Old Lady Wang did not know that Tang Shan had hired a midwife for Li Mingwei, and thought she only had those two little maids accompanying her. Afraid they did not have experience with childbirth, she went to ask for leave from Doctor Jin early on, and found someone to replace her for a month or two.
Then she went up the mountain to burn paper for her husband, asking him to protect her daughter-in-law and grandchild's safe delivery.
On the day she set off, she got up early to pack her things, and took some eggs to knock on the neighboring door.
"Granny Zhao, Granny Zhao."
The door opened quickly. Granny Zhao saw what was in her hands, and guessed half of it. After all, she had told her several months ago, "You're going to the county town to take care of your daughter-in-law, right?"
Old Lady Wang nodded and handed over the basket and keys to her, "Yes, when brother-in-law and sister-in-law arrive, we will leave. The eggs are for you, here are the keys. Remember to help me open the door and take a look when you have time!"
"Got it. I'll just water your yard every day. That should be fine, right?"
Hearing the clucking of chickens, Granny Zhao poked her head out to take a look, only to find that there were more than a dozen chickens tied at the Liu Family's door. She exclaimed, "You've emptied the whole chicken coop!"
"There's no one to look after them anyway. I'll take them to supplement her diet. When I get back, I'll buy some chicks to raise."
"Okay." Granny Zhao saw Dong Shan pushing a cart from afar. She pointed to him, "Your brother-in-law is here. Hurry up and go."
"Alright. Thanks for your trouble."
Old Lady Wang ran back to her door and beckoned Dong Shan to grab the chickens onto the cart. Wang Chunhua saw this and hesitated. Should she also buy some chickens for her sister-in-law? Her mother-in-law was so willing to give, if she as the older sister didn't buy anything, it would seem inappropriate.
In addition to eating eggs and drinking chicken soup during the confinement period, what else was there? Fish soup. She would go back to the county town to buy some fish for her, keep them in a vat. They probably wouldn't die, right?
Having made up her mind, after the three ate lunch in the county town, Wang Chunhua asked Dong Shan to find a vat to fill with water, while she herself went out to buy fish.
There was no chicken coop in this house. Li Mingwei was just worrying about the chickens in the yard. And now there was also a vat of fish.
"Sister, you bought so many too? How can I finish them?"
"It's not for you to eat in one day. There's still a long time." Wang Chunhua propped up the vat and looked at the fish that were still swimming around. She nodded with satisfaction. The boss didn't lie to her. They really were quite lively.
Still, she instructed the kitchen maid, "Keep an eye on them when you have time. If any don't look good, cook them early. Dead fish won't taste good."
The kitchen maid smiled and agreed, "Okay, I'll remember that."
She wasn't worried about the fish, just what to do with more than a dozen chickens. Letting them run loose in the yard, they could fill the place with chicken droppings overnight. This was the kitchen, after all. It would be so annoying to look at.
In the end, Dong Shan borrowed a knife from the gatekeeper and chopped some bamboo in the small garden to make some simple fences, and penned the chickens inside.
After finishing up, looking at the sun, they felt it was still early. They could probably get to town before dark, so they hurriedly bid farewell to Li Mingwei.
"Sister~"
Wang Chunhua loosened Li Mingwei's hand that was holding hers, and patted it reassuringly, "When sister has time, I'll come see you. Childbirth is unpredictable. Pay more attention, and when you give birth, have someone send me a message, and my husband and I will come right away."
"Okay."
After taking a look at Li Mingwei's belly, Wang Chunhua finally turned around and left with Dong Shan. It wasn't that she didn't want to stay a few more days, just that they had bought land last year, and it was the busy spring planting season right now.
She would come after all the planting at home was done.
Li Mingwei was having a hard time bearing the more than nine month belly. After walking a bit, she had to rest. Her legs and feet were also swollen beyond recognition. None of her old shoes could fit anymore.
Old Lady Wang compared her current feet and bought two pairs of insoles for her, starting to make new shoes for her.
Li Mingwei was somewhat horrified, "Mother, why are you making me shoes now? Won't my feet get smaller after I give birth?"
"They'll get smaller." Old Lady Wang assured her not to worry. Shortly after she gave birth to Liu Yizhu, her feet were no longer swollen. Only her belly was still a bit big, and slowly shrank after doing more work later on.
"Ah?" Li Mingwei was even more afraid. She touched her own belly, "How much bigger? Doesn't it disappear after giving birth?"
Would she become a fatso after giving birth?
Old Lady Wang glanced at her face and shook her head, "It's not too bad. It should slim down again quickly."
That still meant she had gotten fatter.
Li Mingwei beckoned, and the little maid immediately came over to support her, "Mistress, what's the matter?"
"Let's walk around some more."
The midwife had also said that more activity would be beneficial for childbirth. Old Lady Wang did not refuse either. She just occasionally glanced up from her work to look at her.
Li Mingwei did not go far, just walked around the yard twice. Then her lower abdomen began to ache again.
Seeing her clutching her belly with a pained expression, the little maid panicked, "What's wrong, Mistress?"
"It's nothing. The bone is pressed again. Help me sit for a while and it'll be fine."
The first time the bone below her belly ached, she thought it was a sign of premature labor, and anxiously had the maid fetch the doctor, even alarming Master Tang. It turned out to be a false alarm.
Now she could still distinguish between belly ache and bone ache below.
Hearing it was bone ache, the little maid also breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly helped her walk to the pavilion, and advised in a low voice, "Mistress, shouldn't you move around less? Why does your bone keep hurting?"
She thought about it and felt it wasn't right. This was somewhat different from what the midwife had said. It hurt when walking, and not walking was not good for childbirth either. There was no winning.
"Giving birth is so painful. I might as well not get married in the future and just stay in the manor for the rest of my life."
Li Mingwei smiled at her, "You're still young. Better save those words until you're older."
The little maid was unconvinced and muttered softly, "I'm fourteen already. I'm not that young."
Fourteen, such a flower-like age!
Li Mingwei sighed feelingly, and thought of Ah Xiu. She should also be eighteen this year, right? Had her family found her a husband yet? Probably not. Ah Xiu would definitely wait for her to come back and choose for her.
She still had to send her a letter, telling her to marry whoever she liked. Eighteen was not young anymore. Don't delay any longer, otherwise she'd get too old to marry off.
She also had to prepare dowry for her. Might as well let her take whatever she wanted from the storeroom herself. Pick whatever you like, no need to bother choosing for her.
Li Mingwei sat back in the pavilion and gently pounded the painful spot for a while.
Old Lady Wang put down her needlework and asked with concern, "Hurting again?"
"Mm." Li Mingwei's spirit was somewhat depressed. She had also heard people say giving birth was extremely painful, but did not expect the process to be so agonizing, especially these last few months. She almost could not stand it anymore.
She gently caressed her belly, but her mouth was vicious, "You'd better look quite good, and be even more obedient. Your mother doesn't want a second one!"
"Don't think about disobeying or you'll get a beating. Hurry up and make a final effort. Grow your eyes a bit bigger and rounder, nose a bit straighter, mouth is fine as is, don't make it too big. If you're a girl, remember to grow your hair nicer, thick and jet black, so it'll look good with hairpins when you're older."
Old Lady Wang???
Weren't the daughter-in-law's demands a bit too much?
