Chapter 84 Hongmei gave birth to Li Cuiping! What kind of time is this, and you still…
Chen Mian didn't understand what Ji Yu meant. Ji Yu murmured for a while, then became embarrassed herself.
Chen Mian asked Batur about his two children again.
"He got that woman he knew before pregnant, and the two of them went to get their marriage certificate." Ji Yu said quickly, his eyes filled with annoyance. He placed his large, calloused hand on Chen Mian's soft belly and gave it a quick squeeze; it was even softer.
He thought to himself, "Once I get married to Mianmian, we can have twins at once, humph."
A blush rose on Chen Mian's cheeks, her eyes filled with a faint hint of embarrassment and annoyance. She used both hands to try and pry Ji Yu's hands open.
"Get away from me, stay away from my chubby belly. Don't you have one yourself?" Her little belly, which she had worked so hard to hide, was discovered just like that.
"I didn't, feel it if you don't believe me." Ji Yu wouldn't let go. He loved his sweet and soft fiancée the most. She was so soft and cuddly, what was the point of having someone as hard as himself?
Chen Mian turned her head away in a huff, "I don't want to."
She didn't want to touch it, but someone was already secretly inhaling and tightening their abdominal muscles. "Please, just touch it. I've been working out really well lately, all the fat and lean is perfect."
“Who would describe their own flesh like that?” Chen Mian was amused by Ji Yu’s description. She looked up at him, her bright almond eyes filled with starlight, and the smile on her face would make anyone who saw it say “happy.”
All Ji Yu could see was Chen Mian's sweet smiling face. She slowly bent down, wanting to get closer and closer to his sunflower...
"Who drove here? Quick, get him to the hospital!"
Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the door, followed by the sound of clattering footsteps.
"Ji Yu, where is Ji Yu?" Ji Yu heard someone calling him, grabbed Chen Mian's hand, hid her behind his back, opened the door a crack, and said in a deep voice, "What's wrong?"
Yu Xiaoyue said anxiously, "Quick, Hongmei is about to give birth. You need to help get her to the hospital right away. Your dad and the others have been drinking and can't drive."
"Okay, I'll go right now." Seeing the urgency of the situation, Ji Yu didn't care about anything else and ran straight towards the car. "Where is she now?"
"At the hotel entrance, in her husband's car, a white Santana."
Ji Yu ran quickly to the front of the car, and Chen Mian followed anxiously behind, fearing that something might happen to Li Hongmei. Just then, she faintly smelled the aroma of meat.
Li Hongmei opened the car door, holding a chicken leg in her left hand and a pork knuckle sandwich in her right, enjoying her meal immensely.
Wu Wei, standing next to her, was holding a bowl of sweet fermented rice soup for her with a helpless expression, and couldn't even free his hands to greet her.
Chen Mian's blood boiled instantly: "Li Cuiping! What time is it, and you're still eating!"
“I need to eat well to have the strength to give birth,” Li Hongmei reassured calmly. “It’s really delicious. Why don’t you go in and grab a couple too? You won’t be able to eat any if you go to the hospital later.”
"Ah, my stomach hurts..." Li Hongmei cried out briefly, finishing the chicken leg in her hand in two bites, throwing the bone into the trash bag, wiping her hands, and directing Wu Wei to come and carry her downstairs.
Chen Mian looked down and saw that there were already shadows of water stains between her legs. She was so frightened that she reached out to help her.
Li Hongmei: "It's okay, step aside and let my husband hug me."
Wu Wei raised the soup bowl in his hand: "So, are you still going to drink your fermented rice soup?"
"Drink!" Li Hongmei took it heartily; the temperature was just right, and she downed it in one gulp.
Wu Wei rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward to hug her. He asked Li Hongmei to put her arms on his shoulders, took a deep breath, but couldn't lift her up. He tried again, but only managed to lift her up two centimeters before putting her back down, clutching his waist.
