Tiger Owl

Chapter 209 Becoming a Father for the First Time
After the autumn harvest, the weather gradually turned colder.

With her large pregnant belly, Da Qiao found it increasingly difficult to walk, but Gan Ning still came back every day to accompany her for a walk.

"Walk slowly, there's a small pebble ahead, let me remove it first."

Gan Ning helped his wife walk carefully forward. There was a rock in front of them, so Gan Ning kicked it away.

Two midwives and Dr. Liu followed far behind. Women from wealthy families were unlikely to experience difficult childbirth. Most of them were carefully cared for from the beginning of their pregnancy, with experienced midwives and dedicated female doctors to ensure that various possibilities of difficult childbirth would not occur. Of course, it was impossible to completely eliminate them, but they could basically guarantee a 90% success rate in childbirth.

"Husband, I'm so sorry we might not be able to go to the Lushan hot springs this year!"

The hot spring resort in Lushan has been completed, but we haven't had a chance to stay there yet. Winter is the best time to visit, but Da Qiao is about to give birth.

Da Qiao knew that her two younger sisters had always wanted to go to the hot springs, so she said, "Why don't you take them there for a few days, husband? I should be fine for these few days."

"What are you saying!"

Gan Ning said somewhat displeasedly, "Is a hot spring more important than you? Don't say such silly things again!"

Da Qiao quickly grabbed her husband's arm and said apologetically, "I promise I won't say it again!"

After walking around for a short while, Da Qiao's brows slowly furrowed, and a look of pain appeared on her face. Gan Ning immediately noticed something was wrong, supported her, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Husband, my stomach hurts a little... a little!"

Gan Ning quickly waved, "Dr. Liu, come and take a look!"

Dr. Liu rushed over, examined the situation carefully, and said urgently, "It might be that your water broke. Get a stretcher right away!"

The maidservant hurriedly ran to fetch the stretcher, which was already prepared. Four strong women carried the stretcher over, and Gan Ning carefully helped his wife onto it.

Two midwives supported the stretcher on either side and rushed towards the delivery room, while several maids ran to inform the housekeeper to boil water.

The whole house became busy, and Xu Wei and Xiao Qiao also came to help.

Gan Ning, on the contrary, was fine, so he had no choice but to return to his study to wait.

He was genuinely worried and extremely anxious. He wasn't worried about the child, but about Da Qiao. This was Da Qiao's first childbirth. In ancient times, there was no cesarean section, and childbirth was a life-or-death ordeal for women. He was terrified that something might go wrong.

Gan Ning paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. Xu Wei, understanding and considerate, stayed with Gan Ning the whole time, while Xiao Qiao kept an eye on things in the delivery room and would come running over immediately if there was any news.

Xu Wei heated up a pot of wine, poured a cup for Gan Ning, and handed it to him, saying, "Husband, have a cup of wine to calm down!"

The wine came at just the right time. Gan Ning drank it all in one gulp, and the tension in her heart eased a little. However, the normal delivery time had passed, and Gan Ning became even more impatient.

After waiting a while longer, just as Gan Ning was about to lose patience, Xiao Qiao suddenly rushed over, "Husband, my sister has given birth! My sister has given birth!"

Gan Ning grabbed Xiao Qiao, "Is your older sister alright?"

"They are both safe!"

"Oh! You had a son?"

"Yes! A baby boy was born."

Tears of happiness welled up in her eyes, and Gan Ning quickly wiped them away, asking, "Can I go see them now?"

"Dr. Liu said it would take a while! So I'm going to share the good news with my husband."

Xu Wei considerately filled three cups with wine, gave Xiao Qiao a wink, and Xiao Qiao immediately jumped up, picked up her wine cup and said with a smile, "Let's toast to the birth of our little brother, sister!"

Gan Ning also happily raised his wine cup. When Gan Ning saw Da Qiao, it was already dark. In the warm room, Da Qiao was half-lying on the bed, holding a swaddled baby in her arms, breastfeeding the child. She looked at her baby with infinite tenderness in her beautiful eyes.

Gan Ning squatted down to the side, and Da Qiao only then noticed her husband's arrival. "Husband, I didn't even notice you!" Da Qiao said apologetically.

