◎ First update ◎ 

Wei Jinrong felt the dryness in his mouth. He took a big gulp and tasted a bitter flavor, quite different from the strong tea. Perhaps it was some herbal medicine boiled by Cheng Caili. 

But how did these two manage to slip away so quickly? 

Ever since Uncle Wei drank the bowl of medicine for treating infertility, Cheng Caili had felt uneasy. This man, even though he was an old man, could there be problems after taking such medicine?

She secretly observed Uncle Wei for a few days, and seeing that he still spoke with full energy, as if there was no problem, she gradually felt relieved. 

Uncle Wei, who had drunk the medicine without realizing it, was very busy. He was dealing with the incident of cabbage theft in the courtyard. He originally wanted to handle it formally, but Luo Hongmei begged him for several days and almost knelt down in front of him. 

This kept Yao Haoyu out of trouble and avoided bringing the matter to the attention of the neighborhood office or the police station. 

However, Uncle Wei still gave Yao Haoyu and his cabbage-stealing gang a stern criticism and education and asked the three of them to submit an eight-hundred-word ideological awareness report and reflect on it publicly during their meeting in the courtyard. 

Everyone participated actively in the meeting this time. It was rare that they were in such high spirits. Who wouldn’t be interested in some gossip? 

Wu Changlong’s family was the happiest. Luo Hongmei had previously mistakenly thought they were the ones who stole the cabbages and had scolded them for a long time. Now that their grievances were cleared, they naturally enjoyed the show while munching on sunflower seeds. 

“Speak louder! Uncle Wei said you must apologize to everyone in the courtyard!” 

Luo Hongmei looked at her disappointing son, her face shifting between anger and frustration. She could hardly believe the trouble he had caused. 

“Dear leaders… No, neighbors, I was wrong…” Yao Haoyu held a piece of paper with several red and swollen spots on his face, all because his own mother was too harsh with him. He read a reflection report that he had copied from somewhere, changed some words, and started talking. 

Zhang Rong also grabbed a handful of pumpkin seeds, which were fried by Liu Nianhua. Since Liu Nianhua received her salary, she bought a cake for the Zhang family to express her gratitude and also some pumpkin seeds. She saved some and added salt to them. They were fun and refreshing to crack, so she gave some to a few good neighbors. 

“This child still needs proper teaching,” Zhang Rong sighed. Yao Haoyu was just a few years younger than her son Zhou Qingdang, but he was quite troublesome. 

“Yes,” Liu Nianhua agreed. She was concerned that the children might learn this bad habits. Xiaolong and Xiaohu were still quite obedient, but now she was raising them alone, so she had to be more cautious. Every day when she got home from work, she would ask the two children what they did during the day and whom they played with, fearing they might encounter bad influences. “Baozhen, Caili, have some too.” 

Liang Baozhen was asking Cheng Caili why the couple had been hiding in the corner in the middle of the night. They were sharing Liu Nianhua’s pumpkin seeds, listening to Yao Haoyu’s listless self-reflection report, and applauding with everyone else. 

“Comrades, stealing is not allowed, and stealing cabbage is even more shameful!” Wei Jinrong really didn’t expect that such “scum” would appear in his own courtyard! He was truly saddened. If it weren’t for the fact that he had been neighbors with Luo Hongmei’s family for many years, he would have reported the matter to the neighborhood office and asked the police station to take the man away. 

But with the mother crying and begging, he had no choice but to relent. He was soft-hearted after all. 

“Yeah, I don’t know how they were taught. They didn’t learn anything at all!” 

“This kind of behavior should be taken to the police; it’s too despicable!” 

Someone was scolding loudly, and Luo Hongmei, who usually had a loud voice, could only comfort her son in a low voice and swallow her anger for the sake of her son. 

