Chapter 290: Chapter 290: The Four-Pound Baby Boy

Chen Jianghe and Xu Meiling knew there was no way they’d get to eat this meal today, so they got up and carried their child home. Xu Meiling also made sure to take the pot of chicken soup she’d been simmering.

Xu Huaizhi, for all his tough talk, still ended up following Xu Huaiyu, worried that if Xu Huaiyu lost strength halfway, it would delay Yan Lijun’s treatment.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaomeng and Gu Qinghuan settled their own children, grabbed the swaddling cloths and baby clothes Yan Lijun had prepared, and hurried to catch up with the cart. After all, childbirth was involved—there were plenty of things the two men couldn’t help with, but they could.

Normally, they looked down on Xu Huaiyu a thousand different ways, but when it came to two lives at stake, they had no choice but to help. If they didn’t, given Liu Guifang and Xu Huaiyu’s attitudes, it was hard to imagine what mother and child might suffer.

Yan Lijun’s water broke halfway there, and she started having contractions—painful for a few minutes, then easing up for a bit.

Lin Xiaomeng, the only one among them who’d given birth before, comforted her: “Don’t worry, this is normal when you’re about to give birth. When I had Dacheng, it was the same—waves of pain, just like needing to use the bathroom. Try to rest up now, you’ll need your strength for the real battle ahead.”

It was Yan Lijun’s first time giving birth, and having someone comfort her made her feel much better. “Th-thank you, big sis, second sis.”

Gu Qinghuan saw that she was still holding up and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She still remembered how miserable Xu Meiling had looked that day.

“You haven’t had dinner, and you’ll need strength to give birth. I have a few White Rabbit candies here—eat them.” Gu Qinghuan fished a few White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket and pressed them into Yan Lijun’s hand.

Yan Lijun’s hands trembled as she unwrapped a candy and popped it into her mouth. The milky sweetness filled her mouth, but her heart still felt as bitter as if it were soaked in bitter herbs.

If she’d known Xu Huaiyu was this kind of person, she’d never have married him, no matter what. Men’s promises are all lies—those vows and declarations of love before marriage are all fake. After the wedding, his true colors showed immediately.

If he could support the family, shoulder responsibilities, and put his family first, she could have accepted it. But not only was he addicted to living off others, lazy and gluttonous, he squandered the money she worked so hard to earn, and at the critical moment, didn’t care about his wife or child’s life.

She really couldn’t see any reason to keep putting up with Xu Huaiyu. That slap just now didn’t just land on Yan Lijun—it hit her heart, too.

On the way, Xu Huaizhi switched places with Xu Huaiyu once, and Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng helped push the cart from behind. They finally got to the commune, all of them drenched in sweat and looking a mess.

The doctor on duty was a man. Xu Huaiyu instinctively objected, insisting they get a female doctor. Yan Lijun’s contractions were coming closer and closer together; she couldn’t even voice her own wishes.

Gu Qinghuan saw how much pain she was in—there was no time to switch doctors now, and besides, the commune was so small, who knew if there even was a female doctor? If it came down to it, a male doctor was more reliable than an ordinary midwife.

“We only have male doctors here. If you really don’t want one, go find a midwife yourself,” the middle-aged male doctor said, not too pleased. This was a matter of life and death—did they think doctors were just for show?

Xu Huaizhi and Lin Xiaomeng didn’t know what to do. This was a big issue, involving a woman’s reputation. If they made the decision and something went wrong, they’d get blamed.

Xu Huaiyu was torn as well.

“Is this really the time for that? Saving her life is what matters! Hurry up and get her inside. Doctor, please get ready for the delivery—she fell and went into labor early. She wasn’t due until next month.” Gu Qinghuan quickly explained the situation to the doctor.

Seeing Gu Qinghuan take charge, Xu Huaizhi and Lin Xiaomeng made up their minds and helped the doctor carry Yan Lijun into the operating room.

Xu Huaiyu glared at her, unhappy: “Who asked you to speak up here?”

Gu Qinghuan grabbed him and shoved him two meters away. “Get out of the way! This is a matter of life and death, I’ll say what I want. Just wait—if anything happens to Yan Lijun, her parents will tear you apart. A man who doesn’t even care about his wife and child—how do you expect to get into the Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers University? Dream on!”

She said this on purpose, to force him to make a decision. Sure enough, Xu Huaiyu thought fast—if something happened to Yan Lijun today, her bloodsucking parents would definitely come after his family for compensation, and who knew how much it would cost to settle. Plus, he couldn’t let anything threaten his chance to get into university.

So, he had no choice but to compromise, and under Gu Qinghuan’s watchful eye, signed the consent form.

Yan Lijun was wheeled in, and the four of them sat down in the dimly lit hallway to wait.

Now Xu Huaiyu was finally anxious, pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. The walls weren’t soundproof, and Yan Lijun’s screams of pain echoed down the corridor, sending chills down their spines.

Gu Qinghuan had never given birth herself—she’d only heard others say how painful it was. Seeing it in person, she felt her brain go numb. The screams were terrifying—how much must it hurt? She instinctively moved closer to Lin Xiaomeng.

