Chapter 469: Birth
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was night time. Jiang Danhe had just blown out the candles and was preparing to go to bed.
However, Xiaoguo suddenly felt discomfort in her belly and dampness between her legs. She guessed that her water had broken.
Pretending to be calm, she patted Jiang Danhe, not daring to open her mouth. She was afraid that she would cry out in fear if she tried to say anything.
Jiang Danhe was not sleeping yet. When she patted him, he jumped up reflexively and got out of bed to light a candle.
The moment the candlelight lit up the room, he saw Xiaoguo looking pale and weak on the bed. He was taken aback, and before his brain could react, he had already called the midwife.
The midwife rushed into the house immediately and chased the father and son out. She closed the door and lifted the blanket.
“Go and prepare hot water, towels, hard liquor, and scissors.”
…..
The midwife’s methodical words woke Jiang Danhe up. Ignoring the frightened Zhuang Zhuang beside him, he turned around and ran to the kitchen. Before he could light the candles, he had already found the pot and was getting ready to light the fire.
The hand that was holding the torch kept trembling non-stop. It was impossible to light it up.
As he got more anxious, more sweat started breaking out on his forehead. When he finally managed to light the fire, it was accidentally extinguished by his sweat that was dripping down.
When Jiang Danhe saw this scene, he couldn’t help but curse softly to himself.
At this moment, Zhuang Zhuang ran over and said, “Father, there’s hot water on the stove!”
Thanks to Zhuang Zhuang’s reminder, he remembered that he had been keeping hot water on the stove just in case, since he didn’t know when Xiaoguo would go into labor.
After acknowledging Zhuang Zhuang’s words, he picked up the hot water and ran into the room. The scissors and liquor were kept in the room where she was sleeping.
Seeing that his father was aware of the hot water, Zhuang Zhuang ran out alone. When he arrived at Mrs Yang’s house, he knocked on the door.
Yang Jia came to the door rather quickly. Looking at the boy’s anxious expression, he could roughly guess the reason.
“I’ll go get Brother Anming!”
With that, he quickly ran back into the house. Soon, Qin Anming ran out fully dressed. He grabbed Zhuang Zhuang and ran towards home.
Mrs Yang also heard the commotion. She asked Yang Feng, who had also gotten up, to stay behind and take care of the children.
“I don’t think the baby will come out so quickly. Stay at home and look after the kids. I’ll go over first.”
Yang Feng looked down at the twins, who were sleeping soundly. He nodded hesitantly and put down his clothes. “Go quickly.”
Mrs Yang acknowledged his words and ran out after putting on her shoes.
Old Mrs. Yang also came out with a candle and followed Mrs Yang to XIaoguo’s house.
“Take a deep breath.”
The gentle and powerful voice of the midwife gave Xiaoguo courage. Trying to suppress her anxious emotions, she followed the midwife’s instructions to breathe slowly.
“Very good.”
The midwife lifted the blanket to check. Seeing that there was still no movement, she came to Xiaoguo’s side and helped her massage her stomach.
The midwife’s hands were not particularly soft, but the moment she touched her belly, Xiaoguo let out a long breath of relief.
Unclear about the situation in the room, Jiang Danhe was feeling extremely anxious. He wanted to take a peek through the crack in the door, but he was afraid of disturbing them.
Helpless, he could only comfort Xiaoguo with his voice. Although they couldn’t see each other, he told Xiaoguo that he was always there for her.
When Mrs. Yang and Old Mrs. Yang rushed in, Jiang Danhe quickly looked through the gap in the door that was left ajar. When he saw that Xiaoguo looked fine, he felt a little relieved.
Afraid that Xiaoguo would run out of strength, Qin Anming went straight to the kitchen after making sure that she was safe. He was going to make a pot of sweet porridge for her to replenish her strength after giving birth.
Zhuang Zhuang didn’t want to leave. He held onto the door with his small hands and stared in Xiaoguo’s direction through the door with teary eyes. He didn’t want to worry his mother, otherwise he would have started crying by now.
Jiang Danhe couldn’t bear to see Zhuang Zhuang looking so sad. He picked him up and sat him on a chair, comforting him in a soft voice. Xiaoguo had exchanged glances with Jiang Danhe just now. The two of them had a tacit understanding and understood each other’s intentions with that single glance. Xiaoguo wanted him to keep an eye on Zhuang Zhuang and also help to subdue his fear.
