Then he told the dumbfounded Li, "Hurry up and boil some hot water, and disinfect the new scissors you prepared."
Li knew that she had gotten into trouble. Her excitement had long since turned into anxiety. She even stuttered, "I know, I know."
Zhulan helped to lay out the straw mat that had been prepared long ago, and asked Xuehan to carry Yushuang to the main room. Finally, she took out the quilt and fine cotton cloth prepared for the newborn, all of which were washed clean.
Zhulan listened to Zhao's shouting and forced herself to calm down. She recalled that she had prepared things and didn't forget them before comforting Zhao. She really didn't have any experience, but she knew that the mortality rate of pregnant women during childbirth was particularly high in ancient times. Fortunately, Zhao was not the first child, and Zhulan also consciously asked Zhao to walk more. Her belly was not particularly big. The only thing left was the fetal position, which Zhulan was powerless to do. "Qiuniang, bear it, and shout when you are about to give birth. Save some strength and don't waste it all."
Zhao bit her lip. Zhulan was afraid that she would bite her tongue, so she quickly took a cloth and gave it to Zhao to bite. Zhulan felt that time was passing extremely slowly. Even though she had the memory of her original body, her legs were still shaking violently. She once again cursed the ancient times, saying that giving birth to a child was no different from risking her life.
Boss Zhou finally came back, "Mom, the midwife is here."
Zhulan always called Mrs. Xu auntie, a famous midwife in the surrounding villages. Zhulan hurried forward to help clean the snow, "Auntie, thank you for your hard work. I will give you a big red envelope later."
Xu was very happy. The Zhou family had always been the first in the village to receive red envelopes. "I'll wash my hands and go in now."
Zhulan had already prepared wine for the midwife to wash her hands. In order to buy high-concentration liquor, Zhulan asked her parents' family for help and got a total of two kilograms of high-proof liquor. High-proof liquor was not easy to buy in ancient times, and she could not help much with Zhao's delivery, but she had no problem with details such as disinfection.
Xu was stunned for a moment but didn't say much, washed her hands and went in.
Li came in with hot water. Zhulan had already disinfected the scissors and said to Li, "Boil the red eggs and kill a hen to make soup for your brother and sister-in-law."
Zhulan didn’t know what to eat for the first meal after a natural birth. She had never given birth and had no knowledge in this area. In her memory, drinking chicken soup was the top-level configuration in ancient times, and she didn’t make the alternative of making direct chicken soup!
Li was worried. Seeing that her mother's face was still not good, she took the work and went out quickly. She didn't even dare to pick on her sister-in-law and drink chicken soup.
Zhulan had been helping Xu. The bloody Zhulan could not eat pig blood anymore. Later, her legs became numb from standing. After an unknown amount of time, the child was finally born, crying very loudly.
Xu weighed it and said, "It's heavy enough, and the crying sound is loud. He must be a healthy fat boy."
Zhulan was filled with joy. She witnessed the birth of a child with her own eyes, which had a different meaning. She grinned and said, "Good, good."
Mrs. Xu washed the child with warm water. Zhulan took out the plaster that she asked the second child to get from the clinic and put it on his belly button. She was really worried about touching the wood ash. Mrs. Xu said happily, "This kid is born with blessings. Look how much grandma loves you. You should use the plaster when you are born and be filial to your grandma in the future."
Xu thought to herself that if anyone told her in the future that Yang was a wicked mother-in-law, she would retort that her mother-in-law was so attentive to her daughter-in-law when she gave birth. Not only did she give the child a new quilt, she also comforted her daughter-in-law in a soft voice. If she didn't know that Zhao was her daughter-in-law, she would have thought she was her own daughter.
Zhulan happily held the child in her arms. The little guy was well-nourished and although wrinkled, he was fair and looked like a president who had picked out the best features of the second child and his wife.
Xu helped Zhao to drain the lochia. Zhao was too weak to cry out in pain and kept throbbing. Zhulan shook her head. Women are so great. Xu was very experienced and cleaned Zhao up and changed the cushion for her. Seeing Zhulan using a thick cushion made of coarse cloth to cushion Zhao, Xu gave her a thumbs up.
"You are as kind-hearted as your mother-in-law."
Zhulan smiled and said, "I learned all this from my mother-in-law."
Xu cleaned up the kang. The room was still filled with the smell of blood. She washed her hands and smiled, "I'll be back first."
Zhulan put the child next to Zhao and took out a red envelope with thirty cents from her purse. In the past, the Zhou family gave twenty cents, but today Zhulan put ten more cents in the red envelope. Then she took out the thank-you gift that she asked Li to prepare, a piece of fine cotton cloth. The Xu family also had a new baby, and fine cotton was most suitable for making clothes for the child. She also put ten boiled red eggs in the red envelope. Zhulan personally sent Xu to the door and asked her husband to carefully help her go back.