Chapter 185 Qianqian gave birth

He reached out and gently tidied her wind-blown hair. His fingertips carried the chill of the mountains, yet they burned Xia Qianqian's heart. "Being with you and Mom, and with this family, is more reassuring than any mountain of gold or silver!"

“You…” Xia Qianqian didn’t expect him to say such sweet words in front of outsiders. Her heart felt like it was being soaked in warm water, both hot and soft. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she glared at him reproachfully, but her eyes were full of laughter.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng's eyes almost overflowed with tenderness. He raised his hand and ruffled her hair, his voice full of affection: "Be good, go back inside first. I can handle things here. It's windy outside, don't get cold."

After seeing Xia Qianqian off, Lu Zheng glanced at Lu Yaoting indifferently, his gaze falling on the termination agreement. His tone was as calm as if he were talking about the weather: "I'll sign it."

Lu Rensheng paused, seemingly surprised that he had agreed so readily.

Lu Zheng took the pen, the scratching sound of the pen tip cutting through the paper particularly clear in the cold wind. With a flick of his wrist, the two characters "Lu Zheng" pierced through the paper, carrying a resolute determination to cut off everything.

After finishing writing, he threw the agreement over, the paper tracing a cold, white arc in the air.

Lu Rensheng was lost in thought and forgot to even reach out to take it.

"Dad!" Lu Yaoting snatched the agreement with lightning speed, quickly scanning the signature area, a smug smile appearing on his lips.

Lu Zheng's gaze swept over the father and son, each with their own ulterior motives, and his voice was cold: "Mr. Lu, this is the last time we will meet formally."

"From this day forward, the Lu family of Hong Kong City is completely severed from my Lu Zheng lineage. Whether you prosper or fall, do not bother us again."

Lu Rensheng finally found his voice, and when he opened his mouth, it was hoarse: "You...you will regret this!"

Lu Zheng ignored him, turned around, picked up the bamboo basket, and stood straight in the wind and snow, like a pine tree that refused to bend.

Lu Yaoting helped the distraught Lu Rensheng out, his face beneath the red scarf unable to hide his smugness. He looked down at the agreement in his arms, as if he could already see himself standing on the top floor of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

As for the older brother who was cut off from his relationship? Who cares!

Clang!

Suddenly, a heavy thud came from the inner room, followed by Wang Meihua's shout: "Lu Zheng! Come in quickly!"

Lu Zheng abruptly stopped, not even having time to take off the bamboo basket from his shoulder, and turned to rush into the house.

In the east wing, Xia Qianqian curled up on the kang (a heated brick bed), cold sweat soaking the stray hairs at her temples and sticking to her forehead. Her lips were bitten until they turned white, and suppressed groans escaped her throat, like a wounded little animal.

"Qianqian!" Lu Zheng's heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand, the pain making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

He rushed to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), wanting to touch her but hesitant: "Mom! What...what happened?"

"It looks like she's had a miscarriage!" Wang Meihua's hands were trembling, but she tried to remain calm as she pulled open Xia Qianqian's soaked clothes. "Her water broke! She's going into labor!"

She turned to Lu Zheng and quickly instructed, "What are you all standing there for? Quickly boil water! Get the scissors! I'll go call Daya to fetch the midwife!"

Lu Zheng suddenly realized what was happening and rushed towards the kitchen. The bamboo basket crashed against the door frame with a "bang," scattering its contents all over the floor, but he was completely unaware.

Wang Meihua flung open the door: "Da Ya! Da Ya! Go quickly and call Grandma Zhang!"

Outside the courtyard gate, Lu Rensheng and Lu Yaoting were about to leave when a sudden commotion inside the house made them both stop in their tracks.

Lu Rensheng raised his hand to stop his son, his voice calm and even: "Wait a little longer."

Before he could finish speaking, two small figures rushed out of the courtyard like a whirlwind and crashed solidly into Lu Rensheng's lower back—it was Da Ya and Er Ya.

Lu Rensheng groaned in pain, staggered half a step before regaining his balance, and clutched his waist as he looked into the courtyard.

He said to Lu Yaoting, "Let's see first. They don't acknowledge me as their father, but as their grandfather, I have to see my grandson born with my own eyes."

When he turned to look at Lu Yaoting, his tone carried an undeniable air of authority: "Now that you're back in Hong Kong, it's time to put your wedding on the agenda."

Lu Rensheng had his own plans: Lu Yaoting was not up to the task, but the Lu family's foundation could not be broken in his hands. If he had more grandsons, one of them would surely be successful.

Seeing Xia Qianqian trembling with pain, Daya and Erya turned and ran towards the west end of the village.

Daya half-supported, half-carried Granny Zhang, while Erya stumbled behind carrying the midwife's basket, not caring that her cotton shoes were wading into puddles of snow. This attracted the villagers to crane their necks to watch. These two girls from the Lu family were truly worth raising!

As Granny Zhang stepped into the east wing, she saw steaming hot water in a basin beside the kang (a heated brick bed), and scissors, cloths, and wood ash neatly arranged on a low stool—more efficient than many families she had helped deliver babies.

"Grandma Zhang, please take a look!" Wang Meihua's voice cracked.

Grandma Zhang didn't waste any time. She placed her hand on Xia Qianqian's belly, and her previously calm face suddenly darkened.

The hard, protruding lump under her palm looked strange no matter how she touched it. She frowned and pressed it again, and Xia Qianqian cried out in pain, the veins on her forehead bulging.

"What's wrong?" Wang Meihua's heart jumped into her throat, and she grabbed the midwife's arm.

Grandma Zhang withdrew her hand, wiped it on her apron, and her face was even worse than the ashes in the stove: "The baby is breech!"

She clicked her tongue and gestured with her hand: "The baby is in a transverse position, this... this is going to be difficult to deliver!"

"Horizontal position?"

Wang Meihua felt her legs go weak, and if she hadn't grabbed the edge of the kang in time, she would have collapsed to the ground on the spot.

A sudden "buzz" went through her mind, and she instantly recalled the pregnant woman she had seen at the provincial hospital. She too had a breech presentation, a transverse lie, and in the end, blood stained half the mattress, and neither she nor her baby survived.

“Qianqian… my Qianqian…” Wang Meihua looked at Xia Qianqian, who was convulsing in pain on the kang (a heated brick bed), tears streaming down her face, her voice choked with sobs, “Why is your life so miserable…”

Lu Zheng was stunned by this sudden turn of events. He didn't understand anything about horizontal or vertical positions, but he saw his mother crying her heart out and Xia Qianqian's face turning pale with pain.

He grabbed Wang Meihua's arm, his voice trembling, "Mom! What happened? What's wrong? What happened to Qianqian?!"

"Get out of here!" Grandma Zhang suddenly interrupted him gruffly, throwing the cloth in her hand onto the rim of the basin. "The delivery room isn't a place for grown men! You're just making trouble!"

Without a word, she shoved Lu Zheng, and also pushed out Daya and Erya, who were peeking through the doorway, shouting, "Get out! Get out! Men, stay away!"

Lu Zheng stood rooted to the spot like an iron stake, while Grandma Zhang's arms ached from pushing him around.

"Rules of the delivery room—"

Before she could finish speaking, Lu Zheng shoved her hand away and braced himself against the door. "The one bleeding and fighting desperately inside is my wife! She's my woman, why should she bear this alone?!"