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Chapter 148: How Could She Be So Heartless?
Chapter 148: How Could She Be So Heartless?
Giving birth is truly a mystery for women.
Some women, no matter how many times they have given birth, always go through excruciating pain each time. The labor often lasts for half a day, and they wish they could kick the "culprit" away.
But there are also women who give birth very easily. Apart from the first child, which might be a bit painful, the subsequent births are as simple as passing a bowel movement, with hardly any discomfort, and the baby is born.
Thus, in the rural areas of this era, it’s not uncommon for pregnant women to simply go to the toilet and end up delivering their baby in the chamber pot.
Zhang Qi was one of those women who gave birth easily. Besides the suffering she endured with her first daughter, the other three were all born without much trouble. Therefore, she wasn’t afraid of giving birth.
What she feared was that if this baby wasn’t a son, she would have to endure her mother-in-law’s wrath once again.
At that moment, Zhang Qi was lying in bed, preparing to give birth. The midwife was Auntie Ba, a relative of Deng Changchun.
In the rural areas of this time, women almost always gave birth at home, rarely going to the hospital. The midwives were usually women who had given birth a few times and had some basic knowledge of childbirth.
Seeing that Auntie Ba was ready, Zhang Qi sighed, "Auntie Ba, what should I do if this one is another girl?"
Auntie Ba looked at her niece-in-law with sympathy and encouraged her, "Don’t think too much. This one will definitely be a boy."
Zhang Qi had been disappointed four times in a row, each time turning from hope to despair. She had lost her confidence in having a son, so Auntie Ba’s words didn’t provide much comfort. She said quietly, "If this one is also a girl, I don’t know what my mother-in-law will say to me!"
Over the years, Auntie Ba had seen her niece-in-law being scolded by her mother-in-law many times. She didn’t know how to console her, so she said, "Just get through this birth first. If it’s another girl, we’ll try again. You’re still young, and you can have a few more. You’ll eventually have a son."
Zhang Qi wasn’t one to give up easily. She took a deep breath and said, "You’re right, Auntie Ba. No matter how many I have, I will keep trying until I have a son."
...
Ten minutes later.
With the cry of a newborn, Zhang Qi’s fifth child was born.
As soon as she caught her breath, Zhang Qi asked anxiously, "Auntie Ba, is it a boy or a girl?"
At the same time, Changchun’s mother heard the cry and came in, asking, "Auntie Ba, is it a boy or a girl?"
Auntie Ba used a pair of scissors sterilized in boiling water to cut the umbilical cord and said succinctly, "A girl."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qi’s face turned pale.
Changchun’s mother’s expression darkened, and she huffed, "You’re useless, unable to even give birth to a son. Just more money-losing goods."
With that, she turned and walked out of the room without a second glance.
Auntie Ba shook her head silently. She disapproved of her sister-in-law’s behavior. As a rural woman herself, she had been influenced by the environment and had some ingrained preference for sons over daughters. Her own daughter-in-law had given birth to a girl, and she hadn’t been too happy about it.
But no matter what, she still had to take care of the new mother. She couldn’t be as extreme as her sister-in-law.
She wrapped the baby in a cloth and placed her next to Zhang Qi, consoling her, "Don’t let your mother’s attitude get to you. Focus on getting better. We’ll try again next year."
Zhang Qi had been through this situation several times before. She quickly composed herself and said to her aunt, "Auntie, thank you. I’ll take good care of myself. If you have anything to attend to, you can go back now."
"Auntie, I’ll be on my way then. If you need anything, just send the children over to call me."
"Thank you, Auntie!"
After Auntie left, Zhang Qi’s tears, which she had been holding back, finally fell.
...
"Did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"Zhang Qi had another daughter."
"Another daughter? This must be the fifth one, right?"
"That’s not right. Her mother-in-law was not as bad when Zhang Qi had her first and second daughters. But when she had the third and fourth, her mother-in-law would stand at the door and curse for half a day before stopping. Why is it so quiet this time?"
"You don’t know. In the past, she would still help by slaughtering a chicken and cooking some ginger wine for Zhang Qi to drink. This time, they say her mother-in-law didn’t even care. She didn’t even have sweet potatoes for lunch, let alone a chicken or ginger wine."
"Are you serious? That’s too much!"
"Although Zhang Qi’s womb isn’t very cooperative, her mother-in-law’s actions are indeed too much."
"Thankfully, my first child was a son. If I had five daughters like Zhang Qi, my life wouldn’t be much better."
"Ahh, that’s just our fate as women!"
"..."
As Deng Shirong passed by the village’s gossip spot, he overheard a few gossipy aunts chatting about the latest news.
Although it wasn’t his place to meddle in others’ affairs, Deng Shirong couldn’t stand seeing a mother-in-law blame her daughter-in-law for not bearing a son, especially when she didn’t even provide food after the birth. As an elder in the village, he couldn’t tolerate such a disgrace to village morals.
So, when he got home, Deng Shirong prepared a large bowl of red sugar and longan meat with eggs, the ideal nourishing food for a new mother.
After finishing, he called his eldest daughter, who was reading under the longan tree, and said, "Ahzhen, Zhang Qi at Changchun’s place just gave birth. I’ve cooked a bowl of red sugar eggs. Go to the kitchen and bring it over, and come with me. Be careful not to burn yourself."
Deng Yunzhen responded and went to the kitchen to fetch the red sugar eggs.
"Ahping, continue your studies. We’ll be back soon."
"Okay."
...
Zhang Qi lay in bed, her eyes nearly swollen from crying.
Her husband had gone out to work early in the morning and hadn’t returned yet. Her mother-in-law was ignoring her, and she had no food for lunch. This treatment made her feel incredibly wronged.
Actually, her body wasn’t as weak as modern mothers. Even after giving birth, she could get up and make something to eat if she wanted to. But she hadn’t moved, wanting to see just how heartless her mother-in-law could be, whether she would really abandon her after having a daughter.
The longer she waited, the colder her heart grew, especially when her eldest and second daughters came back and told her they were hungry. She broke down instantly!
Although her family had separated from her in-laws, even if they were just neighbors, they would still help out during childbirth. She still called her mother-in-law “Mom,” and her daughters were her mother-in-law’s granddaughters.
How could she be so heartless?
(End of Chapter)
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