Chapter 600 - 596: A Resounding Infamy
At the hospital, he was put on an IV drip.
Chen Xiumin wiped her tears anxiously at his side, sobbing and cursing Xu Wenwan for being such a jinx. She lamented that if she had known, she never would have given birth to her in the first place.
And Chen Xiumin wasn’t the only one; the entire Xu family felt the same way.
That Xu Wenwan was definitely a jinx.
When the villagers learned what had happened with the Xu Family, the talk of Xu Wenwan being a jinx grew even louder.
Village Chief Xu had just been taken to the hospital the day before, and not long after, Yu Fangfang went into labor.
Fortunately, Xu Chongshan was home. However, he panicked and, instead of getting the midwife, he actually ran to find Gu Jiaojiao.
Gu Jiaojiao was woken in the middle of the night. The moment she heard Yu Fangfang was in labor, she was instantly wide awake.
Without a second thought, she quickly woke Leng Yuan and went out with him.
Once outside, Leng Yuan went to fetch the village midwife, while she and Xu Chongshan went to check on Yu Fangfang.
It was quite a coincidence.
Yu Fangfang was already more than half a month past her due date with no signs of labor. Xu Chongshan had been worried and asked Gu Jiaojiao to take a look. After observing Yu Fangfang’s condition—seeing she was eating and sleeping well with no discomfort—Gu Jiaojiao had told him everything was fine.
But as soon as Village Chief Xu fell ill, the baby in Yu Fangfang’s belly decided to make its move.
Leng Yuan quickly brought the midwife over. She was a seasoned veteran. One look at Yu Fangfang’s condition and she said to Xu Chongshan, "The mother’s fine. She’s about to give birth now. You men should go outside."
The men went out to boil water while the midwife helped Yu Fangfang deliver the baby. Gu Jiaojiao stayed by her side, monitoring her condition.
"Push! This is your second child, so it should be an easier delivery. Don’t be afraid."
Yu Fangfang screamed as she pushed.
The midwife chided her, "Don’t scream. Save your strength for pushing. If you yell so loudly now, you’ll use up all your energy."
Gu Jiaojiao also cheered her on from the side.
This time, Yu Fangfang’s baby was born in just over two hours, which was considered fast.
Xu Chongshan was overjoyed as he held his son. He immediately took out two red packets and handed one to the midwife and one to Gu Jiaojiao. "Thank you for your hard work. Please, share in our good fortune."
The midwife opened hers and saw ten yuan. Her smile instantly grew brighter.
The usual fee for a delivery was only three to five yuan, so Xu Chongshan’s payment was clearly much more generous. The midwife immediately became much more patient, repeating the postpartum instructions once more. She reminded them that the new mother was weak, should drink some brown sugar water, and must not touch cold water.
Xu Chongshan listened from the side, and Leng Yuan also had a serious expression on his face.
He secretly committed all this information to memory. ’I’ll use this for my wife when she gives birth one day,’ he thought.
Inside the room, Gu Jiaojiao felt a little embarrassed holding the red packet. She hadn’t really done much, just helped out.
But both Yu Fangfang and Xu Chongshan insisted she take it.
Since blood was involved, taking the red packet was a must for good luck.
In the end, Gu Jiaojiao also pocketed the ten yuan.
The only reason Xu Chongshan could afford to be so generous was because Leng Yuan had taken him hunting in the mountains, allowing him to build up a small personal stash of money. Otherwise, he never could have come up with that much cash.
He gave the money willingly. It wasn’t just because Gu Jiaojiao had helped without a second thought tonight; Yu Fangfang had also frequently asked Gu Jiaojiao to check her pulse throughout the pregnancy.
The fact that his family’s affairs had gone so smoothly was partly thanks to Gu Jiaojiao.
Pregnant women couldn’t easily take medicine, but their bodies were weaker during pregnancy, making them susceptible to illness. Gu Jiaojiao had told Xu Chongshan about some gentle, nourishing medicinal recipes. He got the herbs from her—all of them ingredients that were both food and medicine.
This was what had kept Yu Fangfang healthy throughout her entire pregnancy.
Gu Jiaojiao had gathered all those herbs herself from the mountains and hadn’t charged them any money.
So this time, when giving the red packet, he couldn’t be stingy. He gave her the same amount as the midwife: ten yuan.
It might not seem like much, but to Xu Chongshan, it was by no means a small sum.