Chapter 9 Production
After dinner, the Li family enjoyed the cool moonlight and gentle breeze in the courtyard, drinking red bean soup and chatting for a while before returning to their rooms.
It's true that people in ancient times didn't have much of a nightlife. Moreover, Chang'an at that time implemented a curfew system, which was only lifted three days before and after the Lantern Festival, allowing all the people in the city to go out and enjoy themselves.
In Li San Niang's memory, the whole city was bustling with activity every year during the Lantern Festival, with crowds of people shoulder to shoulder, which is no exaggeration.
However, Li San Niang has never attended such a grand event since the years when she was about to come of age and the years after she got married.
Thinking that by the Lantern Festival next year, Little Dewdrop will be three years old, and then we can take her to see the Tang Dynasty with the Li family.
After coaxing Lu Zhu'er to sleep in the house, Li San Niang got up and took out ten taels of loose silver from the hidden compartment by the bed. She tiptoed through the small gate in the courtyard to the four little ones' courtyard. Before she even got close, she heard Li Da Lang open the door and come out of the four little ones' study.
"Why did Auntie come over?"
"I was worried about you, so I came to check on you. Why are the lights on so late?"
“Aunt, we were thinking about whether we could write a piece of calligraphy today. Grandpa made it sound simple, but we have to practice in two days, gather herbs, and have schoolwork every day. There might be even more to do in the latter part of the month. Second Brother said it would be good if we could write something today.” Li Silang pouted and complained to Li Sanniang.
"Put the big thing aside for now, take off your clothes and let your aunt see if you have any injuries."
“Auntie, we’re all adults now. We can’t expose ourselves in front of you like we did when we were little. It’s so embarrassing. My father just came to check on us. All the brothers are fine, so don’t worry, Auntie.”
Hearing Li San Niang's words, Li Da Lang blushed and said.
"Okay, then you can keep that in mind."
As she spoke, Li Sanniang took out a purse and looked at the four children, saying, "I won't say much about fighting. Your grandfather and father have already punished you. You must never rely on your skills to fight recklessly. Your aunt appreciates your kindness, but adult matters are none of your business. You must not do this again in the future. Here is ten taels of silver. Your aunt will give it to your eldest brother so that you won't be in financial straits if you need money in the future."
"How can we take Aunt's money? If Father finds out, he will punish us."
"Then we won't let your father know. Your father is strict with you for your own good, and you know that your aunt was once a child too, not to mention that you, Dalang, will be fifteen after the New Year. It's good for you to have some money. Don't feel burdened, and don't tell your father. This is a secret between your aunt and you. Okay, consider it your aunt's pocket money. You can manage it as you see fit, listen to your eldest brother, and your aunt trusts that you won't misuse it."
After giving her a few instructions, Li San Niang went back to her room to sleep.
The four children, however, were excited about the large sum of money and laughed and played around in the room for a while before calming down.
The next day, Li Erxiong didn't go to the medicine cabinet. Instead, he went to Xiang Gui Ji and bought four kinds of pastries. He took the four little ones to the academy and asked the dean for half a morning's leave for them. Then, he took a donkey cart to the Wang family in Chongye Lane to apologize.
Aside from Li Silang, whose face still showed some reluctance, the others seemed quite calm. Under Li Dalang's gaze, Li Silang still lowered his head and apologized.
After sitting for a while at the Wang family's house, having a cup of tea, and performing all the proper etiquette, they took the four little ones home.
Even on this trip, they were busy. Brother Li instructed the four little ones to turn over and dry the medicinal herbs, and helped carry them up and down. They were truly busy all morning.
Apart from Brother Li, who was still on duty, the Li family of about ten people were all there. They were eating wheat porridge for lunch when Li Gui, the young shop assistant at the medicine cabinet, brought in a dark-skinned man wearing a short brown shirt and covered in sweat.
"Shopkeeper, this is the Wu family from Shilipo Village. They said a woman in their family suddenly couldn't give birth and came to our house to ask for help in delivering the baby."
The guy clearly explained what was going on, then fell silent, gesturing for the man next to him to speak quickly.
