Chapter 103: Fetal Movement
These days, Huani has been feeling down.
Initially, she was quite happy when her husband returned, but after staying home for a few days, he was away again for several days.
Knowing that his next trip was not far off and would take him thousands of miles south, and considering he wouldn’t be back for two to three months, she started to worry.
Huani wasn’t one to hide her feelings.
When Qiuniang asked, she poured out her troubles like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, saying with a worried look, “Other couples bicker and make up in bed, enjoying their days like sweet honey. But when I argue with him, I can’t even dare to argue properly. And after a few days, he’s off again. By then, I’m left feeling regretful and missing him. You can’t imagine how uncomfortable I feel.”
Qiuniang also worried for her and said, “My youngest brother-in-law used to be away from home often, but fortunately, the county isn’t too far away. When there’s something at home, we can call him back to help. It’s not easy for you now without children. If you had children, and he’s always away, you’d worry at home.”
Huani nodded and said, “Sister Qiuniang, it’s because of this that we’ve been afraid to have children. My mother-in-law is elderly, and my mother looks after my brother’s child. If I had a child, I’d have no one to help during the postpartum period.”
Qiuniang suggested, “Can’t he find a job that lets him stay home every day, even if it pays a little less?”
Huani sighed and said, “Neither of us has family support, and our financial situation isn’t strong to begin with. We want to earn more while we’re young and healthy, so he took on a difficult job.”
“He said he’ll try asking a distant uncle for help. I’m preparing some gifts to send over, hoping it’ll lead to a good job for him.”
Qiuniang sighed along with her, comforting her by putting her arm around Huani’s shoulder.
…
In early May, the weather in the north became more pleasant. Instead of bare branches and bleak dry grass, there was lush greenery of early spring, and people’s moods seemed to lift.
On this day, Qingyan was resting at home when Liu’s daughter-in-law and Qi Yinglan came to visit with their son Zhuangzhuang.
Liu’s daughter-in-law returned a hundred taels of silver to Qingyan, saying, “We were worried your family might need money urgently, so we managed to gather as much as we could. As for the remaining hundred taels, I’ll try to get it to you as soon as possible.”
Qingyan insisted on returning it, saying, “I don’t urgently need it. Please take it back.”
Liu’s daughter-in-law earnestly said, “This amount of silver isn’t small. Both you and your husband run businesses and have many expenses. Take it back. I’m not being polite; if we didn’t need it, I wouldn’t return it to you.”
Qi Yinglan added from the side, “Brother Qingyan, just accept it.”
Seeing that they really didn’t lack this money anymore, Qingyan accepted it.
The weather was warm, and Qingyan had just been picking vegetables in the yard. They didn’t want to go inside when they arrived, so they stayed outside together to enjoy the sun.
Liu’s daughter-in-law helped Qingyan pick vegetables and observed him, saying, “Look at your fair complexion, even brighter than before you were pregnant. Your husband really knows how to take care of you.”
Qingyan blushed and smiled shyly.
Zhuangzhuang was running around the courtyard, now one and a half years old and able to walk. Despite his short legs, he moved quickly. Qi Yinglan followed behind, bending over slightly and using his hands to support himself as he chased after him.
The child ran to the grape arbor for a moment, pulling at the grape vines with his small hands. Then he chased after the chicks eating by the feeding trough, occasionally making “cluck cluck” sounds. The drool on his neckerchief shone brightly under the sunlight.
Qingyan watched for a while and asked Liu’s daughter-in-law with a smile, “Big sister, who is he going to play with?”
Liu’s daughter-in-law also laughed, saying, “He’s about to start talking back. Boys generally speak later than girls and younger brothers later than older ones.”
She glanced at the child and sighed, “This child is mischievous. He used to kick and punch in his father’s belly every day. Now that he’s out, he’s naturally active. With our whole family here, none of our waists are in good condition.”
Qingyan said, “They say children who are active when they’re young are smarter when they grow up. It’s good to be a little mischievous.”
Liu’s daughter-in-law laughed, “That’s what they say. Zhuangzhuang here is indeed clever.”
While picking vegetables, they also chatted about the gossip in the village. After a while, Liu’s daughter-in-law looked at Qingyan’s belly and asked, “You must be about four months pregnant now?”
Qingyan nodded, “Almost. It’ll be four months in six or seven days.”
Liu’s daughter-in-law wiped her hands clean and rubbed them to warm them up before reaching through Qingyan’s clothes to touch his belly. Qingyan held his breath, not daring to move.
After touching for a while, Liu’s daughter-in-law saw his tense expression and withdrew her hand, smiling, “I was seeing if I could feel the baby move.”
Qingyan was puzzled for a moment, “Feel the baby move?”
“Yes,” Liu’s daughter-in-law patiently explained to him since he didn’t understand, “Around four months, you can usually start feeling the baby move. It becomes more noticeable around five months.”
Qingyan felt that besides gaining a bit of weight and eating a bit more, he didn’t feel pregnant at all.
He didn’t experience nausea or fatigue like others, and his belly was still flat. Besides when he went to the old doctor to confirm it was growing, he sometimes doubted whether there was really a little bean in his belly.
Qingyan looked down at his belly and said, “I don’t feel anything.”
Liu’s daughter-in-law smiled, “Don’t worry, it’s only been these few days.”
Qingyan asked, “What does it feel like when the baby moves?”
