Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Born

Jiang Qiuyue really didn't know that tap water was needed. "How did you know that?"

"Lin Rong came back and told me this last night," Wu Shuangshuang said. "He said that he would issue a notice after National Day and that the tap water should be installed before New Year's Day."

It was a good thing to have running water, so there was no need to fetch water to drink, which made washing clothes and cooking much more convenient. Otherwise, Jiang Qiuyue would have to go to the river to wash clothes, and the wet clothes would be very heavy, and Lin Zhengrong was not at home every day.

"This is a good thing. With running water, we can live better than the tube-shaped buildings in the city." Jiang Qiuyue said expectantly. With water and electricity, we have the most basic living conditions.

Wu Shuangshuang said yes, "The tube building is small and has to share a toilet, but we are different. In the future, we will not only have water and electricity, but also a yard and an independent toilet. It's much better. Lin Rong and I have agreed that in two years, when the children are older, we will report to the army and apply to build a room in the yard."

Including the baby in her belly, there are six people in her family, and two rooms are not enough for them. With one more room, the children can sleep separately in the future, which will be much more convenient.

Jiang Qiuyue had also thought about this, "When Lin Zhengrong comes back, I'll ask him to apply for it."

Beibei and Nannan will eventually grow up and it will be difficult for them to live together. The two children also need their own living space. It just so happens that their yard is big enough to build two rooms. However, her family is not that big and does not need so many rooms. She still keeps some land to grow vegetables.

While the two were talking, a bus drove over from a distance. Wu Shuangshuang looked into the distance. She hadn't seen her mother for almost a year and missed her a lot.

Jiang Qiuyue supported Wu Shuangshuang to prevent her from running away excitedly. After the bus stopped, a few people got off first, and the first one was an old lady who looked a bit like Wu Shuangshuang.

"Mom!" Wu Shuangshuang's voice choked as she opened her mouth.

When He Ximei saw her daughter, her eyes also turned red. "My dear Shuangshuang, you have lost weight."

"How can I be thinner? I've gained a lot of weight." Wu Shuangshuang wanted to help her mother carry things, but was rejected. She then introduced Jiang Qiuyue, "Mom, this is my good sister Jiang Qiuyue. She lives across from me."

"I know. You said it last time. You are really a pretty and fair girl." He Ximei smiled gently and spoke slowly. Her temper was quite different from the hot-tempered Wu Shuangshuang.

Jiang Qiuyue helped carry the luggage. The old lady had no idea what she had brought, and her hands were sore from the weight of the luggage.

After arriving at Wu Shuangshuang's house, Jiang Qiuyue took the initiative to pour tea, "Auntie, have some tea. You must be tired. Come to my house for dinner later. I have already made an appointment with Sister Shuangshuang. You guys take a seat first. I will go home to prepare lunch."

After Jiang Qiuyue left, He Ximei praised, "Your neighbor is so nice. I just heard you say that she has been cooking for you all this time?"

"Yes, they are afraid that it will be inconvenient for me, so they are more careful than I am. I asked you to come earlier, but you refused, so you can only trouble me more." Seeing her mother, Wu Shuangshuang also wanted to act coquettishly.

He Ximei smiled awkwardly. She wanted to come earlier, but her daughter-in-law wouldn't let her, saying that there were a lot of things to do at home and it was the busy autumn harvest time in the village. But she wouldn't tell her daughter about this, lest she make her unhappy.

He Ximei took out the things she had brought one by one, and at the end she said deliberately, "This piece of bacon was given to me by your sister-in-law."

"Really?" Wu Shuangshuang didn't believe it. Her sister-in-law was a very stingy person and it was impossible for her to let her mother bring bacon.

He Ximei patted her daughter gently and said, "Oh, why are you still like this? If she doesn't agree, I can't bring her here."

"I know. I'm not afraid that you have to look at her face. Don't I know her temper? She can eat a piece of fat meat for a week, and no one can take advantage of her. If you ask me, don't leave now that you are here. Just live in my house. My father has been gone for many years. My eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law only want you to work. Which one of them is truly filial to you?" Wu Shuangshuang had said this a long time ago, but her mother disagreed.

