Chapter 83

Zhou Yuan was both amused and exasperated. He had gone to town to see the doctor again today and asked many questions. The doctor almost kicked him out before finally saying that the pregnant man's mood was the most important thing. If the pregnant man was depressed, the baby would probably not be healthy. He told him not to make anyone angry.

"If you're not tired, come down and look at something." Zhou Yuan squatted down to put shoes on Chen Qing, and Chen Qing followed behind him and saw a lamb standing in the yard.

"Why did you buy this?" Chen Qing wanted to go up and touch the lamb, but he was a little afraid that its horns would poke him.

“These are dairy goats; the children love their milk,” Zhou Yuan said. “It was just a coincidence today; I happened to see someone selling them, so I bought some.”

The boy can't be breastfed, and there are no women in the village who have just given birth. It's better for the baby to drink milk than rice water.

"That's great! Shall we send it to them in a bit?" Chen Qing asked.

Zhou Yuan nodded: "The person who sold the sheep said that the milk cannot be drunk directly. It must be squeezed out, boiled with water, and then given to children to drink."

Chen Qing mustered his courage and stepped forward, gently touching the lamb. The lamb was docile, but only glanced at him.

"Are you coming with me?"

"Can I go?" Chen Qing asked.

Grandma Sun said from the side, "Just don't go inside, and don't hold the child." The elderly always have their taboos, and Chen Qing was also afraid of affecting the child, so he nodded and obeyed.

After listening to Aunt Sun talk about the taboos for a while, Chen Qing followed Zhou Yuan to Li Xin's house. Li Xin's house was very lively at the time, with the sounds of children crying, Li Xin scolding Qi Shuning, and Zhang Yin coaxing the children. It was quite a scene.

Zhou Yuan led Chen Qing and the sheep through the gate, and the courtyard quieted down a bit. Li the blacksmith was cooking rice porridge, and when he saw them, he immediately came over to greet them: "Oh, what's this?"

Niu Niu squats to one side, dyeing eggs red. This is a custom in Luohe Village. When someone has a happy occasion, they go door to door to deliver red eggs to spread good luck. The family that receives the red eggs will give something in return, no matter what it is, as long as it is for good luck.

"These are dairy goats we bought to give our babies milk." Zhou Yuan handed the rope to Li the blacksmith and then spoke to Zhang Yin.

"Don't drink the expressed milk directly. Add water, boil it, let it cool, and then drink it. The ratio of water to milk should be 1:1," Zhou Yuan instructed them.

Chen Qing then looked at Zhang Yin and asked, "Aunt Yin, how is Li Xin?"

"Okay, okay, didn't you hear his loud voice?" Zhang Yin thought for a moment, "I'll bring the baby out for you to see."

She had barely finished speaking when she heard Li Xin's voice: "Aqing! Aren't I amazing! I gave birth to two such adorable children."

Chen Qing also shouted back, "You're really something! Take good care of yourself, and we'll talk again later."

Zhang Yin smiled and went into the house. Then she and Qi Shuning each carried a child out. Chen Qing quickly went over to take a look. In just one day, the children hadn't changed much. Chen Qing looked at them very carefully. He didn't dare to reach out and touch them. Then he said to Zhou Yuan, "They are so good-looking."

Zhou Yuan really couldn't understand what was so cute about the two monkey-like children, but he still nodded: "Yes, they're cute."

"Auntie, quickly take them inside, don't let them catch a cold." Although it's September, the weather isn't too cold, but children are vulnerable, and he was a little worried.

Zhang Yin nodded, and Zhou Yuan placed the two small silver locks he was holding into the swaddling clothes: "A gift for the children."

"You've gone to such lengths, with both a safety lock and a milk goat," Zhang Yin said with a smile.

“I’m the child’s uncle, so it’s only right,” Zhou Yuan said. “Godmother, we’re going back now. Aqing should also get some rest.”

"Okay, things have been a bit chaotic at home these past few days. Let's talk things out in a few days. And Ah Qing, take good care of yourself. I'll come see you again in a while." After saying that, he and Qi Shuning carried the child back to their room.

Chen Qing was satisfied to see the child, and walked back with a lighter step.

