Chapter 96
Aunt Zhang looked at Uncle Qi busy cooking and curled her lips. She was so excited about having a child. Her grandson was already in the second grade. Was she proud? She stopped beside Uncle Qi and looked at his chopping board. "Hey, Old Qi, you bought some meat. What are you going to cook for your daughter-in-law?"
Uncle Qi raised his head and said with a smile, "Let's make some stir-fried beans and meat. I learned this skill from Qi Chao's mother."
"Oh, she looks quite presentable. Is your Deng Hong that badly ill from morning sickness? Can she eat meat?"
As soon as Aunt Zhang finished speaking, Qi Chao came out of the room carrying a spittoon. When he opened the door, Bi Chunliu could hear Deng Hong retching. "Dad, you'd better not stir-fry the meat. Ah Hong can't eat it. She can't even smell meat right now. I'll make her a bowl of noodles later and see if she can eat it."
Uncle Qi put the kitchen knife aside and shouted anxiously into Qi Chao's room, "Deng Hong, how can you not eat meat? You have to eat at least a little, otherwise what if the child starves?!"
"Sister Deng Hong's reaction is so strong?"
Seeing Bi Chunliu wondering if she didn't know the whole story, Aunt Zhang explained, "Deng Hong and Qi Chao were taking care of your Uncle Qi for the past two days. They didn't know they were pregnant. Then Deng Hong fainted in the classroom during class. She was taken to the hospital by the teachers and students, and only then did she find out she was pregnant. I was saying that when I saw Deng Hong the other day, I thought she was so tired, her face was so pale. Tsk! You know, people are weird. They try to hold on when they don't know, but when they find out they're pregnant, they react all of a sudden."
Bi Chunliu: "This should be our body's own protection mechanism. When there is an emergency, we will deal with it."
Aunt Zhang nodded. "That makes sense. That's exactly what happened. When I was pregnant with my son Jianyuan..."
"Are you still pregnant with your Jianyuan? Your Haohao is so old now, can you still remember what it was like to be pregnant with Jianyuan?" Aunt Liu came out of the house. She had already prepared dinner and was waiting for people who were going to work or school to come back and eat together.
Aunt Zhang was unconvinced and said, "Don't mention it, I really remember it."
"Hey! Xiao Hou is back too. How's your wife? What did the doctor say?"
Hou Zhiqiang helped Wu Sanmei into the house. Bi Chunliu saw that Wu Sanmei's face was rosy and she didn't look like she was in trouble. She felt that people were really different. Wu Sanmei hid behind Hou Zhiqiang when she saw so many people in the hospital. Hou Zhiqiang said, "It's nothing. The doctor said she's fine."
Aunt Liu nodded. "That's good. This is your wife's first child, so she should be more careful."
"Old Liu, look at Third Sister Wu, isn't she prettier now? Xiao Hou, maybe your wife can give birth to a daughter for you. People say that if a mother becomes prettier, she will likely give birth to a daughter in the future." Aunt Zhang looked at Third Sister Wu carefully.
Uncle Qi heard what Aunt Zhang said and glanced back at Wu Sanmei, who had gotten pregnant even before his daughter-in-law. What good was a beautiful mother? Giving birth to a daughter meant she would end her family line. He peeked into his son's room, wondering if Deng Hong had changed. If she became beautiful with daughters, then she would become ugly with sons. He hoped his daughter-in-law would become uglier. Hmm, her face was as pale as a ghost. It seemed she had gotten uglier. Uncle Qi felt relieved and glanced at Hou Zhiqiang with a look of secret delight.
"Really? My third sister and I want a daughter. It would be even better if she looks like her mother, not like me who is ugly." Hou Zhiqiang laughed when he heard what Aunt Zhang said. He and his wife were both orphans, and it was a good thing to have a blood relative to accompany them. They couldn't choose between a son and a daughter, but after discussing it, they both felt that having a daughter was better.
Aunt Liu saw that Wu Sanmei's face was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, so she quickly said, "Xiao Hou, please take your wife home. Sanmei, if Xiao Hou isn't home, please tell me if you have any questions."
Wu Sanmei nodded and thanked him softly. Hou Zhiqiang then helped his wife, who was eager to go home, back home.
Bi Chunliu also followed them back home. She had better hurry up and cook.
Zhang Jianyuan also came back with his wife and children. When Aunt Zhang saw her grandson coming home, she stopped talking to Aunt Liu and took her eldest grandson's hand home to serve him food.
After the Zhang family of four finished their meal, Aunt Zhang glanced at her burping son, then at her daughter-in-law who was letting her eldest grandson wipe his mouth, and said, "Juan, look, Hou Zhiqiang and his wife from the Second Hospital are both pregnant. When are you going to give our Haohao a brother or sister? When all of us elders are gone, Haohao won't even have anyone to help him with things. I remember your period is irregular, right? Do you want me to accompany you to see the doctor? They can prescribe some medicine to help you recover and strengthen your body."
Pan Juan patted her son's butt and said, "Haohao, go see if Xiang Wencheng and Yalan Xiuxiu are at home. Go play with them for a while."
Zhang Haohao looked at his mother's expression and felt that it was not good, so he quickly walked off to look for someone.
"Zhang Jianyuan, Mom wants us to have another child. What do you think? Don't sit there with your eyes closed like a Buddha."
Zhang Jianyuan opened his eyes and hid his emotions. "Mom, I told you last time that Haohao is enough for us. When we're gone, won't Haohao still have his wife and children to accompany him? You said there's nothing to discuss. So, according to you, our Haohao will never be able to get married and will always be a bachelor?"
