1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 216: The First New Year's Eve (Updated)

The examination at the county hospital was not complicated.

The doctor this time looked a little older than the female doctor at the town health center last time. As usual, she asked about the time of her menopause and whether she had a family history of genetic diseases. After asking and recording the questions, she took a stethoscope and began to listen to Chen Xiangbei's heartbeat.

After listening to her, it was time for the part she had been waiting for.

This time, the female doctor picked up a "Diamond" mechanical stopwatch from the Shanghai Stopwatch Factory on the table, placed one end of the stethoscope on Chen Xiangbei's belly, and then pressed the stopwatch to listen to the fetal heartbeat.

The doctor listened attentively for a while. When the time was almost up, he pressed the stopwatch again, took away the stethoscope, looked at the two of them and said:
"The fetal heart rate is 132 beats per minute..."

Chen Xiangbei was very nervous: "Ah? How can it be so high?"

The doctor smiled and comforted him:
"You should be happy, this frequency is normal. It's different from us adults. The fetal heart rate is above 110 and below 160 per minute. This range is considered healthy and normal!"

This time, Liang Ziqiang and Chen Xiangbei both breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, Liang Ziqiang couldn't remember the specific range of normal fetal heart rate. After all, he only had two babies, and that was decades ago. Who could remember such accurate numbers?

Hearing that he was in good health, Chen Xiangbei turned from worry to joy and looked happy.

She watched the doctor put the stethoscope aside, pursed her lips, and finally spoke:
"Doctor, can I use that stethoscope to listen to his fetal heart rate myself?"

The doctor smiled again, as if it was not the first time a pregnant woman had made such a request, and picked up the stethoscope and gave it to her.

Chen Xiangbei was so happy that she thanked him twice and put the two earplugs on one end of the stethoscope into her ears. Liang Ziqiang quickly helped her and put the flat end of the stethoscope against her belly.

Seeing this, the doctor seemed to think that the position was not accurate enough, so he helped move it a little bit.

Liang Ziqiang looked at his wife, thinking that she must be filled with surprise as she had finally heard the fetal heartbeat as she wished.

In the end, all he saw was his wife's confused face.

"what happened?"

"Listen to this!" Chen Xiangbei handed the earplugs to him.

Liang Ziqiang put on his earplugs, concentrated his mind and calmed his breath, ready to listen carefully.

As a result, after more than ten seconds, his face became exactly the same as his wife's - confused.

From time to time, I could hear the sound of rippling water, but for a long time I couldn't make out the "thumping" heartbeat that I was expecting.

After listening attentively for more than ten seconds, I heard a vague and indistinguishable regular sound. The dragon was unclear from beginning to end, and it was ambiguous...

The doctor knew what was going on from their expressions. He took the stethoscope, put it aside and said:

"The fetal heart rate is very weak at this time, and it is easy to be disturbed by the amniotic fluid. You are not professionals and you can't understand!"

The second round of prenatal check-ups ended just like that.

There were no black and white B-ultrasounds, let alone color ultrasounds. Many routine prenatal examination items in later generations were not available in the county hospital at that time.

The doctor only told her to come back for another round of prenatal checkup when the baby is 6 months old, and gave her some precautions.

Walking down the street, Chen Xiangbei looked confused. It seemed like she had just had a prenatal checkup, but it also seemed like she hadn't done anything at all...

Anyway, this time she finally heard the vague movements of the baby in the amniotic fluid. After thinking about it, she soon felt satisfied.

There are more restaurants in the county town than in the town, there are several of them.

Chen Xiangbei still just wanted to eat pork offal noodles. After ordering, she found that this restaurant was more interesting as it also sold tofu pudding.

The steaming hot tofu pudding melts in your mouth, and the two of them ordered a bowl each.

After eating rice noodles and tofu pudding, they found that many people were already buying New Year's goods in the nearby supply and marketing cooperative.

After going in and looking around, the county supply and marketing cooperative had quite a wide variety of New Year goods, and some items were a little cheaper than in town. Fortunately, Liang Ziqiang brought a lot of money with him this time, and the prenatal checkup he had just done didn't cost much, so he decided to buy New Year goods in the county. It would be convenient and easy to ship them home if he came here by boat.

