"Does not having periods mean you're pregnant?"
"Then how did you know she got pregnant after taking the medication?"
"That's just my guess. She's showing symptoms now, at least 40 days ago. If we go back a bit, the implantation must have happened 20 to 25 days ago. She was taking the medication when we first arrived, how could we have gotten around to it?"
"You're really not going back? What am I going to do?"
"Either you go back, or you come with me. If you ask me, don't go back. I'm worried about you going alone. You don't know anything about home. If you can't find something, you'll have to take a long-distance trip. Going back and forth like that is not as good as staying together."
"What about the house? What about the cat? What about the flowers?"
"Make a call back and ask the neighbors to keep an eye on things."
"You've been staying here for quite a while! Who's been looking after you for so long?"
“Then let Guanhua take the cat away. Let Hua die if she’s dead! Is Hua more important than your grandson? I have a feeling this baby should be a boy. I just want to stay here and watch Lijuan’s belly grow bigger every day, and watch my grandson grow bigger and bigger into a big, fat boy. I won’t feel at ease if I don’t keep an eye on him. Lijuan is a careless child. I’m afraid she’ll miscarry because she doesn’t know any better.”
"You just want a grandson. If you ask me, it doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl. Our Guanhua is a girl, but you like her just the same, don't you?"
"Yes. I don't care about gender. As long as it's Yaping's child, isn't it my grandson? Girls might be even more precious in the future. Didn't the newspapers say that in many years, China will have 40 million bachelors? Having a grandson will be like a time bomb." The old couple were overjoyed, as if their chubby grandson or granddaughter was already in front of them.
"Hey! Guanhua's dad, do you know why I suddenly fainted in the mall today?"
"What's wrong?"
"Oh! You don't know, I saw that bottle of face cream in the counter, which is only a little bigger than a coin, and it costs more than 300 yuan!" Yaping's mother even gestured to Yaping's father to show him.
“What does it matter to you if they sell it? They put it in the mall, add 10 zeros after the number 1, and as long as you don’t buy it, they won’t make any money off you.” “Hmm…” Ya Ping’s mother’s “hmm” was squeezed out from her throat and made several turns, her mouth pursed so long, “But some people fall for that trick!” After saying that, she pointed to Ya Ping’s bedroom.
"Is that face really worth that much money? Will they become immortals after applying it? Sigh! Kids these days, they really waste money. They treat it like dirt, like worthless paper. I'm always worried about them. I wonder if they have any savings. Am I right? If something happens, they'll be completely caught off guard! The baby is coming soon, and there are so many places where money will be needed! They won't give you a penny less. Why don't they think about the future? Luckily, I was prepared. If things really get tough, I can help them out when they're short. Sigh!" The old lady sighed deeply again.
“The children have their own way of living. Don’t keep nagging them; they’ll get annoyed if you do. Try not to nag as much as possible. Your wife is pregnant, so don’t grumble at her or upset her; it’s not good for the baby,” Yaping’s father advised Yaping’s mother.
"I won't, I won't," Yaping's mother hurriedly waved her hands. "I'll hold back and pretend I didn't see anything. As long as she's happy, let her buy whatever she wants. I'll give her the money if she doesn't have any. I absolutely can't upset my grandson." Yaping's mother willingly lowered her status and humbled herself for her grandson's sake.
The next morning, Yaping accompanied Lijuan to the hospital. The test results showed a clear positive result.
Lijuan's face fell again.
Sitting across from the doctor, after reviewing the report, the doctor said, "You're pregnant. Are you married?"
"It's settled." "First child?"
"First child."
"Then let's take it!"
"No way! I wasn't planning on getting pregnant last month, and I took so much medicine for a cold!"
"When did the medication end? When did you conceive?"
"I can't remember clearly, it seems like they're all mixed up."
"It's okay! It won't have any impact. If you're really worried, you can have an amniocentesis in three months to find out. In theory, there shouldn't be any problem. You're so young, it's the perfect age for having children, and the baby will be healthy. If it's not healthy, then it will be naturally eliminated."
“I wasn’t prepared for pregnancy, so I didn’t take any supplements. I heard that I should start taking folic acid in advance.”
