Shen Wuqiu asked knowingly, "...What do you mean, what should we do?"
“My child.” Shen Wujun stared at her belly, his expression quite complicated. “You’re still young. If you don’t want it, I support you and won’t let anyone force you to have it. Of course… if you do want it, I will definitely be a good uncle. Anyway, I’ve started working now, and I definitely won’t let anyone bully you and your child.”
Shen Wuqiu looked at him, as if she didn't recognize this boy anymore.
记忆中的那个便宜弟弟的形象，始终停留在小时候的模样：一天到晚就爱黏着她，到哪里都要跟着她跑，偏偏又不老实，总爱给她惹些小麻烦，她那时嫌弃的要命，一有机会就会把人揍一顿，让他哭着喊妈妈，可即便如此，那个小萝卜头还是喜欢黏她。
It was only at this moment that she realized that the little boy in her memory had grown up, with a broad chest and strong arms, someone she could rely on.
After several seconds of silence, Shen Wuqiu lowered her eyes, suppressing the tremor in her heart, and said in a relaxed manner, "Shen Wujun, tell me honestly, did you find a girlfriend as soon as you went out? You're getting more and more talkative."
Shen Wujun rolled his eyes at her and carried the empty bowl of noodles to the kitchen.
Shen Wuqiu smiled slightly, then went to the kitchen and sincerely said to the boy washing dishes by the sink, "Thank you, little brother."
Shen Wujun paused for two seconds, then deliberately turned the water up even more. "What did you say? I didn't hear you."
childish.
Shen Wuqiu rolled her eyes at him, then put on an apron and asked in a casual tone, "How's your internship?"
"It's alright." Speaking of work, Shen Wujun seemed a bit frustrated and didn't want to talk about it. He turned off the tap, then turned around and saw her tying her apron. He frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Um?"
"What do you want to eat?" Shen Wujun took off the apron she had just put on and put it on himself. "Mom will be back soon. Let her make breakfast. You don't need to come into the kitchen."
I never expected that this chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) kid would be so caring.
Shen Wuqiu was a little surprised, but she didn't stand on ceremony. "Then cook me some fish soup noodles, and also cook some fish paste for the cat."
"Didn't you used to dislike fish? Why are you eating fish noodle soup now?"
Shen Wuqiu pointed to her stomach, "Maybe these little cubs want to eat."
Shen Wujun, who was tying his apron with one hand and the other, looked up at her and asked, "What do you mean by 'this group'?"
Shen Wuqiu shrugged. "Didn't Dad tell you I was pregnant with a quadriplegic?"
Shen Wujun froze. After a long while, he held up four fingers to her, his eyes wide with surprise as he slowly moved to her stomach. "Does this mean four?"
Shen Wuqiu was amused by his exaggerated expression and nodded, "Yeah."
"Holy shit..." Shen Wujun cursed under his breath, still somewhat incredulous, scratching his head and spinning around in place, "Four? Does their family have pig genes?"
"..." Shen Wuqiu's smile vanished. "I think you're calling me a pig."
Shen Wujun found it hard to process the news that "my sister is pregnant with four babies." He stared intently at her stomach for a long while before silently going to the refrigerator to get some ingredients.
Ever since we had a guest who isn't picky about food and only eats fish, there's never a shortage of fish in the refrigerator.
Shen Wujun picked out a crucian carp from the fish, cleaned it, and then suddenly turned to stare at Shen Wuqiu, "Are there really four?"
"...Would you like me to show you the ultrasound image?"
Shen Wujun turned his head again, slammed the fish heavily onto the cutting board, chopped it up with a crackling sound, stewed it in a clay pot, and then took a few pieces of sturgeon from the freezer and put them in a saucepan to cook.
With everything prepared, he looked at Shen Wuqiu again, "It's a good thing he's dead."
"Huh?" Shen Wuqiu didn't react for a moment.
"Otherwise, I would definitely beat him to death. You bastard."
Only then did Shen Wuqiu belatedly realize what he had said, feeling somewhat guilty. Just as he was about to say something to change the subject, the white cat, who had been trying to minimize its presence, couldn't hold back any longer and jumped out to provoke Shen Wujun: "Meow~~"
Shen Wujun then noticed her, glancing at her and asking, "Where did this hair-removing monster come from?"
"...This is my white cat..."
