Xia Wen was away on a business trip at the moment while Xia He was busy with performances at the theater recently. Xia Mao had many meetings to attend and was especially busy at this time, so it was very likely that he would not be able to take care of Qiao Mei. Other than Xu Lan, Xia Zhe did not know who else could take good care of Qiao Mei.
"I'll go back with you," Xia Zhe said.
"Why do you want to go back with me? Nothing will happen to me. Just stay here and go to work," Qiao Mei said.
"But I'm a little worried about you bringing the children back alone," Xia Zhe said with a frown.
"Don't I still have Qian'e with me? Besides, you can always take leave to go home. There aren't any urgent matters at home. I just want to go back and take a look at the situation. Don't worry," Qiao Mei said patiently.
"Then I'll talk to Eldest Brother and ask him when he can go back," Xia Zhe said.
"It's just a small matter in our own family. There's no need to trouble Eldest Brother every time. It's really not a big deal," Qiao Mei said.
Xia Zhe could not help but feel worried. He was very afraid that Qiao Mei would be in danger after going back this time and he kept feeling anxious. This was the first time he had such a feeling.
However, since Qiao Mei had already made up her mind, there was nothing he could do to persuade her. He could only silently help her pack up the necessities for the two children. There was not much to pack and she could buy whatever she needed when she returned to the capital.
The next morning, Qiao Mei and Qian'e took the earliest bus to head back to the capital. However, Qiao Mei did not expect to run into Miao Le and Zhuang Zhuang on the bus. They were clearly not there when she got on just now and she did not know which stop they boarded from. Perhaps there were just too many people and Qiao Mei did not notice them.
Qiao Mei tried to look down to avoid being spotted by Miao Le but it did not work.
"Madam Qiao, where are you going?" Miao Le asked curiously.
"I'm going back to my in-laws' house. There's something I need to do," Qiao Mei said perfunctorily. Qian'e could tell that there was something strange about Qiao Mei's att.i.tude towards the girl and her expression turned solemn.
"Sigh… I'm just going to the county city to buy some milk powder for Zhuang Zhuang. He has been having diarrhea, so I thought it would be good to give him some." As Miao Le spoke, she looked like she was about to cry.
Qiao Mei could not help but roll her eyes. No one had asked Miao Le where she was going, so why did she have to mutter to herself. It was so annoying.
She really could not bear to see Zhuang Zhuang continue to suffer though. The child seemed to have become even thinner. Qiao Mei said earnestly, "A child of Zhuang Zhuang's age can already eat adult food. Just stew vegetables until it becomes very soft and then mix in an egg. Feed him that and he will eventually get better."
Women who were mothers were usually more soft-hearted. Before Qiao Mei had children, she would not have cared about such things at all. In any case, the child was not her child nor her relative. Even if the child froze to death or starved to death, it had nothing to do with her. She could not even support herself, so how could she take care of strangers' children?
However, now that her life was better and her children were gradually growing up, Qiao Mei became more and more soft-hearted. The current Zhuang Zhuang was not even as stout as Xia Fan. They were actually half a year apart!
"But our family really doesn't have any money… I have no choice… If Madam Qiao is willing to give my child some milk, he will definitely get better!" Miao Le covered her face and sobbed loudly.
Everyone ignored Miao Le. They had seen her doing this many times before. She would threaten others like this every time. If it was just once or twice, they might still be soft-hearted and help her. However, she was still the same after so long, so they just ignored her.
An older woman in the front row became annoyed by Miao Le's weeping and shouted at her, "Why are you crying! If you had really taken the effort to take care of the child, he would have gained weight long ago! How many times have I told you to feed the child some eggs or something similar! What did you do! Did you feed him? Did you listen? You still want to buy milk powder! If you have the money to buy milk powder, then you have enough money to feed the child eggs for two months!"
"This child has a poor digestive system. He can't eat adult food and can only drink milk. I have no choice…" Miao Le said.
"He can only drink milk? Then what are you currently feeding him every day! Is it milk? It's watery porridge! Even a normal person would fall sick if they only eat watery porridge every day! Let alone a baby!" the older woman said angrily.