Abnormal survival in the end times

Chapter 204 Preparations for Early Pregnancy

This morning, Jiang Minglang unusually skipped training, which made Bai Yang and the other rookies feel quite uneasy. They thought they could relax a bit, but this momentary lapse in concentration resulted in Vice Captain Xu punishing them with a 5,000-meter run.

Jiang Minglang ignored the sighs and groans from the training field. He had planned to help his grandmother and second aunt prepare breakfast in the kitchen so he could eat quickly and accompany his wife to get her pulse checked.

But the two elders thought he was too big and was in the way, so they simply kicked him out.

There's nothing we can do but wait patiently.

Although it hasn't snowed again these past few days, the temperature hasn't risen either, remaining below minus twenty degrees Celsius. In such cold weather, only a group of energetic young people are training in Baiguoyuan, while in places like Yunxi Village, most families are still lying in bed sleeping in.

After all, it's only seven o'clock in the morning.

After breakfast, Jiang Minglang and Bai Li strolled out of Baiguoyuan and headed towards Yunxi Village.

The clinic was closed at that time, so the two of them went to Xi Yu's house.

Having just returned from training and washed his face, Xi Yu, who hadn't even started eating yet, stared blankly at his boss, who had been missing all morning, as he and his sister-in-law pushed open the door and entered his yard.

Xi Shuang doesn't have the habit of sleeping in late. She is a girl with a strong learning ability. From not knowing how to use a wood-fired stove at the beginning, she can now make some pasta dishes very well and use a large pot to fry pancakes and cook porridge.

Even though electricity is now available, she still uses the wood-fired stove that produces the best food.

So when Bai Li and Jiang Minglang came in, they smelled the sweet potato porridge and the unique aroma of scallion pancakes coming from the kitchen.

The sweet potatoes they eat now are mostly grown using white lychee-inducing agents, and they taste much better than those grown in the ground before. The scallions are irrigated in greenhouses with supernatural water, and they also taste better than before.

Therefore, the porridge and noodles made from it will naturally taste better.

Except there was no meat.

"Boss, sister-in-law."

"You eat your food, your sister-in-law and I need to talk to Xiaoshuang about something."

Xi Shuang was called to the main room. Jiang Minglang didn't say what was wrong with Bai Li, but just told her, "Your sister-in-law is not feeling well. Take her pulse and see what the problem is."

Xi Shuang didn't ask where exactly she felt unwell. She simply took out her homemade pulse pillow and had Bai Li place her left wrist on it.

He played for three minutes very seriously, then switched to his right hand and continued.

In this situation, Xi Yu couldn't eat anymore. He grabbed a pancake, ate it while leaning towards the door, and whispered to his eldest brother, "What's wrong with your sister-in-law?"

Jiang Minglang ignored him.

Xi Shuang's pulse-taking skills were only developed in the last six months, since it was just an elective course, which she had previously studied as a hobby for two years. But traditional Chinese medicine is profound and complex, and frankly, apart from those exceptionally gifted geniuses, one really can't learn much in two years.

Xi Shuang was certainly not a genius, and she also had her own professional courses, so she only learned the basics of traditional Chinese medicine in those two years, and she only knew the basics of pulse diagnosis.

Now that she's picked it up again, even though everyone helped bring over a lot of medical books, this isn't something you can learn just by reading books. Fortunately, she's patient and constantly practices by taking everyone's pulse.

So much so that now, without Bai Li saying anything, she actually detected that Bai Li was pregnant.

"Although it's not very obvious, I think it's definitely true." Xi Shuang looked at Bai Li and said with certainty, "Sister, you're pregnant!"

She then added, "It's only been a little over a month, but the pulse shows it's very healthy."

The couple felt a huge weight lifted off their shoulders, and Bai Li praised her generously, "I knew it! Finding Xiao Shuang was definitely the right choice; she's amazing."

Xi Shuang blushed slightly. Since she started practicing traditional Chinese medicine, she had lost count of how many times Bai Li had praised her. Sometimes when she heard Bai Li praising her, she felt like she was praising the children, because Bai Li would praise Qi Qi and Ji Ji in the same way when they did something.

It's a subtle feeling; after all, who doesn't like being a child?

After blushing, without Bai Li saying anything more, Xi Shuang assured her, "Don't worry, sister. We have a lot of books on obstetrics and gynecology here, and Xia Min and I will definitely study them carefully. Besides, when I was an intern, I assisted a pregnant woman with post-brain surgery care, so I know a little about pregnancy."

She said quite a lot in one breath. In the past, Xi Yu would have been shocked by his sister, but now he was used to it.

but
Is my sister-in-law pregnant?

