Read Novel Full Chapter 108
Chapter 108 : Giving Birth
Qin Jun was bewildered and hurried to catch up. “Lihua, Lihua, what’s wrong? Wait for me!”
He Cuicui watched the scene unfold and shook her head, thinking, ‘It’s hopeless for Qin Jun to ever win Yuan Lihua over.’
She only saw him as someone to run errands for her. When would this naïve boy finally wake up and see Yuan Lihua for who she truly was?
Meanwhile, Jiang Li returned home, enjoyed a delicious meal of braised pork, and let go of all the unpleasantness from earlier in the day.
After dinner, she reviewed some materials as usual. Later that evening, she and Qi Shaoqiang relaxed together before falling asleep. Just as they drifted off, a knock on the door broke the quiet.
Recognizing Liu Lixin’s voice, Qi Shaoqiang got up and dressed quickly. Liu Lixin stood outside, panting but grinning broadly. “Xiaoting gave birth! Both mother and baby are safe!”
Jiang Li hurriedly dressed and prepared to leave, grabbing the nourishing supplements she had set aside for the mother in advance.
Before the baby was born, Qin Xiaoting had jokingly insisted that Jiang Li must be the first to hold the baby, claiming, “The baby will resemble whoever holds it first.”
Jiang Li couldn’t help laughing at the superstition, but Qin Xiaoting had been serious. “You’re the prettiest girl I know, so it has to be you!”
When they arrived at the hospital, they found Qin Xiaoting asleep, exhausted from childbirth but looking well. Jiang Li felt reassured seeing her in good health.
Liu Lixin pointed to two babies swaddled in a cradle. “The one in pink is the little girl.”
Jiang Li carefully picked up the soft, tiny baby. The infant, content from just being fed, slept soundly in her arms. As Jiang Li held her, the baby stirred uncomfortably and began to cry.
Jiang Li looked at Qi Shaoqiang with wide eyes, unsure what to do. “I think she peed,” she said nervously.
Laughing, Liu Lixin took the baby. “I’ll change her diaper.”
Liu Lixin moved about skillfully, changing the baby’s diaper, feeding her, and even preparing warm water for Qin Xiaoting, who had just woken up. Watching him, Qi Shaoqiang felt a twinge of jealousy. ‘If I had a child, I’d take care of them even better,’ he thought, admiring Liu Lixin’s ability.
“This guy’s lucky, having two healthy babies at once,” Qi Shaoqiang murmured to himself.
Jiang Li felt the warmth of the baby in her arms linger, a soft, tender feeling that stirred something deep within her.
After leaving the nourishing supplements they’d brought, Jiang Li and Qi Shaoqiang were shooed out of the hospital by the now-awake Qin Xiaoting. “There’s no place for you to sleep here. Staying will only be uncomfortable. Don’t worry, my mother-in-law will be here by morning,” she assured them.
Just as she finished speaking, Liu Yue appeared in the doorway. “Sister-in-law, Brother, I’m here!” she announced cheerfully, followed closely by Lin Huaihua, who carried a large bag.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Qin Xiaoting asked, surprised.
“In the afternoon, someone mentioned they saw you heading to the hospital. I figured it was time, and I didn’t want you to be without help,” Lin Huaihua explained.
Liu Yue held up a large thermos. “Mom went to the house you’re renting and made some crucian carp and tofu soup. It’s steaming hot and perfect for post-birth recovery.”
Lin Huaihua added, “Oh, and the landlady is so kind! When she heard you’d given birth, she even gifted us two blocks of tofu.”
She glanced at Qin Xiaoting’s tired face and said with heartfelt emotion, “You’ve worked so hard, dear. You’re a hero to this family.”
Seeing Qin Xiaoting’s haggard state reminded Lin Huaihua of her own experience giving birth to twins. Back then, she’d been in the countryside, working with a production team, with no family around to help. The memory brought tears to her eyes.
“Quick, close the window! Women who’ve just given birth shouldn’t be exposed to the wind,” she instructed. “Yue’er, give your sister-in-law this hat.”
From her bag, Lin Huaihua pulled out various items: dried moxa leaves for foot soaks, brown sugar bought with Shaoqiang’s mother’s sugar coupons, eggs, and distiller’s grains for making nourishing drinks.
“This will help your body recover,” she said firmly, her tone both practical and loving.
“This is a patchwork quilt for the little baby; it’s easy to keep him warm. I also brought a few old hens and placed them in the rented house…”
The small ward was crowded with three people standing, and there was no place to sit. Seeing how well Qin Xiaoting was being cared for, Jiang Li smiled and decided to leave, planning to visit her again the next day.
With the help of the space spiritual spring water and the careful attention of her mother-in-law, Liu Lixin took care of all the baby’s needs, even going against everyone’s advice to feed the baby milk powder so Qin Xiaoting could focus on reviewing.
Qin Xiaoting had a smooth confinement period. Apart from eating, drinking, walking, and reviewing, everything else went well.
A month flew by, and soon the day of the exam arrived.
It was a cold and dreary day. When Jiang Li woke up early in the morning, gusts of cold wind greeted her. Fearing she might waste time, Qi Shaoqiang had already prepared rice porridge for her, paired with meat, scallion pancakes, and boiled eggs. Jiang Li ate her fill.
Once inside the exam room and with the test paper in front of her, Jiang Li ignored everything else and finished the entire paper. After the exam, Qi Shaoqiang picked her up. As they were leaving the exam room, a man with a haggard face broke down in tears, and people around them glanced at her.
Jiang Li didn’t pay it any mind, only sighing and turning to head home.
The two-day exam passed quickly. Afterwards, Jiang Li felt relieved. No matter what happened, she had done her best.
Even if she didn’t pass, the worst-case scenario was that she could try again next year.
Qin Xiaoting came to visit Jiang Li to celebrate, clearly confident in her success.
The two families decided to go to a restaurant, then head to the supply and marketing cooperative. With Chinese New Year approaching, though both men in the family had prepared some New Year goods, there was still much to buy.
The supply and marketing cooperative was the same as always, crowded with too many people and too few things. It was so packed that Jiang Li could hardly breathe.
“There’s nothing new here. Come on, I know a good place. The things there are cheap and good.”
Qin Xiaoting said mysteriously, leading them both to the station where they got on a bus.
The bus to the suburbs was surprisingly crowded, with many middle-aged women carrying baskets and bags of fertilizer.
“My mother-in-law has been living here for a month and found such a great place. With the New Year coming soon, people from the team are carrying mountain products to exchange for goods. Recently, the wind has loosened, and many people from the county have also set up stalls there.”
Jiang Li suddenly realized that there were a lot of people in the market, and it seemed like these people were going to buy things.
After getting off the bus and walking for another half hour, Jiang Li was stunned by the scale of the market before her. It was just like the large farmers’ markets from her previous life.
There were wonton stalls, noodle stands, people selling red dates, chestnuts, walnuts, and mountain products, people selling grains, people selling maltose, barbers cutting hair, shoe repair vendors, blacksmiths forging irons…
Jiang Li, fascinated by all the fresh and new items, bought red-skinned peanuts, wild yams, winter bamboo shoots, wild honey, dried shrimp, vermicelli, two big fish, a rabbit, and a pheasant. If she hadn’t been worried about being discovered by people from the staff compound, she would have filled her backpack completely.
Qin Xiaoting, however, walked around without buying anything. She came to the market purely for the reputation. With so many things in her space, she just needed an excuse to bring some of it out.
The two of them were looking around and carrying their purchases when they ran into someone they knew. Qin Xiaoting nudged Jiang Li and said, “Look.”