Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 436 Lada Sedan

His wife's lovely face was flushed, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead because of the discomfort caused by the swelling.

Li Ju'an initially thought his wife was just being coquettish. He reached out and rubbed it, and the hard lump made Lin Mei wince in pain. He also realized something was wrong; it really hurt.

He said nervously, "Wife, should we go to the clinic? If that doesn't work, we can go to the county hospital." He was at a loss, truly not knowing what to do when a woman is giving birth.

Lin Mei was in so much pain that she was convulsing. She whispered, "It feels like I'm made of lead. It hurts with the slightest movement. Husband, please help me."

Faced with his beloved woman's sweet pleading, Li Ju'an felt a rush of blood to his head, and he longed to pull his wife into his arms immediately, to knead her tightly, and to become one with her. He wrapped his arms around his wife's round, fragrant shoulders, and smelled the milky scent of her body. He felt his blood surge and a fire rise in his lower abdomen. He said in a hoarse voice, "Wife, bear with it, I'll try."

Lin Mei responded shyly with a soft voice.

Lu's second aunt and Lu's aunt came to see Song Lanhua and Lin Mei. Coincidentally, on the same day, Sun's youngest aunt and Sun's mother also came to see Lin Mei with congratulatory gifts.

The villagers have been visiting relatives and neighbors since they were young. Several families were on good terms with the Lin family and were also close to Song Lanhua. When Li Ju'an and Lin Mei's child was born, they naturally had to come and see.

Aunt Lu happily brought over a thermos and diapers, saying, "These are diapers that Mom brought back from the city. I heard that city people love using them. They're so convenient; after use, you can wash them, hang them up to dry, and reuse them."

Having lived two lives, Li Ju'an had heard of diapers, which were now very common in later generations. His lips twitched. Diapers were used like this? Could they be washed, dried, and reused?

The young lady from the Sun family wasn't married yet, and the things she sent were all things a young lady would like. She gave Nannan a handmade nylon hat and nylon socks, and also gave Lin Mei scraps of fabric and wood ash.

Sun's younger sister leaned closer to Lin Mei and whispered, "These scraps of fabric are all newly prepared by me. I know your man doesn't understand these things, but we women do. I've prepared them for you, so you can rest assured for the next few months."

Lin Mei blushed as she looked at the scraps of cloth and wood ash; she knew exactly what they were. Local women, lacking sanitary napkins or tampons, would stuff soft cloth with wood ash to cover their periods. They would then wash and dry it before continuing to use it.

When Aunt Lu saw that Sister Sun had given her this, she covered her mouth and laughed heartily, saying, "You little rascal, have you never had a baby? Women who have given birth don't menstruate anymore. It takes about a month, after you stop breastfeeding, before you can have your period again."

Li Ju'an happened to be strolling to the doorway when he overheard a few words and asked curiously, "What's not coming? What takes a month or two to arrive?"

When the women heard the man asking, they all said embarrassedly, "Lin Mei, tell your man to leave. Why would a man listen to this kind of thing?"

Li Ju'an then went out with a smile, letting the village women chat with his wife and share their private thoughts. He knew that Lin's mother always had various demands on his wife, making her very proud and causing internal conflict. Only these neighborhood women could talk to his wife properly.

He thoughtfully closed the door and went to the front yard to check on the bees at the apiary and see how they were surviving the winter.

As luck would have it, Chen Xiangqian arrived in a car to find him.

The mountain road in front of Changchonggou has been paved with cement. Although it is a dead end and the winding mountain road ahead is still under construction, this section is already open to traffic.

Chen Xiangqian, sitting in the imported Russian sedan, leaned out of the passenger seat with great swagger and told the driver to honk the horn twice. He admired Li Ju'an's surprised and astonished reaction and laughed smugly, "Let's go, Brother Li! I'll take you for a ride. Look at the car I brought."

Li Ju'an got into the car. Chen Xiangqian bought a Lada, a common choice for private car owners in northern China in the 80s. This Lada was a derivative of the Fiat 124, with square headlights, a 1.3L engine, and a 4-speed manual transmission. Following the trend, Chen Xiangqian installed air conditioning in his Lada, only to find that it caused numerous electrical malfunctions.

"Wow! Chen Xiangqian, you're really something else! You're already driving a car?"

"This car has a good chassis and good stability, it's really impressive. Did your dad agree to let you buy a car?"

Chen Xiangqian looked smug and proud. Although he couldn't drive, he had a driver at home. The driver was the same one who had gone into the Wild Boar Forest last time. Looking at the desolate mountains and the barren wilderness, he sighed with concern: "Mr. Chen, why don't we drive into the city first? If it gets late, there won't be any gas stations around here."

Chen Xiangqian slapped his forehead and said, "That makes sense. Brother Li, let's go to the city for a stroll, consider it a gift for my daughter."

"okay!"

There was no reason for Li Ju'an to refuse. He said impatiently, "Come on, let me try it out."

The driver, Xiao Zhang, was so frightened that he shook his head violently, saying, "No, no, Li Pao! The division commander could beat me to death!"

He didn't mention being fired, but it's not just about being fired; if something happens to the young master, he's finished.

Chen Xiangqian patted the driver, Xiao Zhang, on the shoulder and laughed, "What are you afraid of? Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up."

The driver, Xiao Zhang, looked worried and frowned.

Young master, I fear neither heaven nor earth, except for your antics.

If you hadn't been pushing, things would have been fine. But the more you try to push, the worse things get. How could someone make such a mess of things?

Chen Xiangqian noticed that the driver, Xiao Zhang, looked even more miserable. He said, "Brother Li, show your driver's license to Brother Zhang."

Driver Xiao Zhang sized up Li Ju'an. The young man had strong, handsome features, a tall and upright build, broad shoulders, and a strong waist, but his clothes made him look like an ordinary mountain dweller. His sheepskin coat, dog-skin hat, and boots stuffed with ula grass were so typical of locals. Mountain dwellers like him couldn't even get into government-affiliated organizations, so how could they possibly get a driver's license?

The driver, Xiao Zhang, couldn't help but chuckle, thinking that the young master was teasing him.

“Mr. Chen, don’t tease me. Li Pao doesn’t know how to drive. Our cars aren’t tractors. If they break down, we’ll have to go to a proper repair shop. Where are there any auto repair shops around here? I’ll have to fix them myself. If I can’t fix them properly, and you’re in the middle of nowhere, freezing in the snow, if something happens to you, the division commander will make sure I don’t see the sun tomorrow.”

Chen Xiangqian burst into laughter, saying, "Alright! With your driving skills and technique, Li Pao drives much more steadily than you."

Upon hearing this, driver Xiao Zhang could no longer contain his anger.