Reborn in 1966

Chapter Sixty-Nine Production

There was a commotion in the yard. Shen's father arrived with Aunt Hua. Aunt Hua washed her hands first, and after looking at her, she said, "Don't rush, we have to wait a little longer. Lingling, let's hold on for now. Wait until I tell you to push harder before you push."

Tian Lingling was sweating profusely from the pain, but she gritted her teeth and nodded. Aunt Hua asked Grandma, "Have you eaten anything?"

Grandma said, "I ate a few poached eggs and half a bowl of noodle soup."

Aunt Hua nodded and said, "That's good. Let's wait a little longer; there's still something to take care of."

There was another flurry of footsteps in the courtyard, and Tian Lingling's mother came running in.

Grandma rushed forward to greet her, saying, "Mother-in-law, your arrival puts my mind at ease."

Tian Lingling's mother said, "My dear in-law, it's alright, Aunt Hua is here." But her hands were still trembling slightly.

When Tian Lingling's mother arrived at the kang (a heated brick bed), she saw her daughter lying on it. Her two long braids, which she had cut into short hair to make it easier to manage after giving birth, were now matted with sweat and stuck to her scalp. When she saw her mother, she looked somewhat relaxed and said, "Mother, I feel relieved to see you here."

Tian Lingling's mother said, "Don't worry, Qing. With Aunt Hua here, you don't need to think about anything. Just listen to Aunt Hua and do your best when she tells you to. Don't worry about anything else."

Tian Lingling nodded, and her mother took a towel from the kang (a heated brick bed) to wipe her daughter's sweat. Grandma, Second Grandma, and Shen's mother prepared various things under Aunt Hua's direction. After Aunt Hua checked again, she said, "Let's get ready, it's almost done." With everyone's help, Tian Lingling followed Aunt Hua's instructions, breathing in and out as needed.

Peitian sat on the kang with his two younger sisters. Peizhi said, "Third brother, eldest brother and second brother are helping in the yard. Why don't we go and help too?"

Peitian said, "What help would you be if you went? Our mother said I should stay inside with you two. Let's just stay inside."

Peijun carried a large wooden tray into the house, placed it on the kang table, and said to the three children, "Have some soup noodles first, Grandpa made them."

Pei Yin looked over and saw three small bowls on a square wooden plate, each containing a chopstickful of noodles and plenty of soup, with bright green vegetable scraps floating on top, making it look very appetizing.

Peijun placed the bowl on the kang table and said, "Eat something to tide you over. If you get sleepy, take a nap. But don't wander around."

Peitian had already picked up his chopsticks and started slurping his noodles, saying indistinctly as he ate, "Second brother, what are we going out for in the dark? Don't worry, I'll eat something hot and then go back to sleep."

Peijun tapped Peitian on the head and said, "You're the older brother, take good care of your two younger sisters. Do you just eat and drink your fill and then go to sleep?"

Peitian cried out, "Ouch!" and said, "Don't hit me on the head, what if you make me stupid?"

Peijun said, "You weren't smart to begin with."

Peitian glared angrily at his second brother, took a bite of noodles with resentment, and said, "I'll show you what I'm capable of one day."

Peijun looked at his younger brother with a smile. Peitian, like a deflated balloon, pouted and didn't say anything more.

Peijun watched as Peiyin held chopsticks in her little hands and slowly put noodles into her mouth, and said, "Peiyin, come here, your brother will feed you."

Pei Yin tilted her head and thought for a moment. It seemed that she had never been fed by her brother before. Why not give it a try?

Pei Yin handed the chopsticks to her second brother, Pei Jun. Pei Jun held the chopsticks in one hand and the bowl in the other, picked up a few noodles, blew on them to cool them down, and put them to Pei Yin's mouth. After Pei Yin opened her mouth and ate, Pei Jun picked up a few more noodles, blew on them to cool them down, and put them to Pei Yin's mouth. Even if Pei Yin hadn't finished chewing and swallowing the noodles in her mouth, he held up the chopsticks and waited patiently for Pei Yin to eat.

Pei Yin stared wide-eyed, eating her noodles with her mouth bulging, while carefully observing her second brother's face. There wasn't a trace of impatience on her brother's face. Even though she ate very slowly, he patiently fed her bit by bit. Pei Yin realized that she had been somewhat biased in her perception of her second brother. She had originally thought that he was an aloof person who didn't pay much attention to others and wouldn't have much patience for his younger siblings. She hadn't expected him to be such a loving brother.

The small bowl of noodles was finished in no time, and the commotion outside the yard grew louder. Grandma called out in a low voice, "Shengqin, hurry up and bring two more basins of hot water."

My second uncle readily agreed and scurried off from the kitchen to bring hot water into the house.

Pei Yin leaned against the wall and heard her aunt's groans from next door getting louder. Aunt Hua shouted from the side, "We can see the head now, give it a little more effort, give it a little more effort!"

Mother Tian said, "Don't panic, don't panic, listen to your Aunt Hua, hold your mother's hand tightly, and pull hard, pull hard."

Grandma took the basin from her second uncle and said, "The hot water is here, the hot water is here."

After a moment of panic, the loud cry of a newborn baby instantly relaxed Pei Yin's tense nerves, and she finally gave birth to the child.

