Reborn in 1966

Chapter 449 Life

Upon hearing this, Pei Yin couldn't help but laugh and said, "Are you looking for someone who can share your responsibilities?"

Du Mingjun said, "It's not about sharing responsibility. Isn't the man of the house supposed to protect the woman of the house? I feel more at ease knowing that there's another person protecting you."

Pei Yin said, "Okay, all of this is just wishful thinking. Let's get up and take a few laps around the yard. I've decided that we should take a walk around the yard every day. When the temperature gets a little higher, we'll go to the nearby park. Taking a slow walk like this is good for your health. I'm also thinking of finding someone to make some fitness equipment like the ones used in hospital rehabilitation. You can only fully recover by exercising more now."

Upon hearing this, Du Mingjun asked hopefully, "Do you think it could be the same as before?"

Pei-Yin said, "We definitely can. God is actually very fair. As long as you put in the effort, you will definitely reap the rewards. If we do rehabilitation well, we will definitely recover and be just like before."

From that day on, the two began rehabilitation. They would stroll around the yard when they had nothing to do, and go to the nearby park when the weather was nice. Later, Pei Yin asked someone to make some rehabilitation equipment, and Du Mingjun gritted his teeth and began rehabilitation while sweating profusely.

After Du Mingjun was discharged from the hospital, Shen's mother went back to Shenjia Village and told her grandparents about Du Mingjun's situation in detail. After listening, her grandparents kept chanting Buddhist prayers, asking the Bodhisattva to bless Du Mingjun to get better soon. The grandmother even prayed to the Goddess of Fertility, asking her to bless Peiyin to give birth to a child soon. Hearing her mother-in-law's prayers, Shen's mother felt bad. To everyone, Peiyin and Du Mingjun were a match made in heaven. Who knew that Mingjun would suffer such a big loss here? Shen's mother was too embarrassed to say anything else, and could only say in her heart that good things come to those who wait.

This incident involving her son gave Du Kunpeng a deeper understanding of Pei Yin. Despite her young age, his daughter-in-law was incredibly decisive, especially when it came to making decisions. For example, she reportedly took a long leave of absence without hesitation. Du Kunpeng had a classmate in the academic affairs office at Peking University who told him about Pei Yin's leave, saying, "Old Du, you've really married a lucky woman. She put your child's needs first and foremost, putting her work aside without a second thought. We're not saying you shouldn't put your work aside when things happen at home, but this is the perfect time for Teacher Shen to shine. I suggested we reschedule some of her classes so she could focus on her husband first. She said she wanted to take care of him fully before returning to work. Who could put their work aside like that? Even I probably couldn't."

No matter how much education Pei Yin received, she still carried the thoughts from her past life. Although her thoughts in her past life weren't for herself, Pei Yin believed that work was only to realize one's life value, not the entirety of one's life. When it was time to give up, then one had to give up, no matter what. But that's not possible now. Everyone is wholeheartedly dedicated to doing their job well, and there are many who would even give up their own lives for their work.

Pei-Yin felt that it wasn't that she didn't want to make sacrifices, but compared to people of this era, she lacked that kind of selflessness. Between career and family, she chose family, which she felt was normal, but many people thought it was abnormal. However, considering the reason why Du Ming-Jun was injured, many people felt that Pei-Yin's choice was also reasonable.

The two young people thus began their honeymoon. Every morning, after getting up, Pei Yin would cook millet porridge on the stove, and then she and Du Mingjun would stroll to the nearby vegetable market to buy groceries. At this time, the vegetables sold were usually grown by farmers in the suburbs, which were both fresh and cheap. After buying the groceries and returning home, the millet porridge would be almost cooked. Sometimes, Pei Yin would fry some bread slices and boil two eggs. There was a pickled vegetable jar in the kitchen, which Shen's mother had prepared before she left. However, because Du Mingjun liked to eat Liu Biju pickles, Pei Yin would buy some to keep at home whenever she had time. In the morning, they would either have porridge, bread, and eggs, or some noodles, or go out to buy some fried dough sticks and soy milk. In the backyard, Pei Yin planted two vegetable plots. She bought the seedlings of cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants at the morning market, and also bought some lettuce seeds and sowed them in one plot. The lettuce seedlings were already half a hand's length tall. Once the seedlings were pulled up, they could be washed and eaten with dipping sauce.

Life was peaceful and comfortable, and even Du Mingjun began to enjoy this kind of life. He went to the hospital for a check-up every week, and the results of each check-up were better than the last. Jiang Juan even said to her mother-in-law, "Mingjun is lucky to have Peiyin. Didn't you see that Peiyin put her job down for Mingjun? She took a long leave of absence, and it's not certain when she will go back to work. How many promotion opportunities will she miss?"