At this time, He Ximei was still unwilling. Rural people all live with their sons in old age, so how could they live with their daughters? When the family property was divided, her daughter had no share. Now she had to let her daughter take care of her in her old age. She couldn't do such a thing.

But she knew her daughter had a bad temper, so she changed the subject and said, "Don't worry about it. I'll send the things to Qiuyue. You just wait at home."

Afraid that her daughter would say more, He Ximei quickly took the food and went to the opposite house. When she entered the house, she smelled the aroma of food, "Qiuyue, what are you cooking? It smells so good?"

"I didn't put too much chili in the rabbit meat, otherwise it would be more fragrant." Jiang Qiuyue was busy cooking and couldn't reach out to take the food, so she asked He Ximei to put it on the table. "Auntie, don't do anything. I'll be done soon. Go and bring Sister Shuangshuang over."

As she spoke, she called the two children to set the table.

Lin Beibei rushed out of the room, shouted "Hello, Grandma" with a smile. He Ximei liked seeing this and touched Lin Beibei's head before leaving.

Since Wu Shuangshuang's mother came, Jiang Qiuyue no longer had to cook for two families. However, since He Ximei was visiting the family compound for the first time, Jiang Qiuyue took her for a walk and introduced several areas of the family compound, and then there was no need to bother her anymore.

Right after the National Day, the family started installing running water. The water pipes had to pass through the yard, so Jiang Qiuyue had to pull up a batch of Chinese cabbages that she had planted.

Two days later, Lin Zhengrong came back exhausted. After more than half a month, Lin Zhengrong had a scruffy beard and looked much darker.

Jiang Qiuyue boiled some hot water for him, and after Lin Zhengrong finished taking a shower, Jiang Qiuyue massaged his shoulders.

"You're finally back, otherwise the vegetables in the garden would have dried up." Jiang Qiuyue could only fetch some water to drink, as she couldn't fetch water to water the vegetables.

Lin Zhengrong pulled her into his arms and rubbed Jiang Qiuyue's delicate neck with his stubble. "Is my role just to fetch water and water the vegetables?"

"Of course not, I missed you so much." Jiang Qiuyue hugged Lin Zhengrong's arm with a smile. Just as she raised her head to kiss Lin Zhengrong, Xiao Li suddenly came back with Lin Beibei.

Xiao Li subconsciously covered the two children's eyes, but Jiang Qiuyue had already risen from Lin Zhengrong's arms.

Jiang Qiuyue had steamed buns to eat today, so she forgot the time when the children got out of school. She touched her hair awkwardly and said, "Well, I'll go see if the buns are ready. Beibei Nannan, go wash your hands first."

Lin Beibei didn't hear what her mother said, and happily rushed to her father, "Dad, you're finally back. I missed you so much!"

Lin Nannan washed her hands obediently and went to the kitchen to ask her mother if she needed any help.

"Then help mom take out the lunch box." Jiang Qiuyue touched her face. It was so embarrassing. Fortunately, she didn't kiss him.

After packing a lunch box for Xiao Li, Jiang Qiuyue asked the children to eat.

Lin Zhengrong had been on a mission for more than half a month and had not had a good meal. He ate six large buns in a row and drank hot and sour soup contentedly, saying, "Guo Wei's house application has been approved. They helped to clean up our house before, so I have to help this time."

Chen Guowei applied for a long time and the house has just been delivered. He has already sent a letter to his hometown and his wife is on the way.

Jiang Qiuyue asked, "Is there anything I can do to help? I'm not very good at hygiene, how about I make you some food?"

"Okay, you can also make some buns and send them over tomorrow. We will still be the same five or six people, and try to help him clean up in one day." Lin Zhengrong turned his neck. He was very tired now and had no energy to accompany Lin Beibei.

After the two children went to school, Lin Zhengrong pulled Jiang Qiuyue to take a nap.

"Just sleep on your own. It's broad daylight and someone might come at any time." Jiang Qiuyue immediately understood what Lin Zhengrong meant. This man had been alone for more than half a month and must be as fierce as a wolf or a tiger.

