Hua Mei washed the clothes and hung them one by one on the bamboo poles to dry.
Fang Shugen's mother peeked over, her eyes scanning the bamboo pole. She would come every few days to check if Hua Mei's menstrual pad was still there.
It's been quite a while since I've seen you.
"Shugen, has Huamei not had her period lately?" He grabbed Fang Shugen, who had just returned from the fields.
Fang Shugen was stunned for a moment, thinking that his mother was asking him if he had had sex.
"Mother, you don't need to ask about these things in such detail."
"If she's having her period, it means she's not pregnant yet. If her period stops, she might be pregnant!"
"Oh," Fang Shugen lowered his head and thought for a moment, realizing that Hua Mei hadn't had her period in a long time.
But how long? Fang Shugen was a rough man, busy with work in the fields, so he couldn't remember.
"It seems like it's been a while since I've been here."
"Really?" Fang Shugen's mother raised her eyebrows and smiled. "She should be pregnant. Logically speaking, she should be pregnant after half a year."
"Hua Mei." She walked towards Hua Mei, who was washing dishes by the stove. "Hua Mei, haven't you worn a sanitary napkin in a long time? Are you pregnant?"
Hua Mei didn't say anything and continued washing the dishes.
When was the last time she saw her sanitary napkin? Fang Shugen's mother tried hard to recall.
She patted her head again, "Oh dear, I can't remember. I get annoyed when I see her post this. I don't remember when it was."
Hua Mei was still focused on her own work.
"This idiot, she doesn't even know when she got pregnant or when she'll give birth."
"Mother, what should we do?"
"From now on, pay close attention to whether she has her period. If she still doesn't get it in about half a month, then she's pregnant."
"Oh, okay."
That night, Fang Shugen held Hua Mei in his arms and touched her belly. "Hua Mei, do you have a baby in your belly?"
Hua Mei lay quietly beside him, glancing up at Fang Shugen. Perhaps she herself didn't know.
When Hua Mei's mother left, Hua Mei had not yet started her period.
On the day her period started, blood seeped out of her crotch. Her grandmother saw it and taught her how to use a sanitary pad.
Hua Mei didn't know how to keep track of her menstrual cycle, but when she had bleeding, she knew to put wood ash in her menstrual pad.
"If you don't know, you don't know. The child will come out on its own when the time comes," Fang Shugen said softly, stroking her hair.
This room, this bed, is like Hua Mei's safe haven.
Here, there was no cold stare, criticism, or dissatisfaction from Fang Shugen's mother; there was only her sole support, Fang Shugen.
As long as it was just the two of them in the room, she felt her mind clearer and even her breathing became easier.
Fang Shugen also liked staying in this room, where he could satisfy his physical needs and avoid his mother's nagging, thus enjoying some peace and quiet.
Fang Shugen's mother repeatedly told Fang Shugen how much she had sacrificed for him, and how her whole life had been dedicated to him.
These square tree roots all know.
Therefore, he also felt that it would be a sin if he were not filial to his mother.
No matter how his mother treats Hua Mei, he can be nice to Hua Mei behind her back and not openly oppose his mother.
Fang Meixiang's due date is approaching, and Fang Meixiang's mother has been visiting Fang Damiao's house more frequently lately.
"Da Miao, Mei Xiang doesn't know. You need to be careful and call us immediately if anything happens."
"Okay." Fang Damiao, who had no parents, felt uncertain and flustered.
"Prepare your things first. Put a straw mat on the cart and then lay a quilt on it. Make sure everything is prepared in advance."
Fang Meixiang's mother had already packed all the clothes and swaddling clothes the baby would wear after birth, as well as everything Meixiang would need, into a bag and put it away.
Fang Meihao was also on holiday at home, and the four of them were having dinner.
Fang Damiao's neighbor ran over and shouted, "Auntie, Meixiang's stomach hurts, she might be about to give birth."
