Chapter 68
"Teacher Jiang, are you pregnant?" Zhang Xiaocao ran to Jiang Suihan and stared at her belly.
Jiang Suihan smiled and said, "Yes, Teacher Jiang is pregnant with a baby."
Zhang Xiaocao took out a handful of dates from her old and worn backpack and said, "Teacher Jiang, Chunmei and I picked these in the mountains yesterday. They are very sweet. Give them to the baby."
Yesterday was Sunday and there were no classes at school. Her mother went out to chat with someone and Chunmei came to play with her. She didn't want to go at first because the floor at home hadn't been swept or the clothes washed. She was afraid that her mother would come back and beat her for not working. Chunmei helped without saying a word. The two of them worked hard for half a day and while it was still early in the afternoon, they asked other children in the yard to go up the mountain to pick fruit together.
She was the one who discovered the jujube tree. She called her friends over and they all picked dates together, and then divided them equally. There were a lot of dates on the tree, and everyone got some. She only tasted a few and took the rest home and hid them secretly in her room. She gave some to her two younger sisters, and she wanted to take the rest to school to give to Teacher Jiang.
Jiang Suihan picked up a date and wiped it on her clothes casually, then put it to her mouth and took a bite: "It's very sweet. This is the first time that the teacher has eaten such fresh dates this year. Thank you, Xiaocao."
Zhang Xiaocao smiled shyly and happily: "Teacher Jiang, eat more. I have more in my bag."
Teacher Jiang helped her a lot, but she had no skills and could not repay Teacher Jiang, so she could only give her the fruits she picked.
Jiang Suihan took the dates from Zhang Xiaocao's hand and asked her, "Are your parents still angry with you?"
Zhang Xiaocao nodded and then shook her head: "They are no longer angry. I have agreed with my mother that I will help her take care of my little brother after school every day and I will never be lazy. My mother also agreed to let me finish elementary school."
She will go to the county for junior high school. As for whether she can go to high school, she doesn’t know whether her parents will agree. But she is already satisfied to be able to study for one more year.
In the village, most little girls of her age drop out of school after one or two years and go home to help with housework, washing clothes, cooking, taking care of younger siblings, and sometimes even working in the fields. Compared to them, her life is much happier now.
Jiang Suihan touched Zhang Xiaocao's head and said, "If you have any questions about your studies, you can come to my house to find me."
Zhang Xiaocao nodded heavily.
Jiang Suihan took out two candies and stuffed them into Zhang Xiaocao's pockets. She had often felt hungry recently, so she would always put some food in her pocket when she went to work, sometimes it was candies, sometimes it was biscuits. There were always snacks at home during this period, and even Jiang Leyun got to eat a lot of delicious food.
As a result, she ate too much sweets and had a toothache. Fortunately, it was a baby tooth. The bad tooth fell out two days ago when she was chewing a chicken bone. Her brother had a mouthful of blood and was so scared that he looked so funny while crying.
Zhang Xiaocao shook his head and refused, pushed the teacher's hand away, turned around and ran away.
Jiang Huihan looked at the student's two slender legs running very fast, and subconsciously muttered: "It would be a pity not to run at this speed."
He looked down at the candy in his hand, peeled off the candy wrapper, and ate one himself.
She didn't ride a bike today, so she walked back slowly.
I met Mrs. Wu and a few others on the way.
Wu Guihua greeted him warmly as always: "Xiao Jiang, are you off work?"
Jiang Suihan was walking slowly, holding a book. The sun was not strong in the afternoon and the sunlight felt comfortable on her body.
"Yes, Sister Wu, did you go to the mountain?"
Wu Guihua: "I went to collect some firewood and dug up some wild vegetables. There are quite a lot of them. Xiao Jiang, why don't you take some home to eat? Just boil them and add some salt and oil and you can eat them."
Jiang Suihan waved her hand: "No, there are still vegetables at home."
She has eaten wild vegetables. A few days ago, my mother-in-law was bored staying at home all day, so she went to the mountains with a few sisters-in-law she had just met in the staff compound to dig some wild vegetables. There were not many, and after cooking, they were only enough for two or three bites per person.
How should I describe the taste? It wasn't bad, just a little bitter, which was acceptable, but not delicious either. She took one bite and stopped eating. However, my mother-in-law liked the wild vegetables she dug with her own hands very much and said she would go again next time.
"Is Xiao Jiang pregnant?" a sister-in-law suddenly interrupted.
