I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 185: Inspection

"What's wrong?" Jiang Zhou frowned slightly, his expression worried. "Did your master scold you?"

Yuan Xiu pouted and shook her head.

"What happened?" Jiang Zhou frowned even more, pulling her to sit down on the sofa. "Are you feeling unwell? Or did someone bully you?"

Yuan Xiu shook her head again.

Jiang Zhou asked helplessly, "Ancestor, what exactly happened?"

This was the first time in all the time they had been married that she had teared up in front of him, and he had absolutely no idea why.

"...My master said I was carrying twins."

"Then...what?" Jiang Zhou was stunned, and it took him a while to react before he cautiously asked, "Does it mean twins?"

Yuan Xiu nodded.

Jiang Zhou straightened his back even more in an instant—that's real skill! If word got out, Political Commissar Wang and the others would be green with envy!

He wasn't so excited as to ignore Yuan Xiu's reddened eyes. "Then why are your eyes red...?"

Yuan Xiu then told him exactly what Doctor Liu had said: "...I'm scared, what if it's me..."

"There's no 'what if'!"

Jiang Zhou interrupted her, knowing exactly what she wanted to say. "There's no such thing as 'what if.' It's not your fault. Even if I don't know anything about medicine, I know that carrying twins is not easy. A pulse diagnosis doesn't necessarily mean the babies are bad. Didn't your master tell you to go to the hospital for a checkup? Let's go tomorrow!"

The next morning, Jiang Zhou took leave and went to the hospital with Yuan Xiu to accompany her to the obstetrics and gynecology department for a check-up.

Hearing that the pulse diagnosis revealed twins, the obstetrician changed to the chief physician to perform the ultrasound. The doctor moved the ultrasound handpiece up and down and side to side on her belly until Yuan Xiu felt obvious fetal movement and her belly bulged out. Only then did the doctor smile and say, "Now we can hear it. The front baby is so domineering, it's completely blocking the younger brother or sister from seeing, so we didn't hear it before. It really is two fetal heartbeats..."

"Situations like Xiao Yuan's are not uncommon. Some pregnant women go to the hospital for checkups two or three times during their pregnancy but still can't find out they're carrying twins until they give birth. Besides, Xiao Yuan hasn't even given birth yet." So, it really isn't a problem with their technology.

She listened carefully for a while longer. "There's nothing wrong. Although the other baby's heartbeat isn't as strong as the first one, it's still within the normal range. Just make sure you get plenty of nutrition during this last period, but don't just eat too much. This is the time when the babies are growing rapidly. If the babies get too big, you'll suffer a lot when you give birth, especially since you have twins."

Yuan Xiu smiled and agreed, feeling much more relaxed.

Jiang Zhou, who was sitting nearby, took her hand upon hearing this. "Are you relieved now?"

I feel relieved, but not completely relieved.

The doctor then added, "If you want peace of mind, go to the general hospital. They have ultrasound machines that can show the baby inside your belly, and you'll know how well the baby is developing."

The doctor's statement was somewhat exaggerated. Nowadays, ultrasound machines can only detect the fetal heartbeat and whether the baby's limbs are healthy. It is difficult to detect other things.

Even so, it's still far superior to an A-level ultrasound machine.

"Then let's go to the General Hospital," Jiang Zhou said, hoping it would put his mind at ease and prevent Yuan Xiu from worrying about things while she was pregnant.

Yuan Xiu nodded.

The doctor immediately gave Yuan Xiu a form and handed it to her, saying, "Take this form with you, and you can get an ultrasound done, saving you from having to do any other tests."

Jiang Zhou took the order and thanked him.

The next morning, Jiang Zhou drove the jeep he had borrowed from the army into the city with Yuan Xiu and headed to the general hospital.

With the referral from the military hospital, Yuan Xiu was quickly scheduled for an ultrasound.

That was the first time Yuan Xiu and Jiang Zhou watched their two children on that small black-and-white screen.

"See that? These are little hands, these are little feet. Oh, this child is quite naughty, look at how his little legs are kicking... The second one doesn't move around much."

