Chapter 70

When Wang Mingfang heard the news that her daughter-in-law was pregnant, a big smile immediately bloomed on her face. Then, she eagerly said to Lu Lidong:

“Quickly show me the report.”

“Oh, oh, here it is.” Lu Lidong responded, fumbling to unbutton his pocket, took out a piece of paper, and then handed it to Wang Mingfang with a smile.

Wang Mingfang couldn’t wait to open it. Sure enough, she saw a “+” sign under the pregnancy section on the report.

Now she was finally relieved. Her granddaughter Yingying was growing up and would soon be going to kindergarten. She basically wouldn’t need to take care of her anymore. So, she had been hoping that Yao Hongmei would have another child soon. That way, she would have a grandson and could stay at the Lu family under the guise of taking care of him.

Wang Mingfang was beaming with delight. She affectionately took Yao Hongmei’s hand:

“Oh, you’re finally pregnant! I’ve been hoping for this day for two years. If you can give birth to a boy this time, you’ll be a true hero of our old Lu family.”

Wang Mingfang hadn’t been so affectionate to her for a long time. Yao Hongmei was both happy and worried when she heard her words, afraid that this child would be a girl again.

Since her father passed away, her family hadn’t been able to help Lu Lidong at all. Sometimes, they even needed financial assistance from Lu Lidong. Although Wang Mingfang hadn’t said anything on the surface, Yao Hongmei wasn’t stupid. She could sense the change in their attitude.

She also understood why her mother-in-law was so eager for her to have a son. After all, the Lu family had two sons, Lu Lidong and Lu Jingzhe. Lu Jingzhe wasn’t born to Wang Mingfang, so the position of the eldest grandson was naturally very important.

In this family, except for Xia Qingning, who was always unwelcome, Yao Hongmei had the least say. If she could have a son this time, not only would her mother-in-law be happy, but her status in the family would also be elevated.

“This child will definitely be a boy.” Lu Lidong was full of anticipation. “It can’t be girls every time, right?”

“Yes, yes.” Wang Mingfang laughed. “I’m so happy today. I’ll go stew the chicken.” Then, she turned to He Shanshan, who was walking out, and said:

“Shanshan, come and help. You can’t slack off anymore. Your sister-in-law is pregnant now, and she needs to be taken care of.”

Hearing this, He Shanshan pouted in dissatisfaction and mumbled in a voice only she could hear:

“What’s so precious about that? People who are seven or eight months pregnant still work.”

She was short-sighted and couldn’t see any benefits from Yao Hongmei’s pregnancy. She only felt that with Yao Hongmei pregnant, more chores would fall on her shoulders, so she was naturally unhappy.

“What are you mumbling about? Go to the kitchen and boil some water. I’ll go kill the chicken right away…” Wang Mingfang was talking when she saw Lu Jingzhe and Xia Qingning come out of the room. Her smile didn’t diminish:

“It’s a good thing Jingzhe is back today. Otherwise, everyone would have to wait for the chicken.”

This was clearly a way of showing favor to Lu Jingzhe. Lu Jingzhe didn’t look at her much. He went straight to Lu Lidong. He was always calm and composed, and his emotions didn’t change much. He just said words of congratulations.

Xia Qingning looked at Yao Hongmei and said:

“Congratulations, sister-in-law. Take care of yourself.”

Actually, the original Xia Qingning and Yao Hongmei didn’t have any conflicts. Yao Hongmei wasn’t like Wang Mingfang and He Shanshan, who were calculating and stupid and bad, respectively. Yao Hongmei was quite easygoing. She had lived under the same roof with Xia Qingning for several years, and although they weren’t close, they hadn’t had any friction.

“Thank you.” Yao Hongmei responded with a smile, then added:

“You and Jingzhe should try to have one too. Both of you are about the same age, and they can be companions.”

This was said in a way that made it clear that they were both innocent, and there was no way they could have a child. Lu Jingzhe’s expression changed slightly, while Xia Qingning pretended to be shy and replied:

“Okay.”

The person with the most inner turmoil was He Shanshan. If both of them were pregnant, all the work would be left to her. Wouldn’t she be exhausted?

She couldn’t help but think maliciously, Xia Qingning better not get pregnant. It would be even better if she couldn’t give birth for the rest of her life!

Just then, the old man at the phone booth outside the courtyard suddenly shouted at the door:

“Qingning, Qingning…”

Xia Qingning went out of the door in confusion. She saw the old man standing at the entrance of her courtyard, looking at her kindly and saying:

“Girl, come out and answer the phone. Your mother called.”

Xia Qingning knew that their village didn’t have a phone. To make a call, they had to go to the town, which was more than ten kilometers away. She had just come back from her parents’ house. Why was her mother calling again? Did something urgent happen at home?

Thinking this, Xia Qingning quickly followed the old man to the phone booth.

She dialed the number Guo Yumei had left, as the old man had said.

The phone rang once, and the other side picked up. It was indeed Guo Yumei. It seemed that she had been waiting by the phone.

“Xiaon柠, did you get home safely?” Guo Yumei asked.

“We arrived a while ago. Mom, did something happen at home?” Xia Qingning asked anxiously.

“No, no.” Guo Yumei quickly replied, then asked:

“Is Jingzhe with you? Mom wants to thank him.”

Xia Qingning was a little confused. She was about to ask what was going on when she heard Guo Yumei say:

“The village head came to see your brother at noon and told him he didn’t have to go to work anymore. He just needs to record everyone’s work points. I immediately knew that Jingzhe was behind this. Didn’t he go to the village head’s house this morning? He must have gone to talk about this.”

Xia Qingning was also surprised to hear this. She didn’t expect Lu Jingzhe to do such a great thing without saying anything.

“Okay, Mom. He’s not here now. I’ll thank him when I get back.” Xia Qingning said into the phone.

“Okay, okay, don’t forget.” Guo Yumei reminded her, then paused for a moment and said:

“I kept half of the money you gave me. The other half is in the inner pocket of your green bag. Don’t forget to take it out and keep it safe.”

Guo Yumei knew that her daughter would scold her after hearing this, so she didn’t give her a chance to speak and directly said:

“That’s all for now. Mom has to go back. I’ll hang up now.”

Before Xia Qingning could react, Guo Yumei had already hung up.

Xia Qingning paid for the call and went back home. She opened Lu Jingzhe’s army green bag and found a roll of cash in the inner pocket. It was probably tied with twine to prevent it from getting lost.

Xia Qingning knew that Guo Yumei must have thought that she would spend more money in the city, so she secretly put the money back.

She felt a little helpless. She put the money away and decided to transfer it back to her mother in a few days.

She now had a salary and her expenses weren’t high. Her poor family needed this money more.

Also, about Lu Jingzhe finding a job for her brother, she really had to thank him.