Kitchen smoke curled upwards.
In the kitchen, soup had begun to simmer. Large bones bought from the market were stewed with bamboo shoots, making for a nutritious and hearty soup.
Pork blood and wild vegetables were stir-fried together with a little oil, their aroma quite fragrant.
Pork belly was cut into small, square pieces, then braised until tender, creating a sweet, savory braised pork.
In the pot of white rice, the scent of the rice mingled with the aroma of the meat, filling the entire courtyard.
Zhao Sidan was chopping wild vegetables for the ducklings. As soon as he caught a whiff of the smells, he couldn't help but drool profusely.
Cheng Luanluan glared at him. "You can only eat after your Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother come back."
Zhao Dashan went to weed and fertilize the fields. No matter how much money he earned during the day, the first thing he did upon returning was to go to the fields. For a farmer, land was the most fundamental thing.
Zhao Ergou went up the mountain to fetch water. The village head had arranged for people to dig a reservoir at the foot of the mountain, making it closer for the villagers of Daha Village to carry water. The round trip took about a *ke* (quarter of an hour).
After Zhao Ergou carried back four buckets of water, he went up the mountain to help Zhao Sanniu chop firewood. The chopped wood was brought back and stacked in the courtyard, to be split after dinner.
Cheng Luanluan walked to the courtyard gate, preparing to call Zhao Dashan back for dinner. Just as she stepped out, Auntie Wang from next door whispered to her, "Dashan's mother, after you all left, Dashan's wife went alone to weed the fields and fell on the embankment. Luckily, my Damai saw her and helped her up, otherwise something serious might have happened."
Cheng Luanluan was stunned.
After she returned from town, Wu Huiniang didn't seem out of the ordinary. She had even told Wu Huiniang to cook, and she had been very busy.
"Thank you, Niqiu's mother."
Cheng Luanluan turned and went back into the house.
She saw Wu Huiniang sitting on a chair, resting. As soon as Wu Huiniang saw her enter, she immediately stood up and hurriedly checked the meat in the pot.
Cheng Luanluan's eyes narrowed. Her eldest daughter-in-law was trying to endure.
She walked over and pressed Wu Huiniang to sit down. "How do you feel?"
Wu Huiniang quickly shook her head. "Mother, I'm very well, nothing is wrong."
"Sidan, go invite Doctor Zheng here," Cheng Luanluan instructed, then forcefully pulled Wu Huiniang to lie on the bed. "From now on, if something like this happens again, you are not allowed to endure it."
Wu Huiniang's voice choked. "Mother, I'm too useless. I have no abilities, I can't help with earning money for the family, and I even fell and made you worry..."
"Who says you don't help?" Cheng Luanluan said. "Don't you help prepare the ice jelly every night? Don't you cook every meal in the house? Cleaning the house, washing clothes, which of these isn't done by you? We go to town to sell ice jelly during the day, and you also dig a lot of wild vegetables... If you fall, no one will do these tasks, and the house will become chaotic. Huiniang, from now on, don't look down on yourself."
Wu Huiniang's eyes reddened.
She had truly been frightened today. She had originally wanted to weed the fields so that Dashan could relax a bit when he returned, but the embankment was wet, and she slipped, falling to the ground. Luckily, Damai passed by, otherwise she didn't know how long she would have lain in the watery field.
As soon as she returned, she discovered blood flowing from her body. She was so frightened that she lay on the bed for two hours before calming down. Her body felt a little better, so she quickly went up the mountain to dig wild vegetables for the chickens and ducks, and then began cutting fabric to make clothes... In short, she was busy all day, and being so busy, she forgot about the bleeding.
1
It wasn't until her mother-in-law asked that she realized her abdomen still felt a dull ache.
She suddenly began to panic. What if she couldn't keep the child...?
Not long after, Physician Zheng arrived.