Chapter 256 September 5th
Ever since Nanny Zhong moved into the Shen family, Shen Ning has been putting all her efforts into preparing three meals a day. Now that Doctor Xu has joined the family, she is even more attentive and wants to prepare three meals a day in a fancy way.
On the first day Doctor Xu moved into the Shen family, his eyes lit up when he ate the food, and on the first morning when he woke up in the Shen family, he was awakened by the faint aroma of special food.
With just one dinner and one breakfast, he was able to bribe Doctor Xu. This trip was worth it. Not only was the cooking skill of the little girl from the Shen family good, but he had never eaten anything like the breakfast in the capital. He suddenly felt the beauty of this job. This trip was worth it!
When he had nothing to do, he often walked around Daxingzhuang. Since mulberry trees could give birth at any time, he didn't dare to go far. He just wandered around the fields in Shenjiashan. With this careful walk, he discovered a lot of things.
The Shen family is good at economics. It's okay to use the fields, but this is the first time he has seen someone use the mountains to their advantage. There is no idle land. If you observe carefully, you can find that the plants, animals and soil fertility seem to be recycled.
His family also has a farm in the suburbs of Chang'an, and now they have official land. The family occasionally stays in the suburbs. Naturally, there are mountains on the farm, but compared with the Shen family's mountains, the utilization rate of his own mountains seems to be too low.
Even when it comes to raising chickens, ducks, sheep and pigs, the Shen family's approach seems to be particularly different from others. It's hard to explain, but you just see how particular they are.
He is a doctor, and he even saw that yam, which was supposed to be wild, was being cultivated in large quantities, honey was being artificially cultivated, and that a lot of processed dried earthworms were mixed into the chicken feed.
Is this stuff for chickens? It can't be bought from a pharmacy, right? I took a little out of the chicken feeder and looked at it, but it didn't look like it.
When he chatted with the men who were helping him and learned from them, they did not hide anything from him and even told him things that he had not discovered, such as the advantages of the sheep shed design, castration of pigs, and the benefits and things to pay attention to of feeding earth dragons to chickens. She did not hide anything at all and said that all the neighbors would come to learn, and that Madam Sang could teach most things.
Of course, there are also things that are not mentioned, such as how the bees are raised and where so many earthworms were obtained.
Doctor Xu finally understood why the emperor could reach so far and why he told him before leaving that his first priority was to ensure the safety of the mother.
It seems that it is not even the Double Tenth even yet, but he has figured out the curved plow and is very knowledgeable about agricultural economics. Besides, the Shen brothers are scholars, so won't they have to go to Beijing sooner or later?
Yes, this is the person that Your Majesty is waiting to use.
…
The heat is high in July, and the clothes are given out in September.
Chen Lie had two more days of classes when the teacher in the school notified him that the court had given students, in addition to the ten-day leave, similar to the holidays given to officials, also additional farm leave and clothing leave. The farm leave was five months, and the clothing leave was nine months. The officials had fifteen days each leave, while the students were given a full month's leave each.
To put it bluntly, this is actually more for the enrollment of children from farming families, as May and September are busy farming seasons.
After hearing the news, Chen Lie felt that this vacation came at the perfect time. He didn't have to worry too much about the things in the fields, but Sang Luo should give birth in September, so at least he could be by her side.
On the day of returning home, Nanny Zhong led Shen Ning to prepare the delivery room in advance. At this moment, Shen Lie remembered something he had always ignored. What was Doctor Xu doing here? As a doctor, must he use medicine? Although he hoped that Luo would be safe and sound, it was always right to be prepared, so he hurried to find Doctor Xu to ask if the family should prepare any medicinal materials.
Doctor Xu looked at him and waved his hand: "No need, I have everything here."
At the end, he added: "Mrs. Zeng has prepared it."
'Mrs. Zeng'.
Shen Lie thanked her and asked Shen Ning to stay at home with her sister-in-law. He took Shen An with him to take care of the farm work. At night, he and Shen An were together, thinking about making a small cradle for the child.
