“Yes. This is San Bao. We have decided on the names for the triplets. Da Bao is called Zhai Yi, Er Bao is Zhai Xin, and San Bao is Zhai Yu. My master helped think of the name for San Bao. My in-laws feel that it is a good name. We have submitted their names.”

  Once they had come up with the names, they would be able to record and register the babies under their household register and they would be one complete family. Nobody could gossip about the triplets’ legitimacy or hurt them with their nasty remarks.

  Zhai Sheng spent more time in the army than at home. According to deduction, Qiao Nan was pregnant when they were still in Ping Cheng.

  Furthermore, the triplets were born prematurely.

  They could not stop other people from spreading rumors that were harmful to Qiao Nan and the triplets.

  Her babies were so young and they did not understand anything, yet they were already being speculated and maligned by other people. As their mother, Qiao Nan’s heart ached for them. She wished that she could single out everyone who spread rumors and give them a harsh beating.

  Thankfully, they had decided upon the names for the triplets. Now that the triplets were registered under the same household register as her, Qiao Nan, who was unsettled, finally set her heart at rest.

  Qiao Nan could not hide the happiness in her voice when she told Qiao Dongliang about adding the triplets to her household register. She was thrilled to tell her parents that the triplets were registered under the Zhai family’s household register.

  In the future, no one would be able to gossip about the triplets’ legitimacy anymore.

  Qiao Nan’s warning was not meant for Qiao Dongliang. It was directed at Qiao Zijin.

  Qiao Zijin smiled naturally, as if she could not tell that Qiao Nan was giving her a warning. “Is that so? That is great! The triplets have great names. Nan Nan, when I get married in the future and have children, I will have to seek your advice on the babies’ names. You must help me.”

  \r \r \r

  Qiao Nan sipped the tea and smiled. “Well…… I didn’t come up with the names for the triplets. Da Bao’s and Er Bao’s names were given by the old master and my father-in-law. They discussed for a long time before they reached a decision. San Bao’s name was given by my master. He thought of it in no time and gave a very good name to her. San Bao seems to like the name. Therefore, I don’t want to be the bad person, and so we continue to use the name. Dad, the photo……”

  “Don’t worry. I will definitely keep them nicely with me.” Qiao Dongliang cherished the photo that he had with him. He looked at it endearingly. One look at the triplets in the photo and he could tell that they were siblings. They had the similar features.

  They were his grandchildren. They had great looks. One look and he could tell that they were brilliant and smart. When they grew up and went to school, they would definitely be like Nan Nan, scoring good results in exams.

  They had such an outstanding mother and would be just as remarkable.

  Qiao Dongliang took out his wallet and put the photo of the triplets carefully into the wallet. He was very careful with it, fearful that the wallet might leave creases on the photo or make scratches on the triplets’ faces.

  The photo was meant to be put in the wallet. It fitted just nice into Zhai Sheng’s wallet. Therefore, there was no need to trim it to the correct size to put into Qiao Dongliang’s wallet.

  Qiao Dongliang smiled when he fitted the photo nicely into his wallet. He no longer put his wallet inside the pants pocket. Instead, he put them into his shirt pocket, the spot closest to his heart.

  One could tell from his action that Qiao Dongliang really liked his grandchildren.

  Looking at Qiao Dongliang’s behavior, Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan did not know what to say. They did not know if they should sympathize with him or feel sorry for him.

  One that was pitiful must have a hateful story. The words of our forefathers were never lies.

  Qiao Nan could not help but sigh. She could only say that her father brought it upon himself. He had no one to blame.

  “Old Qiao, how many dishes do you intend to prepare today?” Ding Jiayi, who had made a detailed count of Zhai Sheng’s presents, came out with a satisfied look on her face. She had a more sincere smile than before.

  She thought that the wretched girl would be stubborn and would not show respect for her feelings. She was reluctant to visit them and she would not bring any expensive presents with her. The presents that she prepared for them must be miserly and only to keep up the appearance.

  Who would have known that……

  That wretched girl was smart.

  If the wretched girl had to save on the presents that she brought to her parents’ home, she was certain that the wretched girl did not have a good life in the Zhai family.

