"Ptooey, ptooey, wife, quickly spit it out! Children say the darndest things, children say the darndest things."
In Li Jun's mind, the child his wife was carrying must be very smart, or at least very beautiful.
Tang Baozhu couldn't help but laugh when she saw him like this. She was almost 20 years old, and he was still talking about children's innocent remarks.
They're so adorably silly, it's actually quite fun.
"Okay, I was just kidding. The baby in your belly is too small. You won't see any movement until at least four or five months later. At that time, he might stick out a little fist to say hello to you!"
Although Li Jun didn't know how his wife found out, he believed what she said.
“I was originally thinking of going to the estate in a few days to check on the harvest from your fields. I’m always worried that the tenants might cheat us if I don’t keep an eye on things regularly. But now that you’re pregnant, I won’t go. I’m worried about you.”
"Don't worry about me. Chunxue and Qingliu are here at home. They can take good care of me. The fields and the estate are important matters. This year, the fruit trees on the estate are probably flowering the most in recent years. There will definitely be a bumper harvest. I can't just leave them unattended."
The fruit trees did bear fruit in the previous two years, but only a handful. Last year there were a few more, but it was only enough for our own consumption; we couldn't sell any.
This year, a large amount of fruit has ripened, and I think I can sell it and make a lot of money.
Although Li Jun knew his wife was right, he was still worried. Another reason was that as a first-time father, he was reluctant to go anywhere.
"I can't bear to part with you."
“There’s nothing to be reluctant about. You’re thinking about our future. Now is the perfect time to earn more money. After the baby is born, expenses will be higher, so we won’t have to be so frugal. If it’s a boy, you’ll definitely have to send him to school. Private schools in the county town cost several taels of silver a year, not to mention the imperial examinations, which will cost even more.”
"Even if it's not a boy, but a girl, then you should start preparing a dowry for her from a young age, so that she will have a better life when she grows up. So you should still work hard to earn more money."
In ancient times, girls competed based on their dowry. The more dowry you had, the better your life would be in the groom's family. After all, seeing so much dowry, everyone would look at you with more respect.
Conversely, if the dowry is too small, one will definitely be looked down upon by others.
Of course, if you marry into a village, you might not care so much, but Tang Baozhu still hopes that her daughter will marry well and not have to deal with the fields all day.
So, in her heart, she hoped that her first child would be a boy, so that he could climb the ranks step by step through the imperial examinations, and then have a daughter. With a brother to rely on, she thought life would be better.
If women could take the imperial examinations, they probably wouldn't want to get married and have children so quickly; they would have taken the examinations long ago.
Unfortunately, there was never a time in ancient times when women were allowed to take the imperial examinations; they could only hope that the next generation could change their family's fortunes.
After listening to his wife's words, Li Jun felt that she was right. Regardless of whether they had a boy or a girl, there would be many expenses after having children, so they really needed to work hard to earn more money.
Suppressing his reluctance, he said, "Then I'll go to the estate tomorrow and check on the fields as well. You must take good care of yourself at home and don't worry me."
"Don't worry, there are two people at home, so there's no need to worry about anything happening. Anyway, I don't go out much."
Don't be fooled by the honest-looking farmers who rent your land; if you don't go and check, they might fabricate something for you.
It's possible that there were insects, which caused a particularly severe disaster and a lower yield. It's also possible that there was a severe water shortage, which also led to a lower yield.
If you encounter a not-so-shrewd landlord, you might be fooled into losing money year after year. They will stop at nothing to get more food for their family.
Therefore, Li Jun would go to check on the fields and the estate several times a year, making sure that no one would deceive him or give them the opportunity to do so.
When Li Jun left the next day, he was very reluctant to part with her, giving her countless instructions and reminders. Even the two maids standing beside him found it unbelievable.
What's wrong with my son-in-law? He'll be back in just two or three days. Did he just marry the young lady? Is that why he's so reluctant to leave?
Tang Baozhu was getting a little impatient. It was really too long-winded. Almost an hour had passed since they were about to leave.
The sun was already quite strong, and after standing outside for so long to see them off, I felt dizzy from the heat.
Seeing that he wouldn't stop, I just said, "Leave whenever you want. I'm getting dizzy from the sun, I'm going inside first." Then I ignored him and went straight inside.
Li Jun then realized that his wife was newly pregnant and that standing at the door for so long must have exhausted her. He felt annoyed that he had been too nagging.
Finally, after watching his wife and two maids enter the house and close the gate, he was left alone at the door, leading the oxcart. Suppressing his reluctance, he left the village.
After returning to her house, Tang Baozhu went straight into her room to rest for a while. She had gotten up so early to see him off and had been delayed at the door for so long; she was already exhausted.
Especially now that she's just starting to experience morning sickness, she can't eat anything and has very little energy.
Once inside, he didn't ask Chunxue and Qingliu to serve him; he told them to find something to do or rest for a while, as long as they didn't disturb him.
Chunxue and Qingliu were unaware that their young mistress was pregnant, but their young master had been so talkative that morning that he had inadvertently let the cat out of the bag, and so they found out.
Seeing that the young lady looked impatient, he didn't bother her and went to the backyard.
"Qingliu, Miss is pregnant. You know, the backyard is so big, should we raise some chickens in advance to prepare for it? We can kill a chicken every few days to nourish Miss, especially during her postpartum period, she needs to eat more nutrition to stay healthy."
Aoyu hesitated a bit, after all, the young lady's reaction was a bit too strong. If some chickens were kept in the backyard, the smell would be particularly strong. She wondered if the young lady would react even more strongly to the smell.
Aoyagi told Haruyuki about her thoughts, and Haruyuki hesitated after hearing them.
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