Chapter 138
By the time Xing Fei finished his work and returned home, Bi Xiahe had already been on holiday for over ten days. Seeing her brother-in-law, Bi Xiahe quietly glared at him, feeling a little dissatisfied. Although she knew he was away from home because of work, and it was serious business, she still felt very uncomfortable. Her elder sister was getting heavier and heavier. Looking at her from behind, she was completely unrecognizable. Her figure and gait had completely changed!
After pouring some water for her elder sister, Bi Xiahe left the main room in a low voice. Qiuguo was also going to have a day off today, so she wanted to make some space in their room to put her books, and then wash their old clothes that they no longer wore.
Xing Fei watched his sister-in-law leave, the smile on his face unable to fade away.
Bi Chunliu raised an eyebrow and looked at him: "Happy?"
"Happy! As a younger sister, I love my older sister. Why shouldn't I be happy?" Xing Fei showed his magnanimity as a brother-in-law, and then added, "Although my sister-in-law didn't pour me some water, she left the thermos, didn't she?"
Bi Chunliu gave a thumbs up, "...Okay, with this mindset, you'll succeed no matter what you do!"
"That's right." Xing Fei was proud. He drank a glass of water and also drank the red date water that his sister-in-law prepared for his wife. Xing Fei took out a stack of big unity notes from his pocket and began to tell Bi Chunliu what he had been busy with during this period.
Bi Chunliu felt that she was very lucky, especially after her rebirth. She didn't know about others, but it was true that she was very lucky for Xing Fei.
How could she possibly justify this? She hadn't even gotten rich yet, and her husband had already gotten rich! Bi Chunliu told herself that they were still a couple, and that Xing Fei had given her the reward money, which made her feel much better.
Last time, she had provided Xing Fei with a tip about Xie Liang, which led to the arrest of a spy and Xing Fei receiving a commendation. Unexpectedly, this time, she had assumed Zhao Hong was merely a minor pimp. Unexpectedly, Xing Fei and her team had used Zhao Hong's clues to track down Li Deyi's brother-in-law, Xiao Quan, who had been secretly forcing numerous women into engaging in similar acts as Zhao Hong had described to Qi Dashan.
Bi Chunliu: Ugh~ What a smelly man!
Xiao Quan's case alarmed the top leader, who gave the order to arrest Xiao Quan immediately. Of course, Li Deyi was also arrested. This time, he no longer had his brother-in-law to protect him.
Bi Chunliu was very satisfied when she heard that Li Deyi's wife had immediately cut ties with him and returned to her parents' home with her child. Now she no longer had to keep Wei Guo under arrest, fearing that he would be retaliated against if someone discovered that he was involved in Li Deyi's affair.
"So will they be sent to labor camps or locked up?"
Xing Fei: "Li Deyi, his sister, and nephew have all been sent to a labor camp, and they're still short of people. Xiao Quan has other charges, and with multiple crimes combined, he's likely going to die."
Bi Chunliu nodded: "I can finally rest assured." Xiao Quan is about to die, and it seems that the crime he committed is not a small one. She just wants to say that he deserves it!
Finally, she no longer had to worry about Weiguo's affairs. Every day was a new day for Weiguo. She thought of Qi Dashan again and asked, "By the way, how long will Qi Dashan be imprisoned?"
Xing Fei asked her doubtfully, "Didn't Qi Chao tell her? Didn't the aunties in the compound find out?"
Bi Chunliu: "He didn't say anything. He just said that his father got into trouble and was locked up. Director Yao from the street should know about it, right? But he's a tight-lipped person. Even his wife didn't hear him talk about this. I went back to the slum a few days ago and saw that Brother Qi Chao was completely depressed. I don't know what Qi Dashan said to him. It's so tragic to have such a father!"
Qi Chao did not explain clearly what happened to his father, but his second aunt, Aunt Li, had already helped Qi Dashan to publicize it. Qi Dashan could now be said to be the number one figure in the textile factory compound, of course, the one with the worst reputation.
Aunt Liu said that on the afternoon Qi Chao returned home, Qi Guang's mother went to the slum crying and wailing, even more sadly than when her parents-in-law died. She brought a lot of onlookers to their place along the way, so their alley became popular again.
Aunt Li cried and screamed, crying for her husband, her sister-in-law, and her parents-in-law. She said Qi Dashan was shameless and that she had been fooling around with other men. To hide his true face, he even said that he wanted to register for marriage with her. He also threw dirty water on her and threatened her and her son, saying that if she didn't agree to him, he would say outside that Qi Guang was not her husband's child, but her son with Qi Dashan! She could even say such things, and her parents-in-law could testify for her that Qi Guang was her son with her husband. Aunt Li also said that she would sever ties with Qi Dashan, and from then on, her Qi Guang family no longer had him as her uncle!
Bi Chunliu just wanted to applaud. It was great that he told the truth in advance. When Qi Dashan came out, even if he talked about it again, others would just think that Qi Dashan was making up stories to cover up the fact that he liked men.
Xing Fei: "I'll be locked up for half a year." He suddenly smiled and said mischievously, "Qi Dashan, the dates are easy to remember. They're from January 1st to June 30th. That's half of 1972."
Bi Chunliu: "It's a good thing that he is locked up. I think Aunt Liu can take Xiaofu out of the house to play without any worries. Liu Qingqing also dares to take her son and nephew to the courtyard to play." Of course, she can also go back to the slum with confidence.