  “I have bought the ingredients. I can start to fry the dishes. Nan Nan, are you hungry? Shall I fry the dishes now?” Qiao Dongliang made his decisions based on Qiao Nan’s preferences.

  Qiao Nan leaned against Zhai Sheng. “Dad, there is no hurry. I just came back from the capital, and I feel slightly giddy. I am not hungry at the moment.”

  Zhai Sheng held Qiao Nan’s hands. “You haven’t eaten for the entire day. You have to eat something. Besides, you have to take care of the triplets when you go back. No matter how sick you are, you still have to eat something to replenish the body. If you are really tired, we can go back after the meal and you can have an early rest.”

  If Qiao Dongliang did not start preparing the dishes, when would they have the meal with the Qiao family?

  If they had an early meal, he and Nan Nan would have completed their mission here and they could go back home where they could feel at ease.

  They were being very accommodating, as they wanted to leave as soon as possible.

  Qiao Nan smiled bitterly. This was what people meant by the ‘baby brain’ effect.

  She felt uncomfortable at her parents’ home. She had no appetite and was unwilling to have a meal with them. However, she had said something that was very foolish and pretentious.

  Since she had to have a meal with them, it was better to have it earlier and finish it as soon as possible.

  She only intended to have a meal at the Qiao family, and then she would return to the Zhai family’s residence to rest. Before she left for the capital the next morning, she would say her goodbye to the Qiao family. Thereafter, she would take the plane back to the capital with Brother Zhai. They had already made all the arrangements.

  After all, the triplets were young and they needed their mother to take care of them.

  Moreover, she was not on good terms with her parents and sister. It was the only way to say that she needed to go back earlier to take care of her children.

  Once they knew that she had to take care of her children and had to leave as early as possible, no one would be able to say anything. It would also not look bad on the Zhai family or affect their reputation.

  “Nan Nan, Zhai Sheng is right. The triplets are young. You have to take care of yourself so that you can look after them.”


  1226 Inexperienced

  Qiao Nan realized her error and had yet to say anything when Qiao Dongliang interrupted to support Zhai Sheng.

  Qiao Nan seized the opportunity. “Alright, Dad. Since you and Brother Zhai said so, you can start frying the dishes. I will have some food. I will have an early rest after the meal. Perhaps after I rest well today, I will feel recharged tomorrow. By the time I go back to the capital, I will be able to take care of the triplets.”

  Qiao Dongliang’s smile stiffened. “Sure, I will start to fry some dishes.”

  Qiao Dongliang looked desolate and lonely from the back.

  Qiao Zijin, who sat by the side, was smiling to herself in her head. Her father deserved to be treated in this way. It was his fault that he sided with Qiao Nan previously as if Qiao Nan was his only daughter while treating her as if she was not his biological daughter.

  Her father gave his everything to Qiao Nan, but when she married well in the end, she turned her back on him.

  Qiao Zijin felt that it served him right to be so heart-stricken!

  Ding Jiayi looked relaxed and she began to engage in a conversation with Qiao Nan. “Since the two of you came all the way from the capital, aren’t you going to stay for a few more days? Do you have to go back to the capital tomorrow? You grew up in Ping Cheng. You must have many friends here. It is the Lunar New Year. It would be nice to gather and have a good chat, catching up with each other. Son-in-law, although your family has moved to the capital, you must not forget about your relatives in Ping Cheng. Since you are back, you should pay them a visit. Otherwise, if they know that you are back with your wife but you did not visit them, they will make nasty remarks about you.”

  Since she was Qiao Nan’s mother, when Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan visited their relatives, they could bring her along with them. She could get to know Zhai Sheng’s relatives then.

  If there was a day where the Qiao family encountered trouble and Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng could not render help in time, she could seek help from these relatives.

  Qiao Nan massaged her forehead. “I don’t feel well. Brother Zhai, I will lean against you and take a nap.”

  \r \r \r

  “Sure.” Zhai Sheng held Qiao Nan by the shoulder so that she could lean more comfortably against him. The couple had the tacit understanding to ignore Ding Jiayi’s suggestion and chose not to answer her.

  Ding Jiayi was a troublemaker. They must steer clear of her.

