Adoption!
To be honest, this was an answer Jiang Shiyue had never considered.
In the modern era, if a woman couldn't have children, the couple would most likely end up divorcing. Not to mention, this was the seventies, an era that placed the utmost importance on having heirs.
But the look in Gu Yian's eyes didn't seem like he was lying. Jiang Shiyue licked her lips and forced a smile. "Aren't you afraid of breaking your mother's heart by saying that?"
Gu Yian shook his head. "I doubt she ever thought I'd be able to get married."
After all, for a family like theirs, it was already a great blessing that a girl was willing to marry into it, let alone anything else.
Knowing that Jiang Shiyue hadn't taken his words to heart, Gu Yian released her hand and placed both of his on her shoulders.
He spoke word by word, earnest and sincere, "Yueyue, I'm serious. If you don't want to have children, then we won't. It's perfectly fine for it to be just the two of us."
If they had a child, Jiang Shiyue's attention would surely be on the child, and she would have no time for him.
A flash of astonishment crossed Jiang Shiyue's eyes. Meeting Gu Yian's calm, unwavering gaze, she broke into a grin. "You're the one who said it!"
Gu Yian nodded. "Yes, I said it."
With that, he bent down and swept Jiang Shiyue up into his arms. "We don't have to have a child, but we can't skip the process of making one."
Jiang Shiyue's face flushed several shades redder, as if she had applied a full face of blush.
She never expected Gu Yian to be so direct. Was this the same rugged man who used to put on a stern face at the drop of a hat?
Help, this damn man was way too smooth!
The atmosphere instantly turned sultry. Gu Yian gently placed Jiang Shiyue on the bed, their noses touching. Their breaths intertwined, as if a switch had been flipped.
Between gasps, Jiang Shiyue patted Gu Yian's back. "Put out… the Kerosene lamp."
It was mainly because Gu Yian's gaze was too scorching for her to bear.
Gu Yian took a deep breath, paused his actions, got out of bed to turn off the Kerosene lamp, and then resumed his unfinished business.
Jiang Shiyue didn't know when she fell asleep, only that when she woke up, she felt completely drained.
Her waist, in particular, felt like it was about to snap.
Jiang Shiyue couldn't help but curse, "You brute!"
He really didn't cherish her at all. She had told him to stop, but he just kept going.
He even said something like, "There's no such thing as over-plowed land, only an exhausted ox."
If this continued, she was afraid the land would be ruined before the ox was exhausted.
Hearing the movement from Jiang Shiyue's side, Gu Yian, who was still tidying up the room, quickly walked over. Meeting her resentful gaze, he scratched the back of his head. "You're awake."
Jiang Shiyue shot Gu Yian a dissatisfied glare, her hands on her waist. "If you ever act so recklessly again, we're sleeping in separate rooms."
Upon hearing about sleeping in separate rooms, Gu Yian couldn't help but purse his lips and mutter, "It's only because you're too tempting."
Jiang Shiyue frowned. "What did you say?"
Knowing she was in a bad mood, he wanted to massage her waist, but his hands were dirty. He could only say weakly, "I said I'll go make you some noodles."
He had been out working the past two days, so for convenience, he had just made porridge for Jiang Shiyue. Now that he was home, there was naturally no need to have porridge.
Jiang Shiyue huffed twice. "Don't think you can earn my forgiveness just by being so attentive."
Gu Yian coaxed her as if she were a child. "I'll make you noodles in a bit. So don't be angry. Getting angry first thing in the morning is bad for your health."
Jiang Shiyue said irritably, "Hurry up and go. Just looking at your face annoys me!"
After Gu Yian headed to the kitchen, Jiang Shiyue endured her body's soreness, changed her clothes, and washed up.
Toothbrushes did exist in the seventies, but Jiang Shiyue wasn't used to them. She bought all her toiletries from the mall and hid them under the bed.
By the time she finished washing up and went to the kitchen, Gu Yian had already cooked the noodles and was frying an egg.
She had been so focused on being angry before that she hadn't really looked.
Probably for the convenience of working, Gu Yian was only wearing a blue tank top with a pair of worn-out work pants, his well-developed biceps clearly visible.
Her mind inexplicably conjured some R-rated images, and she couldn't help but blush.
Licking her somewhat dry lips, she let out a soft cough. "You haven't added the seasonings yet, have you?"
Hearing her voice, Gu Yian turned around, a spatula still in his hand, looking every bit the househusband. He actually looked quite virtuous.
Gu Yian shook his head and replied, "Not yet."
Thinking of something, he frowned. "The kitchen is full of smoke. You should go wait outside. I'll bring it to you when it's done."
Jiang Shiyue waved her hand. "It's fine, I'll just add the seasonings."
Otherwise, the plain flour noodles would be truly hard to swallow. Having experienced it once, she never wanted to experience it a second time in her life.
She squeezed past Gu Yian and took out a pile of bottles and jars from the cupboard. She added a little of this seasoning, a little of that one, and finally picked up a pair of chopsticks to stir the noodles evenly.
Finally, she held the bowl of noodles up to Gu Yian's nose. "How is it? Doesn't it smell amazing?"
Gu Yian took two big sniffs, couldn't help but swallow, and nodded in affirmation. "It really does smell amazing."
He had been busy frying the egg and hadn't paid attention to what Jiang Shiyue had put in. He only remembered that there seemed to be just a salt jar in the cupboard. When did all these bottles and jars appear?
Thinking about how Jiang Shiyue had been the one cooking for the past two days, Gu Yian couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's in all those jars?"
"Just some seasonings."
She then explained, "I noticed we only had salt when I was cooking before, so I bought a few more types of seasonings for cooking when I went to town."
Thankfully, she had the foresight to put all the seasonings into jars beforehand; otherwise, it would have been really hard to explain. After all, modern packaging was vastly different from the packaging of this era. Gu Yian would definitely have become suspicious if he saw it.
Gu Yian gave an embarrassed smile. "It's mainly because I prefer lightly flavored food, so we only bought salt for the house."
As he spoke, he placed the fried egg into the bowl and used a ladle to scoop water from the water tank into the pot.
Jiang Shiyue expressed her understanding. She pulled Gu Yian's hand and introduced them to him one by one. "This one enhances flavor, this one adds fragrance, this one is for cold dishes, this is my homemade chopped chili sauce, this one is for making stew…"
She didn't dare mention things like MSG, chicken essence, or thirteen-spice powder. She could only describe their specific functions, which left Gu Yian completely bewildered.
If it weren't for Jiang Shiyue, he wouldn't have even known that so many seasonings existed.
But he had to admire Jiang Shiyue's good memory, being able to remember so many things at once.