Chapter 149 Bringing Good News
The next morning, Huo Zheng took Lu Mingyue to the communications room to call his parents in Beijing and Lu Mingyue's godmother to tell them the good news of her pregnancy.
There weren't many people in the communications room. Huo Zheng was in line, still holding Lu Mingyue's hand tightly, repeatedly telling her not to get excited when talking to her parents and to speak slowly.
When it was finally their turn, Huo Zheng dialed the phone number back home first.
The moment the call connected, his voice rose a few decibels: "Mom, it's me, Huo Zheng."
The mother-in-law's surprised voice came through the receiver: "Second son, why did you think of calling? How is Mingyue?"
"Great, great." Huo Zheng handed the phone to Lu Mingyue. "Mom, tell Mingyue that there's some good news."
Lu Mingyue took the receiver and whispered, "Mom, I'm fine. I have something to tell you. I'm pregnant, almost two months along."
There was a second of silence on the other end of the line, followed by the mother-in-law's excited shout: "What? You're pregnant?"
Then she heard her father-in-law ask from the side, "Really? How is Mingyue's health? Don't overwork yourself."
Lu Mingyue smiled and agreed to everything, saying that Huo Zheng had taken good care of her and that they could rest assured.
Before hanging up the phone, the mother-in-law was still saying, "I'll send you some tonics right away so that Mingyue can take good care of herself."
After hanging up the phone from her hometown, Lu Mingyue dialed her godmother's number.
"Godmother, it's me, Mingyue."
"Mingyue, you sound very energetic. Is something good happening?" Her godmother guessed right away.
Lu Mingyue smiled and said, "Godmother, I'm pregnant."
The sound of her godmother slapping her thigh came through the receiver: "Oh my, that's wonderful, this is such a great thing!"
Her godmother kept nagging her, "When you're pregnant with your first child, you should lie down more and stand less, avoid spicy food, avoid cold water, and make Huo Zheng do more chores..."
Lu Mingyue listened patiently, tears welling up in her eyes. Her godmother still treated her affairs as her own, just like before.
After hanging up the phone, Huo Zheng noticed that Lu Mingyue's eyes were red and quickly asked, "What's wrong? What did your godmother say?"
"They didn't say much, they just thought of me." Lu Mingyue wiped her eyes and said with a smile, "My parents-in-law and godmother are overjoyed, and they even said they would send us some things."
That afternoon, a young soldier from the gatehouse of the family compound carried two bulging cloth bags and called out at the gate, "Sisters, there are packages for you."
Lu Mingyue was picking vegetables in the yard when she heard this. She didn't even put down her vegetable basket and ran over quickly. It must be the things sent by her parents-in-law and godmother that had arrived.
Huo Zheng happened to return from training. Upon seeing this, he quickly took the cloth bag from the young soldier, weighed it in his hand, and said with a smile, "It's not light. It must contain a lot of good stuff."
The two carried the package back into the yard and eagerly opened it.
The package was opened, and at the top was a letter, followed by a lot of nourishing medicinal herbs wrapped in oil paper. Lu Mingyue glanced at it and saw that there was even bird's nest.
However, it wasn't just a high-end supplement; at the bottom were two large pieces of handmade brown sugar, wrapped tightly in oil paper.
There was also a stack of neatly folded little clothes, which my mother-in-law had sewn by hand. The stitches were fine, and the collars were embroidered with tiny tiger heads.
"Mom is so skillful, this little dress is so pretty." Lu Mingyue picked up a little jacket and compared it to herself, her eyes full of joy.
The package from my godmother contained even more thoughtful items: a small jar of dried red dates, which she had dried herself, and two bolts of soft, fine cotton cloth, perfect for making clothes for the child.
At the very bottom was a note written by her godmother in crooked handwriting: "Mingyue, drink the red date soaked in water to replenish your qi and blood. Keep the cloth to make a small quilt, don't be reluctant to use it, your godmother is thinking of you and the baby."
Holding the note, Lu Mingyue couldn't help but shed tears again.
Huo Zheng walked over and gently hugged her from behind: "Why are you crying? You should be happy. Our parents and godmother love you. Our children will also be raised with love."
