Chapter 89 p2
With the child taken care of, Li Jinfeng immediately went back to work. The main thing was that this child was well-behaved. She drank goat’s milk during the day and breast milk at night. She did not cry or make a fuss in a strange place, which saved Li Jinfeng a lot of trouble.
Soon, it was time for school to start again. Ye Qingzhi made a new schoolbag for Yangyang. Seeing him preparing to go to preschool with his small schoolbag on his back, Ye Qingzhi could only sigh at how fast time passed.
When she had first arrived in this world, Yangyang had only been three, a little short, and had spoken with a stutter. In the blink of an eye, two years had passed. The little one had grown a lot taller and spoke very fluently. He was about to be a preschooler.
Then, after Ye Qinglan’s pregnancy had stabilized, she had also bought a train ticket to go south to find Jin Junjie.
For a time, only Ye Qingzhi was left at home.
At first, she felt quite relaxed and free. But after two days, she felt empty in her heart.
It just so happened that she had been taking the pills for two years. Ye Qingzhi went directly to find Old Hu. After he had taken her pulse, he confirmed that she had been well-conditioned. If she wanted a child, she could have one at any time.
“Thank you, Old Hu. If I don’t want to have one now, do I still have to continue taking this medicine?” Ye Qingzhi asked.
“Of course,” Old Hu said, glancing at her.
At night, Ye Qingzhi told He Qiming what Old Hu had said. She lay on top of him and whispered, “Shall we have a child?”
“Have you thought it through?” He Qiming could see that Ye Qingzhi was a little scared of having children. He had thought it was because her first two births had not been easy. “It’s fine even if we don’t. We don’t lack children. We have four sons.”
“No, I want to have a child with you,” Ye Qingzhi said, kissing He Qiming’s mouth.
She had indeed inherited everything from the original host, including the two children. But she still felt very empty, or rather, very adrift. She wanted a child. Would that give her a sense of belonging?
He Qiming turned over and pressed her under him. “Then I’ll start working hard from today. I’ll try to get you pregnant as soon as possible.”
The two of them fooled around for half the night. In the end, it was Ye Qingzhi who surrendered. There was nothing to be done. The difference in their stamina was too great.
Although she said that, Ye Qingzhi was not in a hurry. She would just let nature take its course.
“I heard you’re planning to have a child,” Yang Xiaorou said in a low voice.
Ye Qingzhi was suddenly speechless. “Who did you hear that from?”
Li Jinfeng? It probably wasn’t her. She’s been at work recently.
“Someone saw you go to see Old Hu for a pulse check. They said that you haven’t had a child for so long after you got married, so you’re very anxious, which is why you went to see Old Hu for a pulse check. Oh my, these people are just idle,” Yang Xiaorou said. She had also come to find Ye Qingzhi after hearing these rumors.
“They are indeed quite idle,” Ye Qingzhi said, rolling her eyes, speechless. “I’m not conditioning my body. I’ve been taking medicine for two years, so I went to see Old Hu for a pulse check to see how the conditioning is going. But it’s not wrong to say I want a child. I’ll just let nature take its course. I won’t use contraception from now on. If I get pregnant, I’ll have it.”
“Are you really planning to have another one?” Yang Xiaorou asked, thinking of how their family only had one descendant. She looked at Ye Qingzhi, Li Jinfeng, and the others, four or five of them. She was thinking of whether to have another one too.
Of course, He Qiming’s physical fitness was good, and Ye Qingzhi’s body was also well-conditioned. She had originally thought that after she stopped using contraception, she would get pregnant very quickly. But she had not gotten pregnant even when the children were on their winter break.
“Is there a problem with the medicine you were taking before? Do you want to go and ask Old Hu?” Gu Yao knew about Ye Qingzhi taking medicine and preparing to have a child.
Ye Qingzhi shook her head. If it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen. She would let nature take its course. If it really didn’t happen, it meant that she and He Qiming were not fated to have a child.
He Qiming’s mentality was also very calm. The family did not lack children. He just wanted a child of his and Ye Qingzhi’s own blood. It was fine even if they didn’t have one.
What they were struggling with now was whether to go back to their hometown. To be honest, Ye Qingzhi did not really want to go back.
The round trip would waste more than ten days on the road. Besides, her relationship with her parents’ family and her in-laws was very average.
“You don’t want to go back?” He Qiming asked, hugging Ye Qingzhi from behind with a light laugh.
“Yes. Do you want to go back?” Ye Qingzhi asked, turning her head to look at him.
