Chapter 77: Pregnant

On the way from home to the military hospital, the couple didn't say a word.

Lin Xiang's mind was in a mess. After hearing He Hongyuan's words about pregnancy, it seemed that all the symptoms were really similar to the characteristics of pregnant women she had seen before.

Am I really going to be a mother?

She actually always used condoms with men, okay, maybe she forgot it once or twice? Could it be possible that she really got pregnant!

But she had also heard that protective measures were not 100% effective.

Frankly speaking, Lin Xiang always thought that she was not ready yet. But now that there was such a possibility, as she stared at her belly with her brows lowered, her eyes softened unconsciously. She even wanted to touch it cautiously, but she didn't dare to do it.

The man at the side was also silent, with some tangled emotions between his serious and deep brows, and he seemed to be thinking about something.

Lin Xiang secretly glanced at her husband twice: "Hong..."

"What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?" He Hongyuan stared at Lin Xiang's face quickly as if it was a conditioned reflex, and then his gaze moved down inch by inch, landing on her stomach, his eyes showing worry.

"No." Lin Xiang had never seen the usually calm He Hongyuan so startled. She suppressed her laughter and said, "Why are you so nervous? What if I'm just not feeling well and I'm sick?"

"Then get treatment." He Hongyuan answered very firmly.

Lin Xiangcai didn't believe that this man would not be disappointed when he heard that she was sick. Although he had never urged her, in this era when people generally get married early and have children early, it was indeed too old for her to have no children at this age.

"What if we are wrong and we are not pregnant..." Lin Xiang thought about how she had felt along the way. She was nervous and confused, but also had a hint of expectation. She even secretly hoped that it was true. "Let's really prepare to have a baby after we go back. I feel ready now. It would be nice to have a cute baby."

As soon as the slightest sign appeared, she was already thinking about how to keep the pregnancy safe, give birth to the baby, raise the baby, and take care of the baby. Her thoughts drifted away to thousands of miles away.

He Hongyuan suddenly turned his head to look at his daughter-in-law, his deep eyes, which had always been calm, flashed with light: "Okay!"

The gate of the military hospital was right in front of her. Lin Xiang mustered up her courage and walked in. The man's words rang in her ears: "I can also train our child to be a soldier, but if he doesn't want to, it's up to him. Regardless of whether he is a boy or a girl, I will teach him how to fight and not let him be bullied... By then, he will definitely be better than Jiang Weijun's kid."

Lin Xiang: “…?”

What father is thinking about teaching his children to fight when the children are not around?

The young couple walked into the military hospital nervously and walked out of it excitedly.

He Hongyuan held a thin medical examination form in his hand, and the doctor's words "congratulations" seemed to still echo in his ears.

It was the first time that he felt something exploding in his brain, like fireworks bursting into flames, shocking him so much that he froze in place, at a loss as to what to do.

But still trying to maintain calm.

Lin Xiang has been pregnant for one and a half months. She was so busy with work that she didn't notice that she hadn't had her period. She was confused and only discovered it now and came for a check-up to confirm it.

Knowing that there was a baby in her belly, even though it was only an embryo according to the time, it was different. She felt different and she always felt like she was not the only one breathing in and out.

My stomach feels heavy, and my heart feels heavy too.

"Are you happy? Are you excited?" In the evening, the sun set in the west, the orange sun disappeared from the sea level, and the sky gradually darkened, but Lin Xiang's eyes were sparkling, and she asked He Hongyuan about his mood at the moment.

"Yeah." He Hongyuan answered briefly and concisely.

"Is this a reaction of happiness and excitement?" Lin Xiangfei glared at the man, at least his emotions should be more dramatic, this idiot!

He Hongyuan stopped, turned around and stood face to face with Lin Xiang, looking down at her, still seemingly without much reaction.

Lin Xiang glared at him and was about to say something bad about how this man was too reserved, but she saw the man's dark eyes light up like stars. A little joy slowly spread out from the deepest part of his eyes, lighting up his eyes as deep as the sea, gradually overflowing and climbing up to the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.

