Chapter 153: Drinking Milk

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Drinking Milk

"Sister Zhao, thank you for all your trouble. Have you eaten yet? Please, sit down and eat with us. After we’re done, we’ll call my husband and our second son over to eat."

For lunch, they had just wolfed down a simple meal. They were so focused on watching the babies and Wanwan that they didn’t have much of an appetite. Now, past four in the afternoon, the hunger was really starting to set in.

"No need, my dear. I ate at home while I was cooking," Aunt Zhao said, waving her hand dismissively. "I was just worried you might be too busy to manage here. You all go ahead and eat. I’ll feed Wanwan."

Hearing this, Mother Su didn’t insist. She had Second Sister-in-law Su place Nuannuan, who had fallen asleep after her feeding, into a small bassinet, then called her over to eat.

Second Sister-in-law Su was truly famished. Seeing that the meal containers held both meat and vegetables, she didn’t stand on ceremony and ate with great satisfaction.

Su Wan’s incision was still hurting. After Aunt Zhao had fed her half a small bowl of food, she couldn’t eat anymore.

"Auntie, I feel a little bloated. I can’t eat any more."

"Ah, well, Wanwan, you’ll just have to bear with it. You’ll feel better once you’ve passed gas."

Su Wan resigned herself to staring at the wall, her mind blank. Her two babies were in incubators, so she couldn’t see them yet. Once she passed gas and was able to get up and walk around, she could go see her children.

So, all Su Wan could do was wait patiently.

"Second Sister-in-law, when you called Lu Zhengchuan, did he say what he wants to name the babies?" Su Wan suddenly remembered, hoping he would be the one to choose their names.

Second Sister-in-law Su shook her head. "Wanwan, your husband was overjoyed to hear the news, but he didn’t even have time to say more than a few words before someone called for him on his end. He seemed incredibly busy. He just quickly reminded us to take good care of you and the babies before hanging up. He said he’ll call back when he’s free."

"I wonder what your husband is so busy with that he couldn’t even take leave to come back for the birth," Second Sister-in-law Su sighed. "Sigh, that’s the one downside of being a soldier. They’re never home. At least the pay is good."

No one in the family knew that Lu Zhengchuan had gone to the battlefield. If they did, they wouldn’t be in any mood to make such casual complaints.

They would have been worried sick. Su Wan, however, knew the truth. ’It must be that fighting has broken out on the border again,’ she thought. ’That’s why he’s so busy.’

Her heart leaped into her throat with anxiety. "Auntie, I want to see today’s newspaper."

Aunt Zhao knew Su Wan had a habit of reading the newspaper every day, so she wasn’t surprised by the request and went to find one.

Mother Su, however, gave Su Wan a long, searching look.

But Su Wan’s mind was completely occupied with Lu Zhengchuan and her children, so she didn’t notice.

Mother Su swallowed her last bite of food. "Since your husband is busy, Wanwan, why don’t you pick pet names for them first? You can wait for him to come back and give the babies their formal names."

"Pet names..." Su Wan said without a second thought. "Let’s call them Tuantuan and Yuanyuan."

More than anything else, Su Wan just wanted her family to be whole and together—for them to have a lifetime of happy reunions.

The names carried her deepest wish, serving as a blessing for Lu Zhengchuan on the battlefield as well.

"Tuantuan and Yuanyuan. Good. Those will be their pet names," Mother Su said with a nod. "I’ll go relieve your father and second brother so they can come back."

"Mom, I’ll go too."

Second Sister-in-law Su also wanted her husband to get a short break.

「By a little after nine that evening」, she finally passed gas. The incision was still painful, but it was bearable.

She couldn’t wait any longer and had Mother Su help her to the nursery to see her two babies.

Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were noticeably fairer-skinned than the other infants, but they were also a great deal smaller and more frail.

Seeing traces of both herself and Lu Zhengchuan in her two babies, Su Wan’s heart melted.

