Chapter 71: Giving Birth
Editor: Atlas Studios
Sensing a pain in her stomach in the middle of the night, Shu Wanniang opened her eyes in discomfort and felt her lower abdomen drop. Having experienced giving birth twice, she knew that she was about to give birth.
“What’s wrong?” Mu Shi woke up the moment Shu Wanniang moved. He pressed the blanket down and looked up at her.
“I think I’m about to give birth.” Shu Wanniang took a deep breath and tried her best to use a calm tone. “Call the midwife over.”
“Why so soon? Aren’t you due only in half a month’s time?” Anxious, Mu Shi quickly got up and put on his clothes as he touched her stomach. “Does it hurt badly? I’ll call Aunt over to take a look.”
“Put on more clothes…” Shu Wanniang hurriedly shouted when she saw Mu Shi running out with merely a shirt draped over his shoulders. However, he had already slipped out of the room.
“Aunt, get up quickly. Wanniang is about to give birth.”
When Madam Ma-Liu heard this, she hurriedly got up. Her two granddaughters also rubbed their eyes and got up. She quickly pressed them down and said, “Lie down quickly. You won’t be of any help anyway. Xiuhong, take good care of your sister.”
Madam Ma-Liu hurriedly put on her clothes and followed Mu Shi to see Shu Wanniang. Seeing the two of them enter, Mu Yangling, who was already in the room, quickly gave way to them.
Madam Ma-Liu touched her stomach and said, “She’s about to give birth. Hurry up and go to town to find a midwife. I’ll boil hot water while we wait.” Then, she looked outside and saw that it was snowing again. Worry appeared in her eyes. She pulled Mu Shi outside and said in a low voice, “The snow is slippery. You have to be careful. I’ll get Ah Ling to get your two aunts to keep watch over your wife later. Don’t panic and walk slowly.”
As there were many instances of people falling to their deaths or becoming crippled on a snowy day, Madam Ma-Liu could not help but worry since Mu Shi was the backbone of the family.
Mu Shi simply nodded nonchalantly, then entered the house and put on his clothes. Holding Shu Wanniang’s hand, he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.” Then, he said to Mu Yangling, “Keep an eye on your mother.” After a pause, he lowered his voice and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “If… save the mother.”
Mu Yangling nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry, Father. I know what to do.”
Only then did Mu Shi open the door and run towards town.
It was not far from here to town. When the weather was good, Mu Shi could travel back and forth in an hour at his usual speed. Now that it was snowing and there was thick snow on the ground, he could only run in places where the snow was not thick. If he encountered thicker snow, he could only try his best to stride forward.
Seeing that Mu Shi had left, Madam Ma-Liu hurriedly entered the house to look at Shu Wanniang and asked Mu Yangling to find her two sisters-in-law. Seeing that Xiuhong had also gotten up, she instructed, “Xiuhong, go to the kitchen to boil water. Boil more just in case.”
Madam Ma-Liu found the items needed to deliver the baby to be soaked in hot water later. After everything was arranged, she sat in front of Shu Wanniang’s bed and asked gently, “Does it still hurt now?”
Shu Wanniang shook her head. “The pain has passed. Don’t worry, Aunt. It shouldn’t be that fast.”
However, Madam Ma-Liu was not so optimistic. Although she had only given birth to one child, she had gone over to help the women in the village give birth. As time went by, she became knowledgeable in the topic. Since this was already Shu Wanniang’s third time giving birth, her uterus should open very quickly. She was afraid that she would not be able to wait for the midwife to come.
However, as Shu Wanniang’s stomach was too big, the delivery would probably not go smoothly. In the event that she lasted until the midwife arrived, it only meant that it was going to be a difficult labor. Madam Ma-Liu did not want to see such a situation.
Giving birth was equivalent to having one foot in the gates of hell. If it was a difficult labor, more than half of one’s body would be in the gates of hell. Whether one could be pulled back from those gates would depend on luck.
While Madam Ma-Liu was letting her imagination run wild, Eldest Great-aunt Liu1 and Second Great-aunt Liu2 rushed over with their respective daughters-in-law.
