Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Reaching the courtyard gate, she said to Zhao Qing, "Sister Yunlan is about to give birth. Go to the back room and watch over her. If anything happens, come get me. I’ll be right back after I find some people."

Zhao Qing nodded obediently and, her little legs pumping, ran into the house.

Juhua pulled open the courtyard gate and looked left and right. She saw Bianwa and a few other boys, wearing shorts and small shirts, their bodies tanned dark by the sun, running over from the village path. Overjoyed at the sight, she quickly called out to them and gave them some instructions.

Bianwa listened and quickly said, "Don’t worry, Sister Juhua. I’ll go get Brother Qingmu right away. Just wait a little while."

Juhua quickly promised, "Go on, hurry. When the baby is born, I’ll cook red-skinned eggs and salted peanuts for you all. Oh, and we’ve harvested a lot of chestnuts. I’ll roast them for you to eat later."

"Alright!" the little kids cheered and swarmed up the mountain to find him.

When Qingmu heard the news from Bianwa, he jumped in fright. He couldn’t be bothered with dealing with that Huang Yan’er anymore. He quickly told Zhang Huai to go find Zheng Changhe and his wife, while he himself sprinted home.

Juhua saw him return alone and anxiously asked as he reached the door, "How is your sister-in-law? Where is she?" As she spoke, she started to run into the house.

Juhua, amused, pulled him back and said complainingly, "Brother, have you lost your mind? What’s the use of you coming back by yourself? You’re no help at all. You should have gone to get Mom, and brought my mother-in-law back too."

Qingmu stopped and explained, "I had Huai Zi go get them. I came back first to see if there’s anything I can do to help."

Juhua thought for a moment and said, "In that case, you should hurry to Yu Tree Village and get the midwife. Go quickly, so you can be back to stay with Sister Yunlan. Don’t worry, her labor just started, so it’s not critical yet. I just went in to check on her. I was about to go cook some eggs for her to eat, so she won’t run out of energy to give birth later."

Hearing this, Qingmu quickly turned and sprinted off again.

Juhua went to the kitchen and boiled eight poached eggs. She ladled out six first and brought them to the delivery room, saying to Liu Yunlan, "Sister Yunlan, as long as you can stomach it, grit your teeth and eat. Otherwise, you won’t have any strength later."

Liu Yunlan was leaning against the bed, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead from a recent wave of pain. Hearing Juhua’s words, she nodded, reached for the bowl, and began to eat in large mouthfuls.

Seeing that she was eating with some appetite, Juhua turned and went back to the kitchen.

Zhao Qing stood obediently by the bed, looking up at the ravenous Liu Yunlan. "Sister Yunlan, try to bear the pain. Aunt Zheng will be back soon. My mom says you have wide hips, so you’ll have an easy birth. The baby will be out soon."

Liu Yunlan choked abruptly, coughing. She looked at the little girl by the bed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. She wanted to say something, but she felt another contraction coming on. She couldn’t spare a moment to talk, so she stuffed the remaining eggs into her mouth in a few large bites. Then, clutching her stomach with one hand, she handed the bowl and chopsticks to Zhao Qing with the other and said, "Take... it!"

This time, the pain was intense, and she couldn’t help but start moaning.

Zhao Qing was stunned by her hurried actions. She had been prepared to chat with her for a while—Sister Juhua had told her that talking to Sister Yunlan would make her feel less pain.

Cradling the bowl with both hands, she stared blankly at Liu Yunlan, who was bent over and moaning nonstop. She was at a loss. Usually so quick-witted, she now racked her brain but couldn’t find a single thing to say.

Just then, Juhua came in with another bowl of eggs and said to Zhao Qing, "Here, Qing’er, this is for you. I cooked two extra just now. Go eat outside, I’ll watch her here."

Zhao Qing looked uneasily at Liu Yunlan and said, "I don’t want it. Let Sister Yunlan eat it. If she eats, the pain will go away."

Juhua quickly told her, "Sister Yunlan has already eaten. She’s having a baby, that’s why her stomach hurts. Having a baby is a joyous occasion, and these are celebration eggs, cooked especially for you. Later, I’m going to cook a lot more to give to anyone who comes by."

With that, she took the empty bowl and chopsticks from her, settled her in the main hall on a small stool to eat her eggs, and then returned to stay with Liu Yunlan.

’I wonder if I should help my sister-in-law stand up and walk around.’ Before she could decide, she heard a series of rapid, urgent footsteps—THUMP THUMP—from outside, followed by Zhao Qing crying out, "Aunt Zheng! Aunt Zhang! Mom!"

"Aiyo! Daughter, you really have a lot of free time, don’t you? Sitting here eating eggs, more comfortable than your Sister Yunlan!" Shi Tou’s mother shouted loudly.

Juhua found this amusing. ’Sister Yunlan is anything but comfortable right now.’

Yang Family and He, covered in sweat, rushed in. Seeing that Liu Yunlan was still holding on, they both breathed a sigh of relief. After asking Juhua a few questions, they unceremoniously shooed her out. Before she could protest, Yang Family ordered, "You should go boil water."

Juhua quickly said, "I’ve already boiled a pot of water."

As she went to support Liu Yunlan, Yang Family said without turning her head, "Boil more. One pot definitely won’t be enough."

’I really can’t help much by staying here anyway,’ Juhua thought. So she went out, taking with her Zhao Qing, who had just been scolded by her mother for eating eggs.

