AYLS – Chapter 119

On New Year’s Day, specifically New Year’s Day of 1964, the regiment celebrated just like they would for the Spring Festival—everyone received one boiled egg for the holiday. They even got to drink a serving of chicken soup.

Even the families living in the military compound managed to bring back a bowl of soup from the cafeteria, finally getting a taste of meat.

After all, you could still buy a little pork on normal days, but chicken? That was impossible to buy. It was too precious; no household was willing to eat it casually.

Everyone was grinning like it was the New Year, smiling so broadly their faces looked simple and honest. When they saw Lin Qiao and the others who worked in the chicken farm, they loudly praised them as “good comrades.”

Lin Qiao’s eyes turned red; she didn’t even know what to say.

Li Yan also felt conflicted, though she looked in better shape than Lin Qiao.

Su Weizhen and Li Ermei were happily greeting everyone.

When they returned to the chicken farm, Lin Qiao and Li Yan were still mourning the batch of chickens that had been sacrificed.

“Is it that serious? What else are chickens raised for if not to be eaten?” Li Ermei was absolutely delighted, still feeling happy over the soup she’d had that morning.

Lin Qiao sighed. “Leave me alone. Let me be dramatic for a bit.”

Su Weizhen said, “Fine, then go home and be dramatic there. Let Old Gu comfort you.”

“Him? Don’t mention it. He’ll just laugh at me.” Lin Qiao pouted.

Li Yan said, “Xiao Qiao, don’t be sad. It’s just like planting beans—there’s always sacrifice involved so more chickens can be raised. Their sacrifice is noble. We can call them hero chickens.”

Su Weizhen and Li Ermei: “…”

What kind of strange theory was that?

Lin Qiao wasn’t sad anymore. Good grief, her emotional state wasn’t even as strong as Comrade Li Yan, the artsy young woman.

The group was discussing how to celebrate the New Year when Sister-in-law Zhang arrived to call Lin Qiao and the others to a meeting.

This year’s expansion of the chicken farm had shown the regiment just how beneficial it was.

And the extremely low loss rate made the leadership very satisfied.

The leaders decided to expand the chicken farm again next year. They aimed to eventually have everyone work in the chicken farm. They asked Lin Qiao and the others if they had confidence.

Hearing this, the women’s faces lit up with delight. They looked at each other, each seeing excitement and joy reflected in the others’ eyes.

“Yes, of course we do! We’ve been looking forward to this,” Lin Qiao said excitedly.

Su Weizhen nodded firmly.

Li Ermei asked, “Then will the benefits improve?”

Sister-in-law Zhang said, “Comrade Ermei, that mindset of yours isn’t good—you need to correct it.”

Li Ermei replied, “I’m just being practical. I’m about to give birth, aren’t I?”

“That’s all the more reason to set a good example for your child. Also, you’re about to give birth, so don’t you need to rest?”

This wouldn’t do at all. Li Ermei thought to herself that this was exactly the time when the poultry farm needed to expand. If she went home now and someone else took over her job, what would she do?

“I insist on staying at my post until the very last moment. If the baby doesn’t come, I’m not leaving.”

Sister-in-law Zhang laughed. “Alright then, just don’t end up giving birth in the chicken coop. If that happens, the baby’s nickname will have to be ‘Little Chick.’”

Everyone burst into laughter.

After laughing, Sister-in-law Zhang began discussing with Lin Qiao and the others how they planned to arrange work going forward.

She especially focused on asking Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen.

Because Gu Huayuan and Xu Yuanzheng would be leaving after the New Year, these two definitely wouldn’t be staying long either. Yet they were both key staff members. If they left, it would be a huge loss for the poultry farm.

This was also one of the reasons the logistics department was pushing to expand the poultry farm now—while these two were still around, they wanted to develop it as much as possible.

Lin Qiao had long made up her mind. She patted her chest and said that even if she had to leave, she would only leave after the poultry farm was fully stable. She would absolutely not abandon it midway.

Su Weizhen also said she would finish her work before leaving. She wasn’t in a hurry to join the troop movement.

“Good, that is the spirit of women in our new era. With comrades like you in our team, our strength will gain even more recognition. Since you’ve said this, I can rest assured. I’ll go back and discuss this with Director Jiang. You all should start preparing as well.”

