Xuemei gave birth to her daughter An'an on the 24th day of the first lunar month. From the 23rd day, Xuemei felt her belly was sinking.
When Xuemei went into labor in the middle of the night on the 24th, Han Chen thought she was having cramps again. In the late stages of pregnancy, Xuemei would occasionally wake up from calf cramps after falling asleep in the middle of the night.
Han Chen heard Xuemei groaning and quickly pulled the rope at the head of the bed. He touched one of Xuemei's legs and asked, "Xuemei, is your leg cramping?"
"Han Chen, I might be giving birth!" Xuemei said nervously.
Xuemei's words frightened Han Chen so much that the last bit of sleepiness he had left was completely gone. He slid out of bed, put on his trousers, and soothed Xuemei, saying, "Xuemei, don't be afraid! I'll go call Mom and Dad right away!"
Han Chen ran barefoot to Liu's parents' door and knocked. Within a minute, Liu's father came out and asked, "Is Xuemei about to give birth?"
"Yes, Dad! What should we do now?" Han Chen asked in panic.
"Silly boy, I'll go call Doctor Wu over. Go back to your room and get the things needed for childbirth. Your mother will be here soon!" After giving the instructions, Father Liu quickly walked to the yard.
Han Chen also hurried back to the room. Feng Ru woke up the moment Han Chen opened the door and went out, and was now in the room with Xuemei.
As soon as he saw Han Chen rushing in, he asked, "Have you told your uncle and aunt?"
Han Chen nodded, ran to the bedside, bent down, lowered his head and kissed Xuemei's forehead, whose face was covered in cold sweat due to contractions. He held Xuemei's hand and comforted her, "It's okay, Xuemei! Dad will go call Doctor Xiao Wu!"
After Han Chen comforted Xuemei, he said to Feng Ru, "Sister-in-law, please help me get the things needed for childbirth from that unlocked wooden box and put it on top!"
Feng Ru nodded and took out the things according to Han Chen's instructions. At this time, Liu's mother also ran out and ordered: "Xiao Chen, go to your kitchen and boil a pot of water. Xiao Feng, give me the things, and go to my room to take Lele to your room to look after him first."
Han Chen then let go of Xuemei's hand and ran to his kitchen to wash the pot and boil water. When the water was about to boil, Liu's father came with Wu Yuezhu and a medicine box.
Wu Yuezhu checked Xuemei's condition and said, "Xuemei's cervix is dilating quickly, so she'll be able to give birth soon!"
When Liu's mother heard this, she quickly put an old mattress on the bed, and then she and Liu's father and Wu Yuezhu moved Xuemei onto the old mattress. Liu's mother was afraid that Xuemei would not have the strength to give birth to a baby later, so she went to the kitchen and made a bowl of brown sugar eggs for Xuemei to drink.
The sweet wine was specially made by Liu's mother and father at the end of last year, intended to be used as a food for Xuemei to help with her lactation after she finished her confinement. After Xuemei finished drinking the brown sugar and egg yolk, Liu's mother called Han Chen in with a bucket of boiling water, and then closed the door. Besides Wu Yuezhu, only Liu's mother remained in the room with Xuemei.
Father Liu then went to the kitchen to check the fire, and Han Chen stood at the door, pacing back and forth nervously with a look on his face.
Han Chen felt that time passed very slowly. Every second outside the door felt like a year. Listening to Xuemei's painful screams, Han Chen felt his heart hanging high and beating violently, and he became more and more panicked.
Suddenly, a cry was heard from inside the room, and Han Chen heard Liu's mother shouting happily: "It's born! It's born!"
Just as Han Chen was about to knock on the door, Liu's mother opened it from the inside. Han Chen hurried in without even noticing the child in Liu's mother's arms.
Han Chen looked at Xuemei's wet face and tired expression, bent down and reached out to help Xuemei tidy up her hair, then wiped Xuemei's face, kissed her forehead and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Xuemei."
