Chapter 88 Chen Feng is about to give birth
Because of the wheat theft, Song Chunxue's relationship with her eldest son, Jiang Yeming, has returned to what it was before.
We see each other all the time, but we never exchange a single word.
Song Chunxue spent four days working from dawn till dusk to mill wheat, producing about eight days' worth of grain. She divided one day and gave it to her eldest son, placing it at the entrance of the thatched kiln.
Once the grain was collected, it weighed only about a hundred pounds, and even a large cloth bag couldn't hold it all.
It was the result of Song Chunxue's countless hard work.
She owes nothing to the eldest brother.
In the blink of an eye, the Autumn Equinox has arrived.
The autumnal equinox is when day and night are of equal length.
After the autumnal equinox, the days gradually shorten and the nights begin to lengthen.
The apricot leaves have begun to turn yellow and are falling down with a rustling sound.
Song Chunxue sat in the vegetable garden planting scallions, and when she heard the sound of falling leaves, she felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart.
Plant scallions at the Autumn Equinox, and fertilize them at the Beginning of Winter.
The scallions from two years ago are no longer succulent and look wilted.
Only by planting them early can we enjoy delicious sweet onions next spring.
She also planted some very spicy and pungent scallions that could be kept for a whole winter after being dug up; they were also called "spicy scallions" and were especially fragrant when stir-fried with vegetables or meat.
She used to be reluctant to plant vegetables on flat land, always feeling that if those lands were taken, the wheat harvest would be less.
In fact, the small plot of land used for growing vegetables wouldn't even yield a bowl of wheat.
After finishing planting vegetables and returning home, Jiang Hongying was kneading dough.
"Why did Mother come so early today?"
Jiang Hongying was a little surprised. The fourth son had just entered the house not long ago. Normally, her mother would not return for another half an hour or so.
"Your belly is big now, just knead the dough and leave it in the pot to rest while I take the noodles. Counting the days, it's time for you to go back. Xiujuan's father didn't say when he'd come to pick you up?"
“They’ll be here in a few days. They’re probably too busy picking corn. Don’t worry, it’s okay if they’re a few days late.” At this point, Jiang Hongying asked curiously, “Chen Feng should have given birth by now, but there’s no sign of it, and I haven’t heard her arguing with the eldest son.”
Song Chunxue calculated the time: today is the Autumn Equinox, the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, and her eldest son's first child was born on the tenth day of the eighth lunar month.
"It'll probably happen in the next day or two. Don't provoke them. If you see them, don't say a word. Chen Feng hasn't been feeling well these past few days, and she hasn't been giving us a friendly look. Don't go looking for trouble and get yelled at."
Jiang Hongying hesitated, though Chen Feng had spoken to her that morning. But after hearing her mother's words, she was unsure whether she should tell her.
Song Chunxue, who had just washed her hands and was about to knead the dough, met her thoughtful expression.
Where is Xiujuan?
"Fourth brother took her out to catch lambs. Xiujuan loves lambs and waits for fourth brother to come back from herding sheep every day." Jiang Hongying sighed. "If we could let her stay, she would definitely get used to it."
"Although it looks like you're carrying a boy, Xiujuan is your only daughter. Can you bear to let her look for her mother in front of me every day?" Song Chunxue said calmly. "I don't want her to end up like you."
"Huh?" Jiang Hongying was taken aback, then belatedly realized that her mother was talking about her.
"What's wrong? Who did you entrust me to back then?" she laughed carelessly. "My maternal grandmother passed away early. People who aren't close to you definitely won't take care of your child. Who could you ask to help look after me?"
“I didn’t have anyone take care of you. It’s just that five months after I gave birth to you, I found out I was pregnant again, so I weaned you right away.”
Song Chunxue vigorously kneaded the mixed grain flour. "I've always regretted weaning you off too early. The other children were all weaned at one year old, and the fourth one was even later, over two years old."
Jiang Hongying smiled indifferently, "What's the big deal? I've seen many people wean their babies after three months, and they still grew up just fine. I also weaned Xiujuan as soon as I found out I was pregnant."
