"That's fine." Zhong Jing nodded.

"A Tao, Teacher Zhong and I will go home first. Please help me watch the Qingming Festival for a while." Xu Yuting said.

"Okay." Lin Tao nodded and took Xiao Qingming from Xu Yuting's arms. The little guy smiled at her, and it was unclear whether he smiled consciously or unconsciously.

While Xu Yuting and Zhong Jing were picking up the male rabbit, Chen Shuifen went back home to do some laundry. After she had washed everyone's clothes, Xu Yuting and Zhong Jing came over with the rabbit.

The rabbit in Xu Yuting's family has grown a lot fatter than last year, but when the two rabbits are put together, they are still not as fat as the rabbit in Lin Tao's family.

This is all thanks to the vegetables grown by Lin Tao. The little rabbits never lack food all year round, and they always come in different forms.

We eat water spinach and spinach in spring, carrots and potatoes in summer and autumn, and sweet potatoes, cabbage and radish in winter. We live a very carefree life.

Xu Yuting's family grows flowers, and she always comes to Lin Tao's house to take the unwanted vegetable leaves home to feed the rabbits. They eat them for several days, but sometimes the leaves are not so fresh, and the rabbits don't like to eat them anymore.

The male rabbit and the female rabbit got together. Originally, it was the male rabbit who took the initiative and was kicked a few times by the female rabbit at the beginning.

In the end, the male rabbit was still pressed on by the female rabbit.

After a while, the female rabbit came down. The male rabbit stamped his feet and Zhong Jing said, "All right."

Chen Shuifen: “?”

Xu Yuting: “???”

Lin Tao: “???”

The three of them looked at Zhong Jing in confusion. Just like that, it would be fine?

Zhong Jing was amused by their expressions and said, "Yes, that's how rabbits are bred. It's very quick."

After finishing, Zhong Jing separated the two rabbits. However, the male rabbit was obviously not very willing to leave and was still scratching with its claws. The female rabbit, on the other hand, ran to the side to eat vegetable leaves.

Zhong Jing then instructed Lin Tao: "Teacher Lin, this is only the first time we have mated the rabbit. We don't know if the female rabbit can get pregnant. You should pay a little attention to it. If it becomes irritable and has a poor appetite, it may be pregnant. It will probably give birth in about a month."

"It's much easier for rabbits to give birth than for humans. Rabbits only need to be pregnant for one month, while humans need ten months," Xu Yuting sighed.

Chen Shuifen said: "Who says it's not true? Rabbits are faster than humans at doing that."

Chen Shuifen spoke as boldly as before. After she said a word, the remaining three people didn't know what to say in response.

His face turned red and he started talking about other things.

Zhong Jing and Xu Yuting had both touched the rabbit, then took a basin of water, put soap in it and washed their hands carefully.

Just as they were washing their hands, little Qingming in Lin Tao's arms suddenly became a little noisy. He hummed and tilted his head to rub against Lin Tao's chest.

Lin Tao thought that Xiao Qingming was going to poop or pee again. Chen Shuifen saw this and said, "He is hungry and wants to be fed. Teacher Xu, Xiao Qingming is hungry. You should wash him and feed him."

Xu Yuting wiped her hands, walked over, took little Qingming from Lin Tao's arms, and went into the house to feed him.

Chen Shuifen said: "Teacher Xu is too thin-skinned. She was embarrassed in front of us women. When we were in the countryside, if the child was hungry, we would just open our arms and feed him. Sometimes there were men around, but there was nothing we could do."

Lin Tao didn't say anything, but what she was thinking was that when she gave birth to the baby, she would probably have to hide in the room to breastfeed like Xu Yuting.

*****************************

Several people stayed in Lin Tao's yard until four o'clock in the afternoon. Zhong Jing glanced at the time on Lin Tao's watch and saw that it was getting late, so she suggested going back.

Chen Shuifen also said she wanted to go home to cook dinner.

Xu Yuting did have her mother-in-law cook dinner for her, but it would be bad to go home too late as the child was still too young, so it would be best not to walk at night. She had to go back before the sun completely set.

The fish that Zhong Jing sent had already been sent home when they went to get the rabbit.

However, it was not convenient for Xu Yuting to hold the baby and take the rabbit at the same time. Lin Tao was about to say that she could leave the rabbit at her house first and wait for Li Chengxi to come back in the evening and have him deliver it, or have Wang Yuanliang come to take it.

As a result, Aunt Wang came.

She came specially to pick up Xu Yuting, knowing that it would be inconvenient for her to hold the child.

