Chapter 366 Raising Children is Difficult
"Ah! Ninth Sister! Ninth Sister! Ninth Sister!"
Jiu Niang is dead. The Jiu Niang who used to count stars with Qi Zhi Die at night and dream about the future is dead.
Qi Zhidie threw herself onto Jiu Niang and burst into tears.
Whether it was the blood connection between mother and child, or Qi Zhidie's crying disturbed the baby, the infant, who had not cried out before, suddenly began to whine and sob.
But the cries, as soft as a kitten's, were heartbreaking.
"Lily of the Valley, why don't you take the child to the neighbor's?"
Didn't they say they'd already contacted a wet nurse and sent her over for a bite?
But be careful, let the wet nurse come over, don't let the baby go out and catch a cold.
Linglan carried the child out of the house. Song Yulang, who was standing to the side, watched Linglan leave the house, but then turned around and stayed inside.
Seeing Qi Zhidie's expression, Li Sanniang knew that Qi Zhidie wouldn't listen to anything she said now, so she remained silent.
After washing her hands with hot water, Li Sanniang knelt by the bed with needle and thread and began to sew up Jiu Niang.
Layer by layer, Li San Niang stitched up the cut-open belly. By the time Li San Niang finished stitching, Qi Zhi Die's emotions had calmed down.
Qi Zhidie stood up and solemnly bowed to Li Sanniang.
"Thank you so much for your help, Third Sister. The child was able to be born thanks to your kind and compassionate medical skills. Third Sister, please go and get ready to rest. Ninth Sister," Qi Zhidie paused for a moment before continuing, "I will take care of Ninth Sister's affairs after her death."
"Thank you very much, Third Sister. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again quite a bit in the future."
Li San Niang nodded, realizing that Qi Zhi Die wanted to personally wipe Jiu Niang's body and change her clothes, so she returned the greeting, packed up the utensils she had brought with Qiu Xiang, and left the house.
"Please leave as well, Mr. Song. I need to clean up Jiu Niang."
Upon hearing Qi Zhidie's words, Song Yulang paused for a moment, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then kept quiet, bowed, and left.
Song Yulang knocked on the door and came in. He saw Li Sanniang in the room, and Linglan was holding a baby and talking to Li Sanniang. Qiuxiang opened the door, and Linglan looked up and saw that it was Song Yulang. She just nodded and turned to Li Sanniang to continue, "Master, someone has been sent to call the wet nurse who was arranged earlier."
“If we could find a wet nurse who has just given birth a few days ago, that would be best. He,” Li San Niang glanced at the baby in the swaddling blanket, “is weak. It would be better for him to drink colostrum for a few days.”
Linglan frowned. "I don't know how many days after giving birth she was. It was Zhidie who found her."
Li San Niang: That's fine, let's leave it at that for now.
This child is frail and needs to be cared for carefully.
You can discuss it. If it's feasible, it would be best if you could live closer to me, so that it would be convenient for me to come and see the child if anything happens.
Even when I'm not home, my father and your grandmaster are still here.
Li San Niang then said to Song Yulang, "Whether this child lives or dies depends on fate."
If you don't survive, you should be prepared.
After giving a few instructions, Qi Zhidie opened the door and came in. She only glanced at the baby before saying to Linglan, "I've wiped Jiu Niang's body and changed her clothes."
"You combed her hair so well, Lily of the Valley. Could you help her comb it nicely?"
Linglan was in a dilemma. At this moment, Song Yulang said, "I will watch the child and wait for the wet nurse to come. Linglan, you should go."
Linglan didn't really trust this江湖人 (jianghu person). Although Song Yulang had been accompanying Jiu Niang in the brothel for the past few months, Linglan still didn't quite trust this man.
Therefore, Lily of the Valley did not respond.
"Alright, I won't leave tonight. I'll take the child with me. You can go now."
Li San Niang took the child from Ling Lan's arms, and Ling Lan then left with Qi Zhi Die.
As for Song Yulang, Li Sanniang naturally had nothing to say to him, as they didn't know each other very well to begin with.
And because of his previous statement, "Anyway, this child might not survive after it's born, so why bother having it?" Li San Niang ultimately looked down on this man.
After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the little girl came in carrying a water bag.
"Dr. Li, the wet nurse didn't want to come on this day. I gave her money, and only then did she squeeze some milk into the water bag."
"Something is better than nothing. You must be tired. Sit down and rest."
Qiu Xiang, being perceptive, took the water pouch and poured it into a clean teacup. "Third Sister, it's cold."
"Pour hot water into the basin and then put the teacup on top to float; that should warm it up a bit."
Just as Qiu Xiang was about to get up, Song Yulang said he would get it. Qiu Xiang saw Li San Niang nod, so she sat down again.
After staying up half the night, she finally managed to feed the baby. Although the child was weak, when Li San Niang used a small spoon to scoop the warm milk into his mouth, the little boy swallowed it with his eyes closed.
Linglan returned late at night and was relieved to see the sleeping baby.
"Master, thank you for your trouble."
"Go and rest. Zhi Die has already arranged everything."
After explaining the milk in the water bag and her method of feeding the child, Li San Niang said, "None of you have experience taking care of children. In the end, it would be better to find an old woman to help you."
"This child needs careful nurturing; he'll inevitably need medication later on. You should discuss this and see what's best to do."
After saying this, Li San Niang and Qiu Xiang returned to their room. At the door, they saw Nineteen standing against the wall. "Nineteen, you should go and get some sleep. We'll leave through the back door after the gong sounds at dawn."
After a long night of exhaustion, Li Sanniang washed up with hot water and fell asleep almost immediately upon getting into bed.
After hearing Li San Niang's long, even breaths, Qiu Xiang got up from the low couch, tiptoed out the door, and Nineteen from the opposite room opened the door as well. The two looked at each other, then Qiu Xiang nodded and went to the backyard.
Nineteen closed the door and sat on a chair, closing his eyes to rest.
After Qiu Xiang relayed a message to the spies of the Bad Guys on the roof, explaining what had happened that night, she returned to the house and carefully lay down.
In less than an hour, Qiu Xiang woke up Li San Niang. Li San Niang rubbed her numb eyelids, sighed, and fussed in bed for a few moments before getting up.
After getting up and taking a sip of water, Li San Niang went to see the baby that Jiu Niang had given birth to with great difficulty.
"I fed it twice more, but only five or six spoonfuls each time. It didn't cry or fuss. I don't know if it will survive."
Linglan may not have given birth, but how could she not have seen infants in this building?
Raising children is difficult. Even children carefully cared for by wealthy families may die young, let alone a child who is born as weak as a kitten.
Linglan felt in her heart that this child would probably be very difficult to raise.
“Take good care of her, look after her carefully. It would be best if she lived in the same neighborhood as me, closer to home, and cheaper too.”
"You should discuss it yourselves; after all, it was Jiu Niang who risked her life to give birth to her."
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