The next day, Xiao Zhou took back Lu Nong's red bean jade pendant, 550 yuan, and a house deed from Lu's house. Lu Moxing promised to move out of the house within three days.
Lu Nong was not interested in Lu Moxing's house. It was very close to Lu's parents' homes. She wanted to sell it and use the money to buy a new house.
In fact, now is not the most appropriate time to buy a house. Around the 1980s, you could buy a courtyard house in Beijing for more than 10,000 yuan. That was the best time to buy a house.
The main reason why Lu Nong wanted to buy a house was to convert her spare money into real estate to preserve its value. Also, as a wealthy mother, Lu Nong planned to buy a house for each of her sons and daughters as a coming-of-age gift when they turned 18.
Pei Zheng also had some, and the money for the house was deducted from the passbook that Pei Jinan gave her.
After asking Xiao Zhouyi, I found out that at that time all houses in the country belonged to the state and could not be bought and sold at will. They could only be rented. Due to the low rent, you only needed a few cents to rent a house, and the work unit would allocate houses, so almost no one spent money to buy a house.
Even if it is sold, I'm afraid the price will be extremely low.
After hearing this, Lu Nong gave up the idea of selling the house. He took out his savings and asked Xiao Zhou to help him buy a moderately priced house. He didn't dare to buy too much and wanted to buy one first to test the waters.
On New Year's Eve, the family worked all night to prepare a large table of dishes. There was no Spring Festival Gala in the 1960s, so after a delicious meal, the family began to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year. Lu Nong fell asleep on the sofa while staying up all night.
At twelve o'clock, Pei Jinan asked Pei Zheng to go to the yard to finish setting off the firecrackers. Lu Nong woke up, squinted his eyes and covered Zizi's ears, and Zizi covered Xiaobai's ears. Outside the yard, firecrackers rang out, and firecrackers from other houses in the distance also rang out. For a moment, it seemed as if every household in the whole city was setting off firecrackers.
"Go to sleep." Pei Jinan said gently to Lu Nong who was lying on the sofa.
"Hmm..." After setting off the firecrackers, Lu Nong fell into a deep sleep.
Pei Jinan had no choice but to bend over and pick up Lu Nong, and carried her to the bed in their bedroom.
Early the next morning, when Lu Nong went downstairs to have breakfast, Pei Zheng was guarding at the stairs with Xiao Huai and Xiao Bai. When they saw Lu Nong coming down, the two of them and the dog surrounded them.
Pei Zheng: "Happy New Year, stepmother."
Gu Xiaohuai: "Happy New Year, Mom."
Little white dog: "Woof woof."
After saying this, he stretched out his hand and looked at Lu Nong eagerly.
Lu Nong: “…”
"Okay..." Lu Nong took out two red envelopes from behind and handed them to the two people. Pei Zheng was a thief. He quietly opened the red envelope and took a look. After reading it, he became dissatisfied, "Only two cents, not even enough to buy a piece of candy."
Lu Nong smiled slyly, like many adults who cheat children with New Year's money nowadays, and cleared his throat. He stretched out his hand to the two and said, "Xiao Zheng, Xiao Huai, you two are still young. Give the New Year's money to your mother for safekeeping. I will return it to you when you grow up, okay?"
Although Xiao Huai didn't quite understand, since his mother wanted it, he obediently returned the red envelope to his mother, which was just touched by his hands and was not even warm yet.
Pei Zheng was so shocked that he couldn't help but say, "Are you a wicked person? It's only two cents? And you want to cheat me back, and you even cheated a child out of his money!?"
Lu Nong was unhappy. She admitted that she had cheated the child out of money, but what about two cents?
"Don't treat bean buns as dry food. Two cents is still money. Two cents can buy a lot of things. Don't give it back to me."
Pei Zheng gritted his teeth and didn't return the money. "I'll kill you."
Lu Nong said disdainfully: "Oh, how much money did your father give you as a New Year's gift?"
Pei Zheng: "..." Does he dare to ask the old man for a red envelope? Does he dare? Does he dare?
