So she quickly got dressed and got out of bed. As soon as she got out of bed, her legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground.

After Ning Shu’s legs adjusted, she pushed the door open and found it quiet outside. “Yi Bao… Er Bao…” She called out a few times, but no one was around.

She guessed they had gone to work with Lin Guodong.

Ning Shu went to the kitchen again. The porridge in the pot was only warm, and the boiled eggs on the rack were not hot anymore.

She looked at the thermos and saw that the water inside was boiling hot, probably boiled in the morning.

So she poured the water from the thermos into the pot, along with the porridge, and the porridge became hot all at once. Although it was a bit watery, she could still drink it.

After eating breakfast, Ning Shu moved the grass mat and low table from the study area outside, and also brought out a blanket.

She decided to sunbathe outside and then take a nap.

She didn’t know how long she had been napping when she was woken up by Er Bao.

“Mom… Mom…”

Ning Shu opened her eyes and saw Er Bao squatting in front of her, pulling the blanket on her body and calling her. “What’s wrong?”

“Mom, Dad dug up bamboo shoots and asked me to bring them first. Why are you sleeping outside?” Er Bao took off his shoes, then his socks, and then barefoot crawled into the blanket. “Mom, I want to sleep here too.”

Ning Shu rubbed his little head, then used her thumb to rub his face, wiping off the dirt. “Then you sleep for a while. Are you tired from exercising these days?”

“Not tired. Dad will tell us stories. Dad said he could carry you and run around the village ten times.” Er Bao said with a smile, his black and bright eyes looking at his mother, full of admiration.

Ning Shu was speechless. “What else did he say about me?” Why did he use that metaphor?

Er Bao covered his mouth and chuckled, “Dad said Mom is still a young girl, sometimes naive, so we have to protect Mom and take care of her. Dad also said we are young men and should not argue with young girls… I asked Dad what ‘argue’ means, and Dad said it means we shouldn’t get angry with young girls like Mom.”

Ning Shu: “… ” She felt somewhat touched. She knew what Lin Guodong meant.

It was about her being controlled by the plot before, ignoring the three children.

He asked the children not to argue with her.

“Mom, why are you a young girl? Are you also a child?” Er Bao came up with his own question.

Ning Shu smiled, “Yes, I am also a young girl. Er Bao is a young man now, so you have to protect me.”

“Of course.” Er Bao patted his chest to assure her.

Ning Shu smiled and kissed his cheek, “But, in Mom’s heart, it’s most important for Er Bao to protect himself. If Er Bao doesn’t take care of himself, Mom will be unhappy. If Mom sees Er Bao fall down and bleed, Mom will cry. So, Er Bao, no matter when, you must take care of yourself, and after you go out every day, come back safely and soundly, okay?”

Although Er Bao didn’t quite understand, he knew he didn’t want to make Mom unhappy.

So he decided, from now on, not to let himself fall or bleed. He nodded, and then snuggled into his mother’s arms.

Ning Shu gently patted his back, smelling the scent of soap in his hair.

The three children had been waking up early these days, so when Er Bao touched the warm blanket, he felt sleepy.

Ning Shu got up after he fell asleep.

By the riverbank, Lin Guodong had asked Er Bao to go back and see if his mother had woken up.

It had been so long, but Er Bao hadn’t returned yet.

So he walked over to Yi Bao, who was playing with San Bao. “Yi Bao, go home and see if your mother has woken up. If she has, come back and tell Dad.”

Yi Bao didn’t understand, but obediently nodded.

Lin Guodong hadn’t paid much attention to Ning Shu before. He had felt wronged by himself those two times, and he hadn’t had the mood to pay attention to Ning Shu afterwards.

But last night, they had stayed up late, and even after they had come back from exercising today, she hadn’t responded.

So he was somewhat worried.

Yi Bao ran home and saw his mother peeling bamboo shoots under the eaves, while Er Bao was sleeping on the grass mat.

Yi Bao’s mood: “… ”

Dad asked Er Bao to see if Mom had woken up, but Er Bao fell asleep.

“Mom…”

Ning Shu: “Yi Bao, why are you back too?”

Yi Bao squatted down beside his mother, picking up a bamboo shoot and starting to peel it.

“I came to see Mom. Mom didn’t get up in the morning. Dad said Mom stayed up late sewing clothes yesterday, so he let Mom sleep a little longer. Then Dad asked Er Bao to see if Mom had woken up. Er Bao didn’t come back, so Dad asked me to come too.”

Ning Shu: “… ”

Lin Guodong’s excuse was quite clever.

“Mom, we have clothes to wear. You don’t have to work so hard to make clothes for us.” Yi Bao raised his head earnestly.

Ning Shu held the bamboo shoot, feeling a bit dirty, and it wasn’t appropriate to pat her son’s head, but looking at his tender and concerned face, she smiled and said, “Your dad lied to you. Mom didn’t oversleep because she was up late sewing clothes for you. Mom just felt lazy and wanted to sleep in. But Mom is an adult. If you knew Mom was lazy and sleeping in, you would feel embarrassed. So, your dad lied to you to save Mom’s face.”

She’d rather be embarrassed than let her son worry about her. “But don’t tell your dad about this, okay? Let’s keep it our secret, alright?”

Yi Bao’s eyes lit up. As a child, he liked having secrets with his mom.

He nodded immediately, “Mom, I won’t tell, I won’t tell Dad or Er Bao San Bao.”

“Mom, it’s okay for you to be lazy.”

Lin Guodong hadn’t expected that after Er Bao didn’t return, his eldest son didn’t return either.

The eldest son was stable and sensible, so he shouldn’t have stayed away.

