I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 66: The Policy of Indirect Approach

Because of Yuan Juan's matter, the Parents' Committee held a meeting organized by Chairman Gu.

Yuan Juan stayed at home and did not come. After the meeting, Wu Yufen went to the Zhou family's house.

Besides representing the parents' committee to criticize and educate Yuan Juan, she also came to criticize Aunt Zhou.

"...In our unit, there's no custom of beating daughters-in-law. No matter how badly Yuan Juan behaved, the organization would educate her. A mother-in-law can't resort to private punishment at home!"

Aunt Zhou waved her hands frantically, "No, I didn't hit her! Why don't you believe me? I was just angry and pulled her aside! Boss, you have to believe this old woman! Otherwise, I'll be wrongly accused to death."

Seeing how anxious she was, Wu Yufen asked in confusion, "How did this rumor spread? People outside are saying you beat your daughter-in-law so badly she screamed all night."

Aunt Zhou pointed at Yuan Juan, who was sitting in the corner like a timid young wife: "Isn't it all because of her? When people ask her questions, she stammers and says things that will make others misunderstand. She's doing it on purpose. She's a very wicked person."

She began to complain to Wu Yufen, "My husband, Shitou, kindly saved her, and she, on the contrary, acted like she was going to die trying to marry into our family. Fine, she's married, I, as her mother-in-law, didn't have any other thoughts. As long as she was good to Shitou and lived a peaceful life with him, I wouldn't ask for anything more. But who knew she would do such wicked things, causing my husband to be criticized by his boss..."

"Officer Wu, you have to stand up for me! I'm an old woman who's practically buried in the ground, and now, on my last days, I've been wrongly accused of being a wicked mother-in-law! Where can I go to seek justice? Go ask around my hometown; I've always been a model mother-in-law there. A few years ago, I even received an enamel mug from a 'Five-Good Family'!"

After Zhou Da Niang finished her chanting and acting, Wu Yu Fen began to side with her, saying, "Yuan Juan, this is where you're wrong. What did I tell you when we first met? To be a good military wife, you have to maintain family harmony. How could you say things that cause misunderstandings just because of a little argument? When faced with such a misunderstanding, you should take the initiative to stand up and explain, instead of making the problem bigger."

She frowned and said earnestly, "You have some issues with yourself. If you want to fit in, you need to be more proactive. You were doing so well before, why did you suddenly..."

She sighed: "Let me tell you, family harmony is the most important thing. Your husband is a soldier, often away on training missions, which are very dangerous. If you distract him because of family matters, what if something happens? You'll have no one to blame but yourself!"

Aunt Zhou: "Officer Wu, you're absolutely right!"

Yuan Juan kept her head down and didn't say anything. Just as Officer Wu was about to try to persuade her again, Yuan Juan's expression changed, and she bent over and started vomiting loudly onto the ground.

"What's wrong?" Officer Wu's face flashed with disgust, and he almost spat on her shoes.

Looking at Yuan Juan, who was vomiting uncontrollably, Aunt Zhou counted the days on her fingers...

……

"I heard that Yuan Juan is pregnant."

Chunmei immediately told Yuanxiu the news.

"Her pregnancy came at just the right time. Her mother-in-law was looking at her like she was something else the other day. Her mother-in-law has changed completely ever since she got pregnant."

"Yuan Juan used to do all the cooking, her mother-in-law just talked. Now, she happily cooks for Yuan Juan every day. When people ask her, she says that the baby in Yuan Juan's belly is making her suffer, that her daughter-in-law is lying in bed and can't get up, and that it's definitely a son."

"That Deputy Battalion Commander Zhou's face isn't dark anymore. He went to the service store early this morning to buy canned fruit for his wife."

Yuan Xiu: "...Then I'll have to stay even further away from her in the future."

"Why? Because she would dare to use her pregnancy to harm you."

"I don't know if it will cause harm or not. If I run into her on the way and accidentally upset her, she certainly won't blame the pregnant woman."

Sister Chunmei nodded: "That's true, we should stay away from her. By the way, I heard from my husband, Lao Li, that your Jiangzhou had a sparring match with Deputy Battalion Commander Zhou yesterday and completely dominated him."

Yuan Xiu asked with some concern, "Don't the leaders have any objections to them fighting like this?"

"What's the big deal? During training, it's all about you hitting me and me hitting you. As long as it's not a fight in private, it's fine."

She laughed as she spoke, "When your Jiang Zhou first joined the army, my husband Lao Li was the one who beat him up. Now, it's the other way around. Lao Li isn't afraid of anything else, but he's most afraid of Jiang Zhou challenging him to a sparring match."

"When your Jiangzhou gets into a fight, he hits wherever it hurts. Old Li often scolds him for being a rascal, saying he holds grudges, and that when he has a child, he'll definitely be a formidable one too."

After saying that, Sister Chunmei looked down at Yuan Xiu's belly and asked, "You and Xiao Jiang didn't... you know, did you?"

Yuan Xiu blinked: "Um?"

"It's about contraception," Chunmei's sister-in-law whispered.

Yuan Xiu really wanted to say that they didn't need it.

She could only say shyly, "Why are you asking this, sister-in-law? We...we don't plan to have children so soon."

Chunmei's sister-in-law laughed and said, "What's there to be embarrassed about? You two should be having children soon. It's good to have one sooner rather than later. I've been through this before, so listen to me."

Yuan Xiu quickly changed the subject, "I've arranged to go to town with Teacher Shen tomorrow, would you like to come along, sister-in-law?"

Sister Chunmei shook her head: "I won't go. If you see any red yarn, please buy me two jin. My husband, Lao Li, will be in his zodiac year next year, so he has to wear red."

Yuan Xiu nodded and noted it down.

……

After Jiang Zhou returned, Yuan Xiu told him about going to the city with Teacher Shen the next day.

He took a paper ticket out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her.

"The radio ticket, I'll go buy it tomorrow."

After paying for the ticket, he pulled out his salary from another pocket.

The radio tickets and wages were all given to Yuan Xiu.

Yuan Xiu looked at the money in her hand; it was more than eighty. "Aren't you going to keep some with you?"

Jiang Zhou: "I still have some on me, you can take it and buy a radio."

"I have some too; I can save half of the monthly household allowance you give me."

Jiang Zhou simply waved his hand and went back to his bedroom to change his clothes.

Lying in bed at night, after they finished, Jiang Zhou gently stroked Yuan Xiu's lower abdomen with his hand.

At first, Yuan Xiu didn't think much of it, but after doing it many times, a flash of inspiration struck her.

Yuan Juan is pregnant, and Deputy Battalion Commander Zhou will definitely brag about it in the army. Could it be that he... wants a child?

Yuan Xiu suspected that Jiang Zhou was unaware of her infertility.

She definitely can't be blamed.

But we can't just send Jiang Zhou to the hospital for a checkup all at once; such a sudden turn of events would be too much of a blow.

Considering how good he was to her, she had to adopt a roundabout approach.

If they wait a long time and still don't have children, then getting him checked might be less of a shock.