Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Emergency_1
Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Emergency_1
The scanty amount of money at home had to be carefully used until the winter wheat could be harvested, and in the cold weather, the chickens scarcely laid any eggs. Although they scrimped and saved just for Qian Sangui and Cheng Yue to eat, precious foods like noodles were rarely seen. On the rare occasions that they had something like a hearty meat stew, it was Old man Qian and his wife who secretly slipped them a few slices of meat. There was also Cheng Yue, who often shared her food with Qian Manxia when Lady Wu wasn’t looking.
The family struggled through the long, harsh winter.
When the willow branches began to turn green and the first yellow flower blossomed at the door, the pregnant Cheng Yue excitedly called out, “Mother, Auntie Xia, look, the flowers are blooming!”
She peered through the crack in the door and saw a little yellow flower suddenly appear three meters away.
“So it’s bloomed, what’s so special about that?” Qian Manxia pouted as she spoke.
Cheng Yue earnestly said, “Brother Jiang said that when the flower withers—blooms again, withers again—blooms again, he’ll be able to come back.”
This was the longest sentence Cheng Yue had said since she came to the Qian family. Although she paused a few times, she managed to convey what she wanted to express. It showed just how long and how much she had thought about and anticipated the phrase “flowers wither and bloom”.
Lady Wu was in the yard sunning little garments and diapers. The little garments were borrowed from Lady Wong and Lady Xu, while the diapers were cut from old clothes. At the end of last year, Lady Wong had a daughter, named Qian Manyuan. After the New Year, Lady Xu gave birth to a son, they named him Qian Yishan.
Qian Yishan was the Old Qian Family’s fourth-generation eldest grandson. To Old man Qian’s delight, after pondering for several days, he came up with this name. He had taken some teasing from others for the names he had chosen for his son and grandson, with people saying he was so obsessed with money that he had gone mad. Old man Qian thought to himself, mock me? Look at the names you’ve chosen: Leftovers, Blackie, Sheepie, Dumbass, and yet you make fun of me for thinking about money? I don’t believe for a second that you don’t want money yourselves.
He racked his brain before he finally thought of this name. Yishan, plenty and always good. It implied that the more money, the better, and on the surface, it wasn’t too obvious, being rather subtle. Having studied for a year when he was young, Old man Qian was very proud to have found such an educated name.
Now, Old woman Qian seldom visited Qian’s third wife anymore, spending all her days at home, eager to see her great-grandson more often.
Touched by Cheng Yue’s words, Lady Wu hurriedly stopped her work, went to the door, and opened it to find indeed a charming little flower standing outside. The small flower was a tender yellow, swaying left and right in the wind, and looked particularly striking in the sunlight.
She then turned to look back at the small window, and on the other side of it lay her seriously ill husband. Spring had arrived, and her husband had once again survived the toughest part of winter.
She ran to the small window and said excitedly, “My dear, spring has come, the flowers have bloomed. You made it through without any tonics.” By the end, she was choking up with emotion.
Qian Yixiu, who was in the main room, maintained a certain distance from the utterly panicked Qian Sangui. Hearing Lady Wu’s words, she couldn’t help but smile, thrilled by the poetic nature of the phrases. She was happy, for her kind-hearted, lame grandfather who had endured countless sicknesses and disasters, and for her family.
From the room came Qian Sangui’s weak yet joyful voice, “Oh, that’s great.”
Through the half-open window, Qian Yixiu looked out to the courtyard; the sky was a washed azure, and the sunlight dazzlingly bright. It had been a long time since she had felt the warmth of the sun. At that moment, she especially envied the few people in the courtyard, listening to their cheerful chatter.
They were still wearing jackets; despite the strong sunlight, the early spring chill ensured the temperature couldn’t be high. Cheng Yue was dressed in an apricot-colored jacket and gray pants, clothes that Lady Wong had worn during her pregnancy. On Lady Wong, they looked unremarkable, but on Cheng Yue, they seemed lively and exceptionally lovely. Even if she was heavily pregnant without a waistline to speak of, she wore them with a unique charm.
