Chapter 397: Chapter 407: Bringing a Woman Back Home (Extra for Xiaoxiao66 and Shi Bi)_1
After eating, Bai Xiaolan insisted on washing the dishes, and told Lu Songyuan and the others to go to the east room with the children to rest.
Gu Xiaobei helped with the dishes with a smile, guessing that Bai Xiaolan must have something to talk to her about.
As soon as Lu Zhanguo and the others left the kitchen with the two children, Bai Xiaolan quickly closed the door and whispered to Gu Xiaobei, "How long after you married Zhanguo did you get pregnant?"
Gu Xiaobei found it hard to answer this question. The first time, it seemed like she got pregnant right away, but with Mo Wang and Xiaopang it took over half a year. She thought about it and said, "It took more than half a year to prepare for Mo Wang and Xiaopang."
Bai Xiaolan said somewhat regretfully, "My period is more than ten days late this time. Even the family members of the contingent said that when the period is late, it means pregnancy. I thought I must be pregnant this time, but then I had my period on the train."
Confused, Gu Xiaobei asked, "Is Brother in a hurry to have a child?"
"I’m the one who’s anxious. I’m 27 this year after the New Year. People say it’s more likely to have a difficult delivery if I don’t conceive now," Bai Xiaolan worriedly said.
Gu Xiaobei giggled, "Who did you hear that from? It’s not true, 27 is a perfect age to have a child."
Bai Xiaolan scratched her head and went on to say, "The jade stones I sent you, how do they look? Xiangdong said they’re good. I have some more at home. When I was idle, I went to the market with Ayinu to hunt for them. We also picked some from the river."
Gu Xiaobei nodded, "They are excellent. If you collect more, you’ll be a millionaire in the future."
"Ayinu and I were laughed at when we went to the river to pick stones. Someone told Xiangdong to find me a job so that I can stop messing around at the river every day," Bai Xiaolan sighed regretfully.
Gu Xiaobei laughed and said, "You ignore them. You’ll see. When they find out, they will regret not having picked stones. Some of them might even bring bulldozers to do so."
Bai Xiaolan nodded with a smile, "I brought a few pieces this time. I plan to take them to Capital City to have them appraised and see how much they’re worth."
Gu Xiaobei cautioned her, "If someone asks you where you got them, never say they’re from the Shule River. Just tell them you don’t know, a friend gave them to you. Otherwise, once the word gets around, everyone will be there picking stones and you won’t get anything."
Bai Xiaolan nodded, "Okay, I got it."
"After sitting on the train for so many days, you should go to the west room and lie down. Take a good rest first, and then tell me something fun about where you’ve been," Gu Xiaobei suggested as soon as she saw that Bai Xiaolan had finished washing dishes.
Bai Xiaolan waved her hand indifferently, "It’s okay, I’m not tired. I travelled back in a sleeping car, so I slept a lot."
"It’s just too far, otherwise, I’d want to visit there," Gu Xiaobei said wistfully.
When Bai Xiaolan heard this, she excitedly said, "It’s really a great place. The mutton there is especially delicious, even better than the mutton in Capital City. The people there are also wonderful—so honest and straightforward. When I was leaving, I bought a pair of heeled boots and found them too big after I got there, so I gave them to a local woman. The next day she came back and told me that the boots felt uncomfortable and she couldn’t walk well in them. She insisted that I give her another pair. I had no choice, so I found a pair of sneakers for her instead. Later, her son picked two big buckets of apples and sent them over. We couldn’t finish eating them, so Xiangdong made apple jam with them. I brought it back. That woman also sent us milk every day. Xiangdong said they were simple and straightforward and weren’t afraid to express their feelings."
Gu Xiaobei listened with amusement to Bai Xiaolan’s nonstop chatter. The joy and happiness radiated from this woman’s eyes. Her conversation was filled with references about how Xiangdong said this or Xiangdong did that. It appeared that the couple’s relationship was really good.
