The God of Wealth starts with doing whatever you want

Jiang County, 11:47 PM.

Chen Xin was jolted awake by a sharp, contracting pain.

This pain is completely different from the occasional Braxton Hicks contractions I've had in the past few weeks.

It begins in the lumbosacral region, spreads like a tide towards the front abdomen, tightens, and then slowly recedes.

She lay in the darkness, her hand unconsciously touching her high, swollen belly, feeling the lingering pain dissipate like ripples.

"Baby..." she murmured to herself, her voice unusually clear in the quiet bedroom.

According to the due date, there are still three weeks to go.

The obstetrician said during her checkup last week that the baby's position was good, but the cervix had not yet shortened, and advised her to wait patiently.

The second wave of pain arrived precisely seven minutes later.

This time it's clearer and even more undeniable.

Chen Xin turned on the bedside lamp, picked up her phone to check the time, and then pressed the call button.

In this small building specially prepared for her in Jiang County, medical staff are on duty 24 hours a day.

Less than a minute later, a young nurse in a light blue uniform and a composed female doctor in her fifties pushed open the door and entered together.

"Ms. Chen, what's wrong?" The doctor walked quickly to the bedside, his voice calm but his eyes focused.

"Dr. Wang, I... have a stomachache."

Chen Xin took a deep breath, the pain reaching its peak, and said, "It's regular, about once every seven or eight minutes."

Dr. Wang Min, the head of obstetrics who was specially invited by Xu Yun from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, immediately got to work.

While putting on her stethoscope to check the fetal heartbeat, she instructed the nurse, "Prepare for the examination and notify Aunt Zhang."

The fetal heart monitor was quickly brought over, and the moment the cold coupling gel was applied to Chen Xin's abdomen, she couldn't help but shiver.

But then, a strong and regular "thump-thump" sound came from the instrument, like a steady war drum on a distant battlefield.

The baby's heartbeat is very steady, at 142 beats per minute.

"The contractions are indeed becoming regular."

Wang Min stared at the waveform on the monitor, gently pressed her fingers on Chen Xin's abdomen, and said, "The cervical examination shows that it is already dilated to two centimeters."

The bedroom door was flung open, and Zhang Sujuan rushed in, wearing a coat and her hair still a little messy: "What's wrong? Are you about to give birth?"

"Aunt Zhang, Miss Chen has entered labor."

Wang Min removed her stethoscope and said in a professional yet gentle tone, "Although the delivery is earlier than the due date, the fetus is full-term and all indicators are normal."

We need to go to the hospital immediately.

Zhang Sujuan's face appeared pale under the light.

She quickly walked to the bedside, took Chen Xin's hand, and said, "Does it hurt badly? Don't be afraid, Mom is here."

Chen Xin forced a smile: "It's alright... I was able to hold it in."

But over the next half hour, the frequency of contractions gradually decreased to once every five minutes, and the intensity of the pain also increased.

Each time a contraction struck, Chen Xin had to stop all movement, her fingers gripping the sheets tightly until her knuckles turned white.

She took deep breaths, following the method she learned in her prenatal class.

Inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, and exhale for eight seconds, but the pain surges like a tide, easily shattering the dam built by reason.

The delivery room at Jiang County People's Hospital was ready long ago.

Three months ago, Xu Yun had the entire obstetrics and gynecology ward renovated, introduced a batch of state-of-the-art equipment, and invited a team of experts from the provincial capital to be stationed there.

At this moment, when Chen Xin was wheeled into the delivery room, it didn't look like the obstetrics department of a county-level hospital, but rather like a high-end private hospital in a first-tier city.

C-section or vaginal delivery?

When Dr. Wang Min raised this question, Chen Xin had just endured a bout of intense uterine contractions, and her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

Zhang Sujuan gently wiped her face with a warm towel, and upon hearing this, she immediately looked up: "C-section! A C-section is less painful!"

"Do not……"

Chen Xin shook her head, panting, her voice weak but firm, and refused, "I want to give birth myself."

"Xin Xin, listen to your mother."

Zhang Sujuan grew anxious and advised, "Natural childbirth is so painful! With a C-section, you don't feel pain because of anesthesia, and recovery is faster..."

"It's good for the child."

Chen Xin interrupted her, her eyes filled with a stubbornness unique to motherhood, and said, "Natural birth is good for the baby's lung function and makes them more immune. I'm not afraid of pain."

Wang Min stood by the bed and pushed up her glasses: "From a medical point of view, both methods have their advantages and disadvantages."