Xi Yu hadn't even swallowed the biscuit in his mouth when he secretly glanced at his boss, thinking that he finally understood why his boss hadn't gone to the training ground to bother them this morning.

"Don't tell anyone about this yet; keep it a secret for now."

Bai Li's wood element skills are known throughout Pengcheng, and her reputation is no less than his. However, she rarely goes out, let alone takes action. Under his deliberate suppression, her name has not spread much and is rarely mentioned.

Even so, a small number of people in Kyoto and other regions still know some of the details, thanks to Che Tao and his group who once visited Shenzhen.

Therefore, for safety's sake, it's best to keep Bai Li's pregnancy a secret.

However, Xi Shuang had no problem consulting books on obstetrics and gynecology, because there were two pregnant women in Yunxi Village, both in their second trimester, and Xia Min had given them a prenatal checkup a few days ago.

They call it a prenatal checkup, but it's just touching your belly and listening to your heartbeat with a stethoscope; there's nothing else they can do.

However, in order for the two pregnant women to give birth smoothly, Xia Min has been working hard these days to improve her knowledge of all aspects of obstetrics and gynecology.

But Xi Shuang felt that this was not enough; they needed to go out and gain practical experience, and come into contact with more patients and pregnant women, so that they could effectively deal with emergencies or special situations in the future.

It just so happens that many survivors have come to Shenzhen in the last six months, and I believe there must be quite a few patients and pregnant women among them.

There's just one problem: without medicine, is treating someone just about seeing a doctor?

What's the difference between watching it and not watching it? It might even incite unnecessary hatred.

It's impossible for them to bring medicine. After all, the Chinese herbs they've cultivated with great effort aren't even enough for their own people, let alone for outsiders.

Even if there's an extra, we can't just give it away for free.

Xi Shuang's idea was good, but the moment she spoke it, it was rejected by both Jiang Minglang and Xi Yu.

Bai Li also disagreed. If she wanted to practice and contact patients, she could only go to Li Nan's greenhouse area at most. As for the other newly arrived survivors, she did not recommend that she and Xia Min contact them.

Who knows if there are any infectious diseases or anything like that?

However, we need to deal with the medicines we had stored at home. It's been two years since the apocalypse, and most of the medicines we scavenged before have expired, while the few that haven't expired are nearing their expiration date.

Perhaps because of the arrival of her second child, Bai Li thought that since the medicines were just sitting there and could still be used, she might as well let Xi Shuang and Xia Min take them out and put them to use.

It's both a good deed and an opportunity to gain experience—a win-win situation.

"Then let's go to the greenhouse area. Dazi is off today, so let him and Baiyang go with you."

It was kept secret from outsiders, but of course, family members didn't need to. When Grandma Bai and her second aunt heard about it, they were very excited. Just over a month later, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were already discussing the bottles and clothes for their newborn baby.

The old lady was a thoughtful person. She felt sorry for her granddaughter and grandson-in-law, who were both motherless when they were little, so she prepared all of Qiqi's clothes and supplies herself. Later, she washed and kept many of the clothes that Qiqi had outgrown.

Well, she didn't agree to give away babies under one year old, so they were all neatly folded and placed in the closet in her and her grandfather's bedroom.

Actually, when she kept the baby clothes, she was thinking of letting her granddaughter have another child. After all, one child is too lonely. If Qiqi has a younger brother or sister, she won't be lonely in the future, and they can discuss things together. That would be great.

Look, these clothes are coming in handy now.

The old lady boasted to her granddaughter and daughter-in-law, "I told you we shouldn't give away the clothes Qiqi wore, didn't I? Wasn't I right?"

"Yes, yes, you are the best. You are so capable and confident. Our family would fall apart without you."

While giving Bai Li a meaningful look, the second aunt smiled and showered the old lady with compliments.

Bai Li also laughed and said, "That's right. When Qiqi was born, no one in our family dared to hold him. You were the one who dressed him in his little clothes and changed his diapers. When the second baby comes out, Grandma will have to help me take care of him."

The old lady smiled and agreed, "Okay, Grandma will take care of it for you."

Two years into the apocalypse, the old man and woman were not only well protected, but they also ate food grown with supernatural abilities and drank Qiqi's supernatural water. As a result, the two of them showed no signs of aging, and their old ailments of high blood pressure and high cholesterol disappeared.

They look even younger and healthier than before the apocalypse.

Bai Li was raised by her grandparents, and if possible, she naturally hopes that the two elderly people can live to be a hundred years old and stay with them forever.

The three generations of the family were chatting and looking through the clothes that Qiqi wore when she was little when her second uncle, Bai Xiangqian, came in and called to his second aunt, "Xiuer, come out here for a moment."

