Chapter 34: Apprenticeship 3.0

The family of three had just arrived when they saw Jia Dongxu pedaling a tricycle, preparing to take Zhang Xiaohua to the Hospital.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, I'm taking my wife to the Hospital first; my younger sister is already at my place packing things."

"Is Xiaohua about to give birth?"

"Mother, I feel like I'm about to give birth."

Zhang Xiaohua's pregnancy this time had not been easy, and she was afraid of any accidents if she gave birth at home, so as soon as she felt the signs, she had Jia Dongxu take her to the Hospital to wait for delivery immediately.

"Father, you wait for Si Jie to finish packing before heading to the Hospital together. Mother, we will go to the Hospital with Dongxu first."

"Alright."

"Zhuzi, Damao, you two run over to the Rolling Mill for me and notify my brother-in-law."

"You got it!"

In this freezing weather, Zhang Ping'an was not at ease letting Jia Dongxu ride to the Hospital alone.

"Mother, you get on the cart too, let's go."

"Alright." Dong Dani also knew this was not the time for hesitation; Jia Dongxu pedaled with all his might, while Zhang Ping'an pushed from behind.

The group of four headed straight for the Hospital, and only after Zhang Xiaohua was wheeled into the delivery room did Jia Dongxu start to pant heavily.

"Whew~"

"Dongxu, drink some water and catch your breath."

"Alright, thank you, Uncle."

Half an hour later, hurried footsteps were heard from outside; it was Zhang Laohan, Lao Jia, and Si Jie Zhang Lanhua.

"Mother, Xiaohua, how is the situation?"

"It's fine, the doctor has checked, the fetus is normal, and she has already entered the delivery room. Youcai, don't be anxious; giving birth always takes a few hours."

"That's right, Youcai."

"Father, Mother, I'm fine, I'm not anxious." But his nervous voice and pacing back and forth betrayed his inner state.

"Father, Mother, I'll go back and have Zhuzi stew some chicken soup; it'll be good for San Jie to eat when she comes out later." Zhang Ping'an didn't call Jia Dongxu, knowing he wanted to stay here at this moment.

"Fine, you go ahead, we are here."

Returning to the Siheyuan, Zhang Ping'an didn't go find Shazhu; he processed an old hen in his space, added plenty of Spirit Water, and started stewing it directly, only switching to a slow simmer after two hours.

After another hour, Zhang Ping'an added some salt, let it simmer for a while longer, and then ladled out the chicken soup.

"Mmm~ savory, as expected of something raised on crops from the space." This was one of the few aged hens Zhang Ping'an had kept, specifically for this moment.

He packed the chicken soup into the space, grabbed an empty lunchbox, and then headed out to the Hospital. Not long after Zhang Ping'an arrived at the Hospital, Zhang Xiaohua was wheeled out.

Two nurses were each holding a wrinkled little baby.

"Congratulations to the family, it's a boy and a girl." The nurses were full of envy; in one go, they had completed the character for 'good' (a boy and a girl), and she had suffered through the labor only once.

"Father, Mother, you watch the children, I'll go check on Xiaohua." The female doctor had an even better impression of Lao Jia, and the same went for Zhang Laohan and Dong Dani.

"Lao Jia, I'm fine, look at our children first." Zhang Xiaohua's face was slightly pale at this moment, but otherwise, she was fine.

"Good, good, good."

"Doctor, I brewed some chicken soup, can San Jie drink it?"

"Yes, chicken soup helps with postpartum recovery, but don't let her drink too much; try to keep it light for these two days."

"Alright."

"Xiaohua, stay in the Hospital for two days, we'll go home after you've recovered a bit."

"Alright, Mother."

"You all go back and eat too, Lanhua, you come back after you've finished eating."

"Alright, Mother."

"Mother, San Jie won't be able to finish all the chicken soup, there are also steamed buns and Steamed Buns in the lunchbox."

"Fine, I know, you all go back."

After returning home and eating, Lao Jia still felt uneasy and decided to go back and check on them in the evening.

"Brother-in-law, don't worry, get some good rest tonight, you still have to go relieve my mother and Si Jie tomorrow."

"Done."

Three days passed in a flash; Zhang Xiaohua was discharged and returned home today, and Zhang Ping'an would start school tomorrow.

Yesterday, Zhang Ping'an had already spoken with the Divine Doctor Wang, saying he would bring his parents over once he was done with these two days.