The eldest aunt had always been worried about the young couple's life. After visiting twice, she felt that her niece was truly a person who knew how to live. Looking at their spirits and the flowers and vegetables in the front and back yards, she realized that the two of them were living a fulfilling life. Mingjun's rehabilitation was also going very well. After the eldest aunt returned home and called her brother to tell him, Shen's mother even cried to Shen's father, saying that Peiyin had always been the most pampered child in the family. Now that she had just gotten married, she had to take care of a patient and live her own life. She said that no other child of Peiyin's age had to endure so much.

Du Mingjun's health was getting better and better. In Du Mingjun's opinion, the most important thing was to consummate their marriage with Pei Yin. This was something that the two of them had always kept in mind. Since returning home, the two of them had been sleeping on the Hundred-Child Bed, but they had never crossed that final step. Pei Yin felt that Du Mingjun was not in good health, and Du Mingjun felt embarrassed because Pei Yin hadn't brought it up. However, the two of them cuddled together every day, and every time they opened their eyes, they could see the person they loved most in front of them, which was a very happy thing.

These past two days, Du Mingjun has been subtly hinting to Pei Yin whether she wants a boy or a girl. The more he asks, the redder Pei Yin's face becomes. With such an obvious hint, how could Pei Yin not understand?

After getting married, this became a part of life. Initially, because of concerns about Du Mingjun's health, and since Du Mingjun felt that his health was fine, he went to the hospital for a check-up the next day. Pei Yin was too embarrassed to ask Du Mingjun's attending physician. After Du Mingjun finished the check-up, she went to ask Jiang Juan.

Pei Yin was too embarrassed to speak, so she asked Du Mingjun to sit and wait outside Jiang Juan's office while she went in. When Jiang Juan saw Pei Yin, she smiled and said, "Are you accompanying Du Mingjun to his follow-up appointment? Mingjun should be almost fully recovered by now, right?"

Pei Yin said, "The doctor said everything is fine."

Jiang Juan noticed that Pei Yin seemed hesitant and unlike her usual poised demeanor, which struck her as odd. However, since there was no one else in the office, and seeing Du Mingjun sitting on the chair by the door, she pulled Pei Yin down to sit and whispered, "Pei Yin, what's wrong?"

Pei Yin blushed instantly at the thought of asking the question. Knowing she had to ask sooner or later, she gritted her teeth and whispered, "Sister-in-law, do you think Ming Jun is able to have marital relations given his current condition?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Juan was stunned. Then she remembered that Du Mingjun had passed away at the wedding and felt great pity for this little cousin. They had been married for so long, and she had been taking care of her injured husband without ever having a marital life. As a woman, she had not enjoyed any of the life that a married woman should have.

After Pei Yin finished speaking, she lowered her head and waited for a long time without receiving Jiang Juan's answer. When she looked up, she saw Jiang Juan looking at her with a complicated expression and great pity. Pei Yin's initial shyness vanished. Because of Jiang Juan's expression, her mind started racing. Could it be that Du Mingjun would be unable to have children in the future? If so, what a blow that would be to Mingjun. If he really couldn't have children, she could adopt one. The more Pei Yin thought about it, the more she realized. Finally, she suppressed her fear and pretended to be strong, saying to Jiang Juan, "Sister-in-law, just tell me what's wrong. I can handle it."

Upon hearing Pei Yin's words, Jiang Juan knew she had misunderstood and quickly said, "Pei Yin, your sister-in-law is just being kind to you. Ming Jun is perfectly healthy now." At this point, Jiang Juan didn't know what to say next. If it were her own patient, she would have said whatever she wanted, but this was her younger sister, and Jiang Juan felt too embarrassed to continue.

Hearing Jiang Juan say this, Pei Yin said, "Then, sister-in-law, will Mingjun's health prevent us from having children?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Juan smiled and said, "No need to delay, no need to delay. If Mingjun continues to take medication, then we'll have to wait a bit longer. Right now, Mingjun is only doing rehabilitation. But Peiyin, you're not that old. Since Mingjun is still in rehabilitation, I think it's better for you two to wait a bit longer before having children."

Pei-Yin said, "I understand, sister-in-law. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Jiang Juan escorted the two to the first floor. Watching them walk hand in hand slowly toward the hospital entrance, Jiang Juan sighed, hoping that the two young people would have a change of fortune and live happily ever after.

This night was one that Pei Yin and Du Mingjun would remember for the rest of their lives. On this night, the two completed a substantial transformation in their identities, and their relationship also changed because of this night. Pei Yin felt more psychologically dependent on Du Mingjun, and Du Mingjun felt that his feelings for Pei Yin had undergone a different kind of sublimation. Du Mingjun himself couldn't explain exactly what it was, but it was just different.

The two young people made their otherwise long nights more colorful because of this incident. Neither of them had much experience, but they did it all on instinct. As a result, Pei Yin felt that she didn't have as much energy during the day as before, while Du Mingjun was full of energy every day. Pei Yin didn't understand. Was this the difference in physical strength between men and women?