newbobooks Chapter 162 Yunlan's Troubles
Chapter 162 Yunlan's Troubles
December 28, 2024. New Year's Day was fast approaching, and Dawn City had been developing steadily recently. From the city lord's office to all levels of government departments, everything was operating smoothly. At 6:12 AM, Li Chenglong got up early. Seeing Yun Lan still fast asleep, he didn't disturb her, simply tucking her in. He quickly washed up, then prepared breakfast for her, which she could heat up in the microwave. He left home at 6:30 AM.
He first went downstairs to Shuguang Square, where many Shuguang City staff and ordinary people were already exercising. Li Chenglong also began his morning exercise. During his exercise, he also chatted with many Shuguang City staff and residents to understand their thoughts and feelings.
At 7:30 a.m., the flag-raising ceremony began on time, watched by thousands of staff members at all levels and residents of Shuguang City. Almost everyone sang the Chinese national anthem and the Shuguang City anthem. After the ceremony, Li Chenglong was about to go to his office when he saw Wang Xiao hurriedly getting off the bus, looking at the clock hanging in the middle of the Shuguang Building as he walked. This clock was a result of Li Chenglong's sudden inspiration; inspired by Big Ben in England, he had built one for the Shuguang Building via a main control computer, naming it the Shuguang Clock, meaning the bell that heralds the dawn. The main control computer manages the time, requiring only periodic inspection and maintenance.
Although the Shuguang Building has two elevators on each side (left, center, and right), and these elevators are relatively large, it was extremely crowded during rush hour. Furthermore, the Shuguang Building has no staircases, so everyone had to wait for the elevators. Li Chenglong patted Wang Xiao, who was waiting for the elevator. Wang Xiao turned around and, seeing Li Chenglong, happily said, "Captain Li, are you back from your morning exercise?" Li Chenglong smiled and nodded, then called over a few others still waiting for the elevator to join him in taking the dedicated cadre elevator on the right.
The elevator for officials requires an ID card. Li Chenglong swiped his own ID card and let them in, then escorted them to their respective floors before heading to the city lord's office with Wang Xiao. As they walked, he asked, "Sister Wang, how did you like the two melons I gave you yesterday?" Wang Xiao quickly replied, "Captain Li, no, City Lord, please don't call me Sister Wang anymore. After all, you are the city lord, and I'm just a staff member. It's not appropriate. I'm only four or five years older than you. You can just call me by my name from now on."
Seeing Wang Xiao's insistence, Li Chenglong said, "Alright then, I'll call you by your real name from now on. You can just call me Captain Li, after all, we're in the same special forces team." Wang Xiao nodded and continued, "Captain Li, I shared those two melons you gave me yesterday with my daughter and mother. They were really delicious, thank you." Li Chenglong thought for a moment, "Wang Xiao, you're raising a young daughter and an elderly mother all by yourself. This can't go on. If you find someone suitable to marry, you must tell me. Didn't Deputy Regiment Commander Zhao Rui and the others hold a group wedding a few days ago?"
A few days after the Dawn City Games concluded, Li Chenglong and other leaders from Dawn City and the Dawn Army held a grand ceremony for several couples from both sides who were preparing to get married. More than 500 couples participated, making for a spectacular scene. Among them were Deputy Commander Zhao Rui and Commander Zheng Aiguo, who also married their girlfriends. As for Wu Gang, he repeatedly stated that he needed to clear out the zombies first and wait for world peace before considering anything else.
Zheng Yong was originally from Jinghai. When the zombie outbreak occurred, his family all perished, and he didn't even get to see them one last time because he was on a mission. Li Chenglong had been trying to find a good woman who could take care of Zheng Yong both at work and in life, but Zheng Yong refused her every time.
Wang Xiao nodded and said with a smile, "Hmm, I'll think about it some more." Li Chenglong told Wang Xiao to go ahead, and then went home to check if Yun Lan had gotten up. However, Yun Lan was still sleeping and showed no intention of getting up. Li Chenglong called Yun Lan a few times, but she just turned over and told him to sleep a little longer. Yesterday, he and Yun Lan went to the Second Hospital of Shuguang City for a check-up. The results showed that everything was normal, and the fetus was developing very well, which reassured both Li Chenglong and Yun Lan.
After leaving home, Li Chenglong went to the central computer room again. Han Xiaoling was on duty during the day, and Li Chenglong wanted her to learn the knowledge of the central computer room well and be more careful in her work. Currently, the central computer room nominally has 6 operators, but Li Xue, Yun Lan, Wang Xiao, and Zhao Liying are not full-time. Li Chenglong discussed with Zheng Yong and Ma Tiancheng that they planned to select 4 loyal and reliable people from Dawn City and the Dawn Army to expand the number of operators in the central computer room.
