LW chapter 82

 

Li Xin experienced labor pains for three hours. During that time, he ate a bowl of noodles and some pastries and spent the rest of it lying in bed. According to Wen Gong, he had to save his strength because the actual birth would be very painful.

After dinner, Chen Qing asked Zhou Yuan to go to Li Xin’s house and look after him. Nighttime was different from daytime. If something happened, it would be easier if Zhou Yuan were there.

After seeing Chen Qing lie down, Zhou Yuan thought about it and went back to Li Xin’s house.

Li Tiejiang paced around the room, anxious. Zhang Yin stayed with Li Xin, while Niu Niu and Aunt Sun went home.

“Godfather.” Zhou Yuan walked to Li Tiejiang’s side.

“You’re here.” Li Tiejiang paused for a moment, then turned around. “It’s been three or four hours. Why hasn’t he given birth yet?”

“I came here to watch over him.” Zhou Yuan didn’t say the next words because they would only add to Li Tiejiang’s worry.

Li Xin had been quiet all afternoon, but now he screamed in pain from time to time. The pain seemed unbearable.

Blacksmith Li became increasingly anxious, pacing back and forth. He started shaking his legs when told to sit down.

Zhou Yuan patted his shoulder, knowing there was nothing else he could do but wait calmly.

There was a commotion outside, and Zhou Yuan stood up and saw Qi Shuning stumble into the house. Zhou Yuan hurried to support him. “Why did you come back?”

Qi Shuning had just steadied himself when he heard Li Xin’s cries of pain from inside. “What’s wrong with Xinxin?”

“It started today, and he’s giving birth.” Zhou Yuan took his belongings and said, “Go bathe first, then see him later.”

Fortunately, there was plenty of hot water. Qi Shuning quickly bathed, changed clothes, and returned to the house.

Zhang Yin was also surprised when she heard the noise. She blocked him at the door and said, “Don’t go in.”

Qi Shuning looked past her and saw Li Xin. Then, he heard Li Xin cry out in pain. He craned his neck and shouted, “Xinxin, are you okay? I’m back!”

Li Xin, who had been enduring all afternoon, became furious when he heard his voice. “So you still know how to come back!”

Qi Shuning was at a loss for words and hurried to comfort him. “Ah, I’m back! I even learned how to ride a horse. I can take you riding in the future.”

“Who wants to ride a horse?” Li Xin’s voice was so loud that it startled everyone in the room.

“Mother, please let me in.” Qi Shuning pleaded. “See? He’s so spirited now that I’m back.”

“But it’s taboo for a man to enter the birthing room.” Zhang Yin hesitated for a moment.

“Mother, I’ve got nothing to hide. Just let me in.” Qi Shuning pleaded again. “Xinxin is giving birth. I can only sit outside and wait. How can I let him suffer alone? If I go in, he can pinch me, which will ease his pain too.”

Seeing him beg like this, Zhang Yin opened the door slightly, and Qi Shuning went in.

After that, Li Xin scolded Qi Shuning almost exclusively. Qi Shuning kept saying, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.” After an unknown amount of time, a baby’s cry pierced the darkness.

Li Tiejiang grabbed Zhou Yuan’s shoulder and jumped. “Born, born!”

He leaned toward the door to look, but it was closed and he couldn’t see anything. He could only hear Li Xin scolding him.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before another cry sounded. The two children cried together, their voices quite loud.

After the babies were cleaned, Li Xin was dressed, and the room was aired out, Zhang Yin and Wen Gong each carried a child. “They are two little gers, crying loudly. Both are healthy.”

Li Tiejiang came forward, overjoyed. The children were too small and wrinkly at the time to tell what they looked like. They were probably hungry because they were still crying.

After the babies were born, there was no breast milk. Typically, families would feed their newborns rice soup, and those who could afford it would hire a wet nurse.

When Aunt Sun heard the babies crying, she had already made rice soup for them. Zhou Yuan helped bring the soup and watched them feed the babies. Once the babies had finished eating and fallen asleep, they returned the children to Li Xin.

When Wen Gong came out, Li Tiejiang handed him a thick red envelope.

Seeing that Li Xin was sleeping, Qi Shuning also went out, asking Wen Gong to leave with Li Tiejiang. Then, he spoke with Zhou Yuan for a while.

“I just finished the exam, and I don’t know why, but I felt like I had to come back right away.” He scratched his head and continued, “I happened to run into Shopkeeper Tian and Doctor Yu, who were meeting at Yuancang to honor their ancestors. Then, Shopkeeper Tian taught me how to ride a horse and lent me his.”

Zhou Yuan looked at him. He couldn’t imagine Qi Shuning, who knew nothing about horseback riding, rushing back from Yuancang in ten days. Perhaps the bond between father and son was what kept Qi Shuning from missing the birth of his child.

“Rest well, and take good care of Li Xin.” Zhou Yuan patted his shoulder. He had wanted to say more, but Qi Shuning must be very tired now.

Qi Shuning nodded. “You should also go back and rest.”

When Zhou Yuan returned home, Chen Qing was still awake. The lamp in the room was lit, and he was leaning against the head of the bed, waiting eagerly.

Hearing the sound outside the door, he immediately poked his head out to look. Zhou Yuan washed his face before returning to the room. “The babies are here. Two little gers. Both are safe, and Qi Shuning is back.”

Chen Qing’s eyes widened. “That’s great! I’ll ask Mother tomorrow when I can go see Li Xin.” He looked at Zhou Yuan again. “Qi Shuning came back? Wasn’t he taking the exam?”

