The midwife took off Zhao Yuefang's pants, probed the cervix with her hand, and after determining how many centimeters dilated, she turned to Yan Xia and Zhao Xinrong and said.

"Oh dear, I've looked in the kitchen, there's nothing there at all. What's there to eat? I can't expect her to eat raw weeds, can I? Oh well, I'll go back and make her some steamed egg custard. Xia, you stay here and keep an eye on things. Call me if you need anything, I'll be right back."

Zhao Xinrong left in a hurry.

Yan Xia didn't even have time to respond to her.

"hiss--"

"Ugh—"

"It hurts, it hurts so much—"

After the midwife touched Zhao Yuefang's belly, her brows furrowed.

"Oh no! The baby's too big, it'll be hard to give birth! Didn't you just say she was only eight months pregnant? Why is the baby so big at eight months? Her belly looks like she's carrying twins! I've never seen anything like it. The mother must have been eating too much rich food. If the baby is too big, the mother's life is in serious danger! And you, the mother-in-law, are really something. She's never given birth, but haven't you? No matter how much you torment your daughter-in-law, you can't take her life!"

The midwife sighed several times and shook her head.

She was picked up by a horse-drawn carriage.

It was Zhao Xinrong's youngest son who drove Yan Xia's family's horse-drawn carriage to Aoshan Village to invite them.

Therefore, she was unaware of Zhao Yuefang's situation.

She thought Yan Xia was her mother-in-law.

So much so that the way he looked at Yan Xia was somewhat reproachful.

"Auntie, Auntie, she's not my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law is in jail. Please don't misunderstand Aunt Yan. She... she's a good person..."

Zhao Yuefang was in so much pain that she was convulsing, but she could hear the midwife blaming Yan Xia.

She tried her best to explain.

"Uh, not your mother-in-law, uh..."

The midwife was extremely embarrassed.

Yan Xia didn't seem to mind, after all, the midwife meant well, and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Not twins? Then, may I ask, is an episiotomy possible?"

"Episiotomy?" the midwife asked, puzzled.

"It's about cutting open there with scissors, so the baby isn't too big and can't be delivered."

Yan Xia spoke and gestured, afraid that her words might be too frightening and scare Zhao Yuefang.

"It definitely needs to be cut. So this is called an episiotomy. Young lady, you know medicine?"

The midwife's family had been delivering babies for generations. She was illiterate and knew nothing about herbs; all she knew was how to deliver babies.

Hearing Yan Xia's choice of words, I assumed she was a female doctor.

"I don't know much about medicine, I've only read a few medical books. If it's an episiotomy, will it be less painful? Do I need to prepare hemostatic drugs?"

“If you have any, you can prepare some. The baby is too big, so cutting a small incision might not be enough. The slit is too big, so you have to sew it up with sausage thread. I don’t have any, so I said she’s going to suffer. Poor thing.”

The midwife was used to seeing life and death.

She has delivered babies for over a hundred people.

At least ten died in childbirth.

If you're lucky, the baby comes out and the mother bleeds away; if you're unlucky, both mother and child die.

But what if the baby has already engaged in the pelvis?

Even if we wanted to take it, there was no way to.

If you encounter a cruel family, they might cut open the woman's abdomen with a knife and take the baby out before she dies.

This is called protecting the small over the large.

Another method is to use scissors to cut the foot-first baby into pieces and then pull it out from the mother's lower body. This is called saving the mother over the baby, but unfortunately she has never seen it.

There was something she didn't say.

Today, the number of women who died in childbirth at her hands will probably be eleven.

"Intestinal suture? Is it catgut?" Yan Xia asked.

"Yes, these things are very precious. Skilled doctors can make them themselves to stitch up larger wounds, but they're men. Even if they came, they couldn't stitch up the mother unless she didn't want to ruin her reputation. And even if she agreed, you'd have to ask her husband's family. Not many people could tolerate that. So the only option is to ask a female doctor with medical skills to stitch up the mother. Sigh, I certainly can't..."

"ah--"

The midwife's words were interrupted by Zhao Yuefang's screams.

"Ouch, it hurts!"

"Don't scream, don't scream, bear with it. If you scream any longer, you won't have any strength left, and then it will really be the end," the midwife quickly reassured her.

"I'll go boil some water and get a pair of scissors. You watch her."

"Yes, yes, okay." The midwife quickly agreed, as the amniotic fluid was almost gone.

If we don't have a child soon, the child will either become mentally impaired or die from suffocation.

There is no third way.

Yan Xia left Zhao Yuefang's house, intending to go back to boil water and get scissors. Suddenly, she saw a pink, cylindrical flower by the roadside, which looked very similar to the medicinal herb she had seen in her medical book.

Its name is Diyu, and it can be used to stop bleeding.

Yan Xia was overjoyed.

She picked two plants, leaving only the roots, and after washing them at home, she consulted some medical books.

After reviewing the instructions for use, boil the burnet root with brown sugar in water.

Meanwhile, boil water in an iron pot.

As for the scissors, she cleaned them, soaked them in leftover liquor, scorched them with fire, and then put them in a basin with a clean towel.

After the medicine was decocted, Yan Xia put it into a bamboo tube and placed it in a basin.

He carried a basin in one hand and a wooden bucket full of hot water in the other to Zhao Yuefang's house.

When they arrived, Zhao Xinrong was already there.

"Has the baby been born yet?" Yan Xia asked.

"Not yet. It's been almost half an hour since I finished eating the steamed egg custard, and the baby still hasn't been born. The amniotic fluid has already drained. What should we do?"

Zhao Xinrong was in a panic.

It's as if Zhao Yuefang is her daughter-in-law.

"Hey girl, did you get the scissors? I can't wait any longer."

The midwife was covered in sweat.

"Here it is, and there's hot water too. Hurry up and get started, or the baby will suffer from oxygen deprivation if we can't have another baby."

Everyone present was anxious, so no one noticed the last two words Yan Xia said.

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