When Li Yuemei returned home in the afternoon, she happily told Zhao Qiming as soon as she entered the door, "Go to the backyard and catch an old hen and make chicken soup."
Zhao Qiming put down his work and, though puzzled, walked towards the backyard obediently. "What day is it? We need to kill chickens."
"Brother Yan is pregnant!" Li Yuemei smiled even more and announced the good news to Zhao Qiming.
Zhao Qiming didn't leave either, but returned, his face full of surprise. "Really? This is a great joy!" He rubbed his hands, his eyes sparkling. Li Yuemei smiled and replied, "Of course, I saw the doctor today. It's been over two months."
Zhao Qiming felt reassured after hearing this and turned to head to the backyard. He was going to catch a hen to give Yan Ge'er some good nourishment. Li Yuemei went into the kitchen to boil water. As she worked, she hummed a little tune, as if she could see the happy scene of her future child in her arms.
Lin Yan shook his head helplessly. All the elders were like this. When he came back to pick up Zhou Chunlan today, his mother was very happy when she knew he was pregnant. She kept talking and telling him what to do.
Zhao Qiming went to the backyard and spotted the fattest old hen. The hen seemed to sense danger and fluttered its wings as it ran around. Zhao Qiming struggled to catch it and carried it back to the kitchen.
At this moment, Lin Yan slowly walked to the kitchen door, looking at the busy Li Yuemei and Zhao Qiming carrying the chicken, his heart filled with warmth. "Dad, Mom, there's no need to make such a fuss," Lin Yan said with a smile.
"That won't work. You're pregnant now, so you need to nourish yourself more." Li Yue said without raising her eyebrows, her hands still busy adding firewood to boil water.
Zhao Qiming grabbed a kitchen knife and walked out to the yard, calling Zhao Shiyun over to help kill the chicken. Zhao Shiyun rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the chicken's feet and wings. Zhao Qiming pinched the chicken's head and plucked some feathers from its neck. With a sharp cut of the knife, the chicken's blood dripped into the bowl on the ground. Soon, the chicken stopped struggling. Li Yuemei brought out a basin of hot water just in time. "Brother Yan, go and rest. Focus on your pregnancy and don't worry about anything at home."
Lin Yan nodded, his eyes slightly moist. Ever since she found out she was pregnant, she'd become more sentimental, her emotions coming and going without warning. He didn't continue watching them kill the chickens, but went back to his room to rest.
Zhao Shiyun cleaned the old hen's internal organs, removed the excess parts from the chicken's butt and neck, and handed it over to Li Yuemei.
Li Yuemei took the old hen and returned to the kitchen. She cut the chicken into even-sized pieces, then put the cut chicken pieces into the pot, added cold water to cover the chicken pieces, put in scallion segments, ginger slices and an appropriate amount of white wine, brought to a boil over high heat, skimmed off the foam, and after blanching for a few minutes, took out the chicken pieces, rinsed them with warm water, and drained the water.
Pour a small amount of lard into the pot. Once the oil is hot, add sliced ginger and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add the drained chicken and stir-fry over low heat until the chicken is slightly golden brown. Place the stir-fried chicken into a clay pot, add enough hot water all at once, add red dates, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for one hour.
The chicken soup was ready, and Li Yuemei nodded in satisfaction. The Zhao family's first grandson had to be taken care of well, ensuring Yan Ge'er had good food and drink. He also had to visit the doctor more often, move around more often as the birth approached, and hire a good midwife.
It’s too early to think about these things now. In the near future, I will ask Yan Ge’er to pay more attention and do more housework by himself. Yu Ge’er in the shop can also learn to cook and can take care of it.
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The chicken is almost done stewing. Li Yuemei opens the lid, adds wolfberries and appropriate amount of salt for seasoning, and stews for another quarter of an hour.
The rice was already steaming. Seeing that Lin Yan had no symptoms of vomiting in the past two days, Li Yuemei fried some lard residue and vegetables. The lard residue was left over from making lard two days ago and had not been eaten up yet.
"Brother Yu, go call your brother-in-law to eat." Li Yuemei brought the clay pot to the table. The chicken soup in the pot was still boiling. Afraid that it would be too greasy, Li Yuemei skimmed off the oil on top, and it now looked very clear.
Yu Ge'er walked into the room and saw Lin Yan taking a nap on the bed. He whispered, "Brother, it's time for dinner." Lin Yan followed Yu Ge'er to the yard. The rich aroma of chicken soup filled the air, and Lin Yan felt a little greedy.
Everyone sat together. Li Yuemei first served Lin Yan a bowl of chicken soup, "Brother Yan, try it." Lin Yan took a sip and praised, "Oh, it's so delicious." Zhao Qiming also looked at him with a smile, his eyes full of love.
At this moment, Lin Yan suddenly covered his mouth with his hands, feeling nauseous. Everyone was startled, and Li Yuemei hurriedly asked, "Brother Yan, what's wrong?" Lin Yan waved his hands and said slowly, "Nothing, I just suddenly felt nauseous." Li Yuemei was afraid that he smelled the lard residue, so she quickly picked up a piece of chicken and asked Lin Yan to eat it quickly. Fortunately, Lin Yan ate it without vomiting again.
After dinner, Lin Yan took a walk in the yard to digest his food. Zhao Shiyun followed him and said softly, "Brother Yan, after the baby is born, can we send him to school to learn how to read and write?"
Lin Yan laughed at his overthinking, but nodded nonetheless. He touched his still-unborn belly, thinking that this little life would bring even more joy and happiness, and he was eagerly anticipating the day he would become a father.
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