"fine!"

Gan Ning stretched out his finger and gently touched his son's rosy cheek with the back of his finger. A deep father-son bond arose spontaneously. This was his son, with his blood flowing through his veins, a continuation of his life.

Gan Ning's eyes suddenly reddened. He finally had his own descendants in the Three Kingdoms period, and the deepest, most hidden door in his heart slowly opened a crack.

Da Qiao saw the tears in her husband's eyes, reached out and gently stroked his hair, her eyes filled with tenderness. Only she understood the loneliness in her husband's heart.

Gan Ning took his wife's hand and sat down beside her. The two of them looked at the baby in the swaddling clothes.

"My husband, is my name really Gan Yi?"

Gan Ning had already chosen names for his children: Gan Yi if it was a boy, and Gan Wan if it was a girl.

Gan Ning randomly selected eighty-one characters and wrote them on eighty-one fortune sticks. He took a bath and changed his clothes. At the time calculated by Xu Wei, he drew a fortune stick, which was the character "Yi" (毅). The girl drew the same fortune stick, which was the character "Wan" (婉).

Gan Ning nodded. "His name is a matter of fate. Besides, a simple name is easier to remember."

"All right!"

Da Qiao leaned down and kissed her son's little face, then smiled and said, "From now on, Mom will call you Yi'er!"

Gan Ning put his arm around her shoulder and laughed, "You're a mother now, do you like this feeling?"

"I love it!" Da Qiao nodded happily. "I've been looking forward to this day for a long time. I have a husband who loves me and a child of my own. I feel that my life is perfect and I have no regrets."

Da Qiao suddenly remembered something and said to her husband, "Husband, Doctor Huang said I might not have enough breast milk, so we need to find a wet nurse for Yi'er!"

We definitely need to find a wet nurse, not just for the milk supply. Taking care of a child alone is too hard, so someone has to share the burden, especially at night, so that Da Qiao can get some rest.

Gan Ning nodded. "The wet nurse has been found and will arrive tomorrow!"

At this moment, Xu Wei and Xiao Qiao sneaked in. The two of them surrounded the little guy, looking at him with boundless joy.

Gan Ning stood up and said with a smile, "You two chat, I'll go back to my study first, and I'll come see you and your son again tomorrow."

Gan Ning returned to his study. He slowly walked to the window, opened it, and a cold, crisp night wind rushed in. The weather in late November was very cold. Although there was a brazier in the room, it didn't help much with the heating. He could only sit in front of the brazier to warm himself when it was very cold.

Gan Ning looked up at the clear night sky, filled with stars, which were cleaner and clearer than the sky in his previous life. The outlines of the constellations appeared clearly before his eyes. Tonight he became a father. He wondered which star his son was descended from.
A chubby little face appeared before Gan Ning's eyes, and the corners of his mouth curved into a slight arc.

At this moment, a coat was gently draped over his shoulders. Gan Ning turned around and was slightly taken aback. It was Xiao Qiao.

Xiao Qiao has changed a lot in the past six months. Although she is still lively and outgoing, she becomes exceptionally well-behaved and quiet when she needs to be, and she has also gradually learned to be considerate and take care of her husband.

Xiao Qiao was very tall, at least 1.75 meters by modern standards, at least 10 centimeters taller than Da Qiao and also taller than Xu Wei. She developed relatively late. While other girls had feminine curves by the age of fourteen or fifteen, Xiao Qiao was different. Although she was sixteen, she was still as thin as a bamboo pole at the beginning of the year.

As the saying goes, a girl changes drastically at eighteen. In the past six months, Xiao Qiao's figure has undergone tremendous changes. She has gained fat, her breasts have become more prominent, and her lower back has developed a noticeable curve. Now, no one laughs at her for being a stick figure anymore.

"Why aren't you with your sister?" Gan Ning asked with a smile.

“Yunqing is with me! She has experience taking care of babies, while I know nothing about it. My sister thinks I'm clumsy, so she asked me to serve my husband.”

Xiao Qiao lowered her head and whispered, looking slightly uneasy.

(End of this chapter)