Seeing her sister-in-law’s fondness for the flower, Qian Manxia quickly ran out, plucked the little yellow flower, and handed it to Cheng Yue, who then unexpectedly pinned it beside her ear. Her almond eyes were sparkling with moisture, and though somewhat stiff, the surprise had brought a touch of vivacity to them. Her little face was pale and dewy, her cheeks pink and plump, like peach blossoms in March. Her lips curled up slightly, revealing a row of pearly white teeth, and beside her mouth were two charming dimples. The smile deepened the dimples, and as it diminished, they became shallower.
Truly a beauty that outshone the flowers! Qian Yixiu was again spellbound by the sight of the beauty.
Lady Wu, however, only noticed her thick and large earlobes, which seemed even more delicate and lovely against the backdrop of the small yellow flower.
Lady Wu’s smile grew even kinder.
Lady Cheng, indeed, is blessed with a destiny that brings prosperity to her children and home.
Suddenly, as if a spring breeze had come overnight, thousands and millions of flowers blossomed. Spring had arrived, and the hardest days for Qian’s third wife were finally over.
The village was abuzz with talk that the third wife’s simple daughter-in-law was a woman of good fortune. Having been part of the Qian family for less than two months, she was found to be with child, and the long-ailing father-in-law had also miraculously recovered a great deal. This brought hope to the desperate circumstances of the Qian family’s third wife.
Entering April, with mountain flowers in full bloom and wildflowers everywhere, the wheat in the fields had turned a golden hue. Cheng Yue’s expected due date was in this month, and the whole family was extremely tense, ready for battle, always prepared to welcome the arrival of the little life.
Qian Yixiu was also tense. She had stopped going into the mountains as soon as night fell, something she had done until half a month ago. She constantly worried for her little mother-in-law. Cheng Yue was thinner and weaker than other pregnant women, and most importantly, she seemed no more than fifteen years old. A body like hers giving birth was a high-risk pregnancy even in the hospitals of her previous life, let alone in ancient rural times. Moreover, the midwife lived at the very eastern end of the village, and the physician resided in the neighboring village; there was no 24-hour monitoring. What if there was an emergency?
Although Qian Yixiu had no interaction with Cheng Yue, she really liked this beautiful, simple, naive, and pitiable little mother-in-law. She always thought that, once she crossed over, she would treat her well, pamper her, and make sure she led a happy life. Although Qian Yixiu called Cheng Yue ‘little mother-in-law’ or ‘beautiful little mother-in-law,’ Cheng Yue was nearly twenty years younger than her in her previous life. Thus, Qian Yixiu actually saw Cheng Yue more like a younger sister.
That night, as she squatted in the corner of the western room, counting sheep on the roof, Qian Yixiu suddenly heard the sound of blankets being moved, followed by Cheng Yue pushing Lady Wu, “Mother, Yueyue’s belly is bloated; I need to use the lavatory.”
The starlight filtering through the paper window cast a faint glow inside. Lady Wu saw that Cheng Yue had already sat up. Lady Wu got up and said, “Yueyue, take it slow. Mother will help you.”
“Mother, it’s really urgent, really bloated,” Cheng Yue said with a cry in her voice.
Lady Wu hurried down from the bed, put on her shoes, and helped Cheng Yue to the toilet, then helped her squat. It wasn’t really a squat, but just a slight bend in her legs.
Cheng Yue squatted for a while before she started to moan in pain.
Lady Wu started to panic, “What’s wrong? Haven’t finished yet?”
Cheng Yue strained a few times and cried, “Mother, it hurts so much, it’s stuck and won’t come out.”
Lady Wu was startled, “Hold on to the cabinet and stand properly, Mother will go light the lamp.”
Upon hearing this, Qian Yixiu hurried over and looked beneath her, only to see a lump emerging from her lower body, resembling the top of a small head. This was the onset of childbirth, but how could her little mother-in-law be so quick! What should they do, Qian Yixiu fretted, flitting back and forth.
Lady Wu, holding the oil lamp, shone it downward and cried, “Oh, heavens, the child’s head is showing.” She quickly set the lamp on the table, came back to help Cheng Yue, and said, “Yueyue, don’t be afraid, get back to bed quickly, the child is about to be born.”
………………
Thank you to 19 for your delightful gift, to Jian and Rose for your review tickets, to Hera@Qianlin for your purse, and thank you all for your recommendation tickets and comments.
There’s another update today; Qing Quan can’t bear to keep you in suspense any longer, so there will be two updates today, with the second one in the afternoon. Please continue to click, recommend, and bookmark.