Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
In less than 15 minutes, Sister Tian rushed in and asked, âHow is she? When did it start to hurt?â
âIâm not sure, but it seems like sheâs been in pain for quite a while.â Zhou Ying shook her head.
âAbout two hours. At first, it was just a burst of pain, but the real pain started about fifteen minutes ago.â Qiu Niang replied, panting heavily.
âThatâs good. It appears that we will have some more time.â Elder sister Tian heaved a sigh of relief, then said to Zhou Ying, âSister, please take care of her for a while. I must clean up the delivery room and boil some water quickly.â
âAlright. By the way, the midwifeâ¦
âXing Wang went to get her. He ran fast.â After Elder Sister Tian finished speaking, she turned around and left.
After a while, Tian Jiawang came over with a white-haired woman. Zhou Ying briefly explained the situation and turned to go home.
After dinner, Qiu Niangâs screams finally stopped, and soon, the tender cry of a baby could be heard.
Zhou Ying finally heaved a sigh of relief. âThis delivery sounded scary. It took ten hours, and it should be life-threatening.â
âShe should be fine. Some women give birth for two days and two nights. Otherwise, there wouldnât be so many women who died from difficult labor.â Gu Chengrui paused for a moment. He was afraid of scaring her, so he quickly and carefully said, âOf course, it will go smoothly with a healthy body.â
Zhou Ying looked at his eager expression and smiled. âDonât worry; I understand. I wonât be scared.â
âThatâs good.â Gu Chengrui laughed and continued, âBy the way, tomorrow morning, send them 20 eggs and 5 pounds of black noodles.â
âArenât the eggs a little too few? Weâre their bosses, right?â
âItâs quite a lot in these times. Nowadays, anyone who can eat an egg is living well, not to mention the black noodles.â
âAt most, Iâll send more over when we have the opportunity in the future. Otherwise, itâll be hard to explain with just three chickens in our backyard.â
âIâll do as you say, then. Iâll also give them a small jar of red sugar fermented rice.â
âThatâs okay.â
The following day, after Gu Chengrui left, Zhou Ying carried a basket and a small bag to their neighbor.
Seeing that Tian Jiawang was slaughtering chickens in the courtyard, she walked over and asked, âBrother Tian, are you preparing to make chicken soup?â
âYes, itâs for Qiu Niangâs nourishment.â Tian Jiawang stood up and answered.
âThatâs great. Anything for the mother and child, right?
âThere was nothing good I could give this year.
âIâve brought some black noodles, eggs, and a jar of fermented rice in red sugar as a token of our appreciation.â
âThis is already lovely. Qiu Niang needs these, so thank you very much.â Tian Jiawang thanked her happily. He took the goods and said, âLetâs go in and see the child.â
âIn two days. The child is too young now; I shouldnât risk the baby catching a cold.â
âOh right, try not to let Qiu Niang eat the sweet potatoes as much as possible; that will make her stomach bloated.â Zhou Ying asked curiously, âDid she give birth to a boy or a girl?â
âItâs a chubby boy,â Tian Jiawang grinned.
âCongratulations, Brother Tian. Alright, Iâll leave you to your work as I have to go back to sun-dry the white potatoes.â After Zhou Ying finished speaking, she turned around and went home to get busy.
When it was almost noon, they suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps, followed by Er Zhuangâs barking.
She saw Qian Shisan rushing in with a refugee carrying a three or
four-year-old boy; behind them was a woman crying.
Zhou Ying was stunned for a moment.. She quickly got up and asked while stopping Ere Zhuang, âThirteenth Uncle, umâ¦â