In fact, Xia Liang also wanted to have a second child before the college entrance examination was reinstated. Otherwise, when the college entrance examination was reinstated in 1977, followed by the restoration of the individual economy, Xia Liang wanted to make a career for herself, and then she wouldn't have time to have a child. Taking advantage of the time she has now, Xia Liang really plans to have a second child this year.
Since the arrival of Gu Yunxi, Gu Yanxiao has taken his annual holidays around the little girl's birthday. Every year, he rushes back to celebrate his daughter's birthday, and this year was no exception. No one picked him up on the day he returned. In the past, Han Yulan might have thought of picking up her son, but since the arrival of their granddaughter, her son's status had plummeted. Of course, he, a grown man, didn't need anyone to pick him up. He arrived home around 8 a.m., a train ticket he deliberately bought so that he could see his family at this time. Otherwise, he would have to wait until he got off work in the afternoon. The moment he pushed open the door, the little girl turned around and looked at him with a little unfamiliarity. Although she wrote often and occasionally called, it had been a year since they last saw each other, and besides, she was still a child; she didn't have such a good memory.
Xia Liang spoke first: "Have you eaten? If not, I'll get you some more." Gu Yanxiao shook his head, put down his bag, and followed his wife into the kitchen. Wu Ma wanted to follow, but Han Yulan stopped her. The young couple hadn't seen each other for so long, and now that they were finally back, there was a whole family of third wheels. The two entered the kitchen one after the other. Xia Liang heard the door close behind her and was about to turn around when someone grabbed her from behind. A deep, husky voice came from behind her: "Wife, I missed you so much." Xia Liang turned around and hugged him back, saying, "I missed you too." They hugged for a while in the kitchen before Xia Liang pushed him away, saying, "Let's go out quickly, Mom and Dad are still outside." Gu Yanxiao nodded. Xia Liang served him some porridge. After going out, she saw the little one still looking at her. He picked up his daughter and said, "Sweetie, don't you remember Daddy?" The little one, hearing it was her father, immediately hugged Gu Yanxiao's neck happily and said, "Daddy, you're back. Can you help Mommy give me a little sister now?" Xia Liang, who was drinking porridge, choked and coughed as soon as the porridge reached her throat. Han Yulan suppressed a laugh and patted her daughter-in-law's back. Thinking back to how she had also choked when startled by her granddaughter, she was speechless at the little one's antics.
During Gu Yanxiao's return, he was the one who picked up and dropped off little Gu Yunxi every day. On the first day he took the little one to kindergarten, someone curiously came up and asked, "Yunxi, who is this?" The kindergarten children were all curious about Gu Yanxiao, who was wearing a military uniform. Although the tall and big adult looked a bit intimidating, they knew he was a good person because of his uniform, so the children dared to come up and ask. Little Yunxi was as proud as a little rooster, holding her head high and saying, "This is my dad, he's a soldier." And so, he introduced him to every classmate they met along the way. If someone were shy, they would have been too embarrassed to even know where to hide, but Gu Yanxiao still looked proud. If Xia Liang saw this, she would definitely say that like father, like daughter. Not to mention his smug expression, even their appearances were eight or nine parts alike.
Xia Liang was diagnosed with pregnancy two months after Gu Yanxiao left. That day, while Xia Liang was at work, she suddenly felt dizzy and almost fell. Her workshop foreman, Zhang Taiwei, took her to the infirmary. It was the same doctor as before. Xia Liang eventually went to the First People's Hospital of the provincial capital, where she was diagnosed with pregnancy; she was already two months along. Xia Liang was overjoyed when she heard the result; it had come at just the right time.
When Xia Liang got home that evening and told her mother-in-law, Han Yulan turned pale with fright. "Luckily, it was in the workshop, and there were people around. If you had been in the office, all alone, what would have happened if no one had noticed?" Xia Liang quickly comforted her, "It's okay, Mom. This was just an accident. The doctor said it was caused by not getting enough rest recently. As long as you rest properly, this won't happen." The factory had seen a surge in orders recently. Larger orders meant longer machine usage time, leading to more malfunctions. Several times, they had to work three shifts. Xia Liang was often woken up to work overtime while sleeping at home. A few days ago, she almost lived at the factory, collapsing from exhaustion. Now that the orders are mostly completed, Xia Liang isn't so busy anymore.
This pregnancy was much more difficult than when she was pregnant with Xiao Yunxi. She couldn't eat too much. When she was pregnant with Xiao Yunxi, she liked to eat fish, but now she would vomit as soon as she smelled fish. Just like that day, Han Yulan remembered that her daughter-in-law liked to eat fish when she was pregnant with Guaibao, so she bought a fish and asked Wu Ma to make it into pickled fish. As a result, Xia Liang started to vomit as soon as she smelled the fish when she got home, and then she couldn't eat anything. In the end, Wu Ma cooked her some white rice porridge, and she was able to drink a little less than half a bowl.
Although her mother-in-law and Aunt Wu were there to take care of her this time, Xia Liang felt that the pregnancy symptoms were even worse than when she was pregnant with Xiao Yunxi. The little one also knew to care for his mother; seeing her vomiting and unable to eat, he brought her water and said, "Mom, drink some water. I'll discipline your sister. How could she let you suffer like this? She's an unfilial child." Xia Liang was speechless.
In the later stages of pregnancy, the morning sickness finally subsided, and Xia Liang was able to eat normally again. Han Yulan had been worried; her daughter-in-law was already thin, and before, she'd been vomiting everything she ate, making her so thin that only her belly was visible. Moreover, the little one wasn't as well-behaved as her older sister, constantly kicking and punching in her belly. Xia Liang had been woken up several times in the middle of the night by these kicks. Lack of sleep combined with not being able to eat much was bound to cause her to lose weight. Thankfully, she could now eat normally, and her appetite had even increased significantly. The doctor also said she was too thin and that eating more now wouldn't be a problem. Hearing this, Xia Liang ate with peace of mind.
A few days before her due date, Xia Liang stopped going to work and stayed home to prepare for childbirth. Because of her previous experience, she prepared much less this time, unlike when she gave birth to Xiao Yunxi, when she brought a huge bag that was inconvenient to carry and unnecessary, and ended up taking it all back with her. This time, she streamlined it into a small bag containing only necessities, making things much simpler and easier.
Gu Yanxiao took his annual leave during his wife's due date. When he came back, his wife was watching TV at home, his parents were at work, and his daughter was at kindergarten. Wu Ma was worried about Xia Liang being home alone, so she went grocery shopping when Han Yulan was home. She wanted to make sure that Xia Liang had someone with her in case she suddenly went into labor.
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