Everyone in the room stood up instantly. Fang Meixiang's mother picked up the packed items, Fang Meixiang's father took them and carried them on his back, and they rushed towards Fang Damiao's house.
Fang Meili and Fang Meihao followed closely behind.
The neighbors helped Fang Damiao spread straw on the cart.
"Where's the blanket?" Fang Meixiang's mother asked.
"On the bed."
Fang Meixiang's mother rolled up the quilt on the bed and spread it on the cart.
"It hurts, it hurts!" Fang Meixiang frowned.
"Come on, help Meixiang into the car."
Fang Meixiang held her stomach in one hand and waved her other hand wildly, crying out incoherently, unwilling to get on the cart.
"Hurry up, lie down on the cart, the pain will be gone when we get to the town clinic." Fang Meixiang's mother and Fang Damiao each helped Fang Meixiang lie down on the cart.
"Mother, us?" Fang Meili asked.
"You don't need to go. Just lock the door at my house and go home."
Fang Meixiang's mother covered Fang Meixiang with the blanket.
Fang Damiao picked up the handlebars and headed towards town.
The neighbors were talking about it, saying, "If you give birth now, you'll be a year older in a few days."
"Give birth now, and you'll have plenty to eat at home during the Lunar New Year and good food during your postpartum period."
Fang Meili closed and locked the door of Fang Damiao's house, and walked home with Fang Meihao.
It had snowed a few days ago, and after it melted, there was puddles on the ground. They walked with their heads down, using the light shining from the houses next door, choosing the drier spots. Occasionally, when they stepped on snow, their feet made a soft "rustling" sound.
When I got home, there was half a meal left on the table.
"Mother and the others haven't eaten enough yet, have they?"
Fang Meihao looked at the rice in her bowl, which was only half-eaten.
“He definitely didn’t eat enough. That Fang Damiao is really something. Mother has told him so many times to tell us if there’s anything wrong, and he’s only now getting ready to take him to the hospital after it’s already dark.”
"Second sister, are you still going to eat?"
"Eat up, I didn't eat much just now." Fang Meili picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of food.
"Look how much pain she was in just now. Will she be able to make it to the clinic? Will she give birth on the way?" Fang Meili rested her chin on her hand, not even putting the food she was holding into her mouth.
"It can't be that fast, can it?"
"It's possible. I've heard that many women in the village give birth on the road, on a cart."
"It's so cold, how cold will it be for the baby to be born like this? Without a doctor, will Mom be able to deliver the baby? Will my older sister and the baby be safe?"
"I don't know. The roads are difficult to travel at night, but they're a little better during the day. It's all Fang Damiao's fault. He was sent to the health center during the day, and he's already there now."
They looked out at the pitch-black doorway.
"I can't even eat it, I'm not eating it. I'll save it for tomorrow morning."
"Okay, I don't want to eat anymore either."
Fang Meili and Fang Meihao combined the leftovers into one bowl and cleaned up the dishes together.
The December wind stung my face.
In the crisp, quiet air, filled with the scent of cooking fires, Fang Meixiang's parents and Fang Damiao hurried along, oblivious to the cold.
Fang Meixiang's father and Fang Damiao took turns pulling the cart.
On nights without streetlights, the faint light of the sky is reflected by the snow.
The trees on both sides of the road were covered in snow, their branches like they were edged with white, their dark outlines casting sparse shadows in the snow.
As you pass near the village, you can occasionally hear a few barks from dogs.
"Ouch, ouch!"
"Mother, it hurts!"
Fang Meixiang grabbed the quilt and shouted, occasionally struggling on the cart.
It thrashed about, making the cart shake and impossible to control.
Fang Meixiang's mother held onto the edge of the cart, "Meixiang, hang in there, we're almost there, Meixiang!"
Fang Meixiang's mother wiped away her tears while comforting her.
She knows the pain of childbirth, but no one can take that pain away from her; she has to endure it all by herself.
With a creaking and rustling sound, the cart left two crooked ruts on the road as it moved toward the town.
