Chapter 80
The two of them dropped what they were doing and ran into the house. Their movements were so loud that Chen Qing was startled awake. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and looked at them: "Mom, Zhou Yuan, what's wrong?"
Without saying a word, Zhou Yuan picked him up and started to walk out, but Chen Qing hugged his neck tightly and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Go see a doctor."
Grandma Sun quickly stopped Zhou Yuan: "Put Aqing's shoes on first."
Zhou Yuan carried the person back and gently placed him beside the bed, then squatted down to put his shoes on.
Chen Qing looked at Granny Sun for help: "Mom, what's wrong?"
"Aqing, you might be pregnant." Looking at the bewildered Chen Qing, Aunt Sun gently touched his hair, feeling a pang of self-reproach in her heart.
Judging from Chen Qing's appearance, she must be pregnant but hasn't said anything. Not only did they not notice, but they also let A Qing work with them for so long. They didn't notice Li Xin's pregnancy either, and now that it's Chen Qing's turn, they still haven't noticed.
She's really failed as a mother.
Chen Qing was somewhat incredulous: "Really? I don't eat that much, do I?"
“Silly child, everyone’s early pregnancy symptoms are different. Li Xin’s are more forgetful and loves to eat, you’ve just changed your appetite, and some people vomit as soon as they eat. It’s all different,” said Aunt Sun.
Chen Qing looked down at his belly, which hadn't changed at all, and still felt that they were overthinking it: "It shouldn't be, I haven't changed much either."
I just haven't been craving sweet things lately.
Zhou Yuan interrupted them: "Whether it is or not, just go to the clinic to have a check-up."
Grandma Sun nodded: "It'll put my mind at ease if I go and take a look."
Chen Qing nodded, straightened his clothes, and combed his hair again. Zhou Yuan brought the horse over, and Chen Qing waited for him to lift him onto the horse. But when Zhou Yuan picked him up, he stopped in place, then put Chen Qing down again. Under Chen Qing's puzzled gaze, he hitched up the oxcart.
"Riding a horse is too bumpy, let's take an oxcart instead."
Zhou Yuan busied himself making soft cushions for Chen Qing before lifting him onto the bed.
Grandma Sun naturally went along as well. Just like they had taken Li Xin to see the doctor last time, they took Chen Qing in the same way today.
When they arrived in town, it was the same clinic, and the same doctor who was about to close up shop and go home. The doctor had a good memory and immediately recognized Chen Qing and Aunt Sun: "It's you again? What's wrong today?"
Zhou Yuan immediately led Chen Qing to the doctor: "Please take a look, is my husband pregnant?"
The doctor blew on his beard and looked at Granny Sun: "I remember there was a husband who had twins before, was he also from your family?"
Grandma Sun smiled and said, "No, they're from the same village."
"Is it almost time for her to give birth?" the doctor said, taking Chen Qing's pulse.
"This one is also here. Judging from his pulse, it's been two months. Congratulations! But looking at his pulse, he seems to be a bit tired lately. He needs to rest well. I'll write you a prescription and you can take the medicine home. If he has any bleeding or abdominal pain, then decoct it and drink it. If he rests and there are no other problems, then you don't need to take the medicine."
Chen Qing nodded, then looked back at Aunt Sun and Zhou Yuan, both of whom looked annoyed.
"It's all my fault. If I had found out sooner, I wouldn't have made him so tired."
"It's still my fault. I'm so old, and I can't even see this..."
“Shouldn’t I be the one to blame?” Chen Qing said, pulling one of them with each hand. “I don’t even care about my own health.”
The old doctor rolled his eyes and said, "What are you doing? Just be more careful in the future. You're not doctors, and his pregnancy wasn't obvious. It's normal that he didn't think about not having the baby right away."
He prepared the medicine for them: "Don't worry, although his physical condition isn't as good as that twin boy's, it's not much worse."
After leaving the clinic with the medicine, the three of them still felt a little unreal. It was getting dark, so they stayed in town. Zhou Yuan took Grandma Sun out to eat, while Chen Qing rested in the inn. When Zhou Yuan returned, he brought Chen Qing his favorite bamboo shoot and pork buns, as well as a bowl of sweet soup.