He was worried that something might have happened at home, so he picked up San Bao, said goodbye to the brigade leader, and went home.

When he got home, he saw Er Bao sleeping soundly on the grass mat, the sunlight pouring down on him like a blanket.

He looked comfortable.

Seeing this scene, Lin Guodong knew without guessing that his eldest son must be fine.

So he put San Bao on the grass mat and went into the kitchen. Sure enough, he saw his son sitting behind the stove, warming his hands, while Ning Shu was cooking lunch.

“Why are you back so early?” Ning Shu was somewhat surprised to see Lin Guodong back.

Yi Bao shrank his neck and said weakly, “I forgot to go back and tell Dad.”

Lin Guodong wasn’t angry. “Since neither of them came back, I came back to check.” Saying that, he came to Ning Shu. “Do you need any help?”

Ning Shu: “No need, you go and make a fire.”

Lin Guodong grunted in acknowledgment but didn’t move.

He watched as Ning Shu cut the bamboo shoots, heated the pan, and then roasted the shoots in oil.

Ning Shu stir-fried for a few moments, then added soy sauce and sugar, followed by water, letting the bamboo shoots cook in the mixture.

She was making “oil-braised bamboo shoots,” which required a long cooking time until the liquid was absorbed.

Turning around and seeing Lin Guodong still standing there, she asked, “Aren’t you going to work?”

Lin Guodong replied, “The wooden fence is almost finished. It should be done by this morning, so I’m not going.”

Ning Shu nodded. “Then ride to the town health center and get some more family planning supplies.”

“What?” Lin Guodong didn’t react immediately.

Ning Shu explained, “I don’t want to get pregnant again. We need to take measures. If you’re not interested in that anymore, it’s okay with me.”

He would be home for two months, and she didn’t believe he wouldn’t have that idea again in the future.

Lin Guodong was puzzled. “Why don’t you want to get pregnant again?”

Ning Shu was frank. “Three Children are enough, and pregnancy is quite hard. I don’t want to have more children.”

Even if it wasn’t her fault, she owed the three children for many years, so she really didn’t want to have more children.

She just wanted to give her motherly love to the three children. She would love another child if they had one, but she didn’t want to have more at this time.

Lin Guodong nodded. “Then we won’t. Three children are enough.”

He had no thoughts on how many children they should have.

Even if it was just one child, he would be fine with it.

After all, it was her who would spend the rest of her life with him.

No matter how many children they had, they would eventually leave home.

His question earlier was just out of confusion. “I’ll go to the town…”

Lin Guodong went to the town health center.

The middle-aged doctor there found it quite unusual for a man to come for family planning supplies.

After all, hardly anyone came to get them each year, let alone men.

“Why did you come for family planning supplies?” the middle-aged doctor curiously asked.

” Ihave three sons already, and my wife must have a hard time with each pregnancy. I don’t want any more children,” Lin Guodong replied.

He didn’t say it was his wife who didn’t want more children because he knew how strict society could be towards women.

If he had said it was his wife’s decision, people would likely judge her.

The middle-aged doctor was impressed by Lin Guodong’s concern for his wife. He kindly reminded him, “Family planning supplies cannot guarantee 100% that your wife won’t get pregnant. Sometimes accidents happen, and the supplies might break. So, be careful. If it breaks, remember to come and get more.”

Lin Guodong thought to himself, “If it’s not 100% safe, then it’s not safe at all.”

He didn’t want his wife to get pregnant again.

But if she did, and she was left alone to deal with the pregnancy and childbirth, what would they do? He asked the doctor, “How can we ensure that my wife won’t get pregnant?”

The doctor explained, “There are two methods. One is for men to undergo a vasectomy, and the other is for women to have an IUD inserted.”

Lin Guodong understood the vasectomy but was puzzled by the IUD.

He had no intention of suggesting this procedure to his wife; he was just curious about it because it was related to women. He asked, “What is the procedure for inserting an IUD?”

The doctor replied, “It involves placing a ring inside a woman’s body to interfere with the fertilization of eggs.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Guodong frowned. He thanked the doctor but decided he would undergo a vasectomy himself.

However, he didn’t plan to have it done at the town health center or even at the county hospital.

He decided he would go to a military hospital after returning to the army.

In terms of medical skills, a military hospital was undoubtedly the best option.

When Lin Guodong returned home, Ning Shu had already prepared lunch, and their youngest son was awake, playing in the yard.

Seeing his father return, Erbao shouted, “Mom, it’s time to eat! Dad’s back…”

Lin Guodong parked his bicycle in the kitchen and took out a pack of family planning supplies from his pocket.

He showed it to Ning Shu and asked, “Is this the one?”

Ning Shu took a look. She was curious about the contraceptive condoms of this era, which were different from the individually packaged ones in the future.

These were not only wrapped in paper but also came in pairs. The paper strip read: “Pack of two condoms.”

“Is this the one?” Lin Guodong asked again when he saw Ning Shu looking at it.

“Yeah,” Ning Shu nodded.

Lin Guodong continued, “But the doctor said this can’t guarantee 100% contraception. It can break during use, and you might accidentally get pregnant. If you want to be more secure, it’s better for the man to undergo a vasectomy.”

He didn’t mention that women could also undergo a tubal ligation.

He had no intention of letting Ning Shu undergo the procedure, so there was no need to bring it up.

Upon hearing this, Ning Shu thought that if they wanted to avoid having more children, it would be safest for the man to undergo a vasectomy, which had no harm to the body. However, she was unsure whether the medical skills of this era regarding vasectomies were safe.

She didn’t want Lin Guodong to take any risks. She exclaimed, “Are you planning to undergo a vasectomy?!”