Not only were there the necessary New Year's goods for the family, but there were also gifts from the elders on her father's side and gifts of cigarettes and alcohol from the elders on Chen Xiangbei's mother's side. They all had to be given and were purchased together.

Soon, the "Little New Year" arrived. The Little New Year in Pomwang Village is celebrated on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month.

From that day on, Chen Xiangbei, like all the women in the village, entered a festive and busy mode.

First, they "send the gods to heaven" on the day of the Little New Year. They buy chickens and ducks and return to the new house to slaughter them. They also light incense and candles and offer sacrifices to Liang Ziqiang, which is considered to be sending all the gods back to heaven to report on their work.

She started making rice cakes on the 26th; on New Year's Eve, she specially steamed glutinous rice cakes, which symbolizes prosperity and wealth.

On the 30th day, every household began to post spring couplets. Liang Ziqiang also set off firecrackers, but did not post spring couplets.

The couplets in his house were new ones that had just been put up when he moved into a new house. According to custom, there was no need to take down and re-paste the couplets on the door before celebrating the New Year right after moving into a new house.

But the door gods had never been pasted before. Chen Xiangbei cooked some porridge and gave it to him as paste. The two of them worked together to carefully paste and smooth the door gods they bought from the county town last time on the gate.

Several other doors were also pasted with new door gods.

In addition to posting door god couplets, their village must also worship gods and ancestors on New Year's Eve.

In terms of order, one should first go to the Mazu Temple in the village, worship Mazu sincerely, and then worship one's own ancestors.

This night was the first New Year's Eve Liang Ziqiang had spent after his rebirth. He was quite uncomfortable because there was no Spring Festival Gala to watch...

In fact, the Spring Festival Gala started in 1983, and this year’s New Year’s Eve is already the second Spring Festival Gala.

The key point is that Liang Ziqiang doesn’t have a TV at home, so he can’t watch the Spring Festival Gala even if it is available.

On this New Year's Eve, his main activity was to set off firecrackers, all kinds of firecrackers he bought from the county town...

One by one, the rockets were stuck in the soil in front of the door and lit. With a sharp whistle, the rockets rushed into the night sky like a whistle in winter, blasting a small, radiant hole in the night of Juzipo.

After playing for a while, he put out the colored bead tube, which he bought after searching several places.

The colored bead tubes were even more dazzling. Each one he bought had more than fifty beads. He pointed it towards the sky, and from time to time he would spit out a bead. In the starry night, flowers called "New Year" bloomed one after another.

One after another, there were more than twenty of them in total.

It's not that he still has a childish nature and likes to play this, but because it is the first Spring Festival in a new house, so a lot of firecrackers must be set off, the more patterns the better, and the more colorful the night sky is, the more auspicious it is.

But in fact, there are not many fancy styles these days. The high-end fireworks and salutes of later generations, which can weave the entire night into a splendid piece, are still not available now.

The fireworks he was setting off in his hand were already the most dazzling flowers in the entire Changwang Village on New Year's Eve.

He wanted to pull Chen Xiangbei over to let go of the colored bead tubes and have fun together, but she refused to do so and did not come over. She just stood two steps behind him, tilting her slender neck and watching his face flicker with the fireworks.

Her belly was slightly bulging. When the night sky bloomed, there was light above her head and in her eyes.

The colored beads tube sprinkled a flower at high altitude. And at low altitude, the smile on her face also spread out, and it was another flower.

She watched him set off fireworks with great interest, as if it was much more fun than doing it herself.

After each cigarette, Liang Ziqiang would turn his head to look at her with a smile on her face behind him.

Is this the most special New Year's Eve he has ever had?
In the previous life, the New Year's Eve was at Lanziqiao. The high walls and gray walls meant that no matter how loud the firecrackers from the outside world were, not a single ray of them could reach the dark room. All I could hear were the swear words of my fellow inmates.

This life is Juzipo. A two-story red brick building, couplets, lanterns. The fireworks chattered, saying all the joyful words they wanted to say...

The number of readers is increasing, and more will be added! Thank you for all the monthly tickets, recommendations, and rewards. I also wish all the children of all ages a happy day!
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(End of this chapter)