Chapter 33

Since Colonel Lu learned that his little wife was pregnant, he hasn’t stopped talking all the way back.

Even in the car, he constantly gazed at his wife’s belly with affectionate eyes, the kind of tender, fatherly look that made Jiang Chunzao feel a little jealous. She thought to herself, “Other men forget their mothers after they get a wife, but why does this guy, Lu Lin, seem to have forgotten his wife after getting a baby?”

With a bit of jealousy in her heart, Jiang Chunzao didn’t give Colonel Lu a good expression the whole way.

However, Colonel Lu, being perceptive, noticed that his little wife was pouting and not looking at him, nor was she smiling and chatting with him like she usually did. After thinking for a moment, he understood why.

It was unclear what Lu Lin had said to his little wife on the road, but by the time they arrived home, Jiang Chunzao’s face was once again beaming with a smile. The change made Xiao Zhao, who was driving, sigh and think to himself that the colonel really knew how to make his wife happy.

When the couple went to the military hospital earlier, they left their two children, Shitou and Moli, at Sister Zhao’s house, asking her to help look after them.

Sister Zhao usually liked the two kids very much, so she readily agreed. Now, Shitou and Moli were at her house, having eaten some fruit candies, sitting in the yard looking toward the military hospital, holding their little faces, waiting for their parents to return.

Sister Zhao was outside washing clothes when her own two mischievous boys were hopping around the yard like monkeys. Annoyed, she shouted at them. Then, looking at the well-behaved children from Jiang Chunzao’s family, she couldn’t help but feel a little envious.

By the time Sister Zhao finished washing the clothes and was hanging them up in the yard, she heard the sound of a car coming up the mountain road. She looked up just in time to see the jeep pass by her front door and stop in front of Lu Lin’s house. She thought to herself, “That must be Chunzao and her husband coming back.”

Just as she was about to call her kids over, Sister Zhao turned around and was startled to see two little figures rush past her. It was Shitou, holding little Moli’s hand, running toward their parents.

Sister Zhao couldn’t help but laugh, as she shook her head: “These two little ones can’t be away from their parents for even a second!”

After muttering to herself, Sister Zhao set aside her chores, picked up a basket with about ten eggs from the chicken coop, and headed over to the Lu family’s house.

In the small yard of the Lu house, the two children, having learned from their father that their mother was expecting another baby, were happily leaning against their mother’s embrace, both staring at Jiang Chunzao’s belly with wide eyes.

“Mom, do you really have a little baby?” Xiao Moli blinked her big eyes and asked in a sweet, childish voice.

Before Jiang Chunzao could respond, just as Sister Zhao entered the house, she overheard the question and immediately laughed, saying:

“Ah, is this for real? Chunzao, you’re really pregnant?” 

Jiang Chunzao’s face flushed with embarrassment, and she shyly nodded. Sister Zhao, delighted, called out twice more and teasingly said to Lu Lin: 

“Little Lu must be over the moon right now!” 

And who could argue? Jiang Chunzao glanced at Lu Lin, who was standing nearby, grinning like a fool. She muttered to herself, “He looks like such an idiot.”

Lu Lin continued to grin like a big fool for a moment before his face returned to the serious, unsmiling expression he usually wore. Watching Sister Zhao enthusiastically chat about pregnancy with his little wife, Lu Lin said nothing and went out into the yard to get back to work.

After chatting with Jiang Chunzao for a while, Sister Zhao left the eggs she brought and, with her basket, headed back home. As she was about to leave, she couldn’t help but notice the neatly stacked firewood and the full water tank in the yard. Seeing Lu Lin silently working in the garden, she couldn’t help but think again, This little Lu really cares for his wife. He’s so considerate.

Jiang Chunzao couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction at Zhao’s words.

Because his little wife was pregnant, Lu Lin had already sent a telegram to Jiang Chunzao’s family back home. When her mother heard the news, she was both happy and full of longing. She couldn’t sit still and went to the county town to buy soft fabric, insisting on making a few little outfits for the unborn grandchild.

Meanwhile, Jiang Chunzao also asked Sister Zhao to buy some fabric for her, and she learned from the sisters-in-law how to make clothes for the unborn child as well as for her two other children.

Although the baby in her belly wouldn’t need clothes anytime soon, Jiang Chunzao decided to make some new outfits for Shitou and Moli first. After all, the family had been in the military area for a long time, and the children still hadn’t received any new clothes.

That evening, when Lu Lin returned from the army, he saw his little wife sewing by the candlelight. The flickering candlelight cast a soft glow on her face, and seeing her like that made his heart melt.

After washing up, Lu Lin climbed into bed and gently pulled his little wife into his arms, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. 

“It’s getting late. We should sleep now,” he said softly.

Jiang Chunzao stretched her sore shoulders and put down her sewing work. 

“The weather’s getting colder. I need to hurry and finish these clothes. The kids are still waiting for their new clothes,” she replied.

Even though she said that, Jiang Chunzao was exhausted, and before long, she had fallen asleep. In the flickering candlelight, Lu Lin gazed at his wife’s serene sleeping face for a long while before finally blowing out the candle and settling down to sleep.

The next day, Jiang Chunzao woke up from the kang bed, yawning as she walked out of the room. She saw the warm food on the table in the living room, and her two children sitting on the bench, obediently eating boiled eggs.

She walked around the house, but didn’t see Lu Lin anywhere. Feeling curious, she sat down at the dining table and asked the children, “Where’s your dad?”

“He’s on the roof,” Shitou answered obediently while eating his boiled egg.

What?

On the roof? Why would Lu Lin be on the roof this early in the morning?

