The next day, as soon as Wen Jiaojiao woke up, she saw Wen Zhaoye walk in carrying breakfast.
She turned over, pretended not to see, and continued sleeping.
Wen Zhaoye sat to the side, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said:
"Honey, skipping breakfast is bad for your health, and shouldn't we take the baby to the hospital for a proper check-up?"
"Let's go to the port city for another check-up. The equipment there is more advanced. Besides, I wouldn't dare go to the hospital in this county town."
Wen Jiaojiao hadn't forgotten that once, she had simply lied about her symptoms, and the doctor had diagnosed her condition without hesitation.
Wen Zhaoye insisted:
"After we get checked here, we'll go back to Hong Kong for another check-up. I want to see how big our baby is now."
"No, no." Wen Jiaojiao shook her head, then changed the subject:
"It's pretty boring staying here. Why don't you go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy some more things, then we can go home?"
"What would you like to eat? Do you still want some peach shortbread? I'll even let you nibble on the edges."
Wen Jiaojiao looked horrified: "What the hell is 'biting the edges'?"
Wen Zhaoye: "Don't you remember? Before we went to Yuncheng last time, I gave you some peach shortbread, and you ate it all."
Wen Jiaojiao remembered the roast duck-flavored peach shortbread that Xu Cuifen had mentioned, and she swallowed hard.
"You ate it very well, don't do it again next time."
Just then, the phone rang at an inopportune moment.
As soon as he answered, the person on the other end said, "Since you're already married, why don't you spend the New Year here?"
Wen Zhaoye recognized the voice and decisively refused:
"No, we want to stay here and spend the New Year with our parents."
Jiang Peitian sat in the living room, looking at the cold and deserted house, and sighed softly:
"Dad is lonely here too."
Now that Qi Meijing has gone back to her parents' home and Jiang Ci hasn't returned yet, he's all alone at home, experiencing loneliness for the first time.
Just as Wen Zhaoye was about to refuse again, Wen Jiaojiao mediated:
"I just found out I'm pregnant and I'm experiencing some pregnancy symptoms, so it's not convenient for me to go back right now."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Peitian's eyes visibly brightened, and he said excitedly:
"Jiaojiao is pregnant?"
Wen Zhaoye said calmly:
"Yes, but I only plan to have this one child."
Jiang Peitian's smile faded slightly, but he still spoke with anticipation:
Is it a boy or a girl?
Wen Zhaoye frowned slightly:
"We don't know yet."
Jiang Peitian had already begun to pray in his heart that it would be a boy. He comforted himself, saying:
"A man's life is incomplete without a son. Our family can afford to raise more than a few. It would be better to have more children."
"Anyway, you won't have to suffer the consequences," Wen Zhaoye said irritably before hanging up the phone.
Jiang Peitian stared at the phone, his expression slightly grim, and he also seemed somewhat restless.
He was afraid that if Wen Jiaojiao gave birth to a daughter, she would really abandon the child, and then all his efforts to find a son to carry on the family line would be in vain.
After hesitating for a moment, he picked up his suit jacket and drove himself to Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong.
Despite the approaching end of the year, there were still quite a few worshippers inside.
He generously bought all the incense sold at the stall, lit them in batches, placed them in front of the incense burner, and devoutly prayed:
"I hope Wen Jiaojiao will give birth to five babies in one pregnancy, and that they will all be boys. If this wish comes true, I, Jiang Peitian, am willing to spend a lot of money to rebuild Huang Daxian's golden body."
"In addition, I pray that my son will have smooth sailing, be safe and sound, and have a thriving career."
He filled the huge rectangular cauldron to the brim, and the smoke filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
Those nearby, seeing Jiang Peitian angrily lighting bundle after bundle of incense, looked at him strangely and whispered among themselves:
"Isn't this the shipping magnate of Hong Kong? He was just making a big fuss in the newspapers, saying he didn't believe in gods or Buddhas and only believed in himself. How come he's praying to them now?"
"It was him. I don't know how difficult it was for him to bribe Wong Tai Sin like that."
Ignoring the noise, Jiang Peitian continued burning the stack of incense sticks on the ground amidst the smoky smoke before turning and leaving.
Damn it, I never begged like this when my career was just starting out. But whatever, if I really have five boys, I can open an ancestral hall and start the family genealogy from me.
He drove home and, for the first time ever, thought to call Jiang Ci. He said:
"Xiao Ci, the New Year is almost here, have you come back yet?"
Just as Jiang Ci was about to speak, Zhou Jinyan walked in from outside the door and said:
"Xiao Ci, how about I take you to my house for dinner today?"
Jiang Ci's heart tightened, and she instinctively covered the phone. Then, Jiang Peitian's deep, cold voice came through the line:
"Come back here right now."
Jiang Ci whispered, "Dad, I..."
Jiang Peitian, being an experienced man, could tell the situation between the two just from Zhou Jinyan's voice. He said fiercely:
"Stop talking. There's absolutely no good outcome for a woman to marry down. Dad has already found you a partner. You have no choice but to marry him."
Zhou Jinyan noticed that Jiang Ci's face was gradually turning pale, and roughly guessed how things were going to develop. He stood aside and remained silent.
Jiang Ci pursed her lips, unwilling to speak:
"My mother married you back then too."
"Precisely because she married me, I can't let you follow in her footsteps. If you were a boy, you could find someone from a less affluent family and have her stay home to take care of the children, which would be somewhat acceptable."
But if you, as a girl, marry a poor man and help him improve his situation, it will only do you harm, not benefit you.
"If we don't help him, my son-in-law will be a poor boy, and I'll feel nothing but shame."
Jiang Peitian was perfectly clear-headed. On one hand, he felt that he had achieved everything he had today through his own abilities, and he had already provided Qi Meijing with a top-notch life. But when it came to his own daughter, he naturally had a different mindset.
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