After a round of inquiries, Song Zinu brought everyone to the Children's Hospital. Gong Peixing pushed the door open and got out of the car. "Mom, Yaoyao, you wait in the car. I’ll go queue up and see first." Looking at the stream of people coming and going, even before entering the outpatient building, he knew there would be many patients inside.

"Ziwen, you go too. If they call our number, come yell for us," Wang Damei instructed Song Ziwen, who was playing dead slumped over the steering wheel, wanting him to go inside so Gong Peixing wouldn't have to run back and forth.

What else could Song Ziwen do? He sighed, got out of the car, and hurried to catch up with Gong Peixing’s footsteps. Wang Qiqi rubbed her slightly hungry stomach. "Auntie, I'm going to see if there’s anything to eat nearby and bring some back." Everyone had set out very early that morning. Although they had brought some snacks, they weren't proper meals. "I'll also look around for things suitable for a nursing mother while I’m out."

Wang Damei gave an 'Oh,' and wasn't overly polite with Wang Qiqi. "Be careful on the road."

Wang Qiqi ran around and finally bought some things. Of course, Song Yao’s lunch was pig's trotter soup—it’s good for milk production. As for everyone else, sorry, Wang Qiqi had only bought some cold noodles. "I just bought a few things casually. Once it’s our turn, we can go eat something better." Just as Wang Qiqi was about to pick up the cold noodles to eat, Song Ziwen and Gong Peixing returned. Wang Damei dropped the food she was holding. "Is it our turn?"

Gong Peixing shook his head, got into the driver's seat, started the car, and drove out of the hospital grounds. "I asked the doctor; they're on lunch break now and won't start again until two. I found a tout and got a queuing number. We'll be the third appointment this afternoon."

Wang Damei acknowledged this with an 'Oh.' Wang Damei didn't care about finding a tout or how much money was spent; what mattered to her was, "Is that doctor skilled?" They drove such a long way to Shencheng precisely hoping to find a good doctor. If they ended up with an average doctor, Wang Damei felt it would be a loss just thinking about it.

"It’s the newborn specialist—the one Qiqi inquired about. Mom, for this number, brother-in-law spent five hundred." Song Ziwen shook his head from the side. Five hundred! He worked tirelessly for a month, and his bonus was only slightly more than that.

"What? It cost that much?" Wang Damei had initially thought it would be one or two hundred; she hadn't expected it to be so much. She was stunned. "That’s highway robbery! Aren't they extorting people?"

"There was no other way. The consultation fee alone is thirty. If we didn't pay this, we'd have to come back next week. I asked; many people were lining up since five in the morning," Song Ziwen thought that if they didn't spend this much money, would they have to drive all the way here again next time? Calculating the gasoline, highway tolls, and the cost of a hotel room, five hundred really wasn't expensive.

"Exactly, Mom. We were worried, and we wanted to check on Taotao as soon as possible so we could feel at ease," Gong Peixing parked the car at the entrance of a restaurant. "Mom, let's eat something first," then they could rest briefly before going back to the hospital. The hospital was so crowded; there was crying and noise everywhere from the children. Gong Peixing had only stayed there for a short while, and his head felt like it was going to burst. Could his wife and child stay in an environment like that?

"Qiqi already got cold noodles, so there’s no need to eat at the restaurant now." Wang Damei was in no mood for delicacies, especially since Qiqi had bought cold noodles.

Song Ziwen understood what his brother-in-law was thinking. "Mom, eating is secondary. The main point is to find a place to rest. Look how cramped you and big sister are in those small seats; your legs must be going numb, right? Not to mention how noisy it is inside the hospital." Persuasion works differently when coming from a son versus a son-in-law.

"Mom, please eat something. Regardless of the outcome, we still have to keep living," Song Yao had thought a lot after staying up all night. Whether this son was normal or not, she would take good care of him and ensure he had enough money to live well.

After the group entered the restaurant, Gong Peixing asked for a private room. When Wang Damei heard there was a minimum charge of five hundred for the room, and that five hundred only covered dishes and excluded drinks, she exclaimed, "That expensive!" Forget it. It felt like they were robbing people. They knew that people bringing children to eat at this hour were mostly accompanying them to see doctors, yet these people had no compassion at all.

The waiter, likely accustomed to such remarks, replied listlessly, "If everyone demanded a private room and only ordered a tiny bit of food inside, we aren't running a charity." The waiter looked at Wang Qiqi's group with disdain. Honestly, if this group hadn't been wearing decent clothes and hadn't arrived by car, they probably would have been even ruder.

Wang Qiqi felt quite annoyed looking at the snobbish waiter, but she knew this wasn't the time to argue. "If we order five hundred worth of food, can we sit here until after one-thirty?"

"Yes," the waiter answered briskly. They saw this situation often; many parents came to eat just to rest in the middle, planning to leave around the time the afternoon doctors started working.

