The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 166 - 165: Pregnant?

Fall clothes were a bit more expensive than summer clothes. The fastest-selling items were sweaters and wide-leg pants. Jeans were relatively pricey, and since people had never worn them before, some were hesitant to try.

After about three or four days, jeans suddenly became a hit in Beijing City. Many people came specifically to He Lang’s stall to buy them.

"This is the place that sells jeans, right?"

He Lang nodded. "That’s right. We’re the only ones who have them."

"I’ll take two pairs."

"I want a pair, too."

The jeans He Lang had brought back were quickly snapped up. When he needed to restock, he was smarter about it. He had gotten a phone number in Yangcheng before leaving. Now, he could just call, pay a deposit to have the items shipped directly to him, and then settle the final payment once they arrived.

However, just as He Lang’s second shipment of jeans arrived, the department store also started selling them, siphoning off some of his customers.

On a Sunday in mid-October, He Ziqing came to visit.

She was overjoyed to hear that Little Chen was there and even followed them to the market. By now, the market had more than just He Lang’s clothing stall, but he had built up a base of loyal customers, so foot traffic was still pretty good.

Xue Yue picked out an outfit for the young girl, but when He Ziqing insisted on paying, Xue Yue refused. "We sell the clothes ourselves, don’t worry about the money. We’re not going to miss two items."

Unexpectedly, the girl was quite shy and insisted on paying no matter what. Left with no choice, Xue Yue charged her only the cost price.

Xue Xingzhou and Zhang Qian arrived. It had been a month since their last visit.

Xue Yue teased them, "You two must be enjoying your time as a couple a little too much. Have you forgotten all about us?"

Zhang Qian laughed and linked her arm through Xue Yue’s. "Of course not! We just bought a house, you know? We’ve been busy every day fixing it up and buying things, so we haven’t had time to come over."

Xue Yue grinned. "So what made you think of your little sister today?"

Blushing, Zhang Qian reached out and gently touched her stomach.

Xue Yue stared at her in surprise, then turned to look at Xue Xingzhou.

Xue Xingzhou nodded, his eyes filled with a smile.

"How far along? Have you been to the hospital for a check-up?"

"Mhm, we just went this morning. We came straight here from the hospital. My period is two months late. If your brother hadn’t reminded me, I would’ve been completely oblivious."

Xue Yue happily asked her brother, "Have you told Uncle Zheng?"

Xue Xingzhou shook his head. "Not yet."

"This is such great news! You should tell Uncle Zheng sooner. He’ll definitely be thrilled."

Xue Yue quickly found a stool for Zhang Qian. "You’re pregnant, you need to sit down."

Looking at Zhang Qian’s stomach, she said, "Oh my, you’re finally expecting! I’m going to be an aunt!"

Zhang Qian smiled. "It’s still early. I’m only about a month along."

’Zhang Qian used to have a lingering fear of having children. But ever since Xue Xingzhou suggested she might be pregnant, she hadn’t felt the slightest hesitation. Overwhelming joy drowned out everything else. Perhaps this was the power of love; she was willing to have this man’s child.’

"Oh, right, where did you buy your house? When can you move in?" Xue Yue asked.

"It’s not far from here, about a ten-minute walk. It’s also only about a ten-minute walk for Qianqian to get to school."

"We just need to air it out for a few more days, then we can move in. It also has a large courtyard, but it’s not a siheyuan. We’ll take you to see it sometime."

Xue Yue was delighted to hear that. "That’s great! If you’re living so close, I won’t have to go a whole month without seeing you."

Then the conversation turned back to the pregnancy.

Xue Yue wondered if it would be too tiring to attend school while pregnant.

"It shouldn’t be too bad, and it won’t affect my classes. I’ll just take a leave of absence when it’s almost time to give birth. I did the math, and my postpartum confinement next year might even fall during summer vacation. If that happens, I might not even need to take leave."

’Zhang Qian really had it all planned out.’

Xue Yue didn’t have the heart to rain on her parade. "You two are only thinking about giving birth. What about after? You both have to go to school, so who’s going to take care of the baby?"

Zhang Qian looked at Xue Xingzhou. She didn’t know either; she couldn’t very well bring the baby to school with her.

Xue Xingzhou had a calm expression. "We’ll figure it out when the time comes."

’Xue Yue was utterly speechless. What a pair of carefree parents-to-be.’

At noon, Xue Yue did the cooking. She had specially gone out to buy an old hen, stewing half of it for soup and braising the other half. She also made fish with pickled greens, crispy fried pork, and a cold dish of glass noodles and cucumber.

Fortunately, Zhang Qian wasn’t showing any signs of morning sickness and had a good appetite. After the meal, she strolled around the courtyard, contentedly full.

"I haven’t been this full in ages. I wish I could live here every day."

Xue Yue raised an eyebrow. "Tsk tsk, you make it sound like my brother doesn’t feed you."

Zhang Qian sighed. "Neither Dad nor I know how to cook. Your brother is okay, but just okay. His food isn’t what I’d call delicious. My poor stomach... whenever I really can’t stand it anymore, we go out to eat to satisfy my cravings."

Xue Xingzhou shot Zhang Qian a look. "My cooking is ’just okay’? Who was it that said last time my food was the most delicious thing she’d ever eaten?"

Zhang Qian stuck her tongue out. "I was just encouraging you! You can’t get arrogant. You still have room for improvement."

Xue Xingzhou’s lips twitched. ’Women,’ he thought.

Xue Yue watched them with a smile. "Once you move in, if you don’t feel like cooking in the evening, just come over and eat. Besides, my Daya is a great cook, too. Daya has the potential to be a real chef."

Zhang Qian sighed wistfully. "Daya is wonderful. She can watch the kids for you and cook. Where do you find a girl that great? I wish I had a Daya too."

Xue Yue said proudly, "Right? I’m just lucky. Daya is our little housekeeper. I really don’t know what I’d do without her."

Daya’s little face turned red. Her eyes crinkled with a smile as she covered her mouth and watched them.

In the afternoon, they returned from Xue Yue’s place. After waiting for a little while, Zheng Guofeng came home from work.

Seeing Zhang Qian and Xue Xingzhou sitting in the living room, he smiled and asked, "Didn’t you go decorate the new house today?"

Zhang Qian glanced at Xue Xingzhou, then shook her head. "No, Dad. We went to the hospital today. The doctor said I’m pregnant, a little over a month along."

Zheng Guofeng’s hand, which was hanging up his clothes, froze. He turned to look at Zhang Qian, his gaze sweeping over her stomach. "You’re—you’re pregnant?" Zheng Guofeng’s voice trembled, but with joy.

"Mhm."

Zheng Guofeng paced back and forth a couple of times, completely at a loss. He clapped his hands. "Good, this is great news."

"Then can you still go to school? What did the doctor say? Did they mention anything to watch out for?"

Zheng Guofeng fired off a series of questions, and Zhang Qian didn’t know which one to answer first.

"Oh! The market isn’t closed yet. I’ll go buy an old hen to make you some soup. You need to get your nutrients."

Chattering endlessly in his excitement, Zheng Guofeng went to grab the jacket he had just hung on the rack.

Zhang Qian stood up. "Dad, don’t go. We already ate at Xue Yue’s for lunch."

Zheng Guofeng paused for a moment. "You already had old hen? Then I’ll go buy a fish for dinner tonight."

After saying that, he grabbed his jacket and left anyway.

Zhang Qian looked helplessly at Xue Xingzhou, who simply shrugged.

"If he wants to go, just let him. Otherwise, who knows what he’ll do in his excitement."