The whole family was looking forward to the birth of the two children. The two children seemed to know that it came faster than Chen Lie expected. Before Chen Lie and Shen An had finished making the cradles, Sang Luo went into labor, even before Zhou Ge, who had been pregnant earlier.
…
Giving birth to twins is more difficult than giving birth to a single baby. Why is it difficult? It is because of the longer time and the risks it brings. A mother giving birth to twins feels twice as much pain as a human being, and also has one more risk.
Fortunately, Nanny Zhong was there, and there was a Doctor Xu guarding the east wing at any time. The labor started in the afternoon of September 4th, and the first child was born at the beginning of the Chou hour of September 5th. The younger one was born more than an hour later. Sang Luo was in so much pain that she lost strength, especially when giving birth to the second one. If it weren't for the medicine prepared by Doctor Xu that she drank in time, she would have lost her strength. Fortunately, both mother and child were safe and neither of them suffered any physical injuries.
When she woke up, she was no longer in the delivery room, but back in her own room. Chen Lie was guarding beside her. Sang Luo subconsciously looked for the children. When she turned her head, she saw the two children sleeping soundly on the bed.
She was in so much pain that her mind went blank. She knew the older one was Ayao, but she had no idea whether the younger one was a boy or a girl. Perhaps Nanny Zhong had told her, but she couldn't hear it at all.
Chen Lie listened to what Nanny Zhong said about the situation at that time and said, "You take a rest first. I'll give you some warm water. Nanny Zhong has made some soup. Drink some later."
He then said, "The older one is A-yao, and the younger one is Qian-bao."
Sang Luo laughed, and after Chen Lie fed her some warm water to moisten her throat, she said, "So it really is a boy and a girl. I was right that day."
Chen Lie knew she was talking about the three times the child responded when he asked her if she liked the name, so he also laughed. However, seeing Sang Luo's pale face, he couldn't help but feel distressed: "I'm sorry for making you suffer."
Sang Luo was looking at the two children at this moment, her heart filled with happiness and warmth that was almost overflowing. She no longer remembered the hardships that had happened before. She smiled, shook her head, and turned her head to look at the children again.
"Qianbao looks younger than Ayao."
Chen Lie nodded. "Doctor Xu and Nanny Zhong said it's okay. The siblings are not small among the twins. If they are taken care of carefully for a while, they will grow up quickly. They said they will stay at home for a while. I happen to have some time off, so I can learn from Nanny Zhong how to take care of you these few days."
The Shen family has no elders, so the couple can only handle it on their own. Fortunately, Shen Lie and his two siblings have helped take care of Shen Jin and the others since they were young. There is also Nanny Zhong, so whether it is confinement or taking care of the children, there should be no problem with guidance.
The couple didn't say a few words. Shen Ning, who was outside, must have heard the noise, so she poked her head in to take a look, then went to the kitchen to call Nanny Zhong, who brought some soup for Sang Luo.
Of course, Shen Ning was just rubbing shoulders with her niece and nephew.
In fact, she had seen it several times before. It was wrinkled and red, but she couldn't help but be curious about it.
In this respect, Chen An and Shen Jin are not as good as her. The brothers are grown up now, especially Chen An, Shen Jin and Shen Yin, and it is not easy for them to enter their brother and sister-in-law's room casually.
The nephews and nieces were too young to be carried out, so Shen An only saw them when they were carried out of the delivery room and sent into the house. Shen Jin and the others hadn't seen them at all. Shen Tie, relying on his small size, sneaked in to take a look. Now the older ones could only envy Shen Ning and Shen Tie.
Brothers Shen An and Shen Jin had a great time watching it, especially on the day when the two little ones had their third birthday.
It can be said that the time when these two children were born was a good one. The dog days of summer had passed, but it was not particularly cold, so they did not have to worry about the heat or the cold. The first one or two months, when they needed to be most careful, were relatively easier to take care of.
