Her sudden loud shout nearly made Li Mei’s heart leap out of her throat.
"Mom, keep your voice down. This is a hospital..."
"What’s there to be afraid of?"
"Mom—"
"Alright, alright, I won’t say anything else."
Old Lady Xiang’s face instantly brightened with a smile. "You should’ve just told me earlier that you’re carrying a boy. Then you wouldn’t have had to take that slap."
"Did it hurt? That was my fault just now. Let me apologize to you."
Hearing her mother-in-law’s apology, Li Mei felt dazed. It had been five years since she married into the Xiang family.
For five years, she had worked like an ox, yet Old Lady Xiang had never once shown her a kind expression.
Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to hear an apology from her.
It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"What are you standing around for? Let’s go, let’s hurry home and share this good news with Chunsheng."
Old Lady Xiang continued excitedly, "This afternoon, I’ll go to the co-op and buy you two cans of fruit. Tomorrow, I’ll slaughter a chicken to make soup for you."
"Starting today, you don’t have to worry about laundry or cooking. Your only job is to focus on giving birth to a healthy, chubby grandson for our family. Understood?"
Li Mei’s anxious heart finally settled after hearing these words.
For the first time, she truly understood just how much benefit bearing a son could bring her.
She didn’t dare imagine what would happen if this child turned out to be a girl...
No, this baby had to be a boy—it could only be a boy.
With this realization, Li Mei straightened her pregnant belly and said with calm confidence, "Thank you, Mom."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law left in high spirits.
Meanwhile, Doctor Liang, who had overheard their conversation, frowned deeply.
Li Mei was already nearly seven months pregnant. The gender was clearly visible on the ultrasound.
She definitely wasn’t carrying a...
So why was she lying?
Yes, Doctor Liang was certain—she was lying.
Today, she was the only obstetrician on duty.
Given Doctor Li’s reputation and skill, there was no way he could have made such a basic mistake.
But after a moment’s thought, Doctor Liang wasn’t entirely surprised.
With a family so fixated on sons, it was understandable that Li Mei, fearing her mother-in-law’s abuse, might resort to such a desperate lie.
Still, lies couldn’t stay hidden forever.
When the day of delivery came, who knew how much chaos would erupt in that household?
But this was someone else’s family matter. No matter how much it troubled her, Doctor Liang couldn’t intervene directly.
Though she said nothing, her furrowed brows didn’t escape Jiang Si’s notice.
"Darling, what’s on your mind?"
On their way home, Huo Tingzhou noticed her silence and finally asked.
Jiang Si looked up, her expression unusually serious. "I was thinking... what if someone tries to switch our baby on the day of delivery?"
"With us there, nothing like that will happen."
Though puzzled by her sudden concern, Huo Tingzhou patiently reassured her.
"I’ll be with you the entire time during labor."
"Third Granduncle, Uncle Zhong, and my mother will all be there too."
"I’ve already reserved a private room on the fourth floor."
"Fewer than ten people in the entire military hospital even have access to that floor."
"Our child will be in our sight from the moment they’re born."
He squeezed her hand gently. "Feel better now?"
"Mhm." Jiang Si nodded.
She couldn’t help worrying—after all, she was a transmigrator, living inside a period novel.
Though Li Mei was a month further along, Jiang Si was carrying twins and would likely deliver early.
If fate had them giving birth on the same day, who’s to say Li Mei wouldn’t try to swap their babies?
The thought reminded Jiang Si of something else.
During their last phone call, Mother Huo mentioned she’d be arriving in early June.
Had she bought her train ticket yet?
With rain pouring nonstop for over two weeks, Jiang Si grew uneasy.
"Should we call the communications unit and check?"
"If she hasn’t bought the ticket yet, maybe she could delay her trip?"
Huo Tingzhou glanced at the oppressive gray sky. This year’s weather was indeed unusual.
In all his years on the island, he’d never seen temperatures hit 35°C as early as late May.
Mother Huo had just returned from work when the young couple’s call came through.
"I was about to call you two myself. I’ve been trying to buy a ticket for days with no luck."
"They say heavy rains in Yancheng caused landslides. The railway still isn’t repaired."
"At this rate, I probably won’t get there until after the fifth."
Jiang Si said, "Mom, it’s been raining nonstop here. All ferries to Yancheng are suspended."
"Tingzhou and I think you should postpone your trip until things improve."
