Chapter 737: Four and a Half Babies!
It was just past one o’clock when they returned from the county seat.
Dinner was already ready at home—a big pot of stewed vegetables, with buckwheat noodles as the main dish.
After the meal, Father, Mother, and my eldest sister went back to the room next door, leaving only Li Yi, Jiang Xue, and the two children in the main room.
Over the past couple of days, Yunrui and Yunjin had been learning to walk. Though they were still wobbly, they could manage a few steps.
To prevent the children from bumping into things, Li Yi and Jiang Xue didn’t dare leave their sides for a moment.
Inside the room, Li Yi stood by the edge of the kang, holding a pretty rattle in his hand.
Shaking the rattle, Li Yi smiled warmly at Yun Rui on the kang and said, “Son, come to Daddy.”
Hearing Li Yi’s call and glancing at the rattle in his hand, the little guy actually managed to pull himself up by the windowsill. Then, waddling on his chubby little legs, he made his way toward the edge of the kang.
But the child’s legs weren’t strong enough yet, and he hadn’t quite mastered his balance, so after just two or three steps, he plopped right back down onto the kang.
Jiang Xue, who was holding Yunjin nearby, was about to step forward to help, but Li Yi called out to her.
“Don’t help him up—let our son get up on his own!”
Although her heart ached for him, Jiang Xue held back.
At that moment, the rattle in Li Yi’s hand began to shake even more vigorously.
Seeing that no one was helping him, the little guy immediately crawled back to his feet and continued walking toward Li Yi.
This time, he didn’t fall again. He walked straight up to Li Yi and grabbed his beloved rattle.
The moment he got the rattle, the little boy burst into a happy laugh, and his small hand holding the rattle began to sway from side to side, imitating Li Yi’s movements.
Although it looked a bit clumsy, it still produced a “thump-thump” sound.
Seeing their son so happy, Li Yi and Jiang Xue were delighted as well.
Then Jiang Xue followed suit and began teaching Yunjin how to walk.
For a while, the room was filled with the happy laughter of adults and children—it was a truly heartwarming scene!
After playing for over an hour, both children were tired. The couple each held one, and before long, the two children had fallen asleep.
Just as he had settled Yunrui and Yunjin, Li Yi was about to discuss their post-New Year plans with Jiang Xue when he heard a commotion outside the front gate.
Looking out the window, Li Yi saw Yongzi and Xiaogouwa coming over together.
As soon as the two stepped inside, Li Yi asked, “What brings you two here?”
“Brother Yi, the village militia squad is going on patrol in the back mountains. We’re planning to tag along—are you coming?” Yongzi asked.
“You guys aren’t part of the militia squad. What are you going there for?” Li Yi asked.
“We want to tag along to hunt some game. We’ll come back together once the militia squad finishes their patrol!” Yongzi said.
Li Yi was instantly tempted. Although he’d had a decent haul last night, those thugs had ruined his mood.
However, before he could speak up, Jiang Xue chimed in from the side: “Yongzi, Xiaogouwa, Yi has other things to do this afternoon, so he won’t be going with you guys!”
“Alright, then we’ll go on our own!”
With that, the two of them got up to leave.
“Wait a minute!”
Li Yi then opened the bright red cabinet in the room and took out his shoulder bag.
He then took two thick envelopes out of the bag and said to Yongzi and Xiaogouwawa, “Take these!”
Neither of them moved!
Then Yongzi spoke up, “Brother Yi, we…”
“Stop blabbering. Take them. Didn’t we agree on this earlier?” Li Yi cut him off.
At that moment, Jiang Xue, who was on the kang, added, “Take them. Yi Ge prepared these especially for you two. If you don’t take them, he’ll be upset!”
Yongzi glanced at Xiaogouwa, then stepped forward to take the envelopes, saying, “Thanks, Brother Yi. Thanks, Sister-in-law!”
Seeing that Yongzi had taken it, Xiaogouwa also took the envelope and thanked them in unison!
After the two young men took the money, Li Yi immediately asked, “Xiaogouwa, how are Ergouzi, Daya, and Erya doing?”
“They’re all doing great. After the village school was finished this year, I sent them all to school. Erdouzi’s grades are just average, but Daya and Erya are doing really well!” Xiaogouwa said with a wide grin.
“That’s good. People need to study no matter what, and that’s especially true for kids from the mountains like us!” Li Yi said.
“Mm-hmm!”
