“It’s nothing. I just saw someone planning to harm my family, so I thought I’d call later to warn them,” Gu Jianing said simply.
“Alright.” Since it involved Gu Jianing’s private matters, Sheng Zexi didn’t press further.
After finishing breakfast, the couple headed to the communications office and soon dialed the phone number of the Huaihua Village committee.
…
In Huaihua Village, Yang Manman, now heavily pregnant, was seeing off her husband, Gu Yunting, as he left for work.
Yang Manman was already five months along.
“Go back inside. I’m off to work,” Gu Yunting waved and then rode his bicycle toward the county town.
Only after her husband’s figure disappeared from sight did Yang Manman turn to go back inside. Unexpectedly, she saw her father-in-law, Old Man Gu, rushing over in a hurry.
“Eldest daughter-in-law, tell your mother-in-law and the rest of the family—Ningning is calling! Come quick to the village committee to answer the phone.”
Their younger sister-in-law was calling?!
Yang Manman’s face lit up with joy. “Ah, yes! I’ll go notify them right away.”
Before long, the entire Gu family—except for Gu Yunting, who had already left for work—had gathered at the village committee. Yao Chunhua, who had been managing household chores, Su Miao, who was looking after the children, and Gu Yunnan and Gu Yunzhou, who had been working in the fields, all arrived.
Huaihua Village only had this one telephone, and every time Gu Jianing called, every member of the Gu family who was home would come to listen.
The first to answer the phone, of course, was the family head, Yao Chunhua.
The moment Yao Chunhua heard her daughter’s voice, her eyes welled up with tears. It had been nearly half a year since her daughter left for the Northwestern Military District, and she missed her terribly.
As soon as she picked up the phone, she immediately began asking Gu Jianing if she was eating well, dressing warmly, how things were in the Northwestern Military District, whether anyone had bullied her, and if Sheng Zexi was treating her well…
Every word was filled with a mother’s concern for her daughter who had married far away.
“Mom, don’t worry, I’m doing great. Zexi treats me very well.”
“I’m really fine—I eat well and stay warm. You, Dad, and my brothers and sisters-in-law must take good care of yourselves too.”
“We will, we will. We’re all doing well.”
“Mom, I called this time because I have good news to share.”
“What good news?”
“Mom, I’m pregnant—three months along, and it’s twins! You and Dad are going to be grandparents, and my brothers and sisters-in-law will be uncles and aunts!”
“What?! You’re pregnant? And with twins?!” Yao Chunhua’s shocked voice rose sharply, and the rest of the Gu family nearby heard her clearly.
After a moment of stunned silence, they erupted into joy.
Ningning/our younger sister is pregnant—and with twins! This is wonderful!
Yao Chunhua was so overjoyed she began to cry. “It’s good that you’re pregnant, so good.”
Her voice trembled slightly with emotion. Back when she agreed to let Gu Jianing marry Sheng Zexi, Yao Chunhua had been ninety percent satisfied. The only reservation had been Sheng Zexi’s infertility.
When Sheng Zexi had proposed, he had been upfront about it.
Later, it was Ningning who said she had a way to cure Sheng Zexi’s condition, and Yao Chunhua, seeing how excellent Sheng Zexi was, had reluctantly agreed to let her daughter marry him.
After the wedding, Yao Chunhua’s greatest hope had been for Ningning to quickly cure Sheng Zexi’s condition so they could have a child together.
Yao Chunhua, even with her open-mindedness, knew very well that in this day and age, for her daughter to live a better life after marrying Sheng Zexi, having a child—whether a boy or a girl—would provide much more security than having none. Of course, if it were a boy, or better yet, multiple children, that would be even more ideal.
She had been hoping for this but never dared to ask.
Yet now, out of nowhere, Ningning had given her this wonderful news—she was already three months pregnant.
Yao Chunhua didn’t blame Gu Jianing for waiting until now to tell her. She understood that the first three months of pregnancy were delicate, and it was only natural to wait until things were stable before sharing the news.
Twins were even better—two children at once! But…
“Ningning, carrying twins must be really hard on you.” As a mother who had been pregnant herself, she knew how exhausting it could be, let alone with two babies. And Ningning had always been a bit delicate.
“Ningning, how about I come to the Northwestern Military District to take care of you?” Yao Chunhua asked.
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
After all, Ningning’s mother-in-law had passed away, and Sheng Zexi’s grandmother was too old to take on the responsibility. It would be most fitting for her, Ningning’s own mother, to go and care for her.
“Mom, there’s no need for now. I’m doing fine and don’t need special care. If you really want to come, wait until I’m closer to my due date. By then, you’ll probably have already helped Eldest Sister-in-law through her postpartum month.”
Only then did Yao Chunhua remember.
Ah, right. Her eldest daughter-in-law was also pregnant, and when she gave birth, Yao Chunhua, as the mother-in-law, would need to help her through the postpartum period.
She did a quick calculation: her eldest daughter-in-law was five months along now, so she still had five months to go. Ningning was three months pregnant, so by the time her eldest daughter-in-law gave birth, Ningning would be around eight months along. After helping Manman through her postpartum month, Ningning would be about nine months pregnant—and twins usually came early. That timing would work, though it would be tight.
But there was no other way.
Though Yao Chunhua dearly wanted to go take care of her daughter sooner, she couldn’t neglect her eldest daughter-in-law either—after all, Manman was also carrying the Gu family’s next generation.
“Alright, that’s settled then.”
“Oh, have you called Zexi’s grandparents to share the good news yet?” Yao Chunhua asked.
“I’ll call them next.”
“Good.”
After that, Old Man Gu and the rest of the family took turns chatting with Gu Jianing. She also mentioned that she had become a doctor at the military hospital, which delighted everyone. Then, she finally brought up the other important matter.
The last to take the call was Gu Yunzhou. She asked, “Third Brother, do you know anything about Wen Zhuqing and Bao Shanyan’s situation?”
The moment Gu Yunzhou heard this, his expression turned strange.
“Little Sister, why are you asking about this? You’re already married to Brother-in-law and pregnant—don’t tell me you’re still hung up on that pretty boy Wen Zhuqing? Is Brother-in-law not with you right now?”
Even though it was his beloved younger sister on the phone, Gu Yunzhou felt that some lines just shouldn’t be crossed.
Gu Jianing was both exasperated and amused. Glancing at Sheng Zexi beside her, she noticed that the name “Wen Zhuqing” had immediately triggered his alarm bells. He looked up at her, his eyes full of silent accusation.
Sheng Zexi trusted Gu Jianing—he could feel her growing love for him every day.
But Wen Zhuqing… wasn’t he Ningning’s first love? He’d heard that most people held a special place in their hearts for their first love. Did that mean Wen Zhuqing was still significant to her?
Why was Ningning bringing him up now?
Gu Jianing read the unspoken question in Sheng Zexi’s eyes and gritted her teeth. If she weren’t on the phone right now, she’d grab him by the shoulders and shake him. I mentioned both Wen Zhuqing and Bao Shanyan—why are you all only focusing on Wen Zhuqing and forgetting about Bao Shanyan?!
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