RPS – Chapter 84 Life as a Pregnant Husband

Ever since Li Feng got pregnant, although he wasn’t treated with the same exaggerated caution as in the modern world, he still enjoyed a fairly privileged life at home—at least by the standards of this primitive, backward society. He could sleep until the sun was high in the sky and was taken to bed early every night, held in Li’s arms. During the day, Li tried to keep him from doing anything at all if it could be helped. After all, Nuo was still home, and honestly, there wasn’t much work that needed doing anyway. Li Feng’s main task each day was just cooking meals.

At first, Li Feng found it novel and quite enjoyable. But not even a week had passed before he couldn’t take it anymore. He was only two or three months pregnant, yet he was being treated as though he were made of glass. If Li was home, he would be carried around everywhere, and while Li Feng admittedly did aspire to be a homebody, that didn’t mean he wanted to live like a pig—eat, sleep, repeat. If you want to stay in all day, you need books, a computer, and the internet. But here, there was absolutely no form of entertainment. The others wouldn’t let him do anything either, so all he could do was stay home like a shut-in, and it was getting unbearable.

Eventually, he protested. His belly was still small, and he could do things without causing harm. If he didn’t find something to do soon, he feared he would fall into depression. He felt like he was being raised as a pregnant breeding pig by Li and the others. If this kept up, he might really go crazy.

Li, of course, wanted to stay home and take care of him, but they still had to go out hunting—and Li Feng wouldn’t let him stay home anyway. Because if Li was home, he had no freedom at all. Even if he just wanted a drink of water, someone would immediately fetch it for him. If he wanted to go out for a walk, Li would scoop him up before he could take a step. After much protest, he was finally allowed to walk on his own. So now that Li was gone, he had the freedom to manage his own time.

Li Feng originally planned to make some tofu, but after rummaging around the house for a long time, he realized he was missing one crucial ingredient: gypsum. Without it, the tofu couldn’t coagulate into solid blocks. He had hoped someone in the family might have picked some up by chance, but no luck. He had to give up on the idea for now. He didn’t even know if they’d ever find gypsum here, or if there was anything else that could serve as a substitute. Either way, he had no means of continuing that project.

With nothing else to do, Li Feng simply decided to play with the baby. Previously, Nuo had told Li that it was the baby kicking Li Feng’s belly that first alerted them to the pregnancy. So, Li was adamant that Li Feng not carry the baby around too much anymore—at least, not for long periods. The rule was: avoid holding him unless necessary to prevent another kick. But Li Feng couldn’t care less. If Li was home, others would hold the baby, but if Li wasn’t around and Li Feng had time, he’d hold the baby himself. The baby was chubby and adorable. Now that it was summer, he wore very little—just a thin snakeskin bellyband with pale brown iridescent patterns, which looked quite stylish. On a completely bare baby, it was irresistibly cute.

Speaking of that snakeskin bellyband—it came from a large snake that Li and the others had encountered on a mountain hunt one day. The snake was shedding its skin. Humans instinctively find snakes dangerous and scary, so they had teamed up to kill it. After bringing it home, they planned to divide the meat with Kan’s family. But Li Feng stopped them. Snake meat was good, but so was snakeskin. Fresh snakeskin could even be used in cold dishes, though Li Feng had no interest in that. What he wanted was to make clothes or shoes from the skin. Those luxury snakeskin belts, bags, and shoes were expensive for a reason—they looked great and were very durable.

The weather was scorching, and the baby was still wearing a fur vest or fur bellyband. Even though it was minimal clothing, it still caused heat rashes—red, prickly heat spots covered his fair skin, and the itch made him scratch all day. Li Feng felt so bad for him. But there wasn’t much he could do. Going shirtless with an exposed belly button would lead to catching a cold. The flax plants hadn’t matured yet, and even if they had, making clothes out of them wouldn’t be quick. It was a headache.

Just then, Li and the others brought back that large snake. So Li Feng directed Li to skin it and divide up the meat. He kept the skin to make a bellyband and some small clothes for the baby. As for shoes, those could wait until he found better soles.

The snakeskin had to be soaked for about a day and night before it could be further processed. Li Feng didn’t remember the full steps in detail, but one thing he was certain of was that the inner flesh of the skin had to be scraped off to get rid of the fishy smell. Snakeskin has a natural odor, after all.

As for the meat, Li Feng cooked it into various delicious dishes—snake soup and stir-fried snake. The meat was tender and flavorful. More importantly, snake meat has a cooling effect in summer. Though Li Feng was dealing with some pregnancy nausea, he was able to eat the light-flavored snake soup without vomiting. The spicy stir-fried dish went to the others. The whole family ate happily and contentedly.

