Chapter 143 Fetal Movement

Xia Juanjuan raised her hand and hit his arm, laughing so hard that she was out of breath, and said, "Stop talking, are you trying to make me laugh to death?"

Li Zhan: "..."

What was funny about what he said?

This is a serious matter, okay?

But seeing that Xia Juanjuan was out of breath, he quickly put down the bowl and sat next to her. While he was trying to calm her down, he said angrily and distressedly, "What are you laughing at? What did I say wrong?"

Xia Juanjuan buried her head in his arms and giggled for a while before she came to her senses and teased, "Lizhan, when you were eating noodles just now, did you put too much vinegar in it?"

Li Zhan was stunned for a moment. His tomato and egg noodles were quite sour even without vinegar...

Then he realized what Xia Juanjuan meant. She was teasing him for being jealous!

"Okay! After not seeing you for a few months, you dare to make fun of your man? Is your skin itchy?" Li Zhan smiled, blew on his hands, and then tried to tickle Xia Juanjuan's itchy flesh.

Xia Juanjuan was most afraid of being itchy, but now she was pregnant and her body was not convenient, so she couldn't hide. She had to hide in Li Zhan's arms and beg for mercy: "Ah! Stop it! Can't I stop making fun of you? You really want to make me laugh to death..."

Li Zhan was just a little bit of a fight, and he couldn't bear to do anything after just a little bit of teasing. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and trapped her in his arms. He kissed her on the hair and said softly, "Juanjuan, you've worked so hard."

He couldn't help looking at Xia Juanjuan's belly, and still couldn't help but said, "Wife...starting tomorrow...eat less..."

Xia Juanjuan was stunned for a moment, turned her head and glared at him, and asked angrily: "Do you think I'm fat or ugly? Are you tired of me because of my new preferences?"

The amount she eats every day is already small enough. After the last meal, she gets hungry before the next meal. How can we ask her to eat less?

Are you planning to starve her to death?

Li Zhan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He asked her to eat less. Wasn't it for her own good?

"No... I just told you to eat less. How did you know that I disliked your fatness and ugliness, and that you like new things but hate old things? You're only five months pregnant, and your belly is already so big. It must be because you ate too much and the fetus is too big. If you continue to eat like this, what if there's danger during delivery?!"

Xia Juanjuan: “…”

Xia Juanjuan stared at him strangely: "Didn't you receive the telegram I sent?"

Li Zhan was stunned for a moment: "What telegram?"

He couldn't help but look at Xia Juanjuan with resentment: "Every time the postman came to the army, I went to inquire in person, but all I received were telegrams from those bastards. Apart from the first telegram that reported that you were safe and had arrived home, I didn't receive any of your telegrams..."

Xia Juanjuan: “…”

After she learned from her master that she was pregnant with twins, she teleported to the county the next day and went to the army contact point to send a telegram to Li Zhan to tell him about it.

However, since there was no reply, she thought he was busy on a mission and might not be able to reply, so she never cared about it again. Could it be that the telegram was lost along the way?

Xia Juanjuan said: "Well... the doctor said that I might be carrying twins in my belly, either two or three, so my belly is so big..."

Li Zhan: “…………what?”

Xia Juanjuan suddenly felt guilty, so she explained again: "That is... you don't have to worry about whether the first child is a son or a daughter. Maybe it's a son and a daughter together... I really sent you a telegram, but it was probably lost on the way..."

Li Zhan: “…………”

Li Zhan took a deep breath. This was his wife, so he couldn't get angry. He gritted his teeth and said patiently, "It's such a big deal. I didn't reply to your letter. Have you ever thought of sending me another telegram?"

Xia Juanjuan: "I thought you might be on a mission and it would be inconvenient for you to reply, so I thought I wouldn't bother you..."

Li Zhan: "I am your man, you are disturbing me..."

Xia Juanjuan opened her mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment, when suddenly her stomach jumped.

