About to Give Birth

The weather was getting colder and the firewood for heating was still nowhere to be found. Fortunately, Xiaoguo still had some left from last year which could last her for a while more.

In such cold weather, Xiaoguo retreated to hibernation mode. She tried not to move as much as possible.

But today, she had no choice but to move.

The long-awaited firewood has finally arrived, and the village is now registering the needs of each household. It seemed that Xiaoguo couldn’t stay in anymore.

After breakfast, Xiaoguo wrapped herself up tightly and went out.

When she passed by Mrs Yang’s house, she stopped in her tracks and hesitated for a few seconds before walking over.

She was thinking to herself that Mrs. Yang was going to give birth soon, so it might be inconvenient for her to move around. Therefore, she decided to go ahead on her own.

When she arrived at the village chief’s house, there was a long queue at the entrance. Xiaoguo had come early but there were many others who were earlier.

“I’m here.”

“Ah, you’re here.” As soon as Xiaoguo stood still, the person in front of her greeted her.

After looking around, Xiaoguo thought that it was strange when she didn’t see anyone from the Yang family.

Not long after, just as she was about to go back and look for someone from the Yang family, she saw Mrs Yang walking over slowly.

Xiaoguo was shocked when she saw her from afar. She immediately ran over to support her and asked worriedly, “Why are you here?”

“It’s no big deal. I just came out for a walk.”

Mrs Yang doesn’t seem bothered at all, which made Xiaoguo feel very worried for her.

“Try not to wander around during the last trimester of your pregnancy. The ground is very hard in winter. Try to avoid coming out if you can.”

Mrs Yang was about to give birth, so Xiaoguo thought that someone else would come. She didn’t expect Mrs Yang to come out by herself.

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

It was unclear if Mrs Yang was really listening, but she agreed readily to Xiaoguo’s words.

Now that Mrs. Yang’s stomach was very big, Xiaoguo tried to be careful whenever she touched her. Mrs Yang laughed at her for being so cautious and worried.

“There are so many people here.”

Mrs Yang looked ahead. There were twice as many people here as there were last year. “Everyone’s lives are really improving.”

Last year, most people had yet to recover from the famine. This year was different. Every family had a good harvest and everyone had more money on hand. So things were looking up for most people.

“Thanks to the firewood you gave us, we were able to stay warm in this cold weather. Otherwise, we would have to endure the cold for a few more days.”

Being pregnant, Mrs. Yang was even more afraid of the cold. Fortunately, when the temperatures dipped, Xiaoguo had sent her some firewood. This allowed her to stay warm for a couple more days.

Xiaoguo smiled and didn’t say anything. She then looked at her stomach and said, “Are you delivering soon?”

Mrs Yang nodded and smiled expectantly. “It should be within this month.”

When Xiaoguo heard this, she almost jumped out of her thick clothes. She remembered that pregnant women should take extreme care and avoid going out as much as possible, especially during the final trimester. If they have to go out, they usually don’t go out alone. She had not seen anyone who was as carefree as Mrs. Yang.

“Hurry up and hold onto me.”

Xiaoguo placed her hands on her hips and gestured to Mrs Yang to grab hold of her.

Mrs Yang snickered. “I’m fine…”

Despite saying that, she still went along with Xiaoguo’s wishes and held onto her. “Do you feel less worried now…?”

Xiaoguo nodded. She really felt more relieved.

It was mainly because Mrs Yang’s appearance was too scary. Although Xiaoguo had seen other pregnant women before, none of their stomachs were as big as Mrs Yang.

Perhaps Mrs Yang’s figure was slightly fuller, therefore when she was in the advanced stage of her pregnancy, her bump became more noticeable than others.

Each time Xiaoguo saw her, she had a strong urge to help her support her stomach. Compared to other women who were almost at full term, Mrs. Yang’s belly was noticeably larger.

At this moment, the queue was moving forward slowly. Xiaoguo and Mrs Yang followed closely in line.

Suddenly, Xiaoguo thought of something and looked at Mrs Yang happily. “Sister-in-law, are you pregnant with twins?”

“Don’t scare me…”

Mrs Yang was stunned for a moment, but she quickly shook her head and gave Xiaoguo a gentle slap.

“What’s wrong?”

