This was the first time Song Yueying had seen a newborn baby, and its appearance was truly indescribable. Although she hadn't delivered the baby, others assumed she had.
After the knocking.
From outside came Wang Aimin's slightly anxious voice, "Aunties, Dr. Song, I heard a baby crying. Has my wife given birth?"
"May I come in and see my wife and children?"
"Oh dear, we were so busy talking that we forgot about the baby's father outside the door." Aunt Zhang clapped her hands and called out, "It's born! It's born! Wang Zhiqing, come in quickly."
Aunt Xu's heart skipped a beat when she saw Song Yueying staring at the child. She leaned closer to Song Yueying and whispered, "Yueying! You've been staring at the baby. Is there something wrong with the baby?"
Before Song Yueying could answer, she first smelled the odor emanating from Aunt Xu, and she couldn't stand it, so she moved away.
Aunt Xu's words startled Aunt Zhang and Wang Qianqian into a daze.
Wang Aimin, who had just pushed open the door, was so startled that he stumbled. He quickly went to the bedside, checked on his wife first to make sure she was alright, and then looked at the child.
The first thing that caught Wang Aimin's eye was the child's pointed head, followed by his bluish-purple face. Wang Aimin felt as if the sky was about to fall.
But he is a man after all, and he is more composed than a woman.
Wang Aimin took a few deep breaths, looked at Song Yueying, and asked in a trembling voice, "Dr. Song...do you...is there something wrong with my child?"
After he finished asking his question, Wang Qianqian, Aunt Zhang, and Aunt Xu all looked at Song Yueying.
"No." Song Yueying shook her head.
“The child is fine, so why are you staring at him like that?” Aunt Xu was the first to disbelieve her.
"Really?" Wang Aimin asked second, but she wasn't questioning Song Yueying's words; she just wanted to confirm that she hadn't misheard.
Seeing Song Yueying frown, he immediately realized he had misspoke. He quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Dr. Song, it's not that I don't believe you, but I just wanted to make sure I didn't mishear."
Anyone would be unhappy to be questioned. Put yourself in Song Yueying's shoes; he would be unhappy too.
Song Yueying frowned not because she was unhappy, but because of the smell on Aunt Xu.
That indescribable smell is there all year round. It's a little better in winter when you don't sweat as easily, but in summer, once you start sweating, the smell is comparable to a poison gas bomb.
Song Yueying didn't know what people would call it now, but decades later people would call it body odor.
It is said that body odor is innate and will accompany a person throughout their life, never leaving them.
"Both the baby and the mother are healthy, just take good care of them." Unable to stand the smell any longer, Song Yueying gave these instructions and then turned and left.
Wang Aimin hurriedly followed behind her, intending to see her to the door.
At this moment, dark clouds filled the sky, thunder rumbled, and a torrential downpour followed.
Stopping in her tracks, Song Yueying was a little bewildered.
Standing at the doorway, watching the raindrops, each the size of a finger, pelt the ground, falling harder and harder, Song Yueying's lips twitched a few times.
Well, she can't leave now; she doesn't want to get caught in the rain twice in one day.
"Dr. Song, please come back inside and sit for a while longer. Wait until the rain stops before you leave," Wang Aimin said, taking the opportunity to persuade her to stay and repeatedly explaining that he had no doubts about her medical skills.
Song Yueying found him annoying and turned to walk into the house. She remembered that her mother had come with her, but she couldn't see her now.
Stopping and turning to look at Wang Aimin, Song Yueying asked, "Where's my mother?"
"After Aunt Zhao went to the kitchen and saw that there was hot water, she went back," Wang Aimin replied.
Having received the answer, Song Yueying turned around and walked to a spot by the window inside the room.
Wang Aimin, who had initially intended to say something, kept quiet after seeing Song Yueying's indifferent attitude. Actually, he was quite uneasy; he knew Song Yueying's reputation among the villagers…
Hmm, not very good.
He was also afraid of accidentally offending her.
It was raining heavily outside, so everyone had to stay indoors. Wang Aimin and Wang Qianqian were sent-down youth who didn't own their own houses; the house they were living in was built with their own money.
Because I wasn't very familiar with the village, the house was built next to the former residence of educated youth.
Standing in the middle of the room, Wang Aimin solemnly thanked Song Yueying, Aunt Zhang, and Aunt Xu.
The three of them had saved his wife and child's lives, and he was naturally extremely grateful.
Wang Qianqian, who was resting in bed, struggled to sit up when she saw Song Yueying return. "Dr. Song, you saved my life and my child's life. You are our savior."