"Have you seen the child? It's indeed a girl!" Xuemei said weakly.
Han Chen then remembered that he hadn't seen the child yet, so he asked, "Where is our daughter?"
Wu Yuezhu joked, "Your daughter was taken out by her aunt. You didn't see her when you came in just now."
Han Chen looked outside the door and found Feng Ru and Liu's father surrounding the baby in Liu's mother's arms. Han Chen hurried over, stretched his head to look at the slightly wrinkled little girl in Liu's mother's arms, and his heart warmed. He carefully took the child from Liu's mother's arms and looked at her again. He felt that she was worthy of being his and Xuemei's daughter. She had so much hair when she was just born. Mingwen's daughter and Shengnan's baby were much more beautiful when they were just born.
Han Chen happily carried the child into the room and gently placed her next to Xuemei. Xuemei turned her head to look at her daughter and smiled gently.
Wu Yuezhu had already packed up her things and said, "Your daughter loves her mother very much. She was born in just over an hour. Han Zhiqing, I just helped Xuemei clean her body. Please wipe her again with hot water!"
Han Chen nodded and said, "Thank you for tonight, Dr. Wu! Wait a minute, my dad will take you home!"
"It's okay, it's just a few steps away. Get some food for Xuemei to replenish her strength. Don't eat too greasy food these days!" Wu Yuezhu added.
Han Chen nodded, and Liu's father handed Wu Yuezhu a red envelope, thanking her for her help tonight, and then sent her home.
Han Chen went to get some hot water and wiped Xuemei's face first before washing her body. As soon as Han Chen finished, Liu's mother came with a bowl of hot egg noodle soup.
After Han Chen fed Xuemei, he and Liu's mother took off the old bedding from under Xuemei, then went to the kitchen to get some hot water in a cup and asked Xuemei to brush her teeth while leaning against the bed. There was a wooden bucket underneath to collect the mouthwash.
After Han Chen had packed up, Liu's mother asked him to sleep in the room of the two brothers Ruirui and Feifei. She was staying with Xuemei tonight, and Han Chen had no experience yet.
The next morning, at first light, Han Chen rode his bicycle to deliver red eggs. He first went to Wangjia Village to deliver them to Wang Weimin's family, and bought a few crucian carp. Then he went to the commune to buy a pound of lean meat, and then went to the grain station to deliver the red eggs to Wang Weidong, and then went home.
Brothers Lin Jin and Lin Ren only found out they had a new sister, An An, during breakfast. Lin Jin didn't even get a glimpse of her before her mother tucked her onto the back of her bicycle and took her to the commune primary school. He was going to school today, and Lin Jin looked at her brother with envy.
A week before Xuemei gave birth to An'an, the meals that Liu's mother prepared for Xuemei were relatively light, including lean meat soup, crucian carp, tofu and egg soup, fried egg soup, etc. Every two days, Liu's mother cooked a bowl of sweet wine, brown sugar and eggs for Xuemei.
I don’t know if it was because of Xuemei’s physique or the food prepared by Liu’s mother, but Xuemei produced milk very quickly. She had breast milk in the afternoon of the second day after giving birth to Lele, and the amount was so large that Lele, a little baby, couldn’t finish it in one bottle of milk. Then Xuemei asked Liu’s mother to put Lele in her room during the day, and she would sleep in the cradle beside the bed with An An and feed them together.
Afraid that Xuemei wouldn't get enough rest at night, Han Chen and Xuemei would take care of An'an to sleep. Lele would sleep with Liu's father and mother when Feng Ru was at work. When Feng Ru had a week off, Feng Ru would take care of him at night, so that Liu's mother and father could get some rest.
Every day, Han Chen would wash An'an and Lele's diapers by the well upon returning from work. He was often responsible for cleaning the two sisters' diapers. When the three Qingya siblings returned, they would take the initiative to wash their diapers and take care of them. The Lin Jin brothers also loved to follow them around, and they loved playing with them in the mountains.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