He Hongyuan has always been intimidating without getting angry. He has a face that looks dignified even when he is serious, all because of his sharp jawline and sword-like brow bones, which give people a sense of distance. Not to mention that when he is really angry, the cold aura emanates from his whole body, which can really scare the timid people.

But he rarely shows when he is happy. Only people who know him well can see the clues from the soft curve of his eyebrows and the slightly upturned corners of his lips.

At this moment, the man's handsome features were softened, no longer cold, and the smile on the corners of his mouth was clearly visible under the moonlight.

As Lin Xiang watched, she slowly curled her lips, and she felt the same way as the man. The joy seemed to resonate with her as their eyes met.

"Ah——!" Just as Lin Xiang was about to speak, she was suddenly grabbed on the back by the man who turned around and squatted down, "What are you doing?"

"I'll carry you back!" He Hongyuan had just held his wife with his backhand, but suddenly remembered something and let go. "No, if I carry you on my back, won't it crush the child? Or should I hold you back?"

Lin Xiang pushed him hard: "Are you crazy? Nowadays, even couples can't hug each other outside."

"Don't worry about them. If someone really asks you about it, you will feel uncomfortable."

"No." Lin Xiang didn't want to be conspicuous. She smiled and patted the man's arm a few times, "Let's go home quickly~ Go, go, go~"

That night, the young couple, who were new parents, couldn't sleep and tossed and turned in bed.

The more Lin Xiang thought about it, the more excited she became. He Hongyuan, on the other hand, became extremely alert whenever he heard his wife move a little: "What's wrong? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"

"No." Lin Xiang couldn't stand the man's nervous look. He was not as calm as usual. "Go to sleep quickly. I want to sleep too. Otherwise, I won't be able to get up tomorrow."

"good."

Lin Xiang closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down and go to sleep. When she was half asleep, she felt a large hand carefully pressed against her belly. She raised the corners of her lips in her sleep, put her hand on the back of the man's hand and pressed it against her belly, and slept soundly.

——

Lin Xiang's mood was completely different after she learned she was pregnant. It turned out that she was not feeling unwell due to the hot weather, but was just experiencing some minor discomfort after becoming pregnant.

Feeling cheerful, she paid extra attention to her work in the office, walked steadily and refrained from running and jumping when going up and down the stairs, and tried to eat more in the cafeteria at noon.

Fortunately, her reaction now is not too big. She just wants to vomit when she smells durian, but she is adapting well to other things.

As for the durian that He Hongyuan picked, Lin Xiangshi called He Hongyuan to send it to Yuezhu and Yanmin last night. They were used to eating it.

The pregnancy was said to be announced three months later, so they followed the crowd and only planned to tell their relatives first.

After get off work, He Hongyuan came to the second factory to pick up Lin Xiang and went to the post office to make a phone call and report the good news to He Guifang.

He Guifang's voice seemed to be trembling on the other end of the phone. She said three good words in a row: "I'm going to be a grandmother! Xiangxiang, pregnancy is not easy. You can call Hongyuan and let him do everything. Don't tire yourself out. Are you feeling uncomfortable now?"

Lin Xiang is not pregnant yet, so her reaction is not too exaggerated. Naturally, she only reports the good news and not the worries: "It's not a big problem, mother, don't worry."

After listening to the mother-in-law's instructions, the two of them went to He Hongyuan's uncle's house on the way back home to report the good news. Zhou Shenghuai and Feng Li were really surprised and happy to hear about this. When Zhou Yuezhu returned home later, she heard her mother say, "Yuezhu, come here quickly, you are going to be an aunt!"

Zhou Yuezhu was stunned when she heard this, as if she hadn't reacted yet: "Be an aunt?"

When she saw her parents again, their eyes went straight to her cousin's wife. She finally realized, "My cousin's wife is pregnant! I'm going to be an aunt!"

