sentence."
Zhou's Mother agreed, "Okay."
Zhao Chenglei then reminded her again.
Zhou's Mother nodded, "Alright, I understand."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