Ms. Chen's current condition is very suitable for natural childbirth. The fetus is estimated to weigh about 3.2 kg, is in the head-down position, and has good pelvic condition.

But the pain of vaginal delivery is real, especially for first-time mothers, and the labor process can be quite long.

"How long?" Zhang Sujuan asked.

"The average first stage of labor for first-time mothers lasts 8-12 hours."

Wang Min answered truthfully, "Ms. Chen is currently dilated to two centimeters. It may take 6-10 hours to reach full dilation, and then the second stage of labor will begin."

Zhang Sujuan gasped, turned to Chen Xin, and said, "Did you hear that? It might take more than ten hours of pain! Just listen to your mother this once, we'll have a C-section, okay?"

Chen Xin shook her head as another wave of contractions hit her. She bit her lower lip until it turned white.

After the pain subsided, she said weakly but clearly, "Mom, I can do it. This is the first time my baby and I have worked together."

Zhang Sujuan's eyes instantly reddened.

She knew how stubborn this seemingly docile girl was deep down.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have followed Xu Yun so recklessly, and even been willing to have his child without any status or identity.

"Then...then call Xu Yun!"

Zhang Sujuan seemed to remember something, "Tell him to come back right away! Let him, as the father, make the decision!"

"Don't hit him."

Chen Xin reached out to stop it, but the contractions started again, and her hand froze in mid-air.

Wang Min pressed down on Zhang Sujuan's hand as she took out her phone: "Aunt Zhang, it will take Mr. Xu some time to get back now."

Most importantly, Ms. Chen needs to be focused and cannot be distracted.

Zhang Sujuan looked at Chen Xin, who was curled up in pain, and finally put down her phone in despair.

At 1:20 a.m., Chen Xin was taken to the delivery room.

With her cervix dilated to three centimeters, the pain made it impossible for her to maintain a calm expression.

She lay on her side, her body tensing with each contraction, a suppressed groan escaping her throat.

Zhang Sujuan, dressed in sterile clothing, sat on the edge of the bed, holding Chen Xin's hand.

She could feel the hand tighten suddenly when the pain came, and she could see the cold sweat constantly seeping from Chen Xin's forehead.

The nurse recorded the fetal heartbeat every fifteen minutes, and that steady "thump-thump" sound was the only comfort in this oppressive room.

“Take a deep breath, Ms. Chen, and follow my rhythm.”

The midwife's voice was gentle yet strong as she said, "Yes, just like that... Imagine the pain as a cloud; it comes and it goes."

But pain is not a cloud; it is real, it is a chisel striking bones, it is hands tearing muscles apart.

At two o'clock in the morning, Chen Xin started to shiver, not from the cold, but from the physiological reaction caused by the pain.

She requested the use of a pain pump, but after examining her, Wang Min shook her head and said, "Using it now might prolong labor. Just hang in there a little longer, and once you're dilated to four centimeters, we can consider painless delivery."

"How much longer?" Chen Xin's voice was choked with sobs; this was the first time she had shown such vulnerability.

"You did a great job very quickly."

Wang Min encouraged her, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes; the cervix was dilating more slowly than expected.

Time crawled slowly through the intervals of pain.

Each contraction felt like an eternity, while the three or four minutes of breathing time between contractions felt as fleeting as an illusion.

Chen Xin started to cry, not loudly, but in a suppressed, intermittent sob.

Zhang Sujuan wiped away her tears again and again, but her own tears kept falling.

At 3:10 a.m., the cervix finally dilated to four centimeters.

As the anesthesiologist prepared to perform the epidural, Chen Xin suddenly grabbed Zhang Sujuan's hand and said, "Mom... don't tell Xu Yun. He must be busy right now. Don't let him worry."

Zhang Sujuan nodded, but in the brief moment between Chen Xin being taken under anesthesia, she still took out her phone and sent a text message to her son with trembling hands.

"Chen Xin's baby has started prematurely, she's in labor, and the pain is terrible. Can you come back?"

The notification sound of the text message being successfully sent was particularly clear in the quiet corridor.

It is 3:15 a.m. in Jiangcheng.

Xu Yun had just rolled off Jiang Peiyao, his breathing still catching, when the phone screen on the bedside table suddenly lit up.

He glanced at it; it was a text message from his mother.

The words "Chen Xin's baby was born prematurely" made his pupils shrink.

He grabbed his phone and sat up abruptly, the movement so sudden that it startled Jiang Peiyao, who was half asleep beside him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, rubbing her eyes, her voice lazy and hoarse.

