The Blessed

After taking a noon nap, Ling Jingxuan kept his promise and went out for a walk with Yan Shengrui. Rarely having a chance to relax, in case someone who was not sensible enough jumped out to interrupt them, they chose that road they built themselves next to the half-saline land. All the way, those two were hand in hand, talking and laughing, walking and stopping now and then. It had been over a month, this was the first time they saw the full view of the whole village clearly.

"If trees are planted on both sides of the road, it will not be so hot in summer. After dinner, we can also take our children for a walk under the trees and increase parent-child interaction."

July is hot dead weather, two people with wet clothes from sweat return leisurely and unavoidably were a little uncomfortable.

"If you want, we can hire a few people to go to Xiaogong Mountain to transplant some saplings some other day, wipe off your sweat, I really should have stayed in bed with you.”

Stopping behind a farm house, Yan Shengrui wiped the sweat off his face for him. Ling Jingxuan smiled, “That’s a good idea. But we can only talk about it after reclaiming the wasteland. At that time, workers would be a little cheaper. On such kind of weather, you’d feel hot even standing on the road doing nothing, let alone doing some hard work. If those workers all have sunstroke, shouldn’t we have to pay the medical fee for them?”

His words that were said using some kind of teasing tone amused Yan Shengrui. They smiled at each other. Now they were arriving at the market at the entrance of the village. Ling Jingxuan rolled his eyes and pulled him back to the road, “Let’s go to Laowang’s place to look around, I want to talk with him about the making of the jars thing.”

On hearing it was about work again, Yan Shengrui frowned, but soon smiled helplessly. So, it seemed there was nothing else they could do on such a weather.

“How many do you want this time?”

Pacing up his steps to catch up with him, Yan Shengrui asked gently. Look at that undisguised affection in his eyes. Though sometimes he complained about him neglecting him for his work, but actually he liked watching him so devoted in his work, and especially when he bickered and reasoned with the two little buns.

"Last time I ordered five hundred more, but those tiles we need for building the house were also made by Laowang, so he hasn’t delivered the goods, I am afraid he still hasn’t finished them. I am thinking of ordering five thousand more. Now we got more hands, so picking wild fruit, cleaning and decocting could be done at the same time. So, it won’t be a problem to make a few thousand jin in seven days.”

The two already came to Laowang’s booth without themselves even noticing as they walked and talked. But no one was inside. Thinking that he might be in the plant firing, they went to the direction of Zhao village. Zhao village was next door to Ling village. Laowang was adopted into his wife’s family. But his wife only had her mom, who was quite open-minded. Though he was adopted into his wife’s family, except that their big son was surnamed Zhao following his wife’s surname, the other kids were all surnamed Wang. Laowang was also a hardworking and honest man, who enjoyed a good name in Zhao village. Last time Ling Shengrui and Ling Jingxuan had ever come before, so they knew where it was, but…

Unexpectedly is, Laowang also wasn’t there. Only after asking the workers did they know that Laowang’s wife was delivering, so he was with his wife at home. Ling Jingxuan and Yan Shengrui meant to go home, but as the worker said their home was not far away and even said they could lead the way, so they could only follow them to go to Laowang’s home.

"Ahh... woo..."

Before they walked into that quadrangle courtyard, a woman’s screams at the top of her lungs came into their ears clearly. The one leading the way and Yan Shengrui both thought it was nothing. A woman giving birth, all like that, having some huge pains and the baby was out. But as a doctor, Ling Jingxuan frowned. Apparently the woman’s voice sounded weak and would pass out at any minute. If he guessed it right, Laowang’s wife was having a dystocia.

"Mom, what to do? It’s been a day and a night, but Shulan still couldn’t give birth!”

In the courtyard, hearing his wife’s screams become weaker and weaker, Laowang was so anxious. That was their fifth child. They thought it would be quite smooth, but…no accident, please!

"Oh, my son-in-law, stop walking around. I'm also very anxious!”

A woman about in her forties or fifties looked quite worried. The one inside was her only daughter. Seeing that she couldn’t deliver the baby after a whole day and night, she was also very anxious. If her daughter was gone, who else could she count on then?

Squeak~

Suddenly, the door that had been closed for a day and a night was suddenly pushed open from inside, and a slightly plump old woman walked out. Aunt Zhao and Laowang walked to her at the same time, "Aunt Zhao, how is my wife (daughter)?"

The midwife looked quite dignified, said after giving a deep sigh, “It’s dystocia. Now she has no strength to hang in there. So I am here to ask you, if only one could be kept safe, the mother or the child?”

In general, such words were tantamount to a direct declaration of the death of the mother or the child.

