Chapter 89: Memories with Wan Lu (Part 2)

The temperature of the half-boiled water had not yet dropped, so Xia Cheng ran back to the woods to pick up the urea bag. He did not dare to stop or turn on the light along the way. He opened his eyes wide and tried to identify it as he walked down. He inhaled a lot of small flying insects in the air and could not help coughing twice.

But when she got to the original place, she didn't see the urea bag. She could only hurriedly pick up some firewood, go back to the yard, stuff a few pieces of dry firewood into the iron kettle, and go back to the room to find scissors.

Scissors, they should be in the kitchen. She knelt on the floor and searched in the basket.

A faint, somewhat gloomy voice came from beside me.

"Are you looking for this?"

A pair of scissors with red glue falling off and blunt cutting edges suddenly appeared beside him. Xia Cheng held it in surprise, but as soon as it touched the cold metal, the sound got stuck in his throat.

"Thanks......"

She turned her head to look, and her eyelashes were brushed by the man's hair hanging on his forehead, making her feel itchy.

She sat down on the ground. She couldn't grab the scissors and didn't know who the strange man in front of her was.

There was no one in the village who was so good-looking. His facial features were deep and angular, his lips were slightly raised, and the dimples on his lips were faintly visible. But when Xia Cheng looked closely, there was no smile in his eyes, and even the corners of his eyes were not lowered at all.

The scissors she had been looking for were in my hand, close to her neck.

Xia Cheng couldn't help but tremble. No matter how good-looking a person was, she couldn't appreciate him at this moment. While wondering who he was, she calmly looked for the best way to escape.

The tip of the scissors gently touched Xia Cheng's neck and then was retracted.

Wan Lu's gaze never left the trembling woman sitting on the ground before him. She was thin, but her legs were strong, and her fingertips were calloused, showing the signs of frequent work. Her skin was white, but that didn't mean much. Her eyes, filled with fear and confusion, were a bit like his pet deer, lacking any offensive power.

He threw the scissors into the girl's arms, looked at the girl's tender face, and suddenly smiled like a fox with malicious intentions.

"What are you afraid of? Don't you want scissors?"

Seeing that no one answered, he squatted down and rubbed her head. "I'll leave her in your care."

"Ah..." A wailing sound came from the bedroom, and Xia Cheng's attention was drawn back to the hot little bungalow. She felt strange about the man's inexplicable closeness.

So who is he to the pregnant woman? Husband? Family?

Xia Cheng licked her lips.

"I've only delivered pigs. Anyway, I'll do my best and won't tell anyone, but please prepare the money..."

After saying this, she fled out of the abnormally hot kitchen like a flash.

Wan Lu narrowed his eyes and half-knelt to watch her running back.

There was a black stain on the back of her neck, which caught his eye. He lowered his head to look at the dirt on his palm, then glanced at the urea bag beside him. Thinking of the bloodstains he had found along the way, his face darkened and the fake smile disappeared.

*

Xia Cheng asked the woman to give birth while squatting.

Her grandmother was a midwife when she was young, and little Xia Cheng secretly followed her to watch. She still remembers it vividly.

The woman was being supported by someone and was sweating profusely. Her condition was better than the other woman's and she still had the strength to scream, unlike the woman's meow, which was as weak and feeble as a cat's.

But the woman's will was obviously much stronger than Xia Cheng had imagined. She bit her lips until they bled, and tightly grasped Xia Cheng's arm that was supporting her, scratching it and leaving bloody marks. The pain made Xia Cheng's eyes well up with tears.

Giving birth to a child is not easy, as such a big head cannot be grown in such a small space.

Finally seeing the head, Xia Cheng was so panicked that she didn't know what to do. The woman was relying on her for support, and she couldn't go to pick up the child. She could only watch the baby wrapped in the placenta fall to the ground with a plop.

The scissors were first soaked in boiling water, and a little white wine from an unknown time was sprinkled on them. After lighting a fire, Xia Cheng waited for it to cool down for a while, cut the umbilical cord with one hand, helped the woman sit on the bed, and covered her lower body with a blanket.

What's strange is that it always feels like something is missing.

Neither of them felt the joy of a successful birth. Xia Cheng knelt on the ground, picked up the baby, and took a closer look at it. She saw that the child's complexion and skin seemed to be covered with a layer of damp purple mist. After leaving the abdominal cavity, the child's limbs had no power, and it was obvious that he was short of breath.

Without bothering to let the woman see the child, Xia Cheng picked up a piece of cloth and wiped the child clean. Then he held the baby's ankles and hung it upside down, and kept slapping the child's back and the soles of his feet. The "pa pa" sound echoed in the earthen house. The woman raised her eyes weakly, and her outstretched fingertips kept trembling.

"Kid...what's wrong..."

No one responded to her.

Xia Cheng was busy trying to save the life that was about to die from lack of oxygen. She sucked the baby's mouth and nose vigorously, spitting out mucus with blood. In just a few tens of seconds, her heart was beating wildly and her face was as red as Guan Gong, but he was the Guan Gong who saved people.

Finally, the baby burst into a tiny cry like a kitten.

The woman suddenly relaxed and tilted her head back. Before Xia Cheng could pick up the child, she saw the woman close her eyes exhausted.

"Alive, alive!" The joy of saving someone made Xia Cheng temporarily forget that she was just a person who did things for money.

The wooden door that was not tightly closed was pushed open with a creak. Looking towards the source of the sound, I saw the man who was in the kitchen just now.

He was covered in sweat, as if he had taken a bath in sweat. His sticky hair was combed behind his ears, revealing his superior forehead.

Xia Cheng felt that the child in her arms was like a bald little monk. When she held the child in front of the man, her eyes were filled with uncontrollable joy, and she chirped like a sparrow.

"Your child, your child! I, I succeeded!"

Her eyes were sparkling, almost bloodshot. It was already time for her to go to bed, but Xia Cheng felt extremely excited because she could still run two more laps.

Her round, deer-like pupils looked at Wan Lu, waiting for his reaction.

Wan Lu was not that excited. He glanced at the fat boy secretly, and when he saw Xia Cheng's lively face, he forced a smile. But the smile froze abruptly after he glanced at Huang Yiqiu who was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. He walked quickly to the bed, his eyes piercing like needles, shooting at Xia Cheng.

"What's wrong with her!"

"I was so tired that I fell asleep."

Xia Cheng shrank her neck and wanted to return the child to the man, but he refused to take it. His eyes were only focused on the woman on the bed.

She could only put the child on the bed and turn around to walk out.

"Where are you going?" Wan Lu asked.

"I just gave birth and need to replenish my energy. I'll go make a bowl of sugar water."

Xia Cheng was still the one feeding the boy the brown sugar water. This man didn't seem to be very good at serving people. Xia Cheng sighed, took the bowl and spoon, and fed him the water little by little.

After she finished feeding, her legs were numb from squatting. She hadn't eaten dinner and had been tossing and turning for most of the night. After the extreme tension and excitement, she felt tired and sleepy.

When Xia Cheng stood up, she lost her balance and staggered forward two steps before falling headfirst into Wan Lu's arms.

Wan Lu did not push her away, but patiently held her shoulders.

"Hypoglycemia?" He saw the pale color of her lips.

Xia Cheng nodded, took out a piece of crispy candy from the cupboard, and just as she put it in her mouth, Wan Lu snatched it away.

"It's moldy." He took the empty bowl from her hand and left expressionlessly: "Please help her deal with it. I'll make you some brown sugar water."

"There's no more boiling water." Xia Cheng said.

"I'll boil another pot."