Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!

Chapter 306: Chapter 306: About to Give Birth_1

Xue Mei pursed her lips, ”Mother, I feel like there are two babies.”

Zhulan was startled, ”It wasn’t this big last time I came back!”

Xue Mei thought to herself that her belly was already quite large last time, but her mother had been in a rush and hadn’t stayed long, plus the loose clothing worn in the approaching summer, naturally her mother hadn’t noticed, ”Mother, my stomach was already quite big when you came back last time.”

Zhulan felt a bit guilty for having left in such a hurry last time, then she glared, ”Don’t you know yourself if you’re carrying one or more? You think it’s twins? Have you had your pulse checked?”

Xue Mei shook her head, ”No.”

She had already given birth to two children, she knew what to expect, and since the kids were well-behaved, she hadn’t thought about getting her pulse checked.

Zhulan, ”....”

Alright, women in ancient times really were tough when it came to childbirth, my original memories contain quite a few who dared to deliver their own babies, but I am a modern person! When my mother remarried and was pregnant, she never missed a prenatal checkup and underwent various examinations. She was admitted to the hospital well before the birth.

Zhulan helped Xue Mei sit down, she thought giving birth to one baby was scary enough, let alone twins. Zhulan’s hand trembled a bit as she reached out to touch Xue Mei’s belly, which did indeed seem quite large. Actually, it looked about the same size as when her mother was pregnant with a single child!

Zhulan felt the baby move and fell silent. It seemed like there really were two babies moving inside. Staring at Xue Mei’s belly, she chided herself for being foolish. Modern babies, being well-nourished, often weighed seven or eight pounds at birth—it was rare to see newborns over five pounds in the rural areas of ancient times.

The conditions in Xue Mei’s house weren’t that great, and Xue Mei herself was slim. The baby inside her certainly couldn’t be very big.

The thought made Zhulan’s heart clench. Twins probably meant premature birth, and how on earth would she manage to raise two small children in ancient times!

Xue Mei was taken aback. She hadn’t been afraid of having twins, so why did she feel like her mother was terrified? ”Mother?”

Zhulan took a deep breath, ”Did you feel uncomfortable at all while riding in the carriage?”

Zhulan counted the days on her fingers with worry. Oh dear, it was September already. It was good that Xue Mei hadn’t given birth prematurely. Logically, the baby should not want to move much. She herself had never been pregnant and all her knowledge came from the original’s memories and from her own mother. When her mother was about to give birth, it seemed like the baby moved quite fiercely, something about oxygen deficiency... Ah, Zhulan was going crazy, she really didn’t understand!

Just as Xue Mei was about to say she wasn’t uncomfortable, she cried out in pain. Zhulan got scared, ”What’s wrong, what’s wrong?”

Lady Lixu had been listening quietly for a while. Seeing the look on her mother-in-law’s face change, she refrained from interrupting. Now, seeing Xue Mei’s condition, she said, ”It looks like she is going into labor.”

Zhulan guessed as much, ”It’s time, it’s time.”

After repeating it twice, Zhulan calmed down and turned to Lady Lixu, ”Mother-in-law, who is the midwife in Li Family Village? Could you please go and fetch her?”

Lady Lixu stood up, ”I’ll go and call her right away.”

Zhulan helped her daughter out of the main room towards the side room, where the bedstove had already been heated, nice and warm.

Zhulan called out for Mrs. Zhao while walking, and Mrs. Zhao quickly emerged from the kitchen, ”Mother, what’s the matter?”

Zhulan said, ”Go to my room and find some blankets, your elder sister is about to give birth. Oh, and the swaddling clothes I prepared earlier, and the new scissors, take them out as well.”

Fortunately, she had prepared the scissors for safety; otherwise, she would be even more worried about using old ones.

Mrs. Zhao was shocked, ”Elder sister is going to give birth? This is sudden, but okay, I’ll go and look for them right now.”

