Free Web NovelChapter 51: Chapter 51: A Few Things During Pregnancy (2)
As dusk settled in, Li Xiu finally finished work and headed home. He saw Zhou Lian bustling in the kitchen, and a blissful smile spread across his face. He quickly washed up and went to help her.
"Bao’er, let me take over. You go rest," Li Xiu said, hugging his wife and giving her a kiss.
"I’m almost done. Just take the dishes to the table," Zhou Lian said with a smile, looking at the man who refused to let her go. She had grown accustomed to Li Xiu holding her whenever he was home, kissing her at a moment’s notice. ’It’s a scary habit, but I don’t dislike it.’
"Alright, Bao’er, go wash your hands," Li Xiu said, stealing another quick kiss before gently pushing her to go wash up for dinner.
Sitting at the dinner table and looking at the feast his wife had prepared, Li Xiu hesitantly asked her in a low voice, "Bao’er, can I have a little wine? Just a small cup."
Zhou Lian looked at him in surprise. ’Doesn’t he avoid alcohol?’ "What’s wrong?" she asked. "Is something on your mind?"
"Not at all! I’m just happy. Isn’t it the Mid-Autumn Festival today? I’ve got my beautiful wife and our child on the way, so what could I possibly be worried about? I’m just so excited! This is our family of three’s first festival together!" Li Xiu quickly explained. ’How could she think something was wrong? I’m thrilled! This is the first time in this life I get to celebrate a festival with my wife and daughter!’
"Alright, then! Just don’t get drunk. Remember last time at my dad’s? I’m not taking care of you if you get drunk today!" Seeing how excited he was, Zhou Lian didn’t have the heart to shut him down. A small drink was fine; she just hated it when men got drunk and unruly.
"Okay! I’ll just have a little of the wine I made myself. I won’t get drunk!" Li Xiu agreed happily and ran to the cellar to get it. He had made it last autumn after finding a patch of wild grapes in the mountains. The grapes were small and sour, and he’d thought it was a shame to let them go to waste, so he decided to make wine for his wife. ’Isn’t wine supposed to be good for a woman’s health?’
Seeing Li Xiu return with a large jar, Zhou Lian asked quizzically, "Isn’t that for pickled vegetables?" There were several such jars in the cellar, and she had just assumed that’s what he’d made. Since they still had plenty in the kitchen, she’d never bothered to check on them.
"Huh? Oh, I forgot to tell you. These jars are wine I made for you. I read in a book that it’s good for a woman’s health to drink a little bit of wine regularly. This is made from the wild grapes in the mountains. You should have a cup too!"
Li Xiu said with a laugh. ’My wife really has an imagination. Why would I pickle so much? We already have several jars of pickled vegetables in the kitchen. There are six or seven jars of wine in the cellar. If this were all pickled vegetables, it would take the two of us years to eat it all!’
"Can I drink it? Is it okay to drink alcohol while pregnant?" Zhou Lian looked at him doubtfully. She remembered that drinking during pregnancy was bad for the baby.
"This wine barely has any alcohol in it. It’s fine to have a small cup just to taste it!" Seeing his wife’s concern for the baby, Li Xiu quickly explained. ’It’s true you can’t drink when you’re pregnant, but this homemade wine is practically juice. Besides, it’s just a tiny cup to try.’
The liquid poured into the cup was crystal clear and a beautiful, glistening red. Zhou Lian asked in amazement, "How did you make this? It’s so pretty, and it smells so sweet, like grapes."
Seeing how much his wife liked it, Li Xiu was also very happy. He slowly explained the process to her: "You just wash the grapes and let them dry completely. Then you crush them and put them in a jar with a layer of grapes, a layer of rock sugar, and so on, until the jar is about seventy percent full. Seal it tightly, and after a month or so, you scoop out the grape skins and seeds. Then you just filter the liquid several times through a fine mesh cloth, and that’s it."
"It’s that simple?"
"Mhm. Since I was making it for you, I didn’t add any *baijiu*. If you want it to be stronger, you can just add some *baijiu* during the fermentation process." Li Xiu said with an amused laugh, looking at his wife’s surprised expression. ’She’s starting to act her age more and more. Her expressions are getting so much richer.’
Looking at his wife’s flushed face in his arms, Li Xiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’Just one small cup, barely a sip, with almost no alcohol, and she’s already drunk? I remember from our last life that she was a pretty good drinker. She could handle half a catty of *baijiu*!’
"Bao’er, let’s go sleep in bed!"
"Okay, I’m sleepy. I want to sleep. Don’t bother me!" Zhou Lian mumbled, snuggling against his chest.