The little girl felt very embarrassed after being scolded by her mother. She hadn’t even finished her egg, and her little mouth was turned down, on the verge of tears.

Juhua filled both pots with water, then sat by the stove entrance and added some firewood to the opening. Only then did she pull Zhao Qing to her side and whisper, "Your mom didn’t know I was the one who gave you the egg, that’s why she scolded you. I’ll explain it to her later, and it’ll be fine. When adults get busy, they sometimes scold the wrong person. Don’t be angry. Just explain it to her properly afterward."

Zhao Qing nodded and said, aggrieved, "Mom must have thought I asked Sister Yunlan for the egg." As she said this, the little girl’s eyes reddened again.

Juhua chuckled and shook her head. "Your mom knows you’re an obedient girl; she wouldn’t think that. She just felt that with Sister Yunlan giving birth, it wasn’t right for you to be sitting there eating. It’s all my fault. I should have had you eat in the kitchen."

Zhao Qing asked, confused, "Why couldn’t I sit there and eat?"

Juhua smiled. "People will be coming and going. It doesn’t look right, and they might say you’re being thoughtless. It was just the two of us in the room earlier, so I didn’t think of that, and it got you scolded by your mom. Come on, let’s finish this egg. Once the baby is born, we can go see the little one."

Only then did Zhao Qing press her lips into a smile. She hurried to the chopping board to get her half-eaten egg and nestled beside Juhua to slowly finish it.

Before long, Zhang Huai also hurried over. He found Juhua in the kitchen and asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"

Juhua said, "Look, I’ve been kicked out to boil water. You’d be even less help. But don’t go far. Just stay at home. If we need you to run an errand, I’ll come get you."

Zhang Huai nodded and said he would stay and keep her company.

After a while of tense activity, Juhua thought Liu Yunlan would be in labor for a whole day like Meizi. But who would have thought—before Qingmu could even bring the midwife back, the cry of a baby was heard from the room. She had given birth!

Juhua looked at He, who came into the kitchen to get water with a wide, beaming smile, and asked in astonishment, "She really gave birth? How was it so fast?"

He said with a laugh, "Isn’t it? It was an unusually smooth delivery—less than two two-hour periods from start to finish, and the baby was born. A big, plump boy, over seven jin! He looks exactly like your brother did when he was little."

After He left with a bucket of hot water, Juhua still couldn’t believe it. She and Zhang Huai looked at each other, speechless. They had both witnessed the ordeal of Meizi’s labor; Liu Yunlan had barely seemed to struggle, and the baby was already out.

Zhao Qing, leaning on her leg, whispered to her, "My mom said Sister Yunlan has wide hips, so she’d have an easy birth. Sister Juhua, my mom is going to have a little brother for me too, and she says she’s not scared at all."

Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. She stood up, brushed the dust off her clothes, and took Zhao Qing’s hand. "Come on," she said cheerfully, "let’s go see the new baby." She then motioned for Huai Zi to stay in the kitchen.

Just as she stepped out of the kitchen, she saw Qingmu leading a stern-faced woman in her fifties into the courtyard. Shi Tou’s mother came out from the main hall to greet them enthusiastically. "Granny Ding, we’ve really troubled you, coming all this way. See, you’re such a lucky person—you hadn’t even arrived yet, and Qingmu’s wife already gave birth!"

’Shi Tou’s mother really knows how to talk,’ Juhua laughed to herself, ’managing to give the midwife credit for an easy birth. The woman hadn’t even gotten here, what the hell does it have to do with her?’

Shi Tou’s mother’s words brought a smile to Granny Ding’s face.

People in her line of work loved this kind of situation—no effort required, yet the payment would be just the same. And she certainly wouldn’t dismiss Shi Tou’s mother’s words as a joke like Juhua did. Country folk were all about auspiciousness, luck, and good fortune. For the baby to be born before she even arrived, what did that prove? It proved she was a lucky midwife. Once word got out, it would be great for her reputation, and her renown would grow.

When Qingmu heard that Liu Yunlan had already given birth, he, like Juhua, couldn’t believe it.

He had been fuming with anxiety on the way. The path between the midwife’s Yu Tree Village and Qingnan Village was just a small trail, impossible for a cart, so they had to walk. Granny Ding’s unhurried pace had made him want to just throw her on his back and run.

But Granny Ding had told him placidly, "What’s the rush? I can tell you haven’t been through this before. Giving birth doesn’t happen this fast. It’ll be a while yet."

He had no choice but to follow her pace back. His heart had been burning with impatience, only to be stunned by this wonderful surprise upon his return.

Just then, Zhang Dashuan, Zheng Changhe, and others came in. Many villagers also arrived to offer their congratulations, and for a time, the entire courtyard echoed with joyous laughter.

He came over to Juhua and said, "Don’t go over there just yet. It’s crowded and chaotic. Go back to our house and cook the eggs and peanuts. When they’re ready, have Huai Zi bring them over. We have enough help here, so you don’t need to worry."

Juhua nodded quickly. She called out to Huai Zi, then led Zhao Qing back to her in-laws’ house to get busy. First, she cooked the celebration eggs and peanuts. After that, she made a meal for both families and also stewed an old hen for Liu Yunlan.

Juhua was busy until evening before she finally had a moment to come over with Huai Zi and get a good look at her little nephew.

Liu Yunlan had been moved to the bedroom. Qingmu was kneeling cheerfully on the footstool, gazing at the mother and son on the bed with a heart full of joy. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)