There were also whispers. Li Zhengxia and the two daughters-in-law discussed Yao Haoyu’s family, with detailed criticism. “This family is really troublesome. Luo Hongmei is too overbearing, Yao Guangrong is too soft, and Yao Haoyu acts like a petty thief. None of them are good.” 

“Mother, I think Yao Haoyun is pretty good.” The eldest daughter-in-law Dong Xiufen had seen Yao Haoyun before she went to the countryside.  

“What’s the use of that? The girl has already been sent to the countryside; who knows if she’ll even be able to come back?” Li Zhengxia also felt it was a shame for the girl. “Their family is really biased, sending their daughter to the countryside. I doubt they would be as willing as the Zhang family, who spent nine hundred yuan to buy a job for their child to return to the city.” 

The second daughter-in-law, Li Yujiao, glanced at Luo Hongmei’s family and agreed wholeheartedly. “Definitely not! She’s so stingy. I bet even Uncle Yao has a hard time getting money from her—only Yao Haoyu can.” 

“Alright, you all need to quiet down,” Wei Jinrong said, hearing the constant chatter below. Hardly anyone was listening to him, especially his wife and daughter-in-law. How could they be leading the gossip? They weren’t supporting his work at all. 

Clearing his throat, Uncle Wei continued, “This time, the cabbage stealing incident ends here. Yao Haoyu’s family must compensate the victims for their losses. When the time comes, we will calculate the price of the stolen cabbages and ask Luo Hongmei and Yao Guangrong to pay them back.” 

Seeing that the meeting was ending, everyone immediately got ready to leave, but just as they were about to stand up, they heard Wei Jinrong speak again, “I’m not finished yet! Sit back down. I must emphasize once more: stealing and petty theft are unacceptable! If this happens again, I won’t be lenient. I’ll report it to the neighborhood office and the police station, and those culprits will face re-education through labor reform!'” 

“Understood, Uncle Wei!” 

“We’ll definitely remember!” 

“Our family would never steal!” 

After a whole morning of nagging, everyone was finally free. Liang Baozhen grabbed her bench and walked out with Cheng Caili. She had just asked something when Cheng Caili shushed her, saying they would talk about it inside after the meeting. 

It was so mysterious that she became even more curious. 

“Sister Caili, what’s going on?” 

Cheng Caili’s house is more than twenty square meters. There are three families living in the back house. She and Lu Yuan live in the middle. Unlike other families where the whole house is filled with young and old, it is quite spacious for the two of them. 

The house was well-furnished with tables, chairs, and a cabinet. As soon as they entered, Cheng Caili poured two cups of water, handed one to Liang Baozhen, and took a sip from her own enamel cup. “It’s about having a baby.” 

Liang Baozhen had heard that Cheng Caili and Lu Yuan had been married for a few years without children. She thought they weren’t in a hurry. 

“What does this have to do with you guys squatting in the corner in the middle of the night?” 

“My mother made me burn a talisman for conceiving a child, and she said it was very effective!” Cheng Caili felt a little guilty when talking about these old superstitions. She looked outside and closed the door tightly. “Don’t tell anyone. I told you this because I trust you.” 

“Well, don’t worry.” Liang Baozhen sipped the water and nodded. “So, does that talisman really work?” 

She didn’t really believe it, but there were people who did. 

“I don’t know. We’re just trying our best.” Cheng Caili knew Liang Baozhen didn’t understand her hardship. “You just got married and don’t understand the pressure Lu Yuan and I are under. My parents and my husband’s family are pushing us. We are always anxious.” 

With a heavy sigh, Cheng Caili showed a rare look of fatigue. “We burned the talisman twice, but it didn’t seem to work. Later, I found a bag of medicine in the yard, which said it was for curing infertility…”

Medicine bag? Infertility? Liang Baozhen suddenly had a bad feeling. “Could it be wrapped in yellow paper? Where did you pick it up?” 

“Yes, it was wrapped in yellow paper. I found it near the screen wall. It looked like someone had discarded it.” 