The little girl dropped her bag and jumped towards Lin Xiangchong, but this time He Hongyuan, who was sitting beside her, directly reached out to stop her: "Slow down, you are so grown up but still act like a child."

Zhou Yuezhu wanted to get close to her cousin's wife and even wanted to touch her pregnant belly, but she was stopped by her cousin. She was so angry that she complained to Lin Xiang about He Hongyuan's ruthlessness from a distance.

Lin Xiang was so happy that she scolded He Hongyuan a few words, patted him and asked him to move away. Then she sat down next to Yue Zhu and started chatting in private.

Before leaving, Feng Li also reminded the couple of many things to pay attention to during pregnancy. The couple took them to heart and then went back home.

After the pregnancy, Lin Xiang and He Hongyuan were more or less cautious, even suspicious. Lin Xiang was relatively okay, but He Hongyuan was worried that his wife was feeling unwell again, and he repeatedly reminded her before leaving the house: "If you really feel unwell, don't force yourself to work, come back and have a good rest."

Lin Xiang hurriedly said, "I know, I know. We have sorted out all the business of our factory. I don't have much to do. I am just busy with a job of recruiting people recently. I will just sit for the interview. It won't be strenuous. You should go to the army and prepare well for the military competition. Bring back two kilograms of meat coupons for me and my child~"

He Hongyuan was even more arrogant in this regard: "If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have given young people a chance. I would have signed up for all the events that could be signed up, and I would have brought back all the first prizes for you two."

Lin Xiang: "..."

Listen, is this human language?!

——

Lin Xiang's main work recently revolves around the Spanish mackerel sauce workshop. The training in the new workshop is proceeding in an orderly manner, and she is also preparing to recruit more workers.

Now the second factory is developing too fast and needs to expand in all aspects.

The job application forms were posted, and there was a total of four days for registration. Xiao Zhong and Xiao Xiang, who were under Lin Xiang, were responsible for collecting the application forms. In just two days, they received more than a hundred applications.

"Sister Xiangxiang, our factory is hiring. Everyone is so enthusiastic and wants to come in." Xiao Zhong had heard many people say that the 119 Factory 2 was not very good before, but when he came in, he found that it was really different. It was obviously very good and he felt comfortable there.

Lin Xiang had anticipated that the Second Factory is now completely different from what it used to be.

"You can follow my instructions and conduct a preliminary screening to see who meets the requirements. We will then arrange for a unified assessment in three days."

Now that she knew she was pregnant, Lin Xiang paid more attention to herself, trying not to go out when it was too hot and always keeping warm water at hand. Occasionally, she would look out the window of the office building at the beautiful factory area of ​​Factory 2. It was spacious and clean, and workers coming and going were all wearing uniform work clothes and in very good spirits.

When she gets home from get off work, she will be careful to avoid children jumping around on the way home. What's more amazing is that she sometimes habitually supports her waist with her hands, even though she is not tired, she thinks that pregnant women should do this. Those who know her will understand that she wants to support her pregnant belly, while those who don't know her may think that she is some kind of old lady who takes a walk.

When she passed by instructor Sun's house next door, she happened to meet Lingling running home with her two younger sisters. She heard that relatives from their hometown came to visit, and the three little girls said a few words to Lin Xiang before running back into the house.

"Mom! Give me some candy~" Yingzi held a small piece of candy in her hand and stretched out her hand to feed it to Jiang Wenfang.

"Mom doesn't want to eat, you guys eat." Jiang Wenfang made tea and served it to her husband's cousin's family. She turned around and saw the second girl holding the ground with her hands raised and unwilling to move away.

"We all ate it, one piece each. If you want to eat it, it's sweet~" Yingzi and her friends went out to play and brought some melon seeds and peanuts from home, and exchanged them for candy with the kids from the neighboring families.

Jiang Wenfang felt really sweet in her heart. It is said that ladies are all very considerate. She leaned over and took a bite of the candy that the lady fed her.

This time, Sun Qiang's cousin and his family came to visit. The couple brought their son and daughter with them. They said they were here to reminisce and give some local specialties, but their actual meaning was very obvious.

