Chapter 50 The Pregnant Woman on the Shuttle Bus

Helping her daughter-in-law to sit down, the old lady glared at her and snapped, "You're just bored and have nothing better to do. Drive your car, and drive faster. Can you take responsibility for any delays you cause?"

Well, she was clearly a stubborn old lady with a lot of fighting spirit. The driver ignored her, closed the car door, and slowly started the car.

"Tickets for sale! From Lujiazhuang to the City Hospital, it's two mao per person!" the ticket seller shouted when the old lady hesitated to buy a ticket.

"Two cents? Why don't you just rob someone?"

"It's always been this price!"

The old woman muttered a few curses, then pulled three coins from her cloth bag. "Here you go, you heartless bastard."

"The receipts and money need to be checked every day, ma'am. Please don't make things difficult for me. If the numbers don't match, half a day's wages will be deducted."

"Pah, Sanmao, pregnant women should get a discount. If you say anything more, I'll write a complaint letter until you lose your job."

The old woman's eyes widened as if paying another cent would be the death of her.

Seeing the pregnant woman clenching her teeth and turning pale with pain, the ticket seller sighed, tore off two tickets for the old lady, secretly added 10 cents to her name, and then sat back down in the first row!

"Hmph, some people just need to be taught a lesson. They sit in their cars all day long. Judging by the car's value, how much money does she owe the company? Write a complaint letter, and it'll be sure to win every time..."

The old lady's high-pitched, shrill sarcasm echoed throughout the carriage, bringing tears to the ticket seller's eyes. Yunxia gave her a handful of candy and whispered a few words of comfort.

"Wow, you're rich! Giving away candy like that, tsk tsk, what a spendthrift! If your parents knew how generous you are, they'd be furious!"

The newly hired ticket seller had never suffered such humiliation. Upon hearing this, she paused in her act of peeling the candy, and with tears in her eyes, rolled up the candy wrapper and stuffed it back into the little girl's arms.

The old lady, like a victorious rooster, stretched her neck, while her daughter-in-law, who was panting heavily in pain beside her, did not attract her attention at all!

Yunxia was too lazy to argue with her. She glared back at her and sat back down.

"Little butterfly, don't be angry. When we get to the city, I'll take you to the department store and buy you a dress."

Imagine a sweltering summer day, a gentle breeze ruffling the hem of a skirt, a little girl wearing a flower crown turning her head and smiling—the scene...it's simply too beautiful.

Thump!

Unable to bear watching someone act foolishly, Jiang Chao smacked him on the shoulder.

"Ah Chao, why did you hit me?"

"Stop making that lewd face, it's disgusting!"

Fengjingling: Just imagining it... It's a painter's basic skill!

"Big brother, actually... I don't really like wearing skirts."

In the apocalypse, women don't have any special privileges. They have to participate in everything from fighting zombies and scavenging for supplies to doing heavy labor and protecting resources. Over time, the pretty but cumbersome dresses are no longer worn by anyone.

"Hmm, you don't want a skirt, how about I give you a new outfit then?"

Refusing again would be disrespectful to him, so Yunxia nodded in agreement, secretly thinking that she would find an excuse to return the favor with a gift of equal value.

"Hmph, they're already exchanging gifts at such a young age, what will they be like when they grow up?"

Hmm, this old woman, she's got her eye on me, isn't she?

It's infuriating how easily they can utter such damaging words.

“A few days ago, my teacher taught me an idiom, ‘私相授受,’ which means giving and receiving something that is not done publicly.”

"Big brother, there are so many people on the train. I would gladly accept your clothes, but this is... a far cry from 'private exchange'!"

Seeing someone glaring angrily, Yun Xia raised an eyebrow with delight, thinking to herself that knowledge is power!

The mean old woman's throat moved slightly, and she stretched her neck to the left front, spitting out a thick wad of phlegm. The passenger covered his nose in disgust and turned away, but upon seeing this, his eyes widened, and he was about to start cursing again.

"Mother, I...I can't go on!"

Even with all its might, the sound was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.

"Pah, what are you up to now? Sit still!"

"Mom, my water...it broke...sob sob!" she said, then began to sob softly.

The fishy smell quickly attracted the attention of the passengers. By then, the murky amniotic fluid had filled a small puddle.

"Oh no, she's about to give birth! Driver, driver, stop the car right now, I need to get out. Seeing blood is bad luck."

The old lady knew perfectly well that the baby's condition was bad, and she shouted anxiously, "Don't stop! Keep driving until the city hospital! If anything happens to my grandson, I'll make everyone in the car pay with their lives!"

Yunxia: Well, not only stubborn, but also anti-social!

"Pah, you old hag, you're so doting on your grandson, why didn't you think of this sooner? Is renting a car that expensive?"

"Stop...stop arguing, she's bleeding...quickly move the floor aside so she can lie down. Brother Liu, you can continue driving."

Even after being scolded by the old lady, the kind-hearted ticket seller still stepped forward to take charge.

Upon hearing this, everyone picked up their belongings and gathered in front of the car. The pregnant woman lay in the aisle, and the old lady held her head, repeatedly saying, "Grandson, bear with it for a while, we'll come out at the hospital. Grandma's red envelope can't be wasted!"

"No...no, I'm...I'm going into labor, ah...it hurts...it hurts so much!"

Instantly, the smell of blood filled the entire carriage. Feng Jingling, with her back to the pregnant woman, nudged Yun Xia, asked for two cotton masks, and gave one to Jiang Chao.

While putting on his mask, Jiang Chao stole glances at someone's expression. "Hey, you surnamed Feng, are you scared?"

The artist's imagination is so rich that Ling Fengjing wishes he could slap himself to shake off the bloody scenes in his mind.

"Afraid? How could that be?"

He thought he had answered calmly, but little did he know that the large beads of sweat on his forehead had already betrayed him.

"Oh no, she's really going into labor! Does anyone have scissors, cotton cloth, towels, or anything like that? Please bring them out and help!" the ticket seller said anxiously as she checked on the pregnant woman.

Upon hearing this, everyone brought out their 'emergency' items. The vegetable vendor contributed an oilcloth to create a private space, and the tailor contributed scissors...

With a few snips, the pants were cut open.

"Hey, you brat, do you even know how to deliver a baby? If something goes wrong, can you take responsibility?"

“My mom is a doctor at the clinic, and I… know some basic knowledge.”

The difference between "understanding" and "being able" is only one word, yet the difference is vast; the ticket seller became increasingly less confident as she spoke.

"Pah, get out of here! You're not even a half-baked amateur, yet you dare to touch my grandson. Go, tell the driver to speed up."

The stubborn old woman had a terrible temper and stared at her with wary eyes. The ticket seller had no choice but to do as she was told. Everyone secretly prayed that the pregnant woman could make it to the hospital.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Just ten minutes later, the contractions struck again. The pregnant woman's hands, gripping the chair leg, were covered with bulging veins. She kept crying out, "I...I can't take it anymore, please...save me."

The bleeding wouldn't stop, and the stubborn old woman panicked. "Damn it, what use is marrying you? If I can't keep this baby, I'll definitely bring people to my in-laws' house to demand the return of the betrothal gifts, and then 'send' you back."

The passengers were chilled to the bone upon hearing this, let alone the pregnant woman herself!

She mustered all her strength and looked up at the ticket seller, her eyes filled with pleading and despair, like hooks piercing the heart.

"Does anyone know anything about childbirth? Can you come and help?"

The passengers looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.