CHAPTER 242: CHAPTER 241: BIRTH OF A DAUGHTER

Fang Yuejin was chatting with Gao Jiazhi outside; he was seeking advice from Gao Jiazhi, while inside, Sun Yuhua and Wang Aihua were also having a conversation.

"Yuhua, you’re about to give birth soon, aren’t you?" Wang Aihua asked Sun Yuhua while lying on the bed.

Sun Yuhua nodded, "It should be within the next few days."

"Is everything prepared? Are you feeling nervous?" Wang Aihua asked.

Sun Yuhua shook her head, "I don’t feel it right now. We have the baby’s clothes and diapers ready, but I don’t want to give birth at home."

"Do you want to go to the hospital to give birth?"

As soon as Wang Aihua finished speaking, Sun Yuhua nodded, "Yes, I want to give birth in the hospital. Didn’t Yang Hua suffer a lot because she didn’t go to the hospital?"

"Have you talked to Gao Jiazhi, the team leader, and your aunt about this?" Wang Aihua asked.

Sun Yuhua shook her head, "There’s no point in talking about it now, they might not even agree. I’ll discuss it with them when the time comes."

Wang Aihua disapproved, "You should still talk about it, it’s better to make decisions with your family involved. After giving birth, you’ll need to recover during the confinement period. Will you be able to manage by yourself?"

Sun Yuhua paused, "Then when I go back, I’ll talk to them."

After leaving Wang Aihua’s place, Sun Yuhua spoke to Gao Jiazhi about wanting to go to the hospital to give birth, and Gao Jiazhi nodded, "That’s fine, but you have to tell your parents."

"You tell them," Sun Yuhua said.

Gao Jiazhi then brought up the matter with Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong about Sun Yuhua wanting to give birth in the hospital when the time came. Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong had no objections.

Although it was rare for people in the countryside to go to a hospital to give birth, as experienced midwives in the village would deliver the babies unless something was wrong and hospital intervention was necessary, Gao Jiazhi and Sun Yuhua’s decision would naturally not be opposed by Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong.

In the middle of the night, Sun Yuhua went into labor, and the Gao family sprang into action.

Zheng Xianghong said, "It’s the middle of the night; who knows if there’s anyone at the hospital. It’s better to give birth at home."

But Sun Yuhua insisted on going to the hospital no matter what, so Gao Jiazhi, Gao Guoqiang, and Zheng Xianghong all accompanied Sun Yuhua into the city.

The Guangming Production Team was not close to the county city, and the mountain roads were difficult to navigate at night, so the journey was slow. Gao Guoqiang and Gao Jiazhi even carried guns to protect against potential wild animals.

All the way, Sun Yuhua kept screaming in pain, and Zheng Xianghong occasionally checked her pulse, having a fair idea of Sun Yuhua’s condition. She comforted Sun Yuhua and asked Gao Jiazhi to slow down the ox cart, "Yuhua has just started feeling the pain, it’s still early for the birth. Don’t rush, and be careful on the road."

Zheng Xianghong was also afraid that her son would become anxious and nervous; if the ox cart wasn’t driven properly and fell into a pit, then they would really be in trouble.

But at this moment, Sun Yuhua didn’t trust Zheng Xianghong’s medical skills much and preferred to believe in the hospital doctors. Seeing Zheng Xianghong looking so calm and composed made Sun Yuhua angry, "Mom, I’m dying of pain."

Zheng Xianghong stopped talking and just leaned against Gao Guoqiang.

Finally, they arrived at the hospital, and it was already early morning. Sun Yuhua’s water hadn’t broken yet, only her mucus plug had passed. The doctor suggested that she walk around more.

Sun Yuhua was extremely frustrated. Gao Jiazhi supported her as she walked around the ward, while Zheng Xianghong told Gao Guoqiang, "You rest on this chair for a while."

Originally, Zheng Xianghong didn’t want Gao Guoqiang to come along, but given that it was late at night and Gao Jiazhi was driving the ox cart alone, Gao Guoqiang was worried, so the whole family ended up coming out.

