Chapter 26: Six Months Pregnant, a Belly Like a Washtub

“So that’s why you’ve been so down,” said Huang Yuelan, explaining earnestly to Wang Jianguo. “Let me tell you what happened. Today, Yueqiang and Yuehu secretly took your hunting rifle to the mountain. I figured they were hunting birds or something. But their aim was terrible, they didn’t hit any birds, and accidentally shot Sun Gousheng. This Sun Gousheng wouldn’t let it go, insisting on reporting my two younger brothers to the commune. So I had to deal with him, ending up paying his medical expenses and lost wages, and even taking him to the clinic.” She added to herself, “Even though our village doesn’t have 5G or cell phones, our news travels at 8G speed!”

Wang Jianguo understood immediately. Sure enough, the busybodies in the village were spreading rumors again. What was there to hide? His wife was simply protecting her brothers, and she handled it well.

“Did Sun Gousheng give you any more trouble?” Wang Jianguo asked worriedly.

Huang Yuelan replied, “No. The village chief warned him, and he’s keeping a low profile now. He wouldn’t dare cause any more trouble.”

“Hmm, it’s getting dark. Where are Yueqiang and Yuehu?” Wang Jianguo felt relieved that his wife wasn’t harassed by Sun Gousheng, but noticing the absence of his two brothers-in-law, he grew concerned. They usually returned home by now to help with dinner.

Huang Yuelan pondered for a moment. “They’re definitely hiding because of what happened today!”

“Honey, I’ll go find them, then I’ll cook dinner. There are many vicious dogs and water pits in our village. It’s dark, and it’s easy to fall in and get hurt.” Every year, some disobedient children wandered off and drowned in the water pits; one couldn’t be careless.

Huang Yuelan nodded, “Okay.”

Wang Jianguo went into the village to search, asking everyone he met, “Sister, have you seen Yueqiang and Yuehu?”

“No.”

“Auntie, have you seen my wife’s two younger brothers?”

Villagers shook their heads, “Haven’t seen them.”

“I saw them. They were playing hide-and-seek near the threshing ground this afternoon,” an old man told Wang Jianguo.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Wang Jianguo, having received crucial information, headed towards the threshing ground.

The threshing ground had many haystacks; hiding inside would be warm and hard to detect. No wonder they hid there; they were quite clever.

Arriving at the threshing ground, he found no one.

“Yueqiang! Yuehu! Yueqiang! Yuehu…” He called several times without a response.

“Yueqiang, Yuehu, you don’t need to hide. Your sister won’t hit you. Come home quickly.” Still no answer.

Just as Wang Jianguo was about to leave, he heard snoring—not the loud snoring of an adult, but slightly louder than a child’s breathing.

Following the sound, Wang Jianguo moved a haystack and found Huang Yuehu asleep inside.

Then, he found Huang Yueqiang under another haystack.

Seeing their brother-in-law, the two boys exclaimed, “Brother-in-law, we were wrong! We’ll never steal your hunting rifle again. Please don’t beat us!”

Wang Jianguo wasn’t angry; instead, he felt relieved. They hadn’t shot just anyone; it was Sun Gousheng.

This Sun Gousheng was always trying to steal his wife.

If it weren’t for the village chief, he would have beaten him up long ago.

Now that his brothers-in-law had shot him, he felt happy. His training hadn’t been in vain.

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it. Consider this a lesson. Next time, be more careful. Don’t shoot anyone again.” Wang Jianguo took the rifle and took the two boys home.

Huang Yueqiang asked, “Brother-in-law, you’re not mad at us, but will Sister be angry?”

“Don’t worry, I’m here.” Reassured by their brother-in-law, Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu felt relieved and followed him home.

The next day, Sun Gousheng came knocking.

“Is anyone home?” Sun Gousheng shouted at the gate.

Huang Yuelan recognized the voice and came out, “Yes.”

“Here! This is the letter of apology. Look! I’m exhausted; I copied it for half a day.” Sun Gousheng handed Huang Yuelan a written apology.

Huang Yuelan looked at it. The handwriting was truly at a primary school level, crooked and messy, but all the words were there.

Sun Gousheng surveyed Huang Yuelan’s house, a slight smirk on his lips. “Your house is so dilapidated. Is it big enough for you?”

Sun Gousheng’s house was quite large, with over ten rooms including the main hall and side rooms. His sisters hadn’t gone to school, earning many work points and money for the family. Their dowries also brought in a good sum, making their family relatively well-off in the village.