"Shopkeeper, I am a cousin of the village head of Shilipo Village. The village head is my cousin, so Lanniang should know me."
"Is there any grain available, Uncle?"
The dark-skinned man, Wu Youliang, quickly nodded in agreement.
"Mother, this is my fifth uncle from my maternal family. What's wrong, fifth uncle?"
Li Ersao wanted to go to the kitchen to get a cup of tea, and Li Dalang saw this and quickly went to get a cup of tea for her.
"Oh, no need to bother. Manager Li, it's like this: my eldest son's wife went to the fields to bring us lunch at noon. The edge of the field had just been watered and was slippery, so she slipped and fell. We were so scared that we quickly carried her home, but she started bleeding as soon as we got home, and it hasn't stopped. I asked my uncle, and he told me to come and ask Sister Li for help. My uncle lent me his donkey cart. Please, Sister Li, help me."
Hearing this hurried and flustered conversation, Li's mother immediately stood up and said, "Have a cup of tea to calm yourself down first. I'll pack my basket and then come with you."
Seeing this, Li San Niang quickly went to help Li's mother tidy up. Li Da Sao went to the kitchen to find some snacks that had been prepared, filled a bamboo tube with water, wrapped it up, and put it in Li's mother's basket.
Before a quarter of an hour had passed, Li's mother was about to leave with Uncle Wu in a donkey cart. Li's second brother was worried and wanted to go with her, but Li's mother said no. In the end, Li's father decided that Li's second brother should take a few doses of medicine to prevent miscarriage with him. He said he would use them if needed, and if not, he could take care of Li's mother.
Having no other choice, Li's mother accepted Li's father's offer.
Because of this, everyone stopped gossiping, ate their meal, cleaned up, and went back to their rooms for a midday rest.
Li Ersao was pregnant and her due date was only a few days away. After hearing about the story of her fifth uncle's wife, she gently stroked her belly, hoping that she could have a smooth delivery.
After her afternoon nap, as usual, I took Luzhu for a walk around the house to increase her activity level and promote her growth and development.
When they turned to Li Ersao, she was still preparing baby clothes for her unborn child. A little while later, Li Dasao, who had finished her chores, also came over. The four women of different ages sat together chatting, and they all sighed as they talked about how Li Ersao's family had come to ask Li's mother to help with the delivery that day.
The three men remarked that childbirth for women is like passing through the gates of hell, and it all depends on whether they are lucky enough to have it.
As they were talking, Li Ersao's expression changed. She touched her belly, feeling the spasms of contractions, and tried to calm herself down. She turned to Li Dasao and said, "Dasao, I think I'm going into labor."
"Oh, Lan Niang, is your stomach starting to hurt?"
Li Ersao's words startled Li Dasao, who jumped to her feet, unsure of what to do.
Li San Niang thought to herself: "They've finally arrived. I guessed that my mother had been urgently summoned away, and my second sister-in-law might be giving birth today. Sure enough, they've arrived."
Li San Niang put down the dewdrop, stood up, and looked at Li Da Sao first, saying, "Don't panic, Da Sao. I know how to deliver babies. Before I got married, I secretly followed my mother out to deliver babies. Da Sao, let's help each other into the house."
“Dewdrop, go to the front yard and find your grandfather. Tell him your mother is looking for him.”
The little dewdrop never goes offline; it immediately stumbles and staggers outwards.
"Second sister-in-law, don't be afraid. This is your third pregnancy. It will be a good birth. I'm here, my eldest sister-in-law is here, and my father is here too. Everything will be alright. Come on, follow my lead, let's go inside first."
Just as Li San Niang and Li Da Sao helped Li Er Sao into the house and sat her down, Li's father carried Lu Zhu'er to the door.
Seeing Li's eldest sister-in-law rummaging through the bed while Li's third sister-in-law poured water for Li's second sister-in-law, Li's father said directly, "Is Erlang's wife about to give birth?"
Despite the throbbing pain, Li Ersao forced a bitter smile and nodded to Li's father.