"Hmm..." Xia Juanjuan called out subconsciously.

When Li Zhan heard this, he immediately asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Xia Juanjuan frowned and looked at her belly. She was wearing a loose dress that she had sewn herself, and she could clearly see the movements of her belly. However, she didn't quite believe the feeling she just had.

"No...nothing...mmmm!"

This time she felt it clearly...

"Auntie, are you trying to make me die of anxiety? Is it hurting somewhere? In your stomach?" Li Zhan was so anxious that he lost his temper.

Xia Juanjuan blushed a little and smiled: "See how anxious you are...just now it seems that...the fetus moved..."

Li Zhan was stunned and stared at Xia Juanjuan in a daze for a moment.

Xia Juanjuan's face turned even redder. She simply grabbed his hand and put it on her belly, saying unhappily, "Even though she's our son, she's still a concubine. She just kicked me..."

Before she finished speaking, the baby in her belly kicked again, as if to show its presence to its father.

This time, Lizhan was so excited that he was at a loss.

"Wife, it's true! Our little cub really moved! Hehehe... You bastard, you dare to kick your mother, wait and see how I'll beat you after you're born!" Lizhan couldn't help but teach the little cub a lesson through his belly, and asked with concern: "Juanjuan, does it hurt when the little cub kicks you?"

Xia Juanjuan smiled unhappily: "How old are they? They can only feel a kick. How can it hurt? And you scolded them... Isn't your son wronged?"

Li Zhan couldn't help but giggle: "Hehe, it doesn't hurt. Let me listen again..."

As he said this, he put his ear against Xia Juanjuan's belly and listened with anticipation.

Unfortunately, after listening for a long time, there was no sound.

Xia Juanjuan couldn't help but push him away and said with a smile: "It's only five months, the fetus is still small, and it can just move a little. It's good enough for you to catch the first movement. How can you move again? Don't stick to me, it's so hot..."

Li Zhan couldn't help but grin: "Is this really the first time you move?"

Xia Juanjuan rolled her eyes at him: "Why would I lie to you?"

Li Zhan chuckled, stood up and said, "Wait a moment, I'll get you some water, so you can cool down."

As he spoke, he really boiled some warm water, wet a towel with it, and wiped Xia Juanjuan.

Xia Juanjuan couldn't resist and was too lazy to move, so she just let him do what he wanted.

Clothes are thin in the summer, so... it's quite embarrassing... Fortunately, Lizhan tried his best to restrain himself and didn't go any further.

After talking for a while, they went into the house to sleep.

There was a reed mat on the kang, but it could no longer accommodate two adults and three children, so Li Zhan carried the bamboo mat into the house, and he and Xia Juanjuan slept on the bamboo bed.

Early the next morning, when Xia Juanjuan woke up, Li Zhan had already gotten up and gone somewhere unknown.

The three little boys also woke up early. When they saw her open her eyes, they all said excitedly, "Mom, Fourth Uncle is back! Fourth Uncle is back!"

Xia Juanjuan couldn't help but think, her man is back, how could she not know?

While they were making noise, Lin Yuru came in and said with a smile, "Juanjuan, aunt is back. Did she come home last night?"

Xia Juanjuan couldn't help blushing and nodded: "Mom, have you met him? By the way, where is he?"

"I went into the mountains without even having breakfast."

Before noon, Li Zhan came back carrying a wild deer weighing 70 to 80 kilograms. Lin Yuru was shocked and said with a smile, "Oh! Juan'er's father is a hunter, but he can't catch a wild deer in a year or two. How come the aunt caught one as soon as she went up the mountain!"

Lizhan smiled modestly and said, "Mom, I'm just lucky. A blind cat meets a dead rat."

In fact, they often go to the mountains for survival training. In actual combat, they sometimes spend dozens or even hundreds of days in the mountains and forests to track down the enemy. They survive by hunting, so tracking down prey is a piece of cake for them. It is not something that ordinary rural hunters can compare to.