In the end, the fifty cents that Mother Wu gave me turned out to be the largest denomination of money I had ever received during the Chinese New Year. I couldn’t stay in this home anymore!
He wants to take his cubs and run away from home!
After the Chinese New Year, Lu Nong was three months pregnant and her belly had a slight curve. The whole family treated her like a rare animal. Considering the incident in which Lu Wenqiang almost bumped into Lu Nong, they were afraid that she would get bumped, so they even had to have someone accompany her when she went out for a walk.
Pei Zheng and Zaizai became the main companions. Every evening, the adult, two children and a little white dog taking a walk became a unique landscape of the compound.
Zizi was walking in front with the little white dog, Pei Zheng was following behind, and Lu Nong was walking in the middle. He would stop and talk to acquaintances when he met them. Pei Zheng was getting impatient, but still stayed by Lu Nong's side silently.
Gu Xiaohuai became even more obedient. Ever since his family told him that his mother was pregnant and needed a man's protection, Gu Xiaohuai stayed by Lu Nong's side every day. Whenever he had time, he would talk to the baby, and tell him through his belly to be good and not to make his mother sad.
No matter whether it was Lu Nong, other people in the family, or outsiders, their hearts melted when they saw Gu Xiaohuai like this, and everyone loved Gu Xiaohuai.
The other mothers in the compound felt extremely jealous when they saw how diligently Pei Zheng and Gu Xiaohuai protected Lu Nong. They all had sons, and one of them was not even their biological son. Why were other people's sons so obedient and so loving to their mothers? Were their own sons born in vain?
Lu Nong didn't know that her biological mothers and stepmothers in the compound envied her. She began to have morning sickness and became extremely sensitive to smells. She couldn't stand the smell of any smell, including shoe polish, cooking fumes, and the smell of dogs. She would vomit as soon as she smelled these smells.
I couldn't eat anything with the slightest flavor. After eating, my stomach felt churning and I vomited out as much as I ate. I was visibly losing weight.
The family was anxious but to no avail until one day Lu Nong suddenly said that his mouth had no taste and he wanted to eat sour dates.
It was still the New Year holiday and the supply and marketing cooperative was closed, so Pei Jinan had no choice but to call his comrades in Beijing one by one to ask who had sour dates. After being teased by his old comrades, he drove across most of Beijing in the middle of the night to bring back the sour dates, and Lu Nong's appetite recovered.
After Lu Nong's appetite returned, her tastes changed again. On the first day she wanted to eat spicy diced chicken, and on the second day she wanted to eat hot and sour noodles. After eating hot and sour noodles for five or six days in a row, she finally got tired of it and wanted to eat Chinese toon.
But it’s winter now, where can we get the Chinese toon?
No matter how clever and skilled Wu's mother is in cooking, she cannot use other ingredients to make food that tastes similar to Chinese toon.
Lu Nong was sad because she couldn't eat Chinese toon. She ignored everyone and went back to her bedroom alone, sitting on the bed and crying. She looked pitiful and cute.
Pei Ji'an had no choice but to hold her in his arms and coax her slowly until she fell asleep.
There are standards for the process of coaxing a baby to sleep. First, you need to pat her back gently, not too hard or too soft. Then, tell her a story with a happy ending. After she falls asleep, you need to kiss her forehead. No step can be missed.
In order to check whether Pei Jinan had missed the last step, she pretended to sleep. Pei Jinan naturally did not fool her, but she was discovered by Pei Jinan and was spanked a few times to teach her a lesson.
This stirred up a hornet's nest. Lu Nong burst into tears in grievance, wiping her tears and snot on Pei Jinan's body while crying. She was very angry. Pei Jinan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he had to coax her again and promised not to spank her again.
Afterwards, when Lu Nong thought about it, she wanted to crawl into a cave. This incident became one of the dark histories that she least wanted to remember.
After a chaotic month, in the fourth month of pregnancy, Lu's morning sickness disappeared and she began to enjoy everything she ate.