Just then, Leilei came home from school and saw two large packages in the yard, so they all gathered around.
Leilei picked up the little shirt embroidered with a tiger's head and jumped up, saying, "Dad, Mom, is this for the little brother? It's so pretty!"
Lu Mingyue wiped away her tears and said with a smile, "Yes, it's for the little baby, and it's for you all too."
Huo Zheng put the brown sugar in the cupboard, thinking to himself that he would use the red dates and brown sugar to make a drink for Lu Mingyue tomorrow.
-
Three days before the Dragon Boat Festival, the residential compound was already bustling with activity.
Lu Mingyue harbored the secret thought of getting pregnant, but she couldn't resist the instigation of Sister-in-law Wang and Zheng Xiuhua.
"Picking bamboo leaves isn't tiring. It's like taking a walk on the hillside. It's lively with lots of people, and you can chat with us to relieve your boredom."
She simply slung a small bamboo basket over her shoulder, took the bouncy Yao Yao by the hand, and followed a group of women towards the reed marshes by the sea.
The reeds by the sea are lush and green, and the bamboo leaves for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) are wide and large, carrying a fresh fragrance of water vapor.
Sister-in-law Wang taught Yao Yao how to choose bamboo leaves: "You should choose those with intact edges and a dark green color, so that the rice won't leak out when you wrap the rice dumplings."
Yao Yao studied diligently, her little hands gripping the base of the bamboo leaf. With a gentle pull, she plucked it off and held it up to show Lu Mingyue: "Mom, look what I picked! It's big enough to wrap a big rice dumpling."
Lu Mingyue smiled and wiped the mud off her face: "Great, I'll make you a jujube-filled dumpling tonight."
The women chatted as they picked the zongzi. Zheng Xiuhua quickly smoothed the zongzi leaves in her hands and said, "My husband loves savory meat zongzi. Last year I made twenty, and he ate five in one sitting."
Wang Fengmei chimed in, "My child loves sweets, so we have to fill the dumplings with red bean paste and jujubes, and add a couple of red dates for good luck."
Lu Mingyue sat on a rock, picking out bamboo leaves in her hand, thinking to herself that Huo Zheng liked salted meat, while Lei Lei and Yao Yao liked sweet ones, so she had to make both kinds, and also make some plain rice dumplings for herself since she was pregnant.
After picking two full baskets of zongzi leaves, the women returned to their residential compound together.
Everyone brought their own things and agreed to have them packed at Lu Mingyue's house.
"Mingyue, you sit and wait. We'll wash everything and then we'll open the package." Her two sisters-in-law knew she was pregnant and were intentionally taking care of her.
The bamboo leaves were soaked in well water to wash them clean. Then a large basin was brought over, and glutinous rice, red beans, candied dates, and cured pork were poured in and arranged under the grape trellis.
Lu Mingyue couldn't stand for long, so she sat on a small stool and was responsible for filling the rice dumplings with rice leaves.
Yao Yao acted as her little helper, handing her candied dates. Occasionally, when no one was looking, she would secretly grab one and pop it into her mouth, her eyes squinting from the sweetness.
Sister Wang is the best at making zongzi. She takes two zongzi leaves, crosses them, rolls them into a funnel shape, fills them with glutinous rice and cured meat, and then twists and ties the string tightly with her fingers, making a triangular zongzi.
"Mingyue, slow down, don't tire yourself out." Seeing that Lu Mingyue was moving slowly, she stopped to help her tie the rope. "Don't push yourself while you're pregnant, we can do these things."
"It's alright, wrapping zongzi isn't tiring." Lu Mingyue had very little time to move around; most of the time, her sisters-in-law prepared the materials. If she didn't help wrap them, it would be really unreasonable.
Zheng Xiuhua made an innovative zongzi, adding some osmanthus sugar to the sweet zongzi. As soon as she finished wrapping it, she brought it to Lu Mingyue's nose and said, "Smell it, doesn't it smell good? When it's cooked, I'll let you and Yaoyao try it first."
Lu Mingyue smiled and nodded, "Okay, this will definitely taste delicious when it's packaged."
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