Chapter 158 - Have You Made up Your Mind
“Most women want to be like me, but they couldn’t!” Take Qiao Zijin for example, she dared not eat too much so as to maintain her figure.
“It is not healthy to be too skinny. Good health is the most important. You should eat more.” Zhai Sheng disagreed with her. “With your physique, you could not even donate blood to the hospital.”
“…” Qiao Nan’s countenance changed. Zhai Sheng was right.
When she went to the hospital a year ago, they said she was malnourished. The hospital would definitely not allow someone like her to donate blood.
“Brother Zhai, I will leave those documents with you.” Qiao Nan had been feeling uneasy these few days. Luckily, she had finished the translation and handed the documents to Zhai Sheng. She could finally heave a sigh of relief.
“Oh, you have worked hard. You should go back to rest.” Zhai Sheng nodded and handed a bag full of things to Qiao Nan. “As the saying goes, you can get your nourishment through what you eat. You have been racking your brains these few days, so you should have some nuts. They are good for you and the brain.”
Qiao Nan curled the corner of her lips. Was Brother Zhai digging at her or concerned for her? It should be out of concern.
Qiao Nan carried the big bag of things home. She opened it up and realized that Zhai Sheng had given her a lot of food and nuts. There were walnuts, pecans, and even macadamia nuts that were considered as very rare in the 90s.
With nary a word, Qiao Nan hid all the nuts in her room and took out the walnuts. She crushed the outer shells one by one, took out the walnuts inside, and grounded them into powder. Afterward, she put it into the porridge she was preparing for Qiao Dongliang.
Over the time, Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin had come to realize that Qiao Nan was being very ‘stingy’. Whenever she whipped up something delicious, only Qiao Dongliang got to eat them.
No matter whether it was Ding Jiayi or Qiao Zijin, neither could get a morsel of food from Qiao Nan.
It was then that Ding Jiayi realized that it had been a long time since she had the food Qiao Nan prepared.
“Dad, have some of the porridge. There are walnuts inside.”
“Oh, it smells nice.” Qiao Dongliang had stayed in the hospital for close to half a month. Other than looking frail at the beginning, he seemed to have a better complexion under the care of Qiao Nan. If not for the fact that he was in the hospital and bandaged, Qiao Dongliang would not look like a patient at all.
A few days ago, colleagues from Qiao Dongliang’s factory came to visit him, particularly the colleague who was with them when he had the accident and was sent to the hospital. He was surprised by Qiao Dongliang’s speedy recovery.
Qiao Dongliang would always tell his visitors that his speedy recovery was all thanks to his younger daughter. They doubted his words, thinking that it was all exaggeration. It must have been Ding Jiayi who took great care of him. The younger daughter could never have done it so well.
But this colleague of his believed his words. As compared to Qiao Nan, the sister-in-law did not behave like an adult at all.
“Uncle, have a bowl of porridge too.” Qiao Nan scooped a bowl of porridge for Qiao Dongliang’s ward mate.
“Thank you, I will not stand on ceremony with you.” The ward mate smiled and took the bowl of porridge from Qiao Nan. He had yet to drink it, but he became hungry with only a sniff of the fragrant porridge!
Whenever Qiao Dongliang had to go to the toilet and Ding Jiayi was not around, the ward mate and his family would help take care of Qiao Dongliang. After all, it was inappropriate for Qiao Dongliang’s two daughters to help out.
Seeing how happy the uncle was with the porridge she prepared, Qiao Nan made it a point to bring more of the porridge and would always give a bowl to the uncle. It was a way of repaying his kindness.
The ward mate had a mouthful of the porridge and gave Qiao Dongliang a thumbs-up secretly. The porridge tasted really good. This brother had the gourmet’s luck.
“Young lady, it must have been tough on you. He is already a grown-up, yet he still behaves like a child, greedy for food.” The ward mate’s wife could do nothing about her husband and looked at Qiao Nan apologetically, “I must thank you. Not only does your dad recover well, but this uncle also gets to have good food thanks to you.”
“You should not stand on ceremony, Auntie. All of you helped to take care of my dad. I should be the one saying thank you to the both of you,” Qiao Nan spoke politely and courteously.
“Such a well-behaved young lady.” The ward mate’s wife was surprised at Qiao Nan’s polite manner.
She had seen Qiao Dongliang’s wife for quite a few times. She always had a sullen face as if someone owed her a thousand yuan, the type who would never mingle or greet others.
She had seen people who were not as quick-witted, but this was the first time she saw someone as daft and dense as Ding Jiayi.
As a mother, Ding Jiayi was not as dependable as the younger daughter. Her husband was injured, yet the younger daughter had to take care of everything and cooked all sorts of good food for Qiao Dongliang.
What was the mother doing in the Qiao family?
If not for the young lady who was very likable, she would not want her husband to be on such friendly terms with Qiao Dongliang. They had helped to take care of Qiao Dongliang, yet Qiao Dongliang’s wife did not bother to thank them. Even if she was not after any gratitude, one should not behave in this way either.
The ward mate’s wife was boiling in anger at the thought of Ding Jiayi.
“Nan Nan, you should head back home first. Your mom should be here anytime.”
“No need, I will wait for Mom to come before leaving.” Previously, she was busy with the translations and had no time to take care of her father. Now that she had finished the translations, she could not possibly ask someone else to take care of her father. They did not owe her anything.
“It is alright, Nan Nan. You are a young lady after all. It is safer to go back earlier. You do not have to worry about your dad. Uncle and Aunt will help out.” With a smile on her face, the ward mate’s wife urged Qiao Nan to go back home earlier.
Of course, if it was Qiao Zijin, they would not treat her this way.
Qiao Zijin had similar temperament as Ding Jiayi. They were also similar in their looks.
“Go back home.” Qiao Dongliang waved his hands. It had been half a month. He no longer needed people to look after him like before.
Qiao Dongliang surmised that after a few more days in the hospital, he could discharge from the hospital and rest at home. In that way, he could save as much as he could.
Besides, he already asked the doctor-in-charge about his conditions. Given his recovery progress and conditions, he could rest and recover at home.
Qiao Dongliang was proud, yet guilty when he was reminded that he owed it to the younger daughter for having a speedy recovery.
Whenever the younger daughter was bullied and wronged in the past, as her father, he could not do anything for her. But now that he was injured and had to stay in the hospital, he owed it to Nan Nan for saving his life.
He felt sorry toward this child.
Since Qiao Dongliang had said so, Qiao Nan decided to go back home.
As soon as Qiao Nan left, the ward mate’s eyes sparkled, and he asked Qiao Dongliang anxiously. “Brother, what do you think of the matter that I brought up to you last time? Have you made a decision? I really like Nan Nan. You can put your heart at rest. If you agree to it, I will treat Nan Nan like my own daughter. If you do not believe me, you can ask my wife. You could ask her whether she likes Nan Nan. We really enjoyed her company these few days.”