Zhulan then said, ”I’ve also bought some fine cotton, so cut some of it off.”

There’s no time to wash now; just use it as is. Fortunately, the wrapped blankets she had prepared and washed earlier were ready to use, and luckily there were two of them for changing and washing. Otherwise, two wouldn’t be enough!

She had been lazy. If she had been more diligent, she would have prepared all the quilts and mattresses. But who could have expected Xue Mei to have a premature birth? She thought she’d just buy and make them slowly, finish them once they were back in Pingzhou!

When Xue Han heard the commotion, she said, ”Mother, I’ll go call Brother-in-law.”

Zhulan hurriedly stopped her daughter, ”Let your elder brother rush to the county in the carriage to invite Dr. Lv here. Tell him that there is someone in the family pregnant with twins in labor. Oh, and have Dr. Lv bring medicine for the children’s umbilical cords and find the strong liquor your father bought for your grandfather, we’ll need it later for sterilizing the scissors.”

Lady Li was in the middle of slaughtering a chicken, still holding it in her hand, ”Mother, what can I do?”

Zhulan was already very calm; after all, she had been through Zhao’s childbirth. This wasn’t her first time preparing, ”You continue cooking. Today really is a coincidence, these two little ones also want to join in on the hustle and bustle!”

Lady Li’s several aunts, who were just about to say they were leaving, swallowed their words and responded, ”They must know their grandparents have returned and are eager to see them!”

Zhulan smiled, going inside to look at Xue Mei. Xue Mei was not panicked at all, still enduring the pain and moving around on the floor. Zhulan felt that she shouldn’t stress Xue Mei out; seven months or eight, she couldn’t figure it out. Xue Mei had just been over four months pregnant when she went to Pingzhou. It was said to be nearly four months then. Now it was the beginning of September, she didn’t know whether it had been a full nine months!

Zhao brought over a pile of things, and Zhulan hurriedly took them. Zhulan wanted to spread out the blankets.

Xue Mei stopped her, ”Mother, there will be blood when the children are born. Do we have any straw mats or something at home?”

Zhulan was speechless, ”If there were straw mats, would I use blankets?”

Lady Li’s second aunt said, ”I have some at home. I’ll have my daughter-in-law go fetch them.”

Zhulan asked Xue Mei, ”Can you still bear it?”

Xue Mei’s forehead was dotted with sweat, ”Mm.”

Zhulan turned around, ”Thank you.”

Zhulan asked Zhao to watch over Xue Mei. Jiang Sheng came to the backyard, and Zhulan took the strong liquor from Xue Han’s hands and personally sterilized the scissors. She couldn’t trust anyone else. The basin needed sterilizing, too, and the cotton cloths for the midwife to wipe her hands had to be rinsed with hot water. There was plenty of work waiting for her!

By the time Zhulan had everything ready, both the midwife and the straw mats had arrived.

They took out two straw mats as there was no cinder from freshly burnt grasswood available at home; they could only lay extra straw mats.

Zhulan had the midwife disinfect her hands before allowing her inside. She watched closely before she could rest easy.

The child in Xue Mei’s womb was indeed trouble-free. Xue Mei didn’t suffer much when her birth canal opened. After waiting for less than half an hour, she was ready to give birth. The first child was delivered quite swiftly. Shortly after the first child came out, the second one followed. It was indeed two children, both delivered in the span of an hour and a half.

Zhulan’s legs had gone numb from standing, yet she still had to help the midwife with the children. Dr. Lv brought over medicine, so there was no need to use cinder on the babies’ umbilical cords. With the medicine applied and wrapped up in fine cotton, Zhulan and Zhao each held a child and stepped out of the room into the outer chamber.

Zhou Shuren was already outside, ”Are they both boys or girls?”

Zhulan smiled, ”Two little lads.”

Zhulan then addressed Dr. Lv, ”Please have a look, these children are premature twins; how is their health?”