Lin Xiaoxiao walked over curiously and tapped Zhou Xiaoling on the shoulder. "What are you staring at?"

Zhou Xiaoling nodded toward the other end of the street. "They're rounding up drifters—people without travel permits. Just grabbing anyone who looks suspicious."

Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly thought of Li Yu and Shanzi. "Li Yu and the kid just went that way. You think they're okay?"

Zhou Xiaoling shook her head. "They're fine. Wang Wenju must've gotten her a temporary residence permit. But I'm surprised they're checking IDs out here in the countryside. I thought that only happened in the city."

Lin Xiaoxiao didn't really get it either. Everything was so complicated these days. "Come on, I've got what I needed. Let's go home."

Zhou Xiaoling clicked her tongue. "Weird. Those guys looked pretty aggressive. Probably using the ID check as an excuse to look for someone specific."

Lin Xiaoxiao wasn't interested in digging deeper. "Let's just go. I want to ask one of the wives tonight how to make a baby quilt."

After that phone call that cost over ten yuan at the post office, Lin Xiaoxiao hadn't dared to suggest calling Zhou Huai'an again. Still, whenever she passed by the post office, she couldn't help glancing inside.

I wonder what he's doing right now? Is he still busy? When will he be home?

Zhou Xiaoling had called home recently. Li Yunlan said Zhou Huai'an hadn't been back lately. As for Zhou Xiaohong and Hu Yaozong's wedding, it had been postponed because some relative of the Hu family had an emergency. They were now aiming for National Day.

But they'd already registered their marriage.

Noticing Lin Xiaoxiao's lingering looks toward the post office, Zhou Xiaoling remembered she hadn't shared that last bit of news.

Lin Xiaoxiao was surprised. "They already registered? Doesn't that mean they're basically married?"

Zhou Xiaoling shook her head. "Not really. Without a wedding ceremony, most people don't consider it official. My sister still lives at our place."

Thinking of Zhou Xiaohong's delicate looks and Hu Yaozong's... less delicate ones, Lin Xiaoxiao sighed. "What a waste. Your sister really married beneath her. Then again, maybe she's just blind."

Zhou Xiaoling agreed. "She must be blind to fall for someone like Hu Yaozong. Even if he had something on her, she should've told us. We would've dealt with it. Beating up Hu Yaozong wouldn't have been a problem."

Lin Xiaoxiao didn't really understand a pampered princess like Zhou Xiaohong. But now that they were registered, the hard times were probably just beginning.

That evening, Lin Xiaoxiao started figuring out how to make the cotton quilt. She asked colleagues and neighbors, and everyone said it was simple: lay out a piece of fabric, spread the cotton evenly on top, tack it down with stitches, then cover it with another layer of fabric and sew them together.

Sounded easy enough.

She was so eager to start that she skipped making dinner. Kneeling on the bed, she began wrestling with the cotton. It turned out spreading the cotton evenly wasn't easy at all—some spots were too thick, others too thin, and some ended up lumpy.

When Zhou Xiaoling got home, she found Lin Xiaoxiao covered in cotton fluff, her hair and face dusted white. She burst out laughing. "Sis, are you sure you can do this? If it's too hard, just wait till you're past the third month. I'll ask my mom to make it for you."

Lin Xiaoxiao refused to admit defeat. "It's just a little quilt. I refuse to believe I can't handle it."

After two days of struggle, she finally finished a quilt. It was lumpy, uneven, and frankly, quite ugly.

But Lin Xiaoxiao felt she'd done her best. It was her first gift for the baby. As for clothes—those seemed too advanced. She decided to ask for help with those.

By September, the mornings and evenings grew cooler. There was still no word from Zhou Huai'an.

Lin Xiaoxiao missed him constantly, but she also kept counting the days. The announcement about the restored college entrance exam had to be coming soon. She studied harder than ever, afraid to make even the smallest mistake.

Her lower abdomen had grown firm, but she felt perfectly fine.

She credited her healthy appetite—the baby was getting plenty of nutrients, so it wasn't giving her trouble. Strangely, even though she ate a lot, she wasn't gaining weight. If anything, she was getting thinner.

Even Zhou Xiaoling said she was being ungrateful: "You eat three bowls of rice at every meal—three full bowls! Plus all those side dishes. Where does it all go? You look skinnier than ever."

Lin Xiaoxiao was delighted. "Isn't that great? I can eat without gaining weight. After the baby comes, I won't even need to diet."

Zhou Xiaoling grumbled, "Diet? You're already too thin. If you were in the countryside, no mother-in-law would want you. They like plump girls with wide hips—they look lucky. You?

You're as thin as someone who fled the famine in '58."

Lin Xiaoxiao laughed. "It's not that bad. It just means the baby is absorbing all the nutrients."

She did feel a little regretful—there were no prenatal check-ups here, no ultrasound machines in small towns. At most, a doctor could confirm you were pregnant.

There was no way to know how the baby was doing inside.

Zhou Xiaoling diligently washed rice and prepared meals. Lately, Lin Xiaoxiao didn't want noodles—she craved rice three times a day, along with heavily spiced dishes.

Zhou Xiaoling obediently cooked for her, though Lin Xiaoxiao took over the stir-frying herself. She'd had enough of Zhou Xiaoling's cooking—it was truly awful.

They worked well together, and life was peaceful.

Xiao Yan, however, was not happy back in the countryside. Returned to the, she was looked down upon. Even former friends avoided her.

With talk of return quotas and the rumored restoration of college exams, everyone was busy networking. Xiao Yan was just another competitor.

No one had time for her.

She shared a dorm with five other women. Four of them were studying relentlessly—carrying books to the fields, reading during breaks, straining their eyes by kerosene lamps at night, desperate to memorize every word.

It put Xiao Yan on edge. She didn't know if she could compete with them, but one thing was clear: to get out, she needed the village party secretary's signature.

Whether for a return permit or an exam permit, his approval would be essential.

She'd already seen several educated youth sneaking off to the secretary's house with gifts. She couldn't fall behind.

The next day, she asked for half a day off, went to town, bought two jin of pork, wrapped it in oiled paper, and headed to the secretary's house.

Hanniù was sitting by the door, watching ants climb a tree. When he saw Xiao Yan, his face lit up with a foolish grin. He shuffled toward her. "Pretty wife... sleep together... go sleep..."