Starting a new chapter in life

“Grandma, then you and Grandpa must be very happy,” Jingyan said. “Although others may point fingers and whisper, they are probably quite envious. Not everyone has the composure to not care about other people’s opinions.”

Grandma smiled happily: "That's right. Back then, I lived a flamboyant and vibrant life. I didn't care about other people's attitudes the most. As long as I wanted to do something, I would definitely do it. If it weren't for later..." Grandma shook her head, "The best thing I ever did in my life was marrying your grandfather."

Jingyan knew that her grandmother was lamenting that if there hadn't been a major movement, her and her grandfather's lives would have been much happier, and her grandfather might still be alive today, seeing the family so lively and bustling, he would be even more content.

He Zhijun smiled and replied, "Grandma, don't worry, I will also make sure that when Jingyan is as old as you are, she can say that she has no regrets about marrying me."

Jingyan looked at him in shock. She had always known that He Zhijun was good to her, but she never thought that their feelings for each other had become so strong that he would make such a promise. She had to admit that she was very happy at this moment.

After taking Grandma back to the nursing home, He Zhijun prepared hot water for her. After washing her face, Grandma sat on the edge of the bed. He then prepared hot water for her to soak her feet. Jingyan wanted to help, but Grandma stopped her, saying, "This is his way of showing filial piety. You don't need to interfere. Come, sit down."

Jingyan was pulled to sit on the edge of the bed by her grandmother, who continued, "Men, as long as they are willing to do housework at home, women should not stop them. On the contrary, it is best to praise them for it. This way, men will be more willing to come home, and the family will be harmonious. Since ancient times, many men have neglected their families because they were spoiled by women. We should learn from their mistakes and not follow the old path of those failures."

Jingyan smiled and agreed, feeling even more admiration for her grandmother. Her grandmother's thinking was even more advanced than that of children born in the 80s and 90s. No wonder several generations of her family had been happy and harmonious. Thinking of this, she became even more determined to have a child. Once she had a child, she would definitely ask her grandmother to give the child an early education. With such an elderly person at home, she would be a pillar of strength. She was fortunate to have met her grandmother in this life and would definitely take good care of her so that she could live a long and healthy life.

After washing her feet, Grandma was a little tired. She changed into her pajamas and went to bed, waving to the two of them, "You can go back now. Please close the door behind you when you leave."

The couple poured out the water, mopped up the water stains on the floor, turned off the lights, closed the door, and made sure it was locked before going downstairs and leaving the sanatorium. He Zhijun checked his watch, and the two hurried to the bus stop, boarding the bus shortly after.

Once on the bus, they realized it was the last one of the day. They were somewhat relieved that they had made it; otherwise, they would have had to find a guesthouse to stay in for the night. However, they didn't have their letters of introduction or marriage certificate with them, and if they were checked, it would be a huge embarrassment.

When they got home, it was late, and neither of them felt very hungry, so they didn't start a fire to cook. It wasn't cold in Haishi in mid-March, so they used the hot water from the thermos to wash up and then went to bed. They had walked quite a bit that day, so they slept very well after being tired.

The following days were uneventful. He Zhijun was very busy at school, having to complete a year's worth of courses in one semester, so the intensity of his studies was unimaginable. Jingyan had nothing to do at home, so she picked all kinds of vegetables from the garden, turned over the soil again, and sowed the various seeds that her fourth sister had asked her eldest brother to send. Well, the garden was a bit small, and she had already used up less than half of the seeds.

Looking at the remaining seeds in her hand, Jing Yan felt a little heartbroken. Vegetable seeds are usually saved from the first year and planted in the second year. If they are planted in the third year, the survival rate will be much lower. Wouldn't these seeds be wasted?

I'm not sure if I should plant vegetables in my mother-in-law's and sister-in-law's yards. She didn't go to her sister-in-law's when she went back for the New Year, but her mother-in-law's yard was full of flowers. Should I give these seeds to her? Never mind, I'll wait until Zhijun comes back and discuss it with him.

She carefully collected the remaining seeds, and figuring out that there wasn't much work to do at home, she decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood and ask if there were any chicks she could buy, so that she could have enough eggs and chicken to eat by the end of the year.

She acted on her impulse, locking the door and heading out. But once outside, she realized how naive she had been. She couldn't understand eight out of ten sentences the people there spoke, let alone ask where she could buy chicks. She wandered around the alleyways and lanes for ages and got completely lost.