"In another six months or so, our baby will be born." Zhou Yuan looked at Chen Qing's belly and reached out to touch it; it was still soft.

“Yes.” Chen Qing also touched his belly, and then Zhou Yuan took his hand and kissed it.

Li Xin's house has been quite lively lately. Red eggs have been delivered to almost every household in the village. People visit Li Xin's house every now and then, bringing things that are not expensive and are common household items.

Grandma Sun was the first to arrive. She brought two slaughtered chickens. Li Xin was in her postpartum period and needed to drink more soup and broth. She had prepared to slaughter the chickens when Zhou Yuan mentioned that Chen Qing wanted to eat chicken giblets.

It wasn't for Chen Qing's sake; it was purely because I needed to give Li Xin something.

Taking care of two children is quite a challenge. Because they are twins, both boys are thin and small. Qi Shuning has never held a baby before, so she is overwhelmed and gets scolded every day.

But actually, when it comes to taking care of children, it's Li Xin herself who's the best at it.

When Qi Shuning asked, Li Xin said, "My mother's health was very poor after giving birth to Niu Niu, and she didn't have much energy to take care of him, so I raised Niu Niu when he was little."

Li Xin leaned against the bed, with her two children on her left and right. Inside the room, Qi Shuning was running around frantically, while outside, Niu Niu was reciting his lessons. Occasionally, Zhang Yin could be heard complaining about Li the blacksmith.

He felt that his life so far was already good enough.

They were loved by their parents in their childhood, had a good husband, healthy family members, a few good friends, and many people who helped them along the way.

He was lucky in his life.

*

After Chen Qing finished taking the medicine, his condition seemed to stabilize a lot. However, his taste changed too quickly. He said he wanted to drink bone broth when he woke up in the morning, but after smelling the broth at noon, he vomited violently.

Chen Qing eventually drank a bowl of pickled cabbage noodle soup, which stopped him from vomiting.

Seeing that the kimchi jar was almost empty, Zhou Yuan had no choice but to ask Aunt Sun for help.

"How can he be properly cared for by just eating pickled cabbage?" Aunt Sun was also anxious, but she still helped Zhou Yuan fill the jar with pickled bok choy and green beans.

"They were talking about eating this and that, but they started throwing up as soon as it was made." Zhou Yuan was at his wit's end. "I don't know what to do either."

"I guess the little one is throwing a tantrum," said Aunt Sun. "We didn't know he was in my belly for a while, and it must have been tiring for him. Talk to the baby more often when you have time, and maybe he'll understand how hard his dad works."

“Lately I’ve only been eating pickled cabbage noodle soup.” Zhou Yuan said dejectedly. “Lately I’ve only been craving sour foods. I can eat hawthorns on their own, but the doctor said I shouldn’t eat too many.”

The two sighed in unison. Aunt Sun recalled that when Li Xin was pregnant, she ate wherever she went. It was only later, as her pregnancy progressed, that she gradually reduced what she ate. But when it came to their Aqing, he couldn't eat anything at all.

The escort agency has been operating smoothly recently. Knowing that Zhou Yuan has been busy, someone from the agency comes every five days. After all, there are some things that Zhou Yuan still needs to decide. Chen Qing told him to go to the county town by himself, saying that he could go back to his parents' home, but now is a critical moment, and Zhou Yuan is unwilling to leave.

Previously, Chen Qing thought that Zhou Yuan was useless, but after vomiting a lot, he realized that it was actually good to have him by his side. In particular, every night Zhou Yuan would touch Chen Qing's belly and talk for a long time. Chen Qing didn't know if the baby heard him, but he fell asleep while listening.

For almost a month, Chen Qing stayed in bed to protect the pregnancy. His daily routine consisted of eating and vomiting, and instead of gaining weight, he lost a lot of weight. Zhou Yuan would weigh him every morning, but he always felt a little lighter than the day before.

Today was the full-month celebration for Li Xin's twins. During the days of pregnancy protection, Chen Qing would visit Li Xin's house to see the babies when his condition was better, but he still couldn't go inside to see Li Xin. Finally, the day arrived. Chen Qing took a good bath, put on new clothes, and went to Li Xin's house early to wait.

