Aunt Yang took a sip of hawthorn water and began to explain the reason for Xiao Yunying's premature birth:
“I went back to my parents’ home for two days. I wasn’t in the village. I only heard about it from your mother and others after I came back.”
You know your mother's personality; she can't sit still. Since your grandparents passed away early and no one was watching over her, she does whatever she wants.
When she was six months pregnant with you, she had some spotting. Your father took her to see a doctor, who said that the pregnancy was unstable and that she needed to take good care of herself and not overexert herself.
Your mother had been forced to lie in bed by your father for half a month, but she couldn't stand it anymore. While your father was working in the fields, she took a wooden basin to the river to wash clothes in the afternoon.
A seven-month pregnant belly is quite big. Your mother was thin back then, so her belly was barely visible and you couldn't see her feet at all. She wasn't paying attention and slipped, fell, and bled on the spot.
Our village is not close to the city. After your father received the news, he did not dare to take your mother directly to the city, fearing that something might happen on the way. So he took your mother home and called your third grandfather to check on the situation first.
Your third grandfather said that the fall was quite severe, and the baby is unstable. They need to find a midwife to deliver the baby quickly, otherwise it will harm the mother's health.
In this unexpected situation, it was difficult to find a midwife. Neither of the two midwives in our village were at home. Fortunately, your third aunt knew how to deliver babies. She came over, checked on you, and said that the baby was breech. After a whole night of labor, she finally gave birth to you the next day.
At the time, everyone thought that you, a little one who was only seven months old, wouldn't survive. Not only were you premature, but after all that trouble, you might have suffocated in your mother's womb and might have been stillborn..."
Aunt Yang realized that what she had said was not very nice, so she stopped talking and glanced at Xiao Yunying.
Xiao Yunying said nonchalantly, "It's alright, Auntie, please continue."
Seeing that her expression didn't change and that she really didn't care, Aunt Yang patted her hand and continued:
“It took too long back then, and your mother was too weak. Your third grandmother said that if it dragged on any longer, your mother would be in danger. She said she wanted your third grandfather to prescribe some medicine to save your mother, even if it meant sacrificing you.”
Your mother absolutely refused, saying that you were still moving in her belly and still alive. Your third aunt couldn't bring herself to force-feed you the medicine, so she could only try her best to adjust the baby's position. After a whole night of this, you were finally born.
Your third aunt was in a hurry to take care of your mother. After checking you and finding no major problems, she wrapped you up, carried you out, handed you to your father, and went back to her room.
Your dad was nervous, afraid something might happen to you, so he couldn't hold you and dropped you.
Xiao Yunying sighed, "Mother must have been in a lot of pain back then."
Motherly love is truly great.
She was extremely afraid of pain and didn't think she had the courage to endure the pain of childbirth overnight.
It could also be because she has never been pregnant and cannot truly understand what it feels like to be a mother.
That kind of unwavering commitment to endure any pain for one's child, even at the cost of one's own life.
Aunt Yang said earnestly, "Back then, your third grandparents said that because you were premature and weak, you needed to be carefully cared for to survive. Your parents didn't dare to carry you out of the house until six months later when they finally dared to slowly carry you out."
"Yunying, you know how much your parents love you. You must take good care of them in the future, okay?"
Xiao Yunying raised her voice and said, "Do I need Auntie to remind me? Of course I will be filial to my parents."
No wonder her parents spoiled her from a young age. She was wondering why her family favored girls over boys, unlike most families. She had an older sister who didn't receive the same treatment. It turned out that it was because she was a premature baby.
Based on her guess, her mother probably felt guilty towards this premature daughter because her carelessness almost killed her child. In addition, the original owner was the youngest and had suffered a lot during childbirth, so she gave her more love and excessive pampering.
Aunt Yang smiled and said, "You are a filial child. I was just being nosy."
She had witnessed Xiao Yunying's changes over the past few months; she had truly changed her personality and become more sensible.
Xiao Yunying asked, "I was raised at home for half a year before being taken out. Before that, did your aunt or anyone else see me?"
Aunt Yang replied, "I don't know about others, but I have a good relationship with your mother. I often visited her while she was recuperating, and helped her cook and such. I've seen you a few times."
Back then, I thought you were a lucky person. You were fair-skinned and tender, and although you were a bit thin, you looked quite healthy.
You're such a good child, growing up healthy and without any pain, unlike a premature baby. It's no wonder your mother suffered so much to give birth to you and took such good care of you.
Xiao Yunying secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed she was indeed her biological daughter.
She's really gone mad from reading novels. Ever since she found out she had a birthmark with a scar on her back, she's always felt like she was a child from a wealthy family who was lost and wandered off for some reason, and the birthmark and scar were their marks on her body.
She had this suspicion for no other reason than to avoid the old-fashioned scenario of "powerful parents coming to claim their daughter" causing her trouble in the future.
Now that she's certain she's her current parents' biological child, she can let go of this unrealistic idea and put her mind at ease.
Xiao Yunying muttered with heartache, "Mother, really, you're already seven months along and the pregnancy is still unstable, why do you have to go wash clothes?"
Aunt Yang said, "You can't blame your mother for this. Your grandparents passed away early, and your father and his brother separated the family early on. Your mother didn't have a mother-in-law or sisters-in-law to help her. She's also stubborn and thinks that once the family is separated, they are two separate families. Although the feelings are still there, she can't keep troubling others, so she won't let your second aunt come to help."
Even if she doesn't work in the fields, she still has to take care of the children, do laundry, cook, and so on. There are also pigs and chickens to raise, and a lot of other miscellaneous things to do, like cleaning their pens and feeding them. Your father farms several acres of land by himself, busy with the fields and the house, how can your mother possibly rest and recuperate in peace?
"Auntie is right, that's something I didn't expect."
Come to think of it, there's no gas stove, no running water, no washing machine here; you have to do everything yourself.
At that time, her brothers were still young and could not help much, so the family relied entirely on her parents, who were both adults, to make a living.
If a mother won't do something, then the father has to do it. It's fine for a day or two, but if it goes on for a long time, he'll wear himself out sooner or later.
Thinking about it that way, she wouldn't be able to lie down either.
Aunt Yang comforted her, saying, "Also, don't hold a grudge against your third grandmother because of this. Your mother was indeed in grave danger at the time. Your third grandmother had no other choice but to suggest sacrificing the baby to save the mother. Your mother disagreed, so she didn't say anything more. She stayed up all night to help your mother get into the right position so that you could be born safely."
Xiao Yunying didn't really care about this matter; Aunt Yang's worries were purely unfounded.
"Auntie, you're overthinking it. I would never hold a grudge against Third Grandmother. It was the only way out, I know. Besides, if it weren't for Third Grandmother, not only would I be in danger, but my mother would be too. Third Grandmother is the savior of my mother and me, how could I hold a grudge against her?"
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