Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 107 Getting Pregnant with Locust Flower

The more than twenty catties of grain that Qin Huairu brought back made the porridge in the Jia family's bowls thicker than usual for the next few days. Banggeng slurped his porridge loudly, then scraped the porridge residue off the rim of the bowl with his fingers, making a smacking sound as he put his fingers in his mouth.

"Grandma, the cornmeal porridge these days is really delicious, but there are a lot of wild vegetables."

"That's because your mother is capable." Madam Jia sat on the stool by the door with a bowl in her hand, deliberately placing the bowl of porridge on her lap and stirring it with her chopsticks so that passersby could see how thick the porridge was. "Huai Ru's trip back to her parents' home was worthwhile; she brought back more than twenty catties of grain. Master Dongxu also lent us money and grain, so our family can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Wang Caifeng carried a basin past the door, glanced at the wild vegetable porridge in Jia Zhangshi's bowl, pursed her lips, and didn't say anything.

Jia Zhangshi raised her voice even higher, shouting at her retreating figure, "These days, being able to eat your fill is a blessing. Some people being envious is no use!"

Inside the house, at the dining table, Qin Huairu slowly ate a bowl of thin porridge. She watched her mother-in-law showing off at the door, her face expressionless, and continued eating her porridge. Little Dang sat on her lap, and Qin Huairu scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew on it to cool it, and fed it to Little Dang.

Jia Dongxu sat across the table, silently drinking from his bowl of porridge. After finishing, he put the bowl down on the table and wiped his mouth with his hand.

"Mother, how much longer can our grain last?" Jia Dongxu took out half a cigarette and lit it. He had asked a coworker for a cigarette, and he had smoked half of it and kept the rest.

Jia Zhangshi placed the empty bowl on the table with a smile on her face.

"Huai Ru brought over twenty catties of cornmeal and a few catties of dried sweet potatoes. Plus, I brought over ten catties of mixed noodles from my parents' home. With plenty of wild vegetables, it should last for two months. Your master lent us another fifty yuan, and you also have a monthly salary and ration. After the autumn harvest, Huai Ru and I will go back to my parents' home again. We'll definitely have some harvest and try to get through this year."

Jia Dongxu nodded, stood up and put the bowls and chopsticks into the iron pot on the stove, then looked back at Qin Huairu and said, "Eat more, you still have one in your belly."

Qin Huairu responded and continued to drink her porridge.

After finishing his casual conversation with Lao Li, He Yuzhu learned that Qin Huairu had returned from her parents' home with grain. He sneered and went back to the main room to brew tea. He leaned back in his armchair and slowly sipped his tea, mentally going over the timeline.

Judging by the days, the locust flowers should be blooming soon. Qin Huairu will only be back for a day, and Qin Gang is quite a good marksman.

In early July, Qin Huairu's period didn't come. At first, she thought it was because she had been starving herself for the past few months and her body was weak, so she didn't pay much attention. After waiting a few more days, it still didn't come.

She squatted by the stove, tending the firewood. The firewood crackled and popped, the flames casting flickering light on her face. Her hand rested on her lower abdomen, her anxiety growing ever stronger. She knew all too well what it felt like to be pregnant with a child; this didn't seem like hunger.

After the children had fallen asleep that night, she turned over and snuggled against Jia Dongxu's arm. Jia Dongxu, his eyelids drooping with sleep, mumbled, "Go to sleep, you have to go to work tomorrow." Qin Huairu didn't say anything, but reached down with her hand.

For several nights in a row, she took the initiative to pester him. Jia Dongxu had worked all day in the workshop and was exhausted. After being pestered by her for several nights, he became a little impatient and asked her, "What's wrong with you lately?"

She hugged Dongxu warmly, saying, "I just really want it, and I feel uncomfortable." Jia Dongxu didn't think much of it, and after they finished, he turned over and went to sleep.

Qin Huairu lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling, her mind in turmoil. The child in her belly was Qin Gang's, and she planned to use these few days to get by, and then say it was Dongxu's when she was more pregnant, since no one would know anyway.

