Chapter 30: The Ex-Husband is Jealous Mad

“Jianguo is so lucky! He got three children at once. How many girls and boys?” Grandmother Sun, having just arrived and missed the earlier conversation, touched the babies’ faces and asked.

Wang Jianguo: “Three boys.”

His joy was tinged with a hint of disappointment. Like Huang Yuelan, he was naturally delighted to have triplets, but a perfect family would include both sons and daughters. Human desires are always insatiable.

“Wow! Three sons! Jianguo, you’ve suddenly gained three extra laborers! Your life is definitely going to get better and better!”

“He’s truly a hero of our production team, even having children is so extraordinary!”

“That’s right, the little ones, though premature, are quite chubby. Look at those round little hands.”

“Everyone, stop looking. Let’s quickly help Jianguo take his wife and children home. It’s windy outside, don’t let them catch a cold.”

…

Everyone praised Wang Jianguo for having such adorable triplets, not mentioning Huang Yuelan at all. It showed that Wang Jianguo’s image in the village had greatly improved, especially among the women. However, everyone still felt that Huang Yuelan was simply lucky to have married Wang Jianguo.

Wang Jianguo bid farewell to everyone and pushed his wife and children home. Their house was halfway up a mountain, with a steep incline of several tens of degrees, but it wasn’t a problem; Wang Jianguo might not have much else, but he had plenty of strength.

At the crossroads, Wang Jianguo didn’t stop. “Wife, hold on tight!”

He then pushed his wife up the hill in one go. Opening the door, he prepared to push his wife and children into the courtyard. As soon as they entered, the babies began to cry loudly.

The three children were remarkably well-behaved; they hadn’t made a sound on the four or five-hour, bumpy journey home, sleeping the entire time. Midway, Huang Yuelan had worried they were hungry and stopped to try feeding them, but they wouldn’t wake up no matter how much she called or shook them.

Now, they had just arrived home, before even opening the main hall door, all three started crying at the top of their lungs.

Wang Jianguo quickly opened the side room door, hastily made the bed, and placed the babies on it. Huang Yuelan held the eldest, Wang Jianguo the second, both feeding. The third had to cry for a while.

Newborns only wake up when hungry, need a diaper change, or their diapers are wet; otherwise, they sleep, sometimes up to twenty hours a day. After eating, the three babies went back to sleep, making them very easy to care for.

“Thank goodness these three little guys aren’t fussy; they only cry when hungry. Otherwise, we’d be exhausted,” Huang Yuelan knew that not all babies were like her three sons—eat, sleep, repeat.

Some babies cry incessantly, even when not hungry, needing a diaper change, or wet, impossible to soothe, only falling asleep when constantly cared for, wearing down anyone’s patience.

One child crying incessantly would be manageable, being her own, Wang Jianguo would be patient. But three crying simultaneously? Wang Jianguo didn’t have three heads and six arms; he couldn’t possibly soothe them all.

“Wife, what do you want to eat? I’ll go to the kitchen and make it for you.” Wang Jianguo changed the babies’ diapers, covered them with small quilts, and prepared to make his wife something to eat.

Huang Yuelan: “I want spicy chicken. Can you make it for me?”

Two wild chickens hung in the kitchen, pre-marinated. During her pregnancy, Huang Yuelan’s appetite had been poor, and she hadn’t liked meat much, but now she craved everything.

Wang Jianguo smiled: “Wife, let’s skip the spicy chicken for now. It might affect the babies. I’ll make you some chicken soup and your favorite potato shreds, how about that?”

Huang Yuelan hadn’t considered this; thankfully, Wang Jianguo reminded her, otherwise, her sons would have been exposed to spice on their second day of life; she would have truly been a terrible mother.

“Okay!” Huang Yuelan wasn’t picky, especially since it was chicken soup and potato shreds—substantial dishes, usually only eaten by ordinary families during the New Year.

In their production team, women during their confinement period rarely ate chicken or chicken soup; those who could eat millet porridge and red sugar eggs could be counted on two hands.

Huang Yuelan’s confinement period was exceptional.

Wang Jianguo took out the two wild chickens he had brought to the hospital, went to the kitchen, chopped them up, and prepared the onions, ginger, and garlic.

Wild chicken meat is a bit tough, but it tastes good if properly prepared, and it’s more nutritious, supplementing many micronutrients needed for postpartum recovery.

Another wild chicken hung on the kitchen wall, reserved for Yueqiang and Yuehu, but they hadn’t had a chance to eat it yet.

To ensure his wife’s comfort and a good confinement period, besides working diligently, Wang Jianguo had prepared plenty of game.

Huang Yuelan had warned him against frequently buying meat from the supply and marketing cooperative; it would raise suspicions about their wealth, causing trouble.