“I don’t. There’s no point in going back. It’s so cold. Let’s not bother,” He Qiming said, shaking his head and gently stroking Ye Qingzhi’s smooth and silky hair. “Are you tired? You can sleep a little longer.”
“I’ve been in bed for half a day. I should get up,” Ye Qingzhi said, sitting up and gasping. “Hiss, it’s so cold. Is it snowing outside?”
He Qiming ran to the window to have a look. It was indeed snowing. He handed Ye Qingzhi her clothes. “Yes, so you shouldn’t get up. It’s snowing so heavily. Don’t cook either. I’ll go to the canteen to get food.”
She still had to get up. Her back couldn’t take it if she lay in bed all the time. But she really didn’t want to cook.
Ye Qingzhi hummed twice and had He Qiming go to the canteen to get food. She would just make a soup at home.
In Dayangcun, He Qigao looked at He Qiming’s letter, then looked up at the eagerly watching Yang Fuzhen and shook his head. “Qiming and the others are not coming back this year.”
“They’re not coming back? Did they send the money back?” Seeing the money, Yang Fuzhen’s face immediately darkened. In previous years, they would give a little more for the New Year. This year, there was not a single cent more.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this. The first daughter-in-law was unfilial, and the second one is also unfilial. They’re eating well and drinking well outside, and they don’t care about their old folks at home at all,” Yang Fuzhen cursed.
Li Hehua glanced at her. They gave five yuan a month for their retirement. If that didn’t count as supporting them, then all the old people in the village should just go and hang themselves.
Of course, she would not speak up for the second branch. After all, she would get a share of the money the old man and the old woman got.
In Daye Village, Ding Aixian was also cursing Ye Qingzhi. No, wait, she was not only cursing Ye Qingzhi, but also Ye Qingsong and Ye Qinglan. The one she cursed the most was Ye Qingzhi, because she felt that it was Ye Qingzhi who had led the younger siblings astray.
“That unfilial daughter, the fourth one. Never mind that she’s unfilial herself, she even led Qingsong and Little Lan to be unfilial. And that damn girl Little Lan, she got married without a sound. She’s so capable, not giving a single cent of the bride price to the family. She just gave herself away for free. Can her in-laws look up to her? She’s so clueless. I should have strangled her at birth. I worked so hard to raise her, and she’s not grateful at all. Unfilial daughter who will be struck by lightning.”
Thinking of Ye Qinglan, Ye Qingshan and the others were also not happy. If she hadn’t run away, she would be the Zhang family’s daughter-in-law now. The four major items, and a bride price of six hundred and sixty yuan.
“I wonder how the fifth is doing. Hey!” Ding Aixian thought of Ye Qingsong again. After her anger, she also felt a heartache.
“He’s doing very well. He lives in a building, eats rationed grain, and is much more comfortable than us,” Ye Qingfeng said with some envy.
He considered himself good-looking. Why hadn’t an only daughter from the city taken a fancy to him?
“He’s also a white-eyed wolf. He’s living a good life in the city and doesn’t even know to help the family,” Ding Aixian said, thinking of her younger son enjoying himself in the city but rarely coming back to see her. She suddenly felt she did not dote on him as much.
“Now that Little Sister is married, and to a soldier, if we were to separate them, that would be breaking up a military marriage, and we would have to go to jail. But this bride price must be given. It’s not right for our family to have raised a girl for so many years and for the man’s family to just marry her away like that,” Yu Xiaoyan said. She felt that even a mosquito was meat, so she had her eye on Ye Qinglan’s bride price.
“The key is that we can’t contact Little Lan. Qingsong must have Little Lan’s address, but he definitely won’t give it,” Ye Qingshan sighed. “Let’s not mind them. This room at home, let’s just give it to our eldest. He’s not young anymore and is about to get married. It’s more important.”
“Why should it be given to your eldest? Big Brother, don’t you think you’re too greedy? You took the bigger and better private plot, and now you want to take the house too. How come you get all the benefits?” Yu Xiaoyan jumped.
“Nonsense. The private plots are clearly the same size. As for the house, I’m the eldest son. What’s wrong with us taking one more room?” Ye Qingshan slapped the table with a bang.
“What, is Big Brother thinking of splitting the family? Alright then, let’s just split the family today,” Ye Qingfeng said. He knew what Ye Qingshan was thinking. It just so happened that he also didn’t want to live with the eldest branch anymore, so he took the opportunity to say he wanted to split the family.