The sweet soup was soaked in well water, so it wasn't too cold when eaten. Chen Qing had always liked the meat buns and ate three.
After finishing his meal, Chen Qing washed up and lay down to rest. After Zhou Yuan finished tidying up, he tiptoed onto the bed, wanting to touch Chen Qing's stomach but not daring to.
Chen Qing glanced down and said, "It's not obvious yet."
More than a year after their marriage, they finally had a child. During their recent trip back to Xiaxi, Chen Qing had a private conversation with Aunt Du. Aunt Du said that she didn't know if it was a curse from heaven, but people in their Linhuang Village had difficulty conceiving. Chen Qing had been worried about this for a long time without Zhou Yuan knowing.
They've been married for over a year and have had plenty of sex, but despite this frequency, he hasn't gotten pregnant. Although Zhou Yuan tells him to let nature take its course, he can't help but feel anxious.
Now that they finally have a child, the child is in danger again because of his negligence.
Zhou Yuan's mind had been blank since the afternoon. Now that he was lying in bed, his heart seemed to have finally settled down. He was a little unsure how to treat Chen Qing, afraid that touching him would make him uncomfortable. He was even afraid to sleep with Chen Qing, worried that he might accidentally crush him while he was unconscious at night.
Chen Qing took his hand and placed it on his heart: "Are you a little panicked?"
Zhou Yuan nodded: "I'm a little scared." Zhou Yuan voiced his concern, "Do you think I might roll over on you when I sleep at night?"
Chen Qing thought he was overthinking it: "If you're pressing down on me, won't I move away?"
Zhou Yuan remained silent, then said that it was fortunate that he had been too tired from farm work these past few days and didn't have the energy to do anything at night, otherwise, given his energy level, it would have been even more dangerous.
As they talked, Chen Qing got sleepy again. He yawned, turned to the side, and hugged Zhou Yuan's waist: "I'm going to sleep."
Zhou Yuan froze, as if it were the first time he had ever slept with someone. He was extremely well-behaved, as if he was afraid of bumping into Chen Qing beside him.
Chen Qing was a good sleeper. Once he was sound asleep, he rolled out of Zhou Yuan's reach. Zhou Yuan, unusually, did not follow him, but instead tossed and turned in bed.
He used to say that having a child should be left to nature, but actually, neither he nor Chen Qing were ready. When Li Xin was pregnant, he gave Qi Shuning a long talk, but when it came to his own child, he was no longer so clear-headed. At this moment, he didn't even know what he should do.
He tiptoed to Chen Qing's side and reached out to touch Chen Qing's stomach. Chen Qing's stomach was soft and felt the same as usual, but Zhou Yuan only dared to touch it lightly, afraid that he would press too hard on the baby.
Zhou Yuan barely slept all night, and when he woke up the next morning, he had dark circles under his eyes. Chen Qing, on the other hand, slept very well and looked much better.
Since they were in town, they planned to look around before going back. Their lard jar was empty, so they wanted to buy some pork fat to render into lard, and also buy some bones to make bone soup for Chen Qing.
Since we were already there, we decided to buy everything we needed at home, and before long, we had a full house.
Chen Qing sat on the oxcart, listening to Zhou Yuan say, "Aren't we going to buy fabric now? Or should we just buy ready-made clothes for the children?"
Chen Qing glanced at Granny Sun: "There shouldn't be a rush now, right? I'm thinking of doing it in the winter. Anyway, there's not much work to do in the winter, so needlework will be faster."
“Okay.” Zhou Yuan nodded. “Then we’ll buy it later.”
"Rest well after you get home. Let Zhou Yuan do anything. We need to get through this critical period," Aunt Sun instructed Chen Qing. "If you can avoid taking that medicine, then don't."
Clearly, Aunt Sun also remembered what the doctor had said: all medicine has some degree of toxicity.
Chen Qing nodded obediently: "I understand, Mother."
The oxcart rolled over a protruding stone on the road and swayed. Zhou Yuan looked at Chen Qing nervously and said, "How about we buy another horse and get a horse-drawn cart? The oxcart is too bumpy."
