Chapter 31 The baby is about to be born
Aunt Liu was picking chives in her own yard when she heard crying and cursing coming from the Zhao family next door.
She tiptoed to look at Li Yugu's house. Li Yugu was slapping his thigh and crying his heart out, while Wen Xiaoxiao was lying on the cement ground, clutching her stomach tightly with both hands, her face deathly pale.
"Oh my goodness!" Aunt Liu dropped the chives she was holding and rushed in, shouting, "What happened?!"
Before she could finish speaking, she saw that Wen Xiaoxiao's pants were suddenly soaked – her water had broken.
"Sister-in-law Yugu! Sister-in-law Yugu, don't cry! Xiaoxiao's water broke! She's going into labor!" Aunt Liu patted Li Yugu's shoulder anxiously.
Li Yugu's crying stopped abruptly. She looked up at the puddle of water on the ground, as if her soul had been ripped out.
She stood there stunned for a good ten seconds before suddenly standing up, her legs trembling uncontrollably: "Give birth? It's only been eight months... Yes, yes, I have to go find Qingda! I have to bring Qingda back!"
But where is Zhao Qingda? Is he driving on the road, or is he with Wang Juan?
Li Yugu's mind was in complete turmoil. He stood in the courtyard and paced around twice, not knowing where to go.
Just then, the sound of screeching brakes came from outside the courtyard gate.
Zhao Fei drove his van and parked it at the door, looking dusty and tired.
Zhao Fei practically jumped out of the car; his right eyelid had been twitching non-stop all day, and he was so anxious he couldn't sit still.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I drove home.
Upon entering the courtyard, the scene before him made Zhao Fei's heart tighten.
He rushed over and saw Wen Xiaoxiao lying on the ground, curled up in pain, her trouser legs soaked, and her face as pale as paper.
"What happened?" Zhao Fei squatted down to help Wen Xiaoxiao, but stopped halfway through his hand. He didn't know how to touch her.
Li Yugu, as if grasping at a straw, stammered incoherently, "Big brother! Xiaoxiao is going into labor! Her water broke! What... what are we going to do..."
Zhao Fei took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
He made a quick decision: "Take her to the hospital. Now."
"Go...go to the county hospital?" Li Yugu asked in a panic.
“No, go directly to the provincial hospital,” Zhao Fei said decisively.
He looked at Li Yugu, "Auntie, you're home. Yidi gets out of school this afternoon, you need to pick her up. Also..."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Go to the station and wait. When you see Qingda's car, tell him to head to the provincial capital immediately and go to the First People's Hospital of the province."
Having said all that, Zhao Fei no longer hesitated.
He turned around and carried a quilt out of the house, placed it under Wen Xiaoxiao, and then steadily lifted her up.
Wen Xiaoxiao let out a muffled groan of pain and instinctively grabbed Zhao Fei's shirt.
"Bear with it, Xiaoxiao, we're going to the hospital now," Zhao Fei said in a low voice, carrying her quickly toward the van.
Li Yugu followed behind, watching helplessly as Zhao Fei carefully placed Wen Xiaoxiao in the back seat and cushioned her back with a blanket.
She wanted to go with them, but then she remembered Zhao Yidi's dismissal time and that she still had to find her good-for-nothing son, so she could only stand there anxiously.
"Auntie, the house is in your hands now!" Zhao Fei jumped into the driver's seat and started the car.
On the road, Zhao Fei drove the car both fast and steadily.
He desperately wanted to fly to the hospital, but he was afraid that the journey would worsen Wen Xiaoxiao's pain.
In the rearview mirror, he could see Wen Xiaoxiao lying on her side in the back seat, her fingers gripping the seat cover tightly, her knuckles turning white.
"Xiaoxiao, how is it?" Zhao Fei asked every few minutes, his voice filled with anxiety.
"...Big brother...I'm fine..." Wen Xiaoxiao said, her voice trembling with tears. "It's just...my stomach...is so tight...you...focus on driving..."
"Almost there, just a little longer." Zhao Fei's palms were sweaty as he gripped the steering wheel.
He remembered her sudden premature birth and couldn't help but ask, "What exactly happened today? How could it happen so suddenly..."
Wen Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and recounted Wang Juan's visit in fits and starts.
"Wang Juan?" Zhao Fei's hand trembled, and the car veered slightly. He quickly steadied himself. "She...she's pregnant too?"
“Seven months… She said it was Qingda’s…” Wen Xiaoxiao’s voice was broken and shattered.
Zhao Fei felt a chill creep up from the soles of his feet.
He knew that Zhao Qingda and Wang Juan hadn't broken up, but he never expected that they would have a child and cause a scene at his door!
He looked at Wen Xiaoxiao's figure in the rearview mirror.
Thinking of the two children in her womb that truly belonged to her,
I remember the tears in her eyes when she knelt on the ground begging him to keep it a secret...
His Adam's apple bobbed violently a few times, and he finally managed to squeeze out only one sentence: "Don't think about it anymore, take care of yourself and the child first."
The journey, which took more than an hour, felt like an eternity.
Finally, the Red Cross logo of the First People's Hospital of the province came into view.