In order to make up for the fact that Lu Nong had not eaten nutritious food in the past month, Mother Wu began to cook all kinds of delicious food. The whole family benefited from it, especially Pei Zheng, who was even heavier than Lu Nong, the pregnant woman.
Lu Nong's physique makes it difficult for her to gain weight. After pregnancy, except for a slightly bigger belly, her limbs remained slender. However, her breasts developed, her buttocks became more upright, and her body curves became more beautiful.
And I don’t know if it was the effect of Wu Mama’s dietary supplements, but after a month, Lu Nong’s skin became moisturized, soft and white, and his hair not only did not fall out, but it became brighter, thicker, and more tender. He also had a gentle aura, which made him even more attractive.
At five months, Lu Nong's belly was already noticeable. Her obvious belly was visible when she wore loose clothes, and she had to sleep on her side at night.
Families in the compound who had good relations with Lu Nong came to visit her one after another. Huo Xiaoling from next door also came. Although Lu Nong didn't want to deal with her, he didn't hit anyone who smiled at him. He welcomed Huo Xiaoling to the sofa in the living room and treated her to some fruit.
Seeing how beautiful Lu Nong was, Huo Xiaoling sighed worriedly and said, "Girl, do you like spicy food recently?"
“It’s OK.” Lu Nong had heard the saying “sour boys, spicy girls”, but she didn’t really crave spicy food. She liked both spicy and sour food.
Huo Xiaoling patted Lu Nong's hand and said, "I tell you, a lady makes a beautiful mother, but a son makes an ugly mother. My skin was very good when I gave birth to a lady, and you may be carrying a lady in your belly. But you are still young, so you can give birth to a lady first, and then a boy in the next pregnancy, to make it a good word."
Lu Nong touched her face. No wonder Mother Wu was hesitant to speak when she saw her these past two days. It turned out that she saw that she was pregnant with a girl. Mother Wu's idea was common in this era, and she believed that having a son was better than a daughter.
But Lu Nong likes daughters more. She wishes she could give birth to a girl. Girls are great, smart and cute. When they grow up, they can wear mother-daughter or sister outfits together.
"Sister, are you serious? I'm really carrying a girl in my belly?" Lu Nong confirmed happily.
Huo Xiaoling was confused.
In her opinion, if a woman does not give birth to a son for her husband, her position in her husband's family will be unstable, especially in a second marriage family like hers and Lu Nong's. There is already an eldest son in the family. If she does not give birth to a younger son, then won't everything in the family belong to the eldest son in the future?
She herself had suffered greatly from it, and as someone who had experienced it, she couldn't help but want to remind Lu Nong now that she was here.
It's not that Pei Zheng is a bad person. Judging from Pei Zheng's performance since Lu Nong became pregnant, even a biological son might not be able to do this. He is a hundred times better than the two ungrateful stepsons in her family.
But in reality, Pei Zheng has his own biological mother after all. Even if Shen Yimei is ridiculous, she is still Pei Zheng's biological mother. When Shen Yimei is old and Pei Zheng is sensible and has his own family, it is impossible for him to ignore his biological mother and respect his stepmother Lu Nong, right?
For safety reasons, it is better to have a son. In this regard, Huo Xiaoling really cares about Lu Nong.
She thought that Lu Nong was smart enough to not fail to think of this problem, but seeing the happy expression on Lu Nong's face, it didn't seem like he was faking it. Lu Nong really liked the young lady.
"Don't you want to have a son?" Huo Xiaoling asked Lu Nong tentatively.
Lu Nong corrected her, "Sister, I already have a son. If I give birth to a daughter this time, wouldn't it be just like what you said, a good word?"
"Pei Ji'an also likes my daughter."
Huo Xiaoling looked at Lu Nong with a complicated expression, not knowing whether this girl was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid. Even if she got along well with Pei Zheng, she couldn't be so cunning.
Old Pei has his eldest son, Pei Zheng, who is not incompetent. He was admitted to Peking University at a young age and has a bright future. As a man, he certainly doesn't care whether Lu Nong was born a boy or a girl.
