Zhang Shuzhen has given birth to six children, so she can be considered very experienced.
Upon hearing her daughter-in-law say she had wet her pants, she immediately realized something was wrong; her water must have broken.
"Honey, are you feeling anything else right now? Does your stomach hurt?"
Once your water breaks, it means you're about to give birth, so you need to get ready quickly.
Zhou Qinglan was stunned when she heard this, "Does your stomach hurt? It doesn't seem to..."
Before she could even utter the words "it doesn't hurt," Zhou Qinglan felt a sudden tightening in her stomach, followed by a sharp pain.
"Mom, my stomach hurts." In an instant, Zhou Qinglan's face turned pale, and she said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, this brat, he won't even let his mother have a quiet meal."
What's there to not understand? The daughter-in-law is about to give birth.
Zhang Shuzhen muttered to herself as she helped Zhou Qinglan sit down, saying, "Girl, get on the kang (heated brick bed) quickly, don't wander around."
"Your water has broken and you don't know when you'll give birth, so please don't move around too much. Stay still and conserve your energy."
As Zhang Shuzhen spoke, she quickly rummaged through the kang (a heated brick bed) and took out pillows, mattresses, and other items to lay out on the bed.
Then, on top of the mattress, a mat made of various scraps of cloth was laid, and a thick layer of straw paper was laid on the mat, followed by toilet paper.
These days, women give birth at home most of the time, and very few go to the hospital.
Qianchuan Forest Farm is dozens of miles away from the bureau hospital. Even if there were a car now, let alone the fact that there is no car, it might not be able to get there in time.
The forest farm only has a clinic and no facilities for midwifery, so the baby can only be born at home.
If it were decades ago or in ancient times, when women gave birth at home, they would usually put straw under the bed sheet, and under the straw was a layer of wood ash.
Now that conditions are better, Zhang Shuzhen washed and sewed a cushion using old clothes from her family.
At this point, straw paper was laid on the mat, followed by snow-white toilet paper to absorb the blood and amniotic fluid from childbirth. This method was cleaner and more convenient than using wood ash.
Zhang Shuzhen quickly tidied everything up, then helped Zhou Qinglan onto the kang (a heated brick bed), leaning against the wall between them.
"Daughter, don't be scared, it's okay, Mom is here."
"Your stomach pains have just started, so it's uncertain when you'll give birth. I'll bring you a plate of dumplings to eat first. You'll need the strength to give birth if you eat well. Just wait."
After saying that, Zhang Shuzhen came out of the west room.
"Fourth brother, fifth brother, quickly go and invite your Aunt Chen and Aunt Wang over. Tell them your sister-in-law is about to give birth and ask them to come and help."
Zhang Shuzhen went into the east room, not even caring that the children at home hadn't eaten, and quickly asked Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei to go and invite someone over.
Qianchuan Forest Farm does not have professional midwives.
Back then, the young wives who traveled thousands of miles from their hometowns in Shandong to marry into the Northeast helped each other with childbirth, and this practice continues to this day.
After all, most of these women have had five or six children and are experienced.
Zhang Shuzhen couldn't manage on her own, so she asked her daughter to invite Xu Xiuxiang and Chen Xiuzhi to come and help.
In the east room, the children sat at the table, but none of them touched their chopsticks.
My mother and sister-in-law haven't come over yet, so they can't start eating first; that's the rule.
Upon hearing her mother's words, Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei hurriedly put on their shoes, got out of bed, put on their cotton coats, hats, and scarves, and rushed out of the house.
The two sisters went to the Chen family and the Wang family, respectively, to ask for help.
In winter, most families eat two meals a day, which is convenient.
When Sheng Yunfang arrived at the Chen family's house, they had just set the table for dinner.
"Aunt Chen, my sister-in-law is about to give birth, and my mother asked me to come and ask you to come and help out," Sheng Yunfang said as she entered the room.
"What? Your sister-in-law is going into labor? Oh dear, that's early. The brat wants to come out early for New Year's Day."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiuxiang put down her chopsticks, put on her shoes, and got out of bed, saying as she put on her coat.
"Juan'er, I'm going to visit your Aunt Sheng first. You guys eat at home."
The process of having a baby is unpredictable; some people have a fast birth, while others have a slow one.
Xu Xiuxiang didn't know what was wrong with Zhou Qinglan either, so she didn't dare to delay and hurried over.
"Mom, let me go with you. I'm young, I can do any work." Zhao Juan also put down her chopsticks, got up and dressed to follow.
"When my mom gave birth to the seventh, eighth, and ninth children, I helped deliver them all, and I even cut the umbilical cords."
With many children in the family, the eldest child had to be able to do everything. Zhao Juan personally witnessed the birth of her younger siblings.
Xu Xiuxiang was about to say, "She's having a baby, what are you doing there, a young lady?"
Unexpectedly, Zhao Juan said these things, and Xu Xiuxiang could no longer say what was on the tip of her tongue, so she could only nod.
"Alright then, come with me and take a look."
Weimin, you stay home with your younger siblings. After you finish eating, clean up the table. No messing around, understand?
Chen Weimin and the others nodded in agreement. Xu Xiuxiang and Zhao Juan, dressed neatly, hurriedly left the Chen family and headed towards the Sheng family.
Xu Xiuxiang, her mother-in-law, and Chen Xiuzhi arrived at the Sheng family home one after the other. Instead of going directly into the west room, they went to the east room first to take off their coats, hats, and scarves and warm up for a while.
Then they went to the outer room, where Xu Xiuxiang and Chen Xiuzhi washed their hands carefully.
"Juan'er, hurry up and scrub the pot, make sure it's clean with baking soda, then boil a big pot of water," Xu Xiuxiang instructed her daughter-in-law.
Zhao Juan responded and, as her mother-in-law instructed, carefully scrubbed the pot in the west room twice. Meanwhile, Sheng Xikang brought firewood, lit a fire, and boiled a pot of water.
In the west room, Zhou Qinglan managed to eat about ten dumplings, thanks to her mother-in-law's help.
In just a short while, the pain in her stomach became more and more severe.
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