"Wanwan, don’t you worry. We’re keeping a close eye on them. The nurse gave the babies a little formula earlier, and they took it. She said they’re doing very well and have a good swallowing reflex. If things keep going well, they can consider moving to bottle-feeding in a few days."

Father Su said with a smile, his face full of adoration as he gazed at the two infants.

"None of the other babies are as well-behaved as Tuantuan and Yuanyuan. They’re our family’s children, all right. So adorable."

Father Su was already completely smitten with his two new grandchildren.

Second Brother Su chuckled beside him. "Dad, looks like Nuannuan and An’an have lost your favor. Tuantuan and Yuanyuan are your new precious treasures now."

"Don’t you try to stir up trouble," Father Su retorted. "Tuantuan and Yuanyuan are so small, it makes my heart ache. Especially Yuanyuan, she’s just so tiny." 𝙛𝓇ⅇ

Second Brother Su’s smile faded. The twins really were much smaller than average. Nuannuan had weighed over seven and a half pounds at birth—almost twice Yuanyuan’s size.

After seeing the babies, Su Wan returned to her hospital room to rest. That night, Father Su, worried about the twins being alone in the nursery, insisted on sleeping on the recliner in her room.

Su Wan tried to talk him out of it.

But Mother Su simply sent Aunt Zhao home to fetch a thick quilt.

Then she told Second Brother Su and Second Sister-in-law Su to take Nuannuan home and get some rest, saying she and Aunt Zhao would take turns on night watch.

Second Brother Su agreed, planning to come back early the next morning to relieve his father.

The couple and their child rushed home, arriving at ten. After tidying up, they quickly went to bed.

Su Wan was deeply touched. With her mother there to take charge, she could finally rest with peace of mind.

Unfortunately, she barely slept a wink all night. By morning, she had dark circles under her eyes.

Fortunately, perhaps because she had been in pain for so long, she had grown numb to it. By the time Second Brother Su and Second Sister-in-law Su arrived with breakfast, it actually hurt less.

After twenty-four hours had passed, she was allowed to start on a liquid diet.

However, another problem arose: her milk ducts were clogged.

"Wanwan, try to bear it," Mother Su said, seeing her daughter’s red-rimmed eyes. She felt the hard lump with her hand and had to steel herself. "We have to clear it. It’ll just be for a moment."

"Okay, Mom. Go ahead. I can take it," Su Wan said through gritted teeth.

Following the nurse’s instructions, Mother Su applied firm pressure.

Even though Su Wan tried to hold back, the pain made her tremble uncontrollably. Soon, she couldn’t bear it any longer and broke into loud sobs.

At first, she was worried someone outside the room might hear her, but as the pain became unbearable, she stopped caring about that. All she wanted was to grab her mother’s hands and push her away.

Mother Su steeled herself and, just as Su Wan was about to pass out from the pain, finally finished the task.

"There, there. It’s all over now, it’s all over," Mother Su said, wiping away Su Wan’s tears and comforting her. "The pain’s gone. Good girl, Wanwan."

Su Wan leaned against her mother’s chest, sniffling. Her voice was thick with tears. "Mom, is it really over now?"

"Now you’ll just need to express the milk whenever you get engorged."

"When you express it, I’ll take it to the nurse to feed the babies. If they can have breast milk, we shouldn’t use formula. The doctor said it’s better for them. Since you have to express it anyway, we might as well let the babies have it."

"Okay." With a trembling hand, Su Wan wiped her tears. "Mom, thank you for everything."

"Silly child, you’re the one who’s been through the ordeal. I’m just happy I can be here to take care of you. I never wanted you to marry so far away. What if you didn’t get along with your mother-in-law? Who would have looked after you during childbirth and your postpartum confinement?"

"Then you had to come all the way to the Capital to give birth. Luckily, you were smart enough to ask your old mom to come along. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to help even if I wanted to," Mother Su said with a sigh, stroking her daughter’s hair.