Jiang Suihan knew this person, her name was He Shuiqing. It was she who spread the initial rumor about Wang Lijuan. Everyone in the family compound knew that Wang Liying and He Shuiqing did not get along. The two of them seemed like mortal enemies who just couldn't stand each other. Whenever they appeared at the same time, they would always quarrel.
"Sister-in-law He saw it?"
He Shuiqing smiled and said, "Your clothes are loose and your belly is not big yet, so how can I tell? I heard it from your mother-in-law. Last night, when everyone was chatting downstairs, your mother-in-law casually said that you were not feeling well, so I guessed that you should be pregnant. How many months?"
Xu Zhao's mother has lived in the staff quarters for a month and has not returned home. She goes to the market of the nearby brigade every few days and buys a lot of food every time. Last week, she also took a car to the county and bought a lot of things. There were too many for her to carry by herself, so the young soldier at the door took the initiative to help.
Everyone was guessing what the reason was. One sister-in-law analyzed that it must be that the daughter-in-law was pregnant, so Jiang Suhan's mother-in-law hurried over from the capital to take care of her. She served her daughter-in-law with delicious food and drinks, and did not let her do any work. She was almost a servant. Otherwise, she could live a good life in the capital, so why did she have to come here to suffer?
Jiang Huihan smiled and replied, "Just over three months old."
Wu Guihua glanced at Jiang Suihan's belly in surprise and said with a smile on her face, "Are you really pregnant? Congratulations! This is a good thing. You are pregnant, Xiaohong is pregnant too, and Captain Ruan's wife went to the hospital for a checkup because she felt unwell the day before yesterday. The doctor said it's been more than two months. Now there are three pregnant women at once. The family compound will be very busy next year."
The two people next to her also smiled and said congratulations. Jiang Huihan was not familiar with them, so she just smiled politely and said thank you.
He Shuiqing suddenly asked: "Does Deputy Commander Xu have any brothers or sisters?"
Jiang Huihan didn't know why she asked this: "There are two sisters in front."
He Shuiqing slapped his thigh with an exaggerated expression: "That means he is the only male in his family. Then Xiao Jiang, you must work hard to give birth to a boy. If you give birth to a girl, Xu Zhao's mother and the elders in the family may be unhappy, and you will be under a lot of pressure at that time."
"Just like Chen Xiaohong, she gave birth to three daughters before, and her mother-in-law was so angry that she wrote to scold her, saying that she was useless and couldn't give birth to a son. This time Chen Xiaohong got pregnant again, and she told everyone she met that it must be a boy. She felt it was very accurate. The doctor didn't dare to guarantee whether it was a boy or a girl. I don't know where she got the confidence from. If it turns out to be a girl, it would really be a joke to everyone."
As he spoke the last part, his tone revealed a hint of gloating.
Jiang Suihan frowned, disapprovingly saying, "Whether a boy or girl is born is not decided by women, but by men. Different chromosomes have different combinations. If the combination is the same, a girl will be born, and if the combination is different, a boy will be born. Don't listen blindly and believe blindly. Make your own judgment. I don't think sons will necessarily be more promising than daughters."
She didn't explain it in depth, fearing that they wouldn't understand if she made it too complicated.
He Shuiqing said with disapproval: "Xiao Jiang, you have read a lot of books, but that doesn't mean what you say is right. How can boys and girls be the same? In my hometown, if you don't have a son, you will be criticized and you will not be able to hold your head up for the rest of your life. If you die without a son, you will be beaten up. I have a cousin who has only two daughters. The couple is very honest. Anyone in the village can bully their family because they don't have a son."
She glanced at Jiang Huihan and complained secretly, thinking that Xiao Jiang might have damaged his brain by studying too much. Sons are the continuation of the family line, while daughters are destined to be thrown away. The child born will also have a different surname. How can the two be the same?
It seems that it is not good for a woman to read too many books, as her thoughts will become strange. Her daughter should not read so many books in the future. It will be enough for her to recognize a few words.
Wu Guihua asked in surprise: "Xiao Jiang, are you telling the truth? Whether the baby is a boy or a girl has nothing to do with women, it's all the man's business?"
She had lived for thirty years, and this was the first time she had heard such a statement, which completely overturned her previous ideas.
Jiang Suihan shook her head and laughed, "You can't say that. Without men, how can a woman give birth to a child? To put it simply, our genetic material has two types of chromosomes, X and Y. Women's chromosomes are the same, two Xs, and men have one X and one Y. So when the chromosomes of men and women combine, there will be two situations, both Xs, or one X and one Y. The former is a girl, and the latter is a boy. Do you understand what I mean?"
The four people in front of him shook their heads at the same time, and confused expressions appeared on all four faces.
