Chapter 16: Woman, Just Endure It

“Chunling’s only eight and a half months pregnant, not even full-term yet. The military doctor said her due date’s next month—so how is she suddenly in labor?!” Chen Fengying frowned tightly, shouting in alarm.

Xia Xiaolan was both flustered and panicked. She had only been married for half a year and had no experience with childbirth—how would she know?

It just so happened she lived next door to Wang Chunling. “How would I know! I just heard a big commotion next door. Chunling said her water broke—she was shouting for help! Sisters, don’t just stand there. Hurry up and check on her, or someone might really die!”

“Oh heavens! I bet it’s that mother-in-law of Chunling’s, Ling Jinrong, acting up again! Let’s all go together!”

With a single shout from the crowd, the group of army wives that had just been swarming around Chu Yue all immediately shifted direction and rushed toward Wang Chunling’s house.

Chu Yue, Lu Yuanbao, and Song Qi were left behind just like that. Song Qi, having just been bombarded with misunderstandings by the wives, still had a red face and didn’t dare speak to Chu Yue for the moment.

Chu Yue watched the women walk off into the distance. Upon hearing someone was giving birth, she became a bit curious.

“Let’s go have a look too.”

Holding Lu Yuanbao’s hand, Chu Yue followed in the direction the other wives had gone.

Seeing this, Song Qi hurriedly adjusted the backpack on his back and quickly caught up, “Wait for me, sis-in-law!”

The family compound wasn’t large, and after a few turns, they reached Wang Chunling’s house.

Outside the gate of the small courtyard, two figures were locked in a struggle. One was an elderly woman in her sixties—short, chubby, with sunken eye sockets and sharp, narrow eyes that gave her a shrewd and harsh appearance.

The other was a heavily pregnant woman, her belly large and round—she looked more like she was over nine months pregnant and about to give birth than just eight and a half. Her belly was huge, but her limbs were thin and long, giving her a strange appearance.

These two were none other than Wang Chunling and her mother-in-law, Ling Jinrong, the very people the wives had just been talking about.

Ling Jinrong stood at the courtyard gate in a gray cotton jacket, arms akimbo, shrieking:

“Without my permission, you’re not stepping out of this gate today!”

At the same time, Wang Chunling’s pitiful pleas rang out over and over again.

Her large belly was heavy and painful, her legs trembling uncontrollably. She could no longer sit still, and due to her size couldn’t squat either. In the end, she collapsed into a distorted position—one hand holding her stomach, the other clinging to Ling Jinrong’s arm—kneeling on the freezing cold ground.

“Mom, I’m begging you, please let me go to the hospital… I really can’t take this pain anymore… Mom, please… I’m kneeling here begging you…”

Wang Chunling’s face was twisted in agony. Her hair was a mess, her complexion pale and sickly, and she trembled all over. Despite the freezing weather, sweat the size of beans poured from her forehead.

Her eyes were bloodshot—she had clearly been crying for a long time.

But her mother-in-law, Ling Jinrong, remained cold and unmoved, as if she were made of stone. She ignored the desperate cries and instead sneered with disdain.

“A bit of pain is nothing for a woman. You’re just being too pampered. Back in my day, I had a baby every two years—seven in total—and you didn’t see me bawling like this. Just grit your teeth and endure it.”

“Mom, I really can’t… it hurts so much… I have to go to the hospital, I need a doctor…”

Unable to persuade her mother-in-law and wracked with pain, Wang Chunling trembled all over, cold sweat soaking her clothes. Instinctively driven by a will to survive, she began to struggle.

With one hand clutching her belly and the other pressing against the ground, she tried to crawl her way toward the hospital, even if it meant dragging herself.

But the moment she inched forward—before she could even make it out the gate—Ling Jinrong grabbed her by the collar and dragged her back inside.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You just want to go to the hospital and have a… a… surgery to cut open your belly and take the baby out, so you can get painkillers and suffer less. I’m telling you, I won’t allow it! I’ve already asked around—babies born by C-section have brain problems, they’re dumber than those born naturally! The baby in your belly is the eldest grandson of our Zhou family, and he must come out the proper way—bit by bit, through natural labor!”