"You still have to have another boy." Huo Xiaoling hinted to Lu Nong, "I know you and Pei Zheng are good friends, but he is not your biological son after all. You are filial to him now, but can you be filial to him forever? To put it bluntly, when Pei Zheng grows up and has his own little thoughts, his biological mother will have a different attitude towards you if she provokes him a little."
"It would be more secure to give Old Pei a son. Then half of the Pei family's possessions can be in your hands."
Like the two ungrateful guys in her family, they both changed their attitudes after Zhao Xin reminded and tested them once. They called her mom affectionately when they were helpful, but turned away and ignored her when she was not helpful. They went around saying that she treated them harshly. Outsiders naturally had misunderstandings about stepmothers, and as a result, her reputation became ruined.
Lu Nong was speechless, feeling that it was a waste of time to sit here and listen to her pour out a bunch of negative emotions.
Sons and daughters are all human beings, why should they be treated as tools to be picked and chosen?
Pei Zheng is indeed not her biological son, and she has never thought of asking Pei Zheng to treat her as his biological mother. If Pei Zheng is filial in the future, it will be to Pei Ji'an, and if he is unfilial in the future, it will still be to Pei Ji'an.
She didn't care about Pei Zheng's attitude towards her at all.
Secondly, doesn't Lu Nong have his own biological son? Why does he want someone else's son to be filial to him?
Moreover, Lu Nong never regarded her own son as a tool for her old age support. She had money and a house, so she did not need her children to support her in her old age, nor would she force her children to achieve anything great.
She herself wants to be a salted fish. Why should she expect her children to do well if she doesn't set an example herself?
The only reason they want to work hard is to be responsible for their own lives. Lu Nong's greatest hope for his children is that they can grow up safely and live a happy life.
Then again, people ultimately live in the present, not in malicious speculations about the future. She only knows that Pei Zheng is a good person now, and no matter what the future holds, she must not disappoint a sincere heart.
What Huo Xiaoling said was too superficial and profound. It was either brainless or deliberately provocative. According to Lu Nong's judgment, this Lao Liu was definitely brainless.
Lu Nong was sure that he and Huo Xiaoling were not the same kind of people, so he was too lazy to save her face or argue with such a person. Anyway, she was leaving and would not be back for a while, so he was not afraid of offending others. "Sister Huo, do you know why Xiao Ming can live to be ninety-nine?"
Huo Xiaoling was puzzled and asked subconsciously, "Why?"
"Because Xiao Ming never meddles in other people's business. I thank you for worrying about me, but I really don't need you to worry about me. You should just take care of yourself."
Even though the idea is old, it works.
If people can always remember the two wise sayings "It's none of my business" and "It's none of your business", 99% of their troubles will be solved.
"You! Lu Nong, please don't be ignorant. I reminded you with good intentions, but you scolded me for meddling in other people's business..."
Huo Xiaoling stood up with a sullen look on her face. "If Sister Zhao Xin hadn't asked me to come and see you, do you think I would want to come?"
Lu Nong: “…” This sounded familiar to me. She seemed to have said the same thing last time.
It's Zhao Xin again, her ghost is still haunting us.
After Huo Xiaoling left, Mother Wu brought out a bowl of bird's nest from the kitchen and handed it to Lu Nong. She overheard what was happening in the kitchen and saw that Lu Nong looked depressed. She frowned and lightly scolded him:
"This Huo Xiaoling is such a jerk. She knows you're pregnant, but she keeps telling you that you're pregnant with a girl. She also tries to sow discord between you and Pei Zheng. I think you should just not let her in from now on."
After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment, looked at Lu Nong carefully, and comforted her: "Daughter is good, daughter is mother's intimate little cotton-padded jacket."
Lu Nong was helpless, "Mom, don't comfort me, can't you see that I like girls?"
"Oh, now that you say that, I finally feel relieved." Mother Wu carefully looked at Lu Nong's expression and found that there was no forced expression on her face. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She had been feeling suffocated these days.
