The center of Qingquan Town is located just north of the two villages, so the distance from the hospital to my mother-in-law's house in Lijia Village and back to my own home in Wangjia Village is roughly the same.

The motorcycle drove along the narrow road, the poplar trees on both sides bare of leaves, leaving only grayish-white branches. Some birds that had overwintered here had built nests in the trees, which from a distance looked like the trees were laden with grayish-black fruit.

The roads here are all dirt roads, which are inherently dusty. In winter, they freeze at night, thaw during the day, freeze again at night, and thaw again during the day.

Therefore, during the day, this kind of road is muddy and particularly difficult to walk on. If you ride a bicycle, the mud will quickly stick to the frame and the wheels will not turn.

The motorcycle won't get stuck, but you need to be careful to prevent it from slipping.

Because Wang Tianxiao works in another city and rarely visits his wife's parents' home, many people in Lijia Village don't recognize him. The villagers are doing various chores at their doorsteps. When they hear the sound of a motorcycle, they all look up and wonder, "Whose young man is this? He's handsome and riding a motorcycle. He seems quite wealthy."

Wang Tianxiao turned a small bend, and at the end of the road was his mother-in-law's house. Just as he was about to turn on the gas, he noticed a woman chasing a sheep in the wheat field next to him. Upon closer inspection, he recognized her as his mother-in-law, Qin Xiaoling.

My mother-in-law's family raised more than a dozen sheep, maintaining this scale for many years. They started raising them when my brother-in-law, Li Guanhong, was very young, and continued until my mother-in-law passed away.

When Wang Tianxiao thinks of his mother-in-law, he always sees her holding a sheep whip, smiling kindly.

It's winter now, and there's not much grass for sheep to graze on by the roadside, so they easily wander into people's wheat fields to eat the wheat.

Sheep are a nuisance when it comes to eating grass. No matter what kind of wild grass or plants they eat, they will pull up the leaves and roots together. If they eat a lot of wheat in a field, they will destroy a large area of ​​wheat.

Judging from my mother-in-law's expression, she probably left it by the roadside and didn't notice it had wandered inside.

The sheep ran quite fast. Although my mother-in-law was just over fifty and considered young, she had bound feet and couldn't outrun the sheep at all. She could only shout and try to get the sheep back on the road with her whip.

Sheep are very stupid animals. They usually run around on their own, but once the strongest sheep in the flock goes somewhere, the rest of the flock will follow.

The ram with two curled horns at the front of the flock was definitely the lead sheep. Wherever it went, the other dozen or so sheep followed, engaging in a guerrilla war with my mother-in-law, exhausting her to no end.

Wang Tianxiao saw this, pushed the car into the wheat field and parked it, then ran quickly to intercept the lead sheep.

"Auntie, let me help you stop them."

"Ah, it's Tianxiao! What brings you here?" Seeing her son-in-law running over, Qin Xiaoling didn't even have time to wonder why Wang Tianxiao had suddenly appeared. She stopped and said breathlessly:

"Look at these damned creatures! We told them not to come into people's wheat fields, but they just had to. If they eat their wheat, we'll be stuck at the door complaining again."

"Don't worry, I'll help you catch up."

Wang Tianxiao quickened his pace, ran in front of the lead sheep, stretched out his arms, and blocked the lead sheep's path.

The lead sheep stopped and stared at Wang Tianxiao. Just when Wang Tianxiao thought it had calmed down, the lead sheep suddenly lowered its head, bleated, and suddenly accelerated, crouching low as it charged straight at Wang Tianxiao.

They actually intended to use their horns to butt him.

Don't underestimate a ram's full-force charge; if it hits someone in the waist, it can definitely break their back.

"Good heavens." Wang Tianxiao saw it charging at him, so he stepped aside, grabbed the sheep's horns with both hands, and pinned it to the ground from the side.

He didn't have the strength to do it, but the sheep rushed in so fast and in such an arc that he essentially borrowed some of its strength and used its own momentum to flip it over.

The sheep tried to struggle, but he pressed its head down hard with his knee, preventing it from escaping. After a standoff lasting several dozen seconds, the sheep's eyes became docile, and it stopped moving.

At this moment, Wang Tianxiao's mother-in-law came over and told him to get up. She gently lashed the sheep's rump with her whip, and the sheep obediently stood up and slowly walked out of the wheat field, followed by the other sheep.

Their wildness has been largely tamed, and these occasional bursts of wildness due to accidents are difficult to maintain for long; once they pass, they become obedient.

"Tianxiao, when did you get back?"

Qin Xiaoling tucked the whip into her waistband and looked at her son-in-law beside her.

She wasn't actually short, around 1.6 meters, but she was still quite a bit shorter than her son-in-law, and she had the illusion that her son-in-law was even taller than before.

"I've been back for about a month."

"It's been so long, oh, I remember now, it has been quite a while. How is Lili's health? When is the baby due? Last time I asked your uncle to come and see you, he didn't even get to see my poor daughter."

Wang Tianxiao was just thinking about how to bring it up when he heard his mother-in-law say this, and he smiled and said, "It's only been a day or two, I'll take her to the hospital now..."

"Oh no, Lili is in the hospital?" Qin Xiaoling grabbed Wang Tianxiao's arm anxiously. "Where is she feeling unwell? Could she be having a difficult labor? What are we going to do?"

"No, she's fine," Wang Tianxiao quickly comforted his flustered mother-in-law, reassuring her, "She's about to give birth, so to prevent any mishaps, let her stay at the health center for now."

"Oh, is that so? That's great, that's great," Qin Xiaoling said, finally relieved. She seemed to be speaking to Wang Tianxiao, but it also sounded like she was talking to herself.

“Lili has been anemic since she was a child. She looks like she’s over 1.7 meters tall, but her immunity is very poor. Last time she gave birth to your Fangwa, it took a lot of effort. This time, I see that her belly is even bigger than last time. I’m afraid it’s a boy, and it will be even more difficult to give birth to him.”

"Yes, that's why we were admitted to the hospital."

"That's good," Qin Xiaoling said, taking Wang Tianxiao's hand and patting it gently a few times. "Your uncle and I are not capable enough to give our daughter a good life. You work for the government and are very capable. Treat her well and make sure she has a comfortable life in her later years so that my child doesn't have to suffer so much anymore."

“Auntie, I will definitely take good care of my wife. Just wait to hold your grandson,” Wang Tianxiao said, before getting to the point. “Auntie, I came to see you today because I would like you to help take care of Lili at the hospital for a few days. I wonder if that would be convenient for you?”

"Me?" Qin Xiaoling hesitated slightly, looking troubled. "I'm fine here. I just need to cook two meals and tend these sheep. Your uncle can handle that. The problem is with your side..."

Wang Tianxiao knew what his mother-in-law was wary of.

According to local customs, a daughter-in-law is expected to be cared for by her mother-in-law during childbirth. Only when the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is strained, or even when the mother-in-law is deceased, will the daughter-in-law's family be asked to help take care of her.

Otherwise, it might be difficult to maintain the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

This is what my mother-in-law is superstitious about.