The day of the third day of the baby's birth was quite lively. Not only did people from all the families in the farm come, but also the Feng family, the Gan family, the Zheng family, Dongger's family, and several of the helpers' families all had visitors. Even Concubine Fan sent her maid to add to the joy.
Chen Dashan also came to join in the fun. He was also going to be a father soon. He looked at the two children with great curiosity and bumped Chen Lie's shoulder. "I thought I wouldn't get married as early as you, so I would have been ahead of you in having children. But in the end, you got there first, and you had two in your life."
Everyone in the yard laughed.
Sang Luo just listened to the noises in the room. Her confinement period had already begun. As Nanny Zhong said, she had been staying in the room and had never gone out. It was only when Mrs. Chen and others came into the room and talked to her for a few words that they did not disturb her for long. As they were thinking about Zhou Ge at home, they went back quickly.
On the day when Ayao and Qianbao were having their third bath, Zhou Ge also went into labor and gave birth to a big fat boy the next morning.
When Chen Lie brought back the letter, Sang Luo was feeding her child. She leaned slightly to one side, but she was very happy to hear about it. She teased her daughter who was sucking milk with her eyes closed: "You and Qian Bao have a companion now."
Ah Yao was quite sensitive to the word "bao". She ate the granary seriously and even opened her eyes when she heard the word "bao".
After feeding the two children for a few days, Sang Luo finally understood why Ayao was bigger than Qianbao.
Of the two siblings, Ayao is lively and active. Even though she sleeps most of the time, she is still very naughty when awake and is particularly active in eating. Qianbao, on the other hand, does everything in a leisurely manner. He eats and then sleeps, and sleeps and then eats. He is very comfortable.
Chen Lie suspected that it was probably his daughter who was the one who interacted happily whenever he spoke during the pregnancy. After trying a few times, he found that Ayao was really curious about his voice. When she was drinking milk, if Chen Lie called her "baby", she would hold on to her food and try to glance at her father.
Chen Lie was really surprised and suddenly thought of something, "You said, maybe she was the one who helped to identify Qian Bao's name, right?"
My son is really lazy. He occasionally responds when I hear his voice, but it’s really only occasionally.
Sang Luo was delighted by what she heard. Although she didn't think such a young child could understand anything, she still found it magical: "It's hard to explain."
…
Doctor Xu stayed in Daxingzhuang for a few more days. In addition to checking the pulse of Sang Luo and the two children, he had nothing better to do, so he opened a two-day free clinic outside Daxingzhuang. However, due to the busy farming season, not many people came, and most of them came to treat minor illnesses of the elderly and children.
Doctor Xu also knew that the people were suffering at that time, so most of the medicines he prescribed were herbal medicines that could be found in the countryside. He also taught some simple pharmacology, and the neighbors who came to visit benefited a lot from it.
When Sang Luo heard Chen Lie talking about this, she remembered something and said to Chen Lie, "Age's mother must have hurt her body by giving birth to too many children. Doctor Xu was invited by the concubine from afar and is good at gynecology. You should remind Brother Dashan to go to the next village to bring his mother-in-law to ask Doctor Xu to see her. Maybe he is better than the doctors here."
Shen Lie patted his head: "I didn't think of this."
Moreover, this Doctor Xu might not have been invited by Concubine Fan. He really hadn't thought of this great opportunity.
"Thank goodness you're so careful." He turned around and went to Chen's house.
Chen Dashan only knew that a doctor had come to the Shen family, but he had no idea what he was good at. Chen Lie naturally could not tell anyone his guesses, so he just said that the doctor was invited by Concubine Fan from afar and was particularly good at gynecology.
Chen Dashan had been married for several years and knew a lot about Yue's family. When he heard that the doctor living in Shen's family had such a great background, he dropped his housework and rushed to Yue's family. Soon he took over Daxingzhuang and started queuing up for free medical treatment.
…
Doctor Xu and Nanny Zhong left on September 15th. They told Chen Lie and Sang Luo a day in advance. Before leaving, they checked on Sang Luo and the two children and saw that they had recovered well. Only then did they say goodbye with peace of mind.
