Chapter 163 Pregnancy
Since bamboo weaving became increasingly popular, Zhang Zhaodi has spent all her time in the bamboo weaving workshop, and Xu Cuilian prepares and delivers all three meals a day for her.
Zhang Zhaodi was a grateful person. After receiving a generous share of the bamboo weaving commission, she immediately took Xu Cuilian to the jewelry store and bought her a substantial gold hairpin.
Xu Cuilian felt incredibly pleased. When she got home, she wore it on her head and showed it off to her husband and sons. After showing it off, she went out to visit neighbors and boasted about it to everyone in the neighborhood.
During this period, the way the young wives around Zhang Zhaodi looked at her changed.
The reason is simple: the mothers-in-law disliked that he wouldn't buy them gold hairpins.
Xu Cuilian and Zhang Zhaodi, this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair, one understanding her daughter-in-law's hard work and the other grateful for her mother-in-law's contributions, have no conflicts with each other at all.
Upon hearing that Sheng An wanted to visit the bamboo weaving workshop, Xu Cuilian immediately got up to lead the way: "It's just two alleys away, let's go together."
Sheng An instructed Zhang Xiao Kui to watch the horses at the door, and then walked into the bamboo weaving workshop with Xu Cuilian.
On the way, Xu Cuilian instructed Sheng An: "Zhao Di is too busy. She leaves at dawn and doesn't come back until dark. There are some things I, as her mother-in-law, can't say. You have to help persuade her not to overwork herself. There's no end to the money you can earn."
Sheng An was surprised by Zhang Zhaodi's dedication and quickly asked, "She's so busy every day, doesn't she ever get a break?"
Xu Cuilian shook her head: "A bamboo weaving costs tens of taels of silver, how could she bear to rest?"
Sheng An glanced at her expression and tentatively asked, "Zhao Di is so busy that she can't take care of the family at all. Won't your aunt be angry?"
Xu Cuilian rolled her eyes at her: "What do I have to be angry about? Zhao Di works so hard to earn money so that everyone can live a good life. I can't bear to let her use her money-making skills to do laundry and cook."
Sheng An couldn't help but praise, "I always felt that my aunt would be a good mother-in-law, and I was right. It's a blessing for Zhao Di to be your daughter-in-law."
Xu Cuilian laughed heartily: "Same here, same here. It's my good fortune that she's my daughter-in-law."
After saying that, she sighed: "When Zhao Di decided to buy a house, she was a little short of money, so I secretly slipped some to Da Kui, but Zhao Di didn't accept it."
I know that he thinks that since he has two younger brothers-in-law, Er Kui and Xiao Kui, who will get married in the future, it's unclear who will own the workshop after he takes my money to buy the yard.
Fortunately, she managed to raise the money herself. She bought the yard, the craftsmanship was hers, and in the future, when Er Kui and Xiao Kui get married, the money she earns will still belong to her and Da Kui.
Seeing that her aunt understood so well, Sheng An secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "If Zhao Di heard what you said, I wonder how moved she would be."
Xu Cuilian waved her hand: "She did the right thing, to avoid future family disputes over money."
She and Lao Zhang tacitly approved of their daughter-in-law's actions.
All three sons were equally dear to them, and all the parents could do was treat them equally and prevent the three brothers from quarreling.
When the other two daughters-in-law come into the family in the future, she and Lao Zhang will treat them equally. However, how their lives turn out will depend on their individual abilities.
The two chatted as they went, and soon arrived at the bamboo weaving workshop.
It was still early, and the renovated workshop was very bright. The original main hall and the two rooms on the left and right were directly connected, and there was a lot of bamboo piled up in the room.
Besides Zhang Zhaodi, there was an old man with completely white hair and three boys and girls around thirteen or fourteen years old.
The old man was Zhang Zhaodi's maternal grandfather; everyone in the village called him Xiao the Bamboo Craftsman.