When they arrived at the door of the house, they saw Xu Yuting who was about to go home. Aunt Wang smiled at Lin Tao and said, "Teacher Lin."

"Auntie Wang, are you here to pick up Yuting?" Lin Tao asked.

Aunt Wang nodded: "Well, I thought it would be inconvenient for Yuting to hold the baby and the rabbit at the same time, so I prepared the meal early today and came to pick her up."

Lin Tao: "You are so kind to Yuting. Yuting just told us that you love her as much as her own mother. We envy her for having such a good mother-in-law like you."

Aunt Wang said modestly: "I can't say it's that good. I'm from the countryside and I haven't received much education. I just want to do what I can. Teacher Lin, you are beautiful and have a good temper. I'm sure you can get along well with your mother-in-law."

Zhang Sufen?

Lin Tao smiled and didn't explain anything, mainly because she felt there was no need to tell Aunt Wang all this.

"Atao, let's go back first." Xu Yuting and Aunt Wang took the child away together.

Aunt Wang said the baby was heavy, so she held the baby. The rabbit weighed only a few pounds, so she asked Xu Yuting to carry it. Xu Yuting had been holding the baby for the whole afternoon, so she asked Xu Yuting not to get too tired.

Lin Tao stood at the door and looked for a while before going into the house. Today she planned to make braised sea bass and fried beans, and cook some seaweed and shrimp soup.

Lin Tao also felt that her belly seemed to be bigger than others, so she had been controlling her diet since last month.

Although she had never given birth, she knew that bigger babies were not necessarily better. If the baby was too big, the mother would suffer during the birth.

In fact, except for her early stage of being greedy and eating more meat, she began to consciously control herself in the middle stage. For example, when she was too hungry, she would eat more vegetables and less rice, so that she would not easily gain weight.

Now we eat more seafood and less meat.

After eating, she had to walk around. The weather was too hot, so she didn't go out to wander around to avoid getting heat stroke. She just walked around the house. She walked back and forth like this, and could walk back and forth dozens or even hundreds of times in the living room.

Lin Tao steamed the rice first and peeled the beans, which she would fry directly later. The fish was still in the bucket, and she planned to let Li Chengxi kill the fish after he came back.

She knew how to kill fish, and sometimes when Li Chengxi hadn't come back yet, she wouldn't keep them for Li Chengxi to kill. But since she became pregnant, she felt that she seemed to be more delicate than before.

When Li Chengxi got home, he drank some boiled water and saw the fish in the bucket. Without Lin Tao saying anything, he took the knife and killed the fish.

He cut open the animal's belly, took out the gallbladder, and scraped off the scales with great skill.

After everything was settled, it was Lin Tao's turn to take the field.

In fact, Li Chengxi tried to cook last time. He saw that Lin Tao’s belly was getting bigger and bigger, and he couldn’t bear to let her cook.

But after trying several times, the previously incompetent Captain Li finally admitted that there were things he couldn't do. He really couldn't cook.

The food they cooked was either mushy or tasted bad.

Lin Tao was also puzzled. Even though she was giving instructions from the side, Li Chengxi still did a terrible job.

From then on, Lin Tao asked Li Chengxi to stay away from the kitchen except for washing dishes.

Two sea bass were grilled today, one for Lin Tao and one for Li Chengxi.

Sea bass has few bones and is easier to eat. After Lin Tao finished her meal, she ate all of her sea bass.

After dinner they started taking a walk. After washing the dishes, Li Chengxi washed an apple for Lin Tao, peeled it, cut it into cubes, put it in a bowl, and passed it to her to eat with a toothpick.

When it’s time to go to bed at night, it’s time for Li Chengxi to “perform”—it’s time for him to read to the baby in his belly.

This time Lin Tao chose a Russian book, and Li Chengxi read it very fluently.

Lin Tao also knows some Russian, but not as fluently as Li Chengxi.

In the third trimester, the lazy worm in her belly suddenly became diligent. Especially at this time of day, when Li Chengxi was reading, she would kick here and there, as if she was doing somersaults in Lin Tao's belly.

This is also the reason why Li Chengxi reads to his children every day, because the children are responding to him, and their response is quite big.

Li Chengxi was quite proud and felt that this child would definitely be a book lover in the future.

Lin Tao found it funny and said that maybe the child was annoyed because her father kept talking to her incomprehensible language every day.

The reading time is about half an hour. After that, Li Chengxi will massage Lin Tao's calves.

Don't say that Li Chengxi is very strong, but when massaging, the strength is very appropriate. Lin Tao is in the late stage of pregnancy. Although there is no edema in her legs, she still feels sore from time to time.

