Chapter 82
Li Xin's labor pains lasted for three hours. During these three hours, Li Xin ate a bowl of noodles and a few pieces of pastry. The rest of the time she rested in bed. The midwife said that she should conserve her energy, because it would be very painful when she actually gave birth.
After dinner, Chen Qing asked Zhou Yuan to keep watch over Li Xin. Nighttime is different from daytime, and it would be more convenient for Zhou Yuan to be there in case anything happened.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Yuan watched Chen Qing lie down and then went to Li Xin's house.
Li the blacksmith paced anxiously around the house, while Zhang Yin stayed with Li Xin inside. Niu Niu went home with Aunt Sun.
“Godfather.” Zhou Yuan walked to Li the blacksmith’s side.
"You've arrived." Li the blacksmith paused for a moment, then turned around. "It's been three or four hours already, why hasn't she given birth yet?"
"I'll stay here and keep watch." He didn't say the rest aloud, because saying it would only increase Li the blacksmith's worry.
Li Xin had been quiet all afternoon, but now she started to cry out in pain from time to time, indicating that the pain was becoming unbearable.
Li the blacksmith became even more anxious. He started pacing around while standing, and when asked to sit down, he began shaking his leg.
Zhou Yuan patted him on the shoulder, and could only wait quietly.
There was a noise outside. Zhou Yuan stood up and saw Qi Shuning stumble into the room. Zhou Yuan quickly helped him up: "Why are you back?"
Qi Shuning had just stood still when she heard Li Xin's cry of pain from inside the room: "What happened to Xin Xin?"
"She's in labor today, she's about to give birth." Zhou Yuan took his luggage from him. "Go wash up first, then go see her in a bit."
Fortunately, there was plenty of hot water, so Qi Shuning quickly took a shower, changed her clothes, and went inside.
Zhang Yin was startled when she heard the voice, then blocked him at the door: "You shouldn't go in."
Qi Shuning peered into the house through her, and then heard Li Xin's cry of pain. He strained his neck and shouted, "Xin Xin, are you alright? I'm back."
Li Xin, who had been holding back all afternoon, was furious when she heard his voice: "You still know how to come back!"
Qi Shuning was speechless, but quickly comforted him: "Ah, I'm back. I've also learned to ride a horse. I can take you riding now."
"Who wants to ride a horse!" Li Xin's voice was so loud that it startled the old man in the room.
"Mother, please let me in," Qi Shuning pleaded. "Look how much more energetic everyone is now that I'm back."
“But there are taboos about this. How can a man enter the delivery room?” Zhang Yin hesitated for a moment.
"Mother, I have no taboos, please let me in." Qi Shuning pleaded again, "Xin Xin is giving birth, and I can only sit outside and wait. How can I let him suffer all the pain alone? If I go in, he can pinch me, which will ease his pain."
Seeing his pleading, Zhang Yin had no choice but to leave the door a crack, and Qi Shuning squeezed in.
For the rest of the time, it was almost entirely Li Xin who was scolding Qi Shuning. Qi Shuning kept saying "okay, okay, yes, yes, yes," and after who knows how long, a baby's cry broke the darkness.
Li the blacksmith grabbed Zhou Yuan's shoulder and jumped up: "It's born! It's born!"
As he spoke, he leaned over to the door to peek, but the door was tightly closed and he couldn't see anything, only hear Li Xin cursing.
Fortunately, not long after, another cry rang out, and the two children cried together, making quite a loud noise.
After cleaning up the children and changing Li Xin's clothes, and after the room was ventilated to dissipate the smell of blood, Zhang Yin and Wen Gong each carried one of the children out: "They are two little boys, both crying loudly, but both are healthy."
Li the blacksmith went over and was very fond of the child. The child was too small and wrinkled to tell who he resembled. He was probably hungry and was still crying loudly.
After giving birth, the boy had no breast milk. In ordinary families, the boy would feed the baby with rice water, and those who could afford it would find a wet nurse for the baby.
Just then, they heard the child crying. Aunt Sun had already cooked rice porridge for them. Zhou Yuan served the rice porridge and watched them feed the child. After the child finished eating, he fell asleep, and they put the child back next to Li Xin.
After Wen Gong came out, Li the blacksmith gave him a thick red envelope.
Qi Shuning saw that Li Xin was asleep, so he came out to see Wen Gong off with Li the blacksmith, and then talked to Zhou Yuan for a while.
"I just finished my exams, and I don't know why, but I just felt like I should come back quickly." Qi Shuning scratched his head. "I happened to run into Manager Tian and Doctor Yu at the Yuancang Mansion to worship their ancestors. Then Manager Tian taught me how to ride a horse and even lent me his horse."
Zhou Yuan looked at him and couldn't imagine that Qi Shuning, who couldn't ride a horse at all, could return from Yuancang Prefecture in ten days. Perhaps it was the connection between father and son that allowed Qi Shuning not to miss the birth of his child.
"Get some rest and take good care of Li Xin." Zhou Yuan patted his shoulder. He had a lot more to say, but he must be very tired right now.
Qi Shuning nodded: "You should go back and rest too."
When Zhou Yuan returned home, Chen Qing was still awake. The room was lit, and Chen Qing was leaning against the headboard, waiting expectantly.
Hearing the noise outside the door, Chen Qing quickly peeked out. Zhou Yuan washed his face first before returning to the room: "They've been born, twin boys, both safe and sound. Qi Shuning is back too."
Chen Qing's eyes widened: "That's great! That's great! I'll ask Mom tomorrow when I can go see Li Xin." He then looked at Zhou Yuan, "Qi Shuning is back? Didn't he have any exams?"