Hearing Sun Gousheng’s words, Huang Yuelan knew he was up to no good.

“Why wouldn’t it be enough? This house is spacious enough.” Huang Yuelan didn’t want to engage with him; the more you respond to such people, the more they’ll bother you.

Sun Gousheng said, “True, you’re only a family of four. You won’t have any children, so it’s indeed spacious.”

“You’re so wrong. You thought I couldn’t have children and spread rumors about my infertility. But I’m already three months pregnant. You, on the other hand, still don’t have a wife. You should worry about yourself first.” Huang Yuelan told Sun Gousheng.

Sun Gousheng frowned, glancing at Huang Yuelan’s belly. It was indeed slightly protruding, noticeably larger than before.

He was shocked: Could she really be pregnant?

It was hard to fake pregnancy; it would be even more embarrassing if she couldn’t deliver a baby later.

“I don’t understand why you wouldn’t come back to me. Why live in this broken house with Wang Jianguo? You’ll suffer later.” Sun Gousheng said.

“You’re so worried about me. You’re so wrong. I’m very happy now. I don’t get beaten, and I receive flowers every day. My life is so much better than before. As for you, once I give birth, the infertility rumors will be debunked. But villagers will wonder who really can’t have children. So find a wife quickly! Don’t let everyone think no one wants to marry you.” Huang Yuelan said, then went back inside.

It wasn’t worth arguing with such a person; it would only make her angry.

Seeing that he always lost arguments with Huang Yuelan, Sun Gousheng was furious.

Was he incapable of finding a wife? He was handsome, had a big house, and any woman would be lucky to marry him. He hadn’t married because he was waiting for her.

But she was ungrateful and chose that “wild man.”

Knowing it was impossible to win Huang Yuelan back, Sun Gousheng felt regretful.

He especially hated the old woman who told him Huang Yuelan was probably infertile.

If it weren’t for her instigation, would he have let such a good woman go?

Huang Yuelan’s words were very reasonable. Now that she was pregnant, villagers might suspect him of infertility.

Since Huang Yuelan refused to reconcile, he couldn’t waste time; he needed to make plans.

Because Sun Gousheng’s family was relatively wealthy, and he was handsome and good with words, he quickly got engaged to a girl from the neighboring village.

“This girl is pretty!” Many people came to Sun Gousheng’s house to see the new bride-to-be; the house was packed.

“I think the previous one was prettier.” Compared to Huang Yuelan, any other girl paled in comparison.

Sun’s mother disagreed, “Huang Yuelan is no match for my new daughter-in-law. That girl had such a bad reputation. I opposed it from the start. Any girl in the village is better than her. This one is eight times better!”

She liked the new daughter-in-law’s appearance and personality. If she gave birth to several grandsons after marriage, she would love her even more.

“They used to say Huang Yuelan couldn’t have children, but she’s several months pregnant now, with a huge belly.”

“So who really can’t have children?”

“I heard Sun Gousheng listened to gossip and never slept with Huang Yuelan.”

“So those rumors were false. Some people really love to stir up trouble and broke up a good couple.”

“It’s not entirely others’ fault. If Huang Yuelan had behaved properly, would such rumors have arisen? She brought it upon herself!”

…

The engagement ceremony became a huge gossip session.

Fortunately, Sun’s mother managed to save face for her son.

Sun Gousheng found a new wife, but because it was his second marriage, the bride price was high—70 yuan.

70 yuan might not be much elsewhere, but in their poor, remote village, it was a significant expense.

To have a grandson soon, Sun’s mother, despite being frugal, readily paid the 70 yuan without a word.

---

Time flew by, and Huang Yuelan’s belly grew bigger.

At six and a half months, her belly was as large as if she were about to give birth.

Villagers were amazed by her large belly.

“Look at Hunter Wang’s wife. She’s only six months pregnant, but her belly is as big as if she’s eight or nine months pregnant and about to give birth.”

“Exactly! Could she be having twins?”

“Who knows? She doesn’t do any work. I heard she doesn’t even cook. Eating and sleeping all day—of course, her baby will grow big!”

Huang Yuelan couldn’t see herself, but she felt much fatter and found walking difficult.

She used to go to the mountain to dig bamboo shoots and pick mushrooms, but now she rarely went out to work.

To keep his wife happy, Wang Jianguo always brought her surprises: sometimes wildflowers, sometimes bird eggs, sometimes treats from the commune.