novel
| ← Ch.168 | Ch.170 → |
The next morning, the couple checked their crop growth after breakfast. With the baby wrapped in their arms, they knocked on the nearest door.
A sleepy Zhang Yi came out yawning with Wang Duo behind him holding out a coat, hat and mask. He reluctantly closed the door after seeing the group out in the stairwell.
The backs of the man and dog seemed inexplicably similar, although there was no resemblance in either height or figure.
The weather outside was still cold, but the sun was out so there seemed to ba glimmer of warmth.
Luo Xun carefully held the baby with Yan Fei and Zhang Yi looked like they were out shopping. Zhang Yi did not have a pleasant expression since he had to come out all this way.
The group walked for more than half an hour to arrive at the hospital door. As usual, the place was always busy and filled with people.
The two men waited in the hall with the baby in their arms Zhang Yi went through the back door to find someone familiar.
Soon after, two ladies appeared, one dressed as a doctor while other was in a nurse's uniform.
"Come, I'll see." The doctor came over and took the child.
The hall was not cold, but only compared with outdoors, the temperature was still relatively low.
She examined the baby before smiling at Yan Fei."The baby's condition looks good, let's go to my office first."
The doctor looked around thirty to forty while the nurse was much younger, closer to twenty five years old. While the group went to the doctor's office, the two ladies chatted with Zhang Yi.
"Since you have not visited since you quit, you have not noticed but a lot of people have gone to the hospital."
Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow."I was wondering why there were so many people missing? Where did they go?"
The nurse giggled."The female nurses are the main ones who left."
"Female nurses?" Luo Xun looked over in surprise before staring at Zhang Yi in confusion - did they quit because of the doctor? He was gay... did he have such amazing charm?
The nurse smiled at Luo Xun before looking at Yan Fei."Yes, the females nurses." She sighed, "There is an unequal ratio of men to women in the base... a lot of people visited to find girlfriends."
The female doctor also sighed, "Some of the young nurses are quite beautiful. A few days ago two people left the hospital for home but they disappeared at an intersection, so far we have not found them... Later the higher ups advised having a boyfriend to support the family is best. The future is bright for those who find a strong boyfriend with an ability..."
She helplessly smiled at Zhang Yi."In this world, there is nowhere safe for women, unless they have a strong enough ability."
All the people were clear about the meaning, their hearts sighed. The two ladies of their team had also encountered misfortune before joining the team. Although they did not know about Song Lingling's past, they had seen Xu Mei's situation with their own eyes.
Even with her fire ability, Xu Mei was likely to be subject to this sort of thing, not to mention ordinary people. It was impossible to be on guard all the time. There were so many girls in the hospital that they were easy targets.
Zhang Yi squinted at the female nurse."What about you? Are you going home to have a baby?"
The nurse had become accustomed to bantering, she laughed."What would I eat at home? I don't have enough to keep someone."
"Then find a bodyguard to pick you up, for peace of mind on the road." Zhang Yi's voice was normal. When there were no beauties left, people would aim for what was left.
"That's what I said!" The female doctor laughed."Like Zhang Yi before, getting picked up after work everyday, I can't remember how many people envied him!"
Luo Xun bowed his head and smiled. Wang Duo did not just escort his lover, he also stayed near to chase away flies.
When they arrived at the doctor's office, the doctor began to examine the baby. It was premature, born a scant week ago. After a careful examination, she wrote while whispering, "Preterm birth, poor development and a little malnourished. Do these tests to see if there are any problems with internal organs, heart and lungs. If there is nothing wrong, go home and take good care of him... The baby is weaker than average, before we could have taken better measures but now... give him a check up first."
The doctor sighed, she learned the general situation from Zhang Yi. Luo Xun had found the child and so her mind filled in the blanks - the biological parents could not support a baby and was left for dead. The two men were a couple, since they could not have children, they decided to adopt and so on. Due to this she had a good attitude towards Luo Xun along with sympathy towards children born during the end and lost their lives soon after.
So, the two men entered the hospital through the back door and did not pay a cent. During the examination, the baby barely cried. Even the doctors and nurses were afraid to move to fast in fear of hurting the delicate baby.
After the check, the men had a list of precautions to follow. The pair took the report and went back home while Zhang Yi was being swarmed by the remaining nurses.
This task took until noon when everyone returned home after checking the baby. After confirming there were no problems, Xu Mei prepared lunch for them to eat.
"Xu Mei, use a bottle!" When they went to the hospital, they brought back bottle caps for babies.
"Wow, you can find these things on base? At least we won't need to feed him with a spoon." Xu Mei lamented while Song Lingling sterilized the bottle.
"Luo Xun, should we try those milk fruit later?" He Qiankun approached, this man had similar tastes to the child... really, food had no age requirements.
"Wait a bit and you can try." Luo Xun nodded and went to eat dinner first.
After digesting the meal, everyone gathered together to try the new variant fruits.
When opened, there was the aroma of milk. There was enough in the two fruits for everyone to have a bit.
The group of people sat around the table spoons at the ready. Luo Xun intially said that only one or two people needed to test it. In the end everyone decided it was best for everyone to try, food poisoning would look different among them anyway. So with the exception of the children who were sleeping guarded by Puppy, all the adults sat at the table.
They took some, licked and smacked their lips.
"It's really milk!"
"And strawberry! Strawberry milke!"
"But its not sweet."
"I think it's a bit like coconut juice, too."
"It's more like milk though?"
"Like fruit milk, but not as sweet."
"It's pretty strong, will it be hard for the baby to drink? What it he chokes?"
"Add water, this thing has concentrated flavor. There's no way for children to have some without diluting it."
"Yes! Add some water, mashed strawberries and sugar, Yu Xinran can have some strawberry milk to drink!"
Luo Xun regretfully looked at the empty bowl."Unfortunately, there is no way to test the nutritional components, whether it is suitable for a baby to eat."
Xu Mei said, "Now is not like before the apocalypse, we could only feed him rice soup which is not as good..." She suddenly stopped, the baby was Yan Fei's brother, so the two had the final say.
Yan Fei had little to say due to his knowledge of child rearing... it would be easier for him to build an amusement park with metal.
Luo Xun lowered his head, he was not sure if this thing was what he heard about in his last life. He flipped through the information he brought back. He did not understand everything but knew the child's situation. Although nothing was wrong, the baby was malnourished. His body would be affected in many ways, even intelligence.
If there was no guarantee of his future health and survival, it would better to have not brought the baby. Raising children and keeping pets was somewhat similar. If one was not fully prepared, one should not bring one into their lives.
"Okay then." Luo Xun smiled at the crowd."Does anyone know the approximate concentration for infant formula?"
The team looked at each other... infant formula? Even if it had been drunk as children, how old were they? Who would remember?
"Um... I sometimes used milk powder to cook food before the end, perhaps I can try?" Song Lingling uncertainty raised her hand.
Good thing Luo Xun brought back those bottles and information sheets. There was a nursing manual, according to the proportion shown, they substituted a ping pong ball sized portion of fruit. The white seed fruit needed three time the water while the brown seed fruits needed 4. 5 times the water.
| ← Ch. 168 | Ch. 170 → |