“You’ve saved up quite a bit of money now. Once the weather warms up next year, fix up the house. If that’s really not possible, just build a brand-new one. If you don’t have enough money, just let me know!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
“Alright, if you two want to head up the mountain, go ahead. Just remember to be really careful!” Li Yi said.
“Brother Yi, Sister-in-law, we’ll be on our way then!” Yongzi said.
“Alright…”
After the two young men left, Li Yi turned to his wife and asked, “What’s going on this afternoon? Why didn’t I know about this?”
Jiang Xue shot him a look, then said, “I didn’t want you to go up the mountain—it’s too dangerous!”
“I knew it. Great. Now I can’t even go up the mountain anymore. What’s the fun in living in this village then?” Li Yi said with a hint of resignation.
Jiang Xue replied, “Someone died on the mountain just yesterday. It’s unsettling and bad luck. Just stay home and mind your own business for the next few days!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you. After all, you’re the boss around here!” Li Yi said with a laugh.
Jiang Xue’s face flushed slightly, and she said, “It’s not that I want to boss you around, but the mountain really isn’t safe. You have a lot of responsibility right now—you can’t just go taking risks!”
“Got it!”
Just then, Jiang Xue changed the subject and asked, “By the way, do you have any plans after the New Year?”
“Nothing set in stone yet, but I’m planning to make a trip to Lin’an in March!” Li Yi said.
“What are you going to Lin’an for? You don’t have any business there, do you?” Jiang Xue asked.
“I need to go there to investigate a project, but it shouldn’t take long. Why, do you have plans?”
Li Yi couldn’t bring himself to tell Jiang Xue the truth about going to rescue Xiao Jingshu’s parents, so he had to come up with this excuse.
“Nothing much. My mom wants to visit Yongxian, but my dad’s too busy with work, so I was thinking you could come with us!” Jiang Xue said.
“Why did Mom suddenly decide to go to Yong County? Didn’t she have some psychological trauma about that place?” Li Yi asked curiously.
“Mom said she’s always wanted to go back and take a look, but because of that incident, she never had the courage!”
Jiang Xu continued, “Now that I’m back with her and she’s let go of that emotional burden, she wants to go take a look before school starts again!”
“Alright, when does Mom plan to leave?” Li Yi asked.
“After the seventh or eighth day of the New Year. It mainly depends on your schedule—as long as we don’t go past March when school starts!” Jiang Xue said.
“Alright, then we’ll set a specific date after the New Year’s celebrations are over!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
Jiang Xue then looked at Li Yi, opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.
This hesitant expression immediately piqued Li Yi’s curiosity, and he asked right away, “Just say what you want to say. This look of wanting to speak but not daring to—it’s awkward and makes me feel uneasy!”
Jiang Xue’s face flushed, and she immediately lowered her head.
After a moment, as if she’d made up her mind, she lifted her head and looked at Li Yi with a determined gaze.
“I… let’s have another baby!”
“???”
Li Yi was taken aback at first, then looked at her and said, “Why did you suddenly decide you want a second child? It’s only been a year since you gave birth. Getting pregnant again so soon won’t be good for your health!”
“Besides, you’re still in school. If you get pregnant, between the pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, you’ll have to take at least a year off. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I…”
After a long pause, Jiang Xue sighed and said, “Do you know that the government is going to enforce a family planning policy? If we don’t have another child now, I’m afraid that in the future…”
Li Yi thought it over carefully. The mandatory implementation of family planning and the establishment of this policy as a fundamental national policy was indeed set for this year; as far as he remembered, it was supposed to start in September.
It seemed his wife had found out about this in advance, which was why she wanted to settle the matter of having a second child before the policy took effect.
“Are you worried we won’t be able to have more children in the future?”
“Mm-hmm!”
“Haha, you’re overthinking it. If you want to, we can wait until after you graduate—then we can have a baby whenever we want!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Really?”
“Don’t you remember? We have a business and a house over in Hong Kong. Worst-case scenario, we’ll just have the baby there and come back!”
Li Yi continued, “Besides, even if we violate the family planning policy, it’s just a fine. Our family can afford it—we could even afford to have a whole soccer team if you wanted!”
“How many people are on a soccer team?”
“Eleven!”
Jiang Xue immediately punched him in the chest and said, her face flushing, “Do you think I’m a sow? How could I possibly have that many!”
Li Yi quipped, “We’ll have twins for our first child, and then four and a half more will be enough!”
“Four and a half kids? That really isn’t that many!” Jiang Xue said with a serious expression.
Li Yi: @#￥%……&
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