Chapter 81
Amidst the pain, Li Xin rolled her eyes and said, "I'm about to give birth."
Chen Qing got off the bed and put his hand on his shoulder: "Why don't you lie down in bed for a while?"
"Am I supposed to give birth in your house?" Li Xin was almost laughing in exasperation. "Take me home first. My mother said the pain comes in waves, and it will pass after this wave."
Neither Chen Qing nor Qin Xia had any experience, and to make matters worse, both Aunt Sun and Zhou Yuan were out.
Qin Xia said, "Then I'll carry you back; I'm strong."
Chen Qing nodded in agreement. Li Xin was furious with the two of them. He was in pain but also wanted to laugh: "How can you carry me with such a big belly? It's okay, you can help me back when the pain stops."
Presumably, the contractions had subsided, and Li Xin stood up: "I'm going home to give birth."
Chen Qing didn't care about anything else, he didn't even put his shoes on properly, and he and Qin Xia each supported one side of Li Xin, trying to take her home.
When they reached the fork in the road, Li Xin wanted to take him back to the Li family home. But then Li Xin's labor pains started again, and he pressed Chen Qing's hand, saying, "Take me back to my home."
Chen Qing then remembered that Li Xin was also married and had her own home. She had only moved back to her parents' home recently because Qi Shuning was not there.
Li Xin was in so much pain he couldn't walk, so Qin Xia gritted her teeth and picked him up in her arms: "Quickly give me directions."
Li Xin is quite tall, and with two babies now, she's even heavier. Qin Xia picked her up without any hesitation and pointed the way for her. Chen Qing then ran towards Li the blacksmith's house, saying, "Aunt Yin, Aunt Yin, Li Xin is about to give birth."
This was the first time Chen Qing had ever run and shouted in the village. When he got to the Li family's courtyard, he saw Zhang Yin come out: "Qing, is Xin Xin about to give birth?"
"Yes, he went home." Chen Qing said breathlessly, leaning against the wall of his house for support.
Zhang Yin didn't care about anything else. While telling Niu Niu to go and call Li the blacksmith home, she walked towards Li Xin's house with Chen Qing.
Fortunately, they had made preparations in advance. Zhang Yin asked Chen Qing about the situation, and Chen Qing only said that Li Xin was in pain in waves. Zhang Yin had a general idea of what was going on, but she still walked much faster.
Qin Xia had already gently placed Li Xin on the bed, and then asked him, "What should I do now?"
Li Xin didn't stand on ceremony: "I feel a little hungry and want to eat something."
Qin Xia: ?
But Li Xin was the eldest at this moment, so he quickly went out to find something to eat for her.
He rushed home like the wind. Meng Shuanzi's mother was tidying up the yard, where the rice would be dried after the harvest.
She looked up and saw Qin Xia carrying an oil paper package out. She called out, "Why are you running so fast?" Anyone who didn't know better would think he was being chased by something. He was acting so recklessly, wasn't he afraid of falling?
As Qin Xia ran, she said, "I'll take it to Li Xin to try."
Shuanzi's mother exclaimed "Oh dear!" and said, "Are you still a child? Why do you have to share your good food? Li Xin's family doesn't need your food."
Qin Xia paused slightly upon hearing her words: "Mother, I saved one for you; it's in your room."
His calling her "Mother" left Shuanzi's mother in a dilemma, unsure whether to be angry or not, and she sulked at home for a long time.
The room was quiet. Li Xin leaned against the headboard, only able to hear his own heavy breathing. He gently touched his belly and said, "Children, please don't make me suffer too much."
Zhang Yin arrived shortly after. Seeing that Li Xin was alright, she held his hand and said, "The contractions should last for a while. Rest well and eat something to replenish your strength. I'll make you a bowl of noodles."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Xia returned with a package of oil paper. It was a pastry that Meng Shuanzi had bought for him, saying it was some kind of milk cake, and it was fragrant and sweet. He had never eaten such delicious pastries in Xiaxi before, and he thought that Li Xin would probably like it, so that she would have the energy to give birth.
Zhang Yin was taken aback when she saw Qin Xia. Qin Xia smiled at her and said, "He just said he wanted something to eat, so I found it for him."
"Thank you so much." Although Zhang Yin was also anxious, she was still relatively organized. She prepared hot water, knowing that Li the blacksmith would go to fetch a psychic when he heard the news, and she wanted to stay with Li Xin to keep him from being scared.
