"Then you have to be careful too. You have so many kids, just let them come and dig."
Her belly was so big it looked like she was carrying twins. There were many women around who had given birth, and some of them asked her a few more questions.
"Have you been to the hospital for a checkup? Are you close to giving birth?"
"It should be another two weeks. No need for a check-up. I've already given birth to a bunch of babies, I know this place well."
Women in the countryside often give birth like this, working in the fields before giving birth. She only suffered a bit when she gave birth to her first child; for the subsequent children, she could give birth almost instantly.
She hadn't been able to rest properly after giving birth. Her husband wasn't around, and the elders in her family were useless. Just thinking about those days made Zhou Lian's mouth taste bitter.
It was also because the little one in her belly was lucky that she didn't have to do much farm work since she became pregnant, and she ate better than the previous babies, which made her grow bigger.
Her five children were quite sensible; the fourth child pulled the fifth, and the other three helped her dig for wild vegetables, which they gathered more than other families.
Some of the women who came here left their children at home for their older children to take care of, and came alone. When I saw her five children, I was quite envious. It's true that rural people like to have many children; just look at how a few half-grown children are equivalent to one laborer.
————
An'an sat on the train and would ask every now and then, "When will we arrive?"
She didn't like taking the train, and Song Qing felt sorry for the child seeing how uncomfortable she was, so she could only let Lu Yang carry her around the carriages.
"There's only one more day until then. An'an, you've done a fantastic job these past few days. How about Daddy rewards you with another trip to the zoo when he has time off?"
Song Qing could only lure her with the zoo, and the child's bottom immediately became agitated. Moreover, they only stayed in Xin'an for a few days, and it had only been a few days since they got off the train.
"good"
She was both upset and worried about becoming a burden to her mother. Sometimes she would sit on the bed with her head down. When Lu Yang saw this, he would quickly pick her up and take her outside for a few spins.
It seems that she becomes listless for a few days after every train ride. Song Qing has already noticed the pattern in these two instances. Fortunately, she only feels listless and does not develop a fever or get sick.
"She barely ate any lunch." Lu Yang felt heartbroken seeing this; she was the same way when she went back before.
"I was only a little excited on the first day, and I couldn't stay there any longer."
Fortunately, she doesn't cry or make a fuss on the train, otherwise she would disturb the people next to her. The passengers in her carriage this time are a brother and sister who don't talk to each other and just read books.
————
Zhou Qi, smoking a cigarette, looked at his youngest son with some annoyance. His son was a man destined for great things, yet his most promising son was still a lovelorn fool.
"You mean you want me to arrange for the Bai family's daughter to go to the Northeast with you?"
"Dad, I know you can do it."
"I'm your father, it's only right that I arrange things for you, why should I arrange things for the Bai family?" They agreed to give him 800 yuan, but now they're actually trying to extort money from his family.
It's likely that the Bai family meticulously set up a trap.
This silly son willingly went in, and even after losing nine hundred, he still had to arrange a place for her to go.
Zhou Qi was somewhat disappointed in his son, but he was the eldest son and grandson, and he could never speak harshly to his youngest son.
"Dad, we're engaged. She's your future daughter-in-law."
The final agreement between the Zhou and Bai families was to announce to the outside world that the two were engaged and would hold a wedding in a few years.
The old house incident caused quite a stir, and an engagement announcement certainly couldn't quell it. However, it was still better than an unplanned marriage, at least it was something that could be said to be acceptable on the surface.
Which unmarried young couple wouldn't be curious about that kind of thing? They weren't in a public place; they were discovered by other people.
That's what they say, but during this period, all the families with daughters went back to give them a serious talking-to, and if they caused any trouble like this, they would kick them out of the house.
Chen Hongxia and her daughter didn't know what was happening outside since they didn't go out, but Li Mei often went out, and she even got into arguments with people a few times.
Sure enough, this little vixen ruined her family's reputation and implicated her son. Unfortunately, her husband was determined to become in-laws with Chen Hongxia and even scolded her for being short-sighted and unaware of the seriousness of the matter.
What harm could there be? It just means that with a legitimate in-law as a cover, these two adulterers can have easier contact in the future.
Just you wait, once they get married, this mother-in-law will definitely have a good time controlling her.
Zhou Qi was still unwilling. Didn't he have the same idea before, sending the two of them to different rural areas? Who could say what would happen in a few years?
The marriage arrangements between the two families will be discussed later. He wants to find a wife for his son whose family is capable, because the Bai family is of no use to him.
He never expected Chen Hongxia to have such ability, to actually outmaneuver him. Instead, he, the falconer, got pecked in the eye by the falcon.
If only my son could marry that girl from the Lu family. Her father has a son and a daughter, so he'll definitely treat his daughter well in the future.
"Dad," Zhou Han knew his father wouldn't act until he saw a clear benefit, so he took out 300 yuan and placed it on the table.
Looking at his youngest son, Zhou Qi realized that he understood him less and less.
He readily gave Chunyan the 900 yuan he had previously given her, and even promised to give the Bai family 200 yuan as a betrothal gift in the future. He even gave Chen Hongxia 10 ten-yuan bills for this engagement.
Where would a recent high school graduate like him get so much money?
Li Mei felt sorry for her son and often gave him subsidies, but it was impossible for him to have more than 1,000 yuan on him.
"Where did you get the money? You didn't do anything bad outside, did you?"
Zhou Qi himself was a member of the Revolutionary Committee, and he would occasionally embezzle small sums of money outside, but he valued his life and career, and was afraid that if he went too far, someone would report him.
He dared to ask Chen Hongxia for money because he had something on her, and she didn't dare to report him.
“I sold a batch of goods on the black market before and made a profit.”
Zhou Qi frowned. A batch of goods had been shipped? How much of that batch must have been shipped to be able to use that word?
"Your father worked so hard to get to this position, don't you dare drag him down." He warned Zhou Han, who replied that he wouldn't do it again after this job.
Moreover, he was only responsible for assembling the goods and then delivering them to other people; he did not sell them on the black market, so not many people knew his true identity.
Zhou Qi didn't care anymore; his son would soon be going to the countryside and wouldn't be able to do it anymore.
"Then I'll arrange a place for you. It's settled then, you'd better do your best."
My dear son, if it weren't for the fact that the two older ones already have jobs, Zhou Qi would never have been willing to send him to the countryside.
He'll definitely find a way to get his son back after a few years.
"Dad, please arrange for us to be sent to the Northeast, the higher the better."
Zhou Qi initially didn't care, assuming the young man wanted to go somewhere nice. "It gets colder the higher you go, you won't be able to stand it."
But after observing his son's expression, he realized something was amiss and warned him not to have any other ideas.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