"It's alright! People get enough nutrition these days, there's no need to supplement. If you're worried, it's not too late to start supplementing now. Who supplemented before? And their babies were all perfectly healthy. Nowadays, people are so afraid of exams that they have to prepare for everything in advance. Isn't pregnancy a perfectly normal thing? What's there to prepare for?"
"Don't you need to get rid of it?"
"What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? I'm not trying to scare you! This is your first pregnancy. If you abort it easily, it can easily lead to habitual miscarriage. Many women who come to me for infertility now have problems because of previous D&Cs. Just relax and get pregnant. You're 27, right? You're not young anymore. It's the perfect time to have a child." The doctor glanced at the registration slip and tossed it to Lijuan.
Lijuan came out with a grin.
Yaping asked, "What did the doctor say?"
"The doctor said it's fine, you can keep it."
"Then let's listen to the doctor!"
"Now your parents have their way, but I'm the one who's unlucky. Not only have I lost my figure, but I also have to live under the same roof as your mother for several more years. I bet she won't want to leave once the baby is born. Why am I so unlucky? Tell your mother that I don't want her to take care of me and that she should go back home. I have my own mother here."
"Why are you so stubborn? My mom means well. Don't worry, she'll definitely dote on you since you have a baby now and won't make things difficult for you. Just focus on having the baby! If she dares to treat you badly, I'll scare her."
"You said it!" Yaping quickly took out his phone to report to both sets of parents.
As Lijuan was downstairs checking her door number, her mother-in-law opened the sixth-floor door wide and clapped to welcome her home. Such attentiveness made Lijuan feel extremely uncomfortable; she needed to be helped to walk, and her mother-in-law personally escorted her to the sofa. Yaping boldly poured Lijuan a cup of tea—a gesture of goodwill—and her mother-in-law actually smiled broadly. Lijuan's eyes happily glanced at the rooftop, blinking back and forth. Truly, a mother's status rises with her son's.
That afternoon, Lijuan was made to sleep soundly in the bedroom by her mother-in-law, making up for the sleep she had been missing. The curtains were drawn to make it look like night, and there was no sound outside. She didn't even hear her father-in-law's occasional coughs, which made Lijuan wonder if he was faking his coughs before. Why did he stop coughing as soon as he heard that she was pregnant?
She woke up naturally, and it was already dark, almost getting dark. Her mother-in-law came over and handed her an apple, the peel already clean, and said with a kind, ingratiating smile, "Did you rest well? You should sleep more now and not think about anything else. I'm afraid your dad will disturb you, so I'll send him out for a walk as soon as you start sleeping." Lijuan felt embarrassed and didn't know how to reply.
That evening, a table was laden with food. Among the dishes was a bowl of braised pork placed in front of Lijuan. "I cooked it exactly as you described, without any seasonings, just soaked it in Shaoxing wine and braised it with soy sauce and rock sugar. Try it and see if it tastes the same?" Lijuan was so startled that she didn't dare touch her chopsticks. This was too drastic!
Yaping reached for the food with his chopsticks to taste it. Yaping's mother looked at him, hesitated, and finally couldn't help but say, "I cooked that for Lijuan. Let her eat first, and you can eat what's left. She has to eat for two people now! Don't take food from your son."
Yaping deliberately feigned pain and said, "It's not like I'm fighting him for food! It's clearly him stealing it from me. This child is better off without."
"Nonsense." Ya Ping's mother laughed and tapped Ya Ping's hand with her chopsticks.
Lijuan finished her meal with great satisfaction, pushing the bowl away and heading straight upstairs to sit in front of the computer. Now she could openly do whatever she wanted without having to look at her mother-in-law's face, and her mother-in-law would never ask her to lift a finger again.
As soon as Lijuan left, Yaping's mother whispered to Yaping, "Tell Lijuan that now that you have a child, she should watch less computer and TV, because of the radiation, which is bad for the baby. I won't say anything to her directly, because if I do, she'll be unhappy. Be tactful when you say it. It's not that you can't let her do it, just less. If she's anxious, spend more time talking to her, and don't sit in front of the computer all day. As soon as you sit there, you'll tempt her. Go shopping these next few days and buy her lots of good magazines and novels. That way, she won't have time to play on the computer."
“And you,” Yaping’s mother turned to Yaping’s father and said, “you need to be a little more careful. Smoke outside. Your pollution will ruin the child’s life.”