Jiang Wenfang had just overheard the conversation between their family and her parents-in-law in the living room, and wanted to find a job here through her cousin's connections.

Sun Sheng complained: "The land in my hometown is not easy to grow. We can't even get enough to eat. Even if we earn enough work points, we can't get much food. We are thinking about coming here to see if we can find a career."

Grandmother Qin Yurong held Sun Sheng's nine-year-old eldest son affectionately. Looking at the cute little boy, she felt envious: "Do you remember who I am?"

Yuanbao nodded and said crisply, "Second Madam."

"Oh, my wonderful grandson~" Qin Yurong had been longing for a grandson but never got one, so she just made do with holding her nephew in her arms. Even her grandfather beside her was smiling happily.

Jiang Wenfang placed a fruit plate of melon seeds, peanuts and orange candies on the living room table with her eyes lowered.

While preparing dinner, the three children came back, but the youngest girl was still sleeping in the house. Jiang Wenfang prepared a sumptuous dinner and borrowed a pound of pork belly, roasted potatoes and braised pork from her neighbors to entertain the guests.

But at the dinner table, when Sun Qiang and Sun Sheng were reminiscing about their childhood, Jiang Wenfang saw that her mother-in-law was too kind to Sun Sheng's son, and she took advantage of him, but didn't give any care to her own granddaughters, nor did she take care of Sun Sheng's daughter.

This bias is not concealed at all.

As the host, she served a piece of soft and glutinous braised pork to Sun Sheng-lin's daughter and took care of her three children, but she always felt a little unhappy.

My mother-in-law treats her nieces and nephews almost better than her own granddaughters.

After dinner, everyone went out for a stroll. Sun Qiang introduced the military region to his cousin and his wife. Jiang Wenfang took the fourth girl out for a walk, accompanied by the three children. After walking for a while, they felt it was a little cold outside, so they prepared to go back to the house to change the fourth girl into thicker clothes. Lingling and the others also wanted to go back to watch their sister change clothes.

The five of them, mother and daughter, walked through the gate, but before they entered the house, they heard Qin Yurong's voice.

"Yuanbao, this is given to you by Second Grandma. Take it and go buy yourself some candy." Qin Yurong was so happy to see her nephew, she only regretted that this was not her own grandson. "By the way, there are also milk candies. You must have never tasted them. They are sweet. But you can't tell your sister Lingling and the others. Second Grandma didn't give them these candies."

Yuanbao was stuffed with two dimes and two candies. He was so happy that his face almost broke. He responded excitedly, "I know!"

"Mom..." Jiang Wenfang could never have imagined that no matter how bad her mother-in-law was, she could still give candy behind her child's back, and even claimed that she only gave it to her nephew and not to her own granddaughter.

Qin Yurong was startled when she suddenly heard the voice of her daughter-in-law who had returned. The guilt of being caught disappeared in an instant, and she put on the stern attitude of a mother-in-law: "What's wrong? Didn't you go out? We'll come out right away."

Jiang Wenfang called the children out and said, "Lingling, take your sister to find daddy. Yuanbao should go with them."

She held the sleeping Si Yatou, a tiny nine-month-old baby, in her arms, and looked at her mother-in-law with sorrow: "Mom, it's fine if you have an opinion about me, but how can you say that you can only give candy to Yuanbao, a relative's child, and not to your granddaughter. Lingling and the others were here just now, and they heard it..."

Qin Yurong never thought that this person would come back with the child, but no matter what, she was still the mother-in-law: "Why do you care about how many candies I gave to Yuanbao? Look how well-behaved and obedient he is. He has a promising future. If you have the ability, give me a grandson. Then I will give him everything."

"Don't you care about your granddaughter at all?" Jiang Wenfang's heart was repeatedly pulled, and it was sore and painful. "Do you look down on Lingling and the others so much?"

