HPDBC Chapter 205
Chapter 205
When Wen Qian turned seventy, she lost a lot of weight and truly became an old lady, finding even walking exhausting.
She couldn't walk far and experienced various aches in her body. Despite taking care of herself and resting well in her younger years, she still needed a cane at this age.
When building her house, she had anticipated becoming an elderly woman, so she had prepared handrails. At sixty, she installed additional handrails and railings in her home.
When her child was learning to walk, she had added a long, gentle slope at the doorstep, which now proved useful for herself.
When going out, Wen Qian needed to use a cane and had to rest frequently during her walks.
In the mirror, she saw aging skin, increasingly white hair, and a gradually hunching back.
Wen Qian clearly felt the effects of aging and the loss of strength. Many tasks became challenging despite her willingness.
But isn't this the power of time? Everyone faces this someday.
Knowing this was one thing, but actually experiencing it still felt disheartening to Wen Qian.
This mindset didn't accompany her constantly, but occasionally surfaced, like when she couldn't lift a basket she used to carry easily, or when she realized how sensitive she had become to cold.
At this time, An An was twenty-four years old. Every time she saw her mother struggling, she felt particularly distressed. She feared the day when her mother would no longer be around and wished she could stay by her side forever.
But she knew that was impossible, so she could only treat her mother well while she was still present.
Although her body was aging, An An felt that her mother maintained a good mentality, and most of the time, there was no generation gap when they communicated.
An An thought her mother could understand her confusion and perplexities well. Even when she didn't understand, she respected An An's feelings, a quality many elders lacked.
Moreover, Wen Qian always maintained curiosity about the outside world. She paid attention to all the information An An brought back and approached the outside world with genuine interest rather than presumption.
At twenty-four, An An could go hunting alone, while Wen Qian set small traps near the house and fishing nets by the stream.
Without An An, Wen Qian would probably only be able to manage catching fish from the stream, checking nearby small traps, and tending to crops in the adjacent fields. Long-distance hunting would be practically impossible.
This included the man on the boat who, after being rejected, said he would continue pursuing her if they met again.
Later, An An did see him on the boat, but each time she saw him, things were different.
The next encounter was seeing him with his wife. He remembered An An, so his expression was awkward, especially since he had found his love at first sight not long after the incident with An An.
Later, she saw him at the hospital while getting some ointment. He and his wife had had two children in three years and were expecting a third.
The man was complaining that his wife got pregnant too easily, even with the old "safe period" method passed down from before.
Then he was scorned by a nurse, who said this method had always been a rumor and shouldn't be believed. She was surprised people still trusted it nowadays.
An An thought it might be due to the lack of suitable contraceptives in this era. There wouldn't be birth control pills either, as the authorities were worried about insufficient population.
She knew all this thanks to Wen Qian's education, which gave her rich theoretical experience so she wouldn't be fooled by bad men.
Wen Qian had learned about the ways bad men deceive girls during her university days, in a physiological health class where the female teacher listed many examples.
Deception techniques, disease occurrence, abortion methods and procedures, psychological tactics, and more were covered.
Even in love, one needs to answer multiple choice, single choice, true or false, and essay questions, rather than blindly pursuing sweetness and the sanctity of love, forgetting even their parents' names.
Regarding sex, Wen Qian had educated An An, telling her the relevant knowledge when she started menstruating. Of course, for Wen Qian, it was all theory without practice, so she could only teach theoretical knowledge.
However, she still cautioned An An not to get pregnant carelessly. For one, giving birth is always potentially life-threatening at any time.
If one's own delivery goes smoothly, it should be considered fortunate due to good luck or a healthy body, rather than boasting smugly about it and assuming others should find it just as easy.
For instance, cases where the baby comes quickly, is born on a field ridge, then sent home while the mother continues working.
Another reason is that she didn't want An An to make an irreversible decision rashly when she wasn't mature enough. At that point, a person would become physically and mentally exhausted, after all, once a child is born it can't be put back.
An An took note of this, although at the time she felt she was still young and far from the age of having children.