Seeing that Mu Yangling was sitting in the delivery room, Eldest Great-aunt Liu quickly chased her out. “How can a young lady like you be here? Quickly get out.”
Mu Yangling grabbed the head of the bed as she said, “My father asked me to stay here and watch over my mother. I’m not going out. Great-aunt, let me stay here.” Mu Yangling’s words confirmed Madam Ma-Liu’s dominance over everyone else.
Madam Ma-Liu was also worried that Shu Wanniang would feel uneasy if Mu Yangling left, so she patted her hand and said to Eldest Great-aunt Liu, “Let her stay here since this is her baby brother. It’s nothing.”
Seeing that her sister-in-law had spoken, Eldest Great-aunt Liu did not object anymore.
Madam Ma-Liu instructed Madam Liu-Zhang, “Go to the kitchen and boil more water.” Then, she instructed Madam Liu-Zhao, “I’ve taken out everything needed. Soak the items in the boiling water and make sure to wash them clean.”
Then, she said to Eldest Great-aunt Liu and Second Great-aunt Liu, “Since you two have a few children and are experienced, stay in the room with me.”
The two of them agreed. When they went forward to touch Shu Wanniang’s stomach, they couldn’t help but frown. Shu Wanniang usually didn’t look fat, and her stomach had always been typically big during her pregnancy. Why was her stomach so big now that she was so thin?
This was what Madam Ma-Liu was most worried about. The most worrisome thing in giving birth was that the fetus was too big or in an improper position.
Shu Wanniang was afraid of the cold. As soon as mid-autumn rolled around, she started wearing an extra layer of clothes than others. By the time it was late autumn, she was already wearing many layers, so it was impossible to tell if she was fat or thin. Even the size of her stomach had been covered by her clothes. By the time Madam Ma-Liu was brought over, it was already snowing heavily. This was all the more reason why Madam Ma-Liu had no idea her stomach was so big.
It was only a few days ago when the midwife came to touch her stomach that Madam Ma-Liu saw how big it was. When she told the midwife, the midwife also agreed and urged her to be careful.
Mu Shi had originally planned to go to town in a few days to fetch a midwife to stay at his house, but who knew that the child would be born so early?
This time, the three of them sat in the house worriedly. No one dared to tell Shu Wanniang and Mu Yangling about this.
An hour after Mu Shi left, Shu Wanniang’s uterus began to open. Waves of pain swept through her nerves. Mu Yangling held her hand tightly and encouraged her in a low voice by her ear. “Mother, don’t be anxious. Take it slow. Let’s take a deep breath with Great-aunt first…”
By the time Mu Shi ran home with the midwife on his back, Shu Wanniang had been screaming for nearly 15 minutes.
“Rocky, you’re back. Quick, get the midwife to come and take a look. Wanniang’s fetal position doesn’t seem right.”
The midwife had been carried by Mu Shi along the way, which helped conserve her strength. Without hesitation, she rushed into the delivery room and pulled apart the woman’s legs to take a look. Then, she touched her stomach and said, “There’s no problem with the fetal position. I reckon the child is too big. Hurry up and boil a bowl of brown sugar water for the pregnant woman.” Then, she said to Shu Wanniang, “Stop shouting and save your strength. Only exert more strength when I tell you to do so later. You’ve given birth to two babies. Even if this baby is a little bigger, it won’t be a problem. Just listen to me.”
The midwife’s confident attitude made Shu Wanniang’s heart relax. She couldn’t help but believe her.
Only then did the midwife turn to Eldest Great-aunt Liu and say, “Go get a basin of hot water…”
Shu Wanniang was in pain again. The midwife quickly went forward to hold her down and said, “Take a breath and hold it in. Yes, that’s it. Alright, exert more strength. Hurry!”
Shu Wanniang followed her instructions and bit the cloth in her mouth tightly. Holding her daughter’s hand tightly, she heard the midwife shout, “Very good. I see the baby’s head now! Come, let’s take another breath. Yes, take a deep breath. Hold it in and exhale hard. Exhale hard… I see the child’s shoulder now! Let’s do it again…”
Just as Shu Wanniang felt something slip from her body, she heard the midwife exclaim happily, “Great, great, it’s a boy!”