“If I get pregnant and don’t stop breastfeeding, my body won’t be able to handle it.” Jiang Hongying was still unwilling to give up. “Mom, can you take care of her for half a year? After half a year, when the baby in my belly has grown a bit bigger, I’ll come and pick up Xiujuan.”
“It would be strange if you could come in half a year. You were so busy, and it took you two years to come. At that time, you only had eyes for the little one, and you didn’t have time to care about Xiujuan.” Song Chunxue said earnestly, “Some regrets can never be made up for in a lifetime. You should work harder and let the child’s father take care of him. The child’s grandmother can’t really ignore her own grandson.”
Seeing that she had made up her mind, Jiang Hongying did not insist any further.
"Fine, forget it then," she said somewhat reluctantly. "You didn't even bring your own granddaughter. If you have to take care of my child, Chen Feng will hate you."
Song Chunxue was momentarily speechless, then gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"They wouldn't even want me to take care of their child, let alone expect Chen Feng to be like other women, going to help in the fields or doing manual labor at the new house after her confinement period?"
She said irritably, "Before the child is six months old, she can't possibly work in the fields; she'll be lucky if she can cook."
Thinking back to her past life, at this time, the eldest brother's house had already been built. Although it wasn't completely dry, Chen Feng couldn't wait to move in.
The north-facing room has good lighting and dries quickly, so she spent her postpartum confinement in the new house.
Song Chunxue began to regret beating her eldest son so badly, leaving him bedridden for two months, which wasted a lot of time. Now that Chen Feng was living in the thatched cave, he certainly wouldn't be happy about it.
Chen Feng might have already cursed her ancestors for eighteen generations behind her back.
In her past life, because she loved her eldest son so much, even though she didn't get along with Chen Feng, she still took the initiative to cook, do laundry, change diapers, and hold the baby in the sun when Chen Feng gave birth.
But how exactly did Chen Feng scold her?
She overheard Chen Feng saying to her eldest son: "Your mother is always getting in the way, yet she insists on watching the child and holding such a small baby in the sun. Is she out of her mind or are you? Don't let your mother come anymore. We've all separated our households, so why are we still together? Aren't we afraid of being disliked?"
So this time, Song Chunxue isn't joining in the fun.
Song Chunxue loves buckwheat knife-cut noodles, as does Sanwa, but unfortunately Sanwa can't come back for lunch.
However, she can cook another meal in the evening.
Thinking this way, she decided to eat sour knife-cut noodles for dinner, seasoned with fermented vegetable broth, so that it would be easy to digest before going to bed.
Just as she finished serving the rice and was carrying Xiujuan to the north room to eat, the fourth brother ran in from outside.
"Mother, Chen Feng has a terrible stomachache, and the person calling out to her is acting strangely. Why don't you go and take a look?"
Song Chunxue was taken aback. "Where's your older brother? Has he started bleeding yet?"
"What is bleeding?" The fourth brother didn't understand these things. "Why don't you go ask him? The eldest brother just came back from the village down there. He was just about to knead the dough, but now he's so scared he's completely lost his mind."
Song Chunxue put down her chopsticks and walked out of the courtyard without saying a word.
The fourth brother looked at Jiang Hongying and asked, "Sister, is Mother willing or not?"
"You have to agree whether you want to or not. Giving birth is no small matter. Mom always says a lot of harsh things, but when the eldest son is in trouble, he's always the first to run away."
Jiang Hongying sighed, "I miss my eldest son too. Even if he ends up like Jiang Yeming, he is still my own son. Blood is thicker than water, and I can't just stand by and watch him do nothing when he's in trouble."
The fourth brother sat at the table. "Aren't you going to go take a look?"
“I’m heavily pregnant too, do you want me to go and make things worse?” Jiang Hongying urged. “You should finish eating quickly so you can go help. Your mother hasn’t eaten yet.”
"Huh? How can I help?" The fourth brother looked puzzled. "I don't know how to deliver babies, and besides, it's my eldest brother's wife. If I go, I'll be killed in one look."
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