Chapter 248: Seventies Treasure Appraising System (22)

After Qin Zheng left on his delivery run, Xie Yang returned to a simple diet for one, no longer constantly simmering rich broths or stewing large portions of fish and meat.

Seeing this, the neighbors in the building breathed a collective sigh of relief.

They even thought: It's better for Qin Zheng's wife to be a bit lazy! When she got industrious, it nearly made their wallets unable to hold on.

It wasn't just that their wallets couldn't hold on; it almost caused a domestic revolution.

Fortunately, Qin Zheng was away most of the time; otherwise, with the old ones grumbling and the young ones wailing at home, life would have been unbearable.

Xie Yang was unaware of the neighbors' inner complaints and continued her great undertaking of "Appraising Treasures," going to various Recycling Stations in Yongcheng to hunt for bargains whenever it wasn't raining.

Of course, she didn't just pick up treasures; every now and then, she would bring home old goods that could be used in daily life.

Sometimes it was old books and newspapers, other times old stools or broken flower pots.

Occasionally, she would also do some good deeds within the scope of her personal ability.

As the number of antique cultural relics she found increased, there were also occasional windfalls—

For instance, prying a delicate "small yellow fish" gold bar out from the back of an extremely inconspicuous old stool; finding a few gold leaves tucked inside a tattered dictionary; or dismantling several scattered pieces of gold, silver, and jade pendants from a cracked embroidered screen...

Time slipped by, from spring through summer, and from autumn into winter...

In early December, after Qin Zheng finished his Task and had not even rested for two days at home, he received an urgent Task to head south to Guangcheng to haul a set of imported equipment.

Xie Yang glanced at the calendar, her eyes fixed: Could his fatal tribulation happen this time?

She urged Qin Zheng to go to the bathhouse to wash up and change into the new thermal autumn underwear she had made—

The Xianmu Fiber she had previously sewn into his undershirt had been removed and sewn into the inner side of the autumn underwear, effectively creating a homemade piece of Heart-Protecting Soft Armor.

"When you're out and about, you must dress warmly. The temperature is high in the south; if you're hot, take off your cotton-padded jacket or sweater, but the autumn underwear must be worn twenty-four hours a day. You are not allowed to take it off. If it gets dirty, change into a new set; I've packed a spare set for you."

"If you can't reach a city to stay overnight and have to spend the night in the suburbs, remember to lock the truck doors and keep a stick by your side for self-defense. If you really run into vicious criminals, don't try to be a hero. How can the cargo be more important than a person? Remember, there is someone at home waiting for you..."

If it weren't for the fact that long-distance trips were always done in pairs of drivers and there was no extra seat in the Cockpit, Xie Yang would have wanted to go along.

Qin Zheng naturally agreed to every one of his wife's instructions.

Xie Yang also packed him a large bag of food; she had spent all the Meat Coupon issued at the beginning of the month to make a batch of braised pork and stir-fried a jar of meat floss.

A month ago, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative received a batch of small-eyed hairtail Fish from Zhoushan. Although they still didn't require coupons, the purchase limit was even stricter this time. Xie Yang only managed to buy two catties, which she deep-fried and packed into a Canned Food jar for him to take along.

When her maiden family's production brigade was harvesting in the autumn, a plow ox died of exhaustion. Each household was allocated a portion ranging from a few taels to several catties based on work points, and her family members didn't even eat it themselves, sending it all to her.

One and a half catties of beef only yielded eight taels of five-spice beef jerky. Xie Yang tasted one piece, and wrapped the rest in oil paper for him to eat on the road.

The staple food this time consisted of White Flour steamed buns and Brown Sugar sponge cakes, making it convenient for him to eat whenever he was hungry.

The water used to knead the dough was specially mixed with diluted Physical Fitness Potion.

This was a method she had figured out herself.

Since Nutrient Solution could be diluted and drunk, perhaps Physical Fitness Potion could be too?

Therefore, over the past few months, whenever he was home, Xie Yang would mix a little diluted Physical Fitness Potion into his food.

