The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 106 - 105: The Unfortunate Yang Xiaoxia

The toy finally caught Ruanruan’s attention, and He Lang seized the opportunity to pick her up.

Xue Yue looked at her little hand. It was only a scratch, nothing serious. A child’s skin is so delicate that it looked a little conspicuous, but it would heal in a few days. She wasn’t worried.

Once everything was put away, He Lang went to rest. He’d been driving all day.

Xue Yue put Ruanruan in her stroller and headed to the old family house again, bringing along the gifts she’d bought for Mr. and Mrs. He.

Ruanruan was clutching her doll.

Just as she walked through the door, she ran into Gao Cuiyun, who was on her way out with her child in her arms.

Gao Cuiyun’s gaze fell on Xue Yue’s pretty dress and the watch on her wrist, and a flicker of envy crossed her face. Then she noticed Ruanruan in the stroller. The girl was wearing yet another new outfit and hugging a doll. Gao Cuiyun rolled her eyes at the mother and daughter.

"Hmph."

Xue Yue shot Gao Cuiyun a quizzical look and frowned. ’What’s her problem now?’ she wondered.

When Mrs. He saw Xue Yue, she greeted her warmly. "Xue Yue, are you here for Ruanruan’s things? I’ve already packed them all. I was just about to bring them over."

Xue Yue set down the bags she was carrying.

"Yes. I also picked up a few things for you and Dad while I was in the provincial capital."

Xue Yue took out the clothes she had bought for Mrs. He. "Mom, I got this for you. Why don’t you try it on and see if you like it?"

Mrs. He took it, her face breaking into a wide grin.

"I love it! It’s beautiful, how could I not? But it must have been expensive, wasn’t it? It’s a waste of money for me to wear something so nice. I spend all day working in the fields, so it hardly matters what I wear."

"Mom, I’m just glad you like it. And who says country folks can’t wear nice clothes? It’s not like you’re working every single day. In the future, when we’re better off, you’ll be able to wear new clothes all the time."

Mrs. He beamed. "New clothes every day? Can you imagine how much that would cost? I’m happy enough to get one new outfit a year."

Then she pointed to Xue Yue’s outfit. "You bought this in the city, too, didn’t you? It looks wonderful. These things always look better on you young people."

Mrs. He had also noticed the watch on Xue Yue’s wrist, but she had no intention of commenting on it. Her three sons were all married and had their own households now. Whether they lived well or not was their own doing, and she and her husband didn’t want to interfere.

He Lang had actually bought the watch for Xue Yue on a previous trip to Yangcheng. She had always just kept it at home to tell time, never wearing it out because she felt it was too flashy.

But for this trip to the provincial capital with He Lang, she had deliberately worn it. ’Lots of people in the city wear watches,’ she thought. ’From now on, I’ll wear mine too. I won’t worry about what other people say.’

Xue Yue nodded. "Yes, Mom. When you get the chance, you should have He Lang take you and Dad to have a look around. The world out there is so big and beautiful. The department stores in the city sell everything imaginable."

Mrs. He smiled. "I’ll definitely go if I get the chance. To be honest, I don’t even make it to the co-op in town more than once or twice a year."

In truth, it wasn’t just them. For most people in the countryside, the farthest they had ever traveled was to the local town. Travel wasn’t easy back then; you needed a letter of introduction just to leave the area. But the biggest issue was money. No one was well-off, and after covering basic living expenses, there was no spare cash for trips.

Mrs. He took off her outer coat and went to wash her hands before carefully putting on the new clothes. Once they were on, she ran her hands over the fabric, touching it here and there.

"Mom, it looks like a perfect fit. He Lang really knows your size."

"It really is perfect. And the fabric feels so comfortable. It’s even nicer than the new outfit I bought when I married your father."

Mrs. He rarely bought new clothes. If someone in the family needed something, she would buy fabric and sew it herself. Besides, cloth ration coupons were hard to come by these days.

In addition to his salary, He Lang received a good number of ration coupons from his job each month, but they had used up most of them on this trip.

Xue Yue pulled out a pair of rubber shoes. "These are for Dad. He Lang said he wears a size 40."

Mrs. He glanced at them. "Oh, you’re spending too much money! Your father has shoes to wear. There was no need to buy him such a good pair."

"Well, they’re already bought. Have Dad try them on when he gets back. Mom, Ruanruan is probably getting hungry, so I should get going."

When Mr. He got home, Mrs. He put her new outfit back on to show him.

"He Lang’s wife bought this for me. Isn’t it nice? She even bought you a pair of rubber shoes. They look very well-made—much sturdier and better-looking than cloth shoes."

Mr. He tried on the shoes. "These are great. The soles are tough, so my feet won’t get poked when I’m in the fields."

"You want to wear these in the fields? You can wear the cloth shoes I made you for that. Save these nice shoes for when you go out."

With that, Mrs. He folded her new clothes and put them away in the cabinet, along with Mr. He’s new shoes.

"I wanted to look at them a little longer. Why’d you put them away already?"

Mrs. He shot him a look. "What’s there to look at? I’ll get them out for you when you have somewhere to go."

Mr. He gave the cabinet a helpless look, then picked up his pipe and began to smoke.

「The next day」

Xue Yue took Ruanruan to see Yang Xiaoxia, planning to give her a silk scarf she’d brought back.

As soon as she arrived, she saw Yang Xiaoxia squatting and vomiting in a corner of the courtyard.

"Xiao Xia," Xue Yue called out.

Yang Xiaoxia saw her and tried to say hello, but another wave of nausea surged in her throat.

BLECH—

She waved a hand, gesturing for Xue Yue to go inside the house. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Hearing the commotion, an older woman came out of the house.

"Oh, it’s He Lang’s wife! Come in, come in and sit down."

"It’s alright, I’m just here to check on Xiao Xia."

Seeing Yang Xiaoxia get sick again, the older woman looked worried. "This pregnancy is making the poor girl suffer so much."

When Yang Xiaoxia came back inside, Xue Yue could see she looked pale.

"Is your morning sickness really this bad?"

Yang Xiaoxia was pregnant, but far from gaining weight, she actually seemed to have gotten thinner.

Yang Xiaoxia rinsed her mouth. "I don’t know what’s going on. The nausea is just awful. You wouldn’t believe how sensitive my nose has become. I can smell whatever any of the neighbors are cooking. Especially around noon—the second I smell food, I feel like I’m going to be sick."

Xue Yue looked at her with concern. "Have you been to the hospital to get it checked out?"

"I haven’t. Zhen Dong went for me a few days ago, and the doctor prescribed some vitamins, but they don’t seem to do much good. I have no appetite at all, and the smell of anything makes me want to throw up. Xiao Yue’er, why am I so unlucky? Even my pregnancy is harder than everyone else’s."

Xue Yue looked at her reassuringly. "It should get better after the first trimester. Oh, by the way, I went to the provincial capital the other day and bought you a silk scarf. See if you like it."

Yang Xiaoxia took the red scarf. She held it against her neck for a moment before going to look in the mirror.

"It’s beautiful! Yue’er, you’re the best. You didn’t forget me even when you were in the provincial capital. I love you to pieces!"

Xue Yue laughed. "I could forget anyone, but I’d never forget you. Speaking of which, is there anything you feel like eating? Why don’t you come over to my place? I bought some snacks in the city. You can see if anything appeals to you. You have to eat something for the baby’s sake."

Yang Xiaoxia carefully put the scarf in her cabinet. "Okay, let’s go have a look. Besides, people will start cooking lunch soon. With so many neighbors around, I just can’t take the smells. It’s driving me crazy."