Bam~

Hearing that, Aunt Zhao had a stumble, fortunately her few grandsons supported her. But Laowang wasn’t that lucky. His whole body collapsed onto the ground, with only blandness in his eyes. Dystocia? Even in those big families, they could do nothing, let along in such a place in the village. It seemed that the sky of their Zhao Family had collapsed. Among the four kids, the biggest one was over ten years old, and the youngest one was seven or eight years old. Children in poor families would become independent very early. So they also understood the midwife’s words, all looking desperate. To them, whether they’d lose their mom or younger brother, that was really a heavy blow.

"Both."

Suddenly, a clear voice fell from the sky. Ling Jingxuan and Yan Shengrui walked in shoulder by shoulder. Laowang who knew he knew some medical skills instantly saw hope. He scratched and scrambled before them, “Brother Ling, do you have a solution?”

That pair of dazed and helpless eyes were filled with hope again. If possible, who would give up one of them? His wife and his son, he really didn’t want to lose either of them!

"Of course, but brother Wang, it might be kind of risky. Besides, after this, I’m afraid your wife could never get pregnant. You got to consider it carefully.”

Ling Jingxuan wasn’t an unsolicited person, at least never active. But Laowang wasn’t an outsider. From the first time he helped him make jars for free till now, their cooperation had always been smooth. And Laowang was also a trustworthy man. So he would make such an exception for him. But, as for what to do exactly, he didn’t plan to tell them. After all, to them, this thing was unimaginably queer.

“OK, no problem! With the one in her belly, we already have five kids. I also no longer want to see Shulan to suffer again.”

Hearing him, Laowang hurriedly waved his hand. This time he was really frightened. If Shulan was really gone, who would take care of the children? Even their family would fall apart.

"Wait, childe, you said you can keep them both. But you even haven’t checked her situation. How can you be so affirmative already? You should know, if both die, you’d go to jail.”

Seeing that someone was trying to grab her business, the midwife said with ridicules. She had helped people deliver babies for tens of years and had never heard that both could be saved. Whether he could really do it or not, she would never let him take over. If the mother and son really got both saved, who would ever dare to ask her to deliver their babies?

"That's my business. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with you. Or do you have a better idea?"

With an eye, he saw through her selfish thinking. Ling Jingxuan’s face turned colder. Although he himself was also a cold-blooded person, as long as it was a patient in his hands, he would try his best to save people and would never give up midway. With that age, she really didn’t deserve to be a human being!

"What else can be done? If it is to protect the adult, use scissors and other sharp tools to cut the child into pieces and pull the pieces out, if it is to protect the child, while the adult is still breathing, cut open her stomach. There is no other way."

Such cruel words, she said so reasonably. Everyone there couldn’t help frowning, with totally objection written on their faces. The full-term baby was already a life. If cutting it into pieces using scissors, what’s the difference from killing someone?

"Aunt Zhao, could you please let this opinionated midwife leave? Brother Wang, listen to me. Now I need one jin of Zuixin flower, twenty grams of radix aconite, ragrant angelica root, angelica sinensis and ligusticum wallichii each, five grams of rhizome arisaematis, fifteen grams of gumbo and cannabis sativa… Grind them all into powder. Go to the village doctor for those things now. Besides, I need a goat, right now!”

Casting a glance the midwife, Ling Jingxuan even lost the interest to say one more word to her. He just turned around and said so to Laowang. The herbs were used to make anesthetic, and the goat was used to make intestine thread. Now he would do a caesarean operation. Fortunately in his previous life, he had been used to bringing those tools for operations on him as weapons. After Zhao Dalong forged them for him, he had brought them with him. Now they came in handy finally!

"OK, I’ll go buy them right now. Big son, you go to get the goat in the backyard. Second son, you send Aunt Zhao back, and pay. Third son, fourth daughter, you stay here and do as what Uncle Ling asks you to do.”

Having been doing business for so many years, of course Laowang had a quick reaction. After telling his kids what to do, he ran out. Then the kids did their own jobs. Before the midwife left, she threw Ling Jingxuan a hard stare, under that pair of vicious written with undisguised ‘let’s see how you embarrass yourself’. Pity that everyone just ignored her.

"Uncle Ling, will our mom be all right?"

The fourth daughter was the youngest. She grabbed Ling Jingxuan’s clothes and looked at him with tearful eyes. She didn’t want to be a child without a mom. Those kids in the village who had no mom were all very pathetic, especially after they got a stepmother. She didn’t want to be one of them, or his daddy finding them a bad stepmother. She only wanted her own mom.

Perhaps her words touched the soft spot in Ling Jingxuan’s heart. He stretched a hand to rub her head, then squatted down to comfort her gently, “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I promise I will give you a living mom and a cute younger brother.”

In an era where the medical conditions were so behindhand, so many women died when delivering a baby. If it hadn’t been that he owed Laowang a big one, he wouldn’t save her, after all, here had no sterility room, or searchlight specially used for surgeries, so it would be more difficult for a doctor. With slight carelessness, maybe he’d be sued like what the midwife just said.