Xiaoguo didn’t know why Mrs. Yang had such a big reaction. Her stomach was indeed enormously big. If it’s not twins but a single birth, the baby must be quite big.

Mrs Yang smiled and replied, “We already have two kids at home. How are we going to raise more? One more is enough. If we have two at the same time, we won’t have enough to eat anymore.”

“That’s too exaggerated…”

Xiaoguo smiled. According to rumors, the old village chief was about to retire. Brother Yang was the most likely candidate to become the next village chief of Peach Blossom Village.

Putting everything else aside, after becoming the village chief, one would receive a monthly salary. Although it was not much, it was a stable income.

Moreover, even if they only relied on their plot of land, it was more than enough to support the entire family.

When Mrs Yang heard this, she quickly shook her head. “Please spare me.”

Xiaoguo smiled and didn’t say anything else. In any case, she felt that the possibility of having twins was high.

After registering the required amount of charcoal, Xiaoguo slowly walked Mrs. Yang home..

Along the way, the two of them started talking about the charcoal supply for this year.

“Why did the charcoal come so late this time?”

Xiaoguo didn’t have much experience. She only knew that it came quite early last year, much earlier than this year.

“Who knows? As long as it arrives, that’s good enough. There’s going to be heavy snow in two days’ time. If the charcoal doesn’t arrive by then, who knows how many people will freeze to death.”

At the mention of snow, Mrs Yang was filled with fear. The snowfall in Shao Country every year was very substantial, so it was fortunate that the village was able to receive the charcoal supply before the snow arrived.

“That’s true.” Xiaoguo was equally glad.

The two returned to their homes separately. Xiaoguo had just finished her lunch and was about to take a nap when she heard urgent knocking on the door. She barely had time to get near her bed.

While she was putting on her clothes, Xiao Zhu had already opened the door. In the next instant, she rushed in together with another person.

“Sister Xiaoguo, Sister Xiaoguo…”

Upon hearing this, Xiaoguo’s heart skipped a beat, then she immediately walked out. When she saw that the visitor was Yang Jia, she became even more anxious.

“What’s wrong?”

“My sister-in-law is in labor!”

Yang Jia said anxiously, “My brother and my mother are not at home!”

“Huh?!”

Xiaoguo had never encountered anything like this before and she started panicking. However, she quickly forced herself to calm down.

“Where did Auntie and Brother Yang go?”

“My brother went to the county to transport the charcoal. My mother went to visit Grandma Wang,” Yang Jia quickly replied.

“That’s perfect. Quickly go to Mrs. Wang’s house and bring the both of them back here. Hurry up.”

Mrs. Wang was the midwife who delivered all the babies in the village.

“Oh, okay!”

Yang Jia was just a young man after all. He had never encountered anything like this before, so he had gotten very nervous. Moreover, there was no adult at home, so he immediately came to look for Xiaoguo at the first opportunity.

Hearing Xiaoguo’s instructions, he immediately ran out.

Xiaoguo didn’t have time to put on her coat. She ran towards Mrs Yang’s house with Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling.

As soon as she entered, she was shocked by the sight of blood under Mrs Yang. RIght after that, she was jolted back to her senses by Xiaohua and Xiaohu’s cries.

Worried about scaring the children, she immediately pushed them out of the door. Then, she got Yu Ling, who was older, to stay behind to help, leaving Xiao Zhu to watch over the two children.

Xiao Zhu was also feeling afraid. She didn’t know what to expect and didn’t dare to make any sounds to disturb the adults in the room. She could only keep Xiaohu and Xiaohua, who were still crying, as far away as possible from the room to prevent them from distracting the people inside.

As soon as Yu Ling entered the house, she was so frightened that her limbs went limp. She had never seen anything like this and she was still young after all. However, she forced herself to calm down and turned her gaze towards Xiaoguo.

Mrs Yang was lying flat on the bed at this moment. Her lower body was drenched, but it was unclear if it was due to amniotic fluid or blood. At that moment, she was rolling in pain on the bed. Beads of sweat were dripping like soybeans from her forehead.

Grandma Wang’s house was not far away, it should not take too long for the two women to arrive.

Xiaoguo carefully recalled what she had seen on TV about preparing for childbirth. She wanted to prepare everything before Grandma Wang arrived.