Chapter 80 Preparation before Production
For a period of time thereafter, apart from working and studying, Wang Mengde spent his days at home accompanying He Shengnan.

In about a week, she will be giving birth.

That night, it was Yuer Hutong.

"Meng De, how much sesame oil do you have left? See if it's enough. If not, go buy some in advance." Ran Xiaomei leaned over under the light, sewing a baby quilt while speaking to him.

"Mom, I have more than a pound of sesame oil, enough for Shengnan to eat during her confinement."

In the living room, Wang Mengde, who was chatting with He Shengnan in private, answered.

"That's good. I have a hundred eggs prepared at home. Let's not buy this for now to avoid it going bad. When Sheng Nan comes, I'll go to the grocery store to buy some more.

There is also brown sugar. I have an unopened pack at home, which will be enough for now.”

Hearing that there was enough sesame oil at home, Ran Xiaomei felt relieved, and then she started talking about eggs and brown sugar.

He Shengnan on the side said happily, "Mom, these are enough for me to eat during the confinement period. You don't need to buy too much."

"Not much. You are pregnant with two babies, so you need more nutrition. You must take good care of yourself during the confinement period, otherwise your body will be in poor condition for the rest of your life." Ran Xiaomei raised her head, rubbed her scalp with the needle, and then said:

"When I was pregnant with Meng De, my family was not well off, and I didn't have much nutritional supplements during the confinement period. Later, I got sick from time to time. If Mr. Cheng hadn't prescribed a prescription for me and taken care of me for a period of time, I would have definitely developed a chronic illness."

"Now that our family is well off, I can't treat you badly. Just tell me what you want to eat and I'll make it for you."

"Thank you, Mom." He Shengnan said gratefully.

"We are a family, why are we being so polite?" Ran Xiaomei said with a smile, and then she said to Wang Mengde, "By the way, Mengde, on Sunday, please adjust the light shade in your bedroom to match the one at home now.

After the baby is born, you will be up more often at night, and the lighting in the bedroom needs to be able to be adjusted at any time."

At that time, the light bulbs used in homes were still old-fashioned incandescent bulbs, mostly 15 watts, and were usually hung in the middle of the room.

Since the light and wattage of incandescent lamps are not large, if the bedroom is in a slightly remote place, it will appear very dim, so you need to adjust the position of the lampshade at this time.

"Mom, I remember. I will adjust the lamp umbrella at home the day after tomorrow." Wang Mengde agreed quickly.

When they returned to Yard 95, the two of them were lying on the bed.

Wang Mengde put his arm around her shoulders, put his other hand gently on her belly, and whispered, "Shengnan, you're about to give birth, why don't you take a leave next week and rest at home."

Because she was carrying twins and was about to give birth, He Shengnan's belly looked particularly big. She had to squeeze into the bus every day and work at the company, and she was afraid that something might happen.

"It's okay, don't worry, I will take good care of myself. Besides, every time I take the bus, the driver and the conductor will arrange a seat for me. The job I have now is easy, and the leaders take good care of me."

Seeing that he was so worried about herself, He Shengnan smiled and comforted him.

"I'm just worried that something might happen to you."

"Don't worry, I'm not that squeamish. I heard mom talk about this a while ago. When she was pregnant with you and was about to give birth, she was still watering the vegetable garden with a bucket and a shoulder pole with her big belly on the first day. You were born the next morning."

Afraid that he wouldn't believe it, she cited the example of Ran Xiaomei.

"At that time, I had no choice. My family was too poor, and my father had just arrived in Beijing. My mother couldn't eat unless she worked. Aren't we better off now than before?

Besides, because of the heavy work, I was born almost 20 days early, which resulted in no midwife being hired in advance." Wang Mengde continued to persuade.

"Ah? Mom gave birth on her own without hiring a midwife?" He Shengnan asked in surprise.

More than 20 years ago, there were not many doctors in rural areas, but there should still be midwives.

"Isn't it because my mother was carrying water to water the vegetables that caused my premature birth? In the morning, my mother suddenly had a severe stomachache. My grandmother saw that she was about to give birth, so she hurriedly went to ask for a midwife, but she had gone to the market.

So my grandmother rushed to the Shahe market and finally found someone. However, the midwife's bound feet couldn't walk fast, so my grandmother carried her on her back and trotted to Tiangezhuang. By the time we got home, I was already born.

Wang Mengde explained.

“So there are these things in it.”

"Well, okay, let's go to bed early." Feeling that the two little guys in his belly had calmed down, Wang Mengde took his hand away and said softly.

Sunday.

In the morning, Wang Mengde prepared two pulleys, a porcelain bottle, wire and other tools, and he and He Shengnan walked towards the front yard.

When he arrived at Yan Bugui's house, he shouted into the house, "Third Uncle, are you home?"

"I'm coming." Yan Bugui came out of the house, saw Wang Mengde, and asked with a smile: "Mengde, do you want to talk to me about something?"

"Uncle, I'm going to adjust the light shade at home. I'll use the ladder. Oh, and I'll need to turn off the switch of the electric meter. I'd like to trouble you and Shengnan to watch over it and make sure no one pushes it up."

Wang Mengde explained the purpose of his visit.

Nowadays, every yard shares one electricity meter, and next to the meter there is a two-phase power switch.

The power switch, also known as a knife switch, is a leakage protection switch. Earlier, Wang Mengde had seen box-shaped power switches.

If anyone wants to repair or change the circuit, they must first turn off the switch to prevent electric shock.

As for asking He Shengnan and the third uncle to watch by the switch, it was also because they were afraid that someone would accidentally turn on the switch. The light switches at home were not particularly safe.

"No problem. I'll go into the house and move two stools. I'll watch under the switch for a while and won't go anywhere." Yan Bugui patted his chest and agreed.

As he said this, he went into the house, brought out two benches, and used a bamboo pole to pry down the switch.

After seeing that everything was ready, Wang Mengde carried the ladder back home, leaned it against the wall, and then took the pulley and tools and climbed up carefully.

In less than half an hour, he installed a fixed pulley on the ceiling of the house, installed a movable pulley with a thread, and equipped the movable pulley with a heavy porcelain bottle.

After the device was completed, he tried it and found that the length of the wire could be adjusted at any time, so that the position of the lamp umbrella could be adjusted, and the lighting in the room could be easily improved.

At this time, Jia Zhang and Qin Huairu were walking out of the courtyard and saw the Third Uncle sitting at the bottom of the corridor. Qin Huairu asked curiously, "Third Uncle, Shengnan, what are you doing sitting here?"

"Haha, Meng De is changing the wiring at home, and I'm helping him watch the switch to make sure the neighbors who don't know about it don't use it." Yan Bugui said with a smile.

Jia Zhang got a headache when she heard Wang Mengde's name. She looked at the electric switch and some thoughts gradually arose in her mind.

(End of this chapter)