She couldn't find any information about going home, and for a moment, Jingyan felt like crying. She wished she hadn't gone out at all and had just wandered around the few streets she knew. Why did she have to make things so difficult for herself?

Jingyan thought that she had only met elderly people before, and she couldn't communicate with them because of the language barrier. If she could meet young people, maybe some of them could speak Mandarin, and then she could find her way home. But today was a weekday, and the young people were either in the countryside and hadn't returned to the city, or they had gone to work. She had been looking around for a long time but hadn't met a single young person, and Jingyan was about to give up.

Just as she was feeling lost, a clear voice called out, "Jingyan?" which made her jump for joy. She had finally met someone she knew. Looking around, she saw Yuan Xiaoling, with her hair in a high ponytail, walking towards her from the street corner. Upon seeing her, Jingyan almost burst into tears of joy.

Yuan Xiaoling walked closer and looked around. "Jingyan, it really is you! I almost thought I had mistaken you for someone else. What brings you here? Is there something you need to do?"

Jing Yan looked completely bewildered: "Where is this?"

Although Yuan Xiaoling was puzzled, she still answered, "This is the alley behind the district government office area. I just finished my business and was about to go home. This way is closer, so I took a shortcut. I didn't expect to run into you."

Jingyan said weakly, "I was originally thinking of going out today to see if there were any chicks for sale. If there were, I was going to ask your husband to help me build a chicken coop. There are some leftover bricks from the last renovation of the house, which will come in handy."

I didn't expect there to be so many alleys here. After winding and turning so many times, I got lost. I tried to ask someone for directions, but all the people I met were elderly. I gestured and explained to them for a long time, but the more I walked, the more unfamiliar the roads became. I was almost ready to give up.

Yuan Xiaoling looked at her with admiration: "You're really brave. You dare to wander around here when you don't know anyone. Shanghai has a long history and a high population density, so the houses here are all close together. There are many alleys and lanes, and it's easy for people who are not familiar with this place to get lost, not to mention that you don't speak the language. Okay, you want to go home, right? I'll take you back."

Jing Yan followed obediently. Her tall and strong figure looked somewhat out of place next to the petite and slender Yuan Xiaoling. After walking for a while, Yuan Xiaoling also felt something was off, turned around and took her hand, "Let's walk together."

"Xiaoling, you're a local, do you know where I can buy chicks? And besides the supply and marketing cooperative, do you know where else I can buy pork, preferably the kind that doesn't require ration coupons?" Jingyan felt it was best to ask her to be on the safe side. She couldn't just wander around aimlessly; getting lost would be a huge loss.

"I really don't know about chicks. I'll ask my mom later. She's a know-it-all; she knows a little about everything. As for pork that doesn't require ration coupons, there used to be a black market here. It was more expensive, but I heard from my mom that it's not strictly regulated now, and the black market has been almost completely shut down. I still need to ask my mom to see if she knows any channels." Yuan Xiaoling was quite enthusiastic and agreed to help inquire.

Yuan Xiaoling escorted Jingyan to her doorstep, and Jingyan looked grateful: "Thank you so much. If I hadn't met you today, I really wouldn't know what to do."

Yuan Xiaoling waved her hand: "It was nothing. If you hadn't been willing to give my man a chance and let him do the housework, he would have had a very stressful time before school started. He always felt like he was living under someone else's roof at my house. You don't know how worried I was during that time, afraid that he would develop a grudge against me because of this."

Fortunately, with the help of your family, he not only enjoys his work but also comes home with a smile. My parents are increasingly satisfied with him now. I haven't even thanked you yet, and you're thanking me for such a small thing. Isn't that being too polite?

Seeing that Yuan Xiaoling was in a hurry to go home, Jingyan didn't exchange many pleasantries. After saying goodbye, Jingyan watched Yuan Xiaoling's departing figure disappear before opening the door and going home. She lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and didn't want to move. She had walked quite a distance and was feeling anxious and irritable. She had no appetite and was very tired. "Oh well, I'll just take a nap first," she comforted herself, pulled the quilt over, changed into a comfortable position, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

In her dream, she seemed to be in her old home, or perhaps in her current home. In any case, there was a kang (heated brick bed) there, and a chubby-cheeked little boy was looking at her. She couldn't make out his features, but she could see that he had big, beautiful, watery eyes.

