The drizzle has been going on for over a month, with no signs of stopping. This is the climate in the south, even in spring, when it rains, it's still gloomy and cold. Lin Kangping accompanied Zi Qing back to her hometown, where Shen Shi was worried that the melon seedlings couldn't be nurtured.

  Ziying had no choice but to take a dozen or so wooden boxes, fill them with soil, and place them in her own room. During the day, she would sometimes bring them out onto the corridor to air them out. Because Ziying needed to use hot water every day, the kang also needed to be heated. This southern spring was extremely humid, but the fire kang had become a blessing for Ziying, as it made the quilt both dry and warm. Whenever she had nothing to do, she would lie down on the kang, so her room always had a fire burning, with a relatively high temperature.

  It's already early March, but the rain still hasn't stopped. Zi Qing estimates that it will delay the spring plowing for half a year, so she let Lin Kangping buy enough grain, oil, rice and flour to last a year. At least this year's rapeseed is not going to be harvested, all soaked in water, price increase is inevitable.

  Lin Kangping went to the orange garden several times and said that the wild grass was too lush. Zi Qing suddenly remembered and said, "This illness really delayed many things. Originally, I planned to buy a few lambs and rabbits to raise, but I completely forgot."

  "This is easy, I'll just send someone tomorrow."

  "There's another thing, the weeds under the tree roots must be cleared regularly. If not, the fertilizer buried under the tree roots will all be absorbed by the wild grass, and the fruit trees won't grow big. Even if they produce fruit, it won't taste good."

  "Hmm, I see. By the way, what are you planning to do with that large empty space in between? It seems like I heard you mention building a house?" Lin Kangping asked.

  "Oh, that's just a wild idea of mine, to build a unique house, called a vacation home, when the orange blossoms bloom or whenever I want to go there and relax for a few days. But I haven't thought it through yet, what kind of house to build. Don't want it to be like Qingyuan again, let's talk about it later, wait till you have a chance to ask David what kind of houses Westerners live in?" Ziying was thinking of a Western-style villa with a fireplace. A thick Persian carpet laid out in front of the fireplace on a cold winter day. Reading a few pages of a book, with some snacks within arm's reach. How luxurious! That had always been Ziying's dream, but now, first, there were no blueprints, second, she didn't know if the workers could understand them, and third, it might be too showy and attract unnecessary trouble?"

  Lin Kangping thought for a moment and said, "I've also been to many places. When I have the chance, I'll take a good look at the houses outside. There's no rush either way. However, regarding the weeds you mentioned, we should hire some people to get rid of them as soon as possible."

  Lin Kangping went to find Zeng Ruiyu after finishing speaking, hired more than 10 people, and went to the orange garden to clear weeds. At this time, due to rain, everyone was idle at home, so they were willing to do something. It took five days to clean up about 70-80%. The daily management afterwards was handed over to Wang Tieshan's family.

  That day, Lin Kangping went out to take care of some business. Zi Qing was lying on the kang, looking at the fine rain outside the window. This kind of rain in Jiangnan is most likely to evoke people's melancholy thoughts. Zi Qing sighed and suddenly remembered the few huaben novels she had bought in Beijing. She quickly found them and just opened one or two pages when she heard from afar Zi Xi shouting "Sister, sister, are you better?"

  Zi Qing hastily hid the book, Zi Xi had already run into the house, followed by Zi Lu and Zi Shou. It turned out that they were on spring break. Last time they came home for vacation, Zi Qing was still not fully recovered, Zi Shou and Zi Xi both hovered around Zi Qing. Especially Zi Xi, seeing Zi Qing go out once and come back sick for half a month, her body still not fully recovered, with red eyes, reluctant to part when returning to school.

  "Sister, you really look much better now." Zi Xi had always gotten along well with Zi Qing, and she leaned over onto the bed, casually reaching under the quilt to grab something, and flipped out Zi Qing's book. "Sister, what good book are you reading? You saw me come in, but you're still mysteriously hiding it?"

  Ziying saw how busy everyone was and rushed over, Zi Xi rolled her eyes and said: "It's just a novel, what's the big deal? Many of our classmates are secretly passing it around to read, but it's just some romantic story about talented men and beautiful women, all following the same plot, so boring. Sister, your story with your husband is much more exciting than that, why don't you write it down? It might even sell well, after all, you two built everything from scratch."

  "That's what I call a youth inspirational story, it can inspire many people who have nothing to achieve their own youthful dreams." Zi Qing said with some self-satisfaction.

  "What's the point of making a fuss, Xiao Si? Qing Er, you're also following suit, what kind of decent woman from a good family would do such things? Do you still want to have a reputation?" Zi Rong said seriously.

  Zi Qing saw Zi Lu's seriousness and put aside the thought. Several people talked about other things until it was dark before dispersing, as Zi Lu rarely returned home once, and the children were young, so Zi Qing sent them back.

  The next few days, the weather was bad, and he was afraid that it would be inconvenient for Zi Qing to come over, so Zi Xi almost ran to Qing Garden as soon as he woke up, and only returned after dinner. Sometimes, he even dragged Zi Shou along to play mahjong with Zi Qing. On rainy days, Zi Qing would ask them to stay overnight. This made Lin Kangping eat vinegar several times, saying that it was not easy for him to hug his own wife even in broad daylight.