Lin Zhengrong pretended not to hear Jiang Qiuyue's words and pulled her to the bed. "It's not like we didn't do it during the day. Don't you miss me?"

Yes, but Jiang Qiuyue always felt that someone would come soon. Looking at Lin Zhengrong's eager eyes, she joked, "Didn't you say you were very tired? You don't have the energy to play with the children, but you have time to do this?"

"It's different. We are here to relieve our fatigue." Lin Zhengrong didn't want to say anything more and kissed her impatiently.

The two people were enjoying themselves in the house when there was a knock on the door outside the yard. Hearing it was He Ximei's voice, Jiang Qiuyue hurriedly put on her clothes and opened the door.

"Qiuyue, Shuangshuang has a stomachache and is about to give birth. How do we get her to the hospital?" He Ximei was so anxious that she was sweating profusely.

Jiang Qiuyue asked her to take a deep breath and called Lin Zhengrong to come out.

Lin Zhengrong went over and carried Wu Shuangshuang on his back, while Jiang Qiuyue went to inform Lin Rong.

After sending Wu Shuangshuang to the hospital, Jiang Qiuyue and Lin Rong also arrived.

Lin Rong asked, "Mom, isn't there still a few days before the due date?"

"Yeah, I was thinking about going out to wash clothes, but Shuangshuang said she had a stomachache." He Ximei pinched the corner of her clothes nervously, and she became even more scared when she heard her daughter crying in pain.

Jiang Qiuyue's heart was in her throat. She had always said that giving birth was not easy. Now when she heard Wu Shuangshuang crying in pain, goose bumps stood up all over her body.

Seeing that she was too nervous, Lin Zhengrong came over to hug her and whispered, "Don't be afraid, everything will be fine."

"What is it? It will be fine." Jiang Qiuyue took a deep breath. Lin Rong and He Ximei beside her were even more worried.

She didn't know how much time had passed until she heard a baby crying in the delivery room. Then Jiang Qiuyue followed Lin Zhengrong over.

"Weighing 6.7 jin, it's a girl." The nurse came out holding the baby and said, "The baby is safe and healthy, but the mother..."

"But what? What happened to my daughter?" He Ximei's tears were already welling up in her eyes, fearing to hear bad news.

The nurse told He Ximei not to be too nervous. "The woman is not in danger of death at the moment, but the doctor said that she had uterine problems from her last birth, so it's best not to have children in the future. This time she was brought in just in time, so both mother and daughter are safe, but having another child would be potentially dangerous."

She asked her family to take the child over, and she also had to register the child.

"Can't have more children?" He Ximei cried. Her daughter gave birth to four granddaughters in a row. How could she explain this to the Lin family?

Rather than the question of whether she could have children in the future, Jiang Qiuyue was more worried about whether Wu Shuangshuang's future life would be affected. After Wu Shuangshuang was pushed out, Jiang Qiuyue accompanied her to the ward.

"Qiuyue, where is my mother?" Wu Shuangshuang was so tired that she couldn't open her eyes and might fall asleep at any time.

"Auntie has taken the baby to register. The baby is fine. You can sleep for a while if you want." Jiang Qiuyue tucked the corner of the quilt for Wu Shuangshuang. After seeing Wu Shuangshuang fall asleep, she went to the door to find Lin Rong and He Ximei. "Auntie, Lin Rong, I suggest you wait until she is out of confinement before telling her about Sister Shuangshuang. Otherwise, she will get angry during confinement and her health will be bad in the future."

Lin Rong said it was no problem, and He Ximei glanced at Lin Rong secretly, then turned her head and wiped her tears.

Lin Rong was on guard in the hospital at night. Jiang Qiuyue went back to find red dates and gave them to He Ximei to make soup.

"I'll go to the hospital to see Shuangshuang tomorrow afternoon. Auntie, don't think too much. Everyone has their own destiny. Not having a son won't be a big deal." Jiang Qiuyue tried to comfort her, "Shuangshuang and Lin Rong have a good relationship. Daya and the others are all good children. You also know Shuangshuang's temper. Don't let her see any clues this month. I'll talk to her next month."