Seeing this, Ji Yu had no choice but to step forward herself, apologizing to Li Hongmei, "I'm sorry, I offended you."
He slipped one hand under Li Hongmei's legs, gently placed the other hand on her back, and steadily lifted her into his car, then fastened her seatbelt.
He turned back to Wu Wei and asked, "Is your back alright? Do you want me to carry you up too?"
Wu Wei said irritably with a dark face, "No need, I just accidentally hurt my back." After saying that, he locked his car door, climbed into the back seat of the jeep, and held his wife's hand, asking her how she was doing.
Ji Yu wasn't angry when he was rebuffed. He continued to ask Chen Mian in a good-natured manner, "How about I carry you up too?" To be fair, he had never carried Chen Mian like this before, and his first time was given to another woman.
"What time is it for you to keep joking around? Let's drive and go." Chen Mian gently kicked Ji Yu and got into the passenger seat.
On the way to the maternity and children's hospital, Chen Mianmian finally had the mind to ask why labor had suddenly started, as she remembered that Li Hongmei's due date seemed to be still a while away.
Li Hongmei sighed: "Don't even mention it, my boiled beef."
"?"
Wu Wei explained that Li Hongmei had been avoiding certain foods since late pregnancy and had almost never touched spicy dishes. When she came to the engagement banquet, there happened to be a pot of fragrant and spicy boiled beef in front of her, which made her extremely tempted.
Li Hongmei said casually, "I was thinking that I'm about to give birth, and if I don't hurry up and eat something good, I won't be able to eat anything during my postpartum period."
While Wu Wei was talking business with the man next to him, she ate several bites of beef and bean sprouts. Not satisfied, she asked a passing waiter for a bowl of white rice.
When she took the last bite, Wu Wei, who happened to turn around, saw her. Li Hongmei shrugged and waved her hand, saying, "Then I choked."
Even an ordinary person would cough and tear up if they were choked by chili peppers, let alone a pregnant woman nearing her due date, who would immediately experience contractions.
Li Hongmei was suddenly overcome by sharp pain and felt unwell all over, groaning incessantly. Wu Wei, frightened, quickly helped her into the car with the elderly woman next to him, preparing to take her to the hospital.
To make matters worse, the car stalled again.
Wu Wei kicked the car door, intending to vent his anger, but Li Hongmei, having adjusted to the contractions, regained her usual composure and directed Wu Wei to go inside and get her some more food.
She had heard from others that women must eat a full meal before giving birth so that they will have the strength to give birth.
What's more, during postpartum confinement, you can't eat anything spicy or greasy. Thinking of this, Li Hongmei called out again, "Get me another big chicken leg, dip it in some chili powder!"
Chen Mian: ...
Perhaps because Li Hongmei was young and in good physical condition, she was taken to the delivery room not long after arriving at the hospital.
Outside the delivery room, everyone waited anxiously. Lin Huijun and Chen Yongliang also arrived. Li Hongmei had no other relatives in Xinjiang, and she was worried about not coming.
Hearing the screams that came from the delivery room from time to time, Wu Wei felt increasingly uneasy. He glanced at the Chen family members, quietly walked to the corridor, and called his mother.
"Mom, Hongmei is about to give birth. She's already at the hospital. Please quickly pack a couple of outfits for her and the baby and bring them over."
On the other end of the phone, Wang Shuqin suddenly stood up and took her legs off the coffee table. "Boy or girl? Forget about money-losing babies, we don't need to be so picky."
Wu Wei urged, "The baby hasn't been born yet, Mom, hurry up and bring the things over, and don't say too much."
"Okay." Wang Shuqin decided to endure it a little longer for the sake of her grandson. She took out two small blue clothes and a small quilt from the closet, put them in her bag, and went out.
When she arrived at the hospital, Li Hongmei and her child had already been wheeled out.
