Next, she needed to think carefully about how to explain to others why she decided not to have a second child if her daughter were to be born.
Li Chunhua had not attended school for long, but she was still better educated than He Xuezhu, who had been sent off to elementary school but had returned home with her books and materials to do manual labor.
After months of contemplation, she finally devised a plan that would raise no suspicions from others and would keep her son’s infertility a secret.
That plan was to make everyone believe that she, Li Chunhua, had a deep fondness for He Xuezhu.
In this way, even if a girl was born, she could excuse not wanting them to have more children by claiming concern for her daughter-in-law’s health.
Li Chunhua knew that by doing this, if they had a girl, those who coveted her son Shiheng’s poor prospects would still keep wanting, but at least this approach would lead Shiheng to think she was unaware of his ability to have children.
This would spare Shiheng some discomfort.
To say that Li Chunhua had already planned to take good care of He Xuezhu would not be entirely accurate; it was more that she felt uncomfortable with the idea of a mother-in-law having to care for a daughter-in-law, which she had suppressed for her son’s sake.
When her son picked her up from the train station, Shiheng, being a dutiful child, even mentioned that he would have Xuezhu make meals and do laundry for her, showing concern for her well-being.
On the surface, Li Chunhua scolded her son for allowing the pregnant Xuezhu to work, but inside, she could not help but feel delighted.
In her son’s eyes, she, as the mother, was more important than the pregnant daughter-in-law, and as a mother, how could Li Chunhua not be pleased?
After the initial joy, any lingering dissatisfaction with the idea of having to serve He Xuezhu dissipated.
This child had no idea that in Shiheng’s heart, she was not as significant as his mother.
However, she couldn’t let Xuezhu know that pregnant women were prone to overthink. Fortunately, she had instructed Shiheng not to let Xuezhu work and to hide any favoritism toward himself over his mother.
With this thought, she straightened her back and cheerfully turned to her pregnant daughter-in-law, full of gratitude, asking, “Xuezhu, how long have you been waiting? You could have stayed at home; I’m not an outsider. You even came out waiting in such cold weather; don’t catch a cold.”
“I’ll make you chicken soup shortly to nourish you,” she added.
Seeing the deeper affection in He Xuezhu’s eyes, Li Chunhua felt both comforted and a tiny bit guilty.
How easily this child was fooled; she genuinely believed everything Li Chunhua had just said without a hint of doubt.
Yet, not all those words were entirely fabricated; she hadn’t realized it before, but Xuezhu was truly endearing.
Seeing Xuezhu look at Lin Shiheng with longing and dependence only increased Li Chunhua’s compassion as a mother-in-law who knew the “truth.”
If Shiheng was inattentive, she must not be too.
She needed to treat Xuezhu better and better.
***
Sister Zhang watched the smiling family of three, accompanied by their gentle and amiable questions, gradually walk away, feeling envious yet relieved.
“I never expected that Captain Lin’s mother would like Xuezhu so much.”
“Yes, it seems she loves her more than her own daughter. Xuezhu is truly blessed to have such a good mother-in-law.”
As they were speaking, a woman who usually didn’t get along with Zhou Qianqian suddenly recalled something and turned to look at Zhou Qianqian’s pale face: “Didn’t someone say something about eating dirt previously?”
“Hey, but last time when it was said to eat plastic bags, that didn’t happen either. I guess it won’t this time, either. In the future, if you don’t have such good insight, it’s better to stay quiet; your words are as empty as farts and never come true.”
Zhou Qianqian, being mocked, turned pale and subconsciously glanced at Miao Xing, hoping she would speak up for her, only to see Miao Xing’s expression was not good either. Her once exquisitely beautiful makeup had dimmed slightly, and her eyes were entirely averted from Zhou Qianqian.
Meanwhile, the woman who didn’t get along with her continued to mock, “If you can’t eat it, then hurry home to hide. Don’t do like last time, hiding for ten days or half a month. Isn’t that your specialty?”
“Fine, I’ll eat it! You think I’m scared of you?”
Zhou Qianqian could not stand being teased, so impulsively, she squatted down to grab a handful of dirt. Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, the earthy smell from her fingers stopped her, and she hesitated to open her mouth.
How disgusting; how could she eat this?
But if she didn’t eat it, she would surely be laughed at and pointed at behind her back.
In her moment of indecision, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and wrapped her arms around her belly, rushing to a large tree to support herself while feigning dry heaving.
Everyone knew she was pregnant, and upon seeing this scene, they were all taken aback, even the woman who typically had issues with her backed off and no longer pressed her.
After all, there was a life in her belly; if something went wrong, it would create a deadly feud.
Seeing that they indeed stopped forcing her, Zhou Qianqian bent over, clutching the tree, and a satisfied smile appeared on her lowered face.
Just as she was feeling smug, something suddenly dropped from above, landing on her head.
Zhou Qianqian instinctively reached up to wipe it away and ended up with bird droppings on her hand.
Her expression turned stiff and pale, and before she could react, another splat fell from the sky, landing squarely on her forehead, emanating an awful stench, slowly sliding down.
“Ah!!!”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!!!”
Watching her embarrassed state, the woman who usually clashed with her burst into laughter: “You deserve it! Serving you right for spreading rumors; even heaven is punishing you!”
“Shut up!!”
Zhou Qianqian, already driven mad by the continuous blows to her dignity, lost control: “Do you really think He Xuezhu’s mother-in-law likes her? Isn’t it just because of the child in her belly? Once she gives birth to a girl, just wait and see!”
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