After giving Yan Qingqing acupuncture, Dr. Zheng did not return to the city. He claimed that he was worried about Yan Qingqing having any unexpected problems, but in reality, he wanted to find out about Yan Qingqing's cesarean section.
Yan Qingqing insisted that she had read it in a miscellaneous book, but she had forgotten it over time, and Dr. Zheng couldn't do anything about it.
Later, Dr. Zheng was attracted by the delicious food at Yan Qingqing's house. Yuan Huiniang made him a variety of dishes to please him, such as boiled red bean curd, boiled fish, boiled pork slices, and steamed pork ribs. Dr. Zheng ate so much that he almost forgot that he had a clinic in the county town.
Fortunately, there are other doctors on duty at the clinic, so it's not a problem even if he's not there.
Three days later, Yan Qingqing went into labor. Her stomach started hurting early in the morning, and Yan Qingqing knew that she was about to give birth. At this moment, Yan Qingqing calmed down.
He instructed Li Xiangping to go to Xujiazhuang to invite Granny Xu, while also telling Li Xinniang to find Doctor Zheng, and instructing Yuan Huiniang to boil a pot of hot water for later use.
Only Xu was left in the room to keep Yan Qingqing company. When Yan Qingqing's stomach was not hurting, Xu joked with her, "Oh dear, second sister-in-law, I thought I was very experienced, but in the end I didn't help at all."
"You must be very experienced in having children!"
Yan Qingqing: ……
If she had a choice, she definitely wouldn't have so many children. The one she's carrying now is the first child she's had in both her lives.
As the contractions became more frequent, Yan Qingqing's forehead was covered in more and more sweat.
She never knew that childbirth would be so painful. She hadn't even started giving birth yet, and she was already in so much pain that she couldn't speak.
Dr. Zheng arrived quickly because he lived in Yan Qingqing's new house, but he couldn't be of much help.
Li Xiang'an and the others were pacing anxiously outside the door. Li Xiangjian tugged at Doctor Zheng's clothes and said, "Doctor Zheng, why isn't my mother making any noise?"
Dr. Zheng rolled her eyes at him and said, "What kind of noise do you need when you're giving birth?"
Li Xiang'an chimed in, "I remember that when my third aunt was giving birth, she almost screamed herself hoarse."
Dr. Zheng snorted and replied, "That's stupid. They're using all their energy to shout. They won't have any energy left when they give birth."
Xu, who was just leaving the house: ...
What does this have to do with her? It's obvious that her sister-in-law was in a lot of pain, but she didn't cry out.
Xu Pozi was soon taken over by Li Xiangping, and the children stopped circling around Doctor Zheng and started circling around Xu Pozi instead.
Granny Xu looked helplessly at the group of children and said, "At least let me in to see how your mother is doing!"
The group then released Granny Xu. After entering the house, Granny Xu carefully examined the baby and said, "The cervix is already dilated to two centimeters, and the baby is in the correct position, but it will still take a while before the baby is born."
Have you eaten anything?
Yan Qingqing didn't want to talk and just shook her head.
Granny Xu said, "That won't do. It will take a lot of effort to give birth later. It would be troublesome if you ran out of strength halfway through. I'll go and have them make you something to eat. Is there anything you particularly want to eat?"
Yan Qingqing shook her head. If she had to say what she wanted to eat, there was one thing: beef, because beef is the best way to replenish energy.
However, beef was hard to buy these days, unless the cow was old or dead and the slaughter was permitted by the government.
We do have a cow at home, but we can't slaughter it just so she can have a baby.
For Yan Qingqing, since she couldn't eat what she wanted, it didn't matter what she ate.
Finally, Yuan Huiniang stewed chicken soup for Yan Qingqing. Of the more than forty roosters in the house, nearly twenty had already been eaten.
During the days that Yan Qingqing was bedridden, Yuan Huiniang stewed one for her almost every day, which made Yan Qingqing gain a few more pounds.
During a break in the contractions, Yan Qingqing drank a large bowl of chicken soup and instantly felt full of energy. Her stomach pain also subsided.
Another hour passed, and Granny Xu examined Yan Qingqing again. Her cervix was already dilated to eight cervical sacs.
Although she wasn't fully dilated, Granny Xu said that Yan Qingqing was a multiparous woman and could start giving birth.
Suddenly, everyone became tense again.
Yan Qingqing could no longer bear the pain and cried out softly.
At this moment, Yan Qingqing really felt like she wanted to die; the pain was much worse than when she was having contractions.
Granny Xu guided Yan Qingqing on how to breathe and how to exert force.
But after trying for a while, the baby still couldn't be born.
Granny Xu told Yan Qingqing to rest for a while longer.
Yan Qingqing took the opportunity to catch her breath and lay on the bed, her body soaking wet.
Granny Xu said, "You've already had six children, so you should be very experienced. But I feel like you've never given birth before. You don't even know how to push."
Yan Qingqing felt a little embarrassed, because she had never had a child.
He could only manage a forced smile as he said to Granny Xu, "My youngest son, Silang, will be seven years old soon. Perhaps it's been so long that I've forgotten."
Granny Xu nodded, agreeing with Yan Qingqing's words, but added, "It's possible that you're too old and your stamina isn't up to par, but you don't look like you're in your thirties at all."
Yan Qingqing: ……
She decided to take it as a compliment from Granny Xu.
After resting for a while, Yan Qingqing experienced another sharp pain in her stomach.
This time, Yan Qingqing used all her strength, and finally, after a heart-wrenching pain, her stomach suddenly felt relieved, and then she heard the cry of a baby.
Yan Qingqing was completely relieved and fell into a deep sleep. Before falling asleep, she thought that giving birth was really not something a human being could do, and she could never have another child.
At this moment, Yan Qingqing seemed to have forgotten that she was a widow, and that the child in her belly was the original owner's.
Yan Qingqing slept soundly for a long time, and when she woke up it was already the next morning.
Yuan Huiniang and the others were anxious, mainly because Yan Qingqing had been sleeping for too long.
When Yan Qingqing woke up, a group of people surrounded her. Doctor Zheng said angrily, "I already told you she was just weak after childbirth, but you didn't believe me. Now that she's awake, can you let me go?"
It turned out that Yan Qingqing was supposed to return to the city after giving birth to Dr. Zheng yesterday, but Li Xiangping and the others were worried about her and insisted on keeping her there.
Upon seeing that Yan Qingqing had woken up, Li Xiangping quickly said, "Dr. Zheng, please don't be angry. I will take you back to the city right away."
Dr. Zheng: ...
That's too realistic; they didn't even offer him a meal.
Yan Qingqing looked down at the baby sleeping beside the bed. The baby's face was wrinkled and red, looking just like a monkey.
Yan Qingqing frowned and said, "Why is this child so ugly?"
Perhaps because there were too many people disturbing the baby's sleep, or perhaps because she knew she was being disliked by her own mother, she suddenly burst into tears.
The child looked even uglier when he cried. Yan Qingqing looked at him helplessly. Yuan Huiniang, who was standing next to her, quickly picked him up and comforted him. Then she said to Yan Qingqing, "Mother, how can you say that about my sister? All newborn babies look like this, let alone my sister who was premature."
Yan Qingqing exclaimed, "How ugly she is, and she's a girl! Will she ever be able to get married?"
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