Zhou Yuan took off his shoes, got into bed, and held Chen Qing. After hearing Li Xin’s painful cries all night, he felt uneasy. The thought of Chen Qing experiencing such a day made him anxious. He wished he could bear his pain.

Chen Qing lazily leaned against his chest. “What do the little treasures look like?”

Zhou Yuan wrapped his arm around his waist and replied, “They’re too small, a bit wrinkled, and a bit ugly. They’re hard to tell apart.”

Chen Qing patted his chest. “How can you say the children are ugly?”

Zhou Yuan smiled. “They’re just two wrinkly things, and they look the same.”

Chen Qing snorted, turned over, and lay on his pillow. “They’re twins, of course they look alike.”

Zhou Yuan asked him, “Are you all right? Did you have stomach pain tonight?”

“No, I’m fine. Mother said she wants to go to the city tomorrow. You can go with her.” Chen Qing said, “We haven’t prepared a gift for the little treasures.”

“What should we prepare?” Zhou Yuan lifted his hair and played with it in his hand.

Chen Qing thought for a moment. “Just one longevity lock for each of them?”

Zhou Yuan nodded. “Alright, I’ll go buy them with Mother tomorrow. Can you stay home alone?”

“Of course. I’m resting in bed. I can’t move.” Thinking he was fussing, Chen Qing asked, “Can you bring me bamboo shoots and fresh meat buns when you come back?”

“Is there anything else you want to eat?” Zhou Yuan asked again.

Chen Qing rubbed his stomach. He wished he hadn’t said that because now he was hungry. “I’m hungry now.”

Zhou Yuan thought about the roasted meat from the evening and decided to heat it up and bring it. However, as soon as Chen Qing smelled it, he vomited. Zhou Yuan immediately took it back to the kitchen and poured water for Chen Qing. He had Chen Qing rinse his mouth after vomiting.

“Fishy.” Chen Qing frowned.

Zhou Yuan was confused. Chen Qing had clearly enjoyed dinner, so why did he want to vomit just from smelling it?

“Do you want to eat something else?” Zhou Yuan supported him and helped him breathe.

Chen Qing smelled the fishy scent on Zhou Yuan’s body and pushed him away. “I don’t want to eat anymore. You smell fishy, too.”

“Then rinse again.” Zhou Yuan handed him a cup and said, “I’ll bathe and change clothes.”

Chen Qing thought the warm water smelled bad, so he shook his head and said he didn’t want to drink it. He was afraid of vomiting again if he lay down, so he had to sit up.

Zhou Yuan’s eyes were full of complicated thoughts as he thought about how much Chen Qing was suffering.

He quickly bathed in cold water, changed his clothes, and lowered his head to kiss Chen Qing. Only the scent of soap remained. Chen Qing shouldn’t smell him now.

When Zhou Yuan returned to the room, Chen Qing reached out to him. Zhou Yuan went over, and Chen Qing hugged his neck and sniffed his collar. When he couldn’t smell anything, he hugged him tightly again. “Don’t worry.”

Zhou Yuan kissed his cheek. “Thank you for your hard work, Aqing.”

After hugging and talking for a while, their hunger returned. Chen Qing sighed, “Can you cook pickled cabbage soup for me?”

Zhou Yuan didn’t know how to cook, so Chen Qing got up and went to the kitchen with him. He asked Zhou Yuan to sit by the stove while he took pickled vegetables and beans out of a jar and cut them according to his instructions.

Water boiled in a pot, and after it came to a boil, the kimchi was added. Zhou Yuan looked at Chen Qing. “Just pickled cabbage soup?”

Chen Qing thought for a moment. “Should we cook noodles?”

Zhou Yuan nodded and kneaded the dough again. His hands were strong, and the noodles he kneaded were very springy. The soup was sour with the fragrance of wheat. Chen Qing drank a bowl of warm soup and finally felt comfortable again.

After eating, Zhou Yuan walked Chen Qing around the courtyard twice and then took him back to the room to sleep.

The next morning, Zhou Yuan watched as Chen Qing ate a bowl of egg custard before helping Aunt Sun prepare the ox cart to go to the city.

Before leaving, Zhou Yuan kept telling him to rest well. Chen Qing nodded, and he walked away with Aunt Sun, turning back every few steps.

Obediently, Chen Qing leaned against the bed, unable to sleep. He found the red fabric used for the wedding clothes in the wardrobe. There was still some left, so he decided to make two red belly bands for the children.

He hadn’t sewn in a long time and felt a little rusty. He practiced for a while before daring to start. However, once he began, it felt easy. He drew lines, cut, and stitched skillfully.

Time passed quickly while he was absorbed in the task. When he heard voices outside, he realized Zhou Yuan and the others had returned. He hadn’t rested at all that morning.

So, he quickly put down what he was holding, lay down, and pretended to sleep.

When Zhou Yuan entered the room, he saw pieces of fabric and the embroidery basket that Chen Qing hadn’t hidden, lying next to the bed.

Zhou Yuan walked to the bed and saw that Chen Qing couldn’t even pretend to be asleep. His eyelashes trembled as if he had done something wrong. Zhou Yuan laughed and said, “Don’t pretend. Get up.”

Chen Qing opened his eyes, they were clear, not at all like someone who had just woken up.

Zhou Yuan bent down and ruffled his hair. “I don’t mind you sewing, just don’t tire yourself out.”

“I feel fine today. I’m not tired.” Chen Qing said. “I made two belly bands for the children.”

It had taken a long time to make the two belly bands, and Chen Qing was almost finished. “So you haven’t rested since we left?”

Chen Qing: …

 

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