Chapter 399, Lecture 1: The Special Female Character
This was the first day of Li San Niang's midwifery school. Li San Niang started her duty a little later than usual, but not too late.
She specially chose a bright red jacket and skirt, and even replaced her usual wooden hairpin with a silver one.
"Mother, it's beautiful!"
The praise from her beloved daughter made Li San Niang extremely happy.
"How about Mother ties a red string around Pearl's neck?"
Dewdrop nodded, replying like a little adult, "Yes, Mother is beautiful, so Dewdrop has to be beautiful too."
Although the message had been sent earlier stating that people only needed to arrive before 9:00 AM, people started arriving one after another after 8:00 AM.
The first to arrive was Song Fuling, a disciple whom Li Sanniang had recently taken in.
"Good morning, Master."
"But you've already eaten breakfast?"
"Perfect timing! Eat with your teacher. My sister-in-law's side dishes are absolutely amazing; you should try them."
While they were eating, Midwife Sun arrived with Chunlan.
Then, the area in front of the Li family's house was filled with carriages and horses. Yao's mother came to see Yao Qingqing off, and the eldest daughter of the Jin family came to see off her youngest daughter, Jin Zhenbao. Yu Lian, the young midwife who lived in the same neighborhood, came alone.
Sister-in-law Li and Sister-in-law Li hurriedly led the people to the Women's Assistance Association. Wu Qiaolan and Baoya also helped out, serving tea, water, and snacks.
With a quarter of an hour to go before 9:00 AM, Li San Niang, holding Lu Zhu'er's hand on her left and Song Fu Ling on her right, with Qiu Xiang by her side, arrived at the school where Qin Niangzi used to teach.
Dewdrop obediently followed Li San Niang inside. When she saw Li's mother sitting downstairs, she tugged at Li San Niang's hand, which was holding hers. Li San Niang smiled and let go of her hand, allowing Dewdrop to go find Li's mother.
Li's mother whispered to Lu Zhu'er, "Zhu'er, be good and quiet. Your mother is going to give a lecture, so we can't disturb her."
Li San Niang stood on the platform, looking at the dozen or so people sitting below. In addition to the ten people who had passed the exam earlier, there were Wu Qiaolan and Bao Ya, as well as her disciple Song Fuling. As for Li's mother, Li's eldest sister-in-law, and Li's second sister-in-law, they were all her own people and naturally came to listen.
Somewhat surprisingly, Madam Qin was also sitting down.
Not only did Li San Niang take this first lecture very seriously, changing her clothes and wearing a silver hairpin, but everyone sitting there was also very attentive.
It was clear that everyone was wearing their best clothes, and everything was clean and tidy.
"I am very happy to see you all here in this school today."
I, Li Mingfang, am deeply grateful to all of you for coming to my midwifery school to learn.”
After speaking, Li San Niang bowed to the crowd below the stage.
Jin Zhenbao stared blankly at Li Sanniang, who was bowing to everyone. She was only thirteen or fourteen years old, a young girl in the prime of her youth. Her blank expression was truly charming and adorable.
Li San Niang laughed as she looked at Jin Zhenbao below the stage. When Jin Zhenbao heard Li San Niang's laughter, she realized that Li San Niang was laughing at her. At first, she was a little shy, but her cheerful personality made her turn around and laugh along with her.
“Mr. Li, it is already rare for you to teach this knowledge for free without charging money. There is no need for you to thank us. We should be thanking Mr. Li.”
As soon as Jin Zhenbao finished speaking, the dozen or so women around her echoed in agreement, "That's right, we should be thanking Mr. Li."
Li San Niang raised her hand to signal for quiet, and the crowd gradually quieted down.
"Without further ado, let's get straight to the point."
I am very pleased that you all arrived at class early on time, and I am also pleased that you were all very neat and clean.
You know, those who successfully graduate from my school will all be midwives in the future. If they are particularly skilled, they might even become female doctors like me.