Huang Yuelan was waiting for the reform and opening up to become a wealthy woman; she couldn’t die now, or she wouldn’t be able to justify this time travel.

Buying from the commune was out of the question, but hunting in the mountains was fine.

Their house was halfway up the mountain, far from the village, with few visitors, minimizing trouble.

Wang Jianguo poured the chopped chicken into the hot oil, “ziz la ziz la”, stir-frying it, the aroma immediately filling the air.

Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu returned from school, seeing the open gate, knowing their sister and brother-in-law were back. Seeing baby clothes drying on the bamboo clothes rack in the courtyard, they guessed their sister had given birth and happily ran to the side room to see the newborns.

“Sister, you gave birth!”

Huang Yuelan pointed to the three sleeping children: “Here are your three nephews.”

Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu quickly took off their shoes and climbed onto the bed to look at their three nephews.

“Sister, you’re amazing! You’re the first in our village to have triplets,” Huang Yueqiang said incredulously.

“That’s our sister! She’s famous now.” Their production team had never had triplets before; this was definitely historic breaking news.

In just two days, the babies’ facial wrinkles had lessened, their skin tender. Though asleep, their beauty was undeniable.

Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu were captivated by their adorable nephews; it was their first time seeing such young newborns, and they were very curious.

“Sister, were we like them when we were little?” Huang Yuehu curiously asked.

Huang Yuelan: “Yes, you two were very cute when you were little. Sister changed your diapers and cleaned up after you.”

With their father working in the mine, unable to take long leave, Huang Yuelan had been responsible for caring for her two younger brothers. She was no novice in childcare.

Hearing about their sister changing their diapers and cleaning them up, Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu felt very grateful.

“Sister, if the nephews wet or soil their diapers, just tell us, we’ll help change them,” Huang Yueqiang thought that since their sister had taken care of them, they could help her care for their nephews.

“It’s okay, your brother-in-law is home taking care of me. You two just focus on your studies. You must get a decent job when you grow up, become cultured and useful members of society, and never let others bully or look down on us,” Huang Yuelan said.

Huang Yueqiang nodded: “Understood, Sister! Don’t worry, we know to study hard and won’t slack off anymore.”

Huang Yuelan believed this; their performance was reflected in their final exam scores.

One brother was first in the class, the other second, consistently scoring over ninety, surpassing their cousins, proving their worth.

Though knowledgeable and cultured, Huang Yuelan hadn’t paid much attention to her brothers during her pregnancy; their achievements were entirely due to their teachers and their own aptitude.

Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu kept touching their nephews’ faces, unable to wake them, their lips slightly upturned, as if smiling secretly.

Huang Yuelan bet that even a thunderbolt hitting the roof wouldn’t wake her three sons.

Soon, Wang Jianguo finished the wild chicken stew, boiled half a pot of millet porridge, and fried some cured meat and potato shreds, all Huang Yuelan’s favorites.

Wang Jianguo served Huang Yuelan, bringing it to the bed, fearing she might lack appetite eating alone. He also brought his own bowl, eating with her.

Huang Yuelan’s appetite was not only good but exceptionally strong, three times her previous intake.

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Seeing his ex-wife pregnant and having given birth to triplets, Sun Gousheng felt a pang of sorrow.

He admitted to being jealous, insanely jealous.

That beautiful wife had been his, but he had driven her away.

He had thought Huang Yuelan was undesirable, but now she was married, pregnant, and had given birth to three sons!

If she had given him triplets, how glorious he would have been!

Instead, he was disgraced.

His ex-wife had three sons, but his current wife? Forget triplets, she hadn’t even shown any signs of pregnancy! She was incredibly lazy, not as diligent as Huang Yuelan.

Huang Yuelan had kept the house spotless, inside and out, worked in the fields, earning more work points than him.

His current wife didn’t even tidy their bedroom; it was a pigsty, lazier than him.

Sun Gousheng’s mother constantly longed for a grandson, even a granddaughter would have been fine, but after half a year of waiting, his new wife’s belly remained unchanged.

Sun’s mother’s initial enthusiasm turned to icy indifference.

Her words revealed dissatisfaction, and her treatment of him changed.

She used to give him millet porridge and eggs, now, once a month was a luxury.

“Mom, we’re not poor, can we stop eating this simple food? Can we have some millet porridge?” Sun Gousheng complained.

Sun’s Mother: “What are you dreaming about? Only pregnant women eat millet porridge! Hurry up and give me a grandson, then you can think about millet porridge.”

Sun Gousheng was innocent; childbirth was a woman’s business, why blame him?

However, Sun’s mother pitied her son, secretly giving him better food when his wife wasn’t around, discarding the eggshells to avoid his wife seeing.

Sun Gousheng had initially found his mother excessive, but seeing Huang Yuelan with three children, while his wife hadn’t even conceived, he felt anxious.