1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Time flies by and it's harvest time. This is the most grueling and tiring time of the year. As they say, where there are people, there is money; more people means more labor, and the work is done faster.

The fields in the village were full of busy farmers, picking corn cobs, digging potatoes, harvesting sweet potatoes, cutting wheat, sorghum and other crops.

The work comes one after another, giving no one a chance to catch their breath.

For a whole month, every household in the village was the same, busy from morning till night, with no one able to stay idle.

The Chen family is even busier than other families.

Right now, Xinghua and Lianhua's bellies were round and bulging, so full that their skin was shiny, and even their navels were almost flattened.

With the delivery date fast approaching, Chen Gaoshan decided to have the two of them move to a large kang (heated brick bed) to live on for the next month.

A chamber pot was placed in the room specifically for the two of them to use when they got up at night to relieve themselves.

In the dark of night, if you stumble and fall when you get off the bed, it could cause a miscarriage and premature birth, which would be a real disaster.

During the autumn harvest season, the family's meals were very oily and juicy, with meat at every meal. His and his father's rice bowls were practically pointed.

After finishing dinner, he was just about to go back to his room to rest.

Seeing her son Gaoshan looking anxious and about to rush into the house as if he had oil on his feet, Chen Liushi reached out and grabbed him.

"Shanzi, you stop right there! There's a limit to everything. Now things have gone your way, and the two of you are sharing a bed. But you better remember this."

"You're young and full of energy, but you don't do things thoroughly enough. Don't act recklessly."

"If you dare to act recklessly and miscarry the baby in your belly, it will be difficult to have another child later. You better be smart and don't be foolish!"

Chen Gaoshan, having been scolded by his mother, nodded obediently in agreement.

"Mom, I know what I'm doing and I'm keeping things in mind. If there's nothing else, I'll go back to my room and look after them."

Watching Gao Shan walk into the house, Chen Liu couldn't help but snort. These two were just like each other.

If we relied on the men to manage the household affairs, they'd all be bored to death.

A few days ago, she made a special arrangement with three experienced midwives in the village and even asked them to check the baby's position for Xinghua and Lianhua.

Several midwives said that both babies were properly engaged in the pelvis, in good positions, and that Apricot Blossom Lotus was a good baby with a strong body and wide hips, indicating an easy delivery.

They were just waiting for the day the labor started so they could immediately have Lao Nian drive the carriage to fetch the midwife.

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In October, the temperature outside starts to drop at night, but the kang (heated brick bed) inside the house is warm and cozy.

Chen Gaoshan carried in a wooden bucket from the outer room, which was more than half full of warm water.

He placed the bucket beside the kang (a heated brick bed) and used a water ladle to mix two basins of water.

"Lotus, Apricot Blossom, let's soak our feet. These past two days, your legs and feet have been swollen like steamed buns, and they're so uncomfortable. Doctor Zhou specifically said that soaking your feet at night can relax your muscles and improve circulation, and it will make you feel much better."

Now the two of them are so pregnant that they can't bend over at all, and Chen Gaoshan has to do all the things for them, such as putting on shoes and taking off socks, washing and wiping their feet.

He remembered when he was eight months pregnant, Xinghua and Lianhua took turns washing his feet and massaging his legs. Now, it was just his turn to serve them for two months. In his opinion, this was only natural and there was nothing to be pretentious about. He didn't think it was beneath a man to serve his wife or that it would be shameful. She was the one who gave birth to his child, so it was only right that he take care of her.

Lianhua watched him squatting by the kang (a heated brick bed) busy with his work, feeling both happy and guilty.

"Shanzi, you've been so good to us. In our village, what man washes his wife's feet? If word got out, people would gossip and laugh at us. Look at the other wives in the village, they're almost due to give birth and they still have to fetch water, chop firewood, and do heavy work in the fields."

The apricot blossoms echoed this sentiment.

"That's right! Take Aunt Li's daughter-in-law next door, for example. Last autumn, she was heavily pregnant when she went to work in the fields and gave birth to her baby right there in the ditch."

Chen Gaoshan massaged Xinghua's swollen ankle.

"They are them, and we are us, there's no comparison. Which of them can manage two households like me? I've said it before, I'll make the decisions on the big things in the family, and you two can discuss the small things yourselves. With you two carrying babies, that's the most important thing for the Chen family."

Lotus felt a warm glow in her heart from his thoughtful words, and her eyes welled up with tears, her nose also tingling.

What incredible good fortune I must have accumulated in this life to marry such a caring and considerate man! I must have done something truly virtuous in my past life.

She pursed her lips.

"So what's considered a big deal, and what's considered a small deal? From what you're saying, it sounds like we don't have any small matters to deal with; everything we have is a huge deal!"

After washing Xinghua's feet, Chen Gaoshan moved to Lianhua's side and splashed water to wash her feet.

"What I say is important, is important. You two just need to listen to me and you won't go wrong."

Lotus instantly realized what she meant and smiled, pursing her lips.

"So you're just trying to fool naive women, huh?"

Wow, my wife is getting smarter and smarter.

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Since the three of them started sleeping together on a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), Chen Gaoshan felt incredibly comfortable. He would lie in the middle of the kang, turning over in bed with a smile on his face, feeling that his most secure wish in this life had finally come true.

On one side are apricot blossoms, on the other are lotus flowers; on either side are my dearest loved ones.

But to his utter surprise, he couldn't get a good night's sleep.

Xinghua had just gotten up, groped her way off the kang (a heated brick bed), squatted on the chamber pot to relieve herself, and he helped her climb back onto the kang to lie down. Before long, Lianhua next to her also needed to urinate.

After taking care of the older one, they had to take care of the younger one, going back and forth. As she was getting more pregnant, the baby's head had descended into the pelvis, pressing on her bladder, so she couldn't hold her urine at all. She had to get up every now and then, and the two of them took turns getting up at night, causing Chen Gaoshan to wake up seven or eight times a night.

Anyone else would have been impatient long ago. Even if you don't help your wife to the toilet, not being able to sleep well is still a problem.

Chen Gaoshan had no complaints. His wife had endured a lot of hardship giving birth to his child while heavily pregnant. It was just a matter of getting up a few more times at night. What was such a small thing?

He only felt sorry for Xinghua Lianhua suffering, so he could only help her up, take the chamber pot, and be careful that she didn't bump into anything.

In the middle of the night, Lotus fell asleep from exhaustion, emitting soft snores.

Chen Gaoshan breathed a sigh of relief, listened to the breathing around him, and carefully moved his body.

He tiptoed and lifted the corner of the quilt beside Xinghua, then turned sideways and slipped into her bed.

Xinghua's belly was so big that she could only lie on her side. Lying flat would put pressure on her belly, which was not good for her. So for the next few months, they slept on their side facing the kang (a heated brick bed).

Xinghua was just drifting off to sleep when she felt someone lean against her back. She knew immediately it was Shanzi, that bastard.

She lowered her voice and nudged the person behind her.

"Shut up, can't you just go to sleep! Didn't you hear what your mother just said?"

Chen Gaoshan pressed himself against her. Xinghua, who was pregnant, was particularly plump. He touched her big belly and continued upwards.

"Don't worry, I'm just having a little fun, I won't do anything else. I wouldn't do something so beastly."

"If you can't do it, what are you doing? Are you trying to die? Pinch me gently!"

After he had his fill, he was exhausted and drifted off to sleep.

It felt like someone was tugging at my back.

Chen Gaoshan was also a first-time father, and he really had no experience at all. He thought Lianhua needed to relieve herself again, so he sat up in a daze.

"Wait a minute, I'll go get you the chamber pot."