"Big sister, I'm back!" Bi Qiuguo ran in and called her, then called her brother-in-law. He then showed them his grades, proudly standing with his hands on his hips and saying, "See! I told you I'd score 85 or above in every subject."
Bi Chunliu took the test paper and looked at it. Qiuguo had really worked hard this semester. Except for Russian, where he scored 85, all other subjects were above 90, and he even got a good score of 96 in physics and chemistry! She didn't expect her Qiuguo to be such a good student in science.
Xing Fei also leaned over to look and said, "Wow! Such high scores in physics and chemistry? That's amazing! Qiuguo, what do you want to eat? Brother-in-law will treat you."
Bi Qiuguo: "Brother-in-law, I want to eat hot pot, spicy! And fresh lamb! If there is beef, it will be even better, my eldest sister likes it, and some fresh vegetables, fried dried tofu, and crispy pork. Forget about the other things, let's just have these for now."
Xing Fei: "You really are giving my brother-in-law a hard time! Some things are hard to get. Let me think of a way. How about eating them during the Chinese New Year? The Chinese New Year is only ten days away anyway. If you agree, I'll call my comrade tomorrow and see if he can send us a lamb so we can eat fresh."
Bi Qiuguo grinned happily, "Hehehe, of course! I'll definitely wait if there's something delicious. Brother-in-law, there's another good thing you don't know, right?"
"What good news?" Xing Fei looked at Bi Chunliu who was smiling.
Bi Chunliu uttered an "oh," and said, "Weren't there young doctors there the two times we went for checkups before? Yesterday afternoon, I felt uncomfortable in my stomach, so I went to the hospital. I ran into the same old doctor who had examined Zhaodi and her husband before. She had been away teaching somewhere else a while ago. She examined me and said there was nothing wrong, except that my belly was larger and more prominent than other pregnant women. She told me to control my weight, eat small meals frequently, and move more, because I was carrying two babies. If my belly was too big, it would be difficult and painful to give birth."
Xing Fei was relieved. "So that's how it is. I'm glad you're okay. What did you say?! Two children?!"
"Hehe, I knew my brother-in-law would be scared." Bi Qiuguo raised her chin towards her third sister. See, she was right, right?
Xing Fei carefully touched Bi Chunliu's belly and stammered in disbelief, "Really, really two children?"
"It's almost certain. The old doctor gave the young doctor a good scolding, saying I must have had symptoms before, but he didn't take it seriously. Don't worry, I already asked for leave this morning. Chairman Ren said she can find a replacement for me this month. I just need to pay them this month's salary. She told me to stay home and have the baby. So, although my maternity leave starts from the birth, I'm officially on leave starting tomorrow, which is kind of like extending it in disguise."
Speaking of maternity leave, Bi Chunliu is quite happy. Now the maternity leave for female workers is generally 56 days. If the delivery process is not smooth or there are multiple births, the maternity leave will be extended to 70 days.
Since her family didn't need her one month's salary, Bi Chunliu felt more at ease to take her leave. Moreover, according to the old doctor, the twins would definitely be born prematurely, and she had no idea how long it would take for her to give birth. Unless she saved her life in the next few days, her maternity leave would definitely exceed 70 days!
"Okay, how about I ask Aunt Fang to come home in advance? If we're both busy when you give birth, we'll feel more at ease if someone is looking after us at home. We don't have enough things for the child..."
Xing Fei felt like he was back to when he first learned Chun Liu was pregnant. They'd clearly prepared everything they needed, but suddenly finding out there was another child meant they definitely wouldn't have enough. Clothes aside, even a diaper ring wouldn't be enough, right?
Bi Chunliu shook her head. "Let's wait until after the Chinese New Year to have Aunt Fang come. She also has to prepare for the Chinese New Year at home. Besides, we don't need these ten days."
"Okay then. By the way, does Dad know about this?" Xing Fei figured that since Chun Liu only found out yesterday, Dad and Xiao Mei definitely didn't know either. "Qiu Guo, Xia He, you two stay with your sister while I go to the old house. We'll go to the hospital tomorrow for another checkup."
Bi Chunliu waved his hand and said, "Let's check it out in another week before the New Year. I won't go tomorrow."
"That's fine! I'll be at ease then."
…
The New Year's Eve dinner of 1972 was just like the one of 1971, except that Bi Chunliu was restrained from joining the family. Everyone else joined in. Bi Chunliu, clutching a handful of sunflower seeds, watched as the others prepared the dishes, cut the meat, and made the dumplings. She regretted not having a camera at home, otherwise she would have recorded everything that was happening.
After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, Han Zhong looked at his younger family members and felt that life was becoming increasingly comfortable. He was even happier at the thought of having two more children next year. Perhaps next year, he'd be able to show off his two children to Old Wang and Old Li, Han Zhong chuckled at the thought.
At ten o'clock in the evening on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Bi Chunliu noticed she was having contractions. Her younger siblings didn't want to be home, so Xing Fei asked them to hold flashlights and carry the luggage in front of her. Only then did Xing Fei hurriedly ride his tricycle to take Bi Chunliu to the hospital.
At 7:20 in the morning on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, as the sun rose, the sunlight fell on a corner of the delivery room. After tossing and turning all night, Bi Chunliu gave birth to her two daughters.
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