Zhao Fei drove straight to the emergency room entrance, jumped out of the car, and shouted, "Doctor! Nurse! Quick! The pregnant woman is about to give birth! Her water broke early!"
Several medical staff rushed out pushing a flatbed.
Zhao Fei helped move Wen Xiaoxiao to the bed and then jogged after her into the obstetric emergency area.
The nurse quickly performed a preliminary examination on Wen Xiaoxiao, then turned to Zhao Fei and said rapidly, "A family member, right? Go and complete the formalities. Why didn't the mother bring anything? Here, take these items on the form, go and buy them quickly."
Zhao Fei took the densely written form, his mind still a little fuzzy.
Li Rui gave birth to Zhao Yidi at home at that time.
He had never been to an obstetrics and gynecology ward in his life, let alone prepared for these things.
Zhao Fei ran to the payment counter to complete the hospital admission process, then rushed out of the hospital gate and bought all the items on the list.
When he returned with bags and packages, his hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his forehead.
When he returned to the entrance of the delivery room, the nurse stopped him: "Family members are not allowed in, just give me the things."
Zhao Fei pulled out twenty yuan from his pocket and quietly slipped it into the nurse's hand: "Comrade, please help me, let me go in for a quick look, just a few words. She's scared being alone in there..."
The nurse gripped the money in her hand, hesitated for a moment, and then lowered her voice: "It'll only take two minutes. Come out quickly after you're done."
Zhao Fei nodded quickly and tiptoed inside, carrying his things.
There were six beds in the delivery room, separated by curtains.
Wen Xiaoxiao was on the innermost bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Only when her belly swelled up would her brows furrow in pain.
"Xiaoxiao," Zhao Fei called softly.
Wen Xiaoxiao slowly turned her head, saw him, and her eyes welled up with tears again. "Big brother..." her voice was terribly hoarse.
Zhao Fei placed the things he bought on the bedside table and took out a bag of steamed egg cakes and a jar of mandarin oranges from the bag.
"Eat something to build up your strength." He awkwardly opened the can lid.
Wen Xiaoxiao shook her head: "I can't eat... my stomach hurts... my heart aches too..." She looked at him, "Big brother... I'm scared..."
That one call of "Big Brother" broke Zhao Fei's heart.
He wanted to hold her hand and hug her: "Don't be afraid, the doctors are all here. You need to eat something, otherwise you won't have the strength to give birth."
Just then, the nurse lifted the curtain and came in: "Family members, please leave! We need to do an examination!"
Without saying a word, she chased Zhao Fei out and then drew the curtain.
Zhao Fei stood outside the curtain and heard the nurse's voice inside: "Come on, open your legs, let me see how many centimeters dilated... Oh, two centimeters. You have twins, right? The baby is in the correct position, but the baby is small and premature. We'll try for a vaginal delivery first, but be prepared, if things don't go well, we might need a C-section. Where are your family members? They need to sign the consent form."
The nurse lifted the curtain and came out, holding several pieces of paper in her hand: "Are you her husband?"
Zhao Fei opened his mouth, the words "I am her brother-in-law" hovering on his tongue, but he swallowed them back down.
In such a place and at such a time, only the husband's identity allows him to sign documents and make decisions.
He nodded stiffly.
"Okay, sign these." The nurse handed him a pen. "This is the informed consent form. It mainly states that if vaginal delivery becomes difficult, a cesarean section may be necessary. We don't necessarily need a cesarean section now, but you need to agree first."
Zhao Fei took the pen, his hand trembling slightly.
Cesarean section—in those days, it was almost a horrifying major surgery, as it was said to involve cutting open the abdomen and was extremely risky.
He glanced at the curtain instinctively.
"Sign it or not? The mother can't wait," the nurse urged.
Zhao Fei gritted his teeth and wrote his name, Zhao Fei, in the family member signature column.
The strokes are so heavy they almost pierce the back of the paper.
"Go and pay another thousand yuan deposit," the nurse said. "These are twins, and they're premature. They'll likely need to stay in incubators after they're born, which is expensive."
Without saying a word, he turned around and ran back to the payment counter. By the time he returned to the entrance of the delivery room, he was exhausted.
But Wen Xiaoxiao's ordeal had only just begun.
From afternoon to evening, Zhao Fei stayed in the long corridor outside the delivery room.
He listened to the cries of other women in labor coming from inside, and his heart was constantly in his throat.
Wen Xiaoxiao was able to suppress her voice at first, but it later turned into an uncontrollable scream.
The sound was like a dull knife, cutting into Zhao Fei's heart again and again.
He squatted in the corner, his hands tucked into his hair.
Every time Wen Xiaoxiao screamed, his shoulders would involuntarily hunch.
Several times, he almost rushed in, but was stopped at the door by the nurses.
"That's how it is for all women when they give birth. Just wait outside!" the nurse said casually.
But Zhao Fei knew it was different.
Wen Xiaoxiao was pregnant with twins, premature babies, and...his children.
He remembered the grievances she had suffered over the past two years, and the tearful eyes in her eyes when she knelt on the ground begging him to keep it a secret...
Tears welled up, and she lowered her head, letting the tears fall drop by drop onto the ground.
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