After this set of massage, Lin Tao felt so comfortable that she began to feel sleepy.

I didn't know when I fell asleep. I woke up the next morning.

Lin Tao's belly is bigger than Xu Yuting's at that time, so she feels uncomfortable sleeping now. Li Chengxi made a small pillow for her, which she should put under her belly when she sleeps, which makes her much more comfortable.

When Chen Shuifen went to work at the logistics department under the scorching sun, she couldn't help but sigh that Lin Tao, Xu Yuting and Zhong Jing were so lucky. They read a lot of books, and it was good to be knowledgeable. It was so good to be a teacher, and they could have summer and winter vacations.

It’s so comfortable to not have to go to work and just stay at home during the hottest and coldest seasons of the year.

However, despite this, Chen Shuifen is still very dedicated when she is working. She completes her work tasks very well every day. The people in charge of the logistics department have even praised her to Yang Aidang.

**************************

Li Chengxi was resting that day and planned to go to the food factory to buy vegetables in the morning.

I originally wanted to let Lin Tao sleep a little longer, but Lin Tao woke up by herself and said she wanted to go with us.

The sun is too strong during the day and there are too many mosquitoes at night. Lin Tao hasn't been out for a walk for several days. While it's still early and the sun hasn't set yet, she and Li Chengxi will go buy some groceries and walk outside to breathe some fresh air.

The island scenery in the morning is unique. Lin Tao walked while holding her waist and occasionally looking into the distance.

This angle is just right to see the lighthouse on the sea in the distance. Lin Tao pulled Lin Tao's sleeve and pointed over there: "Cheng Xi, look quickly, it's the lighthouse."

Li Chengxi looked in the direction of her sight and then reminded her to look at the road while walking and not to look around. What if she fell?

Lin Tao pouted and snorted, feeling that Li Chengxi sometimes controlled her more than her father.

When they arrived at the grocery store, many sales clerks at the stalls greeted Lin Tao.

"Teacher Lin, are you here with Captain Li to buy food? What do you want to buy today? Do you want some pork? This meat is good."

"Teacher Lin, I haven't seen you here for a long time. Do you want to eat fish today? The fish is fresh and was just caught today."

"Teacher Lin looks really good."

"I won't buy any meat. I'll be too fat if I eat more." Lin Tao said with a smile. She went to look at the fish again and finally bought some shrimps to make a shrimp pot today.

The soy sauce at home was used up, so Lin Tao bought another bottle of soy sauce.

After leaving the non-staple food factory, Lin Tao said that the thread at home had run out, so she asked Li Chengxi to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy white and black thread.

Today is Sunday, and everyone is resting. There are many people in the supply and marketing cooperative, so Lin Tao did not go in to join in the hustle and bustle, but stood outside waiting. She carried the shrimps she bought, so that they would not be squeezed to death when she came out.

Not long after, I saw a familiar figure.

It was Ma Xiaoying, a student in their class, and she was accompanied by her stepmother Huang Aidi.

Last time, Lin Tao heard from Chen Shuifen that Huang Aidi was also pregnant, and that Huang Aidi said that she was pregnant with a daughter and she was pregnant with a son, and that Li Chengxi would definitely not be nice to her when the time comes.

Lin Tao just listened to this for fun and didn't take it seriously.

No one knows better than her whether Li Chengxi is good to her.

Ma Xiaoying was carrying a lot of things in her hands. She was originally thinner than her peers, and carrying those things made her look even thinner. As for Huang Aidi, she looked like a slave owner, with empty hands.

When Ma Xiaoying saw Lin Tao, she was delighted and called out, "Teacher Lin!"

There was joy in her tone, and it seemed that she was really happy to see Lin Tao here.

Although everyone lives on the same island, Lin Tao rarely goes out recently, so it is difficult for these students to see her.

Lin Tao smiled at Ma Xiaoying: "Xiaoying, why did you buy so many things? How are your studies going recently? Even though it's vacation time, you can't slack off. You'll be going to junior high school next year. Try your best to get good grades."

Ma Xiaoying glanced at Huang Aidi beside her and whispered, "I take time out to read every day..."

Huang Aidi glanced at Lin Tao and saw that she only bought shrimps. She looked a little proud and said, "Ah, Teacher Lin, you are pregnant, but Captain Li is still so reluctant? How can he not even buy meat for you? Tsk, my old Ma is different. Although he looks careless at ordinary times, after knowing that I can give birth to a son this time, he can't wait to let me eat meat every day."

