My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 148 Expecting Childbirth
"Look, I'm someone of status now."

Back home, Zhou Jiye happily showed Lin Ying the license he had just received. Lin Ying, who was heavily pregnant, was nearing her due date and her body was becoming increasingly heavy. She started resting at home this week to prepare for childbirth and would temporarily stop working at the coffee shop.

Lin Ying took the individual business license from Zhou Jiye and looked at it with great interest.

Unlike licenses in later generations, the licenses for individual businesses today are quite rudimentary, resembling an award certificate or a letter of introduction.

The front of the license plate features a large black lettering that reads "Individual Industrial and Commercial Business License," above which is the logo of the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce. The right side displays the business license number, a series of numbers stamped in lead ink, indicating the license's issuance number.

Below are the sections for name, address, establishment or relocation area, scope of production and operation, concurrent businesses, business method, and opening date. The most eye-catching thing is the headshot of Zhou Jiye grinning at himself on the license, along with the issuance date and official seal in the lower right corner.

On the left, there is a seal across the seam, indicating that this license and letter of introduction have a copy, which is naturally kept by the issuing department and can be used for verification.

After looking at the license, Lin Ying couldn't help but laugh, pointing at Zhou Jiye's headshot on the license and laughing non-stop.

"Don't laugh, don't laugh. I know this photo looks silly, but there's nothing I can do about it. When we went to take photos, everyone was queuing up. They didn't give you any time to prepare or tidy up. They just told you to sit down, stand up straight, look at the camera, smile, and then snap a picture. I only saw this photo today when I got my license."

Zhou Jiye quickly offered an explanation, and Lin Ying laughed for a while before stopping. Pointing to the address and operating area on the document, she asked why only the address of Xigong was written. Zhou Jiye explained that this was based on the area, because the Xigong area consisted of mobile stalls without official house numbers, so this address could only be used.

It's okay, as long as it doesn't affect business. I heard that Xigong is planning to consolidate the nearby mobile stalls. Maybe in a few days they will build simple stalls with iron frames, number them and put up signs for everyone to use. When that time comes, we can just complete a formality and record the stall number.

"This is much more convenient." Lin Ying nodded. It's normal for a new phenomenon like individual businesses to be unregulated at first; they will gradually mature over time. Moreover, with the issuance of the first batch of individual business licenses, reform and opening up have entered a new stage, which is a good thing for most people at present.

"By the way, you all applied for one?"

“Yes!” Zhou Jiye nodded: “There’s no other way. Individual businesses can only apply individually, not in partnerships. And private companies aren’t allowed to apply right now. Plus, our stalls at the two ends of Xigong and Fengyang Road are at different addresses, so just to be on the safe side, we each applied for one.”

"So how about the specific operations? Will they be separated or will they remain the same as before?"

“We would like to do things the same way as before, but after asking the industry and commerce bureau, they said we have to separate. This involves business needs and tax issues, so this is a bit of a headache. We still need to discuss it.” Zhou Jiye scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled.

Lin Ying wasn't surprised. Ever since Zhou Jiye told her she could start registering as a sole proprietorship, she had thought of this. Since it was a sole proprietorship, the previous partnership would definitely be affected, that was unavoidable. However, it could still be maintained in form, but the actual operation had to be separated. As for what would happen afterward, that would depend on how it was managed.

Anyway, so far, the cooperation between Zhou Jiye, Xu Guoqing, and Lao Wen has been very good. They are not petty people and have never had any conflicts in their cooperation.

But there were some things Lin Ying didn't say, and it wasn't appropriate to say them now. After all, many things in business are hard to explain, especially now that their business is growing bigger and their profits are increasing. How things will develop in the future, and whether they can still maintain their original intentions, is unpredictable.

Putting the matter aside for the time being, Lin Ying and Zhou Jiye chatted about other things.

Her belly is quite big now. She went to the hospital for a check-up the day before yesterday, and the doctor said that her due date is in about a month.

Xu Guoqing helped find someone, and for safety reasons, Lin Ying will have to go to the maternity and infant hospital to prepare for childbirth after New Year's Day. After she returns from the hospital, Zhou Jiye will be a father.

Having a child is a big deal. Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying, who had never been parents in their previous lives, were looking forward to it with excitement mixed with a little trepidation.

Moreover, after the child is born, Zhou Jiye and his family will have to consider whether to return to Northwest China. After all, Zhou Jiye is from the Zhou family, and his parents, two older brothers, and his loving grandmother are still there in Northwest China. When he first left home, Zhou Jiye told his family that once things were going well in Shanghai, he would bring them to live with him there. Zhou Jiye still remembers his grandmother's smiling face as she agreed.

