Chapter 227: Pregnant
At the end of August, the team gradually became busy, and Wen Wan was also busy.
Lu Dongping got some cotton and sent it to the cotton-spinner's house to ask him to help make a new quilt. After bringing it back, Wen Wan gathered some cloth to make the quilt lining and cover, which was to be taken to school for Lu Chun'e.
She had her own mattress spread out to dry, the patched cover washed, and then Wen Wan untied it, retied it, and packed it neatly for school. Her old quilt was to stay at home; unlike Lu Dongfu, she was going to the county town to study, so she had to come back on weekends. She couldn't carry her bedding roll back and forth.
It was the end of the month, only the 30th, and Gao Xiulan was busy preparing bedding, money, and meal tickets for Lu Dongfu.
He kept reminding me worriedly, "Go over there and see if the canteen there is the same as ours. Can you bring some food from home and spend some money to steam some rice? If not, I'll find a way to exchange it for food coupons for you. Make sure you have enough to eat, okay? You don't have to worry about home. With your father and your second brother here, you won't starve."
"I've brought you enough money and tickets. You don't have to keep running back. It's not safe to take a bus. Keep the money and tickets close to your body. Don't put them under the quilt or pillow. If someone finds them, you'll starve. Don't put them together. Keep them separate. If you lose one here, you can always find it somewhere else." He kept rambling on and on, unrolling and rerolling the bedding roll several times, which made Lu Dongfu's nose sore.
Lu Minghai sat on the doorstep outside, unable to bear it any longer. "Alright! My ears are getting calluses from your nagging. I've already inquired. He can take a train from the county seat tomorrow and get to the city in three or four hours. He's not the only one going to school in the commune, so let's go together so someone can look after him on the way. He's sixteen, a grown man, and can take care of himself. Give him enough money and tickets, and pack some thick clothes and cotton shoes. It's inconvenient to take a bus back and forth, so you can come back during the long vacation."
Lu Dongfu said, "It's all settled. We'll go to the commune early tomorrow morning. The driver there will take us to the train station. The teacher will also go there, buy us tickets, and send us on the train."
Lu Minghai sighed: "You really don't need me to take you there?"
Lu Dongfu grinned: "It's the same as if you took the train to the city. No need, I'm an adult, and we're all together, how could I get lost?"
Lu Donghai laughed: "You can't lose it. If you lose it, your mother and I will be at a loss. We have raised it to this age."
He had raised her all her life without ever leaving her side, and now she was going to the city all of a sudden. Lu Minghai was so panicked, sad, and proud at the same time.
The next day, Gao Xiulan got up at dawn to cook for Lu Dongfu. She rolled noodles for him to eat, boiled eggs and made pancakes for him to take with him. She sent him to the commune and watched him get on the tractor and walk away out of sight. Then the couple walked back.
As soon as Lu Dongfu left, the next day was September 1st, and Lu Chun'e also had to go to the county town to study.
Before, the two of them studied in the commune and only came back in the afternoon and stayed at home on Sundays. But now when they leave, I always feel that the whole yard has become quiet and empty.
Zhang Hongying was particularly uncomfortable with it.
Lu Chun'e did so much work for her when she was at home. Even if she had to go to school, she would come back in the afternoon to feed the pigs and cook, and on Sundays she would pick grass for the pigs and do nothing else. Now that she left, all these tasks fell on her again.
Early September is the time to harvest spring corn. It is not too busy, but the off-season is completely over.
Before daybreak, every household started to go out, and the wheat field became bustling. Hu Xiujuan opened the warehouse door early and let the members collect the farm tools for registration.
Zhang Hongying and Gao Xiulan went together, receiving baskets for breaking corn. As for Hu Qingqing, she carried Chuyi on her back and could only use a sickle to cut stalks. Spring corn is the best crop, but there isn't much left in the fields, so we can't stop planting wheat just for a season of corn.
After receiving the bamboo basket, Gao Xiulan took Chuyi off Hu Qingqing's back and said, "Put him in the basket for me. You can carry him back when we get to the field."
Hu Qingqing hummed a "hmm," but didn't try to show off. After all, Chuyi was almost a year old, plump and still quite heavy. Even if Hu Qingqing was strong, she was only about this size. Carrying Chuyi on her back all day and night was really too much for her.
Without the straps to tie her up, Chuyi was extremely happy. Wearing the sun hat that Wenwan made for her, she clapped her hands and laughed, mumbling something that only she could understand for the time being.
Zhang Hongying all said to her: "Idiot girl, call me mother-in-law, mother-in-law!"
Chuyi made some noises in his mouth.
Zhang Hongying walked behind Gao Xiulan and chatted with her, "It's so hot out here. If nothing works, we can get a mat from home and spread it on the ground. Let Chuyi crawl on it. Carrying him on your back while working will hurt your back. It will hurt both adults and children."
Gao Xiulan said, "I want to, too, but this kid is almost a year old and very stiff. Although he can't walk yet, he can stand up by himself with the help of something. He crawls even faster and disappears in an instant. He stuffs everything he catches into his mouth." As she spoke, she began to sigh, "It's okay if she takes after her father, but she must not take after her mother, who doesn't know what's good for her."
