Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade-Chapter 16 - Pregnancy_1
Chapter 16: Chapter 16 Pregnancy_1
Chapter 16: Chapter 16 Pregnancy_1
“What’s wrong with Yueyue?” Lady Wu was extremely worried. This family was already struggling; if Cheng Yue fell ill again, it would only worsen their plight.
Cheng Yue pushed the bowl aside and said, “Nauseous, I feel like vomiting.”
Lady Wu suddenly thought of a possibility and became excited. As she coaxed Cheng Yue to eat, she said to Qian Manxia, “Eat quickly, after you finish, go to Green Willow Village and ask Doctor Lin to come and see your sister-in-law.”
Green Willow Village was not far from Huaxi Village, just over Hong Bridge, and could be reached within about fifteen minutes if one hurried.
Qian Sangui, seeing Lady Wu’s beaming smile, guessed the reason and asked softly, “Mother, do you think my daughter-in-law is pregnant?”
Lady Wu nodded and said, “It looks like it to me.”
Cheng Yue still looked bewildered and asked, “What’s happened?”
“The doctor will know once he has a look,” Lady Wu said with a smile.
When Doctor Lin arrived and took Cheng Yue’s pulse, he confirmed that Cheng Yue was indeed pregnant. However, her health was poor and the pregnancy was unstable; Doctor Lin prescribed two doses of medicine to secure the pregnancy. He also advised that the expectant mother needed to rest quietly and carefully, avoid heavy activities, eat well, and wait until after three months of pregnancy had passed to consider it stable.
In the corner, Qian Yixiu was overjoyed; finally, there was a fetus the size of a fingernail in her little aunt’s womb, and she finally saw a glimmer of hope.
Qian Sangui and Lady Wu, upon hearing that their daughter-in-law was pregnant, were overjoyed. At the same time, Qian Sangui requested another favor from Doctor Lin, which was to let it be known that Cheng Yue’s face was getting covered with dark spots because of the pregnancy.
Doctor Lin was already over fifty years old and was a good doctor with high medical ethics. Over the years, he had been most frequently visiting Qian’s third wife, and they had a very good relationship; he also knew their situation well, and agreed with a smile.
Laughter, long absent, finally returned to the Qian family’s third household. However, after a brief moment of joy, Qian Sangui’s couple felt concerned again.
After all, Cheng Yue was not quite normal, and absolutely could not afford to mishandle this hard-won child. Thus, they decided that someone must watch her at all times before the baby was born. During the day, Qian Manxia would watch her, and at night, Lady Wu would accompany her to sleep in the west room.
Before long, Old woman Qian came, wishing to scold the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo to let off some steam.
However, upon her arrival, she was met with the immense surprise that her granddaughter-in-law was pregnant. Old woman Qian was so happy she was at a loss for words, “It seems that Lady Cheng is truly a fortunate person. I must go back and tell Old man Qian, let him be joyous as well.”
Qian Sangui stopped the old lady and whispered these and those words to her. Old woman Qian nodded incessantly, agreeing that only if word got out could their household expect peaceful days.
When people encounter joyous matters, their spirits are lifted; not only could Qian Sangui get out of bed, but he also began to weave mats and straw sandals. Lady Wu too was in high spirits, walking briskly, and remained cheery despite the fatigue. Cheng Yue, on the other hand, honestly rested in her cabin to nourish her pregnancy.
This matter was considered a great joy for the entire Qian family; the first and fourth branches each sent twenty eggs. Qian Xiang from the county also visited, sent by her grandfather Old man Qian and his eldest grandson, Qian Manchuan, to share the good news. The old man was astute, knowing that Qian’s third household was poor and couldn’t afford meat, so he sent his granddaughter, married into the Butcher’s family, to bring them some meat.
True to her grandfather’s expectations, Qian Xiang arrived the next day, bringing two and a half pounds of fatty and lean pork belly, a pair of pig’s trotters, a pig’s liver leaf, and several pork bones.
Apart from Old man Qian and Old woman Qian, none of the relatives who visited the third household ever saw Cheng Yue in person. The excuse given by Qian Sangui’s couple was that Lady Cheng was naturally timid, and pregnancy made her even more so, especially with the changes on her face; she was particularly shy around people.
Within just a few days, the rumor that the foolish Lady Cheng from Huaxi Village was pregnant and had transformed from a celestial beauty into an ugly woman with a face full of dark spots spread far and wide. Especially after Pretty village woman Wang Zhizhi’s mother, Lady Yang, embellished the tale with her own dramatic flair, it took on an even more vivid life.