The next day, under Li Feng’s supervision, Li—who had been strictly forbidden to let Li Feng do anything—began cleaning the snakeskin. He fetched clean, thin stone or wood pieces and carefully scraped off the inner fat and tissue. Li Feng kept a close watch, constantly reminding him to be extra cautious not to tear the precious skin. Li was so nervous he barely dared to apply any pressure, and progress was slow. But luckily, it was just one skin, so it could be finished within the day.

After cleaning it, Li Feng soaked the skin in salt and soapy water for about four to five hours. Then it was ready for tanning using willow sap or similar plant juices. This would soften the skin and make it less prone to tearing.

Next came the most crucial step—boiling it. Li Feng didn’t know exactly why this was necessary; he had just read about it online once and remembered it clearly because he had never heard of boiling snakeskin before. The water didn’t need to reach a full boil—just around 50 to 60 degrees Celsius. He didn’t have any tools to measure temperature, so he estimated the time by feel. As long as it didn’t get overcooked and mushy, it was fine.

After boiling, the snakeskin no longer had any smell, and its color became brighter and more vivid. Once it dried, the first thing Li Feng was eager to do was make a bellyband for the baby. Since he had nothing else to do sitting on the bed, doing some needlework wasn’t a problem—Li wouldn’t say anything about it either. The bellyband was simple: just cut a piece of snakeskin that was narrow at the top and wider at the bottom, then sew two straps made from snakeskin on the top and two ties on the bottom.

The baby especially liked the bellyband his daddy made. The pattern looked nice, and the baby loved lowering his head, drooling, and staring at his little bellyband. The best part was that the bellyband felt cool against the skin and wasn’t hot at all, which the baby loved. Even the heat rashes on his body had reduced a lot. Li Feng made two so the baby could rotate between them. Even if he spilled food on it or drooled, it wasn’t a big deal—it could be wiped clean easily. Of course, it still needed to be changed, but it was easy to wash anyway.

The whole family was fascinated by the baby’s little bellyband. They would touch it whenever they had the chance. It felt cool and let them feel the baby’s round little belly—soft and satisfying to touch. However, the baby didn’t like so many people touching his belly every day. Whenever someone tried to touch it, he would tightly cling to Li Feng’s neck and protect his belly with all his might, then look at them with his bright black eyes—No touching!

The baby’s reaction made Li Feng burst out laughing, which only encouraged Nuo to tease him more. The baby looked so adorable. Li Feng, who couldn’t make tofu at the moment, hugged the baby and gently rubbed his little round belly. He had just eaten, so a massage would help with digestion. Of course, the baby really liked this. After eating, having his tummy rubbed was the best. He even tried to mimic Li Feng with his chubby hands, patting his own tummy. But his arms weren’t long enough to rub in circles, so he just slapped his little belly with his hands.

“Baby, why are you so cute!” Li Feng kissed the baby’s soft cheek with a loud mwah, making the baby giggle and babble foolishly, “Daddy, daddy.” Hearing the baby’s soft voice made Li Feng’s smile grow even wider, his face beaming with joy.

“Sigh, when will the baby start talking properly? Right now, he can only say a few simple words.” Li Feng held the soft baby, the cool bellyband pressing gently against his bare chest, which actually felt quite comfortable.

“Don’t be in such a rush—he’s still so young. But, I think once the one in your belly comes out, this little one will start talking a lot more.” Nuo said while munching on fruit, watching the sighing Li Feng. Hmph, I want a baby too! And Li Feng, that show-off!

Although Li Feng wasn’t intentionally flaunting, he did have some complaints about not being able to give birth—because no one else could, and yet he, a man, could. He actually envied how easy it was for people like Nuo. He had no idea that everyone else was insanely jealous of him. After all, children were incredibly precious—they represented the future and hope of the tribe and were a continuation of the family line. Who wouldn’t want one? Only Li Feng, this “idiot,” was there lamenting his “misfortune,” making Nuo grit his teeth in frustration. Li Feng was so irritating!

Hearing what Nuo said, Li Feng’s face first turned a little red, then green. [An] was only one year old and not even officially yet, and now he was pregnant again. Great—two little kids so close in age. That was going to be exhausting. “Hehe, you’re right. But you all better help us out when the time comes! Taking care of one is manageable, but if there are two, I’m really afraid we’ll be overwhelmed!”

“Got it. Of course we’ll help. Oh, and you’ve been holding the baby for a while. Let me take over.”

