Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 229: Saving the Child at the Mother’s Expense

Chapter 229: Chapter 229: Saving the Child at the Mother’s Expense

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Qi Quanjin gathered the heads of various households in the village for a meeting in his family’s main hall.

As the New Year approached, Qi Quanjin discussed with Qi Ercai and then consulted the elder of the family, deciding to distribute some provisions to the villagers for the festivities.

It wasn’t because the Qi Family was foolishly rich, but rather to ensure that everyone in the village could enjoy a peaceful New Year.

Otherwise, when their large family is feasting, the other three families and the old junior scholars can eat well too, but those who arrived later might struggle with food, which could lead to issues.

However, the Qi Family didn’t intend to give out anything overly lavish.

"This year is our first time celebrating the New Year in this village, and previously, our village received some reward silver. However, that silver has other purposes and cannot be distributed."

"We won’t be distributing silver, but we can give out some other items. They’re not especially good, but they can add some richness to the New Year celebrations."

Qi Quanjin first expressed his stance.

He wanted to firmly establish that this should not be expected as an annual occasion.

Everyone expressed understanding and offered words of gratitude.

Only then did Qi Quanjin begin to detail the allocations for each household.

Counting by head, males aged ten to fifty would receive one jin of refined rice, one jin of refined flour, half a jin of pork, and two liang of fatty oil each.

All women, regardless of age, would receive the same as men but with an additional three feet of fine cotton cloth.

This was for menstruation pads, though unstated, most of the women understood.

Children under ten would receive half of that.

And for elders over fifty, the amount of all items would be doubled.

Although elderly women received half as much rice, flour, meat, and oil, nobody thought there was anything wrong with this.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, Qi Zheng and the elders of the other three families gathered to discuss the final arrangements. The Qi Family provided ten jin of green vegetables, while the other three families contributed five jin each, totaling twenty-five jin of green vegetables, which were given to the old junior scholar and the newly settled villagers.

The New Year’s Eve dinner table not only had meat but also fresh vegetables, which amazed everyone.

The fish from the pond behind the Qi Family residence had all been fished out.

While not as large as last year’s catch, most were about two to three jin each.

This winter, the Qi Family wives were all occupied with tending to exotic crops like corn, cucumbers, and watermelons, so no one suggested going to town to sell flour.

If the family didn’t already have a courtyard that large in town, they probably wouldn’t even have the thought to transport vegetables there.

But planting must continue.

Vegetables were delivered to town every three days, with two people staying behind to oversee the cultivation in the secondary courtyard.

When the next delivery of vegetables occurred three days later, two new people would stay behind. This cycle continued without disruption.

However, the laborers were all men from the Qi Family; not a single woman went.

Since fish ball noodles were no longer being sold, these fish needed a new sales route.

After Qi Ercai spoke with the restaurant, they purchased most of the fish, and the rest were kept by Qi Quanjin after discussing with the elder, deciding not to sell them.

Most were kept for the family to eat, with a small portion reserved to sell to the villagers.

They wouldn’t be sold for silver, but villagers would have to chop firewood in exchange.

With the New Year approaching, who wouldn’t want a fish on the table for a festive meal?

It’s symbolically auspicious and adds a rich element to the meal.

The Qi Family wasn’t merely undertaking a charitable act; they had numerous stoves to fire up, and their consumption of firewood was considerable.

Additionally, the Qi Family was traveling frequently between the village and town, so they truly didn’t have much time to chop wood.

Thus, this task was handed over.

Each family was limited to exchanging for one fish, with the remaining distributed at the rate of ten jin of wood for approximately three wen of money.

Ten jin of wood might seem a lot, but it wasn’t difficult.

An adult man could easily gather fifty or sixty jin in a day.

Even half-grown children could make two trips a day and easily earn six wen.

But people didn’t think the Qi Family had an actual need for this; they firmly believed that the Qi Family was just trying to help, providing a means for everyone to make some money.

The Qi Family didn’t offer much explanation for this.

The days were getting better, but the Qi Family’s feelings were growing more complicated.

The complication wasn’t due to anything else but because of the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Yi Meng, who was just three months pregnant, felt very well and fully capable of cooking.

But Qi Quanjin firmly disagreed.

Others in the Qi Family were also unwilling to let a pregnant woman handle cooking for the whole family, yet they couldn’t help but crave Yi Meng’s cooking when considering the taste made by others.

Ultimately, Mrs. Qi made the decision.

The New Year’s Eve dinner would be prepared by the other daughters-in-law; the pregnant fourth daughter-in-law would not enter the kitchen.

Everyone agreed, but their hearts were filled with disappointment.

Alas, they thought they’d enjoy a delicious meal for the New Year, but now they could forget that idea.

Yi Meng sat on the kang, worrying.

Just three months into her pregnancy, she already felt she’s noticeably gained weight.

If she continued like this, she feared by the time of childbirth, she’d become round as a ball.

Postpartum recovery was one concern, but the primary worry was about gaining too much weight, leading to complications during childbirth.

Having lived in this era for so many years, she hadn’t heard of such a thing as a cesarean section.

Not that it didn’t exist.

It did, but in this era, a cesarean was called "keep the child, abandon the mother," known colloquially as safeguarding the child.

Qi Quanjin happened to come in carrying their little daughter, the two of them laughing and talking; it was a warm sight.

Yi Meng sat on the kang, getting upset at this scene: "Qi Quanjin, put down my daughter!"

The sudden burst of anger confused Qi Quanjin: "Wife, what’s wrong?"

Yi Meng glared at him fiercely and reached out to Qi Manman: "Manbao, come here, let Mommy hold you."

"Mommy is carrying a little brother! Can’t hold Manbao, or else the belly will hurt."

Qi Manman shook her head while hugging her Daddy’s neck tightly.

Although she didn’t understand why Mommy’s belly would hurt after holding her when expecting a brother, it didn’t stop her from being an especially obedient and understanding Manbao!

Qi Quanjin became anxious too: "Wife, don’t strain yourself; you can’t exert yourself right now!"

"Straining, straining, how am I straining?"

Yi Meng suddenly burst into tears, tears streaming down: "Qi Quanjin, you bastard, are you thinking of just having the child without me now?"

"What? When did I ever have that thought?"

Qi Quanjin was even more at a loss.

How did this turn into crying?

Qi Quanjin, disregarding his daughter, placed her on the kang, rushing to console his wife: "Wife, don’t cry! I’d never want just the child without you!"

These words, Yi Meng believed, but her heart still felt wronged.

Extremely wronged!

Especially as she imagined her difficult labor in half a year, her heart felt even more blocked.