In the days that followed, Yan Ci could only lie on the kang (a heated brick bed), while Bai Xiaoyue, heavily pregnant, bustled about like a little bee.
In the morning, he eats millet porridge; at noon, he eats radish and meat soup; and in the evening, he eats rice porridge. In between, he is constantly given water and fruit.
After being cared for by Bai Xiaoyue for two days, Yan Ci couldn't stand it any longer.
He carried his wife around the house several times, trying to prove to her that he was really better.
The roles were reversed: Bai Xiaoyue lay in bed all day, while Yan Ci was busy running around all day.
There's a local custom that if an elderly person in the family passes away, the descendants must wait three years before they can get married if they don't get married within 100 days.
Bai Wenyi and He Miao's marriage was held simply before the Lunar New Year.
One was her cousin, and the other was Chang Le's teacher. Bai Xiaoyue didn't know how to give gifts.
Later, she listened to her elderly mother and gave her a quilt cover, and after thinking about it, she also gave her five yuan.
It was Yan Ci who took Chang Le there. Bai Xiaoyue was seven months pregnant and was afraid of falling, so she didn't dare to go out.
Yan Ci noticed that she hadn't left the house for several months and was worried that she would be bored, so he found some old books and newspapers for her to keep her occupied.
Bai Xiaoyue smiled and said to Yan Ci:
“Before, I would stay at home for months at a time, all by myself. Now that you are with me, I feel great.”
As Yan Ci listened to his wife recount her past, he led her around the house, a daily routine he never missed.
Bai Xiaoyue pays great attention to her diet and nutrition, and Yan Ci accompanies her every day, so her belly is not particularly big.
The days passed by in such a busy and fulfilling way until the end of the year.
It goes without saying that everyone is happily preparing for the New Year.
Bai's mother had prepared a large vat of sticky rice cakes for her daughter long ago, and had also roasted pine nuts and hazelnuts herself.
Yan Ci bought White Rabbit milk candy and melon seeds and came back. Chang Le was so happy that her eyes crinkled, and she packed her little bag full.
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Wang Weiguo also brought a large piece of pork belly and two pig's feet.
Bai Xiaoyue blamed Wang Weiguo:
"Brother-in-law, Mingyue is pregnant too, why did you send her here!"
"Don't worry, Mingyue has some too. She asked me to bring them over," Wang Weiguo said with a smile.
After chatting for a few minutes, Wang Weiguo put down his things and prepared to leave.
Bai Xiaoyue asked Yan Ci to bring a large piece of roe deer meat and two pheasants, and asked Wang Weiguo to take them back for Mingyue to eat.
"Brother-in-law, tell Mingyue to pay attention to nutrition and take good care of her health. I'll visit her after I give birth."
Wang Weiguo readily agreed, then happily left with his things.
Yan Ci asked how to arrange the meat, and Bai Xiaoyue's mouth watered at the sight of the fine pork belly.
With sparkling eyes, she said to Yan Ci:
"Let's steam some braised pork belly. We happen to have some dried vegetables at home."
Yan Ci then took out the dried vegetables and soaked them.
Bai Xiaoyue was directing Yan Ci to cook the meat from the side:
Cut and wash the pork belly, put it in a pot and boil it with ginger slices, scallion segments and cooking wine for 20 minutes.
Take them out and while they're still hot, coat them with brown sugar for color, then let them cool.
Heat plenty of oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot, add the pork belly, skin side down, and fry. Cover the wok and fry for three minutes. Remove the pork belly from the oil.
Once the meat has cooled, slice it and arrange it neatly in a bowl, then top it with stir-fried dried pickled vegetables.
Steam in a steamer basket. After the water boils, steam over low heat for two hours.
Because a large piece of pork belly was steamed, there were more than a dozen bowls of braised pork belly.
Bai Xiaoyue asked Yan Ci to send two bowls to Bai's parents and two bowls to Bai's uncle's family.
They also asked Chang Le to send two bowls to Ye's parents.
