Chapter 8: Let’s Just Slack Off for Five Years

Ugh!

Ugh, ugh…

He Ziqing, who was still making soup in the kitchen, immediately guessed what had happened when she heard the sound of dry heaving. The little one must have soiled himself, though she didn’t know which one it was.

Sister Yinuo was definitely the most disgusted mother when it came to her own children. She dreaded changing their diapers, especially when they were soiled with feces.

She had even dry-heaved while changing diapers, and the worst time, she couldn’t even eat because of it. Her milk supply had decreased drastically, leaving the two little ones to drink formula instead.

Just the thought of how expensive formula was, and how it required milk powder tickets, made He Ziqing take the initiative to change the diapers herself.

She hurried back to the room, where Qiu Yinuo was already at the final step of changing the diaper.

Seeing He Ziqing enter, Qiu Yinuo immediately covered her nose and said, “Quick, take the diaper out. I can’t stand this smell. I need to catch my breath.” She collapsed onto the bed, her face pale, devoid of color.

He Ziqing smiled helplessly and took the basin outside.

At this point, Shao Xingchen was also feeling a bit dizzy from the smell. He faintly heard his mother murmuring, “It would be so nice if you two didn’t have to do this. When will this life of dealing with poop and pee end?”

There was a bit of maternal love, but not much.

Shao Xingchen silently made a mental note.

Newborns generally sleep for 20 to 22 hours a day, so it wasn’t long before Shao Xingchen fell asleep again.

Qiu Yinuo also took a nap with the children, but was later woken by the smell of the chicken soup.

Looking at her two sons’ innocent sleeping faces, their thick eyelashes curled up, and their chubby little faces still holding onto the softness of baby fat, with their mouths slightly open, making the faintest breaths—it was so cute, it was almost unbearable.

This must be the mindset of a mother. In the blink of an eye, she no longer found them bothersome. In fact, the more she looked at them, the more adorable they seemed.

She stretched and prepared to get out of bed to move her muscles.

Before she could even act on it, He Ziqing, holding a bowl of chicken soup, had quietly entered the room.

Seeing that she was awake, He Ziqing whispered, “Great! The chicken soup just finished cooking. Sister Yinuo, come try it.”

Though she was a little hungry, Qiu Yinuo wasn’t particularly craving chicken soup.

Mainly, it was because she had been feeding the children, and everything she had eaten recently had been bland and tasteless.

But for the sake of the children, she had to drink it. After all, formula was so precious—it wasn’t just about money, but also about the tickets needed to buy it. Without those tickets, it would be impossible to get it. Although Auntie Cai had given her a bag of it, it wasn’t something she could keep bothering people for.

After all, her daughter-in-law had just had a baby too and probably needed the formula as well.

She sipped the chicken soup, the faint salty flavor entering her mouth, with the residual sweetness of red dates.

This was the best soup she had ever had since coming to this world.

“Did you add salt?”

He Ziqing measured a tiny bit with her fingertip and nodded. “Mm, I added just a little. Aunt Yang next door said you can’t eat food with no salt, or else you’ll feel weak. I don’t know if she’s right, but let’s try this first. If it doesn’t upset the babies, I’ll make sure to add less salt to everything in the future.”

Qiu Yinuo was so moved she nearly cried, quickly nodding. “It’s a deal!”

“Okay, okay!” The longer He Ziqing spent with Qiu Yinuo, the more she realized how childlike she really was.

Seeing that she had finished the soup, He Ziqing asked, “Sister Yinuo, would you like another bowl?”

Qiu Yinuo held up two fingers. “I could go for two more!”

He Ziqing grinned. “Sure! Forget two bowls—even five wouldn’t be a problem. Drinking more soup helps with milk production, so the little ones won’t have to worry about going hungry.”

Thanks to the salt, Qiu Yinuo really did drink five full bowls of soup in one go.

If He Ziqing hadn’t stopped her out of concern she’d get too full, she might’ve gone for a sixth.

“You can’t drink any more. To celebrate you being discharged, I’ll make you something delicious for dinner tonight,” He Ziqing said.

Upon hearing about the delicious food, Qiu Yinuo’s eyes practically sparkled.

In her previous life, she didn’t really care much about food—just getting full was enough. But ever since she came to this world, where resources were scarce, even a simple bowl of noodles felt like a feast.

If Qingqing said there would be meat dishes tonight, then it was definitely something to look forward to.

The thought of it made her mouth water!

“Sister Yinuo, just stay in the room and walk around a bit. Don’t go out and catch the wind,” He Ziqing reminded her before leaving.

Qiu Yinuo walked around the room for a few circles, rubbing her round belly. It felt like she was six or seven months pregnant again, which showed how well the original owner had been living in this house.

She estimated the original owner’s weight must have been at least 130 jin (about 65 kg).

Qiu Yinuo made a silent vow that once she weaned the babies, she would lose weight. She wanted to get back to her previous body weight—no more than 100 jin (50 kg).

It could also be the aftereffects of giving birth, but now, any small amount of exercise made her feel exhausted.

After walking around the room for twenty circles, she started panting.

She rested for a while before crawling back to the bed. Looking at her two sons still peacefully sleeping, she couldn’t help but feel a swell of emotion.

After watching them for a long time and noticing they hadn’t moved, she began to overthink.

Could they have stopped breathing in their sleep?

She cautiously stretched out her slightly chubby finger and gently placed it under the nose of the son closest to her, feeling the faint breath, and she sighed in relief.

She then checked the other one, and there was breathing too.

Thank goodness!

How is it that babies can sleep so quietly without making any sound?

Realizing how overly cautious she was being, Qiu Yinuo couldn’t help but laugh. She wondered if all mothers were as paranoid as she was.

Taking advantage of the fact that the children were still asleep, she put on a thick coat and crossed through the main room to the room where the original owner’s mother-in-law had lived.

The expenses for giving birth had come from the money saved by the original owner after marriage, and most of it had already been spent during her hospital stay, including the month’s payment to Qingqing. There was very little left.

She vaguely remembered that the original owner’s mother-in-law had said she had been saving the original owner’s allowance before they married.

When the original owner was pregnant, her mother-in-law had given her the saved allowance, but the original owner hadn’t accepted it.

The daily expenses were already so high, and with Shao Chengyuan being declared dead, there was no more allowance from the army, meaning their lives would only get harder.

She rummaged through an old trunk and found an iron box, inside which was almost a thousand yuan and a pair of silver longevity locks wrapped in red cloth.

These were likely prepared for the two little ones.

If she lived frugally, this money could last for three to five years, easily.

Once the reforms came and the winds of change blew in, she planned to grab the tail of the times, using her own abilities. She wasn’t aiming to be the richest person in the country, but becoming the wealthiest person in the city would be easy.

In her previous life, she had worked tirelessly, balancing raising her nephew with both academics and a career, leaving her exhausted.

This time, she had set a small goal for herself—slack off for five years. After that, she’d build her wealth quickly, and once she had enough money, she would hire professionals to manage the company. Then, she could live a life of leisure forever.

Just thinking about it made her feel so content.