He was dressed in a navy uniform and was standing on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) trying to climb up, but he couldn't. He looked so aggrieved that he was about to cry. She couldn't bear it, so she picked him up and put him on the kang, then squatted down to tie his shoelaces. Wait, tie his shoelaces?

Jing Yan suddenly woke up. Thinking back on her dream, she found it somewhat amusing. In her previous life, her first and only child was a daughter, so why did she dream of a boy? However, she hadn't seen the child's face clearly, but he seemed quite cute.

She tried her best to recall the dream, but the scene was still somewhat blurry. She shook her head, stopped thinking about it, touched her rumbling stomach, and got off the kang (a heated brick bed) to go to the kitchen to cook. Eating is the most important thing in the world.

In mid-April, He Zhijun finally returned home after being away for more than half a month. Jingyan was very happy and busied herself preparing delicious food. However, while stewing fish, she smelled a fishy odor and couldn't help feeling nauseous. She ran outside and dry-heaved for a while.

As she straightened up, she saw He Zhijun standing beside her with an enamel mug filled with hot water. After she finished vomiting, he frowned and said, "Did you eat something bad? Rinse your mouth quickly, or we should go to the hospital to check your stomach. Did you eat leftovers at home and get sick?"

Jingyan thought about it seriously and shook her head: "I haven't had much of an appetite lately, so I haven't cooked much. I just cook porridge and noodles for one meal at a time. I shouldn't get an upset stomach, right? Or is it that we have mice in our house that have soiled the rice? But we put it in an earthenware jar, so mice shouldn't be able to get in."

He Zhijun's face darkened at the thought of rats: "Alright, let's stop guessing. Wait for me a moment, I'll put out the fire in the stove, and we'll go to the hospital for a check-up first. It would be best if nothing's wrong, but if something is wrong, the sooner we treat it, the better the outcome. We can't delay this."

After saying that, he went inside and started bustling around. Jingyan really felt uncomfortable in her stomach, so she didn't go inside. She just stood in the yard and waited for He Zhijun. After a while, He Zhijun confirmed that there were no hidden dangers in the house, then he took Jingyan's hand and led her to take the bus straight to the city hospital. Jingyan looked at him and said weakly, "Isn't there a clinic near our house? We don't need to go to a big hospital."

He Zhijun's face was serious. They had been married for three years, and this was the first time Jingyan had ever seen He Zhijun angry. His expression truly frightened her.

“Your health is no small matter. Go to the hospital for a check-up first. After the doctor gives a diagnosis, if it's just injections and medication, then get the medicine from a nearby clinic. After all, the clinic's facilities are not as good as the hospital's. I won't feel at ease until you get a proper check-up. Jingyan, I don't want anything to happen to you.”

Jingyan avoided his gaze, nodded in agreement, and He Zhijun breathed a sigh of relief. He took her hand, let her lean on his shoulder, put his arm around her, and gently comforted her, "Don't worry, she's much better now. Let's see what happened. Today's incident also reminded me that we should see if anyone has a cat. If they have kittens, we should hire one so we won't have rats in the house."

"Hiring? Isn't it enough to just go to someone's house and get one? Why use the word 'hiring'?" Jing Yan asked curiously.

Since there was nothing to do while sitting on the bus, He Zhijun calmed down after his initial panic and told her: "Hiring a cat is also called hiring a cat slave. If it is a kitten born to a domestic cat, then you have to send salt to the owner's house. Sometimes you can send sugar, tea, sesame seeds and other different items."

If you're hiring kittens born to a stray cat, you should give the mother cat a string of fish. Of course, if you really don't want to put in the effort, you can give the owner some money, hoping that the kittens you bring home will survive.

Jing Yan listened with great interest: "There are so many rules. I thought that if you went to someone else's house and brought one back, you could just give them a gift and that would be fine. If it was a stray cat, you could just bring it back directly. I really didn't know there were so many rules."

“It’s not that formal now. In ancient times, hiring a cat required a betrothal letter, just like getting married. That was a real ceremony. Nowadays, it’s been simplified a lot,” He Zhijun explained.

Speaking of this, Jingyan thought of her dream and told him about it with a smile. He didn't take it to heart; it was just a dream. When the bus arrived at the station, the two went to the hospital, registered, and had their stomachs checked, but there was nothing wrong. After listening to Jingyan describe her discomfort, the doctor, somewhat conflicted, suggested that they see a gynecologist.