Then he showed Lin Tao his flesh: "Look, I've gained so much weight just because I'm pregnant. Teacher Lin, you don't seem to have changed much except for your bigger belly. Captain Li is really something. You're already the captain, and this is your first child. Is it that serious?"

How could Lin Tao not hear what Huang Aidi wanted to express?

This is just to show off to myself.

But Lin Tao just thought it was funny, and she curled her lips and said, "Actually, eating too much meat is not good either. The baby will be too big to give birth to. Especially in the later stages of pregnancy, you need to exercise more. You can't just lie in bed and do nothing every day. Doing some work will be good for giving birth to a baby."

She guessed that at home, Huang Aidi must have taken advantage of the fact that she was pregnant with a "boy" and let Ma Xiaoying do all the work.

What she said was not only the truth, but also meant to make Ma Xiaoying feel more at ease.

Ma Xiaoying is still young, so it’s okay for her to help with housework occasionally, but we can’t let a child do all the work.

However, Huang Aidi obviously didn't believe what she said. She said it wasn't that she didn't want to do it, but that her husband Ma felt sorry for her because she was pregnant and didn't let her do it.

Even though Lin Tao wanted to help Ma Xiaoying again, it was not easy for her to interfere in other people's affairs, so she had to give up.

When Ma Xiaoying is admitted to junior high school, she will be able to live in a boarding school and will no longer have to do so much work for Huang Aidi at home.

After Huang Aidi walked away, she couldn't help but mutter: "Ma Xiaoying, thank you for always talking about how nice your Teacher Lin is. I don't think she is that good at all. Apart from having studied for a few years, she is a bit more eloquent." Besides saying nice things, what else is there? Okay? It’s only you kids with bigger shit who are deceived by her and think she’s good. If you can’t eat meat, you’ll make her feel bad if you eat too much meat. Is it okay? If eating meat is not good, what should I eat? "

Ma Xiaoying glanced at Huang Aidi and quietly defended Teacher Lin: "Teacher Lin is not that kind of person. Teacher Lin is a very nice person."

After being glared at by Huang Aidi, he shuddered and dared not say anything.

But she thought silently in her heart that Teacher Lin was a very good person.

****************************

In mid-August, Lin Tao received another letter from Xiangcheng, which was sent by Aunt Fang.

The letter said that Lin Manman had originally planned to take an exam for a pharmaceutical factory in the city, but something went wrong and she failed the exam. Aunt Fang asked in the letter if she could bring Lin Manman with her this time.

The main reason for writing this letter was to seek the opinions of Lin Tao and Li Chengxi. If possible, she would come with Lin Manman, if not, she would come alone.

Lin Tao could only be happy that Lin Manman was coming. How could she disagree?

I just don't know what the problem that Aunt Fang said was. But Aunt Fang didn't say it now, so she didn't ask in the letter. It's already August, her due date is October, and Aunt Fang and her family will come in September.

After opening the letter and reading it, Lin Tao immediately told Li Chengxi about it: "It's not like we don't have enough space at home. Aunt Fang can sleep in the same room with Manman. I haven't seen Manman for more than a year, and I miss her so much. She just turned 17 a few months ago, and she has grown into a big girl. I made her a new dress, and she will definitely look good in it. I feel bad that I can't see it now. I can see it when she comes."

After saying this, Lin Tao remembered that she had not asked Li Chengxi for his opinion.

Then he asked, "Is it okay? Captain Li, can I ask Aunt Fang to bring Manman along?"

Li Chengxi watered the vegetable patch while answering, "Whatever you say is fine. I'll follow the instructions of the head of the group's wife."

This made Lin Tao laugh. When she laughed, her eyes narrowed into a crescent moon in the sky. She stopped laughing and patted her head: "Then I'll go write the letter now."

Before going to bed at night, Lin Tao stuffed the envelope into Li Chengxi's military uniform pocket, reminding him to mail the letter the next morning.

Even if this letter is delivered early, it will take half a month for it to reach Aunt Fang and her family. After they receive it, they still have to pack their luggage.

Li Chengxi knew how much Lin Tao was looking forward to her little sisters coming over, so he sent the letter early the next morning.

Then, Lin Tao counted the days every day and waited for Aunt Fang and Lin Manman to come over.

The only regret is that her father couldn't come with her this time.

Lin Tao understood the reason, so she just sighed, but her father promised her that he would come to the island to celebrate the New Year with them this year.

Thinking of this, Lin Tao became happy again.

Just when Lin Tao was looking forward to the arrival of Aunt Fang and Lin Manman, two other people from Xiangcheng found Shen Guobin's house in a fierce manner and beat Lin Hui.