Bai Shiqing's morning sickness is getting worse. At first, she would only feel nauseous when she smelled oily food, but now she can't eat anything at all, and she feels like vomiting when she sees others eating.

Bai Shiqing was afraid that her frequent nausea would affect other people's meals, so she would hide inside the house during mealtimes.

Li's mother couldn't bear to see it, and she felt the most sorry for Li Shuxian.

Half a month after Bai Shiqing was found to be pregnant, her family treated her like a treasure, but she actually lost some weight.

It was mealtime again. Bai Shiqing didn't even come out of her room, but Li Shuxian went in with an egg in his hand.

"Shiqing, eat something, how can you eat like this?"

Li Shuxian looked at Bai Shiqing's pale face and wished he could help her vomit.

Bai Shiqing frowned as she watched Li Shuxian crack an egg and peel it for her. It was something she usually craved, but when Bai Shiqing smelled the boiled egg, she couldn't help but turn her face away and gag.

She drank some sugar water this morning, and Bai Jiaojiao also brought her some malted milk powder, but she couldn't drink it.

There was absolutely nothing to vomit.

Li Shuxian quickly moved the eggs away from Bai Shiqing: "What would you like to eat? Shall I take you to the supply and marketing cooperative?"

Bai Shiqing shook her head: "I don't want to eat anything. You go and eat your food."

Li Shuxian rubbed his thighs, how could he possibly eat? "I'll go buy you a bottle of canned yellow peaches, to cool you down?"

The kang (heated brick bed) inside was burning hot; Bai Shiqing's severe morning sickness might be due to internal heat.

Bai Shiqing frowned: "No need, that stuff is too sweet, it's so cloying it hurts your throat."

Li Shuxian licked his slightly dry lips: "Then shall I go and peel a radish for you?"

Bai Shiqing also shook her head.

Li Shuxian couldn't think of anything else that would taste good, and then he heard Bai Shiqing say, "I want to eat snake roe."

Li Shuxian was both amused and exasperated: "Where am I supposed to get this for you in the dead of winter? How about hawthorn berries?"

Bai Shiqing hesitated for a moment, then heard Li's mother's voice outside: "A young woman in the neighboring village ate hawthorns and lost her child. You still dare to give her hawthorns to eat."

Li Shuxian didn't dare to move. He sighed and wondered what to do.

Bai Jiaojiao knew that Bai Shiqing was suffering from severe morning sickness, so she would visit her whenever she had time.

"Sister, I bought a pound of apples at the supply and marketing cooperative. Have your brother-in-law wash them for you."

Bai Jiaojiao was also worried about Bai Shiqing at home. Her morning sickness was so bad that Shen Heng stopped mentioning the baby to her.

"Why did you buy this? It's such a waste of money!"

Bai Shiqing felt a little embarrassed, but looking at the apple Bai Jiaojiao was holding, she really did feel like eating it.

“Your sister didn’t eat anything again today. You should talk to her. My opinion doesn’t count.”

Li Shuxian took the apples and went out, leaving Bai Jiaojiao and Bai Shiqing alone.

"How about we go out for a walk later? You can't just sit at home all the time while you're pregnant."

“Okay.” Bai Shiqing nodded, then told Bai Jiaojiao that she wanted to eat snake roe.

"You're really good at making trouble. You might as well have told your brother-in-law that you wanted to eat ginseng. You can get that stuff by following the rules. Where are you supposed to get snake venom in the dead of winter?" Bai Jiaojiao racked her brains, trying to think of something that could be a substitute for Bai Shiqing at this time of year.

The good thing about getting pregnant in winter is that you don't have to work, and everyone can stay home and take care of the pregnant woman. The bad thing is that there's really nothing to eat.

"I was just saying, it's not necessary to take it. My mother-in-law said it will be fine in a month or two, and I'm still early in my pregnancy, so it's okay."

Bai Jiaojiao noticed that Bai Shiqing's once robust body had become almost as thin as hers, and she felt a little worried.

Li Shuxian washed an apple for Bai Shiqing. The apple was only the size of Bai Shiqing's palm, but he let her eat one.

Bai Shiqing said she wanted to go out for a stroll, so Li Shuxian found her a large cotton-padded coat to wrap herself in, insisting on going out with her.

Going outside for some fresh air cleared Bai Shiqing's mind. A flock of sparrows flew by with a "whoosh," and Bai Shiqing said, "Shuxian, can you catch a couple of sparrows for me and roast them?"

"Hey, you just wait!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shuxian thought, "That's easy! Which boy in the village hasn't played with a slingshot when he was a child?"

He went back to Li Shutao to get his slingshot, while Bai Jiaojiao and Bai Shiqing continued to wander around the area.

They were wandering aimlessly, so they must have been looking for an open space, and they headed towards the reservoir along the road.

From afar, Bai Jiaojiao saw a person carrying a basin approaching. Upon closer inspection, she recognized Li Xiulian.

Zhou Fukun and his son have not returned since they were taken away by the police. Zhou Yanshan was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to ten years in prison. Zhou Fukun will also serve five years in prison. The other crew members who forced Shen Heng to pay fines were all redeemed by their families.

Some of the crew members already felt guilty, and since everyone was able to return home safely, they naturally wouldn't hold any resentment towards Shen Heng. Only one or two clueless individuals would harbor hatred towards them.

Bai Jiaojiao knew, however, that she had become sworn enemies with the Zhou family.

Li Xiulian is now living a life of forced widowhood, and the way she looks at the two sisters is as if she wants to tear a piece of their flesh out.

"What the hell are you looking at!"

Bai Shiqing's temper worsened after she became pregnant.

The two women didn't get along when they were daughters, and they even had a fight a couple of days ago. It's good that Li Xiulian avoids Bai Shiqing, but Bai Shiqing dares to walk right into the line of fire; she's just asking for trouble.

What goes around comes around. Li Xiulian's father used to be the village chief, swaggering around the village. But now that Li Lide has stepped down, Bai Shiqing has become the village chief's daughter-in-law. Li Xiulian and Bai Shiqing have a long-standing grudge, and even without Shen Heng's affair, the two would still have a lot to do.

"Just you wait, good and evil will eventually be rewarded, and you won't have many good days left!"

Li Xiulian threw down a harsh remark, picked up a basin of clothes, and left.

Bai Shiqing laughed angrily: "How dare she say such a thing? We've become the villains."

"Sis, don't pay any attention to her. She's probably upset right now and is just saying some harsh words. You're pregnant, it's not worth getting angry with someone like that."

Bai Jiaojiao was wary in her heart, but on the surface she comforted Bai Shiqing, not wanting her to waste her energy on such a matter.

Bai Shiqing snorted coldly: "If she can really do something big, I'll admire her."

Not only is Li Xiulian's husband away from home, but her mother-in-law's attitude towards her has also changed drastically. She orders her around all day with a forced smile, and now that it's the dead of winter, there are already few clothes to change. Basically, in order to avoid wearing out their clothes, people in the village are considered diligent if they change and wash them once a winter. But Li Xiulian's mother-in-law manages to find some things for her to wash at the reservoir every day.

Li Xiulian had no choice but to swallow her anger and not dare to utter a word of rebellion against her mother-in-law. She could only stay in the Zhou family home.

Bai Shiqing didn't take it seriously. By the time Bai Jiaojiao helped her home, Li Shuxian's sparrows were already roasting in the stove hole.