"How long has it been hurting? Don't be afraid, Third Aunt is good at delivering babies. She was naughty when she was little and went out with your mother to deliver babies quite a few times. I'll take Luzhu to the kitchen to boil water first. Your mother's spare basket is in the corner cabinet in our room. Third Aunt, go and get it yourself. The door isn't locked."
After saying that, Li's father took Luzhu to the clinic and told the clerk that he would not be seeing patients in the afternoon and that the two young clerks should take care of the medicine cabinet themselves.
I grabbed another dose of medicine, planning to go to the kitchen to brew it in a bit, just in case it comes in handy, and even better if it doesn't.
Inside Li Ersao's room, Li Dasao had just set up the delivery bed, which involved laying a layer of straw, a layer of quilt, and a layer of sheet on the ground.
Yes, in Li San Niang's memory, ancient women did not give birth lying on the lithotomy position like modern women. In ancient times, due to the lack of suitable conditions, they gave birth standing up, which allowed them to exert more force and make the delivery smoother.
With Li Ersao's permission, Li Sanniang lifted her skirt and checked that her cervix was already dilated to three centimeters. Multiparous women tend to have faster cervical dilation.
First, let Sister-in-law Li help Sister-in-law Li walk around the house, while Sister-in-law Li went to her parents' room to get her mother's spare basket.
After taking the basket, Li San Niang took advantage of the fact that no one was around to retrieve the birthing instrument kit she had won in the last lottery from her system backpack, put it in the basket, and covered it with a cloth.
Just before leaving, Li San Niang turned around and put the equipment bag back into her backpack.
After all, the dark green packaging and those metal devices that clearly didn't belong to this era made it really hard to justify taking them out and using them.
The only way to justify using it is to draw it later and have a craftsman make it.
Then I went to the kitchen and saw that Li's father had let Luzhu play by herself under the jujube tree, while Li's father himself was boiling a large pot of water and brewing medicine on a small stove.
Li San Niang carried the basket back and took over Li Da Sao's job, asking Li Da Sao to cook a bowl of egg soup with pancakes for Li Er Sao.
Li San Niang looked again and saw that the cervix had already dilated to five fingers.
Li Ersao was sweating profusely from the pain, but since it wasn't her first time giving birth, she knew she couldn't waste her energy by shouting. She endured the pain and gritted her teeth.
"Second sister-in-law, loosen your grip. If you keep straining like that, your teeth will break. Here, second sister-in-law, bite down on this handkerchief. I think it's already five fingers dilated. Almost there, almost there."
At this moment, Sister-in-law Li brought in a basin of hot water and placed it directly on the table for easy access.
After such a busy day, more than an hour had passed. After putting down the hot water, Sister-in-law Li went back to get a bowl of freshly made soup with four or five eggs.
Li San Niang quickly went back to her room to change her outer clothes, then found a floral cloth to cover her hair, and used a handkerchief to pull up the cumbersome sleeves. She then went to the kitchen and carefully washed her fingers, hands, and forearms with soap.
While Li Dasao helped Li Ersao eat soup dumplings, Li Sanniang hurriedly took the scissors and needles from the basket to the kitchen for Li's father to boil and wash. She then wrapped them in the white rice flour from the basket and brought them back to the side, just in case they were needed later. If all went well, she would probably just use the scissors to cut the umbilical cord of the child.
In fact, the most important aspect of modern medical surgery is aseptic technique.
The current conditions make it impossible to do so, which is also due to Li San Niang's own lack of consideration. When she first received the second system task, she should have started sewing a surgical gown herself, but considering that people at this time believed that only those who had died in the family should wear white cloth mourning clothes, she did not rush to make one.
We should find an opportunity to have a few copies of the equipment kits produced by that system made by craftsmen, so that we can have a clear origin and history when we need to use them in the future.
Back in Li Ersao's room, they asked her to take off her shoes and stand on the makeshift delivery bed next to the bed. They then asked Li Dasao to help Li Ersao take off her ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). At this point, they saw that her cervix was dilated to almost ten centimeters, so she could start pushing.
"Second sister-in-law, that's about enough. Listen to me, you can start to exert your strength now. Gather your strength, okay, push hard!"
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