Chapter 45: The Baby is Born

On the contrary, Jiang Cuihua was a bit happy. “Yinyin, lie down and don’t move. I’ll go right away to call the midwife…”

Having a baby didn’t happen that quickly. First, the midwife needed to be called, and then other preparations could be made.

Liu Yinyin quickly stopped her. “Mom, go call my brother. I want to go to the hospital to give birth.”

Jiang Cuihua hesitated. “Yinyin, isn’t it the same if we have the midwife here? We don’t need to go to the hospital.”

In the countryside, it was rare for people to give birth in the hospital. It wasn’t just the countryside either; many women didn’t go to the hospital for childbirth these days.

Liu Yinyin insisted. “Mom, I want to give birth in the hospital.”

It wasn’t far to the county town, and she didn’t feel much yet, so it would still be fine to go to the hospital.

Seeing that she was determined, Jiang Cuihua compromised. “…Alright, I’ll go call your brother.”

Liu Yinyin had already prepared her delivery bag, so there was no need to pack anything.

After Jiang Cuihua called Liu Mingyuan, she grabbed the bag, and they hurried off in the cart to the county hospital.

Liu Yinyin sat in the cart, one hand on her belly. It was finally time to give birth. She wasn’t nervous at all, surprisingly.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, her stomach started to hurt in waves, though it wasn’t very painful.

The doctor, upon seeing her, said that it wasn’t quite time for her to give birth yet and arranged for Liu Yinyin to stay in the ward and wait.

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Jiang Cuihua felt relieved to see Liu Yinyin leisurely nibbling on a biscuit. She thought to herself, this daughter was really calm.

Jiang Cuihua asked, “Do you want me to have your brother go get Gu Cheng?”

Giving birth was a big deal, and since no one from the in-laws’ side was here, it would be hard to explain if Gu Cheng didn’t come.

Liu Yinyin calmly said, “Let’s wait and see. We don’t even know when I’ll give birth, maybe I’ll even be able to wait for him to finish work.”

Mainly, since giving birth was something she could handle, and Gu Cheng was just a man, him coming wouldn’t be very useful, so she didn’t want to disturb him during work.

She had brought money and ration tickets with her, and at noon, they went to the hospital cafeteria to have three bowls of shredded pork noodles.

By about 3 p.m., Liu Yinyin finally went into labor and was pushed into the operating room.

Jiang Cuihua quickly asked her son to notify Gu Cheng at the steel factory.

Liu Yinyin had already prepared herself, but she didn’t expect the pain of childbirth to be so intense—it was almost unbearable!

Her cervix dilated quickly, and although the pain was intense, the birth process was also fast.

About half an hour later, the baby was born, and the room was filled with the loud cries of a newborn.

“Congratulations, it’s a healthy baby boy, weighing 6 pounds and 6 ounces,” the nurse said as she brought the baby out first.

6 pounds and 6 ounces—this was a fairly chubby baby, a rarity these days.

Jiang Cuihua smiled and took the baby, asking the nurse, “What about my daughter? Why hasn’t she come out yet?”

“The mother is fine; she’s just being monitored inside and will come out soon,” the nurse reassured.

Jiang Cuihua relaxed upon hearing this and looked down at her grandson…

Oh my, the baby had really big eyes, round and wide open, and his little chubby face looked so adorable.

When Gu Cheng, riding his bicycle with Liu Mingyuan, arrived at the hospital in a hurry,

Both mother and child were already fast asleep in the ward.

Giving birth was exhausting. After confirming the baby was fine, Liu Yinyin fell into a deep sleep.

The baby was also peacefully sleeping with his eyes closed.

Looking at them both, Gu Cheng’s eyes filled with emotion.

Jiang Cuihua smiled at him and said, “Don’t worry, both mother and child are fine. The baby loves his mother, and Yinyin’s labor was very quick, so she didn’t suffer much.”

Indeed, the doctor had said it was rare for a first-time mother to give birth so quickly.

Gu Cheng, feeling deeply moved, said, “Thank you, Mom.”

Jiang Cuihua waved her hand. “What’s to thank? Yinyin is my own daughter.”

When Liu Yinyin woke up, it was already getting dark.

“You’re awake,” Gu Cheng said as he helped her sit up. “How do you feel? Any discomfort?”

Liu Yinyin shook her head. “I’m okay, just a little weak.”

She was really feeling weak, as if her whole body had been drained. Giving birth was no easy task.

The pain during labor had been unbearable, but now she felt much better, though still very weak.

Gu Cheng’s gaze softened. “Do you want to eat something?”

He had just gotten a bowl of millet porridge from the cafeteria, and it was still warm.

Liu Yinyin glanced at the baby, who was still sleeping, and shook her head. “I just want to drink some water first.”

Gu Cheng went to prepare a cup of brown sugar water for her.

“Where’s Mom?” Liu Yinyin asked, noticing that Jiang Cuihua and Liu Mingyuan weren’t around.

Gu Cheng, holding the enamel cup, helped her drink water as he said, “Mom went to the water room to wash some things.”

The hospital didn’t have any resting places, and Liu Mingyuan had already gone back. He had initially wanted Jiang Cuihua to go back too, but she was worried that the couple might not know how to care for the baby, so she stayed.

Liu Yinyin said, “Why don’t you go back and rest? You still have work tomorrow…”

Gu Cheng had work, and Jiang Cuihua had already told her she would help with the postpartum care.

As a token of appreciation, Liu Yinyin promised her five yuan and one hundred pounds of corn.

Of course, Jiang Cuihua refused, saying she couldn’t accept anything for taking care of her own daughter, but Liu Yinyin insisted that Gu Cheng deliver the items to Liu’s family.

After all, she was married now, and there were two sisters-in-law at her family’s house, so she had to be mindful of certain things and couldn’t act as though everything was a given.

Gu Cheng said to her, “I took two days off to help take care of you.”

Liu Yinyin responded, “…”

Alright, having more help couldn’t hurt.

Anyway, she was still feeling weak, and she wouldn’t have the energy to take care of the baby for the next couple of days.

While they were talking, the baby in the bed moved a little, then puckered its lips, furrowed its little brow, and began crying loudly.

Liu Yinyin immediately panicked…

This was Gu Cheng’s first time encountering this situation. Always calm and composed, he was now a bit flustered.

He wanted to reach out and pick up the baby, but the baby felt so soft and fragile, it scared him. He was afraid his clumsy hands might hurt the child.

It was the first time Liu Yinyin had seen this expression on Gu Cheng’s face, and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“What are you two doing? I could hear my grandson crying from far away,” Jiang Cuihua said as she hurried back, holding a basin.

She then saw the young couple standing around the baby, unsure of what to do.

“Mom,” Liu Yinyin seemed to have found a lifeline. “Quick, look! Why is he crying?”

If Jiang Cuihua hadn’t come, they would’ve been ready to call the nurse.

Jiang Cuihua put down the basin and gently picked up the baby, checking it over. Unhurried, she said, “He peed. He’s uncomfortable. Just change his diaper to a clean one.”

Saying this, she placed the baby back on the bed, raised its little legs, quickly removed the wet diaper, and replaced it with a fresh one.

All of this took less than a minute and was done with smooth efficiency!

The young couple watched in stunned silence.