Chapter 59
Meng Yuxiu washed clothes for almost half an hour and then returned from outside with Han Shuo.
The mother of Meng had just finished cooking. She watched her son hang the blanket on the bamboo pole in the yard and then hang up the clothes one by one. Then, she remembered something, went upstairs to get two things, and then went into the kitchen to give them to the father of Meng.
"Give it to them before they go to sleep."
When Meng's father saw that his wife had two towels in her hand, he frowned and said, "Why do you want me to go give them to them again?"
The usually stern father of Mencius always listened to his wife. When his mother glared at him, he could only shake his head, sigh, and accept the towel.
After dinner, the family enjoyed the cool evening air in the courtyard. Around nine o'clock, Han Shuo washed up and went upstairs to rest, while Meng Yuxiu still had to prepare for bed.
Because Han Shuo is currently pregnant and sensitive to heat, she complained of being thirsty last night. So after Han Shuo went upstairs, Meng Yuxiu went to the kitchen, got a thermos, poured a cup of hot water, and placed it on the desk to cool, so Han Shuo could drink it if she was thirsty later that night.
When Meng Yuxiu was about to go upstairs with his teacup, his father called him back and handed him a towel.
Meng Yuxiu stared at the towel in surprise.
Meng's father raised his chin at him, frowned, and said, "Here, this is for both of you."
Meng Yuxiu said, "Dad, Han Shuo and I have face towels."
However, after he finished speaking, Meng's father lowered his voice and berated him harshly: "Do you think I didn't know you had washcloths?!"
"What did I tell you last night?"
"I'll teach you..." Meng's father couldn't finish his curse, so he picked up the next sentence and continued, "Did your ears fall into the pot?!"
Meng Yuxiu finally understood the purpose of the two towels, but he couldn't explain it to his father, who was glaring at him.
He could only say vaguely and awkwardly, "I didn't... I listened..."
Even though he said that, Meng's father still firmly believed that his son would become less and less willpower as he grew older.
So he tossed the towel to Meng Yuxiu, frowned and muttered, "Take this! I don't want our family to wash blankets every day and be laughed at, with people saying you've been messing around all day since you got married."
"..." Upon hearing this, Meng Yuxiu could only blush and lower his head to accept it, saying that he understood.
Han Shuo was already lying in bed, reading a novel while waiting for Meng Yuxiu.
Although the Meng family was well-off in Xiqiao Village, they didn't own a high-end item like a television.
But it must be said that since he came into this world, especially after marrying into the Meng family, his quality of life has improved dramatically.
Not only did he have an electric fan blowing, but he also had his own room. Although the room was shared by him and Meng Yuxiu, Meng Yuxiu was, after all, his closest companion.
Although he also liked living with Han Hong and Han Ting, he had to be careful when sleeping in Xiaoshi Village, and he still had to wear underwear at night.
It's so great here! Just close the door, take off your underwear, and stand naked in front of the fan with your bare bottom blowing on you. It feels so wonderful.
When Meng Yuxiu came in, Han Shuo was leaning against the pillow, completely naked, with his legs crossed.
Hearing the door open, Han Shuo turned around and asked, "Have you washed your face?"
"Hmm." Meng Yuxiu held the teacup in one hand and closed the door with the other. He walked to the desk by the window and placed the things he was holding on it.
Han Shuo saw the towels and asked, "Why did you take two towels?"
Meng Yuxiu smiled slightly stiffly and said, "My dad gave it to me. He meant... that I shouldn't have to wash the blankets every day."
Upon hearing this, Han Shuo slowly widened his eyes. "Holy crap! This is so awkward?"
Meng Yuxiu nodded.
Since the elders had personally delivered the towels, Han Shuo felt rather embarrassed. So he told Meng Yuxiu that they shouldn't do that anymore. Washing the towels was a small matter, but it wouldn't be good if Meng's parents saw them drying the towels every few days.
Meng Yuxiu took off his slippers and got into bed. He wasn't sleepy, so he sat close to Han Shuo and read a novel. But as he read, his eyes kept glancing down.
In the end, he simply covered Han Shuo's waist with the blanket.
Before marrying Han Shuo, the two were in a relationship between people from different villages, and since they were under Han Hong's watchful eye, Meng Yuxiu never had the chance to see Han Shuo's belly.
Meng Yuxiu was too excited about his wedding yesterday to even have time to celebrate.
Today marks the first time he has carefully examined Han Shuo's belly since Han Shuo became pregnant.
Normally, when Han Shuo is dressed, nothing is noticeable, but now that he is naked, Meng Yuxiu noticed that the skin and flesh of his originally firm abdomen seemed to have softened, and even when he is lying flat, his lower abdomen is slightly bulging.
Meng Yuxiu couldn't help but gently place his palm on the raised skin. He could almost imagine that the life beneath his palm was probably only the size of a walnut.
And as soon as he thought about it, an image popped into his mind of a child the size of a walnut, curled up with his eyes closed.
Han Shuo put down the novel in his hand and looked at Meng Yuxiu's silly expression with his eyes downcast and the corners of his mouth slightly raised under the dim light. Then he saw him lower his head and put his ear close to his stomach.
Han Shuo awkwardly and amusedly pushed his head away, "What are you doing?"
Meng Yuxiu refused to leave, saying, "Let me hear it."
"What are you listening to!"
"I'll just listen."
Han Shuo couldn't do anything about this man who became a father at the age of eighteen. Judging from Meng Yuxiu's excited appearance, if his stomach were to move at this moment, Meng Yuxiu would probably jump up and say that the baby was moving.
Meng Yuxiu listened for a full ten minutes before finally getting up to turn off the light and go to sleep.
Early August is the hottest time of the year, and even with fans and windows open, it's no use.
