After receiving Doctor Jiang's reassurance, Huo Tingzhou felt a significant weight lift off his shoulders.
On his way back, he made a detour to the service center.
Xu Mingjuan had visited earlier in the afternoon, so Hu Meili already knew that both of her close friends were pregnant at the same time.
When she saw Huo Tingzhou approaching with a furrowed brow, her heart immediately skipped a beat.
"What's wrong?"
Huo Tingzhou briefly explained the situation, and Hu Meili let out a sigh of relief after hearing it.
The smell of boiling fish oil wasn’t just unbearable for pregnant women—even ordinary people would feel nauseated after catching a whiff.
Back when she first smelled it, she had nearly met her ancestors.
Hu Meili offered some thoughtful advice, "Your wife is carrying twins now, so it’s normal for her to feel uncomfortable and occasionally act a little irritable. You’ll need to be patient with her."
"I understand, Sister-in-law."
Hu Meili nodded. "By the way, what were you looking for earlier?"
Huo Tingzhou replied, "Sister-in-law, does the service center have any lemons?"
He had searched the entire place but couldn’t find any.
"Lemons are too sour, so the service center hasn’t stocked them recently."
After saying this, Hu Meili handed him the key to her house.
"There’s a lemon tree in my yard. Go ahead and pick some yourself."
Huo Tingzhou didn’t hesitate. "Thank you, Sister-in-law."
Just as he was about to leave, Hu Meili thought for a moment and called him back.
"Actually, why don’t you just dig up one of the trees and plant it in your own yard? That way, you can pick lemons whenever you want."
"What are you waiting for?"
Seeing his hesitation, Hu Meili added, "We have two trees, and no one really eats the lemons anyway. They just take up space."
"If you take one, I’ll have room to plant something else."
With things put that way, Huo Tingzhou didn’t refuse any longer.
When Jiang Si heard the commotion and stepped out of her room, she saw Huo Tingzhou shoveling soil in the yard, planting a lemon tree over two meters tall beside him.
"..."
Jiang Si was stunned. This lemon tree—
Then it hit her: "Did you dig up Regimental Commander Xiao’s lemon tree?!"
She could overlook him occasionally "borrowing" the man’s private savings—after all, what’s borrowed should be returned, and then borrowing again wouldn’t be a problem.
But this lemon tree had been perfectly fine in their yard. How could he just uproot it like that?
Huo Tingzhou paused, remembering Doctor Jiang’s warning that pregnant women shouldn’t get upset, and quickly explained.
"Sister-in-law Hu was worried about you feeling sick, so she told me to take one."
"She said you could hold a lemon when you feel nauseous, and you can even use it to make tea."
"And you actually listened and dug it up?" Jiang Si was speechless.
But it was too late now—the tree was already planted, and there was no point in digging it back out.
She was about to say more, but the pungent fishy smell in the air made her visibly uncomfortable within just three minutes of being outside.
Feeling queasy, she didn’t want to talk anymore.
Seeing her on the verge of gagging again, Huo Tingzhou quickly plucked a fresh lemon from the tree and handed it to her.
"Better now?"
The freshly picked lemon had a crisp, refreshing scent that instantly cleared her mind. Jiang Si nodded.
"Much better."
But she still looked a little worn out.
Seeing her like this, Huo Tingzhou’s heart ached.
Earlier at the service center, he had asked Sister-in-law Hu about the smell, and she said it would take at least three or four days to fade.
"How about I take you to the fishing village for a few days tomorrow?"
Jiang Si shook her head, inhaling the lemon’s scent again.
"Third Uncle said the smell there is even worse than here in the residential area. They only came over this morning because they couldn’t stand it anymore."
The best solution would be for her to stay in her space for a few days.
But under these circumstances, disappearing for even a few hours would scare them to death, let alone days.
Ah… she’d just have to tough it out.
Just as Jiang Si was sighing in resignation, she felt something gently supporting the back of her head.
She instinctively turned to look.
Huo Tingzhou was staring at her intently. "What’s wrong?"
He asked, "Do you want to come with me to buy New Year’s supplies tomorrow?"
As he spoke, he rubbed the back of her head soothingly, as if comforting a child.
Jiang Si blinked. "But you said the market would be too crowded tomorrow and told me to stay home?"
"It will be crowded, so you can’t wander off. You’ll have to stay in the car."
"After we finish shopping, I’ll take you somewhere quieter."
He wasn’t exaggerating—tomorrow was the last big market before the New Year, and the town would be packed.
Normally, he wouldn’t mind the crowds, but not now.
After a moment’s thought, he added, "Let’s go to the county instead. It’ll be less crowded there, and things will be easier to buy."
Jiang Si agreed without hesitation. "Sure."
While her belly wasn’t showing yet, she wanted to make the most of her freedom.
Once it got bigger, they’d probably watch her like she was a rare panda.
The next morning, after breakfast, the two set off.
Normally, the drive to the county took about an hour, but today, Huo Tingzhou drove as slowly as an oxcart.
On top of that, they got stuck in traffic passing through the town.
By the time they reached the county, it was already past ten in the morning.
The county was lively, but as expected, the streets were much less crowded than in the town.
Most families here had at least one or two stable incomes, so they didn’t need to rush for New Year’s supplies.
The co-op and food stations would stay open during the holidays, so there was no need to buy everything today.
Huo Tingzhou parked near the curb, and since the streets weren’t too packed, Jiang Si got out of the car with him.
With Huo Tingzhou shielding her, they slowly made their way deeper into the market.
This was their first time shopping for New Year’s goods, so they had no real plan—they just bought whatever looked good.
Soon, Huo Tingzhou’s hands were full of bags.
Because of her pregnancy, Jiang Si couldn’t stomach seafood, so they planned to keep their New Year’s Eve dinner simple.
Still, since they were in the county, Huo Tingzhou decided to buy a few extra hens to take home.
They didn’t require ration coupons, and they could keep them in a coop for fresh meat whenever she craved it.
Jiang Si had no objections but reminded him, "Stop by the post office later. I need to buy a newspaper."
"I’ll keep it safe so our kids can see how amazing their grandfather was when they grow up!"
"Alright." Huo Tingzhou’s eyes brimmed with warmth.
As they walked toward the poultry section, Jiang Si suddenly stopped.
Huo Tingzhou paused beside her, following her gaze toward a nearby alley.
"What’s wrong?"
Before he could finish, an indescribably foul odor assaulted his nostrils—
