Madam Tong's mother's surname was Li, and she was called Mama Li. She was a woman in her fifties, tall, with an oval face and a smile on her face. She was always dressed neatly. She had already received the letter and, after a brief examination, said to Chen Zhaoci, "Go to the delivery room and get ready."
Chen Zhaoci exclaimed in surprise, "So fast?"
Madam Li smiled and said, "Madam is so lucky! Two babies, both in the right position, and the cervix is dilating quickly. Madam, please quickly tell the people to go and prepare. It looks like the babies will be born soon."
Nowadays, childbirth can only be done vaginally. Due to individual differences in physical condition, some women's cervical pelvis dilate quickly, while others dilate slowly. Those who dilate quickly give birth quickly and suffer less. Those who dilate slowly endure the pain, which is nothing short of suffering.
Xu Di, who was listening nearby, asked Li Mama, "Li Mama, in your opinion, when will my wife give birth?"
Only then did Li's mother realize that Xu Di was still in the room. She said, "Lord Xu, what are you doing in the room while Madam is giving birth? Hurry up and go out. Madam Xu and I are here. You should go to the kitchen and ask them to make a bowl of egg noodles and some brown sugar poached eggs for Madam to eat. It will give her the strength to give birth."
Xu Di quickly gave the order, and saw that everyone was going to help Li Yuexi walk to the prepared delivery room. Because of the pain, Li Yuexi's legs were already weak. She was helped to walk slowly step by step. Li Yuexi felt that the pain made her ears go deaf in waves, and her face was pale as death.
Xu Di came over and said, "Let me carry Yuexi over there. It'll take forever to get there."
Chen Zhaoci looked at Li Mama. Li Mama hadn't expected that Lord Xu would be like this. She wanted to say that men should avoid talking about women giving birth, as it was considered unlucky. However, after staying at the Xu family for the past two days, she knew that Lord Xu was a loving husband. So she nodded and helped Xu Di carry Li Yuexi into his arms, slowly walking into the prepared delivery room.
The delivery room was a small single room in the west wing of the courtyard where Xu Di and the others lived. As Chen Zhaoci had instructed, the roof, walls, and even the floor had been plastered with lime powder, then sprayed with purified alcohol. A sterilized wooden bed was placed inside, covered with bedding that had been aired out for several days.
The bed had railings at both ends. Chen Zhaoci had all the people who came into the room to help with the delivery wash their hands with alcohol. All the usable instruments had been boiled in hot water and then placed in a special tray for instruments. The tray contained disinfectant wipes that had been soaked in alcohol.
Seeing such preparations, Li's mother truly admired the Xu family. If all families could prepare their birthing facilities like the Xu family, would there be so many more adults and children dying from infections during childbirth?
After settling Li Yuexi in, Xu Di was ushered out. He paced around the courtyard, listening to the sounds coming from the delivery room. The food prepared in the kitchen had already been taken in, and the maidservant came out shortly after, carrying a tray with empty bowls. Xu Di knew that Li Yuexi had finished eating.
As long as he can eat, that's good. If he can eat, he'll have the strength to give birth. Xu Di kept reassuring himself, trying not to think about the news he had seen about people dying during childbirth. Gradually, the noise from the delivery room grew louder. It was Li's mother talking to Li Yuexi, telling her to push harder and to wait a bit, but she couldn't hear Li Yuexi's voice. Xu Di couldn't help but get anxious and leaned close to the window to listen intently to what was happening inside.
Inside the delivery room, Li Yuexi had a cork tightly in her mouth. The veins on her forehead were bulging from the effort. Chen Zhaoci took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her face, watching Li's mother nervously.
Li's mother wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief and said to Chen Zhaoci, "We can already see the baby's head. I'll count to three and tell Grandma to push harder."
Chen Zhaoci nodded, and looking at Li Yuexi, she also nodded with a pale face. Li's mother adjusted Li Yuexi's position and said, "Come on, start, one, two, three, push!"
As Xu Di listened to the commotion in the room, he felt his heart leap into his throat. Soon, a loud cry of a baby came from the room, and Xu Di felt a wave of dizziness. He had to lean against the wall to catch his breath. Only then did he realize that he had been holding his breath for quite a while.
It was already Chen Shi (7-9 AM). The Grain Rain season had just passed, and the sky was brighter than in winter. The weather was fine today, with clear skies. Xu Di looked up at the sky and saw no clouds. He felt a pang of sadness and his eyes welled up with tears. Just then, he heard Li Mama in the room say to Chen Zhaoci and Li Yuexi, "It's a girl. Congratulations, Madam and Madam."
Chen Zhaoci held Li Yuexi's hand and said with a smile, "Hello, hello, our family loves girls."
Li Yuexi naturally knew how much her parents-in-law liked girls; she could tell just by looking at her sister-in-law. So, she was very happy that it was a girl.
Li's mother handed the child to someone nearby to wash, bent down to look at him, and said, "Let's try harder, there's still one left."
The second birth went much more smoothly than the first; it was a boy, but his cries weren't as loud as his older sister's.
Mrs. Li said with a smile, "What a joyous occasion! A son and a daughter, Madam Xu, Grandma Xu, this is the first time I've delivered twins in my 30-plus years of experience."
Li Yuexi was exhausted after giving birth to two children. Chen Zhaoci and his team cleaned her up and then put the two cleaned and wrapped babies on another bed. Only then did Chen Zhaoci breathe a sigh of relief.
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