Han Shuo slept until one or two in the morning, his mouth dry and his body sticky with sweat. He nudged the person next to him.
Meng Yuxiu quickly opened his eyes, turned on the bedside light bulb, got up and handed the teacup on the desk to Han Shuo.
It was hot, and the water in the teacup was still warm. Han Shuo drank more than half of it in one gulp. After he returned the teacup to Meng Yuxiu, he suddenly heard faint chatter downstairs.
Meng Yuxiu, of course, heard it too.
Han Shuo asked curiously, "It looks like your parents are downstairs. What are they doing downstairs so late?"
After putting down his teacup, Meng Yuxiu said he would go downstairs to take a look.
The lights were on on the first floor. When Meng Yuxiu walked to the top of the stairs, he saw his father wearing tall rubber boots, as if he had just returned from outside.
Mencius' father took the teacup handed to him by his mother, drank a few sips of water, then squatted down and shook the water bucket on the ground with both hands.
Meng Yuxiu noticed that the two buckets in front of his father were filled with crawling crayfish.
Mencius' mother also squatted down.
The conversation between his parents reached Meng Yuxiu's ears, making him unable to take a step downstairs, even though he was about to go downstairs.
Meng's father's voice sounded tired, but Meng Yuxiu could still hear the joy in his tiredness.
"We've had quite a haul. Look, there are a few eels too. The biggest one probably weighs about a pound."
"Let's go to town early tomorrow to sell them," said Meng's mother, walking to the table and sitting down. She then took out a pen and a notebook.
Mencius' father took off his rubber shoes and sat down barefoot.
The couple meticulously calculated the various expenses for Meng Yuxiu and Han Shuo's university studies late into the night. Given Han Shuo's current physical condition, it would be impossible for him to stay in the dormitory after entering university. Of course, both sets of parents were also worried.
So they plan to have their two children rent a place in Hecheng.
Tuition fees, rent, and daily living expenses.
"Xiao Shuo's brother said he would pay for Xiao Shuo's college tuition," Meng's mother mentioned.
Mr. Meng immediately objected: "That won't do. Xiao Shuo and Xiao Xiu have already gotten married and settled down. There's no reason for him to pay for it."
Mother Meng nodded and said, "That's what I meant too. When Xiao Shuo's brother comes, you should turn him down. His brother has had a hard time raising Xiao Shuo, and he also has Tingting to raise."
Meng's father said, "You should calculate first how much money to bring to Hecheng for the two of them, so I can go to the post office to withdraw the savings."
His parents downstairs were still doing their accounts. Meng Yuxiu didn't go downstairs again; he quietly retreated from the stairwell.
After Meng Yuxiu returned to his room, Han Shuo noticed that his expression was a little off and asked, "What's wrong?"
Meng Yuxiu sat on the bed and silently shook his head.
"What's wrong?"
After a moment, Meng Yuxiu sighed slowly and told Han Shuo what he had just seen.
Han Shuo felt a little heavy-hearted after hearing this.
He mentally calculated that he and Meng Yuxiu would have to attend at least two semesters of university before he could give birth to the child.
The Meng family's resources were limited, and he had already spent a considerable amount of money on his marriage to Meng Yuxiu.
Meng's parents naturally had no idea that he and Meng Yuxiu left after the child was born. In their view, they not only had to plan for the cost of their children's university education, but also for the various expenses that would follow the birth of their child.
Teachers' salaries are limited, so Mencius' parents could only do small businesses to help support the newlywed couple.
Whether in the 21st century or here, Meng Yuxiu has never cared about material things.
If he hadn't seen his father return in the darkness at one or two in the morning, he might still be living a peaceful life in this world.
He suddenly realized that he was not as good as Han Shuo.
Because Han Shuo felt sorry for his family much earlier than him and wanted to create better conditions for them. And it seems that he only realized his guilt tonight.
To outsiders, Meng Yuxiu is a calm and sensible person. But in the eyes of his parents and Han Shuo, he has always been like a child.
However, at this moment, although Meng Yuxiu did not speak, Han Shuo saw a deep sense of bitterness in his lowered eyes.
This is the first hardship encountered during the growth stage, and this hardship will eventually become the first responsibility in the transformation of a young person's life.
Han Shuo suddenly remembered something and patted Meng Yuxiu's hand to comfort him: "Don't worry, I still have the betrothal gifts your family gave me. Tell your parents not to worry."
Although Han Hong told him to keep it to himself, to be honest, he and Meng Yuxiu were not from this world after all, and Han Shuo felt uneasy about taking other people's hard-earned money.
Meng Yuxiu shook his head and said, "They won't accept it. Even though your brother wanted to pay your tuition, they refused."
Han Shuo could also see that Han Hong had his own principles, so it goes without saying that Meng's parents did as well.
"I'm planning to go crayfish fishing with my dad tomorrow night," Meng Yuxiu said.
Han Shuo nodded, "Okay, anyway, we still have half a month before we go to Hecheng. We should sell as many crayfish as we can, otherwise it will be hard for us to just eat at home. How about I come with you tomorrow night? More people means more fish."
"Don't go," Meng Yuxiu said, frowning. "I'm worried about you in your current state, and my parents won't let you go out either."
Han Shuo thought about it and agreed.
Meng's parents were still downstairs. Even though Meng Yuxiu had to start helping with chores the next day, he was still in a low mood that night.
After turning off the lights, Han Shuo hugged him and coaxed, "How about this, when we get to Hecheng, we'll start some business as soon as possible. Since your parents don't want a bride price, we'll use it as start-up capital and try to make a lot of money before the baby is born. Half of it will go to my brother and half to your parents, okay?"
Meng Yuxiu hugged Han Shuo back and nodded gently, saying, "Okay."
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