Lady Yang assertively claimed, “I just happened to pass by the western end of the village that day, and when I saw that face, goodness gracious, it was like a white cloth smeared with sparrow droppings, I nearly couldn’t catch my breath from the fright.”
Old woman Qian also went out to join the village ladies in cursing Lady Wu for a bit, “That wasteful woman, spent so much money, and yet bought such a person. Good heavens, if the child is born with a big blotchy face, whatever shall we do!”
After that, the west side of Huaxi Village quieted down, and Lady Yang’s daughter, Wang Zhier, once again became the most beautiful woman in Huaxi Village, dazzling everyone with her choice of suitors.
And overjoyed, Old man Qian and his wife would come over to the third wife’s place to check on things now and then, with Old woman Qian often saving her own eggs to sneak over for Cheng Yue to eat.
Though the smell of the eggs made Cheng Yue nauseous, once dipped in chili, she still ate them with relish.
Old woman Qian became troubled again, thinking sour for boys, spicy for girls, with Lady Cheng loving spicy so much, she might give birth to a daughter. Staring, she said, “You must give me a great-grandson with something between his legs, otherwise, all these eggs will be for nothing!”
After that, when she brought eggs for Cheng Yue again, Cheng Yue dared not accept them, “I won’t eat them, I’ll get scolded if I do.”
But Old woman Qian insisted on giving them to her, “Really can’t tell good from bad, if I tell you to eat, you eat.”
Cheng Yue was stubborn and refused to take them. In the end, it was only after being handed over by Qian Manxia that Cheng Yue ate them.
From a corner, Qian Yixiu started to feel sympathy for her young mother again, those eggs were not so easy to enjoy. After giving birth to a daughter, who knew how much grief Old woman Qian would give her.
The jujube trees bore ripe fruit, a good harvest this year, bright red and large. Lady Wu saved several catties for Cheng Yue and Qian Sangui to eat, saying jujubes increase blood, and to eat more. She also gave two catties to Old man Qian and several other relatives, who all had lent a hand when her son got married and joined the army. With the third family being poor, they had no other way to show their appreciation, so they sent some jujubes to express their sentiments. The remaining jujubes sold for over two hundred wen.
Cheng Yue’s meals also improved significantly, with an egg a day, a few large jujubes, and occasionally, a bowl of fragrant noodles.
Although she liked eating well, seeing Qian Manxia’s envious gaze, and the sweet potato and corn mush in Lady Wu’s bowl, made her feel quite embarrassed. She believed in sharing blessings, so everyone should eat together. And said with conviction, “Brother said we must show filial piety to our parents and take care of our sister.”
Lady Wu would then say, “You eat up, if you are well-nourished, the baby in your belly will grow strong. Giving birth to a sturdy little boy with something between his legs would be the best way to show filial piety to your parents.”
Qian Manxia was correcting Cheng Yue’s language, “Sister-in-law, it’s not showing filial piety to your sister, it’s taking care of your sister.”
From the side, Qian Yixiu silently thought to herself, sorry for disappointing you, the child our young mother is carrying doesn’t have something between his legs. Even though it doesn’t have that something, it will surely be stronger than those who do. Just you wait and see.
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Soon, the sweet potatoes and corn in the field ripened one after the other, and Lady Wu alone couldn’t handle it all. With the help of Old man Qian and his brother Qian Dagui, they harvested the sweet potatoes and corn, then properly prepared the ground and planted the winter wheat.
Cheng Yue was already more than three months pregnant, she had gained a little weight, and the pregnancy was now stable.
Mid-October, the air had become a bit cool, but the afternoon sun was warm. In previous years around this time, Qian Sangui would have been bedridden unable to get up, but this year he was doing alright. He was making straw shoes under the eaves, his corners of the mouth turned up, free from the usual despair. With Manchuan on the way, this family felt hopeful again.
Lady Wu was sewing under the jujube tree, Cheng Yue sat beside her watching the tiny clothes in her hands, and Qian Manxia sucked on the sweet juice in a stalk of corn. Many dried leaves had fallen, and the sunlight filtered through the sparse branches, warming everyone’s skin.
Cheng Yue’s longing gaze went unnoticed by Lady Wu. The daughter-in-law couldn’t even carry water steadily or sweep the floors clean, there was no chance she could handle such delicate work. There was no extra fabric and thread in the house to waste on her.
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Thanks to Qian Yi Yi Ren Yan and the purse from a life like water, thanks to VYT’s peach blossom fan, much appreciated! Thank you for the recommendation tickets and comments, I continue to ask for your support with clicks, recommendations, and favorites, the more the better.