Li Xiu carefully carried his wife to the bed and laid her down. He took off her shoes and outer clothes, covered her with a thin blanket, and patted her gently to help her sleep soundly.
He went out to the courtyard, cleared the dinner table, cleaned the kitchen, and then washed up himself before getting into bed to hold his wife and sleep. He had to get up early for work tomorrow.
After the couple ate breakfast, Li Xiu discussed something with Zhou Lian before leaving for work. "Once things calm down in a couple of days, how about I take you to Zhou Family Village to stay for a while?"
Zhou Lian looked at him, confused. ’Why would he bring that up all of a sudden? Wait a minute...’ "You’re planning to go into the mountains!"
Seeing his wife’s fierce expression, Li Xiu suppressed a laugh and said softly, "Bao’er, your belly will be much bigger soon, and I won’t feel at ease leaving you anywhere. We’ll have a few days off after the autumn harvest. I want to take that chance to make a trip into the mountains. Otherwise, the work team will get busy again, and the next break won’t be for another month or so. You’ll be seven or eight months along by then. How could I possibly leave you then?"
"If you’re so worried, then just don’t go!" Zhou Lian grumbled, unhappy. She knew her husband was doing it all for their family, but going into the mountains was so dangerous. Who could guarantee it was completely safe? Hunting rabbits, pheasants, or even wild boars was one thing—he did that on the outskirts. But getting ginseng meant going deep into the mountains!
Gently pulling his wife into his arms, Li Xiu looked into her eyes and said softly, "Bao’er, don’t worry. You know your husband. I value my life more than anything. I still want to live a long, happy life with you! Relax, alright? Just this once. I won’t go into the deep mountains so easily again in the future, okay?"
Knowing his temperament, Zhou Lian didn’t press the issue, as it would only make him worry more. "Fine," she said. "But I’m not going to my parents’ house. I’ll wait for you here at home."
Hearing this, Li Xiu frowned. "I won’t be at ease with you home by yourself. What if you need something and there’s no one around to help? No, that’s not happening."
"But when I go to my mom’s, I don’t feel as comfortable as I do at home anymore," Zhou Lian said, a little pouty. ’When a woman gets married and goes back to stay at her parents’ house, it’s not just her mom and dad anymore. There are brothers and sisters-in-law, and you always end up feeling like an outsider.’
Understanding what she meant, Li Xiu hugged her tighter, pleased. "Then you don’t have to go. How about I ask Li Hua or one of the others to come stay with you?"
Zhou Lian knew her husband wouldn’t be at ease leaving her alone. She thought for a moment and said, "Ask Grandma to come. She can keep me company. We also have some meat here, so she can have some nutritious food too." ’His grandmother has always been very reasonable. In my last life, I relied on her a lot when I gave birth and during my postpartum confinement.’
"Alright, then. I was just worried Grandma might be a bit controlling about some things, and you wouldn’t feel comfortable," Li Xiu said with a smile. ’My wife is a bit delicate now that she’s pregnant, and I’ve been spoiling her. Grandma is an elder, and if she nags her, I’ll be the one whose heart aches.’
Zhou Lian smiled. ’This man of mine...’ "It’s fine. Grandma isn’t an unreasonable person. Besides, I’m not that sensitive. What’s wrong with an elder saying a few words? People only say things because they care!"
"Okay, I’ll talk to Grandma. I knew my darling was the most reasonable one!" Li Xiu said happily, kissing his wife again. "You rest at home. I’m off to work. Lunch is already prepared, so don’t busy yourself with cooking. It’s too hot."
"Okay, you should get going, or you’ll be late." Zhou Lian gently pushed Li Xiu to let her go.
After seeing Li Xiu off, Zhou Lian turned back and closed the door. ’He’ll only be gone for a few days. With the weather this hot, I should make my husband something good to take with him into the mountains. He was lucky last time and found what he was looking for on the first day, but who knows what will happen this time? I should prepare a bit extra for him.’
’But I have to hide it from him. I can’t let him know, or he’ll worry I’m overworking myself and won’t let me do it.’ At this thought, Zhou Lian smiled sweetly. What woman wouldn’t want her husband to care so deeply for her? She had grown used to Li Xiu’s doting. It seemed no woman could resist being cherished by her man, and Zhou Lian was no exception. Even though their last life hadn’t been a happy one, they had been a young couple in both lives.
Li Xiu had always been very good to her. Even in their last life, aside from the one time he slapped her, he had always cherished her. But even in this life, she still couldn’t forgive that slap. She was still on guard around Li Xiu. ’Oh well,’ she thought. ’I doubt he’d dare to lay a hand on me in this life anyway.’
