Around ten o'clock in the morning on the tenth day of the first lunar month in 1971, Han Chen carefully helped Xuemei walk around in their yard. The baby in Xuemei's belly was already nine months old, and now it was almost thirty-eight weeks, which was the due date. She had to be prepared to give birth at any time.
Xuemei and Han Chen were walking slowly in the yard, and occasionally they could hear the crying of a baby coming from Liu Xiu's house. Shengnan was mobilized on the night of grain distribution last year. After dinner, Shengnan started to move around seven o'clock. As soon as Yanan came to inform them, Liu's father and mother took Qingya and her two siblings over, and Han Chen stayed at home with Xuemei.
Shengnan was born after 1:00 a.m., six hours later. She was a five-pound boy who looked exactly like Yang Wanlin. Shengnan and Yang Wanlin named him Liu Kaiqi according to the Liu family's seniority, and his nickname was Kaikai.
Xuemei stopped and said, "Han Chen, I'm tired! Help me sit on the chair over there for a while!"
Han Chen nodded, helped Xuemei to the front of the main hall, put the chair in place, and helped Xuemei sit down. After Xuemei sat down, he sat down on the bench next to her, leaning against her legs, and then reached out to massage her calves.
Xuemei's legs started to swell when she was seven months old. She couldn't wear her previous shoes anymore. Now she wears Qingya's shoes. Qingya's shoes are two sizes larger than Xuemei's, so they fit her perfectly now.
"Listen, Kaikai is crying again!" said Xuemei.
"Kaikai has such a loud voice!" Han Chen shook his head and said, then touched Xuemei's belly and said to the child inside: "An'an, don't learn from your brother Kaikai in the future. You are daddy's little cotton-padded jacket!"
Han Chen and Xuemei have already named their unborn baby girl An An and Han Yu.
Xiao Kaikai is not as easy to take care of as Nannan. She will cry loudly when she doesn't get what she wants. Both Shengnan and Yang Wanlin hear the devilish sounds every day. Shengnan tells Xuemei privately that Kaikai will still have the same little devil character after he grows up. When he grows up, he will be beaten by Zhang Wanlin. Zhang Wanlin originally rarely liked Kaikai, but he has made him scared to look at his back in the past twenty days.
As soon as Han Chen finished speaking, An An started moving inside Xue Mei's belly. Xue Mei quickly patted her belly and said, "An An, kick gently. You've kicked my belly so hard that it hurts!"
When Xuemei said this, An An became even happier. She took one foot on the left and then the right. Han Chen also quickly touched Xuemei's belly and whispered to comfort her.
After a while, I don’t know if Han Chen’s preaching was effective, or if An An was tired of making noise in his stomach, but he stopped kicking Xuemei’s stomach.
Xuemei sighed and said to Han Chen, "I think your little cotton-padded jacket will definitely be a troublemaker in the future!"
Han Chen remembered what Liu's mother said about her different reactions when she was pregnant with her four children. When she was pregnant with Qingya, her stomach was fussy. When she was pregnant with the two brothers Ruirui, her stomach was fussy at one end and not at the other. Qingya and Ruirui have been lively and active since they were young. They climbed trees to pick birds, dug up crabs and fish in the creek, and rolled in mud puddles. They had done everything. In addition, Qingya had been fighting with the two brothers Ruirui and Feifei since they were young. She was a little bully in the village when she was young.
Han Chen thought back to when he was little. Although he wasn't as boisterous as Qingya and Ruirui, he was noisy when playing with Lin Hongzhi. Han Chen looked at Xuemei's belly and quickly shook his head. His little girl must be smart, cute, soft, sweet, well-behaved and sensible. Yes, she must be like that.
Xuemei looked at the conflicted expression on Han Chen's face and knew that he didn't believe her and Liu's mother's judgment. He would know after the baby was born anyway.
The two of them sat for a while before Father Liu came running back in a hurry. Han Chen quickly stood up and asked, "Dad, what happened? Why are you so anxious?"
"Han Chen, your uncle Lin called and said that his youngest son, Lin Hongzhi, died on the battlefield and asked you to go back to Beijing to see him off!" Father Liu said intermittently.
Han Chen froze in his tracks when he heard this. Lin Hongzhi's energetic face, the face that looked so confident he was going to the army to make meritorious service, came to his mind. He couldn't believe it and asked, "Dad, is what you just said true?"
Father Liu sighed deeply, patted Han Chen on the shoulder and said, "Son, you should have thought about this result before joining the army. Your brother had already thought about it. You should be happy for your brother. He is a competent soldier and an outstanding martyr. Go and pack your things! I have packed the letter of introduction for you. Mingwu will drive the tractor to take you to the county town to catch a bus later!"
Liu's mother, who had been busy in the room, also came out. After hearing the news, she helped Xuemei get up from the chair. Xuemei walked over to Han Chen, pulled his hand, and said, "Han Chen, now is not the time to be sad. You have to leave quickly! Mom, go get Han Chen some food and bring it with you. I'll go pack his things! Dad, please try to persuade Han Chen again!"
Father Liu nodded and said, "Xuemei, go back to the house slowly and take care of yourself!"
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Han Chen, holding a sack, said to Liu's mother, "Mom, I'm going back to Beijing for the next few days. Please keep Xuemei company at night!"
"What's the big deal? She's my own daughter! Xiaochen, be careful on the road!" said Liu's mother.
Han Chen nodded, then looked at Xuemei and said, "Xuemei, don't worry about me. Take care of yourself. I will try my best to come back before you give birth!"
"Han Chen, I will take good care of myself and the child. You need to be careful on the road and don't rush back! Safety is the most important thing!" Xuemei said worriedly.
Han Chen nodded with red eyes. After hearing the news, Han Chen hugged Liu's father and cried for a while. Now his eyes still looked red. Han Chen turned around, picked up the sack, and walked towards the tractor with Mingwu beside him.
Xuemei and her family looked at Han Chen's back with worry on their faces. Qingya and Ruirui, the brother and sister, went up the mountain in the morning and heard the news as soon as they came back. They didn't even dare to say a word for fear of saying something wrong and making Han Chen even more sad.
Qingya looked at the tractor moving farther and farther away from them, walked over to Xuemei, held her arm and said, "Big sister, you've been standing for a while, you're tired now. I'll help you go into the room and rest for a while. Big sister, don't worry too much about your brother-in-law, he's very capable!"
Xuemei nodded tiredly and followed Qingya to the room.
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