"Auntie, just let me know if anything happens."
Zhang Yin nodded: "Thank you for your trouble."
Chen Qing didn't enter Li Xin's room. He had heard from Aunt Sun that pregnant women shouldn't enter the delivery room because they were said to be haunted by the spirits of other babies. If Li Xin's child sensed that there was another child in the room, it would get angry and wouldn't come properly. So he stayed outside the room.
Zhang Yin explained some things to Qin Xia, and then Qin Xia went to find Chen Qing outside: "Auntie said she needs a lot of hot water. If possible, cook her a bowl of noodles, soft ones, like noodle soup."
Chen Qing nodded and quickly started a fire to cook. Before long, Li the blacksmith arrived with Wen Gong, and Aunt Sun and Zhou Yuan also came over.
Grandma Sun took over the work from Chen Qing and asked Zhou Yuan to take him back to rest. Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that everyone had arrived. As soon as he breathed a sigh of relief, he felt a dull pain in his lower abdomen.
Zhou Yuan came over to hug him and could already sense his discomfort, so he picked him up and walked back, then looked down at him and said, "Shall I go back and make you some medicine?"
Chen Qing nodded: "Okay."
When Aunt Sun saw them, her gaze fell on Chen Qing's face again: "Aqing, go back and get some rest. Everyone's here now."
Chen Qing nodded and went home with Zhou Yuan.
On the way, Chen Qing hugged Zhou Yuan's neck, feeling a little flustered. His stomach pain had subsided, but his heart was heavy: "I...I didn't think that much..."
Zhou Yuan gently rubbed his forehead with his chin: "It's okay, don't be afraid."
Back home, Zhou Yuan put him on the bed and then went to brew the medicine prescribed by the doctor. Chen Qing was indeed tired, but he was also worried about Li Xin, so he was only half asleep.
Soon he smelled the bitter smell of medicine.
Zhou Yuan let the medicine cool down and brought it to the bedside. Chen Qing was already sleeping poorly, and now he sat up. Zhou Yuan held the medicine bowl, intending to feed him the medicine.
Chen Qing looked at the bowl of dark medicine, took a deep breath, and thought that feeding him spoonful by spoonful was an endless torture. He might as well just drink it all at once.
He took the bowl, tilted his head back, and drank all the medicine in a few gulps. The medicine was bitter and astringent, and Chen Qing didn't dare to move after drinking it, for fear that he would vomit if he moved.
Zhou Yuan fed him another piece of pastry, which barely suppressed his nausea. He leaned against the pillow and said, "Go wait for Li Xin. I'm still scared."
“I want to stay by your side,” Zhou Yuan said. “Mom is over there; she’ll come back and tell us if anything happens.”
After thinking about it, Chen Qing had no choice but to agree.
Today is September 12th. They are half a month away from Yuancang Prefecture. It seems that Qi Shuning will not be able to make it in time for her child's birth.
After taking the medicine, Chen Qing didn't dare to lie down, afraid that if he did, the medicine would come back to him. So he sat and talked to Zhou Yuan: "Qin Xia, will you marry Meng Shuanzi?"
Zhou Yuan nodded: "Yes."
These past few days, Meng Shuanzi has been trying to persuade his mother, saying that Qin Xia is a good person, hardworking, capable, and able to earn money to support the family. In fact, Meng's mother has always hoped that Shuanzi would marry a girl, because Meng Shuanzi is tall and strong, and his mother wanted him to marry a delicate and gentle wife. Qin Xia does not meet any of these requirements. He is taller than most boys, and he speaks and acts with a straightforward and cheerful manner, not to mention being delicate and gentle. Although this is good, it is different from her expectations, so she has not been able to fully accept him yet.
My biggest worry is that after we get married, she might run away.
“Shuanzi is already preparing for his wedding.” Zhou Yuan’an thought to himself.
Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief: "Qin Xia is a really nice person."
Zhou Yuan laughed at him: "You've made friends so quickly?"
Zhou Yuan was happy for Chen Qing to make more friends, as Chen Qing would become more outgoing with more friends.
"He's the one who brought Li Xin home today," Chen Qing said. "He's a very nice and warm-hearted person. Meng Shuanzi definitely won't regret marrying him."
