Chapter 257: Seventies Appraisal System (31)

Every morning after that, Qin Zheng would take his wife to the tram station, watching her board the tram until it was out of sight before rushing to his unit for work.

In the evening, if he wasn't working overtime, he would come to the tram station to pick her up; if he was working overtime, he would entrust one of the sisters-in-law in the family quarters to help pick her up.

As time went on, who in the family quarters didn't know that Qin Zheng's wife was pregnant?

Even at the Mechanical Factory, sharp-eyed employees noticed that Xie Yang had stopped riding her bicycle, had spent 6 yuan to get a monthly bus pass, and was taking the tram to and from work every day; soon after, they saw her gagging at a plate of steamed fish during lunch, and they privately speculated whether she was expecting.

Kuihua Sao was the only one among all the employees who knew the truth. Her hometown had a saying: hide a pregnancy for three months but not four; you shouldn't tell outsiders during the first three months, otherwise, the pregnancy might not be stable. Even though Xie Yang hadn't specifically told her to keep it quiet, she stubbornly held her tongue and didn't tell a soul.

Just like that, Xie Yang worked normally for another month.

It wasn't until noon on the last day of April that she led Qin Zheng's eldest nephew to the Personnel Section.

Qin Yue was clutching the graduation certificate he had just received from school that morning in his arms; it was still warm!

"What? Xiao Xie, you want to give your job to Qin Zheng's nephew? Does that include transferring the grain and oil supply relationship entirely?"

Even the section chief of the Personnel Section was alarmed; he walked out of his office and asked repeatedly:

"If you have something to attend to and can't come, you can have your nephew fill in for a few days; there's no need to transfer your file and change your status."

Xie Yang smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Section Chief Li! It's mainly because I'm pregnant, and my home is a bit far from the unit. It's a bit strenuous to commute every day. The pregnancy period is long, and after giving birth, I'll have to undergo the postpartum confinement period. Even after that, the child will still be small and will need someone to look after them. So, I've been worrying about how to avoid causing losses to the factory during this time. I can't let my personal reasons affect the dispatch work of the Transportation Team. Fortunately, our Qin Yue just graduated from middle school this year and successfully received his graduation certificate. His education is higher than mine, and his ability is stronger than mine. With him taking over my position, I won't have to worry. Please rest assured, factory leaders, I will guide him through the work handover and will never delay the factory's transportation dispatch."

"..."

These words were no different from dropping two bombs:

First, she was pregnant!

Second, she had given such a good job to her husband's eldest nephew!

As the news spread, the whole factory was in an uproar.

"Is Xie Yang stupid? Even if she's pregnant, she could keep working for a while, then ask for leave when it's time to give birth. The factory would naturally arrange a Temporary Worker to fill in for her, and she could come back to work after the confinement period. Isn't that how we all did it?"

"Didn't you hear what people said? Her home is far from the unit, and commuting every day is too much of a hassle; she's afraid of shaking the baby loose."

"I guess it was hard for her to get pregnant. Anyway, Qin Zheng has a high salary now, so they can afford to live even if she doesn't work."

"She could have just let Qin Zheng's nephew fill in for her and paid him a Temporary Worker's wage, then switched back after the confinement. Why give it to him directly? Jobs are so hard to find these days! Let's see if she regrets it when she wants to work later."

"Do you think she's the type who wants to work? Where would someone used to being lazy and gluttonous like working? I bet she hasn't wanted to work for a long time."

"..."

In short, there was all sorts of talk, though the rumors about her being unable to conceive dissipated on their own because of this.

After Xie Yang finished the handover with Qin Yue, she stayed home comfortably to nurture the pregnancy.

Bai Xiuyuan hadn't expected that Xie Yang would get pregnant without a sound, and to protect this pregnancy, she had even given up her job.

If she gave birth to a daughter, that would be fine, but what if she also gave birth to a son? Wouldn't her own only advantage be gone?

She was unwilling to accept this, so she pestered He Ximing every night, wanting to get pregnant with a son as soon as possible.

In mid-August, Kuihua Sao brought a large Watermelon to visit Xie Yang and mentioned that Bai Xiuyuan was pregnant again.

"I don't know what she's thinking. The older one isn't even a year old yet and can't even walk steadily, and now she's pregnant again. Xiao He's monthly salary is only thirty-something yuan now; it's already a struggle to raise three, and now another one is coming. The pressure is not small."

Xie Yang understood: He Ximing had a monthly salary of thirty-something yuan, yet he had to support a family of four; how could there not be pressure?

However, the old couple of the He family were both employed and hadn't retired yet. Although their children had been getting married over the past two years and they weren't exactly well-off, they could still subsidize them a little.

But it was impossible for Bai Xiuyuan to live the comfortable life she had in the original world.

Unless some big fool came along, married He Jianming, had no children of her own, and then spent her life raising her nephew for the in-laws without complaint...

When Qin Zheng returned from work, he saw his wife lounging on the sofa, looking listless.

"What's wrong? Is the baby bothering you?"

He took a shower and, feeling refreshed, sat down beside her to massage her legs and relieve the swelling that had appeared as the pregnancy progressed.

"The baby is being good."

However, the baby's father's leg-massaging technique was quite good, and she was happy to enjoy his service.

"I have to go on a long-distance trip in a few days to transport a batch of supplies to the front line. This Task is quite important, and it's not easy to adjust my shift. How about I have our mother or my mother come over to stay for a few days to keep you company? I'll pay for the lost work points out of my pocket money?"

Qin Zheng spoke cautiously, afraid that his wife would get emotional.

He had heard from colleagues that pregnant women were the hardest to coax because they didn't reason with you at all.

However, the next second, he heard Xie Yang say gently: "No need. Besides, you aren't going to be gone for that long, are you? Surely you'll be back before I give birth?"

"That's for sure, twenty days at most for the round trip."

"Then that's that, I can manage!"

She was actually more at ease by herself.

Even though she was further along, she could occasionally go downstairs for a walk, visit the nearby Recycling Station to see if there were any newly arrived "scrap," and under the guise of looking for an old cradle for the baby in her belly, hunt for treasures with collection value. This would both fill her Appraisal Space and delight her body and mind.

If an elder were watching her, not to mention whether they would approve of her going to the Recycling Station, even if they agreed, they would certainly follow her every step of the way. How would she be able to store away the treasures she found then?

"Alright, alright, you can go on your trip with peace of mind! I'm in good health! Nothing will happen!"

Xie Yang waved her hand, telling the man to pack his luggage and go on his business trip on time.

"You must take the two new undershirts I made for you; wear them in rotation every day. You can handle the rest yourself."

Qin Zheng: "..."

On the day of the trip, his partner in the same vehicle patted him on the shoulder: "You didn't sleep well last night either? Did your wife make a scene too? Women are just like that; if you leave for a few days, they pull a long face, as if we're deliberately trying to run long-distance routes. Truly, long hair and short insight..."

"No..." Qin Zheng shook his head. "My wife didn't make a scene; she even reminded me to be careful on the road and to eat regularly. If she weren't heavily pregnant, she would have even helped me pack my luggage and prepared dry rations for me to eat on the road..."

Partner: "..."

Your wife and my wife seem to be different...