Starting a new chapter in life

The two, completely bewildered, went to the gynecology department. After the examination, the doctor asked Jingyan, "When was your last period?"

Jing Yan frowned and thought hard for a moment: "Doctor, my period has always been irregular, and I haven't been feeling well lately, always feeling sleepy and drowsy. I really don't remember when it started."

The doctor looked at her with a somewhat complicated expression, then turned to He Zhijun: "You're her husband, and you don't even care that your wife is confused?"

Before He Zhijun could react, Jing Yan chimed in to explain, "Doctor, my husband is in college and can only come back about once every two weeks. It would be strange if he knew about my period, wouldn't it?"

The doctor said "Oh," and didn't press further. She simply said, "You're pregnant. Since you don't remember the date of your period, it's difficult for me to estimate. If you believe in Traditional Chinese Medicine, you can go to the doctor's office at the end of the corridor and have Dr. Qin take your pulse. He should be able to determine the month of your pregnancy."

"At least the general month is fine, which makes it easier for us to confirm your delivery date. You can then come to the hospital around that time; it's much safer than waiting until you go into labor."

He Zhijun naturally wanted to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. He was in school and spent most of his time away from home. The accuracy of the due date estimation was related to two lives, so he couldn't afford to be careless. After thanking the doctor, he took Jingyan to see Dr. Qin. The current situation had just eased up, and many people were still hesitant about traditional Chinese medicine, so Dr. Qin's office was deserted and empty.

A knock was made on the open door, and the person who was holding a medical book looked up. Unlike the old Chinese medicine doctor he had imagined, Dr. Qin looked to be no more than thirty or forty years old. If he were wearing a long robe, he would look more like a scholar, exuding a strong scholarly air.

Jingyan now understood why there were so few patients here. Everyone believed that traditional Chinese medicine requires time to refine, especially for those who study it. Younger TCM practitioners generally lacked proficiency and their diagnoses were often written in a flowery, incomprehensible language.

Western medicine has a lower barrier to entry and is more effective, so it's no wonder this place is so deserted. However, the young couple didn't mind that there were few people here, and that they didn't have to queue, which was great.

The two entered the room. Jingyan sat on a stool at the table, and He Zhijun handed the diagnosis the doctor had given them to Dr. Qin: "Doctor, my wife was gagging badly when we were cooking fish today. We came to the hospital for a checkup and found out she's pregnant, but we can't confirm the exact time. The doctor suggested we come to you to take her pulse and see how many months along the baby is."

Doctor Qin put down his medical book and pointed to the pulse pillow on the table: "Put your right hand over here."

Jingyan placed her right hand on the pulse pillow. Dr. Qin took her pulse with four fingers and remained silent for a while: "According to the pulse, it should be less than two months. It's mid-April now, so she should have conceived in mid-to-late February. If you can't confirm the exact date, you can estimate it based on February 20th. It won't be much different from the date by more than a few days."

He Zhijun calculated the time and said, "Then it should be the end of February. We moved into the house after renovating it at the end of February, and I will start school at the beginning of March. It's just a matter of those two days. Doctor, is the baby doing well? It's still early in the pregnancy, and my wife hasn't had anyone to take care of her during this time. Will there be any impact?"

Seeing how excited he was, Dr. Qin understood: "Is this your first child?"

He Zhijun nodded. "Doctor, what should we pay attention to during pregnancy? How often do we need to come back for check-ups?"

Seeing that he was too agitated, Jingyan grabbed his hand and said gently, "Don't rush, let's ask slowly. This pregnancy was part of our plan, it doesn't have to be like this."

Dr. Qin smiled and said, "It's normal to be emotional when you become a father for the first time, but as a mother, your mindset is quite good."

Jing Yan smiled. She had been a mother once in her previous life. Although she only found out she was pregnant when she was more than three months along, she didn't have much of a concept of early pregnancy. However, she had experience with childbirth and so on, so she remained calm.

"I had a dream a couple of days ago. I dreamt of a little boy, and I carried him onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and even tied his shoelaces. At the time, I just thought it was a dream that left a good impression on me, but now it seems that it was probably a dream about my pregnancy."

Dr. Qin smiled and said, "I can't tell if it's a boy or a girl. You're not very old, so you can live a normal life without any problems. You have a lot of dampness in your body, so you'll need to expel the dampness later, but it's not a big problem."

