Chapter 158 She's Pregnant!
Jiang Wanxia's eyes lit up instantly. That was a high-ranking official!
Upon hearing this, the sharp and sarcastic look on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a warm and fawning smile.
Jiang Wanxia took two steps forward and said, "Oh, it's Staff Officer Gu! My apologies! I'm Jiang Wanqiu's younger sister, my name is Jiang Wanxia."
As she spoke, her gaze fell on Nannan, and her words were as sweet as honey: "Officer Gu, your daughter is so beautiful, just like a New Year's picture doll."
Gu Feiyan explained, "This is my younger sister. I'm not married yet."
"Is that so..." Jiang Wanxia's heart skipped a beat when she heard that the man was single. She reached out her hand, her smile growing even sweeter, "Little sister is so cute, come here, let big sister give you a hug, big sister loves children the most."
To everyone's surprise, the little girl wouldn't give them any face. She tossed her head and waved her chubby little hands wildly in refusal: "No! I don't want you to hold me!"
With a soft "smack," the small hand struck Jiang Wanxia squarely across the face.
Jiang Wanxia's smile froze instantly, and her face darkened.
But she couldn't show her anger in front of Gu Feiyan, so she could only force out a smile that looked worse than crying: "Hehe, kids are just lively and mischievous."
Just then, a nurse poked her head out of the consultation room and called out, "Next, Jiang Wanqiu!"
Jiang Wanqiu responded and could only hand the reluctant baby back to Gu Feiyan, whispering to him, "Comrade Gu, I'll go in first."
After saying that, she turned and went into the examination room.
Seeing that Jiang Wanqiu had left, Jiang Wanxia, unwilling to give up, went up to Gu Feiyan again and coaxed Nannan in a high-pitched voice, "Little cutie, look what your sister has here..."
"I don't want to see a doctor, I don't want to get a shot!"
Nannan was already unhappy, and now Jiang Wanxia's annoyance only made her more upset. She kicked her little foot, which was being held in Gu Feiyan's arms.
"Bang!"
The kick landed squarely on Jiang Wanxia's nose.
"ah--!"
Jiang Wanxia covered her nose and screamed, tears streaming down her face from the pain.
Gu Feiyan was shocked and quickly took a step back while holding her younger sister, her face full of apology: "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, comrade! The child is just being silly, I apologize on her behalf! How are you? Are you alright? I'll pay for your medical expenses!"
"Gu Feiyan! It's your turn!"
The doctor's voice came from inside the examination room. Gu Feiyan turned around and looked back. She was anxious and flustered. She could only hold her still crying daughter and hurry inside: "Comrade, wait a moment, I'll be right out!"
Jiang Wanxia was the only one left in the corridor.
She shakily removed her hand from her nose, looked down, and saw that her hand was covered in blood.
A warm stream suddenly flowed from her nose, dripping onto her clean cotton-padded jacket.
Jiang Wanxia immediately gritted her teeth and began to curse under her breath: "You little bastard! You motherless beast! May you die of illness!"
In the consultation room.
An elderly doctor with gray hair, wearing reading glasses, placed three fingers on Jiang Wanqiu's wrist, closed his eyes, and looked focused.
The room was quiet, with only the ticking of the wall clock.
The smell of sodium carbonate in the room made Jiang Wanqiu's stomach start to churn again.
After a long while, the old doctor finally let go of her hand, slowly picked up the pen, and prepared to write on the medical record.
Jiang Wanqiu couldn't help but ask, "Doctor, what's wrong with me? Is it gastroenteritis? The medicine I was prescribed before isn't working at all."
The old doctor pushed up his glasses, glanced at her, and spoke in a calm tone, yet it was like a thunderclap in her ears.
"This isn't a stomach or intestine issue."
"It's a pregnancy pulse."
"You're pregnant, about one or two months along."
Jiang Wanqiu's eyes widened suddenly, her mind went blank, and she could hardly believe her ears.
Is she...pregnant?
Her hand unconsciously touched her flat stomach, where... there was already a little life?
The old doctor had already lowered his head, scribbling away in the medical record, and without looking up, began to instruct: "Your pregnancy seems unstable. Go home and rest more, don't do heavy work, and don't lift heavy things. I'll prescribe some traditional Chinese medicine to help stabilize the pregnancy; take it on time. Also, for the first three months, it's best for you and your husband to sleep in separate rooms."
Jiang Wanqiu's lips moved a few times, and it took her a long time to find her voice: "Doctor, are you...are you sure? Could it be...a mistake?"
It wasn't that she didn't believe it, but Zhao Wenchang's health... Although she kept saying it was okay and there was still hope, she had already taken the matter lightly and was even prepared to live a life without children.
So, based on the initial signs, she didn't dare to think in that direction at all.
This unexpected good news felt like a dream to her.
The old doctor paused, his pen still, and raised his eyelids, his brows furrowing in displeasure: "I've been a doctor my whole life, how could I possibly misdiagnose a pregnancy? What, these young people nowadays, they're pregnant and they don't even dare to admit it?"
His eyes held a hint of impatience, clearly indicating that he mistook Jiang Wanqiu for a young woman with questionable morals who wanted to secretly abort her child.