Chen Qing looked at him helplessly: "If there are stones on the road, any car will bounce. Zhou Yuan, be normal."
Zhou Yuan responded with an "oh," sounding somewhat aggrieved.
Back home, he wouldn't let Chen Qing leave even for a moment, carrying him straight back to his room before going about his other business. Grandma Sun went home to cook, saying that she wouldn't let Chen Qing cook anymore, and that she would cook and bring it over herself.
Zhou Yuan went to unload the truck, and Chen Qing felt the room suddenly become quiet. He looked down and touched his stomach, a slight smile on his lips.
Li Xin arrived shortly after. He went into the house and sat on the edge of the bed. "What did you do yesterday? Niu Niu came to find your older brother and said that no one was home. They saw that you hadn't taken down the grain you had been drying, so Dad and Mom came over to help you take it down."
"Thank you so much. I had some things to take care of yesterday and went to town." Chen Qing looked at Li Xin. "Um, I..."
He was a little embarrassed to tell her that he was pregnant, but Li Xin knew him well. Seeing his stammering, and remembering Zhou Yuan she had just seen at the door, she was also somewhat lost in thought.
He said decisively, "You have one too!"
Chen Qing: !!!
"How did you figure that out?" Chen Qing was stunned. He really didn't expect that Li Xin could figure it out so quickly.
“I know you better than anyone,” Li Xin scoffed. “I know what you’re going to say before you even open your mouth.”
After saying that, Li Xin became happy again: "That's great! Our children are about the same age, so they can play together in the future."
After saying that, he leaned closer and gently touched Chen Qing's stomach, then asked with some concern, "You're in bed right now, is it because the baby isn't doing well?"
Chen Qing nodded: "I was a little tired a few days ago, and the doctor said it had some impact, so he told me to rest in bed for a few days."
"Did you get the medicine?" Li Xin was slightly relieved to see that his complexion was alright.
"I brought one back, saying I should keep it on hand and take it if I have any bleeding or feel particularly uncomfortable, but I won't take it if I don't."
Zhou Yuan pushed the door open and came in, saying to Chen Qing, "I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back around dinner time." He then said to Li Xin, "Don't rush home, I'll take you back when I get back."
"I understand," Li Xin said, turning to Chen Qing and saying, "They're treating me like a treasure now."
He said that at home his parents wanted to do nothing but eat and sleep all day. If it weren't for the doctor's advice to exercise more, they probably wouldn't even let him leave the house.
Chen Qing laughed and said, "I also cherish you, but I can't take you home today."
"It's alright," Li Xin said. "You should take good care of yourself first."
"Chen Qing, are you home?" A voice came from outside the door, and Li Xin knew who it was as soon as she heard it.
Li Xin stood up and walked out the door, only to see Qin Xia coming into the house: "You're here."
Qin Xia smiled and said, "I came to talk to you."
Li Xin led him into the house, and Qin Xia was stunned when she saw Chen Qing sitting on the bed: "Chen Qing, what's wrong with you?"
"It's nothing, I'm just too tired from working these past few days, I need to rest for a bit." Chen Qing didn't tell him about the pregnancy, he was still a little embarrassed.
"Oh, I see. We planted our paddy fields late, so we don't have to work today. That's why I came to talk to you." Qin Xia sat on the stool, quite at ease.
Chen Qing took some pastries out of the bedside table, but Qin Xia quickly waved her hand, saying, "I don't want any."
"This one isn't sour," Chen Qing said a little embarrassed. "Try it."
Li Xin took a bite: "It's a local snack from town, isn't it?" He often ate it when he was a child, so he naturally remembered the taste.
Chen Qing nodded: "I bought some yesterday."
After finishing his snack and telling Qin Xia some funny stories, Li Xin suddenly turned pale, clutched his stomach, and cried out in pain, "It hurts!"
Qin Xia was shocked: "The pastries are poisoned?! Chen Qing, don't eat them!"
A crumb fell from the pastry Chen Qing had just put in his mouth, and he panicked, stammering, "I...I didn't poison it..."
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