Jiang Suihan rubbed his forehead and said, "It's okay if you don't understand. Anyway, you just need to know that whether a woman can give birth to a son does not depend on the woman, but on the man. That's it."
It felt like several brain cells died just from these few sentences. She began to doubt whether she was suitable to be a teacher since she couldn't even explain such a simple question.
Jiang Suihan asked again: "When you were in the village before, didn't the staff of the Women's Federation go down to the countryside to do popular science education in this area?"
Wu Guihua shook her head: "We have a women's director in our village, but they are all chosen by the villagers themselves. Women in their thirties and forties who can read a few words don't understand what you are talking about. Besides, if you say this in the village, the old ladies will fight you. They don't care whether it is knowledge from books or not. They only believe in one dead truth: if the daughter-in-law can't give birth to a son, it is the daughter-in-law's fault, and it has nothing to do with their sons."
The old ladies in the village are very tough and have feudal and backward ideas. It is impossible to reason with them, and getting angry will only make yourself angry.
He Shuiqing nodded in agreement, "That's right. For hundreds of years, everyone has lived this way. If you suddenly tell people that it's not the woman's fault that she can't give birth to a son, but that her husband is incompetent, who would believe it? If they don't beat you up, it's because they are kind. Just say this in front of us in the future, but don't say it to Chen Xiaohong. If she knows, she might go home and turn against her husband immediately."
Jiang Suihan suddenly didn't know what expression to make. Just as she was about to speak, she looked up and saw someone walking towards her.
"Why are you here?"
Xu Zhao walked over quickly and said, "I'll pick you up after get off work."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and nodded slightly to Wu Guihua and the others.
Wu Guihua said with a tactful look: "Since Deputy Head Xu is here, we will leave first."
As they walked a little further, He Shuiqing couldn't help but say, "It's just such a short distance, but he came all the way here to pick me up. Who would have thought that Deputy Commander Xu would be like this after getting married? The young couple is so sweet."
Okay, she admitted that she was a little sour.
Which girl, when she was young, had not thought about marrying a gentle and considerate man, whose heart and eyes were full of her? It would be fine if she couldn't meet him, she was just unlucky, but the most feared thing in everything is comparison. All the women in the family compound knew that Xu Zhao was particularly good to Xiao Jiang, and they were afraid that he would leave her alone even though they held his hands.
Someone nearby said, "If I had known that Xu Zhao was such a good man, I would have written a letter to ask my sister to come over. Maybe it would be my sister who is standing next to Xu Zhao today."
Wu Guihua spat, "You are just wishful thinking! How could Xu Zhao like your sister? Look at yourself in the mirror. I don't believe your sister is prettier than Xiao Jiang."
You are so shameless, you dare to think so!
The man looked embarrassed and said with a wry smile, "Who in our family compound can compare to Xiao Jiang? My sister is not as pretty as Xiao Jiang, but she is not bad either. She is young and pretty, and is definitely good at farm work."
Wu Guihua rolled her eyes and said, "Come on, stop being so stubborn. There are a lot of girls in the village who can do farm work. It's nothing rare. The Xu family has a good family background. The daughter-in-law they marry home has certain conditions. Let's not talk about her appearance. She must be able to read and write, right? What is your sister's education level?"
The man's face turned red and he stammered, unable to speak.
How could she have the nerve to say that her sister didn't even finish elementary school. Compared with Jiang Suhan, she was an illiterate.
On the other side, Jiang Huihan walked slowly: "Aren't you busy today?"
Xu Zhao slowed down his pace and walked beside her: "I'm done with my work in the morning, so there won't be much to do in the afternoon."
Jiang Suihan said softly, "Just now, Wu Saozi and I were discussing the issue of having a boy or a girl. I tried to explain the reasoning to them using scientific knowledge, but unfortunately, it was not very successful."
Xu Zhao glanced at her: "Unhappy?"
Jiang Suihan pursed her lips and said, "It's okay. I'm not unhappy. I just feel that our country still has a long way to go."
The economic base determines the superstructure. Nowadays, many people cannot get enough food to eat, so how can they talk about ideological liberation?
Xu Zhao was unable to react for a moment when the topic suddenly turned to such a profound one. He rubbed her head and said in a low and calm voice: "That's why we have to work harder. Not only our generation, but also the previous generation is working hard."
He lowered his head and touched her belly: "Baby, you have to work hard too."
Grow up hard and become a useful person to the country and society.
Jiang Suihan curled her lips and said, "He is still young, don't put pressure on him."
Xu Zhaowei raised his eyebrows and laughed softly: "Then listen to mom."
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