The rest were frozen and eaten slowly. That evening, Yan Ci cooked a large pot of rice and ate it with braised pork.
Bai Xiaoyue picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in her mouth. It was fatty but not greasy, tender and savory, and incredibly delicious.
She exclaimed, "It's been almost five years, and I'm finally able to eat braised pork belly again. It's been a long time!"
Aci, you should eat too. The steamed dried vegetables in here are delicious with rice.
Seeing the mother and daughter eating with their mouths full of oil, Yan Ci found it somewhat amusing. He picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth. It tasted really good, so he buried his head in his rice.
After finishing her meal, Bai Xiaoyue drank a bowl of radish soup, and felt truly comfortable.
Chang Le ran off to wash a few apples and picked out the best one to hand to her mother.
Bai Xiaoyue munched on an apple while watching Yan Ci clean up and wash the dishes, and Chang Le ran around getting snacks for herself.
Hmm, these days are not bad!
On New Year's Eve, Yan Ci prepared a dish of stewed pheasant with mushrooms, stir-fried prawns, steamed pork belly with preserved mustard greens, and stir-fried cabbage.
Bai Wen'an did not go home. Yan Ci invited Bai's parents to come and celebrate the New Year together. They had a lively meal, and afterwards, they ate snacks and chatted.
Seeing Yan Ci eagerly doing everything, Bai's mother felt very pleased.
I felt that although this son-in-law was all alone and had no family to help him, he was very hardworking.
If Bai Xiaoyue knew what her mother was thinking, she would definitely argue that in modern times, owning a car and a house and having both parents deceased is a highly sought-after commodity.
Tonight, it's Lunar New Year's Eve again, without a Spring Festival Gala. Sigh...
Bai Xiaoyue tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and kissed the man beside her.
Yan Ci also kissed his wife on the forehead. He was very restrained, afraid that things might go wrong and hurt his wife and child.
Bai Xiaoyue was dissatisfied and pressed down on Yan Ci, starting from his mouth and nibbling all the way down.
Yan Ci was afraid of hurting his wife, so he held her hands. But when he saw the aggrieved look in her eyes, he immediately let go and dared not resist.
He kept calling out, "Wife, don't move, you'll get hurt."
The sound gradually turned into groans, and finally into a low growl.
Bai Xiaoyue's eyes sparkled as she said, "Aci, Happy New Year!"
Yan Ci hugged his playful wife and said, "Wife, you haven't had your fun yet!" He then kissed his wife's lips.
...
After New Year's Eve, the year 1963 began.
When Bai Xiaoyue was eight months pregnant, her belly was so big that she couldn't bend over, and her feet were also swollen.
Yan Ci was very anxious, and Bai Xiaoyue comforted him:
"Aci, don't worry, this is normal, every pregnant woman is like this."
Yan Ci still went to ask Bai's mother and was relieved to learn that this was indeed a normal phenomenon.
Then, in addition to taking walks with his wife every day, Yan Ci also massaged her.
Days passed by, and Bai Xiaoyue's due date was fast approaching.
The spring chill lingers; March in the north is still quite cold.
Yan Ci wrapped Bai Xiaoyue up tightly, carried the bundle prepared for the child, and the two of them took an oxcart to the city hospital.
The doctor examined Bai Xiaoyue and said that she showed no signs of giving birth, so he told her to go home first.
Yan Ci directly said he would be hospitalized and wait, and the doctor kindly advised:
"Young man, your wife won't give birth for several more days, and the hospital stay will cost one yuan per day."
Yan Ci looked at the doctor and said, "Our home is far from the city, so let's stay at the hospital and wait."
Seeing that the young couple had a good relationship and seemed to have plenty of money, the doctor prescribed a hospital admission for Bai Xiaoyue.
When I got to the room, I saw that there were three beds, each with a small cabinet at the head of the bed and a stool next to the bed.
The room only had Bai Xiaoyue, a woman who had just given birth, and the other two beds were not occupied.
After Yan Ci found a bed and put his things down, he took Bai Xiaoyue to the hospital cafeteria for a meal.
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