Jiang Zhou's heart tightened. "Why doesn't he like to move around?"

The doctor smiled and said, "It's alright, don't be nervous. Both babies' heartbeats are normal, and their limbs are healthy. They may not be very active because they are gentle. With two babies, one will always be more gentle. It's impossible for both to be lively. If both are lively, it will be difficult for the mother to take care of them."

The doctor joked as he put away the instruments and tore off a few sheets of paper to wipe the mineral oil off Yuan Xiu's stomach.

Yuan Xiu took the tissue and carefully wiped the oil off her stomach before sitting up with Jiang Zhou's help.

The two looked at each other and smiled, their hearts finally settling down.

"Move around more often, don't just sit around. Appropriate activity will make childbirth easier," the doctor advised before leaving.

Yuan Xiu was helped out of the hospital by Jiang Zhou. "Don't help me anymore. I'm not made of glass. I can walk by myself."

Jiang Zhou didn't pull his hand back. "Let's eat before we go back. Do you want some roast duck? I'll take you there."

His words made Yuan Xiu's mouth water. "Eat!"

After getting in the car, Jiang Zhou drove around in circles and finally stopped in front of a small shop.

Yuan Xiu looked up at the signboard.

A state-run roast duck restaurant.

"Don't let the small size of the shop fool you, the taste is still very good. The chef who makes roast duck has passed down his family's skills. This shop is also a century-old establishment. It used to be privately owned, but later it was put up as a state-owned shop."

Jiang Zhou pulled Yuan Xiu into the shop and found an empty table to sit down.

There weren't many tables in the shop, and not many people.

"Have you eaten here before?" Yuan Xiu asked.

Jiang Zhou: "I came here once last year, and I suddenly remembered it today. I thought I should bring you here to try the food."

After speaking with Yuan Xiu, Jiang Zhou went to the counter to order food.

These days, eating roast duck isn't cheap. A set with sauce and pancakes would cost seven or eight yuan, and you'd need meat coupons. In an era when an average worker's income was around thirty yuan, it wasn't something an ordinary family could afford.

The roast duck was served quickly, with slices of duck meat placed on a plate, while the duck head, feet, and carcass were served separately along with it.

Yuan Xiu pointed to the duck carcass and head and said, "Take this home and make a pickled radish and old duck soup tonight."

Jiang Zhou readily agreed. Fearing she hadn't tried it before, he picked up a piece of duck meat, dipped it in sauce, added shredded scallions and cucumber, wrapped it in a pancake, and handed it to her.

In fact, Yuan Xiu knows how to eat roast duck, and she can even cook it. She learned how to cook it when she went to work in the city before, but she didn't have a roasting oven at home, so she couldn't cook it even if she wanted to.

"Is it tasty?"

Yuan Xiu nodded, swallowed the duck meat in her mouth, and said, "The taste is exceptionally good. The duck skin is crispy, the duck meat is tender and juicy, not greasy at all, and you can even taste the aroma of fruitwood. The charcoal used for roasting the duck in this restaurant must be made from fruitwood. No wonder it's a century-old establishment, so particular!"

Jiang Zhou wrapped another piece for her. "You know quite a lot. You even know what kind of charcoal people use for roasting duck."

Yuan Xiu blinked. "I heard from the educated youth who were sent to the countryside that it does have a fruity aroma."

Jiang Zhou smiled and said, "The educated youth in your village really come from all over the country. You've learned a lot from them."

"Well... they might not be found all over the country. Maybe they just heard it from someone else and are just bragging to the people in our village."

Jiang Zhou glanced at her: "You're really something. You can learn so many local delicacies just by listening to people brag. By the way, do you know how to make Peking duck?"

Yuan Xiu: "...No, it shouldn't be too difficult. Making it shouldn't be hard, but making it delicious will probably take some effort. I heard that roast duck requires an oven, but we don't have one at home. Asking is pointless; I can't make it either."

"I didn't expect you to cook. If you want to eat, I'll bring you again later, so you can eat more."

"I'll do it myself. You can wrap it up and eat it yourself."

I was too busy taking care of her.