Cannon Fodder Husband Ch.211-212

Chapter 211 – The Hardships of Pregnancy

After hearing this, Lu Xia was somewhat surprised. This was happening so suddenly; she didn’t expect Chen Xue to get married so quickly.

“Isn’t this too rushed? Couldn’t they wait until after the new year?” Lu Xia exclaimed.

Shen Qingqing shook her head. “The groom is on duty during the new year. He was able to come back this time because of the wedding. The military granted him some leave.”

Lu Xia understood, “Ah, Sun Shengnan is still working in the road construction team. She probably won’t be able to come back then.”

“Yes!” Shen Qingqing nodded, “But Chen Xue said her husband’s hometown is in the neighboring village. When she visits them in the future, she’ll still come to see us.”

Lu Xia nodded, “Okay, I understand. I’ll prepare a gift and give it to her before her wedding.”

Shen Qingqing nodded in agreement, then added hesitantly, “I’ve prepared a gift for her too, but I don’t have much money. I’m planning to embroider a handkerchief for her.”

Lu Xia smiled, “Don’t worry, no matter what you give, Chen Xue will appreciate it.”

…

After Shen Qingqing left, Lu Xia continued to ponder this matter. She thought Chen Xue really had fate with military men; the first time she almost married one, and now she was marrying another.

She just hoped that this time things would go well for her.

And as the saying goes, a setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Looking at Zhou Lai’er’s current life, it was even worse than being an educated youth. Lu Xia wondered if she regretted her choices.

…

Lu Xia prepared a pair of pillowcases for Chen Xue. She had bought them before going to the countryside, not knowing what would be useful. Since she hadn’t used many, she decided to give them as a gift.

Chen Xue was surprised when she received the gift. She hadn’t expected Lu Xia, with whom she hadn’t been very close, to give her such a valuable present.

Because her family was far away, she didn’t have much dowry. Including these pillowcases could make her dowry look better, so she reluctantly accepted without refusing. However, she planned to bring a gift for Lu Xia next time she visited.

Since Chen Xue was getting married in the neighboring village, Lu Xia didn’t attend the wedding after giving her the gift.

Chen Xue’s belongings were taken as dowry during the wedding, and on the second day of marriage, she followed her husband to the military base.

Thus, another female educated youth was married off from the countryside.

After Chen Xue left, Lu Xia recalled the unexpected encounter with Cheng Yujiao when she went to give the gift. She was surprised to see how much Cheng Yujiao had changed.

She remembered that when Cheng Yujiao first arrived in the countryside, she looked like a wealthy young lady, dressed in the best clothes and using the best items.

But now, she looked much more haggard. The once fair and tender skin seemed to have lost its luster, making her hardly distinguishable from others.

Lu Xia didn’t know what had happened to her, but it didn’t matter to her.

Lu Xia was already six months pregnant, and her growing belly was quite noticeable.

In fact, she had been feeling fetal movements since four or five months.

At first, both she and Jiang Junmo were excitedly anticipating the baby’s movements, rejoicing at every kick.

But as the movements became more frequent, they grew accustomed to them.

Recently, she was feeling a bit uncomfortable. Despite Jiang Junmo’s careful attention to her nutrition since she became pregnant—daily servings of milk powder, eggs from their home-raised chickens, occasional meat, and the uninterrupted spiritual spring water—she had noticeably gained weight.

In an era when most people were struggling to get enough to eat, her transformation would likely be envied by the villagers if they saw it.

However, even so, she found the pregnancy process somewhat difficult to endure.

*

Chapter 212 – Jiang Junmo’s Consideration

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Since the beginning of her pregnancy until she reached the sixth month, she had started experiencing backaches and leg swelling.

Jiang Junmo must have learned from somewhere, as he would massage her every night, which indeed brought her a lot of relief.

However, as the months progressed and her belly grew larger, getting up during the night became a particularly uncomfortable ordeal for her.

In the countryside, the toilets were located outside, and it was bitterly cold outside in the midst of winter. With her pregnant belly, Jiang Junmo was concerned for her safety and accompanied her each time.

But given the coldness outside, they both had to bundle up before heading out.

Often, she would just lie down, and before long, she had to get up again.

After a while, not only was she tired, but Jiang Junmo was also worn out from all the commotion.

Finally, he thought of a solution—he bought a wooden bucket from the village and placed it in an outer room, allowing her to handle things at home during the night.

Although she felt somewhat embarrassed, in order for both of them to get a good night’s sleep, Lu Xia could only accept this arrangement.

But what made Lu Xia even more embarrassed was that, from the moment she became pregnant, Jiang Junmo took over all the household chores. He didn’t just do laundry and cooking, but also took care of her.

She wasn’t as tired anymore, and she actually quite enjoyed it, but she felt sorry for him being so overworked.

Every time she tried to help him with chores, he would reject her, fearing that she might strain herself.

Seeing how he cared for her so earnestly, tirelessly tending to her needs like a treasure, not only attending to her physical well-being but also taking care of her emotional state, Lu Xia felt sometimes as if she must have saved the entire galaxy in her previous life to have met such an amazing person in this one.

She thought to herself that after the child was born, she would definitely treat him well.

…

By the time Lu Xia reached her seventh month of pregnancy, she was going out even less.

The snow outside was heavy, and the roads were slippery, so she didn’t dare to take any risks.

Sun Shengnan and her road construction team had returned a few days ago.

As expected, when Lu Xia saw her, she almost didn’t recognize her. Sun Shengnan had not only become thin, but her face was chapped from the cold wind, looking like she had been through a difficult time.

Lu Xia sighed at the sight, and she gave Sun Shengnan a bottle of unused snow cream, hoping she could take good care of herself.

However, this time they had indeed earned quite a bit of money.

After they came back, they rented an old, not-so-big house in the village. It was quite a distance away from the other houses, and the house became available because of this.

After renting it, they spent two days cleaning it up and gathering firewood before deciding to move in.

The villagers helped clean the house. Lu Xia couldn’t help much due to her pregnancy, so Jiang Junmo went to help for two days.

When they moved in, they had a simple ceremony, and they asked the village chief to officiate the marriage.

However, they didn’t prepare a wedding feast.

Everyone knew they didn’t have much money, and considering how hard they had worked to earn what they had, it would be inappropriate to have them spend on a feast. So, they pooled money to buy some sunflower seeds, peanuts, and tea for a modest gathering.

Of course, they did give a gift to the village chief who had officiated the ceremony, not wanting his effort to go unrewarded.

So, the village chief was quite pleased.

The educated youths chatted for a while and then left. They knew that after toiling through the winter and returning, they wouldn’t want to be disturbed while they settled into their new home.

Lu Xia was there this time. Before leaving, she also gave Sun Shengnan a wedding gift.

After all, Sun Shengnan was pretty much the only friend she could talk to from her time in the educated youth spot.

When Sun Shengnan and Liu Jun got married, they both lacked dowry and bride price, and neither of them cared about that.

But Lu Xia still prepared a pair of pillowcases for her. They were not cheap, but for Lu Xia, they were insignificant. She considered them part of Sun Shengnan’s dowry.

Sun Shengnan’s eyes welled up with tears upon receiving them. She hugged Lu Xia, didn’t refuse the gift, and simply said, “Thank you.”

Lu Xia replied, “Be happy…”

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