Chapter 1: What Did I Give Birth To

Winter of 1966, in the northern province of An, Jiachun County, Shengli Street. Inside a residential house, a woman’s anxious shouting rang out.

“Lin Shufen, stay with me! I can see the baby’s head. Just a bit more! Don’t pass out!”

“Ah—I can’t do it anymore, I really don’t have any strength left!”

At that moment, Lin Shufen, the woman lying on the heated brick bed, had her hair soaked with sweat, clinging to her forehead. Her hair was a mess, and her once-beautiful face was twisted with pain.

Despite the intense labor, her eyes kept drifting past the midwife toward the courtyard, as if she was urgently waiting for something.

The prolonged labor was draining her strength, and her expression grew increasingly dazed.

She mumbled in a trance, “Brother Hai, where are you… You can’t be in trouble… If something happens to you, I’ll go with you…”

Cai Honglian felt a pang in her heart seeing her little sister in such a miserable state. Everything had been going well—how did things suddenly spiral like this?

When would her sister and brother-in-law finally see some peace?

“Shufen, focus. Don’t think about anything else. Right now, your job is to safely give birth so that Dahai can see his son the moment he returns. Listen to Mom—inhale… exhale… good, push!” Cai Honglian urged anxiously.

Shufen’s mother, Jia Chunhua, couldn’t bear watching her daughter struggle like she was about to die. Hearing those words only fueled her temper. At a time like this, thinking such nonsense?

She gave Lin Shufen a sharp pinch on the arm to snap her out of it. A jolt of pain to bring her back!

She scolded, “Pah! Don’t talk such damn nonsense. Don’t jinx your husband with that crow’s mouth of yours. If you keep spacing out, the baby’s going to suffocate in there. What are you going to say to Dahai when he comes back? Snap out of it, now!”

Jia Chunhua’s tone was harsh—she had never spoken to her daughter like this before.

The situation was critical.

Just then, with a creak, the courtyard gate outside swung open—

Jia Chunhua froze mid-action. Could it be…?

Then came the loud, cracking voice of a teenage boy shouting, “Uncle Dahai’s been found! Uncle Dahai’s been found—!”

Everyone inside lit up with joy.

“How is he? Is he okay?” Cai Honglian quickly turned and shouted toward the yard.

“He’s fine, just sprained his ankle. My dad and grandpa rigged up a stretcher and are carrying him down the mountain now! I ran ahead to let you know so you wouldn’t worry.”

Cai Honglian immediately clasped her hands together and bowed toward all directions, murmuring, “Thank the heavens, thank the heavens!”

Then she turned to Lin Shufen and said, “Little sis, did you hear that? Dahai’s okay! Now focus and give birth safely!”

Hearing that her husband was safe, Lin Shufen finally felt the weight lift from her heart. In that moment, a burst of strength surged through her.

Jia Chunhua, closely watching her daughter, noticed that the baby was starting to emerge. Good sign!

“Sweetheart, listen to your mother’s guidance…”

All three people in the room tensed up, laser-focused—

“Ahhh—!”

With a high-pitched, piercing scream, the baby finally slid out from the birth canal.

It was a chubby little girl!

Everyone was overjoyed. Lin Shufen, overwhelmed with happiness, forgot all her pain and beamed with a goofy grin.

She and Brother Hai had a daughter now!

Jia Chunhua’s wrinkled old face was nearly scrunched into a flower with glee.

There were already four rowdy boys in the family—enough to drive anyone mad. Finally, a soft and sweet little girl had arrived.

Ah, girls are wonderful—sweet and considerate.

The baby’s soles were slapped firmly by her grandmother, and with a loud “waa waa,” she began crying. Her voice was strong and clear—it was obvious this was a very healthy child.

Jia Chunhua was overjoyed.

Hearing her daughter’s cries, Lin Shufen tried to sit up to see her baby girl, but suddenly lost all strength. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.

Jia Chunhua was startled. She quickly handed the baby to her daughter-in-law, then bent over to check her daughter’s pulse.

After a few tense seconds, she finally let out a breath of relief and turned to her worried daughter-in-law.

“She’s fine—just exhausted. She passed out from overexertion.”

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Jia Chunhua muttered to herself that her heart had really been through too much today. She’d definitely need a couple of drinks tonight to unwind.

Then she carefully picked up her brand-new granddaughter and laid her on the bed to examine her thoroughly.

Arms and legs—normal. Hearing—normal. Everything—normal.

Oh wow, those little legs sure had strength. She kicked hard enough to sting!

Cai Honglian brought in a big basin of warm water. The two women quickly cleaned both mother and baby, changed the bedding, and wrapped the baby girl snugly in a bright red swaddling cloth.

Once everything was finally taken care of, Jia Chunhua let out a long sigh of relief. At last, she could take a good look at her precious new granddaughter.

Oh my, this child was truly beautiful. Out of the hundreds of babies she’d delivered in her life, she’d never seen one as lovely as this little girl.

Aside from a little blood right after birth, her skin had been spotless—not a single birthmark in sight.

Now that she was all clean, she looked even more stunning—so much so it was hard to look away.

Thick baby hair, delicate facial features, even with her eyes closed she looked extraordinary. Her skin was fair and soft, her little lips plump and rosy.

Thinking back to their earlier guesses, Jia Chunhua chuckled and couldn’t help but ramble to her daughter-in-law.

“We thought Shufen’s belly looked so pointed, we were all sure it was a boy. Who knew we’d be blessed with such a surprise? This little one tricked us all! She might look like a boy, but this girl has real luck.”

Cai Honglian, who was busy dealing with the soiled bedding, couldn’t help laughing and crying at the same time.

“Mom, looking like a boy doesn’t mean anything, right?” She loved her little niece too, but her mother-in-law was clearly going overboard with the praise.

“It does too! You didn’t see it—this child knew her mother was in danger and tried so hard to be born quickly. Have you ever seen a smarter baby? In all my years delivering babies, I’ve never seen anything like it—”

Recalling the frightening moment earlier, Jia Chunhua glanced over at her now-sleeping daughter with a complicated look.

Useless little thing!

She couldn’t hold it together the moment she heard about her husband and the avalanche. If they hadn’t gotten good news in time, who knows what would’ve happened! Sure, she understood the love between her daughter and son-in-law, but still—she had a child inside her and didn’t care at all? What about the rest of the family?

Once she wakes up, she definitely needed a stern talking-to. She was a mother of two already—how was she still so easily flustered?

In the west room, Lin Feng had heard the baby’s loud cries but then nothing else.

He was so anxious he felt like he was on fire, pacing back and forth inside the room.

Why hadn’t his mom or grandma come to say whether it was a boy or a girl yet? He was waiting to bring the news to his uncle!

Hehe, no one else in the village knew his aunt had given birth yet. Just imagining the stunned look on his uncle’s face when he heard made him want to laugh.

Still no news?

Unable to hold back, Lin Feng called out toward the room in a loud whisper, “Grandma! What did Auntie have? Hurry and tell me! I’m dying over here!”