The outlines of the row of low brick houses could be seen, and dim light shone through the windows, seeping out through the thin ice on the glass.
"We're here, we're here, Meixiang, we're almost here!"
Upon entering the health center, the faint smell of disinfectant wafting from the room became a reassuring signal.
"Doctor, doctor!"
They helped Fang Meixiang up while calling out to her.
Fang Meixiang cried out as her body fell downwards.
"Put him on the bed first." The doctor on duty was warming his hands on a coal stove when he saw them come in.
Fang Meixiang curled up on the bed, sobbing and scratching wildly.
"Doctor, she...she's not thinking straight, she might not cooperate..."
Before Fang Meixiang's mother could finish speaking, Meixiang suddenly screamed and swung her hand violently.
Fang Damiao quickly pressed down on her arm, his voice strained, "Meixiang, don't move, just bear with it..."
"Doctor, thank you for your hard work and for your patience! I'm so sorry to trouble you, doctor." Fang Meixiang's mother comforted her from the side, "Meixiang, Meixiang, let's bear with it a little longer. The pain will subside once the baby is born, and Mom will give you something delicious to eat."
After the doctor examined him, he said, "We'll have to wait a little longer; even if it's quick, it'll be close to dawn."
Fang Meixiang sometimes hunched over, sometimes howled, and kicked her legs wildly.
Fang Meixiang's mother wiped the sweat from Fang Meixiang's forehead, her heart aching at the sight of her daughter in such pain.
Fang Meili and Fang Meihao couldn't sleep at home either. "Second sister, do you think eldest sister has given birth yet?"
"I don't know either!"
"It's really painful. With better medical technology in the future, women won't have to suffer so much during childbirth."
"For thousands of years, this is how women have given birth. Alas, we are all women, and we will have to give birth like this in the future."
In the darkness, the two talked and worried at home.
"Go to sleep early. We'll get up early tomorrow morning and go to the hospital."
"good."
By the time the ordeal ended in the middle of the night, Fang Meixiang was too exhausted to cry out. She could only gasp for breath with her mouth open, her face as white as lime on a wall.
"Doctor, can we prepare to give birth now?" Fang Meixiang's mother had asked this many times.
Fang Meixiang was exhausted. She closed her eyes and dozed off for a while, but was awakened by contractions again. She dragged her tired body and continued to groan.
As the eastern sky began to lighten, Fang Meili and Fang Meihao got up at home, cooked sweet potatoes and eggs, and brought them to the hospital.
Meixiang suddenly seemed to have all her strength drained away. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared at the ceiling, her body as limp as a lump of mud.
"Meixiang! Meixiang!" Her mother rushed over.
The doctor also lifted the blanket, his voice quickening, "Push! It's coming out!"
"Meixiang, push harder, and the pain will stop immediately."
The fluorescent lights in the corridor hummed, and the whitewashed walls gleamed coldly. Fang Meixiang's father and Fang Damiao stood half a meter apart, their eyes fixed on the tightly closed wooden door.
Just as the sky was fully bright, a loud cry suddenly rang out.
"It's a boy! He's born!" The doctor's voice was tired, yet it carried a hint of lightness.
With a "snip," the scissors cut the umbilical cord. The baby, wrapped in a sterilized sheet, was picked up. The tiny body was still kicking its legs, and the baby's cries were urgent and loud, echoing in the empty room.
Fang Meixiang's mother leaned closer and looked at the wrinkled little face, which was all scrunched up, with its eyes closed and its face red from crying. There was also some white stuff stuck to the tip of its nose. She couldn't help but laugh. "It looks just like his uncle when he was born."
"Meixiang, it's alright, it doesn't hurt anymore." Fang Meixiang's mother smoothed the hair on her forehead. "You have a son now."
Fang Meixiang smiled weakly.
Fang Meixiang's mother's tears fell down with a "plop".
Morning light streamed through the window into the hospital room, marking the start of a new day...
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