Lin Xiaomeng patted her shoulder. “It’s normal—childbirth is always like this. When I had Dacheng, I was in pain from 10 p.m. until eight or nine the next morning. It felt like I had one foot in the grave—almost lost half my life. But now, I can’t even remember exactly what the pain felt like.”

Gu Qinghuan listened to those screams for about an hour.

Finally, the operating room door opened. A nurse came out holding a tiny bundle.

“It’s a boy. Both mother and baby are safe. The baby was born premature and is underweight—just a little over four jin (about four pounds). Who wants to hold him? I need to go help the doctor—the mother tore badly and needs stitches.”

Xu Huaiyu’s face lit up when he heard it was a boy. He had a son now. He wanted to hold him, but didn’t dare—he was so tiny, all wrinkled up like a little monkey, a stark contrast to Xu Meiling’s chubby daughter.

Neither man dared to hold the baby—Xu Huaizhi even took a step back, making it clear he was not up for the job. Gu Qinghuan didn’t dare either.

Only Lin Xiaomeng stepped forward and took the baby with practiced hands.

The newborn’s cries were as soft as a kitten’s—so quiet you’d miss it if you weren’t paying attention. No wonder they hadn’t heard anything earlier.

Both Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng felt sorry for the poor child—born prematurely, weighing only four pounds. Who knew if he’d survive?

In those days, it wasn’t unusual for babies not to make it. Even kids who made it to their teens could die unexpectedly, let alone such a fragile newborn. That’s why every family had so many children—to guard against losing one. Have a few more, and if one didn’t survive, maybe another would. That was the cruel truth of life.

The four of them gathered around the newborn. For once, Xu Huaiyu didn’t make a fuss.

Suddenly, the baby let out a loud wail, his little face turning bright red, veins bulging on his forehead. Lin Xiaomeng opened the blanket to check.

“No wet diaper—he must be hungry!”

Gu Qinghuan searched through Yan Lijun’s “delivery bag,” but there was no formula. Not surprising—formula was precious in those days, required ration coupons, and a single bag could cost half a month’s wages.

But Gu Qinghuan had formula in her space.

A thought struck her, and she came up with an idea. She mixed a spoonful of formula with spiritual spring water and brought it over, telling the others it was milk candy water made from White Rabbit candies. No milk? Well, milk candy water was better than nothing. Never mind what newborns should or shouldn’t eat—saving his life came first.

Gu Qinghuan deliberately used spiritual spring water for his first drink, hoping it would help the little guy grow up healthy.

Lin Xiaomeng fed him bit by bit with a small spoon. The baby, smelling the milk, was so hungry he sucked with all his might. Eating is a baby’s instinct.

Seeing the baby drink the “milk candy water” and stop crying, falling sweetly asleep, the adults all breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, Yan Lijun was wheeled out, already unconscious.

Gu Qinghuan told Xu Huaiyu to go pay the bill, then followed the doctor to ask about Yan Lijun’s condition.

Doctors and hospitals in those days were still very humane. Because their case was urgent and there was only one doctor and nurse on duty, they hadn’t even had time to collect payment before rushing Yan Lijun in to deliver.

Gu Qinghuan asked about Yan Lijun’s condition. The doctor said she was in poor health, skin and bones, and had torn badly, requiring many stitches. This was a good opportunity for her to rest and recover.

He especially warned that she must not do any work or strenuous activity during her confinement, to prevent uterine prolapse. He listed several cases of rural women whose uteruses had fallen out through the cervix, telling Gu Qinghuan to be vigilant.

It was enough to scare any young woman who hadn’t given birth yet.

Gu Qinghuan had never known that having a baby could have such serious consequences.

“You’re from the city, aren’t you? You don’t sound local,” the doctor said. “In rural areas, women are backward in their thinking—most choose to give birth at home. If they don’t push properly, nine out of ten will tear. Some good midwives will stitch them up, but the inexperienced ones just leave the wound as it is. If the mother isn’t careful, the tear gets worse and doesn’t heal. If she goes right back to work, lifting heavy things, the uterus and even the intestines can fall out.”

“I’ve seen the worst case—a woman in her fifties, brought in by her daughter. The daughter noticed a terrible smell when they shared a bed at her mother’s house. She checked everywhere and found it was coming from her mother. The mother refused to let her look, but the daughter insisted and finally found a strange cloth bag in her mother’s crotch. That’s where the stench came from.”

“What was in the bag? Her mother’s intestines, uterus, and other organs, all infected and festering together. For a normal person, that’s unimaginable pain, but her mother never said a word. She’d had five children, and every time she went right back to work, carrying heavy loads, which led to this. She was also too concerned about propriety to seek treatment in time. We couldn’t treat something so severe here—they’d have to go to the provincial hospital. I recommended surgery there, maybe there was still hope. But in the end, they didn’t go, and the woman passed away not long after. Such a shame.”

“Rural people are too ignorant, putting too much stock in baseless ideas and harming themselves. If they’d caught it early and treated it early, it never would’ve gotten so bad.” The doctor spoke with feeling, seeing that Gu Qinghuan was someone who understood.

He only shared so much because he could tell Gu Qinghuan was sensible."