The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 278 - 267: Difficult Birth

Chapter 278: Chapter 267: Difficult Birth

Zhou Erlang had no idea and after a moment of thought, said, "She couldn’t have found money, could she?"

Ms. Feng gave him a sideways glance and slapped Second Son’s buttocks, saying, "That’s enough, go sleep with your sister. Don’t make too much noise tonight; you need to get up early tomorrow for the fields."

Although the courtyard was interconnected, because of the house in between, the family still subconsciously divided the courtyard into two parts.

Since the kitchen, storage room, and chicken coop were all on this side, the main area of activity for the adults was also on this side. Zhou Erlang would occasionally take the split bamboo to the next courtyard to dry.

But for people like Ms. Feng, they might not go there even once in ten days.

The children from Zhou Silang’s generation and younger preferred to play in that area and, as long as there wasn’t a family meeting, they would retreat to that side as dusk approached, whether to enjoy the cool air, catch fireflies, or simply drag a stool into the courtyard to chat and boast, feeling more relaxed there.

So when Ms. Feng let him, Second Son took off like a calf that had been penned up for ten days, hooves flying as he bounded to the next courtyard.

Erya hurriedly followed after him.

Just as the two of them were about to run over, the Zhou Family’s main gate was suddenly pushed open with a bang, and in the quiet darkness of night, the sound startled the children.

But Junior Ms. Qian, who rushed in, paid no attention to the two children and almost collided with them.

Zhou Erlang couldn’t help standing up and asked, "Sister-in-law, what happened?"

"Erlang, call Third out too," Junior Ms. Qian said with a grave voice. "Zhou Hu’s wife is having a difficult birth. We need to take her to Dali Village. You and Third will have to push the handcart over."

Ms. Feng was startled and quickly asked, "How could she be having a difficult birth? Isn’t this her third child?"

Junior Ms. Qian replied, "The baby is positioned sideways and it’s not turning; no more talk, get the handcart out."

Zhou Erlang went to knock on Third’s door and then to the storage room to push out the handcart.

Manbao and Zhou Xi from inside the room also heard the commotion and ran out.

Junior Ms. Qian was also troubled inside and thus her expression was very grave, but she relaxed slightly when she saw Manbao and managed to squeeze out a smile, "Manbao, I won’t have time tonight, and neither will your mother. You understand what you need to do with your eldest sister, right?"

Manbao, who had recently been reading medical texts, naturally understood what difficult birth meant.

She felt somewhat sorrowful and asked, "Could Sister-in-law Hu be in danger?"

"She won’t be."

Zhou Xi asked, "Sister-in-law, do you need my help?"

"What use would you be? There are so many mothers and daughters-in-law in the village who have given birth before. You and Manbao stay at home." She then turned to the approaching Ms. Feng, "You and I will go together later to bring your youngest sister-in-law back. She’s carrying a baby too. It’s dark and we’re in a hurry; I didn’t dare bring her back with me."

Ms. Feng agreed.

When the other courtyard heard the commotion, they also came running, and when they learned what had happened, Zhou Silang and Ms. Fang also wanted to come and see but were sent back into their courtyard by Junior Ms. Qian, "Why do you young ones need to join the commotion? What do you even understand? Stay put at home and look after the children; don’t let them wander about."

Zhou Dalang and Old Zhou also came out, with Old Zhou leaning on the door frame deep in thought for a moment before saying, "Take some money with you, just in case—it might be necessary to take her to the county town."

This was a very bad outcome.

The city gates were already closed; to send her to the county town meant arriving at dawn and if she still couldn’t give birth by then, it would likely be too late for her.

Old Zhou went inside to fetch money; he only had the money that Zhou Erlang had handed over earlier that evening. He couldn’t bear to take it all out, so he only gave two strings of cash to Junior Ms. Qian, saying, "You should go, let your mother come back. Her health isn’t good, and she shouldn’t run around."

He then said to Ms. Feng, "Bring your mother back too, and have Dalang follow you."

Zhou Dalang and Ms. Feng both acknowledged.

Zhou Sanlang had also readied torches in the kitchen—in total, three of them—to light the way for Zhou Erlang who was pushing the handcart. One by one, torches lit up throughout the village, all heading towards the house of Zhou Hu.

When they reached Zhou Hu’s courtyard, a number of people were already waiting inside. As soon as the handcart arrived, a woman brought out a quilt to lay on it and shouted into the house. Zhou Hu then carried his wife out and laid her onto the cart, covered her with another quilt, and immediately pushed the handcart out.

The mountain roads at night were not easy to navigate. When coming across rough patches, they certainly couldn’t just barrel over them the way one might with cargo; there was a critically pregnant woman on board, so they had to carry it.

Some of the trails might require carrying the cart for half the distance. The cart itself wasn’t light, and with a person lying on it, it was even heavier, requiring six people at a time.

Just as Zhou Hu laid down his wife, the night breeze brought a stronger smell of blood, making him go weak in the knees.

Zhou Dazhu grabbed him and said to Zhou Erlang, "Let’s go."

Zhou Erlang began to push the handcart, with people beside and in front of him lighting the way. Another person carefully chose the best path ahead, and all he had to do was follow that person. The handcart moved quickly, and everyone needed to jog to keep up.

In addition to the able-bodied men, several women in the village with experience in childbirth followed them. Zhou Dazhu dragged Zhou Hu along while consoling him, "Don’t worry, the old doctor at the big market has delivered many babies before. It should be fine. Someone has already been sent ahead to notify him, so they should be almost at Dali Village by now."

He added, "By the time we get there, they should be ready."

Zhou Hu answered with a muted acknowledgment.

Junior Ms. Qian and the midwife ran alongside the handcart, occasionally checking on the birthing woman’s condition. When they came to difficult parts of the path, someone would hand their torch to someone nearby, and without a word, they would step forward to lift the cart, still moving quickly.

Because there were many torches, they could brightly illuminate the section of the road they were traveling, ensuring no one would fall into a hole.

It wasn’t far from Qili Village to Dali Village. Although they were traveling at night, everyone was jogging along, so they arrived quickly.

The old doctor’s home had already received word and had made preparations.

As soon as the pregnant woman arrived, she was carried into a room. Hot water had already been boiled, and the midwife chose two skilled women to help inside.

The old doctor had inquired in detail about the condition beforehand and had already started brewing the medicine ahead of time.

Once the woman arrived, he felt her pulse and knew the prescribed medicine was correct; he immediately had someone give her the boiled medicine to swallow, then said, "We need to reposition the baby; I’m going to use acupuncture to stop the bleeding."

What he didn’t say was that the delivery was a bit late, and the baby was positioned too severely sideways—now, they could only do their best.

Back in Qili Village, Ms. Qian and the old ladies who had come to help dispersed, supporting Ms. Feng and Ms. He as they slowly walked back. Zhou Dalang on the side lit their way with a torch.

It was a while before Ms. Qian spoke, "Dalang, how is your injury?"

Zhou Dalang said, "It stopped hurting a long time ago."

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