“Split it is. There are three rooms at home. I’m the eldest son, so I’ll take two,” Ye Qingshan said unceremoniously.
Ye Qingfeng glanced at Ding Aixian. “Alright, but Ma will be taken care of by the eldest branch.”
Wang Guqiu nodded. “Alright, but you have to give grain every year. If she gets sick, the two families will split the cost.”
Yu Xiaoyan pursed her lips. “Why? You’ve already taken one more room.”
“So Ma will usually be with us. You don’t have to take care of her when she’s old. But you will definitely have to share the medical expenses and give some grain every year,” Ye Qingshan said.
“Ma can earn work points now, and she’s helping you with your work. Why should we still give grain?” Ye Qingfeng would not suffer this loss.
“Alright, we’ll take care of her, and the medical expenses will be split,” Ye Qingshan said after thinking carefully. Ding Aixian was not yet sixty this year and could still work for more than ten years. In the end, he would only have to support her for a few years. The eldest branch would not be at a loss. He readily agreed.
The two brothers also divided the private plot, and also the pots and pans and so on. They did not ask Ding Aixian a single word throughout the whole process.
After a long while, Ding Aixian finally came back to her senses. She looked at them, her body trembling. Then her vision went black, and she fainted.
On the second day of the New Year, Ye Qingsong brought Du Xiaoxiao back for a New Year’s visit. Only then did he know that his older brother and his second older brother had already split the family. In the future, when they visited relatives, they would have to be divided into two households.
Listening to the hints from his two sisters-in-law, Ye Qingsong said that he had not received a notice before and was not clear. So today, he had just brought one gift. In any case, the two brothers could not divide it evenly, so he gave it directly to Ding Aixian.
It was not anything valuable, just some white sugar and pastries, but it made Ding Aixian very happy.
After sitting for a while, before Ding Aixian could say anything, Ye Qingsong pulled Du Xiaoxiao back to the city.
“You’re not staying a little longer?” Du Xiaoxiao asked, leaning over to Ye Qingsong’s ear.
“Do you want to hear them stir up trouble and make insinuations?” Ye Qingsong asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“No. Oh my, I won’t say it. What do you want to eat for lunch today?” Du Xiaoxiao asked with a smile, linking her arm with Ye Qingsong’s.
“Anything is fine. You walk slowly. It rained a little yesterday, and the road is very slippery. Little Lan is already pregnant. There will be another nephew next year,” Ye Qingsong said happily.
At the Northwest family compound, Ye Qingzhi was cooking. She had not gone back for the New Year this year and had not given them any red envelopes. She knew that they must be constantly cursing her at home.
It didn’t matter. She couldn’t hear it. It didn’t hurt, and she wouldn’t lose any flesh. Let them curse.
“What are you thinking about?” He Qiming asked, calling out when he entered the door. When he didn’t get a reply, he went into the kitchen.
“I was thinking that the people back home must be cursing me,” Ye Qingzhi chuckled lightly. “Do you think I’m unfilial?”
“A mother must be kind for a son to be filial. The mother must be kind first. It’s a pity that neither of our parents’ fates are very good,” He Qiming said, picking up a chopstick and taking a bite of food. “Delicious. The snow outside is very heavy today. You shouldn’t go out to play later, so you don’t get frostbite on your hands.”
She didn’t know why Ye Qingzhi liked snow so much. She had been here for two years, and every time, she would still excitedly run out to play in the snow, and she would play even more happily than the children.
“I know,” she said. Ye Qingzhi had no intention of going out to play today.
She had been feeling sleepy recently and got tired very easily. And her period was late. She suspected that she was already pregnant. So at a time like this, how could she run out to play in the snow?
The month should still be very early. There were no early pregnancy test strips at this time. She might as well wait a few more days. If her period still didn’t come, she would go to the hospital for a check-up.
At night, He Qiming wanted to xx, but was stopped by Ye Qingzhi. “I suspect I’m already pregnant. The first three months are the dangerous period. We can’t have sex.”
“Pregnant? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’ll take you to the hospital to see,” He Qiming said anxiously.
“It’s still early. We won’t be able to find out anything if we go now. Let’s wait a few more days and see,” Ye Qingzhi said, pulling He Qiming. “And it’s already dark outside. I don’t feel uncomfortable anywhere. It’s just in case.”
“Alright. Tell me if you feel uncomfortable,” He Qiming said, hugging Ye Qingzhi, one hand on her belly, chuckling foolishly.