1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

The earthen bed got a bit cool in the latter half of the night. Lianhua had been sleeping soundly, but in her drowsy state, she suddenly felt a warm, damp sensation beneath her that instantly soaked through the mattress, just like when she was a child and couldn't hold her pee and wet her pants.

She suddenly opened her eyes, instantly becoming alert. Her heart skipped a beat, and she frantically reached under her to check, finding the mattress soaked.

She's such a grown woman, married and pregnant, how could she do something so shameful as to wet the bed?

Her mind was a mess. She had clearly gotten up to relieve herself before going to bed, but she hadn't dreamt of looking for a latrine. So why couldn't she control herself?

The more Lianhua thought about it, the more panicked she became. She reached out and frantically tugged at Gaoshan, who was fast asleep beside her.

"Shanzi, Shanzi, wake up! I... I wet the bed!"

These past two days, whenever someone tugged at him, he would instinctively reach for the chamber pot. Chen Gaoshan got up now, propped himself up, and was about to get down to touch the chamber pot by the bed. Had he wet the bed?

My mind went blank with a sudden buzz.

He turned his head and saw Lianhua's flustered appearance; his heart jumped into his throat.

Did you wet the bed?

"Wait a minute! Lotus, are you about to give birth? Does your stomach hurt?"

Upon hearing this, Lianhua froze, her tense body instantly softening. She obediently lay on the kang (heated brick bed), gently placing her hands on her round belly, feeling it.

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt at all. I don't know what happened, it just suddenly started flowing out and I couldn't stop it, the mattress is all wet."

The commotion they made was quite loud, and Xinghua, who was sleeping lightly at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), woke up immediately.

She was the eldest sister in her family. She was already old enough to remember when her mother gave birth to Lianhua and her two younger brothers.

Upon hearing Lianhua say that she couldn't stop the flow of fluid from below, Xinghua thought it was bedwetting. But she immediately understood that this was not bedwetting at all; it was clearly the start of labor, just like when her mother went into labor. In both cases, the water broke first!

Xinghua struggled to prop herself up and slowly sat up, trying to calm the two of them, afraid that Gaoshan would panic.

"Lianhua, this isn't bedwetting, it's labor! That's what happened when your mother gave birth. Shanzi, hurry and wake your mother up, then run to get the midwife from the village, quick!"

"Okay! I'll go right now!"

Chen Gaoshan was awakened by Xinghua's words and finally realized what was happening. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his throat.

He steadied himself, not daring to delay, and groped his way off the kang (a heated brick bed). He didn't even have time to put on his shoes properly, and ran outside, gripping the wooden door frame, towards his parents' room, calling out as he ran.

"Mother! Mother! Wake up! Lotus is about to give birth!"

In the west room, Chen Liushi, being old, was a light sleeper. Upon hearing her son's call, she immediately sat up from the kang (a heated brick bed).

She reached out and nudged her husband, who was snoring loudly beside her, and quickly put on her clothes.

"I understand! Shanzi, don't panic. Childbirth is a difficult thing for a woman! She won't be able to give birth right away. Go back to the room and keep an eye on Lianhua. Make sure she doesn't move around too much."

In those days, medical conditions in the village were very poor. The only decent modern hospitals were located in the county town, hundreds of miles away, which was a long way off.

In the village, women all have to find a midwife at home to help them give birth. Their fate is entirely in the hands of fate. It's no exaggeration to say that they are risking their lives to give birth, with one foot in the grave.

"Shanzi, don't be scared out of your wits. Your father is up too. Go to the stable and hitch up the cart. Have your father come with you to fetch the midwife. It'll be good to have someone to look after you on the road in the middle of the night!"

Chen Gaoshan had never experienced anything like this before, nor had he ever seen a woman give birth.

I only knew that childbirth was difficult for women, but I never imagined that pregnancy would be so painful. In the past two months, I have been getting up at night to urinate frequently. My legs are so swollen that pressing on them leaves a deep dent that takes a long time to disappear. I can't wear my old shoes at all and have to make do with his big cloth shoes.

At night, my stomach feels so heavy that I can't breathe properly. I can only doze off on my side for a short while, and I feel uncomfortable if I move even slightly.