“Hm? Alright.” Li Feng handed the baby over to Nuo. Holding him for a long time did make his arms and back sore. They said the first three months of pregnancy are the most prone to miscarriage. Even though he was a man and didn’t know if it worked the same, since he’d already decided to keep the child, he would definitely take care. After all, it was his own flesh and blood. Plus, he wasn’t even sure if three months had passed yet, so he had to be cautious. If they had found gypsum, he might’ve gotten all excited and gone off to grind tofu, which would’ve been dangerous. He’d simply forgotten—sometimes he still acted like he wasn’t pregnant at all!

“By the way, since we’re free now, why not make some clothes for the baby in your belly?” Nuo, holding the baby, touched his little tummy excitedly and made the suggestion.

“Yeah, you’re right. When An was born, he was wrapped in animal hide. His skin would often get poked by the fur, leaving little red dots. Back then, there was nothing we could do. But now we still have some snakeskin left, so let’s make some clothes for the baby inside my belly! Oh—wait, no. He’s still small. We should make some for An first and then have Li and the others go catch a few more snakes. Then we can make more for layering underneath!”

“You decide. As long as they all have clothes to wear, it’s fine.”

There were a lot of snakes in the mountains, but some were venomous while others weren’t. Although Li Feng said this, he didn’t really want them to take any risks. He told them not to go out of their way to catch snakes—just grab one if they happened to see a safe one. He also strictly warned them that any triangular-headed snake was absolutely off-limits. If they saw one, they were to get as far away as possible. As for the rest, whether venomous or not, they were to treat all snakes with caution, since they couldn’t tell the difference. Best to just avoid them altogether.

Still, after seeing the benefits of snakeskin, Li became eager to catch more so they could make more baby clothes. He didn’t care about clothes for himself; whatever he wore was fine. The priority was the baby—of course, Li Feng too, and Mo and the others as well. But they weren’t a priority. The babies’ clothes came first. They’d leave it to fate. After all, they were bound to run into snakes from time to time, so they could catch some here and there—of all sizes.

As for the snakes they caught, Li Feng would have Nuo help or direct Li to handle them. At first, Li Feng was annoyed at being treated so delicately, but not anymore. He’d finally persuaded Li that “pregnant men” should stay active and not sit around all day. Although Li struggled to understand, in the end, he agreed. After all, when Li Feng was pregnant with [An], they were still migrating, constantly on the move, and didn’t delay anything. He gave birth “smoothly” in the end.

Li Feng even made himself a “pregnant husband schedule” and insisted on following it daily. Although he had never been pregnant before, didn’t have a wife, and didn’t really know all the dos and don’ts, he had a general idea. Living in an age of advanced communication and the internet, he’d picked up a thing or two.

Now, he got up early every morning for a walk. After that, he cooked meals for everyone, including himself. His taste had changed—no more spicy, greasy, or overly seasoned dishes. But he still needed good nutrition, or the baby would be malnourished. Based on his experience working on food magazines for the past few years, his nutritional balance wasn’t too bad. Every couple of days, he’d eat fish or drink fish soup, or use dried shrimp he had prepared himself. Other times, he made bone broth. He also tried to eat lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and soy-based foods. These were the best he could make with the ingredients available. It might not be a feast, but it should be nutritionally adequate—hopefully.

Also, ever since learning he was pregnant, Li Feng forbade Li from “doing it” anymore. All for the baby, of course. Li had no choice but to endure, which delighted Li Feng. Normally, Li would exhaust him to the point of being unable to get out of bed—not that he didn’t enjoy it, but Li could go overboard, sometimes going at it all night long. It was exhausting. Now, finally, he got a break! But when Li Feng saw Li drooling and looking at him with green glowing eyes, he couldn’t help but laugh. Look but can’t touch—that’s real torture!

With the weather hot and not wanting to go outside, Li Feng started teaching An to read and recite poetry. Of course, it was just him reciting it for An to listen to. It was also a good opportunity for prenatal education for the baby in his belly. After all, he had nothing better to do. The poems he chose were rhythmic and catchy—not only did Nuo enjoy listening, even An stayed quietly in his arms, blinking his eyes and clinging to Li Feng’s neck, watching him attentively. Who knew whether he understood or just liked the sound of his daddy’s voice!

Here, writing and literacy hadn’t yet emerged. Seeing Mo and Lu often being called out to play by the others felt like such a waste. At their age, they could already be in kindergarten. It was the perfect time to start teaching them, especially since literacy was such a huge step in human civilization—so convenient and useful.