LW chapter 86: Extra 2

 

Cheng Qing’s due date was in May. It was now April, and the weather had begun to warm up.

His belly wasn’t as big as Li Xin’s, so he remained quite active during the latter stages of his pregnancy. He couldn’t sit still and wanted to do everything.

Aunt Sun did not stop him. More movement was always good for childbirth. After Cheng Qing’s condition stabilized, Zhou Yuan began running back and forth between the district and home. Transforming the escort agency took time, and he had been busy since the New Year Festival.

He also brought Qi Shuning to the district and paid him.

While Qi Shuning prepared for the examination, he helped Zhou Yuan with matters concerning the escort agency. After the New Year Festival, news of his success in the imperial examination reached Yunxi City. After all, the Tian family, the shop owners, and the Fu family, the deans, had helped them a lot.

The palace examination was held in September, so he had to leave for the capital by mid-July at the latest. Zhou Yuan agreed that people from the escort agency would accompany him to the capital by then, which was also a gift.

His babies, An An and Ning Ning, were seven months old. They were full of energy all day long. Whenever he returned home, the house was filled with their babbling voices.

After the New Year Festival, Niu Niu went to his maternal grandparents’ house to learn crafts. Zhang Yin was the only one who helped Li Xin take care of the babies. Cheng Qing and Aunt Sun also went to help occasionally.

Qin Xia stayed home after getting married. When Meng Shuanzi left after the New Year Festival, Qin Xia followed him. This time, he took a group of people to Qin Xia’s hometown, Xia Xi. They have not returned.

After April 15, Zhou Yuan stopped going out. He stayed home with Cheng Qing all day. As the due date approached, he became more nervous than Cheng Qing.

Cheng Qing was in his third trimester, and his legs often cramped at night while he slept. Zhou Yuan could now sit and massage Cheng Qing’s legs as soon as he moved. He wouldn’t fall asleep until Cheng Qing told him to stop.

The birth attendant they found was the same one who had helped Li Xin deliver the babies. They had agreed and paid the deposit.

Having gone through it himself, Li Xin told Cheng Qing what to pay attention to in the later stages. Cheng Qing listened carefully each time, repeating some words over and over.

Cheng Qing’s labor began suddenly, a few days earlier than expected, on the night of April 26.

Cheng Qing groaned during the night, and Zhou Yuan thought he was experiencing leg cramps. When Zhou Yuan woke up to massage his legs, he felt something wet under him.

Zhou Yuan immediately woke up. He lit the oil lamp and saw Cheng Qing’s pale face. Zhou Yuan quickly put on his clothes and said, “Ah Qing, I’ll go ask Mother to stay with you. I must find Wen Gong.”

Cheng Qing nodded. “Go quickly.”

As Li Xin had said, the pain came in regular waves, but was not constant. When the pain subsided, he turned to the snack box at the foot of the bed and ate some snacks.

Soon after, Aunt Sun arrived. Seeing Cheng Qing sitting on the bed, obediently eating snacks, her heart ached. “Mother is here.”

Cheng Qing’s pain returned. He hurriedly swallowed the milk cake in his mouth and called for his mother.

“Don’t be afraid. Mother is with you.” Aunt Sun stroked his hair and asked, “Can you manage on your own while I go boil some water?”

“Of course.”

Aunt Sun went to the kitchen to boil water. She lit the fire, poured water into the pot, and then immediately returned to the room. Cheng Qing finished the cake and did not dare to move.

Li Xin had said the pain would last a long time, and Cheng Qing was prepared, so he could still endure it.

Zhou Yuan soon brought Wen Gong back and wanted to enter the room but was stopped by Wen Gong. Zhou Yuan was unwilling: “I can’t go in?”

Thinking that there had been men entering the birthing room before, Wen Gong sighed: “It’s fine as long as you don’t mind the taboo.”

Zhou Yuan rushed into the room and held Cheng Qing’s hand: “I’m here with you. If it really hurts, pinch me.”

Cheng Qing nodded, the pain leaving him with no strength for any movement, and he gripped Zhou Yuan’s hand tightly.

Cheng Qing had to bear half the process of childbirth alone. Zhou Yuan watched his pale face, but there was nothing he could do.

Cheng Qing truly had no energy to comfort him, and could only hold his hand tightly when the pain struck. He always remembered Li Xin’s advice not to waste too much energy, so he almost only hummed and never screamed loudly.

When the pain became unbearable, he could only pinch Zhou Yuan’s hand, pinching it tightly, even leaving bloody marks.

Zhou Yuan felt no pain at all, his eyes were red, and he looked at Wen Gong: “How much longer will the pain last?”

Wen Gong observed the situation: “At least an hour.”

Cheng Qing opened his eyes after another wave of pain, but felt his cheek wet. He looked up and saw Zhou Yuan crying: “I’m sorry, Ah Qing, for making you suffer so much.”

Cheng Qing reached out and wiped away his tears: “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Zhou Yuan saw Cheng Qing’s suffering with his own eyes, saw him drenched in sweat, his hair messy, and felt deep shame. He thought he would never let Cheng Qing have another child again.

At dawn, the cry of a baby was finally heard in the room.

“He’s born, a boy, and quite heavy.” Wen Gong and Aunt Sun wrapped the child together, and Zhou Yuan didn’t even have time to look at the child, only at Cheng Qing.

Cheng Qing was so exhausted that he fainted after Aunt Sun showed him the child.

Zhou Yuan panicked and was about to call for help, but Wen Gong quickly reassured him: “He’s too tired and just fell asleep.”

