1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Xinghua rubbed his instep and sighed.

"That's right, we've tried every folk remedy we could find, and we've drunk a lot of ginger soup and plum juice, but nothing has worked. I'm still vomiting a lot."

The day before yesterday, I ran into Aunt Wang at the entrance of the village. I told her about Lianhua's situation. She said that when she was pregnant with Shaqiang, she was exactly the same as Lianhua—vomiting everything she ate and unable to retain anything. Later, Uncle Wang went up the mountain, picked wild leeks, and boiled them with ginger juice for her to drink. The vomiting stopped in just two days; it was very effective.

Chen Gaoshan knew about wild leeks.

When he was little, his grandma often went up the mountain to pick wild chives, which were more tender and fragrant than the ones grown at home. She would bring them back and make him chive pancakes, which were delicious.

"The Jiang family does have some wild chives. I'll go up the mountain tomorrow and take a look. Whatever the method, as long as it prevents the lotus from blooming, it's a good method, and we have to try it."

Xinghua saw him staring at her chest and threw the rag she was holding at him.

"What are you looking at? Didn't you get enough to eat when you were a kid? Wipe yourself."

He took it with a smile, wiped his own feet, and then pulled the person up and onto his lap.

This startled Xinghua, who clutched her stomach. "Oh dear, put me down quickly, I can do it myself!"

"What are you afraid of? I'll hold back and wipe it for you."

Xinghua's face grew hotter and hotter. She didn't know what was wrong with her. Ever since she got pregnant, she had been feeling restless. She hadn't thought much about it before, but now that she was on the bed, she couldn't control herself.

She was wondering if she was a promiscuous person, how could she be so shameless? Now that Gao Shan was wiping her feet, she started to feel uncomfortable again.

Chen Gaoshan went from wiping her feet to massaging them, and even brought his own feet closer to smell them.

"Even such a pretty woman has smelly feet."

"Shanzi, stop this nonsense, I can't take it anymore..."

Before she could finish speaking, his lips were pressed against hers, and his fingers flew across her face.

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He was originally counting rhythmically, but he forgot as he counted, so he decided to stop counting and just do whatever came to mind.

Of course, since Xinghua has a child, he still has to be a little more restrained.

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Half an hour later, Chen Gaoshan added some more oil to the lamp.

Xinghua went down to the urinal to relieve herself, and even then, she didn't forget to glare at him.

"Shanzi, you must be a donkey reincarnated. What good land can withstand your tireless plowing day and night?"

These words stunned Chen Gaoshan. Was he really that energetic? A man should have some artistic talent and learn flower arranging in his spare time.

"Just tell me, is it enjoyable?"

Seeing that Xinghua was ignoring him, he cheekily moved closer again. "Want to have some fun?"

After washing up and getting into bed, Xinghua crawled directly into her own quilt, her back to Chen Gaoshan.

Who knew that this bastard would come closer again, whispering in her ear, giving her goosebumps. "Enjoy yourself?"

"Enjoy your work."

"That's good. I was just worried about wasting my time. Time for bed."

···

Old Chen's big rooster in the yard straightened its neck right on time.

It started making a "gen gen gen" sound.

It acts as the family's alarm clock, urging everyone to get up and get busy, one alarm after another.

Upon hearing the rooster crow, the Chen family, young and old, began their busy day.

Since Lianhua became pregnant, she has had severe morning sickness and can't stand even the slightest smell of cooking oil. The smell makes her feel nauseous and want to vomit, so the cooking work in the kitchen has fallen to Xinghua and Chen Liushi.

The Chen family lived a respectable and refined life in the village, and their hygiene habits were second to none.

Everyone in the family has their own toothbrush, which is a rare item in the entire Nangou Village. Only those who are well-off can afford to buy one. Ordinary farmers, who can't even afford to eat, wouldn't dare to spend that money. They usually just break off a willow branch, chew the tip until it's bristled, and rub it against their teeth a couple of times to be done with it.

People in the village live like farmers; they are content with just having enough to eat and wear. They don't need to be so particular. Brushing teeth is a luxury only the daughters and wives of landlords can enjoy.

But the Chen family was never short of money; they never even lacked salt for brushing their teeth.

Right now, Chen Gaoshan is squatting in the yard, brushing his teeth with a toothbrush dipped in salt.

Seeing that he had almost finished brushing his teeth, Lianhua took a ladle, scooped up a ladle of water from the vat, and handed it to him.

"Rinse your mouth."

Chen Gaoshan took the water ladle, tilted his head back and drank a big mouthful of water, gargled, and then bent down to spit it into his own vegetable garden. He then raised the back of his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth and turned to look at Lianhua.

"How are you? Were you still nauseous when you woke up this morning? Are you feeling any better?"

Lianhua didn't want her whole family to worry about her. She herself was puzzled. Xinghua was pregnant and there was nothing wrong with her, but she was so delicate. She was poor but had the body of a young lady.

"I'm fine now, much better than yesterday. Don't keep worrying about me."

But her pretty face couldn't lie.

Chen Gaoshan saw through her bravado at a glance.

"I heard about a folk remedy for morning sickness from Xinghua yesterday. I'll go up the mountain to look for it in a bit. No matter what, I have to get it for you so you can eat."

"Pregnant and then starving yourself to death? That won't do! If you keep suffering like this, this little brat might as well not have come at all; he's just here to collect debts and torment you!"

Upon hearing this, Lianhua immediately panicked and quickly reached out to cover Chen Gaoshan's mouth.

"Pah, pah, pah! What nonsense are you talking about! This is a child we've been longing for, the apple of our eye. If anyone's to blame, it's me for being weak and unable to eat. What does it have to do with the child? You can't just say things like that!"

Chen Gaoshan grabbed her hand from his mouth and quickly spat three times as well.

"Yes, we definitely want this child! So don't worry, I'll go up the mountain in a bit and I promise to find the ingredients for the folk remedy."

Breakfast was ready, and the family sat around the kang table to eat.

Feeling sorry for her pregnant daughter-in-law, Chen Liu put two boiled eggs into the bowls of Xinghua and Lianhua respectively.

There are six chickens in the family: one rooster and five laying hens. As the weather gets warmer, the hens are laying eggs more frequently.

You can collect at least three eggs a day.

In the past, she could save up to exchange for needles and thread, but now that her daughters-in-law are pregnant, Chen Liushi has given all of it to her two daughters-in-law to nourish their bodies, and has never thought of exchanging it for anything.

"Lotus, I know you're feeling unwell, but even if you feel nauseous, you have to eat this egg. You're not just eating for yourself now, you're feeding two people. If you don't eat something nutritious, your body won't be able to take it, and the baby will suffer too."

Lotus picked up the egg from the bowl, gritting her teeth and forcing back the nausea in her stomach.

"Mom, I know, I'll eat it! I'll treat it like drinking bitter Chinese medicine soup. Even if I have to force myself to swallow it, I'll definitely finish it."

Chen Gaoshan watched as Lianhua frowned and forced herself to swallow the egg.

He picked up the cornmeal porridge in his bowl and ate it in four or five bites along with the coarse grain flatbread on the table.

He put down his chopsticks and stood up.

"Take your time eating, don't wait for me, I'll be going up the mountain right now."

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