Confused, Jiang Chunzao lost her appetite and rushed outside to look up at the roof. As soon as she saw him, she couldn’t help but laugh loudly.

There was Colonel Lu, clumsily sewing clothes on the roof.

Time passed day by day, and as autumn faded into winter, the cold, desolate wind howled, battering the doors and windows. One morning, Jiang Chunzao, her belly growing, got up from the kang and heard her two children jumping around in the yard.

“It’s snowing! It’s snowing! Mom, it’s snowing!”

With the arrival of the first snow of the winter, life in the military district for Jiang Chunzao’s family grew warmer and more fulfilling. Earlier in the fall, Shitou, now seven, started attending the military district elementary school. Xiao Moli, nearly four, was also growing up. Jiang Chunzao, while managing household chores, began to help her two children with their studies.

Although Lu Lin was busy with his duties in the army, he always made time to come home and spend time with his wife and children, no matter how late it was. The other military wives often saw him washing clothes and cooking at home, and they couldn’t help but express their envy, complaining to their own husbands when they got home.

This made the officers in the military district weary of hearing about Lu Lin. His name spread throughout the area, with rumors about how much he doted on his wife. Even the news reached Fang Man’s ears, and it made her furious.

At first, when Fang Man heard that Jiang Chunzao was pregnant, she had been waiting for some drama. After all, she knew that Lu Lin’s son, Shitou, wasn’t his biological child but was adopted. She figured that since Jiang Chunzao had already had a daughter, she had to treat Shitou well. But now that Jiang Chunzao was pregnant again, Fang Man couldn’t help but wonder how Jiang Chunzao would treat Shitou, the adopted child.

Fang Man always firmly believed that Jiang Chunzao was nothing but trouble. She was certain that one day Jiang Chunzao’s true colors would be exposed. If Brother Lu ever saw her ugly side, he might even divorce her. 

And when that happened, wouldn’t it be Fang Man’s chance to step in and rise to the top? 

Just thinking about it filled Fang Man with delight. She waited eagerly at home, hoping and praying for the moment to come. But instead of good news, she received a completely different update.

It was so infuriating that she almost lost her mind, cursing the heavens for their blindness and injustice. 

—

Jiang Chunzao, however, couldn’t care less whether the heavens were fair or not. Even though she was pregnant, she never treated the two little ones at home differently. In her heart, Shitou, Moli, and the baby in her belly were all her children, all her treasures, and she loved them equally. To her, the idea of “biological” or “not biological” didn’t mean a thing. 

The gossip outside? All nonsense! 

During dinner, Jiang Chunzao overheard the two little ones discussing whether they wanted a little brother or a little sister. Shitou said he wanted a little brother, but Moli, in her soft and sweet voice, argued that she wanted a little sister. She explained that a little sister could bathe with her, sleep with her, and they could even braid their hair together. 

Shitou thought for a moment and said that a little brother could also bathe and sleep with them. And when the little brother grew up, they could braid his hair too. 

Hearing their innocent conversation, Jiang Chunzao covered her mouth and laughed for a long time. Later that evening, when Colonel Lu came home, she recounted the children’s words to him. Colonel Lu smiled but didn’t say anything. 

Seeing his reaction, Jiang Chunzao grinned mischievously, like a big bad wolf, and asked him whether he preferred a little brother or a little sister. Colonel Lu looked at his sly little wife, his smile gentle as he replied: “As long as it’s our child, I’ll love them.” 

Jiang Chunzao wasn’t satisfied with Colonel Lu’s diplomatic answer. Her “tigress” persona immediately emerged, and she kicked him off the bed to sleep on the floor. 

The next day, still fuming, Jiang Chunzao vented to Sister-in-law Zhao and Sister-in-law Fang, who had come over for a visit. She complained that the men in their house weren’t honest, pretending to be indifferent while secretly hoping for a son. 

Sister-in-law Zhao and Sister-in-law Fang were equally indignant after hearing Jiang Chunzao’s complaints. Especially Sister-in-law Fang, who was also heavily pregnant. She recounted how, just the previous night, the baby in her belly had moved twice. Upon noticing this, Mother Fang confidently declared that, judging by the movement, the child was definitely a grandson. Colonel Fang, overhearing this, had been absolutely overjoyed. 

Sister-in-law Zhao chimed in, “Men are all the same—two-faced! What they say and what they think are completely different. When it comes down to it, women endure all the pain of childbirth just to continue the family line for these ungrateful men!” 

She added angrily, “Otherwise, who would willingly suffer so much to be pregnant and give birth?” 

Jiang Chunzao and Sister-in-law Fang nodded vigorously in agreement. As the three women continued their spirited conversation, the sound of a jeep approaching reached their ears. Colonel Lu had just returned from the army base. The moment he opened the door, he was greeted by his wife’s angry voice: 

“Exactly! All the men in the world are nothing but dogs!” 

Dog-man Lu Lin: … 

Now, in fairness, Jiang Chunzao was unjustly accusing Colonel Lu in this matter.

When it came to whether the baby was a boy or a girl, Colonel Lu truly didn’t care. The reason he was so excited wasn’t about the baby’s gender but rather because, when Moli was born, he had been stationed at the base. He hadn’t been by his wife’s side or witnessed his daughter’s birth. 

He had carried guilt about this ever since, feeling he had let both his wife and daughter down. Now that his wife was pregnant again, he was determined to make up for that missed experience and was overjoyed at the chance to be there for his family this time. 

However, Colon Lu’s thoughts remained unknown to Jiang Chunzao. 

That night, Jiang Chunzao had a dream. In the dream, a little Lu Lin with tiny pigtails toddled over to her, calling her “Mama” in a soft, childish voice. The scene startled her so much that she woke up with a jolt.