Chapter 173: with translation of chapter title

The Military Region Hospital is quite lively today; many military wives have all tested positive for pregnancy.

Among them are several sets of twins; the gestation is still early, so it can't be determined whether they're dragon‑phoenix twins or regular twins.

When Jiang Ye went to fetch the lab report and saw the results, his usually unremarkable eyes sparked with a rare joy.

Twins.

Two children!

Along with the surprise comes deep worry.

His daughter‑in‑law's body is frail; she still wants to take the military medical exam later this year. Will the training intensity and the difficulty of memorizing medical theory be too exhausting for her body?

But reducing the pregnancy would harm her even more.

Let her give up this year's military medical exam?

No way; that's her dream, and he will support it unconditionally.

For a moment, joy was shrouded by entanglement and worry; his complexion kept shifting, making the medical staff who had seen the report feel a little uneasy.

Regiment Commander Jiang, is this happiness?

Or is it not happiness?

Jiang Ye folded the lab report, slipped it into his pocket, and then asked about the pregnant women's precautions.

The medical staff finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly handed him a handbook on pregnant‑woman precautions.

One must credit the Hospital Director's foresight; two months ago he had printed over a hundred copies.

In short, the handbook's contents have been repeatedly verified by staff working at the Maternal and Child Hospital.

"By the way, pass this to Regiment Commander Lu; Dr. Pei is also pregnant, but she's busy and hasn't had time to pick up the handbook..."

"Okay, good."

When Jiang Ye heard that the sister‑in‑law was also pregnant, he raised an eyebrow; it seems that grandpas and the like will be busy from now on.

At this moment, Lu Xiu Bai was still sweating profusely on the training ground, unaware of how bustling the Military Region Hospital was today.

After finishing training a little after five o'clock, he slung an arm around Gangzi, was talking about the hydraulic device, when the stone in his hand cracked under his own squeeze.

"Crack~"

The egg‑sized stone shattered piece by piece, leaving only a pink fragment about the size of a fingernail.

"Hey, Regiment Commander Lu, have you secretly learned some skill? Your luck swings, and now a gem just popped out?"

Gangzi looked shocked; this wasn't the first time he'd witnessed Lu's marvels.

That guy was bitten by a venomous snake in a tropical rainforest and still came out unscathed!

Our role model!

"Huh? No, nothing."

Lu Xiu Bai was also baffled; the egg‑sized stone was something he had casually picked up from a reef by the sea, and its sharp edges had already been smoothed into a round shape by him.

He had picked it up simply because it felt handy, hoping to emulate the trick his brother‑in‑law had shown before.

Could it be that the brother‑in‑law really didn't set a trap for him?

So there really is such a thing as internal skill?

"Regiment Commander Lu, you're a grown man—why keep such a beautiful gem? Give it to me."

Gangzi gave a mischievous grin, reached out to snatch—no, to take it.

A gem that beautiful could be made into a necklace or bracelet for his daughter‑in‑law—how stunning that would be.

"Get out, get out, I do have a daughter‑in‑law! I'm keeping it for her."

Lu Xiu Bai brushed his brother's hand away, shook the crushed stone in his hand, and slipped the pink gem into his pocket.

He hummed, having learned from his brother‑in‑law, polishing the gem into a bead, trading it with a hometown friend for some pearls, stringing them together for his daughter‑in‑law to wear.

As for stones, they're everywhere; he'll pick another that catches his eye and keep polishing.

"Hmph, aren't we still good brothers?"

Gangzi pursed his lips, rubbed the back of his hand, his eyes flickered, thinking that next time Lu picks up a stone, he'll pick one too…

"Good brother? I'm your father!"

Lu Xiu Bai laughed slyly; the two slung arms around each other again and started bantering.

When Lu Xiu Bai got home, many little old men had arrived at his house!

Some he knew, others were complete strangers.

"Big brother, why don't you come in and help stoke the fire?"

Fortunately Jiang Ye called out, letting him into the kitchen to help with the work.

"Brother‑in‑law, why are there so many guests at the house?"

"Oh, they're retired elders I met at the rest‑area; they didn't know my daughter‑in‑law and sister‑in‑law were pregnant, so they brought gifts to visit. I just left some food for them; we can't let them come for nothing, right?"

Jiang Ye didn't even lift his head, continuing to stir‑fry.

"That's true, we can't let people—"

Lu Xiu Bai was about to agree, but then got stuck.

"Wait, brother‑in‑law, what did you just say?"

Did his ears hallucinate?

Probably the recent training intensity made his ears hallucinate.

"I said, my daughter‑in‑law and sister‑in‑law are both pregnant; the test was done in the morning, the results came out in the afternoon. I got two copies of the pregnant‑woman handbook, I'll bring you one later."

"You should also study it carefully; you're now a father and an uncle, you can't keep being out of sync......."

Jiang Ye lifted the pot lid, finally having a moment to chat idly with him.

"Hehe."

After Lu Xiu Bai's shock, he was overjoyed.

He smiled foolishly, showing a mouthful of big white teeth, his whole body immersed in the joy of becoming a father and an uncle.

"Don't be silly, tend the fire properly, keep these guests for dinner tonight; when the babies' full-month celebration comes, we'll have to invite them again to drink the full-month wine."

All were first-time fathers; Jiang Ye had experienced ecstasy, so he naturally knew his older brother-in-law's current feelings, and it was rare that he didn't speak too harshly, instead speaking in a consultative tone.

Lu Xiu Bai nodded heavily; he wanted to keep a straight face, but couldn't help it, ah, he wanted to laugh.

His child, whether boy or girl, he will be a good father!

The older brother-in-law's thoughts are completely written on his face, impossible to hide.

Jiang Ye himself is no better; he too is thinking that, regardless of whether the children in his wife's belly are boys or girls, he will fulfill the role of a father and shoulder the responsibilities a father should.

In the courtyard, a group of old men, originally getting along fairly well, were playing chess and loudly discussing military affairs.

Suddenly, because of a topic, they all ignited the powder keg.

"How wonderful the names 'Peace and Patriotism' are—what's not to like about them?"

"I say, Laolutou, your great-granddaughter or great-niece will know this name is yours, and she'll surely be angry later—this doesn't sound like a girl's name at all!"

"Then what do you think would be a good name?"

"How lovely the names Lotus, Plum Blossom, Orchid, Snowflake would be!"

"Ah, pah! Are you jealous that I have a great-granddaughter and great-niece, so you deliberately gave an ugly name?"

"Ah, pah! It's your name that's ugly!"

"Come on, judge for yourselves—is 'Peace and Patriotism' nice-sounding, or Lotus, Plum Blossom, Orchid, Snowflake?"

More than a dozen old men, together adding up to several hundred years old, each joined the fray, then attacked each other; even the later Section Commander Duan joined the war of words.

Only after Shen Man personally brought over two buckets of tea did this group of old men temporarily call a halt.

The baby hasn't even been born yet; just picking a name has this group of old men so excited.

If the baby were born, this group of old men would....