Three Women in the Cage

As autumn turned to winter, Yang Yu's belly grew bigger and bigger, and her movements became less and less stable. The crops outside gradually became difficult to work on, so Yang Yu had no choice but to bow her head and coax Zhang Erfa to come back. Life still had to go on.

Zhang's parents also urged their son to go back. After all, they didn't know if Yang Yu would give birth to a grandson sooner this time. Besides, if he didn't go back for a long time, abandoning mother and daughter would be criticized. It was reasonable for Zhang Erfa to go back. His original intention was to get Yang Yu to compromise and beg him, but Yang Yu bowed her head and let him go back first. His goal was achieved, and there was no need to continue the stalemate.

Yang Yu didn't ask much of Zhang Erfa after he returned home. She just asked him to work on the farm with her. She patiently taught him little by little and guided him to do the work well. Gradually, Zhang Erfa accepted Yang Yu's guidance. After returning home, Yang Yu would ask about his well-being, talk about how the family should live a good life, and guide him to be a man who could stand up for himself and support the family. She also asked him to help take care of Huanhuan because she was about to give birth.

Life passed peacefully for over a month, and finally, Yang Yu gave birth. That night, Yang Yu suddenly felt a dull stomachache. Unsure of the exact time of day, she hadn't been fully prepared, but the unexpected nighttime onset of pain made her a little panicked. Enduring the pain, she figured it was just a stomach upset and that the pain would subside once she reached the toilet. She struggled out of bed, not waking the soundly sleeping Zhang Erfa, and slowly made her way to the toilet. But before she could even squat, another wave of cramps struck, lasting for dozens of seconds, nearly knocking her off her feet.

She leaned against the wall and waited for the pain to subside, then tried to squat down again. She felt a constipation-like discomfort, but before the discomfort subsided, a familiar cramp spread throughout her body. The pain lasted for dozens of seconds, and she could no longer hold on, and she groaned in pain.

It was not until the pain passed that she realized that she might give birth today. Sure enough, another round of cramps came a few minutes later. Without thinking about anything else, Yang Yu relaxed and moved to the bedroom with difficulty.

Standing in front of the bed, enduring the pain, she weakly called out to Zhang Erfa, "Erfa, hurry up, I'm afraid I'm about to give birth, go call mom!" Afraid that Zhang Erfa would not wake up, she reached out and twisted his leg hard.

Zhang Erfa was forced to open his sleepy eyes by the twisting, and looking at the black shadow in front of him, he was so scared that he immediately turned on the bedside lamp. In the dim yellow light, he saw Yang Yu leaning weakly against the headboard, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, his brows furrowed, and he groaned in pain, and he woke up immediately.

"What's wrong? Why are you up? Is the birth imminent? What should I do now?" Zhang Erfa seemed a little flustered. The last time she gave birth, it was during the day, and the whole family was there to help. With Zhang's mother giving the instructions, he had a sense of purpose even in his panic. But now it was night, and he was the only man there. Seeing Yang Yu like this, he suddenly didn't know what to do and asked Yang Yu in a panic.

Yang Yu was in so much pain that she didn't have the energy to shout. Seeing the panicked Zhang Erfa, she had to calm down and comfort him, "Don't panic, go call Mom up first. When you come back, go boil some water and prepare some towels and scissors. The rest will be done when Mom comes. She knows what to do. Go quickly." After she finished speaking, another wave of cramps came over her, causing Yang Yu to cry out.

Zhang Erfa got up in a hurry, put on his clothes, carried Yang Yu to bed, and ran outside with a flashlight.

Yang Yu's groaning still woke up the sleeping Huanhuan. Looking at her mother with a painful face, the two-year-old Huanhuan cried and wiped the sweat from Yang Yu's forehead, "Mom, what's wrong with you?" She had never seen her mother in such pain. From time to time, she cried out because she couldn't bear the pain. She was scared and anxious, and kept crying and calling for her mother.

When the pain subsided, Yang Yu took the opportunity to comfort Huanhuan, "Mommy is okay. The little brother in your belly is naughty and keeps kicking me so hard that my stomach hurts. He wants to come out and play with me. Huanhuan, be good. Go out and see if daddy is back. Mommy is giving birth to your little brother in there. Huanhuan, go out and call daddy." As soon as Yang Yu finished speaking, she cried out in pain again.