He used to feel sorry for Lianhua and Xinghua when he saw them suffer, but now that the time for them to give birth had come, he finally understood what true tension meant.

I felt even more panicked than when I first encountered a wild boar while hunting in the mountains, holding a knife to wipe its neck. My blood rushed to my head, and my palms were sweating profusely.

Finally hearing his mother's reply, Chen Gaoshan calmed down a bit, turned around and rushed towards the stable in the yard. He grabbed the harness in the dark and hurriedly harnessed the horse to the carriage, faster and faster, so that Lianhua could give birth to the child safely.

Damn it, what are you doing, shaking your head like that?

Chen Liu was so anxious that she was on edge. She didn't dare to be slow. In the dark, she grabbed the coarse cloth jacket from the head of the kang and put it on. Then she pulled up her trousers, slipped on her cloth shoes, and while haphazardly adjusting her waistband, she reached for the door bolt.

Step out of the house.

Then I saw Chen Gaoshan frantically trying to hang a harness on a horse's neck by the stable in the yard. He tried twice, but the harness didn't fit properly.

Chen Liu quickly pulled up her trousers, haphazardly fastened the buttons on her clothes that weren't fastened, and went over to grab her son's arm, afraid that he might make a mistake or bump into something in his haste.

She needs to reassure her son.

"Shanzi, you are the pillar of the family, a real man. You must not panic at this time! Giving birth is a life-or-death experience for women, but they all have to get through it. With your mother watching over Lianhua in the house, you can relax and everything will be fine!"

It's dark at night, and the road is full of potholes. Please watch your step carefully and make sure you can safely help the midwife across. That's more important than anything else!

But Chen Gaoshan was still in a daze, his eyes were blank, and he hadn't come to his senses.

Seeing him like this, Chen Liu stood on tiptoe, raised her hand, and slapped him on the back of the head.

"I told you not to panic! If you lose your composure first, Lianhua, who's pregnant, will panic even more. And if she's nervous, childbirth will be even more difficult for her!"

After that slap, Chen Gaoshan finally came to his senses completely and swallowed hard.

"Mom, I understand. I'm not panicking, I'm really not panicking."

"Shanzi's father, are you all done tidying up? Hurry up!" Chen Liu shouted into the house again.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Old Chen rushed out of the house, his jacket unbuttoned, the wind blowing cold into his stomach, his forehead covered in sweat, and he was cursing under his breath.

"Damn it, why does this tattered jacket have so many straps? The more I rush, the harder it is to tie. Screw it, I'm not tying it!"

He shuffled along in his slippers toward the stable. This was Old Chen's first grandson and his first time being a grandfather, and he was more anxious than anyone else.

Seeing that the father and son were busy making preparations, Chen Liu turned around and walked towards the west wing. She had only taken two steps when she suddenly slapped her forehead, remembering something important.

"Shanzi! Go out and call your aunt over! Xinghua is heavily pregnant and about to give birth. I'm worried that things will get busy and she won't be able to take care of both. Having someone else help out will make things easier!"

"Okay, I'll remember that!"

Chen Gaoshan harnessed the horse and prepared the cart.

Only then did Chen Liu feel relieved. She quickly walked into the inner room of the west wing, where Xinghua had already lit a kerosene lamp.

Xinghua was sitting by the kang (a heated brick bed), watching over Lianhua, who was lying on the kang.

Chen Liu walked quickly to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), bent down to examine Lianhua's complexion, and saw that her complexion was relatively stable and that she hadn't reached the point of unbearable pain during labor, which relieved her somewhat.

She has had two children and has some experience with childbirth, but not much.

"Lotus, has your stomach started to hurt? Do you feel anything else?"

Lotus, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), dared not move.

"Mom, I thought I wet the bed just now, but my stomach started hurting."

"How does it hurt? Tell your mother in detail."

Chen Liu hurriedly asked, and just as she was about to help Lianhua up, she realized what she had done and quickly pressed her back down onto the kang.

"Lie down and don't move! If you get up and move around too quickly, more fluid will leak out of your belly, and the baby might feel suffocated. You absolutely mustn't move around!"