Jiang Lin particularly enjoyed eating cold foods. It was so hot, and her pregnancy made her feel even warmer.

She wished she could stay in well water all day.

However, Yan Runzhi only allowed her to use a handkerchief to wipe herself off; soaking in water was not allowed as it might harm her health.

Wen Sheng had been busy with performances recently, but now he could rest.

He took Da Bao and Xiao Bao fishing.

The kids were restless, especially since it was summer vacation.

They rode their bikes and ran around, having a blast.

Despite their high energy, Da Bao and Xiao Bao were well-behaved.

They avoided dangerous places, didn’t show off, and always came home before dark.

They were also thoughtful about Jiang Lin and Bao Sheng, so they didn’t play too late and always brought something back.

Around 5 p.m., the sun was still high and scorching, making the ground very hot.

Jiang Lin was lounging in a recliner, while Yan Runzhi and Wu Shuxian chatted and worked on their sewing.

The three brothers came back. “Mom, we caught some fish. Do you want to eat grilled fish?” Xiao Bao was the first to run in, carrying several fish strung on a stick, like carp and grass carp.

Wen Sheng and Da Bao followed, carrying fishing rods, buckets, and sieves.

Da Bao said, “We went fishing, but we ended up catching all the fish from the river instead. Not a single one was caught by fishing.”

Jiang Lin and the others laughed and asked how they had fished and caught the fish.

Da Bao shot Xiao Bao a look and said, “Just like a little kitten fishing, he kept getting distracted by dragonflies and butterflies.”

Xiao Bao protested, “I didn’t!”

Wen Sheng added, “He kept stopping to pee and drink water, then got sleepy. He was never still, and several fish got away.”

Xiao Bao was about to argue back.

Da Bao continued, “He couldn’t stay focused and even caused trouble for us. Whenever we almost caught a fish, he’d come over to check if we’d caught it. As a result, all the fish got away.”

In the end, Da Bao got so frustrated that he went into the river to catch fish himself. Wen Sheng also gave up on fishing, and the other kids followed suit.

So, all eight fish they brought back were caught by scooping them from the river, not by fishing.

Xiao Bao felt very aggrieved.

He squatted down in front of Jiang Lin, holding her belly, and complained, “Bao Sheng, I’m so pitiful. They’re bullying me. Hurry up and help me out. Next time we go fishing, let’s team up and not bring them along.”

Da Bao said, “Bao Sheng, don’t listen to him. He’s just causing trouble for you.”

Xiao Bao retorted, “You’re not a good big brother.”

Da Bao was left speechless by Xiao Bao’s comment, which made Xiao Bao even happier. “Bao Sheng is the best.”

Just then, Jiang Lin’s belly suddenly jolted with a lot of force, and Xiao Bao felt something pressing against his face.

He paused and murmured, “She’s pushing her bottom against my face.”

Jiang Lin laughed while touching her belly but felt a bit uncomfortable.

Her belly had become unexpectedly hard, almost like carrying a large watermelon.

Xiao Bao noticed too and poked the belly. It used to be soft, but now it was firm. “Grandma, Mom’s belly is so hard.”

Wu Shuxian and Yan Runzhi hurried over to check.

Wu Shuxian felt the belly and said, “This is serious; it seems like a contraction.”

Jiang Lin asked, “Does this mean I’m about to give birth? The due date is still about twenty days away.”

When Jiang Lin was in school, she often visited Guo Yanqiu.

After returning home, Guo Yanqiu and Lü Hang would also visit her periodically to check on her.

She had some understanding of counting fetal movements, using a stethoscope to listen to the fetal heartbeat, and recognizing contractions.

However, her knowledge was limited and not very professional, which could easily lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary worries.

Yan Runzhi said, “I’ll go find someone. It’s better to go to the hospital and get it checked.”

Since it was the first time encountering this situation and Jiang Lin was concerned, she didn’t hesitate to trouble others and arranged for a jeep.

The whole family hurriedly went to the hospital.

…

Cheng Rushan had initially planned to be away for ten days for a conference in the capital, but it ended up taking twenty days.

He coincidentally met up with Fang Chengguang, who had also been unable to return, and they headed back to the provincial military district together.

Fang Chengguang had performed excellently this time and was likely to be promoted upon returning.

Fang Chengguang asked, “Cheng Ge, is everything at home alright?”

Cheng Rushan replied, “She should be giving birth soon.”

Fang Chengguang was surprised.

No wonder Cheng Rushan had refused invitations to attend performances from the cultural troupe; his mind was clearly preoccupied with home.

