Chapter 68 A child conceived outside the home?
It was already past noon when Qin Suisui returned to the guesthouse. Pei Jiuyan still hadn't come back. After putting away the gifts from the organizers, she prepared to go out to find something to eat. She hadn't had lunch yet after all this work. Since she had come all the way to Guangzhou, she planned to savor the classic delicacies and stock up on some desserts and local snacks to take back with her. With her tendency to get carsick, traveling was really tough for her.
To be honest, although resources are scarce in this era, as a food capital, many traditional snacks still stubbornly exist in the streets and alleys.
Qin Suisui found everything delicious, including dishes like radish and beef offal, shark fin soup, red bean soup, mung bean soup, and egg waffles. She especially loved the red bean soup and mung bean soup; a bowl of them on such a hot day was sweet, refreshing, and made her feel completely relaxed. Under the pretext of entertaining guests, Qin Suisui stocked up on each of these snacks in her spatial storage.
Emerging from the alleyway filled with delicious food, Qin Suisui turned and entered a time-honored teahouse called "Le Tao Ju". While local snacks can be found outside, many authentic Guangzhou dim sum dishes can only be enjoyed in established teahouses.
However, these teahouses usually have purchase limits, especially for takeout food. Qin Suisui had no choice but to eat a bowl of Guangzhou specialty boat congee and char siu buns in the shop. After finishing, she went to the counter and ordered two servings each of congee, clay pot rice, glutinous rice chicken, steamed sponge cake, and char siu buns. After leaving the teahouse, she put them into her spatial storage.
After all that commotion, it was already quite late. Qin Suisui returned to the guesthouse after having eaten and drunk her fill, but Pei Jiuyan still hadn't come back.
Bored, Qin Suisui went into her spatial dimension to play with the two giant black and yellow dogs for a while, collected some chicken and duck eggs, and boiled some milk, placing it in the kitchen of the small wooden house so she could easily get a drink whenever she wanted. After busying herself with these tasks, she left the spatial dimension to organize the gifts sent by the organizers, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
When she woke up again, it was already the next morning; she didn't know when she had gotten into bed.
Pei Jiuyan pushed the door open and came in. Seeing that she was awake, he smiled and said, "Come and have breakfast. After we finish eating, we'll go to the dock. I bought tickets for the nine o'clock ferry."
Qin Suisui looked bewildered: "What time did you get back last night? Why didn't you wake me up? Did something happen?"
Pei Jiuyan shook his head: "It's nothing serious, it's just that I might have to go out to sea after I get back."
Qin Suisui nodded; Pei Jiuyan had mentioned this before.
After breakfast, the couple headed straight to the port. They arrived at Qiongtan Island the next morning, where Chi Donglin and Song Yunlai, along with Zanzan, came to pick them up.
This familiar scene made Qin Suisui feel somewhat dazed. Two months ago, she came here alone to seek refuge with Pei Jiuyan. At that time, she felt lost, uneasy, and even more so, anxious, and deep down, she secretly longed for an answer.
But now, looking at the large, well-defined hands that were tightly gripping hers, Qin Suisui couldn't help but smile. The answer was probably already quite obvious.
As soon as Zan Zan saw Qin Sui Sui, he immediately slipped out of Chi Dong Lin's arms and ran towards her like a little cannonball, wanting to throw himself into his mother's embrace. But unexpectedly, his father intercepted him halfway.
Zan Zan was being held by the back of her collar by Pei Jiu Yan, dangling in mid-air, her legs kicking wildly: "Let me go! I want to find my mom!"
Pei Jiuyan chuckled and pinched his little dark cheek: "You little ungrateful wretch, Mom is seasick and feeling unwell, don't bother her."
Qin Suisui was indeed feeling unwell, but with Pei Jiuyan's attentive care along the way, she slept almost the entire time, making it much easier than last time.
Seeing the couple's affectionate interaction, Chi Donglin and Song Yunlai exchanged a glance, then simultaneously raised their eyebrows at Pei Jiuyan. Pei Jiuyan ignored them, but the upturned corners of his mouth betrayed him.
On the way back, suddenly remembering something, Chi Donglin spoke up, his expression extremely happy: "By the way, Ayan, did you know that Keke has been transferred to the Guangzhou Sports Team? She'll be coming to Qiongtan Island soon. I heard that the Guangzhou Track and Field Team's training base is here, so we'll be able to see each other every day again!" (At that time, Qiongtan Island was still under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province.)
Qin Suisui raised an eyebrow, while Pei Jiuyan frowned. Seeing the couple's expressions, Chi Donglin and Song Yunlai were puzzled, as they were unaware of what had happened in the capital.
Pei Jiuyan then briefly recounted what had happened in the capital a couple of days ago.
After he finished speaking, both he and Song Yunlai subconsciously looked at Chi Donglin.
Chi Donglin's smile froze on his face. Song Yunlai sighed, patted him on the shoulder, and then remained silent for the rest of the way.
Qin Suisui realized that Chi Donglin probably had those kinds of feelings for Hao Ke. This was really... complicated.
Upon returning home, Pei Jiuyan went out to sea that very night.
Fortunately, the cucumbers, tomatoes, and gourds in the yard were all ripe this time. During the two weeks they were away, Aunt Tang next door helped take care of them from time to time, and they were growing very well. Qin Suisui picked a little of each and asked Pei Jiuyan to take them to the boat to eat.
The next day happened to be the weekend, and Qin Suisui slept in late, which was rare for her. As soon as she got up, Sister Tang came over with the pickle jar that she had brought back from the glass factory.
Qin Suisui's eyes lit up: "Sister-in-law, are the cucumbers all pickled?"