Xu Yun didn't answer; he had already dialed Zhong Yanyan's number.

The phone rang sharply three times in the quiet night before being answered.

"Mr. Zhong, I'm sorry to bother you so late."

Xu Yun's voice was calm, unlike when he had just seen the news. He said, "I need a helicopter. Now, in Feijiang County, can we contact one?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone before Zhong Yanyan's voice came through, equally clear-headed: "I'll tell you in two minutes..."

"Ah."

The phone hangs up.

Xu Yun had already started getting dressed, her movements quick and methodical.

Jiang Peiyao sat up, the blanket slipping off, but she didn't care: "What happened? Who's in Jiang County?" "Chen Xin is about to give birth."

Xu Yun buttoned up the last button of his shirt, grabbed his coat, and said, "Three weeks ahead of schedule."

Jiang Peiyao was stunned.

She knew of Chen Xin's existence; Xu Yun had never hidden it from her, and she also knew that the woman was pregnant with his child.

But seeing the unusual urgency on Xu Yun's face, she felt a complex mix of emotions.

“I’ll go with you,” she suddenly said.

Xu Yun turned to look at her.

"How can she give birth alone without a woman by her side?"

Jiang Peiyao had already gotten out of bed and started getting dressed, saying, "Auntie must be very worried. It's good to have more people to help."

Xu Yun stared at her for a few seconds, then nodded: "Quickly."

At 3:40 a.m., Xu Yun received a call from Zhong Yanyan.

He drove to the helipad of Jiangcheng TV Station, where the rotor of an AW139 helicopter with a blue and white paint scheme began to slowly turn.

The captain was a middle-aged man in his forties, who had obviously been woken up from bed, but his professionalism kept him calm: "Mr. Xu, Jiang County People's Hospital does not have a helicopter landing pad. The nearest landing point is the county stadium, which is about 1.2 kilometers away from the hospital."

"Okay," Xu Yun replied briefly, and boarded the plane first.

Jiang Peiyao followed behind him, and as she sat down in the cabin, she took Xu Yun's hand. His hand was cold, but his palms were sweaty.

The moment the helicopter lifted off, the feeling of weightlessness made Jiang Peiyao's stomach tighten. Through the porthole, the lights of Jiangcheng spread out below, gradually shrinking into a blurry sea of ​​light.

The cabin was very noisy; even with noise-canceling headphones on, you could still feel the roar of the engine and the vibrations of the rotor blades tearing through the air.

Xu Yun kept looking out the window, his profile appearing cold and hard in the dim light of the dashboard.

Jiang Peiyao noticed that his hand was clenched into a fist, and his knuckles were white.

"It will be alright."

She leaned closer and whispered in his ear, her voice mostly drowned out by the noise, but Xu Yun heard her.

He turned to look at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and finally just nodded.

The flight time is approximately fifty minutes.

For those fifty minutes, Xu Yun remained silent.

Jiang Peiyao tried to distract him by asking, "Have you thought of a name for the child?"

"Ah."

Xu Yun nodded, his voice coming through the earpiece, slightly distorted, and replied, "My name is Xu Miaomiao."

Jiang Peiyao silently repeated the name in her heart, then smiled: "It sounds very nice."

Xu Yun gripped her hand tightly.

At 4:35 a.m., the helicopter landed on the football field of Jiang County Stadium.

Vehicles were already waiting by the runway, arranged by Dr. Wang Min.

Xu Yun and Jiang Peiyao jumped off the plane, bent down to pass through the still strong downdraft, and got into the car.

"County Hospital, quick!" Xu Yun said to the driver.

The car sped along the empty streets in the early morning.

Jiang County is very small; it's only a few minutes' drive from the stadium to the hospital, but those few minutes felt like an eternity to Xu Yun.

He kept checking his watch, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knees.

We've arrived at the hospital.

The lights on the obstetrics and gynecology floor stood out starkly in the deepest darkness before dawn.

Xu Yun practically ran into the elevator, with Jiang Peiyao close behind.

Outside the delivery room, Zhang Sujuan paced back and forth restlessly.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up and burst into tears the moment she saw Xu Yun.

"mom."

Xu Yun helped her up and asked with concern, "How is Chen Xin?"

"I'm six centimeters dilated now, and I've been in pain for over four hours..."

Zhang Sujuan sighed and said, "That child is stubborn. She insisted on giving birth naturally, even biting her lip until it bled, but she wouldn't cry out..."

Xu Yun looked at the closed door of the delivery room.

Through the glass in the door, you can see figures moving inside, but you can't see Chen Xin.