Mother Tian breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at her in-laws' faces. Seeing the joy on her mother-in-law's face, her slightly anxious heart finally settled down. Many families in the village treated their daughters-in-law badly because they hadn't given birth to a grandson. Although she knew her in-laws weren't like that, seeing it with her own eyes still put her at ease.

Shen Shengqin was outside when he heard the baby crying inside and felt relieved. When his grandmother saw Aunt Hua helping to deliver the baby, she went to the door and said to Shen Shengqin, "Shengqin, your wife gave birth to a big, healthy girl. Oh my, what a beautiful child!"

Shen Shengqin asked his mother outside the house, "Mom, is Lingling alright?"

Grandma said, "Your daughter-in-law is great. We'll tidy up a bit, then you can come in and see for yourself."

When Tian's mother heard her daughter and son-in-law ask her how her daughter was doing, she was overjoyed. Looking at her daughter who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, she felt that it was really good to have found such a good husband's family. She quickly got up to help tidy up the house.

Hearing the baby's loud cry, the second brother, Peijun, also breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Oh dear, Auntie has given birth. I wonder if it's a little brother or a little sister."

Pei-Tian said, "It must be a little boy crying so loudly."

Pei-Chih said, "I still prefer little sisters. Look how nice Pei-Yin is. It would be great to have another little sister like her."

Pei Yin thought to herself, "How many children are as well-behaved as me? If I didn't have a loli body, I would have been feeding you all a lot of good food and drink by now. Why would I only eat meat once in a long while?"

Peijun took the bowls and chopsticks back to the kitchen, and Peizhi said to Peitian, "Third Brother, why don't we go to Second Uncle's room and take a look?"

Peitian said, "Our mother won't let us go out. Can we go out?"

Peizhi said, "Anyway, our second aunt has already given birth, so let's go see her. She should be alright now."

Peitian said, "Then let's go. I wonder what a newborn baby looks like." He couldn't hide the curiosity on his face.

Pei Yin naturally followed behind the two children. She put on her shoes, and the three children slipped off the kang (a heated brick bed), left the house, and walked into the yard.

In the courtyard, Grandpa was squatting under the sycamore tree, smoking his pipe. Shen's father was squatting beside him. When he saw the three children come out of the house, he beckoned them over and asked, "It's so cold outside, what are you doing out here?"

Pei-tian said, "We want to see if our second aunt gave birth to a little brother or a little sister."

Mr. Shen said, "Your second aunt gave birth to a little sister for you."

Pei-Tian said, "Huh? It's not a little brother. I thought the one crying so loudly was a little brother."

When Shen's mother went to the kitchen to put things away, she saw the three children in the yard and asked, "Why did you come out? It's so cold outside, don't catch a cold."

Peizhi said, "Mom, we're dressed warmly, it's alright. We want to go see the little sister my second aunt gave birth to."

Mother Shen smiled and said, "We'll have to wait until dawn. Your second aunt is asleep, so it's not good for you to go in. Go back to your room and get some more sleep. I'll call you to see your sister when it's light."

Peitian said, "Okay then, I'll take my sister to bed."

Peitian pulled one of them back onto Grandma's kang (a heated brick bed), helped his younger sister take off her clothes, and said, "Let's sleep a little longer, otherwise we won't have the energy to go to class during the day."

Peitian is currently attending elementary school, and Peizhi is in the preschool class. They attend school six and a half days a week, with Saturday afternoons and Sundays off. Shen's mother also has the same rest time as the two of them. When she went to the yard just now, Peiyin felt that it was still very dark. She estimated that it was not yet four o'clock in the morning, otherwise she could still see a sliver of light on the eastern horizon. It's really inconvenient not having a clock at home.

Pei Yin got up in the middle of the night. Although she was quite energetic just now, she felt extremely sleepy. After covering herself with a thin blanket and closing her eyes, she fell asleep again.

When I woke up again, I could see the sunlight outside the window. I was lying alone on the big kang (a heated brick bed), sleeping. I got up, put on my clothes and shoes, and got off the kang.

Pushing open the half-closed door, cheerful sunlight streamed through the thick leaves of the sycamore trees, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Pei Yin stretched and stood under the sycamore tree. The early autumn air already carried the scent of harvest. With her eyes closed, she smelled the slightly cool air and seemed to be able to see the plump ears of corn and the red sorghum bending low. A gentle breeze blew by, and she felt a sense of satisfaction that the harvest was just around the corner.

Grandma came out of Second Uncle's house and saw Peiyin standing under the sycamore tree. She walked over and asked, "Peiyin, what are you doing standing here?"

Pei Yin opened her eyes, saw her grandmother, and said, "Grandma, I was thinking about the ripe crops in the field. We need to start harvesting them."

Grandma was stunned by Pei Yin's nonsensical words. She said, "Yes, it'll be time to harvest the rice in two days. Pei Yin, are you hungry? Have a bowl of millet porridge first."

Grandma took Peiyin's hand and led her to the kitchen. A pot of millet porridge was simmering on the small stove in the kitchen. The bright yellow porridge emitted an enticing aroma. Peiyin took a deep breath of the fragrance and said to Grandma, "Grandma, it smells so good!"

Grandma said, "You're all benefiting from your second aunt's kindness. This was brought over by Grandma Tian, ​​and it's this year's new rice. Here, have a bowl first."