Zhuang Zhuang heard the trembling in his father’s voice, so he sensibly wiped away his own tears and also his father’s tears. They must not cry now!
Jiang Danhe was surprised. His heart was feeling so numb that he didn’t even notice that tears were flowing down his face.
In the house, Xiaoguo had just endured several waves of pain, each time more painful than the last. In the end, with a word from the midwife, she started to push.
Mrs Yang wiped her sweat with a hot towel and reminded her worriedly, “Don’t scream. You need to conserve your strength.”
Xiaoguo didn’t have the strength to answer her. She just nodded in response.
Old Mrs. Yang was standing by the midwife’s side, trying to help out. Although she couldn’t help much, she was still able to help with some tasks like passing things and pouring water.
The time was creeping by the minute, and small blood vessels on Xiaoguo’s face had burst due to the exertion, resulting in red and purple patches in some spots, which looked rather scary.
Mrs Yang broke out in a cold sweat when she saw this. She asked the midwife anxiously, “Why hasn’t there been any progress after so long?”
“The baby has a big head. It’ll take some effort.”
The midwife was not flustered at all. She had seen bigger heads than this. “Continue pushing!”
Fortunately, Xiaoguo still had the strength to continue the prolonged battle.
Unable to see or hear anything, Jiang Danhe paced back and forth anxiously. His clothes were almost torn apart by his tugging. If only he could transfer some of his physical and mental strength to Xiaoguo.
Qin Anming was also having a tough time. He burned his hand in the kitchen while he was rushing around, and despite not having the time to treat it properly, he still came over to check on what was happening in the room.
Finally, the good news came.
The midwife successfully delivered a fair and chubby boy. Based on her vast experience, she took a look at Xiaoguo’s stomach and lifted the blanket to look below. “There’s another one.”
This news stunned everyone, especially Xiaoguo. She had barely recovered from the previous exertion and now she had to start pushing again.
Mrs. Yang placed the cleaned and swaddled baby beside Xiaoguo. Then, she quickly changed the water and waited for the next baby.
The little baby subconsciously wanted to drink milk, but no one could be bothered with him at this moment. Unable to get what he wanted, the little boy pursed his lips and started crying.
His cries were very loud and clear. When the people outside heard it, they finally felt relieved. The group stood guard at the door and waited for a long time, but they did not see anyone come out of the room. Just when they thought they could relax, their hearts were once again filled with anxiety.
Xiaoguo closed her eyes and pushed with all her strength. Finally, she relaxed and collapsed on the bed, panting heavily.
Her eyes were so tired that she could hardly keep them open. Her consciousness was gradually fading out. The last thing she could remember were the two chubby babies beside her.
Before she fainted, she was still thinking to herself that Jiang Danhe’s wish for a daughter had gone up in smoke.
After the midwife was done cleaning up, she let the people waiting outside enter the room.
The strong smell of blood in the room made Jiang Danhe, who was used to the smell, suddenly tear up.
Listening to the adult’s steady breathing on the bed, his heart finally felt at ease.
Only then did he have the energy to focus on the two babies beside Xiaoguo.
Zhuang Zhuang lifted the covers of the two babies first, revealing their gender. The father and son’s smiles froze on their faces at the same time.
Neither of them was a girl?
Qin Anming wasn’t thinking about the same thing. He looked at the babies on the bed with tears in his eyes. His dearest sister Xiaoguo had become the mother of three children!
When Xiaoguo opened her eyes, she saw the following scene.
Jiang Danhe was gently hugging the two babies and kissing them alternately. Zhuang Zhuang was jumping around, trying to grab the babies. But his father was deliberately teasing him, placing the babies out of his reach. This made the little boy so angry that he wanted to exchange a few moves with his father, but he was worried about waking his mom who was still sleeping.
Qin Anming was watching from the side with a smile. As soon as he extended his arms, Jiang Danhe immediately passed the babies to him, without the slightest playfulness he had with Zhuang Zhuang earlier.
Zhuang Zhuang snorted at him and stopped pestering him. He went straight to his uncle’s side and got close to his two younger brothers.
Qin Anming didn’t tease him. When he saw the boy come over, he held the babies and put them against his face.
When he heard their gurgling noises, Zhuang Zhuang’s face instantly turned red, and he gently kissed each of his two younger brothers..