Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 87 Advance Production
"You guys eat, the place is small and there's not enough room for you to sit. Xiaozhi and I can eat on the north kang, it's the same for everyone."

Lin Ruolan put the heated wine on the table and declined with a smile.

Li Yongfu glanced at the small table on the north kang. There were indeed dumplings and vegetables, but there were fewer meat and vegetables and more shredded potatoes.

Without saying a word, Li Yongfu picked up a plate and picked out a lot of pork elbows and other things and brought them to the north kang. Then he came back to drink and eat with everyone.

During these days of rehearsal, I only had a good meal in Tadian.

At other times, we lived in a row of dormitories, just making do with whatever we had and eating whatever was available. Everyone relied heavily on it.

This time, when they saw the delicious food, they didn't hesitate and ate and drank to their heart's content.

Everyone ate and drank, and the party lasted until quite late. Afterwards, Qu Shaoyang led everyone back to his place to sleep.

There were a lot of people coming, and there weren't enough beddings at home, so we got several beddings from Shui Laowu, and that was enough for us to use.

Everyone drank a lot of wine and slept well that night.

The snoring is deafening, and coupled with the sound of people grinding their teeth in their sleep, talking nonsense, and farting, it is really noisy.

It's rare for Shui Laowu to come home, so he must sleep with his wife in his arms at night.

He slept soundly that night, but as he was sleeping, he felt something was wrong, as if something was wet.

Shui Laowu thought he was dreaming at first, but then he heard Lin Ruolan's low cry in his ears.

"Dongshan, my stomach hurts, I think I'm about to give birth."

When Shui Laowu heard this, he sat up with a start.

When he looked again, Lin Ruolan beside him was frowning in pain, and her body was wet. It seemed that she was really about to give birth.

"Wife, wait a minute. I'll call the doctor and the midwife."

The water crow was so anxious that he quickly put on his clothes and ran out in his slippers.

There was a noise on the south kang, and Tianzhi, who was sleeping on the north kang, also heard it. He hurriedly put on his clothes and went to Lin Ruolan.

"Mom, what's wrong with you?"

At this time, Lin Ruolan felt pain in her stomach and it seemed that she was really about to give birth.

"Xiaozhi, go clean the pot and boil some more hot water."

"Oh, I see." Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhi immediately went out, carried firewood, made a fire, washed the pot, and boiled water. He worked very efficiently.

Before the water in the pot could boil, Water Crow had already hurried back with the doctor and the midwife.

"Please, both of you, please show my wife to me. Just tell me what you need me to do."

The doctor and the midwife both received money and gifts from the water crow, so naturally they had to do their best.

So the two of them went into the room to check on Lin Ruolan. They saw that her amniotic fluid had broken and that her stomach aches were regular, which were signs of impending birth.

So the midwife quickly directed the water crow to help set up the delivery room.

Spread the straw prepared in advance on the head of the kang, and then spread a thick layer of wood ash on the straw, and then cover it with sheets, wool paper, etc.

After cleaning up the place and moving Lin Ruolan over, the midwife began to rub Lin Ruolan's belly.

Xiao Zhi took this opportunity to go next door and call Qu Shaoyang, "Brother, brother, my mother is about to give birth."

Qu Shaoyang, who was sleeping soundly in the room, sat up suddenly when he heard the sound, put on his clothes quickly and came out.

"What's going on? Is Master's wife going to give birth?"

Is it such a coincidence? They came back yesterday and the baby is due this morning? It seems like it’s not quite the due date yet?
Oh no, maybe it got stretched while making dumplings or cooking yesterday?
"Who's here? Have you found the doctor and the midwife?" "Yes, Dad just called them over. It was the midwife who said that mom was about to give birth. Brother, is mom okay? I'm a little scared."

Xiaozhi is only nine years old. No matter how smart and precocious he is, he is still a child after all. It is normal for him to be afraid when encountering such things.

"It's okay, don't worry, Master's wife will be fine.

Well, let's go to Zhou's house and invite Aunt Zhou, as well as the sister-in-law from the Zhao family who usually helps take care of you, to come and help."

There was only one midwife in the delivery room, and she was unable to handle the whole job. It was not easy for grown men like them to go in and help, so they had to find some experienced wives and mothers-in-law to help.

So, Qu Shaoyang took Xiao Zhi and hurriedly went to invite Aunt Zhou, sister-in-law Zhao and others, the neighbors.

It was morning cooking time and everyone was up.

When she heard that Lin Ruolan was about to give birth, Zhou's wife immediately arranged some household matters and then went out with Qu Shaoyang.

When Zhou's wife and Zhao's wife arrived at Liu's house, they washed their hands carefully with warm water and soap as soon as they entered the door, and then went into the east room to help.

"Go and cook some poached eggs for your mistress. She hasn't eaten anything all morning, so how can she have the energy to give birth to a child?"

Old Zhou's wife went into the house to take a look, then hurried out to ask people to start working.

When Qu Shaoyang heard this, he immediately took out five eggs from the cupboard and placed a small pot in front of the stove.

Add water, and when the water starts to bubble up, add five poached eggs. Before serving, add a little bit of oil, salt and chopped green onions.

The poached eggs were cooked, and Zhao's wife brought them in. Lin Ruolan gritted her teeth and endured the pain, eating all five eggs and even drinking the soup.

Shui Laowu was in the outer room, running around anxiously. His wife was giving birth, and he couldn't help at all. He felt like a waste.

"Sister He, how is my wife? How long will it take for her to give birth?"

Shui Laowu listened to Lin Ruolan's cries of pain in the room. She had been in pain for a long time, but the baby had not been born yet. She was anxious and distressed, so she asked the midwife loudly in the outer room.

"Your wife is probably pregnant with twins. The fetuses are in a slightly awkward position. The doctor is giving her acupuncture. Don't worry." The midwife's voice came from the east room.

Before, when everyone saw Lin Ruolan’s belly, they said it looked like she was pregnant with two babies. At that time, Shui Laowu and Lin Ruolan didn’t take it seriously.

Twins are not common. How could this couple be so lucky to have two in their lifetime?

At this time, Shui Laowu heard the midwife say that his wife might really be pregnant with twins, but the fetuses were in an abnormal position. He didn't care about being happy anymore and was only worried about whether his wife would be okay.

"Master's wife, where did you put the medicine I brought back from Daqinggou?
Take it out and show it to the doctor to see if it can be used."

Compared to the water crow who was so worried that he just kept spinning in circles, Qu Shaoyang was much calmer. He remembered the medicine given by Doctor Chen and hurriedly shouted in the outer room.

Lin Ruolan in the room was suffering from stomach pain and her reaction was much slower.

It was only when Old Zhou's wife repeated Qu Shaoyang's words that Lin Ruolan finally remembered.

Then he pointed to the cabinet on the kang and said, "Inside that cabinet, in the south corner, there is a gray cloth bag."

Old Zhou's wife quickly searched the cupboard and found the gray cloth bag. After opening it, she saw several white porcelain bottles and a few notes inside.

Old Zhou's wife could not read, so she quickly handed the things to the doctor.

The doctor was overjoyed when he saw it. "Oh, this is a good thing. Why didn't you tell me earlier? Quick, bring some water."

Someone brought a bowl of warm water, and the doctor poured out some medicine powder from the medicine bottle, dissolved it, and fed it to Lin Ruolan.

After a while, the midwife rubbed the baby's belly again, and sure enough, the fetus' position was corrected.

(End of this chapter)