Wen Gong carried the child, Zhou Yuan carried Cheng Qing, and Aunt Sun tidied the bedding. Zhou Yuan laid Cheng Qing back on the bed, his movements extremely gentle, afraid of waking him.

The baby cried loudly, and Aunt Sun fed him rice soup. Zhou Yuan gave Wen Gong a red envelope and escorted him to the door.

When he returned, the child had finished the rice soup and fallen asleep. Aunt Sun placed the baby beside Cheng Qing, and both slept soundly.

Zhou Yuan looked exhausted and slumped onto the bed. Aunt Sun patted his shoulder and said, “You also need enough rest. I’ll go prepare food for Aqing. He is very weak and needs nourishment.”

Zhou Yuan nodded and stood again. He first kissed Cheng Qing’s forehead and then reached out to gently pat the baby.

Li Xin arrived unexpectedly early in the morning. Seeing the red paper on the door, he rushed into the room. “It’s born!”

Zhou Yuan nodded. “It’s born!”

“Is it a boy, a ger or a girl?” Li Xin leaned forward to look, but the child was wrapped so tightly that it was hard to tell.

Zhou Yuan shook his head. He had been so focused on Cheng Qing that he hadn’t listened carefully to what Wen Gong said. He didn’t know if the baby was a ger or a boy.

Li Xin patted his shoulder in understanding. “I’ll boil some goat’s milk for the baby and be back soon.”

When he returned, Cheng Qing was still asleep, but the baby was hungry and whimpering again.

Li Xin was very skilled at holding and feeding the baby. The child ate quietly in his arms.

“Thank you,” Zhou Yuan said.

Li Xin felt that something was off with Zhou Yuan. He placed the baby next to Cheng Qing and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Zhou Yuan looked at Cheng Qing on the bed and said, “The child hurt him so much.”

Li Xin knew what he was thinking. “Don’t be so stubborn. The child is yours and Aqing’s. He worked so hard to give birth to this child. If you don’t cherish him, his suffering will be in vain.”

Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment. Then, Li Xin added, “I really don’t know if it was good or bad to let you into the birthing room. If you don’t love this child, Aqing will be heartbroken when he wakes up.”

Zhou Yuan slapped his own forehead.

Seeing that he understood, Li Xin rolled his eyes at him. “Qi Shuning was the same back then. Look at him now, he loves his child dearly.”

“You need to rest.” Li Xin left the room. “You’ll be busy next month.”

After Li Xin left, Zhou Yuan lay down beside Cheng Qing without changing his clothes. He embraced Cheng Qing with their child beside them.

Zhou Yuan hadn’t slept in a while, and the child woke up first. He tiptoed over to pick the child up. He wasn’t sure if the child was hungry or had wet himself. Zhou Yuan was confused, but luckily, Aunt Sun arrived.

She took the child from Zhou Yuan’s arms, checked him, saw that he had peed, and quickly changed his diaper. The child felt comfortable and stopped fussing. Aunt Sun placed him beside his father.

Cheng Qing slept through the night, during which the baby was fed three times. When Cheng Qing woke up, the child was still sleeping soundly beside him. His eyes were red as he looked at Zhou Yuan. “He looks so good, just like you.”

Zhou Yuan gently wiped away his tears. “Don’t cry. Your mother said that crying during confinement will harm your eyes. Otherwise, you won’t be able to sew again. Then how will you make little clothes for the child?”

Cheng Qing quickly wiped his tears and looked at Zhou Yuan with glowing eyes.

“Get up and eat something first.” Zhou Yuan helped him up and held a bowl of chicken soup. He fed Cheng Qing spoonful after spoonful.

After drinking the soup, Cheng Qing stared at the child without blinking. No matter how he looked at him, he loved his child, and he especially felt that the child resembled Zhou Yuan.

After resting, Aunt Sun came to teach them how to care for the baby. Zhou Yuan was even busier. He had to dye eggs red, care for Cheng Qing, and look after the baby.

Cheng Qing could not get up yet, and Aunt Sun did not let him carry the baby. She said it was too tiring during the postpartum period and that his arms and legs would ache when he grew older. So, Zhou Yuan did everything for the baby.

Cheng Qing sat on the bed and watched Zhou Yuan skillfully change the baby’s diaper. He smiled and asked, “Will the baby only like you in the future?”

Zhou Yuan finished and carried the baby over to Cheng Qing. As soon as the baby got close to Cheng Qing, he stopped fussing and immediately calmed down.

He smiled and said, “The baby still likes you very much.”

“Zhou Yuan, the baby doesn’t have a name yet.” Cheng Qing gently touched the baby’s face.

Zhou Yuan looked helpless. “I—I don’t know how to name the baby. Can Shu Ning help name him when the time comes?”

Cheng Qing agreed. He couldn’t read. Although Zhou Yuan knew a few characters, it would be better if Shu Ning named the baby.

“Then we can give the baby a nickname. We can’t just keep calling him ‘the child,’” Cheng Qing said.

“Then you choose a nickname for the baby,” Zhou Yuan said.

Cheng Qing’s mind went blank for a moment, all he could think of were rustic names like Goudan and Dachui. Li Xin’s two younger brothers were clearly named An’an and Ningning, which sounded very nice.

“I can’t think of a nickname for the baby.” Cheng Qing was a little discouraged.

Zhou Yuan sat beside him and held his hand. “An’an and Ningning are what Li Xin and the others wished for their children—peaceful and smooth.”

Cheng Qing looked at the baby’s face. “Why don’t we call our baby Zhuangzhuang[mfn]壯 (zhuàng) means strong, robust, powerful, vigorous.[/mfn]?”

“I hope he will be strong and not get bullied.”

 

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