Perhaps it was diluted too thinly, as no changes were observed in the short term.

It wasn't until he returned from his last trip—it was already midnight when he got home, yet he was still able to pin her down and toss her about for half the night, and the next morning he got up full of energy to light the fire, cook, wash clothes, and air the bedding, showing no signs of having gone a day and a night without sleep—that she guessed the Physical Fitness Potion must have taken effect.

So, this time she still prepared a batch of dry rations mixed with diluted Physical Fitness Potion for him to eat on the road.

Xie Yang prepared everything as if she were clutching Buddha's feet before an exam, hoping to save his life at a critical moment.

After Qin Zheng left on his delivery run, she would look at the map every day, guessing where he was and whether the road was smooth; she didn't even have the energy to go to the Recycling Station.

After entering December, the temperature plummeted, and Yongcheng seemed to enter winter overnight.

Xie Yang simply suspended her treasure-hunting business at the Recycling Station and huddled at home, listening to the radio and reading the old books and magazines she had previously scavenged.

A new and an old Thermos were filled with hot water, sweet potatoes harvested by her in-laws this year were roasting in the Charcoal Basin, and pumpkin, red date, and millet porridge was warming on the coal stove. When hungry, she would gnaw on a sweet potato and drink a bowl of millet porridge.

If not for her heart being preoccupied with her husband away, this life would have been quite comfortable.

In the early hours of this day, she was startled awake by a nightmare, and before she could recover, she heard a commotion coming from next door.

Immediately after, He Ximing's high-pitched voice rang through the silent hallway: "Does anyone have a flatbed cart we can borrow? My wife is going into labor!"

The neighbors in the building were startled from their sleep. Upon hearing that He Ximing's wife was going into labor, even those who were annoyed couldn't show it; they helped where they could and offered comfort where needed.

After a flurry of chaos, Bai Xiuyuan was carried onto the flatbed cart by her husband and sent to the hospital.

The hallway returned to silence. Xie Yang lay back down to catch up on sleep. When she got up at noon and went to the water room to wash her face, she heard Kuihua Sao say that Bai Xiuyuan had given birth.

"She was sent to the hospital at 2:30 in the morning and only just gave birth a moment ago. Fortunately, both mother and child are safe."

Xie Yang nodded upon hearing this.

This was only the first one; there were still four more to come.

It's just that she didn't know who would help Bai Xiuyuan raise five sons now that the original owner, that great fool, was gone.

Bai Xiuyuan had given birth to a son and couldn't have been happier.

Now she had truly established a firm footing in her in-laws' home, and her back straightened quite a bit.

"Ximing, when is Mom going to send me the Brown Sugar fermented glutinous rice with poached eggs? Tell her to add more fermented rice; I heard it's great for stimulating milk."

"Ximing, I see the woman in the next bed drinking old hen soup after giving birth. Why don't you talk to Mom and have her stew one for me too."

"Ximing,..."

He Ximing was overjoyed to have a big, fat son and naturally satisfied all her requests.

He Mu, however, was not happy. While stewing the old hen soup at home, she complained to He Fu:

"Isn't it just giving birth to a son? Have I given birth to fewer sons? She acts so precious! She's about to be discharged, yet she insists on drinking old hen soup. Can't she wait until she's out of the hospital and back home to do her postpartum confinement before stewing it? It forces me to run to the hospital to deliver it in this freezing weather. How can my old cold legs handle this..."

He Fu sighed: "For the sake of her giving our family a big, fat grandson, just endure it! Taking the chicken soup to the hospital to see her will also make you look like a generous mother-in-law. Anyway, whether she eats it early or late, it's just this one chicken; there isn't any more. By the way, has her maiden family been notified? When a daughter is in postpartum confinement, the maiden family should at least show some gesture."

"Yes, yes, let Ximing go notify them."

Bai Xiuyuan drank the chicken soup her mother-in-law sent to the hospital, and her mood couldn't have been more pleasant.

Drinking the fresh, fragrant, and oily chicken soup while watching her mother-in-law hold and tease the big, fat grandson, she thought to herself that this was the life she wanted!