"Then reserve a private room, one with air conditioning," Gong Peixing didn't want to argue with these waiters who only had money in their eyes. Besides, this was a policy set by the boss; they couldn't control it. Instead of wasting time dwelling on the money, it was better to sit down, eat, and rest quickly. Both Gong Peixing and Song Yao were in low spirits and didn't want to argue over trivial matters. Hearing the person who could make decisions speak, the waiter’s movements leading them to the private room became much quicker, and the smile on his face became much sweeter than before. Wang Damei mumbled something upon seeing the inconsistent expressions but said nothing more.

Gong Peixing quickly looked through the menu and ordered a few dishes. After estimating the price, he said, "Finally, please pack up some small pastries for me to take away. And, the fish soup here..." "Don't worry, it's made for nursing mothers, absolutely good. Our milk-boosting soup is famous near and far; many new mothers often order it," the waiter recommended.

"Then bring the lizard soup," Gong Peixing closed the menu and signaled the waiter to place the order quietly.

Soon, the dishes started being brought out one by one. Song Ziwen had been hungry for a long time, his stomach growling. Seeing the food arrive, he didn't hold back, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating. The fish soup, specially ordered, arrived half an hour later.

Song Yao took a few sips. "It’s quite good, much better than what my mom makes." The fish soup was full of flavor, looking like it had been stewed for a long time.

Wang Damei raised an eyebrow, picked up a spoon, and tasted a couple of mouthfuls. "It is quite good, but this fish soup isn't cheap either." Wang Damei had a habit of finding fault; no matter how delicious the meal was, for Wang Damei, it was a black-hearted place that charged five hundred just for a private room, and even if they ordered dishes, it felt like mandatory spending.

"Mom, if you calculate it, the dishes we ordered are already over three hundred. We only added a little over a hundred more, and didn't big sister include the pastries?" Song Ziwen, just trying to have a meal that wouldn't upset his stomach, tried to persuade her. "Besides, brother-in-law is rich; there's no need to save money for him."

"Exactly, Mom. We came out so early; it's necessary to eat a good meal. What you need to do now is eat, rest, and then go back with good news," Song Yao quickly spoke up, worried her mother was about to say Gong Peixing was wasting money.

What could Wang Damei do? Both her son and daughter didn't want her to say anything, and her daughter and son-in-law weren't worried about this small amount of money anymore. "Forget it, forget it. I just hope that after spending so much money today, we can bring back good news."

For the rest of the time, Wang Qiqi tried to liven up the atmosphere at the table by talking about Taotao’s future prospects, and Song Ziwen also got into the spirit. As for the very disheartening remark Song Yao made at the beginning, they completely ignored it.

After Wang Qiqi and Song Ziwen brightened the mood through lunch, the five of them returned to the hospital in the afternoon. Song Yao’s face was no longer so stern; there was a faint smile. However, when they heard the senior specialist’s diagnosis after examining the baby for a long time, everyone was stunned. It wasn't that the expert said the baby was very healthy but just slept a lot; rather, he said very seriously, "The child was premature. Although you’ve raised him quite well—plump and fair—his brain development is actually not very good. There wasn't a major issue while the child was in the womb, but schoolwork will be a bit challenging later on. Other things are manageable."

He also mentioned that the kidneys weren't fully developed, but compared to the brain, Song Yao and the others overlooked this piece of news.

Song Yao was dumbfounded. Gong Peixing was dumbfounded. Wang Damei was dumbfounded. They looked at Taotao, sleeping quietly in Song Yao’s arms. After a long while, Wang Damei finally managed to ask haltingly, "Does this mean Taotao... will Taotao be, will he be intellectually disabled later?" Wang Damei couldn't accept the thought that the smart, chubby, cute grandson she envisioned would turn into a simpleton.

The old Chinese doctor shook his head. "That’s an overstatement. It just means this child will find academic study a bit challenging. He won’t get top marks in exams, just like most children who struggle with studies."

When Song Yao heard the old Chinese doctor say this, although her son wouldn't be as brilliant as Wang Qiqi and wouldn't get into a top university, the main thing was that he was otherwise fine. If he couldn't study well, he couldn't study well. At worst, she and the child’s father would work hard to earn more money for their son.

Just as the group thanked the doctor and were about to leave, the Chinese doctor thought for a moment and called them back. "If you have time..." he said, "when the child isn't so drowsy in a few months, talk to him more; perhaps the situation might improve a bit. Of course, I can’t guarantee the results."

Song Yao thanked the doctor. On the drive back, she remained silent, deep in thought. Wang Damei was also in a daze. The car ride back was eerily quiet, and everyone forgot a very important thing: calling Song Wenbo.

Meanwhile, Song Wenbo was pacing anxiously in his workshop office. He wanted to call, but he worried it might be bad news or that they hadn't been seen yet. All he could do was wait. He waited until the end of work. Finally, Song Wenbo decided he couldn't wait any longer and called Song Ziwen, only to find out they were already home. He was just about to scold them for not giving him an update, knowing he was waiting for the result, when he heard the doctor’s diagnosis. He was stunned. (To be continued)