Aunt Zhang choked, "Why do you mean that, Mom? You're talking nonsense! Our Haohao is good-looking, how come he can't get a wife in the future!" She frowned and glared at Pan Juan, "Pan Juan, I'm talking to you. You keep shouting about what Jianyuan said. Are you deliberately instigating discord between us mother and mother? How can you be such a daughter-in-law? Not only do you not respect your mother-in-law, but you always go against her. If it were in the past, you would have to go to the yard and kneel down to apologize to me! I didn't say anything else. I can still take care of the child now. If you give birth to a child, I will take care of the child and you don't have to worry about it. I'm doing this for the good of both of you." Aunt Zhang wiped her tears and cried softly.
Pan Juan turned her head away without saying a word. What a joke! It wasn't her fault, and she was still apologizing? Pah! This old hag still dared to bring up the past. I wonder how much suffering she had endured before Zhang Jianyuan's illness, how many bitter medicines she had to drink, how her breath smelled of medicine in those two years. Why didn't they show any concern for her? Now they were talking nonsense here.
Zhang Jianyuan rubbed his forehead, "Mom, aren't we living well now? Who has a better life than ours? Why do you always say those things? Besides, it's not Pan Juan who doesn't want to have a baby, it's me who doesn't want to have a baby." Zhang Jianyuan whitewashed himself.
"Oh!" Pan Juan stood up and went out to look for Haohao. She glanced back at the two dimly lit rooms and became increasingly annoyed. If she could have swapped rooms with someone else, she would have moved to the machinery factory long ago.
Pan Juan came out of the courtyard and saw a woman, whose face she couldn't quite make out, talking to Haohao and a few other children under the streetlight. She hurried over and called out, "Haohao, Wencheng, it's getting dark. Come back and play in the courtyard, or the adults will get worried."
"Mom! This auntie is holding us back and won't let us leave--" Haohao shouted.
Pan Juan quickened her pace and ran over, pulling the woman's hand away. She shielded the children behind her and demanded in a stern voice, "Who are you? What are you doing? Why are you holding our children?"
"Sister Juan, it's me, Wenlan." The woman stretched out her rough hand and grabbed Pan Juan.
Wenlan? Isn't that Aunt Lei's daughter-in-law?
Pan Juan carefully examined the woman in front of her. She seemed a bit like Wenlan, but she looked much thinner and older than before. It seemed that she had not been living well after remarrying. Knowing it was Wenlan, Pan Juan did not relax. "Wenlan? I haven't seen you in a long time. Are you here to visit relatives?"
Wenlan didn't answer Pan Juan's question vaguely, and said anxiously: "Sister Juan, please tell Xiuxiu that I am really her biological mother."
Pan Juan glanced behind her, and before she could say anything, Tian Xiuxiu shouted, word by word, "Impossible! You say you are my mother? I've never seen you before! Sister Yalan, Xiang Wencheng, Zhang Haohao, if this is my biological mother, how could she not come to see me? Maybe my biological mother is already dead, and she got some news from somewhere and wants to come here to trick the children!"
Qi Yalan held Tian Xiuxiu's hand tightly and comforted her, "Xiuxiu, don't be afraid, this is definitely not your mother. My mother said she missed me after not seeing me for two days! Let's go call your grandma and scold her!"
"good!"
Xiang Wencheng claimed to be the oldest. He asked Zhang Haohao to protect the two girls, and then said to the two girls: "Xiuxiu, I will help you call your grandma."
Naturally, Pan Juan did not stop Xiang Wencheng behind her. She laughed dryly at Wenlan, whose face was stiff, and said, "Wenlan, let's wait for Aunt Lei to come." She didn't want to get involved in the Lei family's affairs, especially since Wenlan looked quiet and gentle, but in fact, she had more tricks up her sleeve than holes in lotus root slices.
Xiang Wencheng ran fast, and not only Aunt Lei, but several people in the compound followed her.
When Tian Xiuxiu saw Aunt Lei, she felt like she had found someone to rely on, and she stood beside Aunt Lei proudly.
Aunt Lei stopped and scoffed, "I was wondering who it was, it's you." Then she started cursing, "Wenlan, you're so shameless! Did you slap yourself so hard that you couldn't see the way and ended up here? In front of all these people, do you need me to repeat what you said when you left? You have a bad memory, but don't your family members have a bad memory either? How dare they let you out to find us?"
Wenlan looked miserable, tears welling up as soon as she opened her mouth. "Mom, how can you say that? No matter how old Xiuxiu grows, she's still a piece of my flesh and blood. As her biological mother, I can't even come to see her? After all, we are truly mother and daughter..."
"Bah!" Aunt Lei continued to curse, "You think of saying this now? Don't talk nonsense to me. When Xingguo died, you listened to your mother and cried all day long. Do you think I disagree with remarrying? You couldn't even wait for Xiuxiu to be weaned. You and your mother accepted the betrothal gift without telling me. Didn't you swear that you would never contact us again? I thought you were dead, and now you dare to dance in front of me? I think you have eaten a bear heart and a leopard courage! Get out! If you don't leave, I will call the police and report you as a child stealer!"
"Grandma, she must be trying to steal me! I'll tell the police!" Tian Xiuxiu shouted. She didn't have a mother like that! There was definitely something wrong with this person. She was exactly the same human trafficker the teacher had described!
More and more people looked at Wenlan. She gritted her teeth and continued to cry. She had to find a way to get away and go home quickly. She would deal with that naughty girl Xiuxiu next time. The thought of going home made Wenlan shudder.
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