Chapter 70: Twins

No one present dared to speak. Everyone held their breath, waiting patiently for the old man to finish taking Su Yue’s pulse.

The atmosphere was far too quiet, and Su Yue became increasingly nervous. Her gaze lingered uneasily on the old man’s expression, afraid she might catch a flicker of bad news. But aside from the thoughtful frown on his face, there was nothing to read.

The old man continued examining her carefully for nearly five minutes before finally letting go. He raised his eyebrows, glanced at Su Yue, and said calmly, “Put out your other hand. Let me see again.”

Su Yue grew even more confused, but she obediently placed her other wrist on the pillow. The old man pressed his fingers against her pulse once more.

Seconds ticked by slowly, stretching into what felt like an eternity. At last, he let go, glanced at her rounded belly, and chuckled. “Ah, no wonder your stomach is so big. I see now.”

Su Yue and Han Aiguo exchanged puzzled looks. What on earth did that mean?

Han Aiguo’s voice was tight with urgency. “Old man, is my wife alright? Is the child in her belly okay?”

“Don’t be anxious, don’t be anxious.” The old man waved his hand with a smile. “There is something unusual about the child in her belly, but it’s not a bad thing. It’s actually a very good thing.”

Xu Can, who knew her grandfather’s habit of dragging things out, couldn’t stand it anymore. “Grandpa, please don’t be so secretive. Hurry and tell us, or we’ll all die of suspense!”

“You! always so impatient,” the old man scolded lightly, though he was clearly amused. “Fine, fine, I’ll say it.” He turned to Su Yue and declared with a smile, “Little girl, you are blessed. You’re carrying two children at once.”

“What?”

Su Yue froze, utterly stunned.

Han Aiguo was also struck speechless.

Xu Can reacted first. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, “Grandpa, do you mean Su Yue is carrying twins? Two children?”

The old man chuckled and nodded. “Exactly. No wonder her belly looks seven or eight months along when it’s only six. With two children, of course the belly grows larger than average. It’s normal. Still, twins are rare. You’re truly fortunate.”

Xu Can’s jaw nearly dropped. She stared at Su Yue’s belly with open excitement. “Su Yue, you’re incredible! You actually have twins! No wonder your stomach’s so big. Two little babies, how amazing!”

Su Yue finally snapped out of her daze, her hand instinctively coming to rest on her belly. Her heart pounded wildly, excitement rushing straight to her head.

So that was why she had been eating like a starving ghost lately. It wasn’t just one greedy little rascal in there but two! No wonder she could never feel full. The two of them must have been snatching nutrients from her body, bickering and jostling inside her stomach as if it were a battleground.

She couldn’t help laughing, her lips curving as warmth filled her chest.

Two little babies.

She had never imagined she would carry twins. After all, most people only gave birth one at a time, and twins were rare, unless there was a family history.

That thought sparked a memory. The original owner’s family did, in fact, have twin genes. She herself had been born a twin, with a younger brother. Her aunt’s family also had a pair of twins.

So, perhaps this wasn’t pure coincidence after all.

While Su Yue mulled it over, Han Aiguo had already recovered from the shock and began bombarding the old man with questions about what precautions a woman carrying twins should take. Once he received clear answers, he sincerely thanked the old man and escorted Su Yue home.

Now that they knew why her appetite had been insatiable, neither of them worried as much as before. Carrying one child was already difficult, let alone two. Of course she would feel hungrier and her belly would grow larger. They could also stop fretting that the child was becoming too fat. Twins, after all, often turned out smaller because they had to share limited nutrition and space.

Still, Su Yue couldn’t help but worry. If the babies were too thin, survival after birth might be difficult. She resolved to pay more attention to her diet and on top of eating enough, she had to ensure she was eating nutritious food. Her goal was simple: two plump, healthy babies, not weak little chicks.

Han Aiguo, however, was far less composed than she was. As soon as they arrived home, he set her on the sofa, squatted in front of her, and asked, “Yue’er, are you hungry?”

Su Yue had been distracted, lost in thoughts of her two children. But the moment he mentioned hunger, she realized she was absolutely famished and hungry enough to eat a whole cow. She touched her belly and nodded honestly. “Hungry~.”

As if in response, the two little ones inside her stomach began kicking wildly, making her belly bulge in turns as though someone were beating a drum from the inside like two drummers playing in unison.

Su Yue hurriedly patted her belly, soothing them. “Alright, alright, stop making trouble. I know you’re hungry. You’ll eat soon.”

Han Aiguo’s expression softened. He stroked her belly and coaxed gently, “You two behave. Don’t kick your Mother. Dad will boil eggs right now and make you some sweet egg water to tide you over. Lunch will be ready soon, and then dinner after that.”