After all the struggle, Sun Yuhua didn’t give birth until two o’clock, and since she didn’t exercise much ordinarily, she lacked the strength during childbirth, which took a long time.

After this ordeal, Sun Yuhua suffered greatly to give birth, finally delivering a plump daughter at two o’clock.

It wasn’t a son, which caused some disappointment among the Gao family members, but no one said anything. Sun Yuhua, however, found it hard to accept.

"How come it’s a girl?"

"Girls are fine too. Just raise her well," Gao Jiazhi said.

Sun Yuhua’s face showed her disappointment. During her pregnancy, she had a good appetite and could eat well, and she thought she might be carrying a boy. Discovering it was a plump girl, the shock was quite substantial for Sun Yuhua.

And with all this commotion, Gao Guoqiang, Zheng Xianghong, and Gao Jiazhi were all exhausted. Moreover, Gao Guoqiang, being the team leader, was indispensable to the Guangming Production Team, so once the family returned from the hospital, Gao Guoqiang went to rest.

Zheng Xianghong even prepared and stewed chicken soup for Sun Yuhua. After seeing that Sun Yuhua and the granddaughter were asleep, she quickly went to catch up on some sleep herself, utterly drained. Before leaving, she also told Gao Jiazhi to get some rest.

When Sun Yuhua woke up and didn’t see Zheng Xianghong, she asked, "Where are mom and dad?"

"They’re resting," Gao Jiazhi said.

Sun Yuhua said in a low voice, "Are mom and dad upset?"

"No, they’re just tired after a whole day and night. They’re resting now, don’t overthink it," Gao Jiazhi said as he looked at his sleeping daughter and smiled, "Our daughter is very pretty."

Sun Yuhua glanced at her daughter, not very happy, and said, "I didn’t give you a son. You’re not upset, are you?"

"What are you thinking, our family doesn’t practice gender preference," Gao Jiazhi said, "Besides, we can still have more children, a son will eventually come. We can’t disdain our daughter, we need to care for her well."

Sun Yuhua didn’t speak, but she was very disappointed inside. She often talked about having a son with Gao Jiazhi, but now that she had borne a daughter, she felt as though Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong were disappointed.

Neither Zheng Xianghong nor Gao Guoqiang rested for long. Gao Guoqiang went to the team office, while Zheng Xianghong went to see Sun Yuhua and her granddaughter.

The baby was crying loudly, and Sun Yuhua didn’t hold her, just watching her. As Zheng Xianghong came closer, she smelled something odd and, upon checking, discovered the granddaughter had soiled herself. Zheng Xianghong immediately said, "How are you two taking care of the baby? She’s soiled herself, and you didn’t even notice."

Sun Yuhua said, "I still haven’t recovered yet, I can’t get up. Mom, please help me clean her up."

Just then, Gao Jiazhi came in and, hearing this, said, "She soiled herself? I didn’t realize."

Zheng Xianghong laughed, "Being a parent is not so easy, huh? You’ll have to be more attentive in the future."

Sun Yuhua told Gao Jiazhi, "You should learn from mom."

Zheng Xianghong paused, ultimately saying nothing to Sun Yuhua, though she was clearly unhappy. Gao Jiazhi watched and learned from Zheng Xianghong.

After re-wrapping the granddaughter in a clean diaper, Zheng Xianghong took the dirty one to wash it, telling Sun Yuhua to breastfeed the child.

Soon, the room filled with Sun Yuhua’s loud complaints, saying that the daughter was biting her painfully. Yet, the infant had no teeth at this point; it was merely the pain of nursing and milk letdown that a new mother feels.

Zheng Xianghong, washing the diaper outside, heard the noise from the room and smiled; their little granddaughter was strong.

Over at Xia Xiao’s place, they learned that Sun Yuhua had given birth, and everyone was very happy. After work, they all came over to have a look.