"Can I go in?" he asked the nurse who had just come out.

The nurse recognized him and hesitated for a moment: "Mr. Xu, you'd better wait a moment. Dr. Wang is instructing her on how to push."

Before she could finish speaking, a suppressed cry of pain suddenly came from the delivery room. It was Chen Xin's voice, hoarse and painful, as if she had used up all her strength.

Xu Yun's body stiffened.

Just then, the door opened, and Dr. Wang Min came out, her mask pulled down to her chin, her forehead covered in sweat: "Mr. Xu, you've arrived."

Just then, Ms. Chen's cervix was fully dilated, but the baby's head was descending slowly, and she was almost out of energy.

We need to decide whether to switch to a C-section.

"What did she say?" Xu Yun asked.

She insisted on a natural birth.

Wang Min smiled wryly and replied, "But if this continues, both she and the child will be at risk."

Xu Yun was silent for three seconds: "I'll go in and take a look."

Wearing a sterile gown, a cap, and a mask, Xu Yun pushed open the door to the delivery room.

The sight inside made him pause.

Chen Xin lay on the delivery bed, her hair soaked with sweat, sticking messily to her face and neck.

Her face was flushed red from the effort, and there was a clear bite mark on her lip, oozing blood.

The midwife encouraged her, "Again! I can see the hair! Keep going!"

The moment Chen Xin saw Xu Yun, her eyes widened, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She wanted to say something, but another wave of contractions hit, and she could only grab the bed rails, letting out a beast-like growl.

Xu Yun walked to the bedside and took her hand.

Her hands were cold and wet, trembling, her nails almost digging into his flesh.

After the contractions subsided, Chen Xin looked at him, panting, tears mixed with sweat streaming down her face: "You... how did you get here?"

"How could I not come to such a big event?" Xu Yun wiped her face with his other hand, his movements gentler than ever before.

"Sorry……"

Chen Xin spoke haltingly, when another wave of pain struck, and her words came to an abrupt halt.

"Listen."

Xu Yun leaned down and whispered in her ear, his voice deep and strong, "If you want to give birth naturally, I support you."

But I need you to promise me that if the doctor recommends a C-section, you can't insist. Okay?

Chen Xin looked at him, her eyes filled with pain and struggle.

"Your child is important, but you are just as important."

Xu Yun looked directly into her eyes and said firmly, "I want you all to be safe."

Chen Xin's tears flowed even more fiercely, but she nodded.

Xu Yun did not leave for the next hour.

Xu Yun held Chen Xin's hand, supporting her every time she exerted herself, wiping her sweat when she was panting, and repeating again and again when she was about to give up: "You can do it, Chen Xin, you can do it."

Jiang Peiyao and Zhang Sujuan waited outside, looking inside through the glass.

Zhang Sujuan looked at her son with unprecedented patience and gentleness, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Jiang Peiyao stood quietly, her face expressionless, only her tightly clenched hands betraying her emotions.

At 5:47 a.m., as the first rays of dawn began to paint the eastern sky red, a loud cry rang out from the delivery room.

Dr. Wang Min came out carrying a baby wrapped in a sterile drape, a tired but genuine smile on her face: "Congratulations, it's a girl, 3.1 kg, Apgar score of 10, very healthy."

Zhang Sujuan rushed over and, upon seeing her grandson's wrinkled little face, covered her mouth and burst into tears.

Jiang Peiyao also went over to look, and the little person was waving his arms and crying loudly.

Xu Yun was the last to come out.

His sterile gown was wrinkled, his face was sweaty, and his eyes were red.

He first glanced at the child being held by Zhang Sujuan, then walked up to Jiang Peiyao.

"How is she?" Jiang Peiyao asked.

"I'm tired, I've fallen asleep."

A few hours later.

When Xu Yun entered the ward, Chen Xin was already awake.

She lay on her side, looking at the baby in the transparent crib next to her, her face showing an almost surreal peace and contentment born from extreme exhaustion.

Hearing footsteps, she turned around, saw Xu Yun, and her eyes welled up with tears again: "Look at her... she looks just like you."

Xu Yun walked to the small bed.

The tiny life had its eyes closed, its fist pressed against its cheek, and its breathing was soft.

It really does resemble him—a high, straight nose, clearly defined lips, and even the way he slightly furrows his brow when he's asleep.

"Thank you for your hard work." Xu Yun sat down by the bed and took Chen Xin's hand.

Chen Xin shook her head, tears sliding onto the pillow, her face filled with happiness. (End of Chapter)