"It's very difficult to recruit either locals or refugees now," said Director Kuang.

Wang Letian sighed. The locals must be terrified by this turn of events, and the refugees outside must be filled with distrust towards those inside. Now is the time to please neither side.

"Can we go down and recruit soldiers as usual?" Deputy Commander Chen suggested, seeing how distressed everyone was.

Wang Letian shook his head. "The villagers down there shouldn't even think about it. After all, we can't provide them with superior conditions right now. They can live on their few acres of land in their own villages and it's no worse than what we have here. They can also take care of their families nearby. Who would want to go to such lengths?"

"Let's post the recruitment notices first and see how many we can recruit." Chief Kuang felt his hair had almost turned completely white in this period of time, and he didn't know how to contact his superiors. Even though most areas are experiencing drought, they should still be migrating here by now.

"Brother Cheng, are we going to stay here today?" After a quick wash, Zhao Dongwei couldn't sit still any longer.

Si Cheng said, "Let's set off today. The sooner we finish cleaning, the sooner we can go back."

"What about Uncle Zhixin?"

Si Cheng had already decided last night, "We can only let him stay here to recover from his injuries, and then we'll take him back when we return."

After a quick packing, the group entrusted Yun Zhixin to the troops and headed in the originally planned direction.

As usual, Yunqi went to the square as soon as she got up and led her group of female soldiers to train there.

We had barely started warming up when Yun's mother came looking for us.

"Your cousin has started labor, I have to go over and watch over her now. Your father has gone to the fields, you need to go back first to dress the two children and make breakfast." Yun's mother hurriedly gave these few instructions, leaving without even giving Yun Qi a chance to ask any questions.

Yunqi could only helplessly say to her girlfriends, "I'll have to trouble you to train yourselves."

I rushed home, took care of my two little darlings, and then took them to the fields to hand them over to their maternal grandfather.

Like Yun's mother, she hurriedly handed over the child and ran to the Liu family.

"How is it? Has Dr. Xia arrived?" As soon as Yun Qi entered the courtyard, he saw Liu Fengya pacing anxiously back and forth.

"Dr. Xia has already gone in. We just heard shouting, but now there's no sound at all." Liu Fengya was so nervous that sweat kept dripping down his forehead, and he even forgot to greet Yun Qi when he came in.

Yunqi asked, "When did you go in?"

"Dr. Xia went in at dawn, but she still hasn't given birth after all this time." Liu Fengya peeked through the crack in the door, but saw nothing.

"How can it be so fast? Don't get in my way here. Take me to the kitchen to get something to eat for my cousin." Yun Qi had brought a hen and some noodles with him this time. Liu Fengya couldn't be of much help here, so it was a good opportunity to send him to help.

"My mom just brought in a big bowl of egg noodles." Liu Fengya's feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, and he refused to leave.

Yunqi shoved the old hen in his hand at him, saying, "Do you think she'll give birth right away? It'll definitely take a while. Let's prepare the food first, so we can feed her as soon as she gets hungry."

Seeing that his simple-minded son was still standing there and refused to leave, Liu Zhijian simply took the old hen and gave him a push, saying, "I'll go and flatten the chicken now. You hurry up and boil some water."

The boiled water was all put into a thermos and brought inside for later use.

Liu Fengya then remembered that the production process required a lot of hot water, so he didn't dare to waste any more time there and rushed straight to the kitchen.

Yunqi glanced at the closed door and knew that having Dr. Xia and her two mothers at the hospital was enough. She turned around and went to the kitchen, found a large basin, and started kneading dough.

Everything was ready in the kitchen when the door opened and Bai Liangfen came out.

"Mom, how is it inside?" Liu Fengya rushed forward and asked hurriedly.

"How can it be so fast? She's still wandering around inside. I'll come out and make her another bowl of noodles." As soon as Bai Liangfen finished speaking, she smelled the aroma of chicken soup in the air and praised him, "You're a reliable guy, you know to kill a chicken and make soup for your wife."

When Liu Fengya heard that his wife could still eat noodles, he knew it wasn't the right time yet, and he was ready to answer her, "That's the old hen that Yunqi brought over. It's only been in the pot for a short time, but the dough is ready."

Bai Liangfen understood immediately. She had been too optimistic about this silly boy. She quickly went to the kitchen and said, "Xiao Qi, it's really all thanks to you. Otherwise, the father and son would never have been so thoughtful."

Yunqi said, "This is all to be expected, and I have experience with this. My brother-in-law was just too nervous and didn't think of that. How is my cousin now?"

Bai Liangfen took out two eggs from the cupboard and a small soup pot underneath. "They're still circling around in the room. They haven't been fully put into the bowl yet. I'm afraid she won't have the strength later, so I'll come out and make her another bowl of noodles."

Bai Liangfen quickly washed the pan and started heating it to fry eggs.

Yunqi also skimmed off the oil from the chicken soup and poured the clear broth into the pan with the fried eggs.

Bai Liangfen didn't even bother to say thank you. She went to the yard, picked a small handful of green vegetables, washed them, and added them to the cooked noodle soup.

The two babies in Gao Jie's belly were slow-moving, dawdling and refusing to come out.

The longer it dragged on, the more anxious the family became. Many people in the village came to inquire, but they remained unhurried.

Gao Jie had already eaten three or four meals in the delivery room, but the baby in her belly would move every few days and then stop to rest, no matter how anxious the adults outside were.

As night fell, Yunqi had no choice but to go back and take care of her two children.

The two children usually stay with Yun's mother and Yun Qi, as Yun's father can't manage them all by himself.

Although she was taking care of the children at home, she couldn't put her mind at ease. Finally, dawn broke, and after tidying up the children and handing them over to their maternal grandfather, she rushed to the Liu family's house.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Liu Fengya squatting there with bloodshot eyes, staring intently at the door. They could hear Gao Jie's muffled breathing coming from inside; she must have stuffed something in her mouth to prevent him from biting her tongue.

Several elderly female neighbors were also there, and someone was boiling water in the kitchen. No one in the entire courtyard spoke.

"How is it inside now?" Yun Qi didn't even dare to ask Liu Fengya at this moment, and instead asked the old women next to him.

"The contractions started in the middle of the night, but she hasn't come out yet." Aunt Zhao looked worriedly at the delivery room. There are fewer and fewer newborns in the village now, and every child is the hope of the village.

Seeing that Yunqi was also worried, Aunt Zhao comforted her, "Dr. Xia just came out and said that the situation is okay, now we can only wait."