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye. During these two years, Zhou Jiye has contacted his family from time to time, whether by letter or phone, but he hasn't returned home even once. The reasons are twofold: firstly, Shanghai is too far from the Northwest, making a trip back inconvenient. Secondly, although Zhou Jiye has feelings for his family, deep down he isn't truly a member of the Zhou family, and the thought of facing that reality makes him somewhat reluctant to go back.

But things are different now. He and Lin Ying are about to have their own child, a child of the third generation of the Zhou family!
After the child is born, Zhou Jiye should go back to visit his family, both emotionally and logically. Lin Ying feels the same way. Although she has no feelings for the Lin family, she still has two younger sisters. She worries about how they are doing. Besides, the time she spent in the Northwest after marrying into the Zhou family was arguably the most comfortable period of her life. To this day, she still remembers the kindness of the Zhou family elders, and she will never forget it.

"After the baby is born, remember to let us know so we can go back to see them when the baby is a little older," Lin Ying said softly. Pregnant women are often more sentimental, and Zhou Jiye readily agreed.

I really should go back and take a look. I wonder what my hometown is like now.

What about his father and two older brothers now? Are they still the same as before? And what about his grandmother and mother? Thinking of these things, Zhou Jiye smiled and gently held Lin Ying's hand. The two chatted casually, and time slipped away silently through their fingers.

New Year's Day passed in the blink of an eye, and 1981 arrived as scheduled, marking the beginning of the second year of the 1980s.

A few days after New Year's Day, Lin Ying moved into the maternity and infant hospital to prepare for childbirth. After the doctor's examination, he said everything was normal and told her to rest well and be ready at any time.

After Lin Ying was admitted to the hospital, Zhou Jiye was very anxious every day. He even neglected his business at Xigong and left the stall to Lao Wen and the others to look after, spending every day at the hospital with Lin Ying.

Not to mention him, Fang Manxia, ​​despite her age, often visits Lin Ying in the hospital. Each time she comes, she sits by Lin Ying's bedside, talking to her and looking at her heavily pregnant belly with a kind smile and a hint of anticipation on her face. As for Lin Wen and Lin Xi, they also come to visit every day after get off work. Everyone is looking forward to the arrival of this little life.

Zhou Jiye had initially thought Lin Ying would give birth soon after entering the hospital, but nearly a week had passed, and while Lin Ying could eat and drink normally, she still showed no signs of labor. Zhou Jiye specifically asked the doctor about this, and the doctor smiled and told him that this was normal, and to be patient, as childbirth is like a melon ripening and falling from the tree—it can't be rushed.

Helpless, Zhou Jiye could only continue to wait patiently. Several days passed. One noon, Zhou Jiye fed Lin Ying lunch and then took the bowl to wash it. But when he returned to the ward after washing the bowl, Lin Ying, who had been so lively before, was lying on the bed, her brows furrowed, clutching her stomach and groaning.

This terrified Zhou Jiye, who immediately ran out to find a doctor. The doctor, upon examining Lin Ying, instructed the nurses to prepare immediately, saying that Lin Ying had begun labor and would be giving birth that day.

The nurses shooed the annoying Zhou Jiye out of the ward and told him to wait outside. He paced back and forth in the corridor, while Lin Ying's occasional cries of pain echoed from inside the ward. Anxious and unsure what to do, Zhou Jiye could only pace back and forth in the corridor, anxiously peering through the glass window of the closed door.

Around 3 p.m., Fang Manxia came over. When she saw Zhou Jiye standing in the corridor like an ant on a hot plate, she was stunned and quickly walked over to ask what was going on.

"I don't know!" Zhou Jiye said with a long face. "The doctor said Xiaoying has started labor and told me to wait outside. I've been listening to her calling out inside for two hours, and I'm so anxious. They won't let me go in to see her."

"Don't worry, I'll go ask." Fang Manxia was much more composed than Zhou Jiye. She comforted him and turned to head towards the doctor's office.

A short while later, Fang Manxia returned and told Zhou Jiye that there was nothing seriously wrong. The doctor said that they still needed to wait, as childbirth is not easy. Lin Ying was only five centimeters dilated and had not yet reached the point where she could go into the delivery room, so she needed to be observed. Generally, it would be about three or four hours.

"It'll take that long?" Zhou Jiye became even more anxious upon hearing this. Three or four hours? That's outrageous! In movies and TV dramas, didn't women in labor give birth almost immediately after going to the hospital with contractions?

Seeing Zhou Jiye's state, Fang Manxia was both amused and exasperated, and offered him a few words of advice. Then she asked if he had brought all the things she had prepared for Lin Ying and the baby, as they would all be needed after the birth.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiye slapped his forehead, realizing he had been so flustered that he had forgotten about this. He quickly asked Fang Manxia to look after the baby at the hospital and then left immediately. He needed to go home right away to get his things, otherwise he wouldn't have anything to use after the baby was born.

(End of this chapter)