He Ximei nodded. After sending Jiang Qiuyue away, she was still very worried. How could she not have a son?

When Jiang Qiuyue returned home, Lin Zhengrong had already prepared hot water for her feet. She complained quietly, "What's the point of having a son? Sister Shuangshuang said that her two brothers didn't treat her mother well. They watched their sisters-in-law waste their mother's time and never said a word of heartache. It's all fake to raise children to support you in your old age. It all depends on how you educate the children. I don't understand Aunt He's sadness."

Lin Zhengrong sat aside and said, "Indeed, it depends on the character of the child."

"Who says it's not true? Look at my younger brother, he's named Yaozu. Has he really brought honor to our family?"

Jiang Qiuyue snorted, mocking him unabashedly, "Last time my second sister wrote to me, saying that Jiang Yaozu was starving himself to death, and he stole food from other people's homes, and was almost beaten to death. In the end, my eldest sister couldn't stand it anymore, so she sent him ten kilograms of potatoes, and then Jiang Yaozu was willing to work in the fields. But he slacked off every day, and the work points he earned were not even as good as those of a child. Now everyone in the village looks down on Jiang Yaozu, and he might starve himself to death one day."

So, having a son may not be useful. When Jiang Qiuyue's mother died, didn't she have any hope for Jiang Yaozu?

Jiang Qiuyue wiped her feet and Lin Zhengrong went to pour water for washing feet. The two of them slept until the next day. Lin Zhengrong went to help Chen Guowei clean the house, while Jiang Qiuyue got up to make buns.

It was almost noon when Jiang Qiuyue pushed her bicycle to Chen's house with a pot tied to the back seat. Fortunately, Chen's house was not far from hers, just on the street.

"Zhengrong, it's time for dinner!" Jiang Qiuyue pushed the bicycle into the yard and shouted into the yard. Lu Dacheng and a few others came out, dusting off the dust on their bodies.

"Sister-in-law, you're finally here. I've been looking forward to it last night since I knew it was you who was cooking." Lu Dacheng couldn't wait to eat the buns before even washing his hands.

Lin Zhengrong came over and pushed him to wash his hands in disgust, "Is it dirty?"

Lu Dacheng smiled and said it was not dirty. He finished a bun in three bites and then went to wash his hands.

Chen Guowei was a little embarrassed, "I'm really sorry to bother you, sister-in-law. I heard from Zhengrong that you came back very late last night, and I had to trouble you to cook for me."

"Why are you being so polite? You were the ones who cleaned the house for me before, which saved me a lot of trouble. You should eat soon. I will make some buns and soup for lunch, and you can come to my house for dinner in the evening." Jiang Qiuyue also ate with them. She had told Lin Beibei and Lin Nannan in the morning to go to Chief Yu's house for lunch. She asked Xiao Li to bring the buns over as Xiao Li could watch the children.

Jiang Qiuyue went to the hospital in the afternoon. Wu Shuangshuang looked much better and was eating an apple.

"Mom, go get me a pot of hot water. I have Qiuyue here." Wu Shuangshuang sent her mother away, then looked at Jiang Qiuyue and sighed, "You didn't let them tell me, did you?"

"What?"

"I know everything." Wu Shuangshuang pursed her lips with a hint of bitterness. "Last night, the nurse came to check on me. I heard her conversation with Lin Rong. Well, this is fate. If I can't have children, then I won't. Four girls can hold up the four legs of the table and support the sky."

"I thought you couldn't accept it." Jiang Qiuyue was quite surprised by Wu Shuangshuang's attitude, because Wu Shuangshuang herself also wanted to have a son, and said that she wanted to prove herself to others that she could also have a son.

Wu Shuangshuang smiled and put down the apple core. "What's so unacceptable? The child is healthy, and I'm fine too. I won't have any more children. Look at my mother. She has a son. Since my father passed away, she has been taking turns to work in my two brothers' homes. Others think that my brothers and sisters-in-law are filial and rush to have her go home, but in fact they just want an extra laborer. If I have to live like this when I'm old, I'll destroy the homes of the unfilial children and then hang myself."