Whether they understood or not, the two babies quieted down almost instantly, and Su Yue’s belly returned to calm.

She blinked in wonder. Could babies so young truly understand? Or were they simply reacting to her emotions?

Either way, the magic of life left her deeply moved.

Seeing that the babies had stopped making trouble, Han Aiguo leaned down and kissed Su Yue’s swollen belly. Then he rolled up his sleeves, walked into the kitchen, and began cooking with practiced ease.

Because her belly was now so big, it was nearly impossible for Su Yue to bend down. Yet tasks like picking vegetables, washing them, and fetching water all required her to bend or stoop, which left her feeling extremely uncomfortable. Worried for her, Han Aiguo had taken on nearly all the cooking in recent months.

At first, his skills had been average like just enough to cook rice decently. But with practice, and under Su Yue’s patient guidance, he had steadily improved. These days, his cooking was not only edible but increasingly delicious.

Su Yue leaned against the kitchen door, cradling her belly with both hands as she watched him work. To her, the tall man in front of her, clad in an apron and bustling about for her sake, looked particularly handsome. He was her husband, busying himself without complaint, only to make her life easier. Her heart overflowed with warmth.

When it was time to eat, Su Yue no longer thought about dieting. Now, she ate for the sake of the babies inside her. She ate with abandon, feeding her little ones as much as she could. That day, she managed to finish four eggs, two large bowls of brown sugar water, three heaping bowls of rice, and a big bowl of vegetable soup on top of it all.

By the end, her whole body felt comfortably relaxed. She burped with satisfaction.

Han Aiguo looked at her with gentle eyes. “Are you full?”

Su Yue nodded quickly, though her gaze softened with a twinge of guilt. “I’m full, really full. Eat quickly yourself, or the food will get cold.”

As her pregnancy advanced, her appetite had grown steadily greater. Han Aiguo could never quite keep up. He cooked large portions every meal, yet still feared she might not be satisfied. Because of this, he had made it a habit to let her eat first. Only once she was completely full would he eat what remained.

Sometimes, she ate so much that only a small portion was left. In those cases, he would pour hot water into the pot, stir it with the scraps, and eat that instead. But for a man of his size and appetite, it was never enough. He never once complained, though. Instead, he always reassured her with a smile, claiming he was full.

Su Yue’s heart ached every time she saw this. She tried to eat less on purpose so that more food would be left for him. But he could always tell when she was lying. If she wasn’t full, he would insist on feeding her spoonful by spoonful until she was satisfied, before finally eating himself.

Afterward, guilt would gnaw at her. Han Aiguo spent long days training, exhausting himself. How could he come home only to go hungry? Just thinking about it made her sad.

At times like this, she deeply missed the abundance of the 21st century. If only there were enough food. If only they didn’t have to depend on ration tickets. Then Han Aiguo wouldn’t have to endure hunger.

But Han Aiguo never once saw it as a burden. To him, it was a man’s duty to keep his wife and children well-fed. As for himself, what was there to fuss about? A grown man could endure a little hunger.

After they finished eating, Han Aiguo raised another concern, his tone serious. “I didn’t know before that we’d be having two children. I only prepared one set of clothes and supplies. That’s nowhere near enough. I’ll need to make more, or they won’t have enough to wear. And diapers too as two children will go through them so quickly. I’ll have to spend the evenings sewing more.”

Su Yue had been floating on excitement ever since learning about the twins, but his reminder startled her back to reality. She slapped her forehead lightly. “You’re right! I didn’t even think of that. Thank goodness you reminded me. The babies will be born in just a few months. I heard twins often come early, so they might not even make it to ten months. Time is so tight. The clothes and diapers we have definitely aren’t enough. And I only made one quilt, now we need another.”

Her expression clouded with worry. More clothes meant more cloth tickets. Another quilt meant cotton tickets. But the last of their cotton coupons had already gone into making the first quilt. Where could they possibly get more? And their cloth stamps were nearly used up as well.

She sighed bitterly. “If I had known there were two babies, I wouldn’t have made new clothes for myself. I would have saved the tickets for them instead.”

Han Aiguo reached out and smoothed her long hair with gentle fingers. “You couldn’t go without maternity clothes with your belly this big. Don’t worry about the cloth and cotton stamps. I’ll borrow some from my comrades. Many of them aren’t married yet, so their tickets are unused. I’ll borrow what we need for now, and we can pay them back later.”

Su Yue nodded reluctantly, but her heart remained heavy. The joy of carrying twins was quickly shadowed by practical worries. Two babies meant double the preparation in an era when food and clothing were already scarce.