A junior doctor who had treated Jiang Wanqiu overheard their conversation and immediately recalled He Xiaoman's tantrum at the hospital a while back. He quickly leaned close to the senior doctor and whispered, "Teacher, maybe... we should have her get some tests done? Just to be on the safe side, in case anything goes wrong."
"Hmph," the old doctor snorted coldly, slamming his pen on the table. "Young people these days are so troublesome! They don't listen to the advice of elders and insist on wasting money!"
Despite saying that, he still picked up a pen, wrote out a lab form in a flamboyant manner, and handed it to Jiang Wanqiu with a gruff tone: "Go on, go to the first floor to pay the fee, and then go to the lab on the second floor to have your blood drawn."
The lab staff were delayed by other matters and only officially started work yesterday. Long queues had already formed in front of the windows, and the staff in the department were extremely busy.
Jiang Wanqiu clutched the thin lab report, her heart pounding with anxiety.
She waited all morning and all afternoon, watching the sun outside the window slowly slant down from its zenith to the western mountains.
It wasn't until the department was almost closing time that a nurse took out a stack of reports and called out names one by one.
"Jiang Wanqiu!"
She jumped up with a start and walked quickly over, her outstretched hand trembling slightly from nervousness.
She couldn't understand a single word on the lab report, which was covered in dense text. She only saw the conclusion at the bottom, where two words were clearly printed: positive.
It's true!
She really is pregnant!
A tremendous, indescribable joy overwhelmed her instantly, her eyes welled up, and tears almost spilled out.
She and Wenchang have a child!
The thought made her so excited that her whole body started to heat up. She wanted to tell Zhao Wenchang the good news immediately and see what kind of surprised expression would appear on his handsome face.
She practically floated home, constantly looking down at her stomach, a smile involuntarily creeping onto her face.
Pushing open the door, the house was cold and deserted; Ping An hadn't returned yet.
Jiang Wanqiu glanced at the wall clock, thinking her son was probably playing wildly outside. Overwhelmed with joy, she tied on an apron and went into the kitchen.
She wanted to share this good news with Ping An, accompanied by a sumptuous dinner.
She rinsed the rice, cooked it, and then took out some cured pork from the cupboard. She sliced it thinly, stir-fried it with garlic sprouts, and the oily, fragrant dish instantly filled the entire house. She also specially poached two golden-brown eggs.
Although the smell of cooking oil made her very uncomfortable, this minor issue was not enough to dampen her excitement.
The sun had completely set, but the office of the military region commander was still brightly lit.
After finishing his official duties, Chief Le picked up his enamel mug, took a sip of strong tea, and asked about Qian Xiaoxia.
"Reporting to the commander, Wang Jianjun has already consulted with experts, and Qian Xiaoxia and her daughter have stopped causing trouble."
"Hmm." Chief Le nodded, put down his teacup, and tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Go and call Liu Baoguo over here. I have something to ask him."
"yes!"
The subordinate took the order and left, but soon returned in a hurry, a hint of embarrassment on his face: "Reporting to the commander, Liu Baoguo is not in the military region. His wife said he went to the county town to buy things early this morning."
Chief Le looked up and glanced out the window.
It was pitch black outside, not a single star could be seen, and the wind howled against the window.
"Buying things?" He frowned. "What time is it? It's completely dark, and they're still not back?"
He suddenly remembered what Zhao Wenchang had said to him before he left.
For some reason, Chief Le suddenly felt a strong sense of foreboding.
He jumped up from his chair, his face instantly turning extremely serious. He decisively ordered, "Pass on my order! Immediately dispatch the first platoon of the guard company to the county town! Dig three feet into the ground, find Liu Baoguo for me!"
He paused, then added, "Also, urgently dispatch one hundred soldiers, prepare vehicles and equipment, and set off tonight to reinforce Zhao Wenchang and his men! Hurry!"
His men were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the force; a hundred soldiers had been urgently dispatched overnight—this must be a major incident! He dared not ask further questions, straightened his back, and loudly replied, "Yes! I'll go and make the arrangements immediately!"
Family compound.
The clock on the wall has its hour hand pointing to eleven o'clock.
The food on the table had long since gone cold, and Jiang Wanqiu reheated it again and again, but the door remained unopened.
Ping An has not returned yet.
Jiang Wanqiu could no longer sit still.
She grabbed a coat, put it on, locked the door, and went out to look for Ping An.
"Ping An! Ping An! Where are you?"
Her panicked cries startled Li Yanhong, who lived across the hall. Li Yanhong rushed out in her slippers: "Wanqiu, what's wrong? It's the middle of the night."
"Sister-in-law Yanhong, Ping An hasn't come home yet!" Jiang Wanqiu's voice was somewhat anxious.
Li Yanhong panicked upon hearing this and quickly comforted him, "Don't worry! Little boys are wild, and it's common for them to get carried away and not come home. I'll go get some people, and we'll all help you look for him!"
Soon, lights came on in several homes in the residential compound. The men, carrying flashlights, and the women, following suit, spontaneously organized themselves and began searching separately.
"Wanqiu, don't worry, the child can't have gone far, he's probably in the neighborhood!"
"Yeah, maybe he fell asleep at one of his friends' houses!"
Everyone offered her words of comfort.
The group searched for half the night, turning the apartment building upside down and knocking on doors to ask everyone.
But everyone says they haven't seen Ping An all day.
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