Zhou Yuan took off his shoes and got into bed, holding Chen Qing in his arms. He had listened to Li Xin's cries of pain all night, and his heart was not calm. The thought that Chen Qing would also have such a day made him anxious. He wished he could take Chen Qing's pain away.
Chen Qing lazily lay on his chest: "Who do the little ones look like?"
Zhou Yuan put his arm around his waist: "It's too small, a bit wrinkled, and a bit ugly. You can't tell."
Chen Qing patted his chest: "How could you say a child is ugly?"
Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "They're just two wrinkled things that look exactly the same."
Chen Qing snorted, turned over, and lay down on his own pillow: "Twins, they don't all look the same."
Zhou Yuan asked him, "Are you alright? Did your stomach hurt last night?"
"No, everything's fine. Mom said she wants to go to town tomorrow. Why don't you come with me?" Chen Qing said. "We haven't prepared any gifts for the little ones yet."
"What are you preparing?" Zhou Yuan asked, lifting his hair and playing with it in his hand.
Chen Qing thought for a moment: "Just one longevity lock for each person?"
Zhou Yuan nodded: "Okay, I'll go shopping with Mom tomorrow. Will you be alright staying home alone?"
"Of course, I'm just resting in bed, I'm not paralyzed." Chen Qing thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill. "Could you bring me bamboo shoot and pork buns when you come back?"
"Is there anything else you'd like to eat?" Zhou Yuan asked again.
Chen Qing rubbed his stomach. He was fine until he mentioned it, and then he felt hungry: "I'm hungry now."
Zhou Yuan sat up, thinking that the roast pork for dinner was not finished yet, and wanted to heat it up and bring it over, but as soon as he brought it over, Chen Qing smelled the smell and immediately vomited. Zhou Yuan quickly put the food back in the kitchen, poured water for Chen Qing, and told him to rinse his mouth after vomiting.
"It smells so fishy." Chen Qing frowned.
Zhou Yuan was puzzled. Chen Qing seemed to be enjoying his meal that evening, but a little while later he looked at it and felt like throwing up.
"Do you want to eat something else?" Zhou Yuan helped him catch his breath.
Chen Qing felt that Zhou Yuan smelled fishy, so he pushed him aside and said, "I don't want to eat anymore, you smell fishy too."
"Then rinse your mouth again." Zhou Yuan handed him the cup and said, "I'm going to wash up and change my clothes."
Chen Qing felt that even warm water tasted the same, so he shook his head and said he wouldn't drink it. But he was afraid of vomiting if he lay down, so he could only sit up.
Zhou Yuan's eyes were filled with complex emotions as he thought about how hard Chen Qing had worked.
He quickly took a cold shower, changed his clothes, and sniffed the air. It only smelled of soap. Chen Qing probably wouldn't mind the smell now.
When he returned to the house, Chen Qing reached out to him. Zhou Yuan leaned over, and Chen Qing hugged his neck, sniffed his collar, found no smell, and then hugged him tightly again: "Don't worry."
Zhou Yuan kissed his cheek: "Aqing, you've worked hard."
After chatting for a while, the hunger returned, and Chen Qing sighed, "Can you make me some sauerkraut soup?"
Zhou Yuan wasn't very good at cooking, so Chen Qing got up and went to the kitchen with him. Zhou Yuan asked him to sit in front of the stove, and then took some pickled vegetables and pickled green beans from the jar and chopped them up as instructed by Chen Qing.
Water was boiling in the pot. After the water boiled, the pickled vegetables were put into the pot. Zhou Yuan looked down at Chen Qing and asked, "Just want some pickled cabbage soup?"
Chen Qing thought for a moment: "How about cooking some noodles?"
Zhou Yuan nodded and started kneading the dough again. He had a lot of strength, and the dough he kneaded was very chewy. The soup was sour, but it also had the original aroma of flour. Chen Qing drank a bowl of it hot and finally felt better.
After eating, Zhou Yuan took Chen Qing for a walk around the yard twice before going back to the room to sleep.
The next morning, Zhou Yuan watched Chen Qing eat a bowl of steamed egg custard before preparing the oxcart and going to town with Granny Sun.
Before leaving, she kept telling him to rest well, and Chen Qing nodded in agreement. Only then did he leave with Aunt Sun, turning back every few steps.
Chen Qing obediently leaned against the bed, unable to fall asleep for a while. He found some of the bright red fabric he had used to make wedding clothes in the closet. There was still some left, enough to make two red bibs for the children.
Having not done needlework for a long time, Chen Qing felt a bit rusty and practiced for a while before daring to start. However, once he got the hang of it, he found it easy to do. He skillfully drew lines, cut, and stitched.
Time flies when you're engrossed in something. When he heard the sounds outside, he realized that Zhou Yuan and the others had returned. He hadn't rested all morning.
So Chen Qing quickly put down what he was holding and immediately lay down pretending to be asleep.
As soon as Zhou Yuan entered the room, he saw some scraps of cloth lying by the bed, as well as a sewing basket that Chen Qingcang hadn't managed to hide.
He walked to the bedside and saw that Chen Qing couldn't even pretend to be asleep. His eyelashes were trembling as if he had done something wrong. Zhou Yuan chuckled and said, "Stop pretending and get up."
Chen Qing then opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright, showing no signs of having just woken up.
Zhou Yuan bent down and ruffled his hair: "It's not that I don't want you to do needlework, just don't overwork yourself."
"I feel great today, and I don't feel tired at all," Chen Qing said. "I made two bibs for the children."
Making two bellybands takes quite a while, and Chen Qing is almost finished: "So you haven't rested since we left?"
Chen Qing: ...
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