“My husband wasn’t questioning you; he just wanted to make sure he hadn’t misheard.”
"Please believe me, I am telling the truth and I have no intention of protecting him."
Wang Qianqian spoke sincerely and adopted a very humble attitude.
"I believe you." Song Yueying didn't think much of it at first, but since they wanted her to give them an answer, she didn't mind reassuring them.
In her view, it was normal for Wang Aimin to question her medical skills.
Hearing Song Yueying's words, Wang Aimin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Wang Qianqian's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and her face beamed with a smile. "Aimin, take out the candy from our house and give it to Doctor Song and the two aunties to sweeten their mouths."
"Okay," Wang Aimin replied, turning to walk towards the wardrobe where his things were kept.
Aunt Xu was overjoyed to hear that there would be White Rabbit milk candy. Her smile grew even brighter, and her mouth seemed to be blessed with good wishes as she kept saying nice things.
Aunt Zhang was much calmer than her; her family never lacked White Rabbit milk candy.
Taking out a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from home, Wang Aimin handed them to Aunt Zhang, who was closest to him, saying, "Thank you for coming to help, Aunt Zhang, thank you."
"Oh! Wang, you're too kind." Aunt Zhang took the candy and said with a smile, "You educated youth came to the countryside to help us with construction."
"Coming to our production brigade means joining our big collective. We are all members contributing to the construction of our motherland, so saying thank you would be too formal."
Aunt Zhang truly lives up to her title as the women's director; she speaks eloquently and articulately. Most importantly, and most commendably, she possesses a high level of ideological awareness.
“Aunt Zhang is right. My wife and I will definitely work hard in the future and do our part to build our country,” Wang Aimin promised.
Aunt Zhang nodded in satisfaction. Before she could even speak, Aunt Xu chimed in with praise, "She did her best, and Wang, the educated youth, is truly a city person; she speaks so kindly."
Wang Aimin smiled noncommittally, then grabbed a handful of candy and gave it to Aunt Xu, saying, "Thank you for your help, Aunt Xu."
If they're exactly the same, I don't even want to change the punctuation.
Aunt Xu took the candy, her smile wide and her eyes narrowed. "You don't need to be so polite, Wang Zhiqing. We're all from the same production team, it's only right that we help each other out."
Aunt Xu said some nice things, but what she really thought was that she would do anything to get help as long as she was given candy.
“Aunt Xu is right.” Wang Aimin nodded in agreement. “We are all from the same brigade. If anyone needs my help in the future, just let me know.”
Wang Aimin's words were a promise to the three of them.
The three people saved his wife and child, and he was truly grateful to them.
When it was Song Yueying's turn, Wang Aimin first grabbed two handfuls of White Rabbit milk candies for her. He then explained that one handful of White Rabbit milk candies was to thank her, and the other handful was to apologize.
Finally, Wang Aimin said, "We should repay your life-saving kindness with the greatest gratitude. Dr. Song, this handful of candy is just a token of our appreciation and cannot express our gratitude to you."
Song Yueying only accepted one handful of White Rabbit milk candies, and placed the other handful next to Wang Qianqian's pillow.
"No, no, Dr. Song, this candy is for you. You can't give it back to me! My husband just said that we should repay a life-saving debt tenfold." Wang Qianqian quickly refused.
Seeing that Song Yueying had no intention of taking the candy back, Wang Qianqian simply grabbed the candy from beside the pillow and offered it to Song Yueying.
Song Yueying took a step back. "You just gave birth. When you have nothing to do, eat a White Rabbit milk candy. It will sweeten your mouth and improve your mood."
"Don't think I'm exaggerating. According to research, eating sweets can improve your mood and also provide some energy."
“Speaking of physical strength, Little Wang, the educated youth, is a bit strange!” Aunt Xu said, puzzled. “I’ve delivered so many babies, and the mothers were either exhausted or fainted.”
"Not only did Xiao Wang, the educated youth, not faint, but does she look tired?"
Aunt Zhang also said with a smile, "Yes! I didn't even notice until you said it. Now that you mention it, and looking at Little Wang, the educated youth, her physical strength is really good."
"I've seen quite a few women give birth, and after each of them, they all seem to have exhausted all their energy and strength."
"I've never seen anyone as energetic as Xiao Wang, a former educated youth."
"Am I in great physical condition?" Wang Qianqian looked at her two aunts with a puzzled expression. "Why don't I feel anything at all?"
Aunt Xu thought about it carefully and said, "No, that's not right. Young Wang went into labor early this morning. She was in labor all morning, but the baby wasn't born yet, and she was already exhausted."
