Seeing his wife about to give birth, Sang Mu didn't care about anything else. He prayed in his heart that Xiao Jin was safe. His father was right about one thing. If even Master Lu couldn't protect Xiao Jin, what was the point of him going? Besides, he couldn't catch up with them now.
Why is there so much going on every day? Never a moment of peace. Sang Mu resigned himself to his fate and began to boil water for his wife. He had just finished setting up the rack and placing the pot when his mother dragged him back to do hard labor.
Fang, the second wife who was cooking porridge, helped to watch the pot of water.
Fang was also busy. She cooked a pot of thick porridge and put two eggs in it. When the porridge was ready, the eggs were also cooked.
Old Mrs. Zhuang found a vacant space and busied herself spreading out an old quilt. Then she called on Old Man Sang and Sang Mu to quickly build a simple tripod out of wood. They wrapped a sheet around it, and the drooping fabric provided a perfect cover.
The carriage was too narrow, making it difficult to exert force. That's why Mrs. Zhuang decided to have her eldest daughter-in-law give birth outside. Fortunately, it was July, and the ground wasn't icy at all. She also had an old quilt spread out. In these conditions, she didn't care if the quilt got dirty on the floor.
"Big brother, come with me and move Shufen here first. Sang Yu, you look after the two younger sisters. There are a lot of people here, so don't go too far." After giving instructions to Sang Mu, Old Lady Zhuang shouted to her grandson.
"I know, grandma. I will take good care of my sisters and won't cause any trouble for you." Sang Yu sensibly took on the responsibility of being the eldest brother.
Old Mrs. Zhuang nodded at him and went to see Zi Shufen in the carriage.
"Madam Sang is still in labor, her cervix is three fingers dilated. It will take a while for her to give birth," the midwife said. She wasn't the best midwife in the city, but she was the only one willing to leave the city to help the disaster victims with their babies.
Another reason was that Master Sang gave a lot of silver. He gave a full two taels of silver. He also gave a separate ten-cent entrance fee.
Old Lady Zhuang had invested heavily. She had said she would hire a midwife no matter how much it cost. So she gave Sang Mu a full fifteen taels of silver, equivalent to most of the Sang family's assets.
"Okay. I'll trouble you, Mrs. Wang." Old Lady Zhuang turned around and saw Sang Mu accompanying his wife and said, "What are you looking at? Turn away, grown man. It's unlucky for a woman to give birth, so men shouldn't watch."
This old lady has given birth to two children, and she has no taboos at all. She even stays close to her daughter-in-law when she is about to give birth.
"Mom, I just want to be with Shufen." Sang Mu felt wronged. He was already such a grown man, but his mother still yelled at him.
"Hahaha... Hey, big brother. Your wife is about to give birth. This is a happy occasion. You'd better hurry over to our place. Don't go over there and cause trouble." Zhou Peng said. His wife didn't know when she would give birth. What would he do if he couldn't hire a midwife by then?
When a woman gives birth with a midwife, she has a greater chance of safety, both mother and child. When a woman gives birth without a midwife, she leaves it to fate.
"Dad, come and take a look. Mom said she has a stomachache." Zhou Peng's ten-year-old eldest son Zhou Daniu ran over hurriedly and said.
Zhou Peng, whose joy hadn't lasted long, knew from his son's description that his wife was about to give birth. Oh my god. Zhou Peng was panicking. Just now he'd been laughing at Brother Sangmu for staying with his wife, and now he wanted to go and be with her too. What kind of crazy idea was this?
What should he do? He didn't have the Sang family's carriage, which could be used as a makeshift delivery room.
"Brother Zhou, do you need any help? My wife is about to give birth, so yours could come over and help out." Sang Mu was also kind-hearted. He saw Zhou Peng's difficulties. Giving birth was a big deal for a woman, and it couldn't be taken lightly.
"Well... then thank you, Brother Sangmu. I'll go over and tell him. I'll need your help setting up the scaffolding later." Zhou Peng said and ran towards his wife. It was actually very close, only about a hundred meters away.
"Madam, how are you? Brother Sangmu's wife is in labor, and he asked us to come over and help. They've hired a midwife. I'll go build a scaffold and set up a delivery room for you. Madam, could you please bring out two sets of clothes from home to cover yourself later?" Zhou Peng observed what Old Lady Zhuang had just done. He then followed suit, gradually becoming less flustered than at the beginning.
"Okay, Mom is awake. Go and set up the shed quickly," said Old Mrs. Zhou.
Mrs. Zhou was a year younger than Mrs. Zhuang. She was forty-nine this year. They usually got along well. She had no objection to the family's hired midwife taking care of two pregnant women at once, as long as the midwife was willing.
Zhou Peng went to build the wooden frame with Sang Mu, while Zhou Daniu stayed by his side, guarding his mother and not letting her go anywhere. He also told his six-year-old brother Zhou Erniu not to go anywhere either, to prevent her from getting lost.
The Zhou family also built a temporary delivery room like the Sang family. The Zhou family's temporary delivery room was also built next to the Sang family's. This made it easier for Mrs. Wang to look after the baby.
The two women encouraged each other, hoping everything would be fine.
By the small lake.
"Cough cough..." Sang Shui coughed twice and slowly woke up.
"Wife, how are you feeling?" Zhou Zihao's eyes turned red with anxiety. His wife had been unconscious all afternoon. Now it was evening. Sang Jin and her two children had been watching over them and had not left.
Sang Jin and Li Jingyu were also cooking dinner here. Knowing that the two of them had cultivation skills, Zhou Zihao had become accustomed to them taking things out of thin air.
"Aunt, come and have some porridge when you wake up." Sang Jin was holding a bowl of lean meat porridge made by Li Jingyu.
Sang Shui is weak now and has to take care of a two-year-old child. How can she not eat well?
"This is..." Sang Shui was still confused. She had just woken up and wondered why someone was calling her aunt. When did she have a niece this old?
"Madam, this is what happened..." Zhou Zihao told Sang Shui everything about his encounter with Sang Jin and the others.
Two-year-old Zhou Qixing was already fast asleep, leaning against Li Jingyu. Li Jingyu sat upright by the fire, motionless. How could this child fall asleep so easily?
"So that's how it is. Xiao Jin, thank you so much for this trip. Did your grandpa and grandma say anything else?" Sang Shui asked expectantly.
"Yes, Grandpa asked me to cure you. He and Grandma are waiting for us outside the Yansha City Gate to go back together." Sang Jin looked at her emaciated aunt. She couldn't help but worry about her mother. She didn't know how her parents were doing now.
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