Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Su Yan's belly is already very big
By the ninth month, Su Yan's belly was already very big. Everyone who met her would ask, "Your belly is already this big in just eight months. Could you be pregnant with twins?"
Su Yan shook her head and smiled, "The doctor said there's only one fetal heartbeat. How could I be so lucky as to have two babies at once?"
The sister-in-law next door looked at Su Yan and shook her head: "Look at your belly, it's so big, but you are thinner than before. It seems that all your nutrition has gone to the child." She also told Su Yan to be careful when going up and down the stairs. Now is the time to be careful.
While serving the braised pork belly she had made, she asked, "You're due in two months. Will your husband, Lao Qin, come back then? Look at you now. You're so exhausted that you're out of breath just walking to and from work. If you're like this, you'll be in big trouble when you give birth. There aren't many people from your parents' family right now, and no one from your in-laws' family is coming either. What are you going to do during the confinement period?"
Su Yan hung her purse on the wall, changed into slippers, and wiped her sweat with a towel. "I telegraphed him, and he said he had a mission and couldn't come back. But even if he came back, he wouldn't be able to help much. When the time comes, I'll just go to the hospital and wait for the birth. I've asked a sister-in-law I know from the countryside to help take care of the baby while I'm in confinement. She'll be here the afternoon after tomorrow."
As she spoke, she took a pair of slippers from the shoe rack and handed them to the sister-in-law next door: "Sister-in-law, please change your shoes."
The rural woman next door, who was a hardworking, simple, and kindhearted woman, tied an apron around her waist. She wiped her hands and said with a smile, "You city people just love cleanliness. The streets are so clean. You haven't worked in the fields, and you have to change your shoes before entering the house?"
She walked out and said, "Remember to eat that bowl of braised pork."
Su Yan agreed and sent her out. When she was standing at the door, she saw He Zhixiang approaching in military uniform. He held a letter in his hand and handed it to Su Yan: "A letter from Zhan Wu, sent through the confidential passage."
Su Yan took it, feeling somewhat disappointed. She knew that Qin Zhanwu definitely wouldn't have time to come back, so she had no choice but to write back.
He Zhixiang said, "If you have anything, just call me. I live nearby anyway, so I can be there in two or three minutes. Zhanwu gave me a lot of instructions when he called."
Su Yan nodded and thanked him. She returned to her room and opened the envelope. It was indeed a letter saying that he couldn't come back and asked Su Yan to forgive him. He also said that his place was good, though it was hot and humid in the summer. He asked if Su Yan was okay and that if she had any difficulties in life, she could go directly to the military academy's logistics department.
Su Yan knew that these confidential letters were subject to random inspection, so she simply exchanged some casual instructions and said nothing more. Disappointed, she set the letter aside, grabbed some old cloth from the cabinet, cut it, and sewed it using the method she'd learned from the older woman at work.
She had never given birth before and didn't know what to prepare. Not only did she ask the older sisters in her unit for advice, she also specifically asked the doctor she was familiar with during the examination.
After asking, she took out a pen and paper to write it down, fearing she'd forgotten. Fortunately, Qin Zhanwu sent her over a hundred yuan every month, including plenty of food coupons, sugar coupons, non-staple food coupons, and cloth coupons. She bought a lot of plain cloth, steamed it until it was soft, and then used it to make clothes for the baby.
Su Yan had prepared the quilt and blanket for the baby months ago. She'd paid a pound of sugar coupons to a friend at the supply and marketing cooperative to buy the new cotton wool. When she went to the cooperative, she ran into Ming Fan, who looked less energetic than before. Su Yan greeted her, but he ignored her.
Her colleague weighed out a bag of cotton and handed it to Su Yan, whispering, "Ming Fan wants a child, but it's been almost a year and he still hasn't had one, and his temper isn't any better than before."
Su Yan watched her greet customers. She slashed the price tag across the wire above it, then knocked on the table with her large cloth-cutting scissors and shouted, "Get your cloth coupons and money ready. Can't you see there are so many people here? I've already cut the cloth, but I haven't counted the money yet."
Su Yan hummed, and her temper really grew worse: "Having a child is also a matter of fate. There is no need to rush it. It will happen eventually."
Her colleague came over and whispered, "Don't tell anyone else. I heard it's the husband's problem. I heard he's been to the hospital several times. I've encountered him once."
After a short while, Su Yan finished making her little outfit, changed her shoes, and prepared to go for a walk downstairs. Actually, Su Yan's belly wasn't that big, but most people gain weight with their babies during pregnancy, but Su Yan was an exception. As she got older, her arms and legs became thinner, and only her belly was large, which made her look a little scary. She was afraid that labor would be difficult, so she would walk downstairs for half an hour every day.
At this time, everyone in the military academy's family compound was taking a rest in the garden. When they saw Su Yan, they all greeted her. Su Yan responded one by one. After walking for a while and getting tired, she sat on a stone bench to rest for a while. She walked like this for half an hour and was already sweating profusely.
Su Yan returned home, took a shower, and then lay on the bed to read. At around eight or nine in the evening, the guard at the door called and said that Mrs. Hu from Jiubei Village was looking for the family of Chief of Staff Qin.
The security guard on the first floor of the dormitory knew that Su Yan was pregnant and it was not convenient for her to come. She came up and knocked on the door to check. Su Yan nodded and said, "I asked my sister-in-law from the countryside to help me. I am alone and I am worried that there will be no one to help me during the confinement period."
