"Do you really need to tell me that?"
"That’s my own sister!"
Liu Shouyi spat angrily in his heart and sprinted like mad toward his little sister’s house.
But no matter how fast he ran, what does a man like him know about childbirth?
Su Hongying cursed angrily, stuffing the things she prepared for her sister-in-law and future nephew into Qiu Fang’s arms. She turned and dashed off, surprisingly not much slower than Liu Shouyi, who had set off first.
Out of breath and with her arms full of random items, Qiu Fang was bewildered. After a long moment, she shook her head and laughed, trudging towards Shuzhen’s home.
It’s not that she wasn’t worried or didn’t want to run all the way there, but her body just wouldn’t allow it!
A good man like Lianshan was running to find a midwife for his wife, while Liu Shouyi and Su Hongying were rushing to take care of the soon-to-be mother. Even Qiu Fang, who was left behind, made haste with quick steps. Everyone who received the news was tense with anticipation, eager to rush to Shuzhen’s place. However, when Liu Shouyi and his wife finally arrived, panting heavily, they found that the person they had been worried sick about, although pale and sweating from the pain, was still... walking?
Okay, walking more before giving birth is supposed to help with a smooth delivery. But shouldn’t a first-time mother-to-be at least seem a bit more anxious?
Even more curious was that on the kang behind her, there were several neatly packed bundles. The baby blankets, little clothes, and small swaddles prepared for the child, along with the all-steel new scissors for cutting the umbilical cord, were all neatly arranged by the kangside. Even the 12-liter pot in the kitchen was filled with clean water, with wood logs burning fiercely underneath...
Seeing her second brother and sister-in-law running over, she still managed a pale smile, telling them not to worry.
"Not worry? You’ve tired yourself out , how can we not be concerned? When I ran into Lian Hai’s wife on the way here, I was almost scared to death. At that moment, Lianshan was in a panic, didn’t even bother dusting off the snow, and scrambled to find a midwife for you!" Liu Shouyi, fearing his cool body might shock his little sister, made sure to warm himself by the stove first.
After his body warmed up a bit, he quickly went over to support his sister, helping her walk around the room.
He’s at least the father of two healthy boys, not as clueless as his wife thought.
At the very least, he knew that walking a lot before giving birth would make it easier.
Seeing his little sister constantly looking outside, it wasn’t hard to guess that she was anxious for Lianshan to hurry back! Despite feeling a sour jealousy over being replaced in his sister’s heart, Liu Shouyi still praised Lianshan for his attentiveness to his sister.
Even though he liked to assert his presence, competing with his brother-in-law for his sister’s attention, Liu Shouyi never faltered at critical moments.
Hearing this, Shuzhen’s face indeed flushed, and she relaxed noticeably with a gentle smile.
After watching for a while, seeing her man acting quite reliably, Su Hongying assigned him the important task of continuing to walk with his sister-in-law and chat to distract her attention.
She herself turned into the kitchen, started the stove in the west room, and boiled several more eggs in brown sugar to replenish blood and energy. When her sister-in-law felt weak, she could have a few more, and that would boost her strength.
Then she needed to remove the kang mat and find some fresh straw or wheat straw to place under her sister-in-law. To prevent the mess from childbirth from staining the kang mat and bedding.
Every household did it this way, so Su Hongying saw nothing wrong with her preparations.
However, Lianshan, who had finally brought home the midwife in a hurried sprint, wasn’t pleased: just to save the kang mat and bedding in the dead of winter, let his wife give birth on that filthy, possibly germ-ridden, rough and likely skin-scratching wheat straw?
Just a set of bedding, how could it be more important than his wife’s health and comfort?!
Lianshan immediately called a stop, preventing the economizing method that would inconvenience his wife.
Su Hongying wanted to persuade further, but Lianshan didn’t listen at all.
It was Shuzhen who smiled and said, "Oh, you guys don’t need to argue about this, I already made preparations. There’s a sheet of plastic on the kang. Later place it on the mattress, then cover it with an easy-to-wash blanket, and along with the four rolls of toilet paper by the kang, be careful, and it shouldn’t dirty the bedding."
In these times of hard-to-get fabric tokens and scarce cotton, Shuzhen wasn’t willing to ruin a set of bedding like in her past life because of childbirth. Of course, she didn’t feel like experiencing again the hardship and difficulty Lianshan never let her go through with straw or wheat straw in her past life.
Since becoming pregnant for about nine months, she had been quietly preparing for childbirth.
After all, she was experienced with six children in her past life, much more than her second sister-in-law who had only seen two!
Since her sister-in-law was well-prepared, Su Hongying had nothing more to say. She just pulled her husband, who was oblivious to being a beacon, and turned him around, telling him to take away the visibly more nervous than his sister-in-law brother-in-law to make room for the midwife to check the fetal position and birth canal.
Lianshan didn’t want to leave; he wanted to stay with his wife, cheer her on, and give her strength.
But Shuzhen had no intention of letting him witness the danger of childbirth, adding to his fear, and didn’t want him to see her at her worst.
Originally, there’s no reason for a man to stand by during childbirth. Even if his sister didn’t mind, Liu Shouyi wouldn’t agree. Now with his sister firmly shaking her head, signaling him to take the man out, how could Liu Shouyi indulge him?
If you don’t want to leave, drag him out by the neck.
As soon as he dragged the man out, his wife Su Hongying said ’click’ and closed the door behind, securing it with the latch.
Reluctantly forced outside, Lianshan paced around, distressed seeing basins of blood water being carried out by his brother-in-law or sister-in-law, and hearing his wife’s labored moans.
From just before ten in the morning until the sunset sky was filled with clouds, when Lianshan felt his patience running thin, the long-awaited sound of a loud cry finally came from the room.
Amongst the cheers of "It’s born, a healthy big boy," once Lianshan’s heart finally settled, the first thing he asked was, "Saozi, is Shuzhen okay?"