On the evening of September 14, Chen Lie privately told Sang Luo about his guess. Sang Luo was a little confused when she first heard it. It was really unexpected, but Chen Lie also said: "I can't be sure, it's just a guess."
Whether she guessed it or not, Sang Luo was grateful in her heart.
After discussing it, the couple took out twenty taels of silver as a thank-you note and gave it to Doctor Xu. Chen Ning also prepared a lot of food, all of which were the rare foods that Doctor Xu liked.
As for Nanny Zhong, she had been staying with Sang Luo for almost a month since she was about to give birth. With her guidance, Sang Luo felt much more at ease and indeed learned a lot from her.
Concubine Fan was not lying when she said that Nanny Zhong was professional. She knew a lot about prenatal care, delivery, and childcare, as well as postpartum recovery. Before leaving, she wrote more than ten pages of recipes and precautions for Sang Luo and the child. She also taught Sang Luo all the prescriptions and exercises on how to better recover after childbirth.
It is not easy to earn money, but Nanny Zhong is not a servant in her family. She is an old nanny raised by a noble family. She has taken care of her for more than twenty days. Sang Luo is not stingy in this regard and gave Nanny Zhong ten taels of silver as a thank you.
"Madam, you have taken great pains to take care of the three of us, mother and son. This is a small token of gratitude. My family is poor, so please don't think it's too little. I can't go out during the confinement period, so Madam, please thank the concubine on my behalf."
Nanny Zhong refused at first, but seeing that Sang Luo was sincere in giving it, she accepted it with a smile and asked Shen Ning to send it out. Also sent out were two baskets of food made by Shen Ning, which he asked Nanny Zhong to bring to Concubine Fan.
Sang Luo and Shen Lie didn't know whether ten or twenty taels of silver was a large amount in the eyes of Nanny Zhong and Doctor Xu, but for the Shen family, this was already a considerable thank-you gift they could afford. Thirty taels of silver, if the family had not opened two shops, they would not have been able to afford such a sum.
…
Chen Lie and Sang Luo were afraid that the two would find the courtesy too rude, but little did they know that Nanny Zhong went back and reported the matter to Concubine Fan, smiling as she said, "Madam Sang and her husband are extremely polite, considerate, and genuine."
Even if a poor family opened a shop, the things they sold were limited and had to pay for costs. The best-selling bread and cakes were only sold six times a month, and the quantity each time was not much. Meat floss and jerky were only made twice a month. The shop had been open for less than three months, so the money that could be earned could actually be roughly calculated.
She already has ten taels. As for Doctor Xu, although Nanny Zhong doesn't know the details, she knows that he is extraordinary because he deals directly with her own son-in-law. She is afraid that the amount is even more.
How much did it cost this time?
The Shen couple were very generous to those who had helped them.
Fan Fei Niang also laughed and thought to herself that this was just the beginning. Someone was willing to give away his paper-making recipe. In her opinion, there was nothing to say about the people Sang Luo approved of. Such a friend was worth making close friends with.
Of course, such people are actually very blessed. When they give birth to a child, if there is something wrong with the pregnancy, the imperial physician will come from the capital. Ordinary third or fourth rank officials and their families in the capital may not have such a dignified opportunity.
"You've worked hard, this is a token of A'Luo's love, just accept it."
On the other hand, after saying goodbye to Governor Zeng, Doctor Xu was almost grinning as he boarded the ship with two gift baskets. Twenty taels of silver was secondary. He had eaten well for the past half month and was reluctant to leave. If it weren't for the fact that his job had already been completed, it would be unreasonable to delay any further. Doctor Xu really wanted to stay a little longer.
However, the two baskets of food sent by the Shen family before he left touched his heart, so he was in a really good mood at the moment. He really hoped to have more secret errands like this.
An Qi looked at the imperial physician who had gained weight after living in the Shen family for more than half a month.
“…”
He no longer said that his job was great. There was no comparison. The one that was great was being able to move in directly and even carry two baskets with him when he left.
He didn't say who envied him.
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