Lu Songyuan and the others were sitting cross-legged on the kang in the east room, letting the two children play on the bed.
Wen Xiuqing poured some warm water for everyone. Because there were children around, she left the thermos flask uncapped to cool off after filling it; she was worried the children might accidentally knock it over.
"Xiangdong, are you sure you can get transferred back?" As soon as she sat down, Wen Xiuqing could not wait to ask.
With a smile, Ji Xiangdong replied, "Mom, don’t worry. I did say I’ll be back, and I definitely will, though it may take some time."
Upon hearing that the time wasn’t certain, Wen Xiuqing said disappointedly, "If Xiaolan gets pregnant and has a baby, who will help you take care of the baby? If you are back here, your father and I can help. If you could get transferred to Capital City, Xiaolan’s mom could help too."
Seeing Wen Xiuqing like this, Ji Xiangdong tried to reassure her, "Mom, don’t worry. I’ll handle everything quickly."
Dissatisfied, Lu Songyuan chimed in from the side, "Exactly. Our kids just got home today. They haven’t even warmed their seats, and you’re already saying this discouraging stuff."
Xiaopang immediately chimed in, "Seat! Seat!"
Laughing, Wen Xiuqing picked up Xiaopang, pinched her little cheek and said, "This little mouth, only picking up the inappropriate stuff to repeat!"
Bai Xiaolan and Gu Xiaobei also entered the room. Bai Xiaolan went to the west room first, carried a big package over, and placed it on the edge of the kang, saying, "Mom, this is full of walnut shells, dried figs, red dates, and felt boots for you and dad to wear indoors."
Wen Xiuqing quickly said, "Don’t bring them here. Take them directly to Capital City when you go back."
"It’s okay. I also have a bag of similar things for my mom," Bai Xiaolan said with a smile.
Wen Xiuqing said with concern, "You must have been tired enough from the long journey, and you still brought so many things. Don’t bring so many things next time."
Bai Xiaolan laughed and said, "We took the car and the train, so it didn’t take much effort." She then went over and picked up Xiaopang, kissed her little cheek and said, "Our Xiaopang is so adorable."
Looking at Xiaopang’s little legs kicking happily on Bai Xiaolan’s belly, Wen Xiuqing worriedly said, "Xiaolan, are you feeling okay?"
"What’s the matter? I’m in great shape," Bai Xiaolan said, confused.
Having understood what Wen Xiuqing meant, Ji Xiangdong laughed, "Mom, there’s no rush for this."
Wen Xiuqing gave a slightly disappointed oh, but she soon brightened up again. It took Gu Xiaobei and the others quite a long time to conceive Xiaopang, so maybe Xiaolan’s late arrival meant she could have twins.
For lunch, Gu Xiaobei cooked stretched noodles. It’s said that you have dumplings when leaving and noodles when returning, so they had welcoming noodles for lunch and planned to have braised chicken for dinner.
After lunch, Lu Zhanguo gave the key to the family building to Ji Xiangdong, advising him to go back there with Bai Xiaolan, take a bath, and get a good sleep. They couldn’t rest well here amid the noise of the two children.
Ji Xiangdong accepted without refusal. He took the change of clothes he had brought, as while traveling his coat had become dirty. Wearing Lu Zhanguo’s military coat, he returned to the family building with Bai Xiaolan.
Arriving at the entrance of the building, Bai Xiaolan didn’t notice the ice patch on the ground. She slipped and almost fell.
Ji Xiangdong quickly hugged her waist to help her regain balance. He didn’t let go, but instead held Bai Xiaolan as they walked into the building.
Zhao Hongmei was holding her child and looking at the scene from a window on her balcony. The sight of Ji Xiangdong holding Bai Xiaolan as they entered the building left her stunned—that egg could have fit in her wide-open mouth.
Lu Zhanguo was actually holding a woman and returning home.