Fang Chengguang asked, “Do you have other matters to attend to?”

Fang Chengguang: “No.”

“Then let’s go back together.”

While work was fine, now that they were free, various people kept inviting them out to have fun.

There were invitations to watch musical performances, art troupe shows, movies, and even dance events.

Except for his wife, he didn’t want to dance with any other woman.

He himself didn’t like dancing and felt it was a must for his wife, but everyone else could forget it.

They turned down all social invitations and bought train tickets to return to the provincial capital.

As soon as they arrived at the military district compound and hadn’t even entered yet, they ran into the guards on duty.

He Changjiang: “Team Cheng’s wife has gone into labor.”

Cheng Rushan was startled. “What did you say?”

He Changjiang: “I said she went into labor and has gone to the hospital!”

Cheng Rushan immediately put down his luggage and gifts by the guard post and turned to arrange a vehicle to the hospital.

He knew Jiang Lin’s due date was still about twenty days away, so if she was giving birth now, it must be premature.

Was there some kind of complication?

His mind was racing with various frightening thoughts, but he forced himself to calm down.

Fang Chengguang only knew that Jiang Lin was due to give birth next month and didn’t know anything else.

He was also quite anxious.

They found a car and went to the hospital together.

He Changjiang watched them rush off in their car and couldn’t help but comment, “Team Cheng’s(Cheng Rushan) wife is having a baby, and Fang Chengguang is all worked up.”

Zhao Quanyou: …… This is why people keep getting promoted while you’re still here on guard duty!

Fang Chengguang drove quickly, but Cheng Rushan still thought it was too slow, wishing they could get to the hospital in the blink of an eye.

They drove the Jeep right up to the entrance, which startled a few nurses who thought there was an emergency.

They rushed over, only to see the two of them open the car doors and dash into the hospital.

On their way to the obstetrics and gynecology department, they happened to run into Fang Chengxia.

Fang Chengxia: “Cheng Rushan, Xiao Guang? What are you doing here?”

Fang Chengguang glanced at her and asked, “Has the sister-in-law given birth yet?”

Fang Chengxia: “Not yet, there are still about twenty days left.”

Fang Chengguang sighed with relief. “Is everything okay?”

Fang Chengxia: “It’s normal. As the due date approaches, this happens. I wanted to take my brother out for a walk and talk to him, and I wanted to persuade him to visit Fang Jianhua.

Fang Jianhua was living alone in a small building and wasn’t comfortable.

I applied to have him moved to the military hospital’s dormitory.

The headquarters agreed, so now Fang Jianhua and my younger son are living with me.

He has retirement benefits, so there’s no financial pressure, but his health is poor, and it’s hard for him to think about many things.”

Fang Chengguang didn’t want to discuss this. “I have to go.”

He rushed after Cheng Rushan to see Jiang Lin.

When they arrived at the obstetrics and gynecology clinic, they saw their family members in the hallway, creating quite a crowd.

Inside the examination room, the doctor finished checking Jiang Lin and said, “The baby is a bit large. Now you need to control your diet and not eat too much.”

In those days, many people were struggling to get enough food, so it was funny to hear the doctor advising a pregnant woman not to eat too much.

It was the first time a doctor had advised a pregnant woman to eat less; usually, they told them to eat well.

Da Bao: “Is eight meals too many? Wouldn’t six meals be enough?”

Xiao Bao: “Lin Lin used to eat three meals a day plus fruits and snacks. Now there are two people, so eight meals shouldn’t be too much, right?”

Doctor: “!!”

I know your lives are good and you’re eating eight meals a day…

Well, at least it should be considered a meal; you’re probably eating things like eggs or meat noodles, so it’s no surprise you’re eating so much!

“You should pay attention and stick to three regular meals a day. Adding some fruit in the morning and afternoon is enough. Don’t eat late-night snacks.”

Jiang Lin: “……”

How did you know I eat late-night snacks? I don’t want to eat either.

I wake up three or four times a night, can’t sleep, feel a bit hungry, and with everyone catering to my every need, it’s no wonder I end up eating happily.

Especially with Cheng Rushan not at home, Yan Runzhi is more attentive to her.

Whenever Jiang Lin gets up at night feeling a bit hungry, she goes to the living room looking for something to eat.

When Yan Runzhi hears her say she’s looking for something to eat, she immediately gets up to prepare something.

