That night, Zhao Shiyun told Lin Yan everything he had done that day, no matter how big or small. Lin Yan looked at him while lying on his side, and sighed slightly, "Thank you for your hard work.
"It's not hard. The best thing is that you're safe." Zhao Shiyun covered him with the quilt and tucked his hair behind his ears. "Go to sleep. You didn't sleep well last night, did you? If there's anything, you must tell me, okay?"
Lin Yan nodded. He forced himself to sleep last night, but his mind became clearer and clearer. He finally fell asleep in the early morning. Now he was really sleepy and fell asleep not long after he touched the pillow.
Life went on the same way. Zhao Shiyun still got up early every day to make tofu. After making tofu every day, he would accompany Lin Yan to bask in the sun in the yard. They lived in peace for a few days, and just when everyone thought they could get through it safely.
At three quarters in the morning, Zhao Shiyun got up as usual to work. He blew a breath of warm air into his palms and rubbed his arms. The day was getting colder and there were even signs of frost. He put on his clothes and opened the door. It was still dark, so he quickly closed the door to prevent the wind from blowing into the room.
Lin Yan was woken up when he got up. Now he hardly sleeps well every night and wakes up from time to time. In a daze, he felt a slight stomachache. Lin Yan didn't pay attention to it, thinking that he wanted to go to the toilet. He thought to himself, just bear it and go in the morning.
He tossed and turned and fell asleep again. Half an hour later, he was awakened by stomach pain. He touched his stomach and felt as if something was falling in his lower abdomen. He sat up and looked between his legs, and found that liquid was flowing between his thighs.
Lin Yan realized that he might be about to give birth. He endured the pain, got out of bed, put on his shoes, slowly moved to the door of the room, and called softly: "Brother Shi Yun..."
Zhao Shiyun seemed to have telepathy. Before Lin Yan could say anything, he turned around and looked. Seeing Lin Yan's appearance, he was frightened for a moment, but he quickly reacted and shouted towards the kitchen: "Ah, Brother Yan is about to give birth!"
He rushed over immediately, and when he was close, he slowed down a few steps, afraid that Lin Yan would be blown away by the wind caused by his running. He supported Lin Yan and walked slowly back to the room, lying down and covering himself with a quilt. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
In the past few days, just in case, the kitchen had been keeping hot water on hand, only turning off the fire at night. Li Yuemei had already started the fire the morning after getting up. Upon hearing this, she quickly scooped out a basin of hot water and told Zhao Shiyun, "What are you standing there for? Go get the midwife."
The midwife's home is not far away, and she is from my village. I greeted her and handed her some money early in the morning, so she hasn't gone out recently. Besides, it's still dark now, so she's probably still sleeping at home.
Although the road was short, Zhao Shiyun wanted to go faster, so he took the donkey cart and arrived in no time. He knocked on the door to wake up the midwife, then helped her onto the donkey cart and rushed back at lightning speed.
The poor midwife was old and almost fell apart sitting on the bumpy donkey cart. She could only shout anxiously, "Young man Yun, please slow down."
Zhao Shiyun heard it, but did not slow down. The car ride was only about half an hour's journey. He was anxious and could only apologize to the midwife.
When the car stopped, the midwife felt dizzy and it took her a while to stand steady when Zhao Shiyun helped her out of the car.
Yu Ge'er was also woken up by Li Yuemei. He was in the room wiping Lin Yan's sweat. When the midwife entered the room, she saw Lin Yan's face was pale, his forehead was covered with sweat, and he was biting his lower lip in pain. The midwife hurried forward to check on him and frowned instantly. "It's not good. The baby is too small, and the fetal position is a bit abnormal."
Zhao Shiyun, standing outside the door, felt his heart leap into his throat as he paced anxiously. Zhao Qiming consoled him, saying, "Don't panic. The midwife is very experienced, and everything will be fine." Li Yuemei took the time to tell Zhao Shiyun to call a doctor, so that if anything unexpected happened, they could handle it promptly.
Zhao Shiyun couldn't listen. All he could hear was Lin Yan's cries of pain, each one like someone was tearing at his heart, bleeding profusely. His ears rang for a while, and he woke up only to Zhao Qiming's slapping and urging him. He hurried out the door, grabbed his donkey cart, and headed for town.
The midwife asked Li Yuemei to bring hot water and a clean cloth, and began to help Lin Yan adjust the fetal position. Lin Yan trembled with pain, but he gritted his teeth tightly to keep from making any noise. Time passed little by little, and beads of sweat appeared on the midwife's forehead. Finally, the fetal position was adjusted. The midwife breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You can push harder now."
It was only a quarter past two in the morning, the sky slightly lighted, an oil lamp lit in the room, and dew on the green tiles condensed into ice, snaking tear marks on the window lattice. Lin Yan lay powerlessly on the wooden bed, legs spread wide, sweat-soaked hair sticking to his pale face, fingers digging deep into the quilt.
Zhao Shiyun came back with the old doctor. He stumbled into the room, Lin Yan's shouts still ringing in his ears. Zhao Shiyun rushed into the room regardless, but was hugged by Zhao Qiming. "Son, calm down. Brother Yan is still working hard in there. Don't disturb him."
Zhao Shiyun wiped his face vigorously, then he remembered the old doctor he had left behind. The old doctor did not blame him. He heard that the woman was still in labor and there was no need for him for the time being, so he found a place to sit down.
"Push harder! Push harder!" The midwife's wrinkled hands pressed back and forth on his swollen abdomen, changing the blood in the basin three times. A sudden draft blew through the window, causing the candlelight to flicker violently, distorting the swaying figure on the wall.
"It's out!" Following a cry, the midwife picked up the little body wrapped in the afterbirth and quickly wiped it with a rough cloth. The child's skin was an abnormal bluish purple, and the cry was so weak that it sounded like a sob. Lin Yan forced himself to raise his head, his cracked lips trembling: "Let me...see..."
Before she could see clearly, the midwife's face suddenly changed. "Oh no! There's another one!" The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the room again. Amidst the steaming hot water, Lin Yan fell into excruciating pain again. After an unknown amount of time, a second cry pierced the sky, much louder than the previous one.
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