Ling Chengyan also thanked the doctor and inquired about her second cousin-in-law’s condition. The young doctor, unexpectedly relaxed, assured them that it was just a false alarm; both mother and child were doing well.
The three of them were completely relieved. Ling Chengyan leaned over to unwrap a corner of the swaddling cloth to see the baby. The child was all red, with a sowhat wrinkled face, but the brows and eyes could be seen resembling Zheng Xiaotian, her second cousin-in-law... Zheng Xiaotian was quite good-looking, rather refined in appearance. If these features appeared on a boy’s face, he’d surely be a handso young man.
"Look at this little one growing up; he resembles his second aunt and is a good-looking boy," Wang Liansheng laughed.
Wang Lianfa shot his younger brother a glance and huffed, "You think your second brother is ugly?"
Wang Liansheng wasn’t afraid of him at all and chuckled, "Anyway, not as good-looking as my second sister-in-law."
According to local custom, the elder brother-in-law is usually more serious towards his sister-in-law and doesn’t easily make comnts, while the younger brother-in-law is much more casual, and it’s quite normal to joke occasionally.
Wang Lianfa rolled his eyes again, letting go of his dissatisfaction about having another son. He carefully took his son in his arms and grew increasingly fond of him. Hey, this little rascal really knew how to pick, inheriting the best features from the couple, a handso young man.
Ling Chengyan and Wang Liansheng watched their second cousin beam with joy, exchanging a knowing look.
After Wang Lianfa cuddled with the baby for a while, Ling Chengyan took the child back to the ward. Wang Lianfa still needed to stay at the door of the delivery room, waiting for his wife to co out.
Wang Liansheng went out of the hospital, heading to a small restaurant in the alley to arrange soone to make millet porridge and nourishing soup. Ling Chengyan specifically instructed him to get pig’s trotter and Chinese fevervine soup. She had previously inquired at the restaurant and found they had carp soup and pig’s trotter soup. The fevervine was prepared by Ling Chengyan for its postnatal benefits of promoting lactation.
Once her second cousin-in-law ca out and settled in the ward, letting their second cousin Wang Lianfa guard the mother and child, Ling Chengyan went to the doctor’s duty room to thank Director Lin and find out more about the situation.
Lin Xiuqin had just washed her face, and upon seeing Ling Chengyan enter, greeted her without formality, invited her to sit, then drank from her large teacup and said, "The whole childbirth process went smoothly. The umbilical cord around the neck was sudden. I’ve delivered a child with the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck over ten tis before, and the child almost suffocated, which is why I specially inford you... Fortunately, our situation was better, just wrapped one and a half circles, and the baby ca out smoothly after cutting... Don’t worry, everything’s fine, and if all goes well, we can discharge tomorrow after a day of observation."
Ling Chengyan thanked Sister Lin again and handed her a small bag: "I bought silk scarves from the South, heard they’re the latest designs there. Sister, please help distribute them as a thanks to everyone. It was a tough night, making everyone work hard."
Lin Xiuqin seed slightly surprised and pushed it away, saying, "No need for these..."
Ling Chengyan already stood up, smiling, "I’m mainly grateful to everyone for their hard work. I don’t know much about these things, hope everyone doesn’t mind."
After Ling Chengyan left, Lin Xiuqin opened the exquisitely floral-patterned bag and pulled out the scarves... Or rather, silk scarves would be more fitting, all of the finest silk fabric. Moreover, Lin Xiuqin imdiately noticed one piece wrapped separately, an abstract geotric design with pale gray and light yellow tones. She opened it and found it to be a large scarf, versatile for tying or draping, and imdiately took a liking to it.
"Unexpectedly, even though Company Commander Ling doesn’t dress up much herself, she has such a good eye." Lin Xiuqin folded the silk scarf neatly, picked up the small bag to examine it. Its design featured ink art of the Jiangnan water town, elegant and beautiful, perfect for a small handbag for daily use.
She tilted her head, packed her scarf into the bag, deciding not to let the girls see it to avoid having them fight over it.
The remaining pieces were smaller scarves, perfect for tying around the neck as decoration in the chilly weather. She counted, surprisingly, there was an extra piece... This was one big and one small for her!
Lin Xiuqin smiled but didn’t pick out any. She went out to find the doctors and nurses on duty that night, letting the young girls choose the leftovers before taking hers back and packing them all in the small handbag.
Zheng Xiaotian’s health was good. After resting for a while post childbirth, she recovered quite well.
Wang Liansheng returned carrying a lunch box, filled with pig’s trotter braised with Chinese fevervine, plus ten eggs and a jar of millet porridge.
"When did you go out?" Wang Lianfa was sowhat surprised to see his cousin.
Zheng Xiaotian annoyedly pinched her husband’s back, causing Wang Lianfa to cry out, making Ling Chengyan and Wang Liansheng laugh.
With the child safely born, seeing Zheng Xiaotian eating pig’s trotter soup with good appetite and even eating a boiled egg, Ling Chengyan was assured. She checked the ti, it was already past five in the morning, so she and Wang Liansheng headed ho.
Having just returned from a long-distance trip, Ling Chengyan didn’t work and, after starting her shift, took leave to order a confinent al from a restaurant outside—not because she was lazy, but because her cooking skills were diocre at best. In the past few years, first with Xiaoyu, then with Wang Liansheng coming ho to take over the kitchen, she barely did any cooking, worried the food she prepared would be unpalatable and put her second cousin-in-law in a difficult position to not refuse.
At noon after finishing work, Wang Liansheng took care of the three children at ho, while Ling Chengyan brought the confinent al to the hospital in a lunch box.
With the baby safely born, the family was relieved. When Ling Chengyan arrived at the ward, she saw her second cousin and his wife changing their youngest son’s diaper, both with relaxed smiles.
Watching her second cousin-in-law eat, Ling Chengyan spoke to her second cousin, Wang Lianfa: "Second brother, when do you plan to send news to the family?"
Wang Lianfa looked at his wife and youngest son, smiled broadly and said, "Once we are discharged tomorrow, I’ll go ho for a visit to ease the family’s concerns."
Ling Chengyan paused for a mont and said, "Second cousin, it’s better to wait a bit, don’t rush ho yet. Just have soone send word back to reassure them."
The couple’s expressions changed, and even the second cousin-in-law stopped eating, looking at Ling Chengyan in unison.
Ling Chengyan quickly laughed and said, "Don’t worry, it’s better to be cautious with this matter. Let’s listen to the wind first, observe the trend..."
She had heard from Wang Liansheng that this matter wasn’t just passing like a breeze; it was showing signs of getting stricter. Previously, the asures were relatively gentle, mostly just trying to talk things out... Nowadays, there are fines involved, and so cases where the pregnant woman couldn’t be found resulted in detention of family mbers...
Ling Chengyan’s tily reminder was appreciated. After discussing with his wife, Wang Lianfa decided to adopt the suggestion, utilizing Liu San to send a ssage back ho without troubling Ling Chengyan and Wang Liansheng.
The family, upon receiving the news, collectively sighed in relief.
They also sent a ssage back to Wang Lianfa and his wife, advising them to rest easy and focus on the postnatal period for now, without thinking about returning ho.
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