She thought about it all night, and thought a lot. If it was destined, it was destined, and if it wasn't, she wouldn't force it. She couldn't give up her life just to have another son. What about her four daughters? If Lin Rong found a new wife later, her daughters would be miserable.

So for the sake of her daughters, she must live a good life.

Jiang Qiuyue breathed a sigh of relief. "That's the truth. It doesn't matter whether you have a son or a daughter. It all depends on what kind of person you raise them to be. If they are sensible, we can have a daughter who brings us happiness. If they were someone like my brother, you see, my parents would have gone to see King Yan."

Wu Shuangshuang was amused when hearing Jiang Qiuyue's self-mockery. "That's true, so I have nothing to sigh about. Now that things have come to this, let's look forward. Maybe these four golden flowers of mine will be people that others can't even reach in the future!"

Looking back and sighing will not change the facts. In this case, we might as well be more positive.

When He Ximei came back from getting hot water, Wu Shuangshuang told her about this directly. Seeing her mother crying, Wu Shuangshuang asked her to hold her back quickly, "I'm not worried, why are you crying? Don't cry, my daughter is fine."

"Shuangshuang, you say..."

"Don't say I have a hard life. I have a good life." Wu Shuangshuang interrupted her mother. "Hold your tears. I am fine. Lin Rong hasn't said a word yet, but you are already worried. If something happens to me, you will have to take care of my four daughters. After all, my parents-in-law don't like granddaughters."

"Pah, pah, pah, you'll be fine. Don't talk nonsense. Don't cry. I'll take good care of you during the confinement period. You must not get sick." He Ximei secretly made up her mind to take good care of her daughter and let her live a long life. She knew exactly what kind of people the two old men in the Lin family were.

Seeing her mother looking like she was facing a powerful enemy, Wu Shuangshuang sighed in her heart. Her mother was still thinking in the old way. If she couldn't get over it, she would have to live in constant sighing and unhappy all her life.

Jiang Qiuyue stayed with Wu Shuangshuang in the hospital for a while, and started cooking after returning home. There were salted fish and dried kelp at home, so she soaked them.

The salted fish will be fried with peppers later and can be given to Lin Zhengrong and the others to eat with wine. The kelp will be used to stew pork ribs. People don’t like to buy pork ribs nowadays because they think they have no meat to eat. Therefore, when Jiang Qiuyue went to the supply and marketing cooperative, there were still two kilograms of pork ribs left.

There are a lot of people here today, so we have to put more kelp. She picked it up from the sea without spending any money, so there is a lot of it at home.

After the kelp and pork ribs were stewed, Jiang Qiuyue began to prepare the dishes. In addition to the salted fish, Chen Guowei also brought a pound of pork belly and a fish in the morning, saying that it was his family's affair today and it was not appropriate for Jiang Qiuyue to buy vegetables.

When stir-frying pork belly with carrots, add more carrots to make the dish appear more substantial.

The fish was quite big, weighing about 9 jin. Jiang Qiuyue cut off the fish head and made chopped pepper fish head, and boiled the fish tail into water-boiled fish. Boiled fish also adds some side dishes, because they are all young men who can eat a lot, and each of them has a big appetite, so if they don't cook more, it won't be enough.

The side dishes for boiled fish are cooked and placed at the bottom of the bowl, then the fish fillets are placed on top, and hot soup and hot oil are poured on to bring out the aroma of pepper and green onion. In an instant, the whole kitchen is filled with the smell of boiled fish.

Lin Zhengrong and his friends just arrived. Jiang Qiuyue asked Lin Zhengrong to take the dishes out. "How is it? Have you finished cleaning up?"

"Well, everything has been cleaned up. How's Sister Shuangshuang doing?" Lin Zhengrong asked while holding the dishes.

"She's not bad. She knows that she can't have children, but she said that she can just look forward and not worry about it." Jiang Qiuyue helped to carry out the cold dishes. When she saw Xiao Li coming in, she said, "I've prepared the lunch box. It's on the pot lid."

Xiao Li waited for Jiang Qiuyue to return to the kitchen, called Jiang Qiuyue to the yard, grinned, and said, "Sister-in-law, I may need your help."