The three boys and girls were Zhang Zhaodi's carefully selected apprentices, and all of them had signed lifelong contracts with her.
At this moment, Zhang Zhaodi's fingers flew as she buried herself in bamboo weaving, while Xiao Waigong was teaching three apprentices how to split bamboo into strands.
A whole bamboo stalk is easily split into bamboo strips, slightly thicker than a hair, by Xiao Wai's calloused hands, which radiate a soft bluish light under natural light.
No one in the room noticed Sheng An and his companion's arrival until Xu Cuilian called out "Uncle Xiao," at which point everyone looked up.
Upon seeing Sheng An, whom she hadn't seen for over a month, Zhang Zhaodi excitedly put down her bamboo weaving and stood up: "An'an, what brings you here?"
Just as Sheng An was about to reply, she suddenly noticed that Zhang Zhaodi's face had turned pale and she was swaying. Startled, she rushed over to support her: "What's wrong? Are you dizzy from standing up too fast?"
Xu Cuilian, Xiao's maternal grandfather, and others also noticed Zhang Zhaodi's unusual behavior and hurriedly gathered around to ask what was wrong.
With Sheng An's help, Zhang Zhaodi sat down again, her brows furrowed slightly as she covered her lower abdomen with one hand: "My stomach hurts a little, and I feel dizzy and nauseous."
As he spoke, he touched his chest again, where he still felt a tightness in his chest.
Sheng An looked serious and reached out to touch her best friend's forehead: "Was this something that happened before, or is it new?"
Zhang Zhaodi glanced at Xu Cuilian and Grandpa Xiao's expressions, and seeing that they were only concerned and not angry, she whispered, "It was there the day before yesterday."
She only felt unwell for a short while each time, within her tolerance level, and assumed it was due to lack of rest, so she didn't mention it to anyone else.
She suddenly stood up, and her lower abdomen suddenly hurt terribly. She couldn't bear it, and An'an noticed.
"Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well sooner? What if something bad had happened?"
Xu Cuilian, being straightforward, couldn't help but scold him.
Grandpa Xiao's face darkened as well: "Your mother-in-law is right to scold you, you should scold her."
Zhang Zhaodi looked embarrassed and quickly begged for forgiveness: "I know I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again."
Sheng An urged, "Let's not worry about whether it's right or wrong for now, let's hurry to the clinic to see a doctor."
Xu Cuilian realized what she meant and echoed her words: "Yes, yes, go to the clinic to see a doctor. It's not like we look down on doctors. We can't delay feeling unwell."
Zhang Zhaodi felt it was making a mountain out of a molehill, but she couldn't resist the urging of her two elders and best friends, so she got up and went to the nearby clinic accompanied by Sheng An and Xu Cuilian.
There were no other patients at the clinic, so as soon as she entered, the doctor was asked to take Zhang Zhaodi's pulse.
In just a few breaths, the doctor withdrew his hand and made a diagnosis: "It is a pregnancy pulse, less than two months along."
Is it a pregnancy pulse?
Xu Cuilian was the first to react, and excitedly clapped her hands: "I'm going to have grandchildren, I'm going to be a grandma!"
Sheng An looked at her aunt, then at her best friend who was stunned, and finally connected "pregnancy pulse" and "child" in her mind.
For some reason, she felt an urge to cry.
Sheng An couldn't explain where this impulse came from, but she stepped forward and tightly grasped Zhang Zhaodi's hand: "Zhaodi, you're pregnant! You're carrying a child!"
Zhang Zhaodi was in a daze, and it took her a long time to come back to her senses. Her hand unconsciously went to her lower abdomen, and her face showed lingering fear: "Is it...is it alright? I...I didn't even know I was pregnant..."
Thinking about how she had been working from dawn till dusk and hadn't had a proper night's sleep, she couldn't help but worry, fearing that her discomfort these past few days might be a problem with the baby in her womb.
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