“Did you drink it?” Liang Baozhen had no idea whether the medicine was really a cure for infertility. But she knew the morals of her uncle’s family. “My uncle brought it. You didn’t really drink it, did you?” 

“Ah? Your uncle?” 

After listening to Liang Baozhen’s story about her uncle’s family coming to visit, Cheng Caili finally understood what was going on. “Is there something wrong with the medicine? It won’t be harmful, will it?” 

“It shouldn’t be that serious. They even want me to do something for them, to arrange a job for my cousin in the city.” Liang Baozhen pondered for a while and felt that the medicine was probably genuine, but it was not certain whether it would work. “Anyway, it’s good that you didn’t drink it.” 

“I didn’t drink it, but Uncle Wei did.” 

Liang Baozhen: “…Will there be any problems if a man drinks the medicine for treating infertility?” 

Cheng Caili shook her head and blinked a few times. “…I don’t know either.” 

“Uncle Wei is in good health, so there shouldn’t be any problems, right?” Cheng Caili felt a little guilty in front of Uncle Wei because of this matter. When she heard about the meeting today, she responded actively and even applauded louder after the meeting to show her apology! 

“Sister Caili, next time, don’t drink anything you find lying around, okay? What if something goes wrong?” 

“I know, I know. I’m just desperate. Sigh.” Cheng Caili touched her belly and felt uncomfortable. She liked children very much. Especially when she saw so many children in the courtyard, which made her long for her own even more. “Maybe there’s really something wrong. I might never have a child in my lifetime.” 

Liang Baozhen recalled the information from the book. More than ten years later, there was a child of Cheng Caili and Lu Yuan in the courtyard. How old was her daughter at that time? She couldn’t remember clearly, and she didn’t know when Cheng Caili gave birth to the child, but there must have been one. 

Cheng Caili looked dejected, like a wilting eggplant. The fact that she hadn’t gotten pregnant yet was a source of worry for her and Lu Yuan. 

Liang Baozhen tried to comfort her vaguely, “Sister Caili, just relax. Don’t think about it all the time. Maybe the child will come tomorrow. Really, you’ll definitely have a child, so don’t worry.” 

Cheng Caili knew Baozhen was just trying to comfort her and forced a bitter smile. “I know, but there’s nothing else we can do, sigh.” 

Liang Baozhen said it casually, but she never expected her words would come true. 

The next day, Aunt Li notified each household to collect their special New Year’s supply tickets. The monthly quota of grain, meat, and sugar tickets per person was not enough to eat, so everyone saved them for the New Year. There were also special supplies during every holiday so that citizens could have a good year. 

“Auntie Li, what do we have this year?” 

“It must be melon seeds, peanuts, candies, cigarettes, and alcohol,” Qian Jingjing said, knowing it would be the same old things. 

“I’m sure they have all of that. I saw they also specially provided more than twenty kinds of fish and chicken. You can go and see for yourself when it’s published in the newspaper. Hurry and buy them. There are only a few days left.” Li Zhengxia had just finished speaking when she saw Cheng Caili from the back house standing at the door, holding her chest, as if she was not feeling well. 

“Caili, what’s wrong with you?” 

As soon as Cheng Caili heard Aunt Li say the word “fish,” she thought of the taste and suddenly felt stuffy in her chest and wanted to vomit. She held onto the door frame and retched a few times. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing.” 

Aunt Li, having experience from giving birth to three children, saw Cheng Caili’s appearance and suspected that she might be pregnant. “Caili, are you pregnant?” 

“Ah?” Cheng Caili touched her belly. It couldn’t be so sudden, right? 

There were many women who had given birth in the courtyard. Seeing her retching, they all thought it was a sign and suggested she go for a check-up. Cheng Caili was nervous and decided to take a leave to go to the hospital. 

When she got the test report, she was shocked. She was really pregnant! 

The author has something to say: 

Prophet Liang Baozhen: ^O^