  Qiao Nan closed her eyes, leaning against Zhai Sheng, hinting to Ding Jiayi that she would not cooperate with her. There was nothing that Ding Jiayi could do with her. As for Zhai Sheng, who sat next to Qiao Nan and was wide awake, Ding Jiayi smiled guiltily at him. She dared not engage in a conversation with him.

  Ding Jiayi was only capable of losing her temper and taking advantage of Qiao Nan, her daughter. She was very timid in front of outsiders. Even if Zhai Sheng was her son-in-law, she dared not make any requests of him.

  The three of them sat quietly in the living room while Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Zijin busied themselves in the kitchen.

  The Qiao family was the first family to prepare their meals among all the families in the quad in Ping Cheng.

  Qiao Nan took a long nap. She only woke up when Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Zijin came out with the dishes.

  Qiao Nan had made known that she was unwell and had no appetite. She even took a nap and refused to talk to Ding Jiayi. Even if Ding Jiayi knew that she must be pretending, she could say nothing about it. If she said the wrong word, they might not have the meal at all.

  Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan had lived together for a couple of years. He knew Qiao Nan’s eating habits. “Nan Nan, many of the dishes are spicy. Try them and let me know if the taste is still the same as how I used to prepare in the past. Zhai Sheng, I remember you used to have the same food as us when you came to our house. You should be able to take spicy food, right?”

  People would usually have a feast during the Lunar New Year.

  Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan could take spicy food while Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin disliked spicy food.

  Qiao Zijin no longer put up a strong front. When they were in the kitchen, she told Qiao Dongliang of her eating preferences so that he would prepare some non-spicy dishes for her and her mother.

  Since Qiao Zijin was well-behaved and Ding Jiayi did not stir up any trouble, Qiao Dongliang felt that her request was reasonable. Therefore, he prepared more dishes to cater to their taste. That was why the table was filled with so much food.

  Qiao Dongliang used chopsticks to take Qiao Nan’s favorite dishes and put them into a bowl. “Nan Nan, have more of the food. It’s alright if you have less rice. You can have more of the dishes. The dishes are nutritious. Have more of them.”

  “Thank you, Dad.” Qiao Nan felt slightly better and comforted at Zhai Sheng’s words. Seeing that Qiao Dongliang had taken a lot of food for her, Qiao Nan finally had some appetite and began to dig in.

  Qiao Nan put down her chopsticks when she had taken enough food. “Dad, I am full.”

  Since Qiao Nan wanted to wean the triplets off breast milk, there was no need for her to have countless bowls of nutritious, oily, and unbearable tonic soups.

  Qiao Nan would take three meals a day as per normal.

  Qiao Dongliang was glad that his daughter had eaten her fill. However, he noticed that Qiao Nan only had the non-spicy dishes that he prepared specially for Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin. He was puzzled. “Nan Nan, don’t you like spicy food anymore?”

  Qiao Nan shook her head. “The triplets are four months old and I have not weaned them off breast milk completely. I cannot have anything too spicy and savory.”

  Besides spicy food, if the food was too salty, Qiao Nan had to rinse the food with water before she ate them.

  Otherwise, she might be able to satisfy her palate, but the triplets would have a stomachache when they drank her milk.

  “I-is that so?” Qiao Dongliang had zero experience in this. He looked at Ding Jiayi with a puzzled look.

  Ding Jiayi nodded. “The kids nowadays are very delicate. The mother has to be very careful. The times have changed. People would pay particular attention to this.” Ding Jiayi had a slight knowledge of this.

  However, Ding Jiayi felt particularly displeased that Qiao Nan paid attention to this matter.

  She felt that Qiao Nan must be showing off to her when she brought up this topic.

  She was strong-headed and kept scolding Qiao Nan because she was not a boy, but a girl. Her mother mocked her and cursed her not to have any sons in her life, saying that she would not have any sons to attend her funeral upon her death.

  She did not have any sons, but Qiao Nan was better than her. Not only did she have sons, but she also had two sons in one go.

  She had two children, but none of them was a son. Moreover, Old Qiao had to leave the army as they had more than one child.

  On the contrary, Qiao Nan had three children. She had more children than her, and she had all of them in a single pregnancy. It did not affect Zhai Sheng’s development in the army.