At that moment, Lizhan peeled the skin of the wild deer, and then cleaned out the dirt and blood. The meat was marinated with salt and air-dried to make bacon that could be eaten for a while.

In addition, there was some blood sausage and some sausage stuffed with minced meat.

He took a look around his house last night and saw that the bacon made from the wild boar he hunted during the Chinese New Year had been eaten up, so he went into the mountains early in the morning to hunt some more.

Lin Yuru watched Li Zhan skillfully and swiftly marinating bacon and stuffing blood sausage. The more she watched, the more she liked this girl.

You have to know that in the 1970s in the countryside, hunting in the mountains was a man's job, and at most they had to cut the meat. The rest of the work, such as pickling bacon, stuffing blood intestines, and meat sausages, was women's work.

Lizhan's operation shows that he knows everything and is proficient in everything.

"Aunt, you should take a break. Let me do this kind of work..." Lin Yuru said several times, but Lizhan didn't agree. He smiled and said, "Mom, you can just call me Lizhan in the future. I'm fine. We are in the army and we have to do everything. We are used to doing this. It's not difficult."

Soon it was noon, and I made a dish with green peppers and offal, fresh noodles and pork ribs stewed with potatoes and beans, a scrambled egg, and a refreshing cold dish of cucumber. Lin Yuru steamed a basket of freshly made steamed buns and cooked a pot of millet porridge.

After the meal was ready, Lin Yuru took off her apron and said with a smile, "You guys eat first, I'll go take some food to your father."

Early in the morning, Lin Yuru came over and saw Li Zhan had already gotten up and was about to go into the mountains.

Without waiting for Lin Yuru to speak, Li Zhan took the initiative to suggest that Lin Yuru and Xia Shuangshan should not prepare three meals a day separately before Xia Juanjuan gave birth, but eat together here.

Therefore, now Lin Yuru is no longer shy about picking up dishes or rice.

However, Li Zhan stopped Lin Yuru and said with a smile, "Mom, don't go and see me off. It's rare for me to come back, and I have something to trouble Dad with, so call him back to eat together. You and Juanjuan eat first, I'll go and call him."

After asking clearly which piece of land it was, he went over.

After a while, Xia Shuangshan came back. He was obviously very happy to see his aunt come back.

During the meal, Li Zhan entrusted the matter of building a house at home to Xia Shuangshan.

When building houses in rural areas in the 1970s, the large stones for the foundation were collected from the mountains. Red bricks and tiles were generally baked in brick kilns in nearby villages. Sand was dug from the river. Perhaps only cement needed to be purchased from the county cement factory.

Also, if you want to ask someone to build a house for you, it's not easy at all if there's no male laborer at home to take charge.

Li Zhan smiled and said, "I have asked a comrade-in-arms to help with the cement, and it will be delivered in two days. The beams for the house have also been purchased directly from the wood processing factory. As for the other red bricks, tiles, sand and gravel, I will have to trouble you to ask the communes you are familiar with to help buy them."

As he spoke, he took out two hundred yuan and handed it to Xia Shuangshan.

The commune where Qingshui Village is located does not have its own brick kilns or tile kilns. Xia Shuangshan is a bricklayer, so he naturally knows which nearby commune has these.

Although speculation in land transactions is prohibited on the surface, the order is not necessarily enforced. In order to survive, such things are sometimes semi-public in rural areas. As a man, Xia Shuangshan can also take care of it.

Xia Shuangshan was shocked: "Aunt, aunt, this... this is too much! Keep the money! Juan'er has already mentioned this to me, I will definitely not ignore it!"

Two hundred yuan, each in a group of ten yuan, that's twenty notes, a thin bunch.

Xia Shuangshan and Lin Yuru had never seen so much money at one time!

Where did aunt get so much money?

Even Xia Juanjuan was taken aback. The betrothal money they received at the military wedding last time should all be with her...