Mrs. Guan was startled. Mr. Guan said to his two sons, "No matter what you say, come in and have some hot water before you leave."
"Uncle, could you please fill the bottles with some water for us?"
Bai Shihai thought for a moment, then followed him inside.
"No trouble at all, come in."
The two followed them into the house, where Guan's younger siblings had all woken up.
Guan Xinyan is the eldest sister in the family. She is only nineteen years old this year. She has three younger brothers and one younger sister, who are fifteen to four years old and have not yet fully developed. When they stand in a row, they look like a group of little radish heads lined up from tallest to shortest.
Guan Xinyan asked, "What time are you catching your train? Do you know the way? Do you want us to give you a ride?"
They had run out of water along the way, so they probably weren't from a nearby place. Guan Xinyan guessed they weren't from the city, so she asked them if they knew how to get there.
"Our train leaves at around 8 a.m. tomorrow. We live far away and were worried about being late, so we came over after dinner. You don't need to see us off. Just tell us how to get there, and we'll find our way."
Bai Shihai was also embarrassed to trouble others.
“It’s so dark, I’m telling you the way, but you don’t know how to get there. There’s no one to ask for directions,” Guan’s father said as he returned from the kitchen with water. “It only takes half an hour to get to the station by bicycle from my house. You can leave at seven o’clock without any problems. How about this, you can stay at my house for the night, and I’ll take you to the station tomorrow morning.”
"I can't accept this."
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You've been kind to me, and we're just strangers who met by chance. We can't repay you in the future, so let us return the favor." Guan Xinyan said this, and with her parents' earnest entreaties, the two brothers slept on the floor at their house and even had a bowl of corn porridge with them in the morning before leaving.
Bai Shihai rode his bike back, one hand on the bike and the other on the handlebars, so he was a little slow and didn't get home until after lunchtime. Deng Min had left him some food, and Bai Shihai ate several bites as soon as he got home.
"Are you going to starve to death if you eat any later?" Bai Zhiman snorted, looking at Bai Shihai.
Upon hearing this, Bai Shihai slowed down his eating pace a bit: "I'm so tired, Dad. I only had a bowl of corn porridge at a fellow villager's house this morning, and now my stomach is growling."
While eating by the sea, Bai Shihai told Bai Zhiman about his experience last night: "When people heard that Bozi was going to join the army, their eyes immediately changed."
Bai Shihai was proud, but Deng Min scolded him, "How could you miss such a good opportunity? What does that girl look like? Does she have a boyfriend?"
"...Xiaomin, are you obsessed?" Bai Shihai, a grown man, really didn't take this matter to heart.
Deng Min said, "Bozi is already twenty-one. He went to the army for a few years and came back looking old. There are no girls that old at home in the surrounding area."
"Why should men be afraid of getting old? It's perfectly normal to be four or five years younger."
Bai Shihai is no longer in a hurry, after all, Bai Shibo has important things to do now, so whether or not he gets married is not so important anymore.
Deng Min only felt a moment of regret; after all, it was just a minor incident, and no one took it to heart.
Bai Shiqing is already five months pregnant, and with the arrival of spring and everyone wearing lighter clothing, her belly is becoming noticeably larger.
"Sis, why is your belly so big?"
Although Bai Shiqing was pregnant, Zheng Xu assigned her a light job so she wouldn't be idle at home.
Bai Jiaojiao had nothing to do during the day except take a stroll around the pigsty, so she came to the fields to keep Bai Shiqing company, which moved Li Shuxian deeply.
"I don't know, maybe it's because I eat a lot. You don't know how fussy I am, I wish I could eat a child in one meal."
Bai Shiqing touched her belly and realized that she had indeed gained some weight since becoming pregnant. Now that she was past the nausea phase, her appetite had increased. Although the Li family couldn't provide her with anything fancy at every meal, they would at least make sure she was full. Bai Shiqing had already noticed that she had gained quite a bit of weight.
But she couldn't stop her child from wanting to eat it.
"Sister, I heard that it's not easy to give birth when the baby is too big. You should be careful."
Bai Jiaojiao said.
"I know that, but look at me, I haven't moved much."
"How about we go to the hospital for another check-up and hear what the doctor has to say?"
"What kind of checkup is that? People will laugh their heads off if they hear that." Who goes to the hospital every other day just because they're pregnant? People who don't know the situation will think the pregnancy isn't going well.
"Let whoever wants to laugh laugh. Anyway, you're my sister, and I have to be responsible for your health."
Didn't their mother die in childbirth?
Giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell. Even Bai Jiaojiao, who was her mother's fourth child, died. How much more difficult would it be for Bai Shiqing's first child?
Bai Shiqing couldn't refuse Bai Jiaojiao: "Then let's ask for leave from the brigade tomorrow, and you can come with me to take a look. Sigh, they really have money to burn."
Bai Shiqing and Bai Jiaojiao hadn't been making desserts for very long when they discovered they were pregnant, and they hadn't even saved enough money for two months.
Upon hearing Bai Shiqing's agreement, Bai Jiaojiao immediately laughed and said, "I'll spend money, I'll spend money! Sister, I have plenty of money!"
Bai Shiqing looked at his younger sister, who was smiling like a flower, and said with an air of wealth and arrogance: "I have never heard of anyone whose family is as rich as yours. No matter how rich you are, you still have to be frugal. Keep a few extra coins in your hand so you won't panic when something happens, you know?"
"Okay, sis!"
Bai Jiaojiao prepared some things when she got home. When Shen Heng saw her filling water bottles and looking for cotton pads, he asked, "Are you going out tomorrow?"
“I took my sister to the hospital to get checked out. I suspect that the baby in her belly is being raised too well, making it difficult for her to give birth.”
"There's such a saying?" Shen Heng found it quite intriguing. "Are you two sure you can handle it?"
"Why not? I've gained a lot of strength from exercising recently, and I can carry my sister!"
Bai Jiaojiao showed her arm to Shen Heng for him to pinch. Shen Heng kissed the soft flesh on Bai Jiaojiao's arm with affection: "Isn't your brother-in-law going?"
“He still has to go to work. My sister and I are adults, so we don’t need to worry about him.”
Since Li Shuxian wasn't going, Shen Heng felt awkward going with him, so he could only say, "Then be careful on the road, ride your bike carefully, and avoid the rocks."
Don't worry.
Bai Jiaojiao would be even more careful than Shen Heng, after all, she was carrying her own sister and her unborn nephew.
Shen Heng pondered Bai Jiaojiao's words on the kang (heated brick bed) that night, and thoroughly understood them.
His wife's uterus is so small; if the baby is too big in her belly, it will indeed be difficult to give birth.
But Shen Heng pondered again, "No matter how small the child is, he's still a child. How small can he be? Even Bai Jiaojiao couldn't stand him when he went in, how could this child possibly come out?"
How are those women born?
Shen Heng suddenly burrowed into the blanket, and Bai Jiaojiao felt her legs being propped up by Shen Heng, who was kneeling between her legs.
"Heng-ge, what are you doing?"
"I'll take a look."
Bai Jiaojiao: "...If you're going to be a hooligan, then be a hooligan. What are you researching?"
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