She placed her hands tenderly over her round stomach and muttered half in jest, half in complaint, “Two little ones, you’re really something. For you, your parents not only have to borrow food but now even cloth and cotton just to raise you.”

—–

The next day, Xu Can came to visit. Without saying anything, she placed a bundle of cloth tickets and cotton coupons into Su Yue’s hands. “Two children need everything doubled. I knew your family would be short, and I happened to have extra on hand. I won’t be needing them for now, so take them first.”

Su Yue was so moved that, if not for her cumbersome belly, she would have leapt up to hug her. “I really don’t know how to thank you. We were just worrying about this last night, and now you’ve come like a savior. Thank you!”

Xu Can smiled. “What’s the use of just saying thank you? If you really want to thank me, then once the babies are born, let them call me godmother. That way, I’ll have two more children to spoil in the future.”

Su Yue laughed. “We don’t have to wait until they’re born. I’ll let them recognize you as godmother right now.”

She patted her belly and said playfully to the little ones inside, “Come on, your godmother is here. She’s afraid you won’t have clothes to wear, so she’s given us cloth tickets. See how much she cares for you? Hurry, call her godmother so she can hear.”

Xu Can couldn’t help laughing and scolding, “Alright, enough nonsense. What would they understand while still in the womb? Wait until they’re born to talk about such things.”

But as soon as the words left her lips, Su Yue’s belly, which had been calm, suddenly rippled and thumped with kicks. The movements came one after another, the little feet pressing visibly against her skin, as if in response.

Su Yue beamed with pride. “See? Who says they don’t understand? They’re saying hello to you!”

Xu Can’s eyes widened in astonishment. She quickly laid her hand over Su Yue’s belly, feeling the strong kicks for herself. “Oh my, these two little ones really seem to understand what you’re saying!”

Su Yue only smiled mysteriously.

The more Xu Can thought about it, the more amazed she became. “These babies are going to be clever. Imagine, they already understand while still in your belly.”

Su Yue burst out laughing before finally confessing the truth. “Haha, they don’t understand. They only know how to eat, drink, and sleep. Actually, it’s because I’m hungry. Whenever I’m hungry, they start fussing inside, kicking around. Once I’m full, they quiet down.”

“Really?” Xu Can chuckled. “Even that’s smart enough. When I was pregnant with Nini, she hardly moved at all; nothing like your two.”

Su Yue sighed. “Nini is such a sweet child. These two of mine will probably be troublemakers. I can already tell they’ll be little rascals who drive us crazy.”

Xu Can smiled wistfully. “Skinny or not, I’d be happy if I could have another baby. No matter how mischievous, I’d welcome it.”

“Then you should,” Su Yue encouraged gently. “Nini must feel lonely as an only child. Now that she’s older and more sensible, it’d be the perfect time for you to have another.”

But Xu Can’s smile quickly faded into something pained, her eyes darkening with bitterness. “If only it were that easy. To tell you the truth, I want another baby so badly, but… it isn’t possible. I’m destined to have only Nini.”

Su Yue blinked in surprise. “Why? What do you mean?”

Xu Can let out a long sigh. “When I gave birth to Nini, I suffered severe bleeding. My body never fully recovered, and the damage was permanent. I haven’t been able to conceive again. Over the years, I’ve tried countless treatments, but nothing has worked. Perhaps it’s fate that I can only have one daughter in this life.”

“Have you seen doctors? What do they say?”

“I am a doctor myself,” Xu Can said bitterly. “But even my grandfather, who’s highly skilled in medicine, can’t cure me. I’ve sought help everywhere, taken countless remedies, but nothing has changed. I’ve given up now. At least I have Nini, that’s some comfort. At least I won’t grow old without a child.”

Though her words were calm, the sadness in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. She still longed deeply for another child.

No wonder she had looked so envious upon hearing of Su Yue’s twins.

The cheerful atmosphere between them dissipated. Xu Can’s eyes reddened slightly, and after a brief farewell, she left.

Su Yue sat in silence, her heart heavy. If she were in Xu Can’s position, she would feel unbearable grief. Choosing not to have children was one thing, but being unable to, despite wanting them that was another entirely.

And soon, family planning policies would be enforced. Soldiers, cadres, and teachers would be among the first strictly limited to one child. Having a second would mean losing one’s position and career.

If Xu Can could not conceive now, she would never have the chance once those policies began. She truly might end her life with only one daughter, carrying that regret forever.

Thinking this, Su Yue’s heart firmed with resolve. Xu Can had always treated her well and helped her often. If there was even the slightest way she could help her in return, she would try.