In the morning, Li Chenglong and Wang Xiao worked together on some tasks. Around 10 a.m., Yun Lan opened the door and walked in. Her hair was a bit messy, clearly not styled properly. Her clothes were also casual, and even her shoes were just a pair of cotton slippers. Wang Xiao, who was printing documents in the assistant's office, was a little surprised to see Yun Lan walk in like this: "Team Leader Yun, you're here. How are you feeling today?"
Yunlan smiled and said, "It's alright, but I've been feeling a bit tired lately. However, I went to the hospital for a check-up yesterday and everything was normal. Shouldn't these symptoms only occur in the early stages of pregnancy?" Wang Xiao said, "I felt the same way when I was pregnant. It's all normal. Pregnant women in the early and late stages of pregnancy usually experience weakness and fatigue."
Yun Lan nodded and continued, "The typical pregnancy cycle is 40 weeks. If we count from the first day of my last menstrual period, I'm almost 30 weeks along. Sister Wang, I'm a little scared. I read in a book yesterday that many pregnant women experience amniotic fluid embolism, severe bleeding, and other problems during childbirth, so I'm worried about what might happen to me." "Pah! Pah! Pah!" Wang Xiao immediately said, "Captain Yun, how can you say such unlucky things? You can't think like that. A pregnant woman's emotions can affect the baby's development and have a significant impact on the baby's personality. Relax, we have so many doctors and healing-type ability users in Dawn City, and Captain Li is here too. Everything will be fine."
After speaking, Wang Xiao took out a table and said, "Team Leader Yun, look, this is the number of newborns we have in December up to today." Yun Lan took it and looked at it. The data showed that from December 1st to December 27th, a total of 405 newborns were born in Shuguang City, and there were no problems. Yun Lan felt much relieved, chatted with Wang Xiao for a few words, and then went into the office.
Li Chenglong, with his keen senses, had overheard Yunlan and Wang Xiao's conversation about Yunlan, even though the door blocked his view. As soon as Yunlan entered, Li Chenglong rushed over to help her sit down, then poured her a glass of water with some honey in it. Yunlan confided her concerns to Li Chenglong, but he didn't know how to comfort her.
He told Yunlan about some good things that had recently happened in Shuguang City, and then told some jokes to cheer her up. Sure enough, thanks to Li Chenglong's efforts, Yunlan's mood improved considerably. After preparing lunch for Yunlan, Li Chenglong personally went to the Second Hospital of Shuguang City to consult Professor Wang Guifang, who had over thirty years of experience in obstetrics. Upon learning of this, Professor Wang expressed her desire to meet with Yunlan in person to fully explain the knowledge of pregnancy and childbirth to her, so that she could feel at ease.
That evening, Professor Wang Guifang, Qin Fangyu, and Shen Menghua all came, and even Ma Tiancheng's wife, Pei Qiujuan, came to visit Yunlan. After Professor Wang's thorough explanation of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care, and with the encouragement of others, Yunlan overcame her previous timidity and returned to her normal state. Before leaving, Professor Wang Guifang pulled Li Chenglong aside and suggested that, if possible, she could take Yunlan out for a walk, go shopping in the commercial district, or even participate in some gentle activities, watch some comedies, etc. Li Chenglong said he would do it the next day, and then Li Xue personally drove Professor Wang back to the hospital.
The next day, Li Chenglong took a day off and, along with Yunlan and Han Xiaoling, strolled around the city. He brought Han Xiaoling along because there were some places he couldn't easily go to, and he needed a female companion. The three of them bought some novel trinkets on the shopping street and ate at some newly opened restaurants, enjoying food different from the canteen food. In the afternoon, Li Chenglong even took Yunlan out of town for a walk. Han Xiaoling also said that whenever possible, she would accompany her sister-in-law to walk around the city every day outside the Shuguang Building.
During dinner that evening, Qin Fangyu calculated the days: "Yunlan is almost 30 weeks pregnant now. In four weeks, I'll take leave from the Joint Logistics Support Force to take good care of Yunlan for a while." Li Chenglong agreed. Yunlan was initially reluctant, as she wasn't disabled and didn't need daily personal care. However, after persuasion from Li Chenglong and Qin Fangyu, she finally agreed.
That evening in their bedroom, Yunlan looked at the stretch marks on her belly and hugged Li Chenglong, saying, "These are so ugly. You won't think I'm ugly later, will you?" Li Chenglong smiled and said, "How could I? You are my one and only partner for life. Besides, Professor Wang said that these stretch marks will gradually disappear after childbirth, so don't worry too much." Then Li Chenglong took out a book containing bedtime stories suitable for pregnant women, which Professor Wang Guifang had given him before she left. He dimmed the bedroom light and began to read to Yunlan. Yunlan listened to the stories and soon drifted off to sleep.
After Yunlan fell asleep, Li Chenglong covered her with a blanket and then went to his study to catch up on the work he had missed that day.