"You were unconscious for a while before, it was Sister Zhang and I who woke you up."
"You haven't eaten anything, how could your strength recover so quickly?"
Song Yueying listened calmly to the conversation between the three, not wanting to say a word about the inside story of Wang Qianqian's recovery.
Wang Qianqian knew that what her two aunts said was true. It was true that this was her first time giving birth, but she had seen her older sisters and sisters-in-law give birth before.
My sisters and sisters-in-law were completely exhausted after giving birth; they didn't even have the strength to lift their hands to touch their babies.
There really isn't anyone as free to move as she does.
Aunt Xu said she hadn't eaten much, but she actually drank half a cup of water, which Dr. Song and Aunt Zhang fed her. She remembered Dr. Song saying that the water was to replenish her energy.
Therefore, it was Dr. Song's water that replenished her strength.
"Dr. Song, before..." Wang Qianqian wanted to confirm with Song Yueying whether the half glass of water had replenished her energy, but Song Yueying seemed indifferent and unconcerned.
She quickly stopped herself from speaking, laughing it off, "Hehehe, maybe it's just that my constitution is a bit special."
Wang Qianqian was a smart woman. Seeing that Song Yueying didn't want to talk about it, she had no choice but to keep quiet.
Just as Wang Aimin put down the box of candy, he heard two aunts say that their wives had fainted for a while earlier.
Feeling a pang of heartache, he picked up a White Rabbit milk candy, peeled off the wrapper, and held it to Wang Qianqian's lips. "Wife, you've worked so hard. Have a candy."
"Dr. Song and the aunties are still here!" Wang Qianqian rolled her eyes at him, too embarrassed to eat the milk candy her husband was feeding her in front of outsiders, so she simply lowered her head.
"She's shy, little Wang, the educated youth, is shy," Aunt Xu teased her.
Wang Aimin didn't care what others thought of him, nor was he afraid of being ridiculed by his aunts. "Wife, don't be shy. You worked so hard to give birth to our daughter. It's only right that I peel a piece of candy for you."
As soon as he said this, two loud laughs rang out in the room.
It was Aunt Xu and Aunt Zhang, both women who had been through a lot. Seeing the two young people so affectionate, they felt a little envious, but mostly they offered their blessings.
Song Yueying was completely oblivious; she stood there as if she were invisible.
Because her image in the villagers' hearts was so deeply ingrained, as long as she didn't speak, no one dared to talk to her, let alone make jokes about her.
The atmosphere inside was warm and pleasant, and the heavy rain outside stopped after a while.
Just moments ago it was pouring rain, and now the sun is shining brightly; summer weather is truly unpredictable. Song Yueying stood under the eaves, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath of fresh air.
In the days before car exhaust pollution, the air was fresh.
When Song Yueying opened her eyes and saw a rainbow appearing on the distant mountains, she was stunned.
"What a clean rainbow!" This was the first time she had ever seen a rainbow after the rain!
Aunt Zhang and Aunt Xu, who came out next, were also taken aback when they heard Song Yueying's words. Seeing her standing motionless under the eaves, they assumed she was waiting for them and exchanged glances.
He steeled himself and walked up behind Song Yueying.
"Moon Shadow... no, Dr. Song, I'm so sorry!" Aunt Xu apologized first. "I was just too anxious before, worried that something might happen to Xiao Wang and the child, that's why I said that."
"I know I was wrong. I hope you will forgive me this time."
"I promise, if... if there is a next time, I will absolutely, absolutely never say those hurtful things again."
Aunt Xu still can't understand why she was so brave before.
Aunt Zhang chimed in, "Yes, yes, Dr. Song, we were so worried because we saw that young Wang had fainted. Xiao Xu didn't do it on purpose, he really didn't."
What were those two women saying? Why were they apologizing to her for no apparent reason? Song Yueying understood what they were saying, but didn't grasp the meaning.
Looking at Aunt Zhang with short hair, and then at Aunt Xu, Song Yueying felt even more confused. What were they up to?
She had mentally prepared herself for a severe scolding from Song Yueying. But even now, with Song Yueying watching her, Aunt Xu couldn't help but panic. Oh no, oh no…
"Little Shadow, Little Shadow... Let's take Little Shadow home, my... my Little Shadow..." A cheerful voice came from the air.
Song Yueying and her two aunts looked over at the same time upon hearing the sound.
Song's mother walked over through the muddy ground, muttering to herself as she went.
Upon seeing who it was, Aunt Zhang and Aunt Xu's expressions changed drastically. Their doting, crazy mother had arrived. Would Song Yueying again instruct her to beat them up?
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