"That can't be!" Zhang Hongying comforted her, "Don't mention Li Laiying to her anymore. People say a child takes after the one they raise. How could you raise a child like someone else? Putting everything else aside, it's great to have raised a girl with Qingqing's personality. Girls like her are very lovable."
Hu Qingqing was very happy when she was suddenly praised.
It was even more lively when they got to the field. Zhou Lanhua was still doing her job of supervising and recording work points. She stood at the edge of the field with Zhou Dongshuang on her back, and greeted everyone she saw warmly.
Wang Mingfang was complaining to Lu Mingqing, "How can she do such an easy job as counting work points? Her father is a murderer. She should be criticized and sent to live in the cowshed with that bad family. And she's so comfortable with it."
This wasn't the first time she'd said this since Zhou Mingqing's accident. She'd said it before at home, but Lu Mingqing had ignored her. Now, in the fields, her voice wasn't too loud, and many people nearby could hear it. Lu Mingqing immediately turned hostile to her: "What do you mean? You're the team leader, and I'm the team leader? When did you ever have the final say on team matters? This is a new society, and you still want to practice collective punishment like in the old days? Are you dissatisfied with how well your family lives?"
Wang Mingfang remained silent.
Lu Mingqing glanced at the edge of the field and said nothing more. He started to work with the basket on his back. From time to time, he glanced at his wife, and his brows furrowed as he saw her carrying the basket and her belly bulging. But in the end, he said nothing.
Lu Donglin was still working as a corn-breaker this year, squeezed together with a group of chattering women, and was inevitably the target of ridicule.
"Donglin boy, is it fun to work?"
Lu Donglin laughed and said, "It's fun, of course it's fun, just do what you need to do, it's so relaxing."
"Comfort is bullshit! You're just a pig-head. Look at your sister and your uncle's Dongfu, they're still in school right now, sheltered from the wind and rain, how comfortable it can be. In two more years, they'll all have formal jobs and be even more comfortable than they are now."
Lu Donglin snorted, "Not everyone can become my sister or Dongfu. Even if he's born a fool, he won't be able to become a genius. People should know themselves."
The weather was kind, with several sunny days in a row. By the time it got cloudy, the team's spring corn had almost been harvested.
Then, after several consecutive autumn rains, the temperature dropped suddenly.
Wen Wan fears this season the most. She has to walk from home to the commune every day, with her feet covered in mud and her body covered in dampness.
She didn't know if it was because she caught a cold again, but she felt groggy these past few days during the busy holiday, as if she hadn't slept enough. Even when the weather improved and the sun came out, she didn't feel any better. She had no appetite either. She had a small appetite to begin with, and now she felt full just by lifting a bowl. She always felt like there was a gas in her stomach, trying to rise up but couldn't come out, and trying to suppress it but couldn't.
Lu Dongping caught a rabbit in the mountains and said he would peel it and stew it to improve the diet. Just as he peeled and chopped the rabbit and brought it into the kitchen, Wen Wan took a look at it and ran out with her mouth covered. Just as she ran to the toilet, she was stimulated by the smell inside and vomited with a "wow".
Zhang Hongying was stunned for a long time, then slapped her thigh and said, "Dongping, is your wife pregnant?"
Lu Dongping subconsciously retorted, "Impossible!" He was always very careful and always had sex outside, so how could he possibly get pregnant? However, he couldn't seem to be sure. There were a few times when he was in the middle of the night and was too groggy to react, so he was a little slow.
I feel inexplicably guilty!
Then he brought some water for Wen Wan to rinse her mouth.
After Wen Wan vomited, she felt that the breath that was pressed in her stomach had dissipated a lot. After rinsing her mouth, she leaned against the wall and gasped for breath.
"Shall I accompany you to the commune this afternoon?"
Wen Wan leaned there, not wanting to move: "You have to go to work, why are you accompanying me? I might have caught a cold or eaten something I shouldn't have. I should be fine after vomiting."
Zhang Hongying came out of the kitchen in a hurry and said, "It's still a while before we can start work. Let him take you to see a doctor. You can't delay if you feel unwell. You've been delayed for a few days. I see that you haven't eaten much in the past two days."
Wen Wan looked at her doubtfully, a little uncomfortable with her enthusiasm. Was it just because she vomited?
Going to the commune clinic for a checkup just means taking your pulse. The herbal doctor in the clinic is a certified doctor after all, and he is much better than the doctor in the team clinic.
"When does your period come?"
Wen Wan mentioned the time, and then was stunned: "It's more than a week late this month. I didn't come. I thought it was because of the rain and the cold a few days ago."
"Catching a cold does have an impact, but in your case, you're obviously pregnant."
As he said that, he stood up and called Lu Dongping outside to talk to him for a few words without Wen Wan hearing.
Wen Wan sat on the bench inside, subconsciously looking at her belly. She was pregnant already? There was a child in there?
It's hard to describe the feeling. Although she knew they would definitely have children after getting married, Lu Dongping had previously said he didn't want one for the next two years, so she stopped thinking about it and decided that the current situation was fine. Who knew she'd suddenly become pregnant? Although there was no sign of a baby in her belly, she felt like something was quietly changing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