"Hey, make way, don't block my view of my grandson." Wang Shuqin pushed aside the people in front of her and squeezed to the nurse's side.
The nurse said with a smile, "Congratulations, ma'am, it's a baby girl! She's very beautiful."
Wang Shuqin rolled her eyes. "Pah, what bad luck. I knew her ass didn't look like she was destined to have a son." With that, she turned to leave.
Chen Mian rolled up her sleeves and rushed forward, "Old woman, what do you mean by this? Making sarcastic remarks like that, thinking you're so great that you can give birth? If you don't want to watch, get lost..."
"Excuse me, everyone, please excuse my poor appearance. My mother didn't mean any harm," Wu Wei said, pulling his mother out of the room as his voice trailed off. "Mom, why are you bringing that up? Daughters are great too, it's not like I don't have sons..."
Li Hongmei, lying on the bed, had her hair completely soaked with sweat, her lips deathly pale. Hearing her mother-in-law's hurtful words, tears streamed down her face like broken pearls, and she couldn't stop them.
Lin Huijun gently wiped away her tears and tenderly stroked her hair. "It's alright, child. Auntie is here. You should rest well. You shouldn't cry during postpartum confinement; it hurts your eyes."
"Daughters are so much better; boys are too naughty. No one is as considerate as a daughter."
Hearing Lin Huijun's comforting words, Li Hongmei cried even louder, choking out, "Is it that I don't want to have a son? Mu Mian said that whether or not you can have a son depends on the man. It's her son who's no good, what does that have to do with me?"
Lin Huijun chimed in, "That makes sense. What grows in a field depends on the seeds that were planted. How can you blame the land?"
“Good child, stop crying,” Lin Huijun continued to comfort her, her voice trembling with tears. “Your crying makes Aunt Lin feel bad too.”
Li Hongmei: "Where is Wu Weiren? His mother doesn't care, and he's not planning to care about me and the child either?"
"He went out to appease his mother." Chen Mian leaned against the door with her arms crossed, replying irritably, "This is the good husband you found, a dead mama's boy."
Ji Yu, who was standing nearby, tugged at Chen Mian's sleeve and said, "Don't upset her anymore. Let her rest first."
Chen Mian left the room and went with Ji Yu to a shop near the hospital entrance to buy some necessities for Li Hongmei's hospital stay.
In the hospital room, Li Hongmei asked Lin Huijun, "Aunt Lin, do you think my mother was also mistreated by her mother-in-law when she gave birth to me?"
Lin Huijun sighed almost imperceptibly: "Don't think about these things, go to sleep for a while, I'll look after the baby for you."
In those days, sons were strong and earned more work points, making them the most important productive force in the family. Women who couldn't give birth to sons would be the subject of gossip, let alone someone like Li Huandi, who hadn't conceived in four or five years after getting married.
If it weren't for her husband always protecting her, she would have been divorced long ago.
Huan Di and Huan Di were also pitiful women.
Seeing that Li Hongmei was still stubbornly keeping her eyes wide open, Lin Huijun knew what she was thinking. She pulled the quilt over her and patted her gently, saying, "Our ancestors said that flowers bloom before fruits ripen. The most important thing for you now is to take good care of your health."
"Once I've recovered, I'll definitely have a son next time."
Before falling asleep, Li Hongmei whispered an explanation, "Auntie, you know, I'm not the kind of bad woman who favors sons over daughters..."
Lin Huijun had seen many women like Li Hongmei and Li Huandi in the countryside. She had suffered a lot when she was young and was afraid that if she had a daughter, she would suffer the same fate. All she could think about was having a son so that she could finally hold her head high.
Sigh, they're all pitiful people...
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The author says: It's hard to explain whether Li Hongmei's mentality is actually sexism. She doesn't dislike her daughter, but she just feels that without a son, she and her daughter cannot stand up in her husband's family. Only after she actually gives birth to a son can she stand tall in her husband's family.
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