After Sister-in-law Zhang left, Lin Qiao and the others couldn’t suppress their excitement. Li Yan, however, looked a bit worried. “You two are going to leave eventually. Will Ermie and I be able to handle things?”

Lin Qiao said, “Of course you can. We still have time to learn. And when Weizhen and I go to our new assignments in the future, we’ll be going with a mission. We’re going to continue raising chickens, right, Weizhen?”

Su Weizhen nodded. “We shall spread our poultry across the land.”

…

The expansion of the poultry farm was soon finalized.

It was already winter, and it snowed every day, cold to the bone. The army families were all idling at home.

Once the news spread, the whole place boiled over. Everyone rushed to ask questions about the poultry farm.

As the person in charge, Lin Qiao patiently answered everyone’s questions. She told them that everyone would get a chance—only the timing would differ. Those who learned well could take up the job earlier; those who didn’t would join later. This was also a responsible approach for the poultry farm.

Xiaoming’s mother immediately said, “Comrade Xiao Qiao, how do you think I’m doing? I’ve been studying really hard.”

Lin Qiao laughed. “Sister-in-law, I also think you’ve been studying seriously. When the test comes, you’ll definitely have a good chance. So don’t worry—there will be opportunities for everyone.”

“But we are worried. We all want to contribute to the poultry farm. How about we have more group training sessions and make up lessons?”

“Yes, yes, let’s have more make-up lessons!”

Previously, Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen taught classes every day—one handled literacy, the other poultry-raising basics. After finishing the basic course, everyone got busy with the autumn harvest, and the classes were put on hold.

Even after they were free again, no one felt like studying, so no one mentioned it. Now that the expansion was happening, everyone suddenly felt a sense of urgency and voluntarily brought up studying again.

Lin Qiao didn’t mind the trouble at all. Seeing everyone so willing made her quite pleased. “Alright, then we’ll reopen the classes. If everyone scores well, it’s not impossible for you all to be accepted together.”

Hearing this, everyone burst into cheerful smiles.

“Teacher Xiao Qiao, then let’s have class starting today!”

“Yes, let’s start today. We can’t waste a single day!”

Lin Qiao thought to herself: If only you’d had this enthusiasm earlier, would we be in a rush like this now?

Sigh… It seems she wasn’t the only one who hated studying yet loved last-minute cramming—this was everyone’s default behavior.

When she went home that afternoon, she hurriedly told Gu Huayuan they would have to eat late because she had to begin class again.

Gu Huayuan would be transferred in early spring and was busy handing over his duties. He was already reluctant to be apart from Lin Qiao and wanted to spend every free moment with her.

It was rare to have a warm wife to hold in the middle of winter, but now she was busy again and nowhere to be seen. His heart was instantly full of displeasure.

“Do you have to start right now? You’re not in a rush to leave either.”

He was too proud to say what he really meant—that he just wanted her company. Instead, he used the excuse that he didn’t want her to suffer in the cold.

Lin Qiao declared righteously, “What’s hardship? I stayed here precisely to help develop the poultry-raising industry. Now that everyone wants to learn, we have to cooperate. Comrade Gu Huayuan, I am not someone you see as useless. I can endure hardships.”

Gu Huayuan: “…”

Lin Qiao checked her watch and saw it was getting late. She grabbed her materials and dashed out. “I won’t talk to you anymore; I have class.”

Gu Huayuan: “…”

He thought back to when Xiao Qiao had first come—how clingy she had been. Then he looked at her now and felt a little emotional.

He had wished for her to grow, and now that she had grown, she had run far, far away.

And it wasn’t just Lin Qiao who was busy. Everyone at the poultry farm except Ermie came to help. They held classes during the day after work, and again in the evenings whenever they had time. Lin Qiao even made schedules, arranging ten people each day to intern at the poultry farm so they could join immediately after the expansion.

With all this activity, time flew quickly, and soon it was February.

While Lin Qiao was still busy teaching, Ermie suddenly went into labor.

It was early February in the evening. She was lying in bed cracking sunflower seeds when her stomach suddenly started acting up.

Instructor Chen rushed out to knock on the neighbors’ doors.

Li Ermei screamed so loudly that the entire military compound heard her.