Jiang Lin was initially thinking of just having a tomato, but Yan Runzhi suggests, “How about a bowl of vegetable noodles? I’ve also prepared some shrimp.” Jiang Lin wasn’t very hungry, but once she heard about the shrimp and vegetable noodles, she couldn’t resist.

Pregnancy has really made her crave a lot of things, and she always wants to eat meat, even though her appetite is small, it doesn’t stop her from craving.

The result is that small amounts add up quickly, and with a small appetite, it’s hard to resist eating eight meals.

She smiles awkwardly, “No wonder the fetal movements have been so strong recently; the baby must be growing quite big.”

It seems the baby is growing well, so she needs to pay attention to avoid having a difficult birth.

The doctor, seeing Jiang Lin’s attitude was very good, and despite the whole family coming in a military jeep without any airs of an official’s wife, had a good impression and gave her additional advice.

“Don’t be lazy. Start moving every day and take walks. Even if it’s uncomfortable, you’ll only have to endure it for a month before you give birth,” the doctor said.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao: “!!!”

In the countryside, giving birth is compared to raising pigs, but here the doctor talks about “delivery.”

What do they think of us kids!

Wen Sheng turned to Cheng Rushan and Fang Chengguang, smiling and waving at them.

Cheng Rushan had calmed down by now and went inside to check if everything was alright before taking them home.

He Liang joked, “Cheng Ge, you don’t know how anxious I am about the baby being born, even more so than if I were the one giving birth!”

Fang Chengguang: “I’ve been away for less than a year; how come you’re so anxious about the birth?”

He Liang wasn’t embarrassed at all, laughing heartily.

He now teaches college students and feels quite accomplished, his confidence has grown, and he’s more daring to joke around.

The students all liked him very much, and he felt he might even find a university student wife, as several had been subtly flirting and inviting him to dances!

He was thrilled.

Cheng Rushan was very good to him, providing such great opportunities.

When Fang Chengguang returned, he was assigned to the military’s special operations team under Captain Cen.

Besides tasks for his own team, they also had to cooperate with public security and legal departments for special missions, including providing top-level covert protection for high-profile visitors to the provincial capital.

So, he was very busy and had to move to the back military camp, no longer living leisurely in the main courtyard as before.

When he moved out, Da Bao, Xiao Bao, and Wen Sheng saw him off.

Da Bao: “Don’t worry, brother; we’ll bring you meals.”

Xiao Bao: “Xiao Guang, come to see us if you have any time off.”

Wen Sheng: “Xiao Guang, we won’t let anyone take your bed; we’ll keep it for you.”

Fang Chengguang: “……”

I’m just moving to the military camp for convenience in training.

I can still come out when I’m not training; why does it sound like I’m losing my freedom?

Da Bao: “Oh, once you enter the military, it’s as deep as the sea. From now on, your wife will be a stranger.”

Everyone: “!!!”

Bie Dongshan: “Hmm, hmm, hmm.”

With teary eyes, “I still don’t have a wife now.”

He Liang: “Hehe, don’t rush. Let the organization give you their spring breeze-like care and introduce you to someone.”

It was true that Bie Dongshan couldn’t find a wife, but wasn’t it the case that Xiao Guang just didn’t want to find one?

After Fang Chengguang moved out, his training became stricter and his tasks increased, but he still had some freedom.

As long as he didn’t have anything on, he could still come to the compound to have meals.

As the extra month of June arrived, the weather became increasingly hot.

At noon, Jiang Lin asked everyone to stay home instead of going out, so they could take a nap and also do some prenatal education.

Since returning from the hospital, Jiang Lin had reduced her food intake.

Of course, her cravings hadn’t changed; if anything, they had become even stronger.

To avoid overeating, she snacked on fruits and roasted cicadas instead.

Now, after dinner, the family would go out to hunt for cicadas, involving other children to help.

They were eager to assist, especially since they enjoyed listening to stories from Da Bao and Xiao Bao.

So, Jiang Lin replaced snacks like egg noodles and rib noodles with roasted cicadas, grilled fish, sparrow eggs, and pigeon eggs.

She remained slender with her arms, legs, and waist still slim, but her belly kept growing, which startled Da Bao and Xiao Bao.

They worried about her every day.

Previously, Cheng Rushan was anxious during the pregnancy, but now Da Bao and Xiao Bao were feeling down, eagerly waiting for Baosheng to arrive because the current situation was too frightening for them.

To the kids, seeing the belly stretched so much was terrifying and unbelievable, making them have different nightmares every night.

Xiao Bao dreamed that his belly was so big he could pull out dinosaurs, rabbits, mammoths, and lions from it…