The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 921 - 899: Tense

Chapter 921: Chapter 899: Tense

Ms. Qian glanced at her and reassured her, "The water has broken, don’t be afraid, Manbao, go bring the midwife in."

Zhou Xi tensed her belly nervously, but seeing her mother so calm, she relaxed slightly, only to feel waves of pain in her belly.

Manbao dashed out quickly and first saw her brother-in-law, "Brother-in-law, my elder sister is going to give birth."

Guan Xin’s legs felt weak, "How, how come so soon?"

Seeing that he was completely dazed, Manbao knew he was no more competent than her fourth brother, so she ran past him straight to the kitchen to call the midwife.

The midwife hurried in, checked, and then congratulated, "It’s time for the birth, I didn’t expect this child to be in such a hurry, saving the mother some suffering. Here, lie down first, I’ll go prepare some things."

Ms. Qian immediately said, "I’ll go. You watch over her and check if the baby’s position is correct."

The midwife had already inquired before coming; Zhou Xi’s mother had given birth to eight children, none with complications, and all were raised successfully; the midwife felt certain the daughter would follow the mother, and Zhou Xi’s delivery should be smooth as well.

Knowing Ms. Qian was experienced, she confidently let her assist.

Ms. Qian then went to prepare scissors and red cloth, and seeing Manbao peeking around, she stretched out her hand to pull her out to help.

After boiling the scissors and preparing the clean red cloth to be taken inside, seeing Manbao still wanted to follow, Ms. Qian tapped her forehead and said, "Stay honestly outside, what would a young girl like you look like entering the birthing room?"

Manbao was reluctant, "Mother, I am a doctor, if I don’t enter my elder sister’s birthing room today, I’ll enter someone else’s in the future, why not let me help now?"

Ms. Qian disapproved, "Even if you become a doctor later, don’t easily enter the birthing room. You aren’t married yet, seeing too much of this is not good for you, is it?"

Manbao asked, "Why?"

Ms. Qian glanced at her and said, "Mother fears that you would not want to have children later."

Having said that, she closed the door, leaving Manbao outside.

Manbao scratched her head, sitting down next to Guan Xin with a glum face.

Guan Xin, constantly wiping the sweat off his forehead, saw Manbao sit next to him and asked, "Manbao, is your elder sister alright?"

"She should be fine, I’ve checked, the baby’s position is quite correct."

Guan Xin sighed in partial relief.

After a while, sounds came from the room, with the midwife’s instructions, and Zhou Xi’s cries muffled in pain, Junior Ms. Qian brought in the boiled water. Seeing Manbao and Guan Xin sitting in the courtyard staring anxiously, she was somewhat annoyed and said to Guan Xin, "Son-in-law, I’m going in to help; you go to the kitchen and boil another pot of water, Manbao, help your brother-in-law to carry the water to me."

She put both of them to work.

Guan Xin quickly nodded and ran into the kitchen to boil water, while Manbao took a wooden basin to fetch water.

However, she still couldn’t enter the birthing room and could only deliver the water to the door before taking away the dirty water.

Manbao had been keeping track, timing in her mind, and estimated that her eldest sister should have been able to give birth by now, yet the room was still filled with the same sounds, showing no signs of childbirth. Feeling that something was wrong, she walked over to the window and knocked, asking, "Mom, why hasn’t the baby been born yet?"

Ms.Qian hadn’t answered yet when the midwife interjected, "What’s the rush? The baby’s head is too big to come out, the cervix isn’t fully dilated yet..."

Ms.Qian had given birth to many children herself and had helped numerous women in the village during childbirth, so she was very experienced. She looked on, feeling concerned, "This amniotic fluid... if the baby doesn’t come out soon, there will be no amniotic fluid left, and the baby will suffocate."

The midwife was well aware of this too, which was why she was anxious, but she didn’t dare show it to Zhou Xi. Instead, she kept encouraging her, "Hold your breath, follow me and push hard in a bit. You’re not using the right force, and the baby is somewhat big, making it hard to come out."

Zhou Xi hadn’t anticipated the excruciating pain of childbirth. Her face turned pale. Thinking back on how Ms.Chen nearly died giving birth to Sanshou, her heart tightened. Then, the midwife suddenly exclaimed, "Why are you retracting... Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, we are here, your mom is here too. Think about it, your mom had eight children without a hitch, you’re her daughter, you can definitely do it too. Relax, follow my breathing..."

Zhou Xi tried several times following her instructions but couldn’t manage it. The midwife shook her head slightly at Ms.Qian and whispered, "It’s not working, the child is too tense."

Unable to hold back, Zhou Xi started crying out, "Mom, mom..."

Ms.Qian couldn’t help but slap her lightly, "What are you afraid of? Who doesn’t go through this when giving birth? Look at your sister-in-law, all your younger siblings were born safely, weren’t they?"

Zhou Xi slightly relaxed and started to breathe deeply, yet she still couldn’t quite grasp the feeling. Ms.Qian gritted her teeth and told Junior Ms.Qian, "Let Manbao come in and see."

Manbao burst in like a small calf, immediately starting to grumble as she entered, "I told you to let me in. Mom’s afraid I’d be scared, but I’ve even seen surgery before, what’s there to fear?"

"Shut up. Your eldest sister got scared watching Sister-in-law Hu give birth," Ms.Qian said, then softening her tone, "Xi, don’t be scared. Look at how many people in our village have had children. How many are like Zhou Hu’s family? So, childbirth isn’t really something to fear..."

Manbao had already taken Zhou Xi’s pulse and felt her stomach, exchanging confused expressions with the overwhelmed midwife, realizing the baby was too big and the amniotic fluid was nearly gone.

Deciding quickly, Manbao said, "We have to induce."

The midwife replied, "I do have an induction recipe, but it’s too strong. It might harm the baby and your elder sister. I think we should still try to manage without it. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll use manual extraction, which is better than taking medicine."

Manbao disagreed, "No meds. I’ll do acupuncture for induction. Compressing the abdomen is too damaging for both baby and mother."

Junior Ms.Qian hurriedly handed her the backpack, where Manbao pulled out her needle bag and chuckled at the sweaty, pale-faced Zhou Xi, saying, "See, elder sister, I came fully prepared."

This immediately lightened Zhou Xi’s anxious mood, and she relaxed, looking at Manbao with a mix of laughter and tears, "You heartless creature..."

Holding her hand, Manbao reassured, "Elder sister, don’t be scared. I’ve seen many patients, those with a big gash in their stomach, those with a big bloody gash on the leg; didn’t they all turn out fine?"

Zhou Xi nodded.

Manbao then reached forward to loosen her clothes, located the acupuncture points, and started inserting needles, explaining, "This set of needles was developed after discussions with three seasoned doctors, it’s currently the best method of induction. Just put your mind at ease in a bit, do whatever the midwife tells you to do. Don’t think too much. Just focus on your lower body..."

Sensing Zhou Xi relaxing, the midwife nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that’s right. Now, adjust your breathing with me..."