Chapter 291: Anyway, We Haven't Split the Household Yet; Even If Second House Has Objections, There's Nothing We Can Do

The numbing effect of the medicine had worn off; though still dazed, she could hear Qiu Shaohu's voice clearly. She asked weakly, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Qiu Shaohu leaned close to her: "It's a daughter."

Hearing it was a daughter, Zhang Shanmei wasn't too disappointed; after all, her first child was a son, so having a daughter was good too, completing the character for 'good'. Yet thinking of how much suffering this child had caused her, nearly costing her life, she still felt some resentment: "Where is the child?"

Hearing her ask about the child, Qiu Mu feared her son would tell the truth and worry her daughter-in-law further: "The child is fine. Your eldest brother and sister-in-law are watching over her. Rest assured and get some rest."

Perhaps from sheer exhaustion, upon hearing the child was fine, Zhang Shanmei closed her eyes again.

After entering the ward, the nurse reiterated the precautions once more: "If anything comes up, just call someone at the nurses' station."

Having just finally caught their breath after all that fuss, a nurse came looking for them: "Have you paid the fees we asked you to make up earlier?"

Qiu Dalong hurriedly pulled the payment receipt from his pocket: "Paid, paid, here's the receipt."

While saying this, he was extremely nervous inside; after all, his daughter-in-law had bled out and needed rescue, and the granddaughter had been sent to the pediatric ward for treatment, so more money would likely be needed.

As expected: "You know the situation now. Adding the fees for the child, I'm afraid the money isn't enough. Will you pay again now, or wait until the fee statement comes out tomorrow to make up the difference?"

Qiu Dalong didn't hesitate: "We'll pay when the statement comes out tomorrow."

His subconscious instinct was to drag it out for as long as possible, one day at a time.

After the nurse left, Qiu Shaohe brought out some dry rations: "Mom, Big Brother, Second Brother, you should eat something first."

The others didn't stand on ceremony; after all that commotion, they were indeed very hungry.

After finishing one, Qiu Shaojiang took several more in his hand: "Mom, I'll go to the pediatric ward and take a few to Lihua."

Qiu Dalong's wife, chewing on her dry ration, waved her hand to signal him to go.

While eating, Qiu Dalong's wife calculated matters; since her second daughter-in-law was fine, there was no need for so many people to stay here: "Husband, since things are settled here, I, Lihua, and Shaohu will stay. You take the eldest and the third back to work."

Qiu Dalong naturally understood his wife's meaning. Frowning, he wiped his face again and lowered his voice: "Grandma brought fifty earlier, and we just paid thirty more. You heard what the nurse said; we'll probably have to pay more..."

Before he could finish, Qiu Dalong's wife asked: "How much money did Grandma give today?"

"I was going to say we need to pay thirty more, but Grandma said you still need to eat while you're here, so she gave an extra twenty yuan, and also gave me the few grain coupons Second House's Shaolan had offered her as tribute."

"Then let's be frugal; with these twenty yuan, it should be enough."

Qiu Dalong sighed lightly: "Let's hope so. If it's still not enough, I won't dare ask the family for more. Even the betrothal gifts for a few children getting married don't add up to this much. I'm afraid..."

In the end, he didn't say it.

Qiu Dalong's wife naturally knew what he was thinking: "This isn't our fault; it's just that we had no choice."

Though she said that, she truly felt uneasy: "Anyway, we haven't split the household yet. Even if Second House has objections, there's nothing we can do about it."

Qiu Dalong sighed again: "If we hadn't mentioned splitting the household before, this would be easier to explain. But in at most half a month, the family will split. Draining the household now looks bad on the surface, even if the inside is different."