Liu’s daughter-in-law thought for a moment, “It’s still small, so the strength isn’t great. When it moves, it’s like a butterfly fluttering its wings, or like a small fish blowing bubbles. You have to be very attentive to feel it.”
Qingyan nodded, tried to feel it for a moment, but there was no movement, so he had to give up.
Before going to bed that night, Qingyan lifted his underclothes and pushed down his pants a bit, letting Qiu Henian help him apply the anti-stretch mark oil.
The bed curtain was half-open and half-closed, and the cloth soaked in hot water gently wiped his belly, feeling very comfortable.
Ah Miao lay beside Qingyan’s cheek, and Qingyan bent his arms up and down to touch its head, making Ah Miao itch its ears from time to time.
After wiping his belly clean, Qingyan used a dry cloth to thoroughly dry it. Qiu Henian took a small bottle of oil from the drawer under the bed and poured a bit onto Qingyan’s belly.
The cool sensation made Qingyan hum softly. Qiu Henian soothingly placed his warm palm on top, gently spreading and massaging the oil in circles to help it absorb slowly.
Feeling drowsy, Qingyan was almost asleep by the time Qiu Henian softly said, “All done,” prompting him to turn over and settle under the blanket to sleep.
Just then, his underclothes were pulled down to cover his belly, and his pants were pulled up.
Qiu Henian was someone he trusted completely, and his movements were gentle yet firm. Qingyan was unaffected and soon fell asleep.
After what felt like some time, Qingyan suddenly woke up with a start.
He looked around in confusion at the dim surroundings, his breathing slightly quickened.
The man beside him seemed to sense something, lifting his hand to feel his forehead. His voice was still hoarse from not being fully awake as he asked, “What’s wrong? Did you have a dream?”
Qingyan breathed lightly, saying, “I just dreamed… it seemed like a little fish blowing bubbles.”
The man beside him sat up, looking at him.
“Hmm?” he.
Qingyan lay there, lifting his hand to gesture “shh” to the man.
After a moment, Qingyan turned to look at the man and said, “It did it again.”
In the dimness of the bed curtain, both fell silent for a while, as if realizing something together.
Qingyan reached out to touch his belly, but the man’s large hand had already placed itself there.
But now, both were tense with anticipation, yet felt nothing.
Qingyan sighed, asking, “Was it just my imagination?”
Qiu Henian shook his head, withdrawing his hand and saying, “I don’t know.”
He pulled Qingyan into his arms, saying, “Don’t worry. Last time we saw the old doctor, he told me fetal movements vary in timing. It’s still… this period of time…”
Before he could finish, Qingyan suddenly stiffened in his arms, then lifted his head to look at him excitedly.
“It moved again, like a little fish swimming!”
As he spoke, Qiu Henian’s large hand reached down again, but this time he was too late, not feeling anything.
Qingyan couldn’t help but laugh, and in the dim light, Qiu Henian sighed lightly and chuckled, “It’s okay. We’ll feel it again later.”
“It’s still early. Get some more sleep. Otherwise, you’ll be dozing off at the shop tomorrow,” Qiu Henian said.
But Qingyan was still excited inside and couldn’t sleep for a while. Qiu Henian got up to light an oil lamp.
Back in bed, he let Qingyan lie down while he sat against the headboard, reading to him.
This time, he picked a book on etiquette, which was dry and old-fashioned. Qingyan couldn’t keep his eyes open for long and soon started yawning heavily.
Turning over to face the man, Qingyan pressed his face against his waist.
Qiu Henian put down the book and half-leaned over, also turning to face him, his large hand resting on Qingyan’s back, gently patting and soothing him, saying, “Go to sleep.”
In a half-dreamy state, Qingyan still felt the man’s hand rest on his belly for a while before withdrawing.
He found it amusing but was too tired to do more than hum before falling into a deep sleep.
…
Since feeling the fetal movements, they seemed to happen frequently, sometimes dozens of times a day, just as Liu’s daughter-in-law had said. Sometimes it felt like a butterfly gently fluttering its wings, other times like a little fish blowing bubbles.
Sometimes when Qingyan was talking to someone or eating, he would pause suddenly, as the movement occasionally intensified, like a small fish swimming.
The little bean was still too small. Even if Qiu Henian was lucky enough to catch it moving, he could hardly feel anything through Qingyan’s belly.
But Qingyan noticed a slight change in him because of this. For example, when they were intimate, Qiu Henian spoke less.
Afterward, Qingyan asked him why, and after a moment of silence, he said he was afraid the little bean might hear something bad, which made Qingyan burst into laughter.
During those days of fetal movements, Qiu Henian was uneasy. He took Qingyan in a carriage to the neighboring village to see the doctor.
The old doctor took his pulse and said the child was growing well, arms and legs likely starting to form.
Wouldn’t it move around?
After leaving the clinic, Qingyan kept stifling his laughter, and Qiu Henian asked why.
Qingyan whispered in his ear, “Once this little bean grows arms and legs, it won’t be a little bean anymore. It’ll turn into bean sprouts!”
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Qingyan’s skin was tender all over, especially in that area. Qiu Henian was afraid of hurting him, so he always wiped very gently and meticulously when doing this. Qingyan wasn’t awake at this time, so he didn’t feel embarrassed. If it had been during the day, he would surely have been embarrassed.