Keep some mugwort at home. When you have time or your legs feel uncomfortable, you can boil mugwort in water to soak your feet. However, don't do it too frequently; two or three times a week is enough. The water temperature shouldn't be too hot; it should feel slightly warm to your feet. Water that's too warm won't be effective, and water that's too hot can be uncomfortable. Adjust the temperature to your own comfort level.

He Zhijun readily agreed, taking out his notebook and writing it down seriously. Seeing how attentive he was, Dr. Qin couldn't help but say a few more words, mentioning that there was no need to be too careful about diet and rest, but still suggested that he come back for a check-up every two or three months to see how the child was developing.

After seeing the doctor, the two thanked him repeatedly. As they left the hospital, He Zhijun could no longer contain his joy. He picked her up and tried to spin her around, which startled Jingyan so much that she slapped him several times before he was put down. Seeing his silly grin, Jingyan couldn't help but laugh too. It turned out that her husband's expectations for their child were like this. Although it was a little silly, she felt happy just watching him.

"Do you hope it's a boy or a girl?" Jingyan finally couldn't help but ask.

He Zhijun pulled her into his arms and led her toward the bus stop, casually replying, "Boy or girl, it's all good. They say daughters resemble their fathers and boys resemble their mothers. Neither of us is bad-looking, so either a boy or a girl will be a beautiful child."

Jingyan playfully slapped him: "Is that what I meant? I meant to ask if our parents prefer grandsons or granddaughters."

“Our family doesn’t discriminate against girls. You see, Mom gave birth to me and my brother, but let me tell you, Mom is a bit biased towards girls. After my older brother was born, she thought I would be a girl, but when I was born, it was a boy. She was too lazy to take care of me. When I was little, it was either my brother or my dad who took care of me. My mom took care of me entirely depending on her mood. Everyone says that the youngest child is spoiled, but I only remember that I was the one who got beaten the most.” He Zhijun complained about his mother.

"Then why were you beaten?" Jing Yan's curiosity was piqued.

He Zhijun scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "When I was little, I was naughty. I would either climb trees to steal bird nests or pull girls' braids. I felt really happy when I made girls cry. Some parents would complain to my mom, and I would get a beating when I got home."

"Why don't you go to Dad? Wouldn't it hurt even more if Dad hit you?"

“Because when I complained to my dad, he would laugh and say that it was good for boys to be a little tough, and climbing trees was nothing to be alarmed about. As for pulling girls’ braids, my dad would just buy the little girl a pound of candy to appease her, and then give me a verbal lecture when he got back, and that would be the end of it. So, if any of the neighbors wanted to complain about me, they would go directly to my mom, because my mom really did hit me.” He Zhijun still feels lingering fear when he thinks about his mother’s feather duster.

"Based on your behavior when you were a child, you should have been the kind of kid who flirted with girls everywhere. You knew how to bully little girls when you were so young. How come you can't see your bad character from back then now that you're older? Did you change or hide it?" Jing Yan gave him a suspicious look.

The bus arrived, and He Zhijun helped her onto it. After finding a seat, he pulled Jingyan closer to him to make her more comfortable before answering:

"I can't say whether I changed or hid it. Anyway, when I grew up, I wasn't bad-looking, and some little girls still wanted to play with me. But they were too spoiled. They couldn't climb trees, and they couldn't keep up with me running around the streets. All they did was call me 'brother, brother,' which was so noisy. So I didn't like playing with them."

When I started school, in addition to my schoolwork, my parents would give me extra homework. My grandparents would also teach me other things. Later, I was so busy that I didn't even have time to play, so I didn't have the mood to think about so many things.

When I reached the age of rebellion, before I could even cause any trouble, the movement came, and my grandparents were forced to move into a sanatorium for refuge. The situation was very tense at that time, and it seemed like I grew up overnight.

I was nineteen, fresh out of high school, when my dad threw me into the army. But I couldn't handle the training; it was too tough. Luckily, I had good grades in school, and when the army formed a construction corps to provide support in various places, I was selected. That saved me from the daily marches, and then I met you.

Jing Yan raised an eyebrow: "Oh right, I've always wanted to ask you, when did you take a liking to me? Am I too eye-catching, or were you looking for a partner and just happened to meet me?"