  It's easy to stop raining for a few days, and the Zeng family is busy transplanting melon seedlings. Lin Kangping can't help with the work, but he has bought that large piece of wasteland outside the door, with more than 200 mu, including some small hills, spending over 500 taels of silver. "Qingtou, now you have something to do, think about it at home, what should be planted on these more than 200 mu of land, just tell me and I'll take care of it. I've bought this large piece of wasteland for you, let you enjoy being a landlord."

  "This is just the beginning. My goal is to have a thousand hectares of good fields, and every year I can collect rent in silver coins until my hands ache from counting." Zi Qing smiled and replied.

  "Alright, let's count together then." Lin Kangping said with a smile as he hugged Zi Qing.

  The days quickly entered April, and on this day, Lin Kangping excitedly caught a few big yellow croakers from the pond and brought them back. Zi Qing was embroidering flowers in the house, and the screen at home was still missing a few pieces. Lin Kangping had long made the nanmu wood frame and even matched the glass.

  Xiao Qing and Xiao Lan didn't dare to take the eel, Zi Qing instructed Lin Kangping on how to handle it. Smelling the bloody smell of the eel, Zi Qing vomited everything she had eaten in the morning. Lin Kangping saw this and quickly put down what he was holding to come over and support her. However, smelling the fishy smell on Lin Kangping's hands, Zi Qing pushed him away and couldn't stop dry-heaving. Xiao Qing quickly brought over hot water for her to rinse her mouth. Lin Kangping cleaned his hands and carried Zi Qing back to the bed, leaning against it with a smile as he gazed at Zi Qing.

  Zi Qing touched his forehead and said: "You're not having a fever, how come you threw up so badly, but you can still smile?"

  "Qing'er, actually I guessed it a few days ago, but wasn't sure, so I didn't dare to tell you. Seeing you like this today, it's almost certain now. You forgot, last month your period didn't come, and I was worried that you had some illness, so I secretly asked your mother about it. Your mother said you might be pregnant, and also asked if you were vomiting or not. She said to wait a few days and then find a doctor to take your pulse, so I didn't say anything to you."

  Zi Qing listened, her hands pinching Lin Kangping's face, gritting her teeth and saying: "Good, you have something to do without telling me first, running to ask my mother, see how I'll deal with you."

  "It's all right, don't exert yourself, I've been careful not to disturb you these past few days. You're weak and need to take care of yourself. Just wait, I'll get Lin An to go fetch a doctor for you." Having said that, he pecked at Zi Qing's face and then ran out.

  Dr. Zhou felt the pulse for half a day and said it should be a joyful pulse, but it's not obvious, and it can only be confirmed after half a month. Ziqing calculated that she was less than 40 days pregnant, and her expected delivery date would likely be at the end of the year.

  After seeing off Zhou Dafu, Lin Kangping carried Ziying back to the inner courtyard and put her on the imperial bed. Looking into her eyes, he said: "Ziying, I'm really delighted, not just because of the child, but also because with the child, I truly feel that you're really married to me, completely and utterly belonging to me, do you understand?"

  "Could it be that we've lived together for several months and you're still dreaming?" Zi Qing took the initiative to peck Lin Kangping's lips.

  "It's not that you don't know, when I found out that the young master came to see you before his wedding, I was shocked in my heart. I didn't think the young master's feelings for you were so deep. When we met the young master in the capital, the way he looked at you with his eyes, I knew he still hadn't let you go. Especially later, when he followed us to watch the flower lanterns, he wouldn't give up on the opportunity to spend more time with you. And then, on the second day, I went out and came back home to see him leaning against the kitchen door talking to you, seeing you personally cooking for him, my heart really felt sour. Since getting married, you haven't even cooked a good meal for me."

  "Who knocked over the vinegar jar, why is everything so sour? I just treated him as a friend, you know that after thousands of miles, it's just one familiar face, and our families have such deep roots. I was just being polite, inviting him to dinner, he wanted to come, how could I chase him away?"

  "I know, but seeing you like this, I couldn't help but ask myself, my Qing'er followed me, without the luxuries of wealth and status, would she regret her choice? Would she one day leave me? Especially on this trip to the capital, it made me feel even more deeply that my Qing'er is so excellent, even the young masters of noble families can take a liking to you. I'm just an ordinary person, and I was once a slave. What virtue or ability do I, Lin Kangping, have to possess you?"

  "Foolish guy, he is him, I am me. I can't control others' thoughts, but I know my own heart." Zi Qing said as she hugged Lin Kangping.

  Lin Kangping suddenly kissed her fiercely and said, "You're deliberately angering me, knowing I can't do anything to you. Wait until the child is born, see if I'll forgive you. Let's not talk about that, I'm really happy today, Qing'er is still my Qing'er. Today we'll go tell your father and mother-in-law. Let them be happy too. And let your mother make some delicious food for you, or else we'll bring the yellow croaker, your mother made it, you must love to eat it."

  "By the way, I've always wanted to ask you, why don't you call my parents 'dad' and 'mom', but instead call them 'father-in-law' and 'mother-in-law'? Aren't you afraid that my dad will be unhappy if he hears this?"

  "My mother-in-law looks very kind and gentle, just like my own mother. My father-in-law is a bit stern, I don't dare to call him 'dad', afraid he will scold me."

  Zi Qing knew that Shen Shi was now more and more satisfied with Lin Kangping, often praising him endlessly. This also made Zeng Rui Xiang proud for a while, because Lin Kangping was personally selected by him.

  Lin Kangping was leading Zi Qing out the door when Zi Yu rushed in excitedly.