Huanhuan heard Yang Yu's cries and ran out in fear. Standing at the gate, she stared at the pitch-black night. It was endless, without a single ray of light. The occasional chirping of insects and barking of dogs made her afraid to venture out into the darkness. But her mother's cries of pain from within kept her urging her to venture out.

Just as she was hesitating, a bright light in the distance flickered and slowly approached this side. Huanhuan cried out "Daddy, hurry, Mommy". Because of her excitement, Huanhuan couldn't express herself. It was like when she was at a loss, she grabbed a guiding line and calmed her panicked heart.

Zhang Erfa hurriedly passed by Huanhuan without even glancing at her, because he himself was no better off than Huanhuan and urgently needed a backbone. He rushed to the bedroom, looked at Yang Yu and said, "Mom was called back halfway. The third son's wife said she had a stomachache and was afraid she was about to give birth. Mom asked me to come back and boil some water, and she will be here soon."

Mother Zhang thought that Yang Yu was the second child and had more experience than the third daughter-in-law. In addition, the third daughter-in-law lived with them, so she thought of taking care of the third daughter-in-law first and going over after the situation stabilized.

Seeing that Zhang Erfa did not bring Zhang's mother, Yang Yu felt a flash of despair. As expected, between her and the third daughter-in-law, they chose the third daughter-in-law without any suspense. She should not have held that hope. She just didn't know that Liu Chunxiang also launched the attack tonight. Was it a coincidence or something else? Yang Yu had a hint of doubt in her heart.

But she quickly calmed down, endured the cramps, and thought about the last time Zhang's mother delivered her baby. She asked Zhang Erfa to disinfect the scissors with boiling water, boil a basin of hot water, and find some cotton cloth.

While Zhang Erfa went to prepare, Yang Yuqiang propped herself up. She was ready to deliver the baby herself. Following the steps Zhang's mother took last time, she put a quilt under her body, then bent her legs, took a few deep breaths, and as the colic came, she supported her upper body, bit her lip and groaned, while pushing down. She waited until her strength was exhausted and lay down helplessly. When the next colic came, she continued to support her upper body, bit her teeth and groaned, while pushing down. After several times, sweat was already pouring down her forehead.

Hearing Huanhuan's crying outside, Yang Yu propped himself up and shouted tiredly to the outside, "Hanhuan, hurry up, ask your father to bring in hot water to help me wipe it."

A moment later, Zhang Erfa came in with hot water. Seeing the red quilt beneath Yang Yu, he was so frightened that he almost dropped the water. "Blood! Why is there so much blood? What should I do?" Zhang Erfa said tremblingly, his hands shaking.

Seeing Zhang Erfa trembling with fear, Yang Yu didn't even have the energy to laugh at him. She said weakly, "Hurry up and wipe the sweat off my face and bring me the scissors!" Her voice was full of fatigue.

Finally, with Yang Yu's screams and cries, the baby finally emerged. Zhang Erfa stood there, stunned, his hands at a loss, looking at the bloodied child. Yang Yu could only force herself to get up, pick up the scissors, and cut the umbilical cord. She casually wiped the blood off her body before letting Zhang Erfa take her over to wash her in hot water.

Zhang Erfa was excited and afraid as he washed the dirt off the child. Then he noticed that it was another girl. His eyes darkened instantly, but he continued to wash calmly. When the basin was full of blood, he took the child out.

Looking at Zhang Erfa holding the child who had not had time to put clothes on, Yang Yu accidentally discovered that it was another girl. She suddenly felt a sense of loss in her heart. After feeling the loss, she took the child, wrapped her in cloth and put her in the quilt, then patted the child with one hand and was in a daze.

After a while, Zhang's mother came. Seeing Zhang Erfa pouring water at the gate of the yard, she shouted, "Erfa, Erfa, what's wrong? Did you give birth? Is it a boy or a girl? Oh, my third daughter-in-law has a stomachache. I thought she was about to give birth, but it turned out she had an upset stomach. When I saw that she was fine, I hurried over." Zhang's mother said as she walked in.

Zhang Erfa welcomed Zhang's mother in and said indifferently, "It's born, just now, a girl."

The smile on Zhang's mother's face froze. She stopped in her tracks as she was about to step into the bedroom. She looked at Zhang Erfa and said gloomily, "Why is it another liar girl? How can you be so useless that you can't even give birth to a son? You useless thing."

Finally, Zhang's mother entered the bedroom, glanced at Yang Yu, did some superficial work, and left in a hurry without even looking at the child.