Chapter 366 - 368: Xia Lin Arrives
The weather had become extremely hot entering August, and Xia Xiao was already seven months pregnant. However, due to the benefits of a certain "space," Xia Xiao could be considered the most comfortable pregnant woman around. Even so, the intense heat inevitably made her a bit irritable at times.
She didn’t quite know what was bothering her, but she just felt a little unhappy.
"Sister," Xia Jing came looking for her.
Xia Xiao said, "Did something good happen? You look so happy."
"Xiao Lin sent a letter. Here, have a look," Xia Jing handed over the letter and continued, "She told me last time that she wanted to take the train steward exam, and I’ve been corresponding with her. I wonder if she has passed."
Xia Xiao immediately tore open the letter, and Xia Jing leaned in, both sisters reading the letter together. Xiao Lin happily informed them that she had passed the train steward exam and would visit them in a few days, even including her departure time.
Xia Xiao’s face broke into a smile, "That’s great news. Time flies so fast; Xiao Lin has already turned into an eighteen-year-old young lady."
"Exactly, Big Brother is twenty-six, I’m twenty-three, I’m twenty-one, Xiao Hong is twenty, Xiao Lin is eighteen, Xiao Hua is eight," counted Xia Jing.
Xia Xiao nodded and said to Xia Jing, "Xiao Lin will be here in a couple of days, so you and Yan Hao go pick her up."
"I would have gone even if you hadn’t mentioned it," replied Yan Jing. Then she turned to Xia Xiao and said, "How have you been feeling lately, Sister? Is my nephew behaving?"
A smile appeared on Xia Xiao’s face, "Not at all, he’s boxing inside me, kicking around all the time."
As they were talking, the baby in Xia Xiao’s belly moved again, and she let out a little gasp, placing Xia Jing’s hand on her stomach.
Xiao Jing exclaimed, "Wow, that’s some strong movement, must be a boy."
Xia Xiao gave a small smile, "Boy or girl, I’m not sure, but he sure has strength."
Four months into the pregnancy, the baby hadn’t shown much movement, and Xia Xiao was worried. She had discussed pregnancy matters with Wang Aihua and Sun Yuhua, so at the time, she was a bit anxious. But fortunately, she had Shitou to rely on, who, unlike Xianghong taking pulses, knew exactly what was going on in Xia Xiao’s womb. Sometimes, he would even inform Xia Xiao about the status of the baby, which she found very intriguing.
After five months, the baby’s movements became a lot more noticeable and energetic. At night, when Xia Xiao slept alone, the kicking and moving of the baby often disrupted her sleep.
"It’s got to be a boy. It’s good to have a son first, then it doesn’t matter if you have boys or girls after," said Xia Jing.
Xia Xiao nodded, sharing the sentiment. That would be naturally better. But whether it would be a boy or a girl was still uncertain; Xia Xiao wasn’t even letting Shitou tell her, curious as she was, she had resisted.
Two days later, Xia Jing and Yan Hao went to the provincial city’s train station to pick up Xiao Lin and bring her back to the production team.
They say a girl is like a flower at eighteen, and Xiao Lin was just that; her features seemed to have blossomed, making her look radiant and graceful. She had changed quite a bit indeed.
If it weren’t for the reborn Xia Xiao, among the Xia sisters, Xiao Lin was the one who had grown up the most beautifully.
"Big Sister!" As soon as Xiao Lin arrived at the Gao’s house and saw Xia Xiao, she rushed over happily.
"Hey, what’s the rush? Big Sister is pregnant, be careful," Xia Jing hurriedly stopped Xiao Lin.
Xia Xiao chuckled and said, "When we received the letter a couple of days ago, I was just telling your Second Sister how you’re a grown young lady now. You’ve become a steward, yet you seem even more spirited."
Xia Lin chuckled softly, then regained her composed and graceful demeanor, "Isn’t it because I saw elder sister so happy?"
"Xia Xiao, this is your younger sister, isn’t she? She looks absolutely lovely." Zheng Xianghong came out holding Weilin while Gao Guoqiang, Gao Jiazhi, and Sun Yuhua had all gone to work and were not at home.
"Yes, this is my little sister, Xia Lin."
As soon as Xia Xiao finished speaking, Xia Lin called out to Zheng Xianghong, "Auntie."
"Alright, come on in, everyone," Zheng Xianghong beckoned.
The sisters and Yan Hao entered the living room together, and just as Zheng Xianghong was about to put down Weilin to pour some water, Xia Jing hurriedly said, "Auntie, we can get it ourselves."
While Xia Jing went to pour the water, Zheng Xianghong smiled and said, "Then you sisters chat, I’ll take Weilin to the vegetable patch."
Xia Xiao nodded, watching Zheng Xianghong leave, then Xia Lin said to Yan Hao, "Haozi, your family sent a letter for you."
With that, Xia Lin took a thick letter from her luggage bag and handed it to Yan Hao, who accepted it and said, "Well, you sisters have a seat, I’ll head back to the dorm."
Xia Xiao said, "Come over for lunch later."
Yan Hao nodded, glanced at Xia Jing, and left.
Xia Jing eagerly asked Xia Lin, "How is his family’s attitude now?"
"It’s still the same, but when they heard I was coming over, they asked me to bring a letter, a pretty thick one," Xia Lin said and added, "Yan Tao said he wants to date me, but I didn’t agree."
Xia Xiao and Xia Jing exchanged looks. Yan Tao—wasn’t that Yan Hao’s younger brother?
Xia Jing said, "Yan Tao used to always say he wanted to marry you when he was a child, I didn’t expect he still remembered."
Xia Lin nodded, "If it weren’t for the way his family is, I might have been willing to become sisters-in-law with you, but seeing how they are, I’d better forget it."
Xia Jing fell silent, feeling helpless about The Yans; Yan Tao was good, but The Yans looked down on her. Now that Yan Tao had taken a liking to Xia Lin, Xia Jing didn’t know what to say or how to express herself.
Xia Xiao shook her head and told Xia Lin, "About Yan Tao, I think you should think it over carefully, Xiao Lin. Your elder sister is now dating Yan Hao, and Yan Hao has chased her from the north to the south right to the farm team, and The Yans’ attitude is still not softened; they’re putting on too much airs. Your elder sister and Yan Hao cannot be separated, that’s one thing, but if you and Yan Tao are not madly in love to the point of not being able to be apart, I think you should think it over carefully."
"Elder sister, I’ve already rejected him," Xia Lin said, "He initially wanted to work on the trains with me, wanting to be a train steward, but his family disagreed, I heard he even got beaten for it."
"Ah," Xia Jing sighed.
Xia Xiao said, "The Yans look down on our family, so you all need to show some backbone. If others look down on us, we can’t belittle ourselves; that would only make people look down on us more."
"Elder sister, don’t worry, I won’t get together with Yan Tao. Now, just seeing Yan Tao’s parents, I feel a sense of dislike," Xia Lin declared.
Xia Jing asked, "Have they tried to approach you?"
Xia Lin shook her head, "No, but I have run into them, they just pretended not to see me. And then there’s Yan Yuan; she took the steward exam with me and even warned me not to pester her brother. It’s a good thing elder sister and Haozi are in the farm team, otherwise, if you had to live with The Yans, elder sister, you would have definitely suffered."
Xia Jing remained silent while Xia Xiao said, "Don’t think too much about it. As long as Yan Hao is good to you, you be good to him. If he’s not good to you, you don’t have to be good to him either. As for The Yans, you don’t live in the city, so it’s no use thinking too much about it."