“M-Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to. It really hurts too much. I can’t take it anymore, I really can’t…”

“Women have been giving birth like this for thousands of years. Why are you the only one who can’t? Don’t you dare show me that pampered princess attitude of yours! I said how it’s going to be, and that’s how it’s going to be! My eldest grandson must be the smartest. Now get back inside and lie down properly on the bed!”

Li Jinhua raised her voice and lectured with righteous indignation. Her reasoning came in an endless stream, and she had not a shred of sympathy for Wang Chunling, who had collapsed weakly on the ground. She grabbed her and tried to drag her back into the house.

Wang Chunling didn’t even have the strength to cry out anymore. Her hands trembled as she tried to grasp at something—anything—but couldn’t hold onto anything. In the end, she could only wrap her arms around Li Jinhua’s leg.

She pleaded again and again, desperately begging:

“Mom… Mom… please let me go… the hospital… I need to go to the hospital…”

Just then, the sisters-in-law arrived in a rush, and the scene they saw was exactly this: a pregnant woman about to give birth being treated this way. Even as outsiders, their hearts ached at the sight.

“Auntie Jinhua, what are you doing?! Why is Chunling sitting on the ground? It’s freezing cold in the middle of winter—help her up!”

“Auntie Li, giving birth is a big deal. We can’t be careless. Since Chunling wants to go to the hospital, let’s take her. There’s a clinic with military doctors in the compound—it’s only a few steps away.”

“Just look at Chunling—she’s in so much pain she doesn’t even look like herself. Hurry and take her to the hospital! Don’t let something terrible happen!”

Chen Fengying, Huang Aifang, and the others rushed forward, some trying to help Wang Chunling up, others trying to pull Li Jinhua away. Hands reached out from all directions, everyone trying to help—but they were all blocked by Li Jinhua.

She shouted, “This child is the Zhou family’s first grandson! If something goes wrong, can any of you take responsibility?”

The sisters-in-law froze, their outstretched hands hanging awkwardly in midair, not knowing what to do.

Li Jinhua was dead set against Wang Chunling going to the hospital. She knew that once they got there, the doctor would likely perform a C-section—and there had always been rumors that babies born by C-section had lower intelligence.

Natural birth, where the baby is pushed out through the birth canal, was believed to result in smarter and healthier children.

Ever since Wang Chunling got pregnant, Li Jinhua had watched over her belly day and night. Everyone in the entire courtyard knew just how much she obsessed over this eldest grandson.

If the child ended up with any minor sickness or poor grades in the future, Li Jinhua would cling to that grudge for the rest of their lives.

And with Li Jinhua’s sharp tongue, most people in the compound couldn’t take her on.

So, one by one, the sisters-in-law backed down. They could only stand there and watch as Li Jinhua dragged Wang Chunling into the house—dragged her across the floor.

Wang Chunling’s water had already broken. The damp fluid soaked through her cotton pants, leaving dark wet stains, and a trail was left across the floor where she was pulled.

“Please… help me… I need the hospital… it hurts, it really hurts… I can’t take the pain…”

Chen Fengying watched this scene unfold and was both furious and heartbroken. She shouted at Li Jinhua:

“Li old woman! Even if you don’t like Wang Chunling, she’s still your daughter-in-law! That child in her belly is your family’s! Look at her now—if you still don’t take her to the hospital, are you trying to kill her?!”

“Don’t like her? Which eye of yours saw that I don’t like her?! Since she got pregnant, I’ve been the one personally taking care of her. Every time there’s good food at home, who do you think gets it first? How else would the baby in her belly have grown so well?”

Li Jinhua shouted back without missing a beat.

“And besides, she’s never given birth before—but haven’t you all? What woman doesn’t hurt when giving birth? You just grit your teeth and get through it. If she can’t even handle the first one, what’s she going to do about a second or a third? This is the Zhou family’s business! None of you outsiders have any say! She must give birth to my grandson naturally and safely today! If any of you interfere and something happens to my grandson, I swear I’ll risk my life to come after you!”