"Lingling and the others are good, but they are not good at sex. Don't yell at me here. Hurry up and give birth to a son, and then I won't covet other people's grandchildren."

"I won't have any more children!" Jiang Wenfang raised her voice and said firmly.

These words had been buried deep in her heart for a long time, but now they finally came out. Looking at the angry expression of her mother-in-law opposite her, Jiang Wenfang felt happy.

She was finally able to speak out her true thoughts. She didn't want to give birth anymore, nor did she want to drink those dark, bitter and sour medicines anymore. She didn't want to be bound and restrained forever for the sake of an illusory son.

"What did you say!" Qin Yurong was furious, her shrill voice was particularly piercing, "You haven't even given birth to a son, and you have the nerve to talk like that!"

"Aren't my daughters human beings? They are all my and Brother Qiang's children. We raised each of them well. It doesn't matter to us whether we have a son or not!" Jiang Wenfang gradually calmed down. Her mind was unusually clear. She felt much more comfortable than in the previous few months. "Mom, I will never have another child. It's useless for you to force me."

Having said that, she turned around and walked out, holding the fourth girl in her arms, leaving her mother-in-law's angry scolding behind her.

Boom boom boom.

It was the last day to apply for temporary recruitment at the second factory, and Lin Xiang did not expect that she would welcome an unexpected applicant at home.

"Sister-in-law Jiang, do you want to find a job?" Lin Xiang knew that Jiang Wenfang had been taking care of her husband and children after marriage and had never worked outside.

Jiang Wenfang's courage, which she had finally mustered, almost fizzled out. She took a deep breath, nodded, and said firmly, "Yes, I, I want to participate in your factory's recruitment, but I don't know if I can do it."

"Of course." Lin Xiang welcomed the person in. During the time, she looked at the baby sleeping in Jiang Wenfang's arms with a rosy face and was very happy. She immediately thought whether her own child would be so cute. "Of course you want to try it. You are welcome to sign up."

"I don't know what your recruitment conditions are. I only have a junior high school education, but I haven't worked since graduation. I've been doing everything at home. I may not be able to use those equipment." Jiang Wenfang occasionally heard the workers of the second factory in the family compound mention that the equipment in the factory was particularly powerful and advanced. She was a little worried, but she said in one go, "But I can learn! I can also endure hardships!"

"Then you can give it a try." Lin Xiang happened to have extra registration forms printed at home, so she immediately handed one to Jiang Wenfang to fill out. "Come for the test tomorrow, and relax. If you meet the requirements, we will definitely recruit you."

"Okay!" Jiang Wenfang hadn't held a pen and written so many words for a long time. She was a little trembling for a moment, but her emotions were high. She was actually signing up for a job!

"But why do you suddenly want to go out to work?" Lin Xiang took the application form and saw that Jiang Wenfang's handwriting was quite beautiful. It is said that seeing the handwriting is like seeing the person, and it is really true.

Jiang Wenfang sighed and vented about what happened tonight: "I can tolerate my mother-in-law's scolding of me usually, but tonight I saw Lingling and the others were all stunned when they heard what grandma said, and my heart ached. I have said everything and don't want to care so much. I used to think too much and take into account too many people's feelings and thoughts..."

Lin Xiang also didn't expect that Instructor Sun's family favored boys over girls to such an extent.

"It's good that you have made up your mind. Go back and discuss it with Instructor Sun. After all, they are his biological parents. It would be best if he came forward."

After registering, Jiang Wenfang left with ease.

Lin Xiang took her application form and stared at it, seeming to see some free and unrestrained flavor in the beautiful handwriting.

"Mrs. Jiang is going to participate in your factory's recruitment?" He Hongyuan came down from the upstairs, also a little surprised.

"Yes." Lin Xiangchong sighed, "Mrs. Jiang endured for so long, but in the end she exploded because of the child. Being a mother is really not easy."

He Hongyuan raised his hand and touched his wife's belly, being extremely careful and gentle, almost the gentlest force he had ever used in his life: "It's really not easy."

