Yan Xia wanted to curse, but before she could even open her mouth, the man's words shut her up.
"Please, Aunt Yan, save my son! My Wenjuan is in labor, and she's been in so much pain all day without giving birth. I went to Willow Village early this morning to find a midwife, but she twisted her ankle and walks very slowly. Could you please give us a ride, Aunt Yan? I'll give you any amount of money you want, please, Aunt Yan—"
The sunlight was so bright that Yan Xia didn't even realize the man was Liu Wangtao until he mentioned Zhu Wenjuan.
I looked at it more closely before I recognized it.
She remembered that Zhu Wenjuan was about the same month as Xiao He.
Is she going to give birth after only eight months?
That's a premature baby!
In ancient times, the mortality rate for premature infants was as high as 99%.
"What money do you want? Come on up, this is a matter of life and death."
After speaking in her ventriloquism for a while, Yan Xia waved to Liu Wangtao.
Although she disliked Liu Wangtao and his son, she also disliked Zhu Wenjuan.
It's not worth taking their lives, especially if her cruelty causes the midwife to arrive late.
Zhu Wenjuan's death means she'll have to take the blame. Not only will she feel uneasy, but her reputation will also be completely ruined.
Why risk losing more for a small gain?
Not that bad.
Liu Wangtao first pushed the midwife onto the carriage, and then climbed up himself.
He knew Yan Xia disliked him, so he brought up money right away.
Thinking that she might agree to let him get on the carriage for the sake of the money.
To everyone's surprise, Yan Xia didn't even want the money.
Liu Wangtao was overjoyed.
Save some money.
Once my son is born, money will definitely be flowing out like water.
I hope I don't give birth to a baby who's always on medication.
Sigh, Wenjuan was perfectly fine yesterday, but her mother insisted on making a scene and made Wenjuan do the laundry.
Instead of doing laundry, she fell and got hurt.
By the time Liu Wangtao returned from visiting the brothel, Wenjuan had been in pain all day.
Including now, it has been almost twelve hours, and the child still hasn't been born.
I looked for the midwives in the village who had delivered babies, but they all ran away. I heard that there was a midwife in Willow Village who had delivered several babies born in August, and they all grew up safely.
After waking up, Liu Wangtao ran towards Liushu Village, intending to ask Zhao Dali for a ride.
Unfortunately, Zhao Dali left early today; he had even lent his oxcart to his daughter-in-law's family.
Everything is just unfortunate.
That's why Liu Wangtao was delayed on the road.
Yan Xia was driving slowly, but after the two got in the car, she lashed out with her whip.
The horse galloped swiftly.
The time was greatly shortened, and they returned to Hundred Flowers Village when the sun was high in the sky.
After dropping the two off at Liu Wangtao's doorstep, Yan Xia left.
"Mother, mother——"
"I'm back with the midwife. How is Wenjuan?"
Liu Wangtao helped the midwife into his room, but did not see Zhu Wenjuan.
Just as he was wondering, Ma Efen opened the door to the woodshed, poked her head out, and responded.
"My son, I'm here."
"Mother, why did you put Wenjuan in the woodshed? Aren't you just making things worse?"
Liu Wangtao was furious.
How can a child be born in a filthy and chaotic woodshed?
“Oh dear, I’m doing this for your own good. After you left this morning, your neighbor, Aunt Li, helped me call a doctor from the neighboring village. He prescribed a labor-inducing medicine for Wenjuan to drink, and sure enough, her water broke in half an hour. But the baby still hasn’t come out, so I told her to get out of bed and walk around so that it will be easier to give birth. The bedding got dirty when her water broke, so I have to wash it, otherwise where will you sleep tonight?”
With outsiders present, Ma Efen naturally wouldn't reveal that she slept in the same bed as her son.
She simply felt that childbirth was too bloody and unlucky, and that it would be bad luck to give birth in her son's room.
They should be sent to the woodshed to live.
Zhu Wenjuan, writhing in pain, was too weak to resist.
She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the woodshed.
"Auntie, could you please go and take a look?"
Liu Wangtao stopped worrying about it; his most important thing now was for his son to be born safely.
So he helped the midwife to the woodshed.
The woodshed was full of dust, and there were cobwebs on the walls. With a gentle breeze, the room would be like a fog.
The midwife from Willow Village really didn't want to go in.
But they've already taken the money.
She could only cover her mouth and go inside to check the situation.
Liu Wangtao also wanted to go in.
Ma Efen stopped them.
“What are you doing going in? Standing outside, childbirth is a normal thing for women. When your mother gave birth to you, she just pushed hard and you came out like a piece of shit. She’s so delicate and pampered. Childbirth is just like taking a dump. She even hired a midwife, wasting my money on medicine. I told her not to cry, but she kept screaming. It’s so annoying.”
"Mother, what exactly do you want? Do you want your son's lineage to end? Tell me, if you don't want your son to have any descendants, I'll throw myself into the river right now, okay?"
Liu Wangtao finally lost his temper.
If it weren't for his mother insisting that Wenjuan do the laundry...
She won't fall.
At this crucial time of childbirth, they still want to cause trouble.
"I... I didn't say anything. Never mind, I won't say anything. I'll go wash your bedding. I really owe you all. You raised you with so much care and love, and now you're yelling at your mother for a stranger."
Ma Efen left, cursing and swearing.
Actually, she wanted a grandson even more than her son.
But the moment she saw Zhu Wenjuan's face, she felt a surge of anger.
To be precise, Ma Efen gets angry no matter who her daughter-in-law is.
In her eyes, the best thing would be for her daughter-in-law to die as soon as she gave birth to three or four boys.
She and her son raised their grandson together.
This is the best life.
"Oh no! The water has all drained away, and the baby hasn't even appeared yet. If we delay any longer, even if it's born alive, it'll be mentally impaired."
The midwife hurriedly came out, her sprained ankle no longer making her limp.
"What should I do? Auntie, please, save my son."
Liu Wangtao was in a panic.
"Okay, quickly go and boil a kettle of water, and get a pair of scissors, make sure they're sharp. I'll cut open the incision in the woman's abdomen, and then use pressure to squeeze the baby out. That's the only way. Hurry up—"
This midwife was considered to be quite kind-hearted.
Actually, there's an even easier way.
It means protecting the small, not the big.
They cut open the abdomen and took the baby out.
In this situation, the mother would not survive.
The midwife didn't want to use this method unless absolutely necessary.
Liu Wangtao has never even swept the floor, so how could he possibly boil water? He can't even light the stove.
We had no choice but to seek help from Ma Efen.
It took half an hour for the hot water and scissors to arrive.
Ma Efen wouldn't let Liu Wangtao in.
She carried the basin into the woodshed herself.
Zhu Wenjuan, sitting on the straw pile, looked as if she were dead.
A bluish-gray expanse.
She was soaked in sweat and in great pain, but dared not make a sound, only able to sob softly.
"I heard there's a method where you cut open the pregnant woman's abdomen and take out the baby, which supposedly saves the baby. Is that the method you used?"
In the cramped woodshed, Ma Efen's devilish voice suddenly rang out, causing Zhu Wenjuan, whose eyes were tightly closed, to widen her eyes.
His face was full of disbelief.
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