Shen Wujun stared at the white cat for two seconds, somewhat disgusted: "Just because you're getting a new coat doesn't mean you have to get a new cat, right? It looks like a dog chewed on it."
"It's probably been chewed by a dog. It was fine before, but it turned into this when I came back last night."
Shen Wujun looked at the cat, then at the sturgeon cooking in the milk pot, "I gave you the top-of-the-line equipment, and this is all the fighting power you have?"
Meow~~
The more Shen Wujun looked at her, the uglier she seemed, so he decided to ignore her and said, "I told you a long time ago that I wanted to sterilize her."
"Well, I'll have to go to the hospital again in a few days and take her to get sterilized. If she keeps running around like this, I won't dare let her into my room."
Hearing her say that, Shen Wujun's feelings were somewhat complicated. "So, you want to have the child, right?"
Shen Wuqiu remained silent. At first, she was terrified of the babies in her womb, then disgusted, and finally helpless. After these emotions subsided, she even developed a sense of attachment to them.
"Four... I've never seen anyone give birth to four at once. Don't you think it's a bit dangerous?"
Shen Wuqiu didn't want to talk to him about these things. "Alright, you go ahead and do your work. I'm going to sit outside for a while; my back hurts from standing for too long."
Do you want me to help you over there?
"How could she be so delicate?" Shen Wuqiu said as she left the kitchen.
Su Yunzhi and a woman happened to be returning from outside. When they saw her, they were taken aback. "Why are you up so early?"
"You got up as soon as you woke up." Shen Wuqiu greeted the woman behind her, "Sister-in-law."
The woman behind Su Yunzhi was Li Chanchan, the wife of her uncle's eldest son. She was tall and capable, but not very pretty and didn't win her husband's heart. It was only because her in-laws were polite and protected her that she didn't divorce him.
As soon as Li Chanchan heard her greet her, she immediately put down the styrofoam box in her hand and replied with a smile, "Good morning, Sister Wuqiu."
"Not as early as you, sister-in-law." Shen Wuqiu noticed they were wearing rubber boots and knew they must have been busy at the reservoir again. "What good stuff did you get today?"
"Your aunt said you've been feeling weak lately and need to nourish yourself properly. Your brother recently raised some giant salamanders in a enclosure, and he specially brought one over for you today."
The Chinese giant salamander, scientifically known as Andrias davidianus, is not a fish. Wild Chinese giant salamanders are protected animals in China, but those raised in captivity are edible.
Although they also live in freshwater, the Chinese giant salamander is different from other fish in that it has particularly high requirements for water quality.
Upon hearing this, Shen Wuqiu was somewhat surprised. He went up to the styrofoam box and took a look. It was quite large. "You can raise giant salamanders in a reservoir?"
"Your brother just tried it out on a whim. There's a mountain stream coming down from the reservoir over there. He had nothing better to do, so he messed around with the stream and released some giant salamanders into it a few years ago. This is the third or fourth year now, and I haven't seen a total of twenty."
"It's been raised for four years, no wonder it's so big."
"Although there aren't many, they've been raised for so many years, so they're all quite big, and they taste good too. Sister Wuqiu, you can have some first. If you like them, I'll ask your brother to get you another one."
"Then I thank you in advance, sister-in-law." Shen Wuqiu didn't stand on ceremony; she'd been having quite a craving lately.
Furthermore, such a large reservoir as the dam has been managed by Li Chanchan's husband for many years. Since Shen's father can't manage so many things, he's left them to do whatever they want. Over the years, they must have gained a lot of benefits. Eating a few giant salamanders is no big deal for them.
"Don't mention it. By the way, I heard you're planning to replace the fish fry in this fishpond on the dam?"
The conversation changed so quickly that Shen Wuqiu was silent for a few seconds before looking at her. "Yes, there is such a plan. I heard from my dad that the fish fry in this reservoir were released at the end of the year before last, and they haven't been fished out much since."
Her voice was calm and even, but Li Chanchan was a little hesitant to meet her gaze. "It's not that we haven't salvaged any at all. During festivals, we would get some to give to my uncle as gifts."
Shen Wuqiu still smiled and said, "The fish raised in the 1,500-mu reservoir can't just be given away as gifts."
Li Chanchan's smile faltered slightly. "Of course."