Sister-in-law Tang smiled and nodded: "The cucumbers in your yard are growing so well, we can't eat them all. The pickled cucumbers are also very refreshing. You should try some."
Qin Suisui couldn't wait to reach into the jar and take out a small pickled cucumber. Sure enough, it was sour and spicy, extremely refreshing, and excellent whether served with porridge or as a side dish.
Thinking of the complete set of blue and white porcelain tableware that the organizers of the Canton Fair had given her, Qin Suisui's desire to learn to cook grew even stronger. She gently shook Sister Tang's hand: "Sister-in-law, I want to learn to cook. Can you teach me? So I won't bother you so much in the future."
Sister-in-law Tang patted her hand: "What's so difficult about this? You've helped me so much, it's only right that I do anything. Even if you don't want to learn to cook, I'm willing to cook for you every day!"
Qin Suisui was stunned for a moment. She had just returned. What help had she given?
Seeing Tang's hand resting on her lower abdomen, Qin Suisui immediately realized what was happening. She looked at Tang in surprise and pointed to her stomach, exclaiming, "Sister-in-law...you...you!"
Before she could finish speaking, Sister Tang nodded with a smile on her face, her expression a mixture of shyness and joy: "I found out the day before yesterday. It's only been a little over a month, and it's still not stable. I wasn't planning to tell anyone, but you are my and Lao Guo's benefactor. Without you, we wouldn't have this child. So I wanted to tell you, and I also wanted to ask you to take another look at me. I'm getting old, so I don't know if I need to eat anything to regulate my body."
Newly pregnant women always have various worries, especially those like Sister Tang who have been trying to conceive for many years, who cherish this pregnancy even more. Qin Suisui understood her feelings very well. After taking her pulse, she took out a bottle of calming and pregnancy-protecting medicine from her space and handed it to her: "Sister Tang, don't worry too much. The baby is very good and healthy. You need to keep a happy mood so that he/she will be even healthier."
"By the way... well... you're still in the early stages of pregnancy, it's not stable yet, you have to let Brother Guo hold back..." Qin Suisui was still a little embarrassed to discuss other people's sex life. But judging from Sister-in-law Tang's pregnancy, it was indeed a bit unstable, and sex was strictly prohibited.
Aunt Tang's face also turned a little red, but she was older and had experienced a lot of infertility treatments over the years, so she was much more open-minded than Qin Suisui when talking about these things.
She nodded, but still looked a little embarrassed: "I understand. My periods were always irregular before, and I didn't know I was pregnant until... After I found out I was pregnant, he didn't dare to touch me."
After chatting with Sister Tang, Qin Suisui finished breakfast and took Zanzan to the Guangmingding Brigade.
She was going to check on the field up the mountain, and since it wasn't convenient to bring Zan Zan along, she planned to send Zan Zan to Grandma Mai's house to play with Maida. If they were lucky, they might even run into Mai Dong.
She was indeed lucky; she had just sent Zan Zan inside and was coming out when she ran into Mai Dong, who was carrying a package and returning from outside.
She knew Mai Dong's identity, but she couldn't show it on her face. She could only feign surprise and say, "Comrade Mai, what brings you here?"
Mai Dong raised an eyebrow, pointed to the Mai family's courtyard, and said, "I didn't tell you before, this is my home, and I'm also from the Guangmingding Brigade."
Qin Suisui widened her eyes perfectly, and fearing that her acting skills were not good enough, she exaggeratedly covered her mouth with her hand.
Grandma Mai heard the noise outside and rushed out. When she saw her son, instead of being overjoyed, she cursed him: "You wretched thing! I called you so many times and you didn't come back. Do you have to wait until Ada dies before you'll come back?"
In front of his elderly mother, Mai Dong no longer maintained his superior attitude. He bent down, his face full of helplessness: "Mom, I told you before that I had an important mission and couldn't come back in time. But I came back as soon as I finished my work."
Qin Suisui thought to herself, "If I hadn't brought him news of his white moonlight, he might not have come back!"
Despite her inner grumbling, Mai Dong was, after all, a soldier, and as a newly promoted military dependent, Qin Suisui could actually understand him.
While Qin Suisui was lost in thought, Grandma Mai, sobbing, grabbed her hand and vividly recounted how Maida had been bullied and injured, and how Qin Suisui had saved him.
Now, the look in Mai Dong's eyes when she looked at Qin Suisui was no longer just admiration and gratitude; it carried a more complex emotion.
Maida was his only son with his deceased wife, and before he learned about Xie Simai through Qin Suisui, he was also his only child, so he naturally valued him highly. However, he had not yet met Xie Simai, whom Qin Suisui had mentioned, but in any case, Maida was a child he cherished, and he was his bloodline.
He reached out his hand to Qin Suisui again: "Thank you, Comrade Qin. I am unable to repay your kindness."
Qin Suisui knew what he meant; he was referring not only to Ada, but also to Hu Zi and Xie Ting.
Just then, Zan Zan, who was playing by the Mai family's vegetable garden, ran over with a bunch of yellow-skinned fruits and handed them to Qin Sui Sui: "Mom, these are the fruits that Brother Hu Zi secretly brought to me and Brother A Da. They're sweet and sour, and so delicious! Brother Hu Zi said he picked them with his mom while they were working on the mountain. Mom, you should try some!"
Qin Suisui raised an eyebrow and patted his little head. The little guy really was her lucky star.
She glanced at Mai Dong without making a sound, and sure enough, upon hearing Zan Zan's words, Mai Dong's expression immediately changed. She looked towards the vegetable garden with a mixture of nervousness and anxiety.
Seeing her son's expression, Mrs. Mai's heart skipped a beat. Her unrealistic guesses resurfaced in her mind: Could it be that Tiger really was her son's child from an outside relationship?
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