Lin Qiao heard the commotion, grabbed Gu Huayuan, and rushed over to help. When they arrived, Li Ermei was already on a stretcher being taken to the hospital.

Gu Huayuan went over to help, lifting the stretcher along with Xu Yuanzheng.

Seeing the way Li Ermei was yelling, Lin Qiao was frightened and ran alongside the stretcher, comforting her and telling her not to be afraid.

Li Ermei was crying with tears and snot all over her face. “Why didn’t anyone tell me giving birth hurts this much? Oh my god, I’m not doing this anymore. It’s killing me!”

Instructor Chen was so frightened that his own tears started falling, too.

Ever since he accepted the fact that he had grown up, Ermei’s place in his heart had become even more important—she was the only one who would accompany him for the rest of his life. If something happened to her… how was he supposed to live the rest of his days?

Seeing him cry only irritated Li Ermei more. “I’m not even crying and you’re bawling? Are you a man or not? You’re driving me mad!”

“Okay, okay, I won’t cry, I won’t cry.” Instructor Chen wiped his eyes.

But Li Ermei got angry again. “I’m the one suffering and you’re not even worried? Are you still a man?”

Lin Qiao: “…”

Su Wei stepped forward and pulled the blanket higher for her, covering her head completely. “Don’t let the wind in.” Only then did she quiet down.

When they reached the hospital, Instructor Chen told everyone to go back.

But Lin Qiao didn’t feel at ease. This was childbirth—they couldn’t just leave. Ermei had no family around to help, and the people she was closest with were them.

Looking at how unreliable Instructor Chen was being, he wasn’t someone they could count on right now.

She had to stay. Except she had no idea what she was supposed to do, so she just pressed herself against the operating room door, listening nervously to every sound inside, looking even more anxious than Instructor Chen.

Hearing the agonizing screams from inside, she turned pale and ran to find Gu Huayuan. “Is she going to be okay? Why does she sound like she’s in so much pain?”

“Well… I don’t know either.” Gu Huayuan felt scared too. No one had told him childbirth was this miserable.

Back in the military compound, the women always made it sound like giving birth was no big deal.

He glanced at Lin Qiao’s soft, delicate face. Just imagining her screaming like that one day sent a shiver through him.

A little later, Li Yan also arrived after hearing the commotion, bringing food for Ermei.

Su Weizhen said, “You really think ahead. How about this—you all stay here, and I’ll go home to make soup and bring it back.”

Instructor Chen was moved to the point of choking up. “Thank you all so much. If it weren’t for you, I really wouldn’t know what to do.”

Xu Yuanzheng said, “That’s enough. You’re a grown man—look at you, what a sight. You’re going to be a father. Pull yourself together. Sit up straight.”

“You don’t understand, Old Xu. When you become a dad you’ll get it. I’m terrified just listening.” Instructor Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Xu Yuanzheng originally wanted to say that he would never behave so uselessly, but seeing his own wife beside him, he swallowed the words. If Zhenzhen were the one inside giving birth… yeah, that would be terrifying.

He cleared his throat. “Forget it. Do whatever you want today. Once your wife comes out, you better take good care of her.”

Ermei stayed inside for a long time.

During the process, the doctor even asked her to get up and walk around, but she refused to leave the delivery room and insisted on walking inside it instead.

Lin Qiao was allowed inside briefly. When she came out, her face was as white as a sheet.

When Instructor Chen asked her how things were going, she was too scared to even speak.

Sister-in-law Wang and Sister-in-law Zhang also stopped by to check on Ermei. Seeing that familiar people were taking care of things, they didn’t stay long but left some gifts.

Seeing how shaken Lin Qiao was, Sister-in-law Wang comforted her, “It’s nothing. All women go through this. Not a big deal.”

Lin Qiao puckered her lips and shook her head. No, no, no. She was not giving birth.

Sister-in-law Wang glanced at Gu Huayuan with a knowing smile. This little one really wasn’t grown up yet.

Looks like Little Gu truly spoiled his wife.

After staying inside for most of the night, Li Ermei finally delivered the baby near dawn.

A boy weighing seven jin and two liang.

For babies in this era, that size could easily be called strong and sturdy. All thanks to the supplements she had been taking. Otherwise, Li Ermei wouldn’t have suffered so much.