In mid-July, Qin Huairu calculated that the time was right and then told Jia Zhangshi.

That morning, Jia Zhangshi was cooking porridge by the stove, managing the family's food supplies. Qin Huairu stood at the door, her hand on the doorframe, her face deathly pale.

"Mom, my period hasn't come. I must be pregnant again."

Jia Zhangshi stopped using the spoon in the pot, turned her head and stared at her for several seconds, her expression slowly changing from surprise to annoyance. She put the spoon back in the pot and wiped her hands on her apron.

"Dongxu is the only one in the family with a ration, and the baby in your belly will add another mouth to feed. These days, no one dares to have children, but you're pregnant again. How are we going to survive? The family's money is almost gone. Are you trying to starve us? You didn't have any children a few years ago, and now that things are tough, you keep having babies. Our Jia family is having a hard time, and it's all your fault."

Qin Huairu leaned against the doorframe, her head almost buried in her chest, tears falling to the ground in a steady stream. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but swallowed it back. She couldn't very well say that the child wasn't Dongxu's.

Banggeng stood next to his grandmother, holding his bowl. He looked at his grandmother and then at his mother, and shouted loudly, "I want a little brother! I want a little brother!"

Jia Zhangshi turned around and glared at him, and he shrank back and ran away. She sighed, "Huai Ru, why don't you get it removed? We can't raise it."

"Mom, what if it's a boy? Banggeng also wants a younger brother, so that the two brothers can better support the Jia family in the future." Qin Huairu persuaded, she was reluctant to part with the child in her belly.

Madam Jia muttered to herself: "Grandson...two grandsons..."

She gritted her teeth and stamped her foot, "I'll live. I'll go back to my parents' home after the autumn harvest to ask for grain. If they don't give it to me, I'll die there. You should also tell my parents' home to send grain up then."

Within days, everyone in the courtyard knew that Qin Huairu was pregnant again. In those days, every household was starving, and even dried vegetables were being scrambled for; who would dare to have a baby?

Yang Ruihua was washing clothes by the sink in the courtyard when she muttered to the woman next to her, "Qin Huairu is really something. She can still get pregnant in these days. The Jia family's ration is not enough for five people, and now there's another one."

Wang Caifeng, who was squatting down washing vegetables, chimed in, "She's got guts, isn't she? To be able to get pregnant these days, she must be very healthy."

As Jia Zhangshi came out of the west wing to fetch water, she overheard the women gossiping. She slammed the bucket on the ground and yelled at them, "Go to hell! You can talk if you can get pregnant! Didn't you hear Xiao Wang's propaganda? The old folks say there's strength in numbers. Are you trying to rebel?!"

Yang Ruihua ran off with the basin in her hand, while Wang Caifeng kept her head down and continued washing vegetables, not daring to respond.

After finishing her tirade, Jia Zhangshi stood at the door panting heavily, her face twitching. She turned and went inside, closing the door tightly. She plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and looking at Qin Huairu's belly, all the fierceness she had shown earlier vanished.

"Six mouths to feed. Dongxu's ration is only enough for one person. How are they going to survive?"

He Yuzhu sat in the main room of the courtyard, holding a teacup in his hand, blowing away the foam, and slowly taking a sip. Huaihua, finally here. In his previous life, before Huaihua was born, Jia Dongxu had died in the steel mill; that ungrateful wretch was a posthumous daughter.

I'll never know how Jia Dongxu died. If he's not dead, I must do him a favor. Otherwise, how can he watch the Jia family's drama unfold if he's not hanging on the wall?

The Jia family will be completely ruined. Three children and two widows will be crammed into two west wing rooms. If he were to expose that Widow Qin had given birth to three illegitimate children, who would Widow Qin rely on then? Qin Gang has a wife and children in the village; sending her some food is already the limit, he can't possibly take her back.

Madam Jia's son died, but she still thought she had a grandson, that the Jia family line hadn't died out. What kind of expression will she have on her face when the truth is revealed?

He Yuzhu chuckled as he thought about it. He took a sip of tea contentedly, thinking he'd have to go to the hospital to ask about it when he had time.