And the most important thing for a doctor is to be clean!
Li San Niang started with hygiene, explaining that illness enters through the mouth. Since delivering a baby is a time when a woman's body is in contact with the outside world, she should be especially careful.
Then I talked about the disinfection knowledge I had learned from the ulcer department of the Imperial Medical Academy.
By the time they finished talking, it was almost lunchtime.
"Alright, we'll talk about it again this afternoon."
"Come on, I've already made a reservation at the restaurant. Let me, as the gentleman, treat you all to a meal today."
Since Li Sanniang had said so, no one could refuse. They all laughed and followed Li Sanniang to the restaurant that was not far from the Li family, just two streets away.
"What you said about cleaning yourself and reducing the occurrence of diseases makes a lot of sense."
I always get sick at least once in winter, and I think it's because my mother was always afraid I'd get cold from bathing, so she didn't let me bathe too often.
Jin Zhenbao thought of himself and started the conversation.
Once someone started talking, a dozen or so women began to discuss it.
"When a woman is in confinement after childbirth, she is not allowed to touch water. What is the reason for this?"
"Most of the time it's due to limited conditions, and this woman's postpartum period is a special case. During this time, the woman still has lochia discharge, which is a channel connecting the body to the outside world, making her more susceptible to pathogens."
Also, is the room well-insulated? Will the water in the bathtub stay hot all the time? Is the new mother eating enough? Is her body physically strong?
There are many reasons why women are not allowed to be exposed to drafts or bathe during postpartum confinement.
After lunch, they sat for a while, drank a cup of tea, and then everyone returned to the school.
Li San Niang originally wanted everyone to rest a little longer, but even Qin Niangzi said it would be better to start earlier. So, Li San Niang decided to start the lecture ahead of schedule.
Li San Niang asked Qiu Xiang to help her hang up the picture she had drawn beforehand. Satisfied that it was hung in the center, where everyone could see it, Li San Niang nodded, looked at the people below, smiled slightly, and asked, "Who can understand what this picture is?"
The women in the audience were full of doubts. Looking at the charcoal drawing by Li San Niang, they found it hard to guess what it was.
However, the experienced Li's mother and Sun the midwife had some guesses in their minds when they looked at the picture.
"It does look a bit like a butterfly with a big belly and a pair of small wings."
It was Jin Zhenbao who started the conversation again. After hearing this, Yao Qingqing looked at the painting on it more carefully, and a flash of inspiration struck her. She then stared wide-eyed at Li Sanniang.
Receiving this gaze, Li San Niang looked at her encouragingly. Yao Qingqing opened her mouth, but after thinking about it, she closed it again, feeling really embarrassed to say it in front of others.
Li San Niang didn't insist, after all, that's how things are these days. She dared to talk about this in the school because everyone present was a mother. Apart from her close relatives like Li's mother, the rest were people with whom she had a relationship of mutual benefit.
Li Sanniang clapped her hands to attract everyone's attention. Then, holding a jujube branch, she pointed to the hanging picture and said, "This is our mother's womb. The fetus implants and grows inside. And these two pairs of little wings are the starting point for our mother's participation in the creation of life. This is the ovary, it is..."
Using the picture as a guide, Li San Niang launched into a long explanation, leaving all the women present, including the older women like Li's mother, completely stunned.
Or rather, they were all terrified.
Jin Zhenbao touched her little belly and looked at the picture in surprise. She had never imagined that her belly would look like this.
"Sir, how could that little child grow so big in such a tiny place?"
Jin Zhenbao was taken by the eldest daughter-in-law of the Jin family to visit her in-laws and see Xiao Yue'er. Knowing Xiao Yue'er's size, she was even more puzzled. How could such a small place accommodate a child that big?
"Haha, that's what makes women special."
The uterus is elastic and can expand as the fetus grows.
Jin Zhenbao covered her mouth and asked softly, "Ah! Can it turn back?"
"Of course I can."
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