By the time Zhang Xin and Sun Jianjun got home with their belongings, it was already completely dark.
“You’re back? Hurry and wash your hands. Dinner’s ready.”
Dinner had been prepared by Ma Lijuan and her sister-in-law together.
Sun Xiumei felt bad about living at her mother’s house and simply waiting to be served. She had been following her sister-in-law around all day, trying to help with the housework.
Ma Lijuan was helpless. Seeing Xiumei’s huge pregnant belly made her nervous, so she only let her do light tasks like sorting vegetables.
They ate dinner in the courtyard. The main room was too crowded, and with the light shining out from the house, the courtyard was just right.
The town had only gotten electricity last year. Back then, it had been considered an amazing novelty. Pull the cord, and the light was brighter than any candle.
The only drawback was that power outages could happen without warning, so every household still kept candles on hand.
“Mom, this is what I’m thinking.”
Zhang Xin paused and continued.
“Since we don’t plan on moving back there, I’d like to look around tomorrow and see if there are any houses for rent nearby. We’ll rent a place first and settle down in town. After the baby is born, we may have to trouble you to help out.”
“Our food factory has its own kindergarten. Once Xiaofang is old enough, I’ll bring Xiumei and the two children to the city. I’ll take Xiaofang to kindergarten every day, and Xiumei will have an easier time at home.”
Liu Guiying put down her chopsticks and looked at her daughter and son-in-law.
“Alright. You two discuss it yourselves. Do whatever makes you most comfortable.”
“I’ll take care of Xiumei during her confinement period after the birth. Once she’s recovered, you should go back to work as usual.”
“As for your parents’ side, I’ll deal with that before you leave.”
Actually, Liu Guiying wanted her daughter to stay at home permanently.
But after watching her all day, she could tell that Xiumei felt uncomfortable everywhere.
It was as though she didn’t know whether she should see herself as a guest or as a member of the family.
Perhaps it was because there was already a sister-in-law in the household. Xiumei had always been the type to put others first.
Liu Guiying sighed inwardly.
They were siblings by blood. How was it that the older they grew, the farther apart they became?
Forget it.
Children had their own lives to live. As long as they weren’t putting themselves in danger, she would let them live the way they wanted.
In this life, Liu Guiying chose to respect their wishes.
“As for the house, I’ll ask Aunt Ma tomorrow. She should know if there’s anything available nearby.”
“I won’t interfere with your decision to move out, but the place must be close to home. Xiumei and the children will be living there, and safety comes first.”
“Alright, Mom. Sorry for making you worry.”
Zhang Xin silently swore to himself that he would treat his mother-in-law well for the rest of his life.
His mother-in-law was no different from his own mother.
Watching her mother and husband discuss plans for her future, Sun Xiumei suddenly realized something.
She and Zhang Xin seemed to lack communication.
Whenever something happened, her first thought was always to endure it.
Just bear with it. Endure a little longer.
Life wasn’t easy for Zhang Xin working outside the home. She didn’t want to burden him with more troubles.
But if she never spoke up, those problems would always remain there.
They would never be solved.
Was that really the life she wanted?
Sun Xiumei felt incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful mother.
In an era when daughters were often treated as less valuable than sons, she had family members and a husband who genuinely cared about her.
With blessings like these, how had she managed to make such a mess of her life?
For the first time, she honestly acknowledged her own shortcomings.
Just as she was silently promising herself that from now on she would no longer bottle everything up—
That whether good or bad, she would share everything with her husband—
A familiar ache suddenly spread through her abdomen.
Sun Xiumei said nothing.
She had felt this kind of pain before.
It could be a false labor alarm.
When she gave birth to Xiaofang, it had started the same way.
Back then, her mother-in-law had mocked and ridiculed her relentlessly over it.
But after dinner, while she was walking around the courtyard to help digest her food, the familiar pain returned.
Sun Xiumei suddenly realized that she might actually be in labor.
“Mom… Zhang Xin… I think I’m about to give birth.”
She steadied herself against the wall, afraid to move.
“You’re going into labor? You’re feeling contractions?”
Liu Guiying immediately dropped her sewing and hurried over.
“Can you still move? Has your water broken? Any bleeding?”
“Neither. My stomach just hurts. About once every six or seven minutes.”
Sun Xiumei had already been timing the contractions.
“Then you’re definitely in labor. Second babies usually come faster.”
“Xiuju, pack a few changes of clothes for your second sister.”
“Xiaoxin, go get the baby supplies you brought back this afternoon.”
“Jianjun, bring out a quilt and spread it on the flat cart. Help your second sister lie down.”
“Lijuan, stay home and watch the children. Later, boil a bowl of brown sugar eggs and keep it warm. Judging by this, the baby will probably arrive sometime after midnight.”
After rapidly assigning everyone’s tasks, Liu Guiying rushed inside to grab some money.
Most of Zhang Xin’s wages had been handed over to his family. He probably didn’t have much left on him.
She needed to prepare extra, just in case.
Everyone scrambled into action.
Surrounding Sun Xiumei protectively, they hurried toward the hospital next to their home.
“Doctor! Doctor! My daughter is having a baby!”
The moment she entered the hospital, Liu Guiying grabbed a young nurse and hurried her toward Sun Xiumei.
The nurse was startled.
Judging by Liu Guiying’s panic, she thought it must be an emergency.
After asking a few questions, however, she looked at Liu Guiying with a helpless expression.
“Auntie, labor has only just started.”
“Even for a second child, it won’t happen that quickly.”
“Someone come with me to complete the admission paperwork. We’ll arrange a bed shortly. Let the mother walk around a little first. It’ll make labor easier later.”
Liu Guiying smiled awkwardly.
She knew she was overreacting.
But every time she remembered how Xiumei had lain alone beside the river in her previous life, lifeless and cold, her heart trembled uncontrollably.
“Xiaoxin, go handle the admission paperwork. We’ll stay here with Xiumei.”
As she spoke, Liu Guiying stuffed ten ten-yuan notes into her son-in-law’s hand and urged him to hurry.
Zhang Xin opened his mouth, wanting to explain that he had already borrowed two months’ wages in advance from the factory before coming here.
But this wasn’t the time.
He simply nodded and followed the nurse.
At eleven o’clock that night, Sun Xiumei entered the delivery room.
At 11:48 PM, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing six jin and three liang—about 3.15 kilograms.
Liu Guiying stared at her grandson.
In her previous life, he had never even been given the chance to see this world before dying alongside her daughter.
Her eyes immediately reddened.
Good.
Wonderful.
Heaven had not treated her poorly.
It had given her a chance to make up for the regrets of her previous life.
“Jianjun, go home and bring the brown sugar eggs we left warming on the stove. Xiumei will definitely want them after she comes out.”
“Xiuju, go home with your older brother. There’s no point in staying here.”
Sun Xiuju: “…”
When she had been helping support her second sister earlier, nobody had said she was useless.
She felt indignant.
But she didn’t dare say anything.
Listening to her mother-in-law cradle the baby and repeatedly exclaim,
“When he grows up, he’s definitely going to be a handsome young man!”
Zhang Xin looked at his newly born son.
The baby’s face was pale and wrinkled.
He honestly couldn’t see where the handsomeness was.
Just like Xiaofang when she was born.
Ugly.
Very ugly.
But he didn’t dare say that out loud.
Because he had already made that mistake when Xiaofang was born.
The result had been severe criticism from both his wife and mother-in-law.
Still, Zhang Xin couldn’t stop smiling.
After all, who wouldn’t want both a daughter and a son?