"Done, the 28th of this month (lunar calendar) is a good day, meet with your parents in two days, and just come over on the 28th."

"Alright, Wang Lao."

Compared to the Jia Family's joy, the Yi Zhonghai household across the way seemed lifeless; the atmosphere inside was oppressive to the extreme, and Yi Zhonghai sat with a gloomy face, saying nothing. Every time someone of his generation had a child, he would suffer another critical blow.

"You eat first, I'm going to take food to the Deaf Old Lady." Yi Zhonghai dropped this sentence and went to find the Deaf Old Lady.

"Alright."

Tan Cuicui didn't dare say anything extra at this moment; she knew Yi Zhonghai was in a state of rage, and any wrong word would lead to days of cold violence. Even though Yi Zhonghai would apologize afterward, Tan Cuicui had been physically and mentally exhausted over these years.

Coupled with the fact that she had always believed it was her own problem that left the Yi family without heirs, she felt guilty and endured everything from Yi Zhonghai; it would be a wonder if her health remained good while living in such a long-term oppressive environment.

At the Jia Family, Jia Dongxu was holding the baby clumsily, feeling completely at a loss. Zhang Ping'an, however, having helped raise his nephew at his sister's house for a few months in his past life, wasn't exactly an expert, but he wasn't unfamiliar with it either.

"Dongxu, it's fine, babies aren't as fragile as you think."

In his past life, Zhang Ping'an had seen plenty of infants being handled like toys by doctors in videos, and he had been terrified just watching through the screen.

"Go, go, go, Dongxu, don't listen to your uncle, it's better to be careful with the baby." Dong Dani took the baby girl from Zhang Ping'an's hands.

"Mm."

"San Jie, have you and San Jie Fu picked out names for the children?"

"We have, we'll call the daughter Dongzi and the son Donglai, taken from the phrase 'purple vapor comes from the east'."

While Yan Bugui was teaching Si Jie, Zhang Xiaohua also learned quite a bit, and since Lao Jia said the meaning was so good, she decided on it.

"This name is good, and the meaning is even better," Zhang Laohan said; he had attended a private school for a few years when he was young and understood the meaning behind it.

"Not bad, not bad."

In the evening, Zhang Ping'an took his parents to the home of the Divine Doctor; they had originally planned to go in the morning, but the Divine Doctor really couldn't get away, so the time was changed to the evening.

"Brother, sister-in-law, my Ping'an is mischievous, so I will have to trouble you to look after him in the future."

"What are you saying, brother? Ping'an is bright and sensible; he is a good sprout."

The group sat down and had a long chat, and the Divine Doctor gained a deeper understanding of Zhang Ping'an; it wasn't until eight-thirty in the evening that Zhang Ping'an's family returned home.

"This kid must have some secret; he hit his head and was actually able to miraculously heal himself."

"Lao Wang, why do you care what secret Ping'an has? Isn't it enough that your mantle can be passed down?"

"Hahaha, that's true."

The Divine Doctor actually had two other disciples: the medicine-grinder Wang Chang'an, whom Wang Xiaoling called Senior Brother, and another one who was in the front consulting with Lao Wang, named Wang Zhangming.

These two were orphans adopted by the Divine Doctor who had been learning medicine from him since they were seven years old; it had been nearly twenty years now, but their medical talent was average, though fortunately, they were willing to endure hardship and had been kept by the Divine Doctor's side for years, so they were experienced and could treat common illnesses with ease.

However, it was almost impossible for them to receive the Divine Doctor's full inheritance, which was the reason the Divine Doctor was willing to take on disciples in the surrounding area, but unfortunately, none had satisfied him until the appearance of Zhang Ping'an gave him hope.

The next morning, after finishing their meal, Zhang Ping'an and Si Jie went to report to school with Yan Bugui and a group of children from the courtyard.

"Zhang Shu, are you really going to middle school after the summer vacation?"

"Could that be fake?"

"How about, how about you stay back a grade?"

"..."

"Damao, what are you thinking? Ping'an is already two years older than you; isn't it normal for his grade to be higher than yours? If you really want to be in the same grade as Ping'an, then study hard and strive to skip a grade."

"I think I'll pass on that."

"Hahaha, Damao-ge, you certainly have a clear self-awareness; why don't you stay back two grades to wait for me and Guangqi?" Yan Jiecheng laughed.

"Go away, go away, go away."

"Hahahaha."