After hearing this, the security department called and asked for someone to come in. Mrs. Hu was a distant relative of Sister Wang from the trade union. Su Yan was looking for someone to help out, and she would get twenty yuan a month plus five kilograms of rice, so she recommended her. However, she couldn't tell anyone about the money, as it was taboo, so she just said she was a country sister-in-law who came to help. Mrs. Hu, Su Yan had stayed at her house several times on business trips. She was very straightforward and hardworking. After hearing Sister Wang's words, she immediately agreed and said she would come over when she was free this month.
When Mrs. Hu walked in, she was clean except for some dust. Seeing the slippers at the door, she didn't go in. Su Yan took a pair from the cabinet and handed them to her: "Mrs. Hu, I am in a heavy body now, and this is my first time giving birth. I have a lot of things to ask you."
Mrs. Hu changed her shoes and patted her chest, "Don't worry. We country people can't guarantee anything else, but I've given birth to five or six children and raised them all. I've done all the housework."
Su Yan took her to her room, where the bed was already made. She also gave her a towel and washbasin for washing her face. She then led her to the kitchen. "All the kitchen supplies are here. I've made an agreement with the logistics staff to bring them back for me every day when they buy vegetables and meat. I've paid them in advance. Just go to the logistics staff and bring them back with the basket. The milk from the dairy is delivered to the security guard downstairs every morning. You can pick it up there too."
Mrs. Hu was astonished. Life in the countryside this year was only slightly better than last year. She could have a steamed bun for every meal and wasn't bloating from hunger. She hadn't expected the city to be so much better than the countryside. Not only did she have milk and rice every day, but it sounded like they even had meat every day.
Su Yan saw it and explained, "The doctor said I should eat more lean meat to supplement my nutrition."
Mrs. Hu immediately calmed down her surprised expression and asked Su Yan, "What kind of food do you like? What dishes do you usually eat?"
After a few days, once Hu's wife was familiar with the situation, Su Yan completely handed it over to her. Fortunately, she was diligent and quick, and Su Yan only needed to tell her once before she remembered everything. Su Yan was also generous, giving her a share of the milk, meat, and food. She even gave her 20 yuan in advance just five days into her first month.
Mrs. Hu, mindful of Su Yan's kindness, worked even harder, becoming familiar with the neighbors. She learned that the man in the family was an officer, a deputy division commander. Mrs. Hu had no idea how high a rank a deputy division commander was, but seeing how warmly and kindly the neighbors treated Su Yan, she secretly guessed that he must be a higher-ranking official than the commune secretary.
After a month of this, Su Yan woke up at night with a stomachache, a faint feeling of impending labor. She knocked on the door and woke up Mrs. Hu, asking her to call the security guard on the first floor and ask Comrade Hu Zhixiang to come and tell her that she was about to give birth and asked him to send a car to take her to the hospital.
Hu Zhixiang stayed at the military academy after graduation. He had a good relationship with the logistics department, so getting a car was no problem. Hu's wife threw on her clothes and hurried downstairs to make a phone call. Unfortunately, she was from the countryside and had no experience making a phone call. The guard's phone was outside, and she pressed it several times according to the note Su Yan had written for her, but it didn't go through.
She was so anxious that she was sweating profusely. She banged on the door of the guard room and woke up the person on duty inside: "Chief of Staff Qin's family is about to give birth. Please help call Comrade He Zhixiang. We need to go to the hospital."
The man opened a window and stuck his head out: "Why is she giving birth so suddenly? Isn't it still more than a month away?"
Mrs. Hu urged him to make the call: "How can a woman be exactly ten months into her pregnancy? Maybe Chief of Staff Qin's kid is anxious to be born."
When Mrs. Hu came back, Su Yan was already sweating from the pain. The sister-in-law next door also heard the noise, opened the door and came out, making a bowl of sugar water for Su Yan: "Save your energy, giving birth is a strenuous job."
After more than ten minutes, He Zhixiang drove over, helped Su Yan into the car, and rushed to the military hospital.
Su Yan didn't know how long she stayed in the delivery room. She was in so much pain that she had no strength left. She grabbed the doctors' hands and begged them, "I really don't have the strength anymore. Can you give me a caesarean section? I can't give birth anymore. Give me a caesarean section..."
The doctor beside her slapped her hand away and said, "The baby is already halfway through, why are you doing a Caesarian section? You are also a revolutionary comrade and a mother. If you don't push, the baby will be suffocated to death."
Su Yan was startled when she heard this. She grabbed the rope on the wall and used all her strength. Then she heard the nurse shouting, "It's almost there, the head is almost out."
Su Yan didn't hear the baby crying until dawn. She was exhausted and felt a dull pain in her lower body.
After a while, the nurse washed the baby and brought him over: "Congratulations, it's a boy, 7.9 jins, very healthy."
Su Yan touched him. The little one was crying loudly, his two little fists clenched tightly. She reached out to touch the little guy's hand, and for some reason, she couldn't help but shed tears.
The doctor laughed and said, "That's what it's like to be a mother. This is what you'll definitely feel when you see your own child."
Su Yan argued: "I am in pain, but I don't want to have another baby anymore."
The doctor smiled and waited for the nurse to clean up Su Yan before personally pushing her back to the ward. "What are you talking about? I bet you and Maomao will have more than one child. You're so beautiful, it would be a shame if you had a daughter."
Su Yan was young after all, and at this moment she still had the energy to talk to the doctor: "Maybe the daughter looks like her father?"
The doctor laughed: "No matter who he looks like, he's handsome!"
Su Yan didn't know what she was thinking about. She smiled but didn't say anything. She returned to the ward and asked Mrs. Hu to feed her a bowl of pig's trotter soup. Then she couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep.
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