"You should lie down and get some sleep," Zhou Yuan said.
Chen Qing shook his head: "No, if I lie down, the medicine will come back up and I'll feel nauseous."
Seeing him in pain, Zhou Yuan wished he could feel pain for him: "Would eating candied fruit make you feel better?"
Chen Qing shook his head, the thought of the cloyingly sweet taste of candied fruit making him want to vomit even more: "I want to eat tamarind cake." But he had already finished the tamarind cake two days ago.
"I'll go buy it for you." Zhou Yuan said, about to leave, but Chen Qing quickly stopped him. "It's so far, won't you stay home and take care of me?"
Zhou Yuan paused: "Then what do we do?"
Chen Qing thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you go and scoop some vegetables out of the kimchi jar for me?"
Although Zhou Yuan was puzzled, he still scooped some pickled cowpeas out of the jar for him. Without even cutting them, Chen Qing ate a whole cowpea, which finally suppressed his nausea and allowed him to lie down.
He lay on his side, looking at Zhou Yuan sitting on the edge of the bed. His mind started craving other things. He didn't want to eat sweets, but he wanted to eat candied hawthorns with sugar coating and sour inside, braised pork with wild mushrooms, and pickled cabbage and chicken giblet noodles. He was a little frustrated. He felt like vomiting as soon as he moved, but now he wanted to eat so many things.
"What do you want to eat?" Zhou Yuan asked him. He knew Chen Qing well; when Chen Qing made that expression, it meant he wanted something to eat.
"Candied hawthorn, braised pork with wild mushrooms, and chicken giblets with pickled cabbage."
Zhou Yuan patted his hair: "Okay, I'll make them all for you."
Chen Qing placed his hand under his cheek and fell asleep in no time. Once he was sound asleep, Zhou Yuan withdrew his hand. The weather wasn't too hot, and it was very comfortable to sleep with the window open. Zhou Yuan patted his stomach and sat by the bed to watch over him.
A little while later, Aunt Sun returned. After glancing at Chen Qing, she spoke about Li Xin's situation: "The contractions have just begun. The midwife said it will be a while before she starts giving birth. Is Aqing alright?"
"He just took his medicine and is now asleep." Zhou Yuan glanced at Chen Qing. "Mother, please watch over him for me. I'm going up the mountain."
Grandma Sun was stunned: "What are you going up the mountain for?"
“Aqing said he wanted to eat candied hawthorns, so I thought I'd go pick some hawthorns to make for him. I'll also see if I can find some wild mushrooms, because he said he wants to eat braised pork with mushrooms.” Zhou Yuan packed up his basket, but Aunt Sun quickly stopped him.
"Don't go yet, I still have some hawthorns," said Aunt Sun. "You don't know how to identify fungi, what if the ones you pick are poisonous and Aqing gets poisoned?"
Zhou Yuan was stunned: "Then what do we do?"
“His tastes are very changeable right now, he might not want to eat it again after he wakes up.” Aunt Sun has been through this before. “Braised pork with mushrooms is easy to make. Don’t you have dried mushrooms at home? You can soak them in hot water and it will be the same. It’s not too late to make it after he wakes up.”
Zhou Yuan had no choice but to stop and search for the dried mushrooms that Zhang Xu's family had sent. He was also about to boil water when Aunt Sun sat by the bed, watching Chen Qing's sleeping face.
Unbeknownst to her, Chen Qing had been in Luohe Village for more than seven years. In these seven years, Chen Qing seemed to have not changed much. His face still looked a bit childish, but now, he was going to be a father. She wiped away her tears. This family would soon be lively.
Zhou Yuan boiled water and soaked the dried mushrooms. He then asked Aunt Sun to watch over Chen Qing while he went to buy a piece of meat. Aunt Sun had no choice but to agree.
Seeing the drawings Chen Qing had made these past few days by the bedside, she thought that now that their autumn harvest was over, it was time to do some needlework. She could go to town in the next day or two to buy some gifts for Li Xin's children, as well as some fabric, and make some small clothes for them. Now that she was going to be a grandmother, she had to learn from the kind grandmothers of other families.
Zhou Yuan rushed back, carrying meat, when he remembered something and said to Aunt Sun, "Mom, could you kill another chicken for Aqing? He said he wants to eat pickled cabbage and chicken giblets again!"
Grandma Sun: ...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