There were many guests at the house that day, including two uncles from Li Xin's maternal grandparents' family. Zhou Yuan was helping to entertain the guests, while Chen Qing stayed inside talking to Li Xin.

Li Xin has recovered very well during her postpartum period. She looks radiant with rosy lips and white teeth, and is full of energy. The two children seem to change every day. After the first month, they seem to have fully grown and are incredibly cute.

The child's formal name was chosen by Qi Shuning: Qi Chang'an, Li Changning. His nicknames are An'an and Ningning.

"How can you tell them apart?" Chen Qing looked at the two children on the small bed and thought they were exactly the same.

“I can definitely tell the difference between the babies that came out of my belly,” Li Xin said casually. “This is An’an, and this is Ningning.”

Chen Qing asked suspiciously, "Are you talking nonsense?"

Li Xin glared at Chen Qing before saying, "Their names were embroidered on their clothes."

"What if you wear the wrong clothes?" Chen Qing asked again.

"Then let's redistribute them." Seeing that Chen Qing was about to say that he was irresponsible, Li Xin laughed. "Oh, I was just kidding. I can tell the difference. An'an has a birthmark on her wrist, but Ningning doesn't."

Chen Qing gently patted him: "You scared me."

"How are you?" Li Xin asked.

"It's good. I couldn't eat much before, and I would throw up whatever I ate, but it's better now." Chen Qing looked down at his stomach, which was already showing a slight bulge.

"You look thinner too," Li Xin said, pinching his cheek.

"It's alright, it's almost healed now," Chen Qing said.

Qin Xia arrived shortly after. Li Xin invited him to come and see the child. He remembered that Qin Xia had carried him home and seemed to have helped them with a lot of things that day.

“I said I would come to see you, but Shuanzi’s mother said you needed to rest, so I didn’t come.” Qin Xia also glanced at the two children sleeping in the crib, and took out a red envelope from her bosom, giving one to each of the children. “This is for the children, it has nothing to do with Shuanzi’s family.”

Li Xin wasn't one to spoil the fun, so he pulled Qin Xia down to sit. He now genuinely considered Qin Xia a friend: "Thank you. I remember we had some of your snacks that day."

Qin Xia smiled and said, "I also ate your snacks. From now on, we're good friends."

So the three good friends held hands and almost spun around, but someone knocked on the door and they had to let go of each other's hands.

Qin Xia also knew about Chen Qing's pregnancy. He moved closer to Chen Qing and said, "There are a lot of people today, and your husband is very busy. You should come with me, and I will protect you."

Chen Qing: ?

However, he still expressed his gratitude to Qin Xia.

Many people came to see the child, and Zhang Yin returned to the house. Chen Qing and Qin Xia went to the banquet to wait for the banquet to begin.

Zhou Yuan was indeed very busy. After all, he was Li the blacksmith's adopted son, Li Xin's brother, and the children's uncle. At this moment, he was entertaining guests with Li the blacksmith and Qi Shuning.

Even though he was so busy, Zhou Yuan still made time to visit Chen Qing.

"If you're tired, go home and rest. Your godfather and the others know about your situation and won't mind."

Chen Qing nodded: "Go ahead and get busy, I want to talk to Qin Xia."

"good."

Chen Qing wasn't a talkative person, but Qin Xia was, and she could say a few words about anything.

At noon, the feast began.

Today, the Li family's banquet was very large. Almost everyone in the village, except for the original village chief's family, came. Although Li Xin's house was big, it was still not enough to accommodate everyone, so the banquet was set up on the main road outside.

After everyone had started eating, the sound of gongs and drums came from the village entrance.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and waited for the sound of gongs and drums to slowly approach. Only when the constable saw the people did he ask, "Is Qi Shuning's family in Luohe Village here?"

Someone then replied, "It's just ahead."

When the constables arrived at Qi Shuning's house and saw Qi Shuning, they took out a gold-flower invitation card made of plain silk with gold flowers pasted on it from their sleeves and handed it to Qi Shuning.

Then he announced loudly, "Qi Shuning from Luohe Village has ranked seventh in the provincial examination at Yuancang!"