"Stop touching my belly." Lin Xiang slapped the back of his hand. "The baby isn't formed yet, so you can't feel anything. Don't let me make it bigger."

He Hongyuan had no idea where his wife got this theory from, but he thought she was extremely cute, so he held Lin Xiang's face and kissed her.

++++

The temporary recruitment assessment of the second factory was conducted under the chairmanship of Lin Xiang, with the assistance of Xiao Zhong and Xiao Xiang.

The content of the assessment is the same as before. It requires looking at the person's behavior, learning ability, practical ability...examining from various dimensions.

Jiang Wenfang was accompanied by instructor Sun today. Last night, when he heard his wife say that she wanted to go back to work, instructor Sun was reluctant at first, mainly because he was worried that she had a bad health due to premature birth and would be too tired to work.

But Jiang Wenfang insisted on leaving the house no matter what.

Sun Qiang knew his wife's personality. She was always tolerant and polite to everyone. She never got angry with anyone and rarely insisted.

After all his persuasion failed, he finally agreed, with one caveat: he asked his wife not to overwork herself and to take half a day off to accompany him to visit Factory 119 No. 2.

Sun Qiang also knew that his next-door neighbor He Hongyuan's daughter-in-law worked in Factory 2, so he thought it should be a good place.

Once you actually walk into the second factory, this spacious and clean factory area is truly eye-catching, especially the surrounding workshops that are in operation. From time to time, you can see boxes of soda being transported to trucks in the open space. The entire process is well organized, giving people a reassuring sense of order.

Today's recruitment assessment was even more professional and orderly. Applicants entered the assessment room in groups of five, while the rest of the applicants were waiting outside. A glimpse of the situation inside the room could be seen through the door, and it looked like a very experienced assessment.

All of this made Sun Qiang realize that this place was truly extraordinary.

It also reminded him of what his wife said last night when she insisted on going to work - "Have you met Captain He's wife, Lin Xiang? Look how happy and free she is. She can do whatever she wants. I want to be like her. I have been in this family for ten years. I also want to go out and see the world."

Sun Qiang caught a glimpse of his daughter-in-law twisting her hands in the waiting area. This was a little movement she made when she was nervous. The two of them naturally understood each other after being married for many years.

"I believe you can get into this factory! It's a piece of cake."

Jiang Wenfang was amused by her husband's words: "What do you know? Look at the others, they are all amazing."

"No matter how powerful I am, I am not as powerful as you!" Sun Qiang told Jiang Wenfang about the slogan of his troops, "We all say that as long as you dare to do it, you will succeed."

"What if it doesn't work?"

"Then do it until you succeed!"

Jiang Wenfang smiled and nodded: "Okay."

Xiao Xiang from the factory office came out and called for people: "The next people to be assessed are Hong Yue, Wan Guofu, Zhang Lili, Zou Jun, and Jiang Wenfang."

Four people stood up in the waiting area. Jiang Wenfang took a deep breath and stood up as well. Before leaving, she looked at her husband and said, "I'm going in."

"Go ahead." Sun Qiang looked at his wife with a firm gaze, "It's okay."

Jiang Wenfang followed the four people in front of her into the examination room. In the room were Lin Xiang, Kong Zhenzhen, Ma Defa, and the technical workers Qiu Hongxia and Yang Tian. She tried to calm down, listening to the people next to her introduce themselves, and silently preparing her own speech in her heart.

The first four people finished their first round of self-introductions, and finally it was Jiang Wenfang's turn. For the first time in so many years, she mustered up the courage to step out of her home and stand here. She said nervously, "My name is Jiang Wenfang..."

——"Where is Jiang Wenfang! What did she sign up for? What kind of work did she participate in? Come out to me!"

——"Wenfang, why don't you enjoy yourself at home? Why are you participating in a job recruitment? Besides, you are not feeling well, so you should just rest at home."

Jiang Wenfang was interrupted just as she opened her mouth. Suddenly, the familiar voices of her parents-in-law were heard from outside, with a bit of noise.