Daily Life in the 70s
Chapter 313 Homely

Chapter 313: Chapter 313 Homely

Yang Peimin was ordered to rest, and she was indeed exhausted. After changing her clothes in her room, she lay down immediately. When Chen Guizhi asked her what she would like to eat, she replied that she was not hungry yet, as she had already eaten after getting off the train.

Once she had returned to her room, in the main house, the elderly couple of the Shen family asked Shen Yixiang about Yang Peimin, "I heard that your sister-in-law fell down the day before yesterday. What exactly happened?"

It was really because Shen Yixiang had accidentally let it slip during a phone call that Yang Peimin was in the hospital, since both Shen Yiguang and Yang Pei had made it clear not to tell the family about her being hit in the stomach and hospitalized, to avoid undue worry and any reckless actions.

Under persistent questioning from Shen Erniu, who had answered the phone, she only mentioned that she had fallen and gone to the hospital for a check-up and that there wasn’t anything serious. She dared not tell him about the near miscarriage caused by a blow to the stomach.

Nevertheless, this worried the elderly couple of the Shen family a great deal. Chen Guizhi even secretly fetched an image of The Bodhisattva Guanyin and hung it in the room, burning three sticks of incense morning and evening. Shen Erniu couldn’t talk her out of it.

This is how Chen Guizhi sighed to Shen Erniu, "Our daughter-in-law is wonderful in every way, but her health is a bit frail. This pregnancy, I always feel Yixiang isn’t telling the whole story. My heart feels uneasy every day. Last night, I even dreamt that, dreamt that the child grew wings and flew away... Do you think that means something might..."

"Don’t talk nonsense. If you think about the dates, it has been a full three months now. It should be much more stable. If you were still worried, you shouldn’t have let them come back for the holidays. Traveling back and forth can be quite exhausting..."

"Yes, yes, that’s right. Let’s not have them come back then. There’s nothing urgent at home. Once the daughter-in-law has safely given birth, we can visit them..."

However, later on, Shen Yiguang sent a telegram saying that they were planning to come over, which made them both happy and worried.

They anxiously awaited their arrival at home, but finally seeing their daughter-in-law safe and sound relieved them. They then asked about the previous incident so they could understand the situation, to prevent the youngsters from inadvertently complicating matters due to their lack of experience.

Shen Yixiang just glanced at Shen Yiguang. There was someone in charge of the matter, so there was no need to involve her. She wasn’t sure how to respond.

Shen Qieguang then said, "In the past few months, the pregnancy wasn’t going well. She took leave from school and rested at home for many days. We only came back after the pregnancy had stabilized. Mom and Dad, don’t worry, everything is fine now. Just need to be careful on a daily basis."

Chen Guizhi patted her chest, exhaling a sigh of relief. After carefully observing Yang Peimin’s complexion, which apart from showing signs of fatigue, seemed relatively healthy, she felt reassured and repeatedly said, "That’s good, that’s good. Let her sleep well now. We’ll wake her up when it’s time to eat. Considering the time, it’s appropriate for Yiyue to catch a hen and make some soup for your sister-in-law. Ah Guang, you go over to your mother-in-law’s house later to update them and see when you guys plan to visit."

"Just the other day when I was in town, I made a special trip to see me... She is really thoughtful. We are parents after all, and we worry so much about you both..."

After calming down, Chen Guizhi also started talking about household matters.

When Yang Peimin woke up, it was already past four o’clock. She got up, washed her face, and re-did her hair before coming outside.

The courtyard was lively. Her husband was splitting wood and carrying water, while sisters Yixiang and Yiyue were busy killing chickens and picking vegetables, quietly talking to each other. Shen Yidong was chopping pigweed nearby, and Xiao Fen and Xiao Fang were picking up feathers from the ground, planning to ask someone to make shuttlecocks.

A typical scene of rural family life, Yang Peimin felt a warm sense of home.

Shen Yiguang soon noticed her and smilingly said, "You’re up. It’s windy out here; come inside and sit, mother is inside."

"Aunt, aunt..." Xiao Fen and Xiao Fang turned their heads, saw her, and quickly dropped the chicken feathers, running over.

Shen Yixiang reacted especially quickly, jumping up and grabbing each girl by the back of their collars, "You two girls, didn’t we just talk about this? Did you forget? Aunt has a baby in her belly, you can’t jump on her like that."

"I know, Auntie."

Shen Yixiang then let them go.

Shen Yiyue and Shen Yidong looked at her with puzzled expressions, "Yixiang, with that reaction, Mother really didn’t call the wrong person, asking you to take care of your sister-in-law was indeed the right decision."

Shen Yixiang nodded, "Definitely."

Shen Yidong watched her expression and was even more amazed. He thought to himself that this girl used to have big opinions about Yang PeiMin, she was quite reluctant to come over previously, but now she was protecting Yang PeiMin. It seemed that this girl had benefited quite a bit from her sister-in-law.

With that thought, when Shen Yidong looked at Yang PeiMin, he also smiled warmly, "The kids are just noisy, don’t mind them. Sister-in-law, come inside and sit, we’re here, it won’t be long before we can eat."

Yang PeiMin smiled and accepted.

It was also a lovely day, the sun had not yet set. Bringing out a chair to sit would be nice.

Just then, Chen Guizhi, who was inside, heard the commotion outside and called out, "Did my daughter-in-law wake up? Come inside quickly, it’s warm on the kang."

As it happened, a neighbor came over to visit, seeing the bustle at the Shen family, she couldn’t help but exclaim, "Look at this diligent family, slaughtering chickens so early? Is Ah Guang back today? I haven’t seen you for a long time, Yixiang is back too. Look, a few months out there and there’s a change, even your face has gotten a bit fairer. The sun outside the city doesn’t tan as much." This neighbor, known as Third Aunt, was quick with words, usually the one to gossip about the Zhangs and the Lis, and loved to be in the thick of things. Though she wasn’t mean-spirited, just a bit gossipy.

She heard that the Shen family’s son who had joined the army had come back and had taken Yixiang with him there, and now they were back. With nothing else on hand, she brought two like-minded daughters-in-law from the neighborhood saying they’d come to sit for a while and check on Chen Guizhi, who had been ill recently. It was only right for them to come and express their care.

"Ah Guang’s wife, oh, I just said I hadn’t seen you, you still look the same as before, not changed a bit, no, that’s wrong, your education has gotten even higher, you’re a university graduate now, Yiyue too..."

While talking, she walked over to Yang PeiMin. Hearing the noise, Chen Guizhi also came out and invited them in to sit.

Her main aim was still calling Yang PeiMin, "It’s windy outside, don’t stand there, come up quickly."

Yang PeiMin responded and followed her inside. Chen Guizhi was not walking very steadily, her right foot was a bit numb and hadn’t fully recovered. Yang PeiMin wanted to help her.

Chen Guizhi hurriedly stopped her, "No need, no need, I’m fine, it’s nothing much."

One of the daughters-in-law who came with Third Aunt helped Chen Guizhi onto the kang, laughing, "Look at this, how she cherishes her daughter-in-law."

Yang PeiMin smiled, shook her head, and also brought out the things to entertain the guests from home.