"We’re doing fine here, so don’t worry."
Understanding the severity, Mother Huo agreed. "Alright, I’ll wait a while longer. The moment the weather clears, I’ll book my ticket."
"Good." Jiang Si sighed in relief.
"Oh, I mailed you some things about a month ago. Have they arrived?"
"Not yet. Probably delayed by the weather."
Mother Huo frowned. A slow delivery was one thing, but she hoped the package wasn’t lost.
She’d spent ages collecting all the ration coupons for those items.
If they were gone, replacing everything would take at least another month.
Fortunately, her fears proved unfounded.
That very afternoon, a young clerk from the mailroom arrived pushing a cart piled high with parcels.
"Comrade Jiang, these are all for you. Please check them, and if everything’s in order, sign here."
Jiang Si stared at the mountain of packages. "All... all these are mine?"
"Every single one!"
The clerk grinned. "Probably got held up in Yancheng due to the ferry suspension. They all arrived together this morning."
The mailroom staff had spent hours sorting through the backlog.
Huo Tingzhou emerged just then, equally stunned by the sheer volume.
"This much?"
Jiang Si could only laugh helplessly. "Mother Huo said she sent ‘a few things.’ Didn’t expect this many."
She scanned the inventory list provided by the clerk.
The Capital City shipment was obviously from Mother Huo.
The one from the frontier region? Likely from Eldest Brother.
Another package bore a Capital City return address but used an encrypted mailbox code.
Jiang Si assumed it was from Huo's fourth uncle—last time she’d mailed templates, they’d come from a similarly coded address, though with a different number.
After thanking the clerk, Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou began unpacking.
Mother Huo had wrapped everything meticulously. Just opening the parcels took nearly two hours.
The two largest bundles contained baby supplies.
Jiang Si sorted through flannel swaddles, a "hundred-family quilt" (traditionally stitched from fabric donated by neighbors for good luck), mattresses, bedsheets, a miniature mosquito net, and buckwheat-hull pillows.
Pure cotton bellybands, cardigans, pants, hats, socks, and tiger-head shoes.
Towels, drool bibs, prickly heat powder, and Vaseline moisturizing oil.
Cotton balls, and small nail scissors.
Glass baby bottles, nipples.
A 1960s-style old-fashioned baby bottle.
Each of these items came in at least two sets.
Beyond these, there were also pure cotton fabrics, cotton batting, yarn, and small toys for the baby.
There was a rattle drum, a fabric tiger, a small rubber ball, and building blocks for children to play with, among other things…
Inside was also an oversized pillow-like item.
This must be the "soft pillow" Mother Huo had mentioned over the phone—something to hug while sleeping later in pregnancy when the belly gets bigger.
Jiang Si: "No wonder Mom sighed for so long on the phone when she heard we hadn’t received it yet."
Losing all these things would have been infuriating.
"Honey, these two packages must be for you."
The first one contained nourishing supplements—bird’s nest, snow frog, cordyceps, and more.
The other package was full of clothes.
Since Jiang Si was carrying twins and the temperatures in Qiongzhou Island were consistently high, Mother Huo had mostly packed loose-fitting dresses for her.
On top of that, she had also prepared plenty of undergarments.
Huo Tingzhou’s ears turned red the moment he saw them.
These styles… were quite different from the ones in his wife’s wardrobe.
Jiang Si, however, was overjoyed.
Her mother-in-law was so thoughtful!
After getting pregnant, many of her undergarments no longer fit, and she had been worrying about asking Teacher Hu to make new ones.
Who knew Mother Huo had already taken care of everything?
Jiang Si noticed that the undergarments weren’t common styles found in regular stores—they were likely bought from a Friendship Store.
The best part was the adjustable back clasps, allowing her to resize them as needed.
"Mom is the best!" Jiang Si couldn’t help but exclaim.
Huo Tingzhou cleared his throat and quickly moved on to unpacking the parcel sent by his eldest brother.
"Sweetheart, Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister-in-law sent a lot of dried fruits, along with milk powder and brown sugar."
When he got no response after a while, he turned to look.
By then, Jiang Si had already opened the last package.
The first thing she saw was a letter.
Beneath it lay something tightly wrapped.
Noticing her troubled expression, Huo Tingzhou immediately walked over. "What’s wrong?"
Jiang Si frowned. "This wasn’t sent by Huo's fourth uncle—it’s from my Master—"