She wanted Lu Nong to give birth to a big fat boy, but after seeing that Lu Nong was most likely pregnant with a girl, Wu's mother began to worry that Lu Nong was expecting a son and didn't like a daughter.
That night, Lu Nong sat in front of the dressing table with her bulging belly. She looked at herself in the mirror and thought happily that her daughter was indeed a beautiful girl!
Thinking of something, Lu Nong glanced at Pei Ji'an who was sitting on the bamboo chair, stood up and sat on Pei Ji'an, hugged Pei Ji'an's shoulders and asked fiercely: "Tell me, is it true that you like your daughter?"
During her pregnancy, Lu Nong not only became more spoiled, but also had a worse temper.
Pei Jinan adjusted the way he held Lu Nong and locked her tightly. He was surprised why Lu Nong asked this question. According to Pei Jinan's observation, Lu Nong didn't care at all whether he liked boys or girls, and his attitude seemed unimportant.
Why is she suddenly concerned about it now? Did someone tell her something?
"I like girls." Pei Jian said seriously.
Lu Nong was not satisfied and continued to ask: "Do you think girls should just find a good man to marry?"
Pei Ji'an seemed to be thinking about something. He had similar thoughts in his subconscious, or perhaps he had never thought about it, so he just followed the crowd. He began to reflect on himself.
"Our daughter can live the way she wants." Pei Ji'an gave Lu Nong the answer after thinking for a while.
Lu Nong was not completely satisfied with this answer. He could not find any point to argue with it and nodded reluctantly, "Dad, remember what you said. In the future, we will educate our daughter not to be influenced by the outside environment."
"Okay, I'll remember it." Pei Ji'an laughed, but promised seriously.
He picked her up and put her on the bed. As soon as he put her down, Lu Nong cried out "Ouch!" and her chest was wet. She didn't react. Why was it wet?
Pei Ji'an was the first to react. He coughed a few times and said, "I'll find you a new pair of pajamas."
Lu Nong was stunned. She was leaking milk. She was only five months old and she was leaking milk? Is this scientific?
The milk overflowed again, and Lu Nong was so exhausted that she felt like she was about to break apart. She no longer cared about the education of her daughter after she was born.
"Put it on and wipe it with your new clothes." Pei Jinan handed the clean clothes to Lu Nong. Lu Nong took it stiffly and wiped the area clean with his new clothes as Pei Jinan said.
The atmosphere was a bit ambiguous. Lu Nong slowly put on her loose pajamas. She suddenly felt horny. Since she became pregnant, the secretion of female hormones was too much. Her lust became high. Usually, it was Pei Jinan who started the fire, but recently she was the one who started it.
At the beginning, Pei Jinan was frightened and afraid of hurting the child. No matter how Lu Nong tempted him, Pei Jinan firmly resisted, even more so than Liu Xia Hui. Lu Nong was so angry that he sent him to the study to sleep.
The next day, Pei Ji'an didn't know who he asked, but when he came back, he solemnly told Lu Nong that they could not have sex for the first three months and could only have sex after three months.
Lu Nong: “…” She was very curious about who Pei Jinan asked this question to.
Sure enough, it was not until the fourth month that Pei Ji'an started to touch Lu Nong. During the process, he always paid attention to Lu Nong's reactions, for fear of hurting her.
At this moment, the air was gradually becoming more and more puffy. Lu Nong looked up at Pei Jinan and tugged at his sleeve. This was a tacit little action between them recently. Whenever Lu Nong wanted something or felt embarrassed, he would stare at Pei Jinan without saying a word.
Pei Ji'an understood, raised his hand and touched Lu Nong's fair cheek, lowered his head and kissed her soft lips, rolling his lips.
Lu Nong's belly was visibly pregnant, so in order not to put pressure on her, Pei Ji'an held her in his arms, moving gently and slowly, handing her over.
After finishing, Lu Nong fell on the bed and didn't want to get up. Pei Ji'an brought a basin of water and wiped her carefully, then helped her put on her pajamas again, then gently held her in his arms and carried her over.