He Zhijun scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "No, it wasn't like that. The first time I met you was when we had just arrived in Jinshi and settled in. That day, a few of us went to the canteen to get food together. You and your friend were probably also on your first day of work. I remember you were in charge of chicken stew with potatoes."

You gave me a spoonful, and I complained that there were only two pieces of chicken. You retorted that two pieces were already quite a lot, and that the potatoes were the main dish. Your eyes were bright, and you said it with a smile. Even though it was a sarcastic remark, I wasn't angry. I even thought you looked nice.

So, I started to care a little. Every time I got food, I'd comment on whether it was too much or too little. Sometimes you'd respond, sometimes you'd stay silent. But just talking to you would make me happy for a while. It was our battalion commander who noticed this and said I must have fallen for you, which led him to try and set us up. And then you found out, didn't you?

Jing Yan was completely shocked. In both her past and present lives, she had no recollection of this. Indeed, with so many soldiers, and three or four hundred people coming to get food every day, how could she possibly remember so many people? She didn't even remember herself arguing with someone. However, she understood now. This was a typical case of lust at first sight. Of course, she did have some beauty, though not much.

He Zhijun looked at her with disbelief: "Don't tell me you have absolutely no recollection of what I've said?"

Jing Yan looked at him innocently, without saying a word. How could she possibly say anything? He Zhijun stared at her for a while, then sighed helplessly: "If you have no recollection of any of this, how did you agree to marry me, and even dared to follow me to the Great Northern Wilderness?"

“You’re a soldier, so I think you should be able to trust my basic promises. Besides, you’re good-looking and have a great figure. I’m a bit of a womanizer, and I could feel your respect for me when we met. Your parents are also easy to get along with. All things considered, why wouldn’t you agree?” Jingyan answered him earnestly.

"So now, do you like me?" He Zhijun finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind all along.

Jingyan didn't need to hesitate and nodded directly: "Of course I like you, I like you so much, otherwise I wouldn't have been willing to have your child. You know I didn't want to get pregnant in the Great Northern Wilderness. It wasn't that I thought it would be hard to get pregnant and give birth alone, but at that time I didn't know if you could bear the rest of my life. It wasn't until more than a year after we got married that time revealed my true character. When I trusted you, that was when I gave you my heart. Do you believe that?"

Without hesitation, He Zhijun nodded repeatedly: "I believe you, I believe whatever you say."

Jingyan smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. After the initial excitement subsided, He Zhijun's mind returned to normal: "Jingyan, let's go to the post office later and call home to tell them the good news of your pregnancy before we go home. You didn't eat much at noon, so I'll cook you a nice meal tonight."

Jingyan nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll go back and have a couple of snacks to tide me over. I'll be waiting for your big meal. By the way, I planted the seeds my fourth sister gave me in the garden a while ago."

However, there are still quite a few seeds left. Leaving them for too long will affect the germination rate. Why don't you ask Mom and my sister-in-law if they want to plant some? But I see that Mom's yard is full of flowers; I don't see a vegetable garden.

He Zhijun didn't know either. "I'll ask around later. What else can those flowers and plants do besides look pretty? It's more practical to grow vegetables."

Jing Yan…“Have you always been this pragmatic?”

He Zhijun honestly shook his head: "I used to think that Mom liked to tend to flowers and plants and that it was very romantic. I also wanted to find a wife like Mom back then. But living with you, I feel that the vegetable garden is more practical than the garden. We can pick whatever we want to eat anytime. It's so convenient, and it saves money too."

Jingyan... It turns out that she wasn't originally pragmatic; she was influenced by her own petty-bourgeois mentality.

When the bus arrived at the stop, He Zhijun helped Jing Yan off the bus and then took her hand, heading straight for the post office. He Zhijun called his mother's hospital and told her about Jing Yan's pregnancy. Cui Hongru was very happy.

“Oh dear, you still have to go to school. Won’t it be inconvenient for Jingyan to be home alone? Why don’t you bring her back? I can get off work earlier here and cook for her.”

He Zhijun quickly stopped her, saying, "Mom, it's even more inconvenient for her to live with you. She's in her early pregnancy now, so it's fine for her to be home alone. I'll come home every week to be with her and take care of her. I just wanted to let you know that I'm happy. I'll go to the nursing home tomorrow to tell Grandma about this so she can be happy too."