By the time the flustered midwife finally climbed back into the refugee dwelling through the tattered window at the back, the other midwife saw her and immediately exclaimed in joy, "You're finally back, how did it go? Did you take care of the matter?"
"Yes, yes, what about this side? Nothing's gone wrong, has it?" the midwife hurriedly asked as she wiped the raindrops off her face.
"No, I fooled the family into thinking she hasn't given birth yet; the mother's too exhausted and has fallen asleep. But we can't keep this up forever. The baby has already been taken by you; where can we find another child to deceive these people?" the other midwife said, anxious to the point of clawing at her own heart.
What they were doing, secretly swapping babies, was indeed a grievous sin. If they were caught, they'd likely be beaten to death and no one would say a word.
However, without sufficient benefit, no one would be willing to do such a thing.
It was then that the midwife remembered and unwrapped the layers of clothing around her, revealing the child she was holding and said, "This is probably the daughter that the family swapped out. Their heart is really cruel, giving her poison as soon as she was born. Right now, she isn't dead yet.
Hurry, change the blankets on this child and say the mother delivered a girl. Whether or not this child can survive is no longer our concern as midwives!"
The two midwives busied themselves, but the child in their arms showed no sign of life...
The Ye Family had fled to the capital city over a year ago. Since the family had several sons who found work outside, their living conditions were somewhat better than the other refugees.
Old Man Ye's daughter-in-law, Mrs. He, successfully gave birth to a girl after a year in the capital city.
In an era that favored boys over girls, a daughter should not have been well-received.
However, Mrs. He already had four sons and was of an age to be a grandmother with two grandsons. Yet now she had given birth to a daughter, so naturally she doted on this only girl immensely.
But strangely, from the moment she was born, the little girl had not cried once and barely moved her limbs, which greatly worried old Man Ye and his wife.
At dawn, Old Man Ye hurried back from outside. Mrs. He looked around but didn't see a doctor, so she couldn't help but ask, "Old man, where's the doctor you went to find?"
Old Man Ye had a grim expression and said, "Wife, it's raining now, the drought is over, and the planting season is nearly here. We should pack up and return to our hometown as soon as possible!"
"What's the matter? Why the rush?" Mrs. He naturally didn't want to go; she had just gone through childbirth the day before and hadn't had a chance to rest for two days before having to hurry back home. The journey would invariably be bumpy for a month or so, and she certainly didn't want to endure this hardship while still in confinement.
Old Man Ye squatted on the ground, his head in his hands, and said, "Those two midwives who came to our house for the delivery yesterday are dead. They were murdered not far from here, by the firewood stack, hacked to death with a knife.
The capital is too chaotic, not a place for people like us to stay!"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. He also shuddered.
Everyone wants to enjoy good fortune, but life is the most important thing!
Looking at her newborn daughter lying on the bed, Mrs. He said with a pained heart, "It's one thing for us adults to suffer a bit more, but I feel sorry for the child. She hasn't had a single good day since I became pregnant with her, and now that she has just been born, without even a chance to see a doctor, she has to undergo bumps and hardships along with us. My heart... aches!"