"What are you going out for? Is there anything you can't say in front of Mom and Lizhi?"

My second aunt was busy rummaging through baby clothes, thinking that after my mother-in-law and Lizhi finished dressing the baby, they would keep the clothes so that maybe they could be used by her grandson/granddaughter in the future.

Therefore, I don't want to move while sitting in the chair.

Of course, the main reason is that she thinks her own man is fine. Even if he is, her mother-in-law and niece are not outsiders, so what can't they say?

Bai Xiangqian looked at her and said, "It's your brother. His family has returned to Pengcheng and found this place."

The second aunt's smile froze, then her face darkened, and her once smiling eyes turned icy cold.

She remained seated and asked, "Is he outside the village?"

"Yes, Xiao Yang accompanied Xiao Shuang out and they happened to run into each other at the gate. Your brother stopped Xiao Yang and told him he wanted to see you."

"Want to see me?"

Hearing this, the second aunt felt as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. She curled her lip and said sarcastically, "Now you want to see me? What, wasn't it him who said he wanted to cut ties with me before? Go tell Xiao Yang that he's not his uncle, and he doesn't have an uncle. If you keep bothering him, go ahead and hit him." It would be better if you could beat him to death.

Since Bai Yang sent someone to deliver a message, it means that he has been entangled with that so-called uncle.

She doesn't even acknowledge having an older brother, so naturally her son doesn't have an uncle either.

The old lady listening nearby couldn't help but sigh helplessly at the sight of the siblings reaching this point.

Auntie turned to look at Bai Li, her face slightly unnatural. She said, "Lizhi, don't overthink it. Generally speaking, siblings are closer than strangers. My relationship with that person is an exception, so it doesn't count. Look at our family, your great-grandfather and your grandfather have such a deep bond that they are willing to give everything for each other. Your father and your second uncle are the same. When Xiao Erzi comes out, Qiqi will definitely be the closest brother or sister in the world to him/her."

"I didn't think much about it, Auntie."

Bai Li shifted her position closer to her second aunt and asked softly, "Do you still hate him?"

The second aunt and her brother broke off their relationship because of their mother.

When her mother fell ill, she could barely walk on one leg. After being discharged from the hospital, her second uncle and aunt took her to their family compound in town.

My second uncle has always had a good temper and is patient with the elderly. So, for six months after he was discharged from the hospital, the two of them took good care of him, and he even regained feeling in his previously immobile leg.

Just as her condition was improving, her second aunt's older brother suddenly returned from out of town, saying he wanted to take their mother to his home to take care of her.

Considering that the elderly woman's health prevented her from traveling long distances, the second aunt initially disagreed. However, she did not expect that this would lead to accusations from her brother and sister-in-law, who said that she was pretending to take care of their mother, but that she was actually after their savings and retirement money.

Before retirement, their mother had a good job, so her monthly pension was very substantial, even higher than the normal salary of their second aunt, who was a teacher.

So when her older brother and sister-in-law saw that she disagreed, they directly pinned this huge label on her.

The second aunt was furious. She never expected that her sincere feelings would be seen this way by her own brother.

pension?

From the time her mother was hospitalized until her discharge, she didn't withdraw a single penny from the bank. Although medical insurance covers most of it, the food, supplies, and protein injections—don't those cost money?

She had never thought about it that way, so she never mentioned it to her brother, and she never expected him to use it to talk about her.

The brother and sister had a big fight because of this, and in the end, the old lady took the initiative to leave. She felt that her daughter and son-in-law had taken care of her for more than half a year, and it was time for her son to take over.

So she chose to go to her son's house so that her daughter and son-in-law could have some peace and quiet for a while.

Of course, the old lady made sure to explain her pension details before she left.

Since my son is so concerned, I might as well explain the matter clearly.

She can use her monthly pension from whoever's household she lives in. She can also withdraw the money her daughter hasn't withdrawn in the past six months.

Finally, at the old lady's insistence, the second aunt withdrew 66,000 yuan.

After that, her mother's salary card ended up in her sister-in-law's hands.

She didn't care at all, as long as the couple could take good care of her mother.

However, what my second aunt never expected was that that parting would be their last.

Her brother and sister-in-law took the old man away, but only three months later, they returned him to Shenzhen with a cold, lifeless body.

The reasons are chilling.

Because her brother and sister-in-law did not take good care of her, the old woman's old illness relapsed. In that situation, instead of taking her to the nearest hospital, they drove her back to Shenzhen after confirming with the hospital that it would be difficult to get reimbursed.

He died on the way.

good night!