Seeing Li Chanchan's expression, Shen Wuqiu had a general idea of what was going on with the dam reservoir, and didn't intend to make things difficult for her. "Sister-in-law, please come in and sit down."
"No, no, I need to go home and prepare breakfast for the kids, so I'll be going now."
Su Yunzhi exchanged a few polite words, but didn't try to keep him. She saw him to the front door, closed it, and turned around to see Shen Wuqiu staring intently at the giant salamander in the styrofoam box. She leaned over and whispered, "What are you looking at?"
"I didn't see anything."
Su Yunzhi glanced at her, bent down, and carried the styrofoam box into the house. "This thing doesn't taste much better, and it's hard to kill, but everyone says it's nutritious, so we had someone get one for you."
These words sounded like she was asking for credit, but Shen Wuqiu was still quite touched. "Thank you."
Su Yunzhi glanced at her. "Are you hungry? I thought pregnant women tend to sleep in, and it was still early, so I didn't rush to prepare breakfast."
"A little, but my younger brother is cooking noodles for me."
Su Yunzhi frowned. "I've raised him all these years, and I've never seen him cook a single meal for me, his mother. But he's very attentive to you, his older sister. He called me yesterday and came home at 11 or 12 at night. If something had happened to me, he definitely wouldn't have been so quick."
Shen Wuqiu listened quietly to her sarcastic complaints, without showing the impatience she usually did.
As she spoke, Su Yunzhi carried the styrofoam box into the kitchen, and Shen Wuqiu did not follow her in.
In the kitchen, the soup in the stew pot was boiling, and Shen Wujun was frantically stirring it.
Su Yunzhi couldn't stand it anymore, so she reached out and turned down the gas stove flame. "Alright, I'll do it."
Summer days aren't pleasant in the kitchen, but Shen Wujun was happy to have some free time. She deftly took off her apron and poured out the fish paste she had been blending in the food processor. "I'm going to feed the cat now. My sister said she wants fish soup noodles. I made crucian carp soup, but it has a lot of bones, so please be careful."
These thoughtful words left Su Yunzhi feeling somewhat uneasy, and she habitually complained, "They're all just old fogies."
Shen Wujun pretended not to hear, took the fish paste outside, looked around, and asked, "Sister, where's the cat?"
Shen Wuqiu shifted her body and pulled out the white cat hiding behind her. "It's here."
"Meow, time to eat."
The white cat reluctantly walked up to him, first sniffing the food on the plate. Once the taste was right, it began to eat in small bites.
Shen Wujun stared at it for a while before walking over and sitting down next to Shen Wuqiu. "By the way, when I came back this time, I saw that Dad's health had improved a lot. He even went to the fields with Uncle today. Have you taken him to the hospital for a check-up recently?"
"I wanted to go too, but he didn't want to."
"Sis, do you think Dad's illness might get better on its own?"
"I hope so." The doctor said at the time that he would have no more than two months left, but now two months have passed, and my father's health is getting better and better, and his complexion is getting rosier and rosier. If this is a final burst of energy before death, then this final burst of energy has been going on for far too long.
"How about we take him to the hospital to get him checked out?"
“I can’t persuade him, but if you can, I’m happy to take him.”
Thinking of his father's temperament, Shen Wujun dared not make any promises and muttered, "That old man gets more stubborn as he gets older."
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Yunzhi called out from the kitchen, "The noodles are ready."
Shen Wujun didn't need Shen Wuqiu to say anything; he went to the kitchen and brought her noodles.
Halfway through the meal, two of our guests came downstairs.
Gu Junshan and Dai Ying showed no awareness of being guests, acting as if they were at home as they came downstairs. They greeted Shen Wuqiu naturally, and then their gaze lingered on Shen Wujun's face for a second before asking, "Is this Wuqiu's younger brother?"
Shen Wujun had already heard about yesterday's events from Su Yunzhi, and he knew without asking who the middle-aged couple was. He couldn't stand the sight of them, let alone treat them warmly.
Seeing her younger brother's smug expression, Shen Wuqiu had no choice but to answer for him, "Yes, this is my younger brother, Shen Wujun."
“Wu Jun.” Dai Ying savored the two words, praising, “He truly is a young man whose name suits him perfectly.”
"None of your business." Don't think that praising yourself a few times will make me forgive your short-lived son for getting my sister pregnant.