Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

When He Yuzhu pushed open the wooden door, the courtyard was unusually quiet.

A few small garments, no bigger than the palm of a hand, hung on the clothesline, swaying in the wind. No smoke was coming from the kitchen; the pots and pans had all been put away. He took a few steps inside, crushing a sun-dried leaf under his foot with a sharp crack that rang out loudly in the quiet.

The door to the west wing was ajar.

He walked over, and just as his hand touched the door, He Yushui's hushed voice came from inside: "Sister-in-law, eat some more. My brother will be worried when he gets back."

He Yuzhu's hand paused.

Qin Huairu's voice was soft and weak: "I can't eat."

"You have to eat, even if you can't. The baby in your belly is waiting."

He Yuzhu pushed open the door.

Qin Huairu leaned against the kang (a heated brick bed), his face paler than when he left. He Yushui squatted on the edge of the kang, holding a bowl of half-eaten porridge. She looked up, saw him, and almost dropped the bowl.

"elder brother!"

He Yuzhu walked over and sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Qin Huairu looked at him, her eyes slowly reddening.

"You're back?"

He Yuzhu nodded.

"I'm back."

He Yushui put the bowl aside, wiped her eyes, and ran out. The door closed behind her.

The room fell silent.

Qin Huairu reached out and took his hand. Her hand was a little cold, but she held it tightly.

"Over at the front lines..."

"fine."

She nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He Yuzhu looked at her, at her pale face, at her slightly bluish eyes.

You've lost weight.

Qin Huairu was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"I was just saying you've lost weight."

She placed his hand on her stomach.

"Touch, it kicked me again."

He Yuzhu placed his hand on her stomach and felt something moving inside. A gentle movement, then another. He looked up at her.

"When did this happen?"

Qin Huairu thought for a moment.

"My due date has passed by three days. The midwife said that some women are just a few days late, which is normal."

He Yuzhu fell silent.

On the first day, nothing happened.

He Yuzhu was chopping firewood in the yard. He chopped one pile, then another. He Yushui poked her head out from the kitchen: "Brother, that's enough to burn for a month."

He ignored him and continued chopping.

The next day, there was still no movement.

He started pacing around the yard. Seventeen steps from the east wall to the west wall. Seventeen steps from the west wall to the east wall. When he reached his eighteenth lap, He Yushui came over with a bowl: "Brother, drink this soup. Your wife made it."

He took it, drank it all in one gulp, handed the bowl back to her, and continued spinning it.

On the third night, Qin Huairu called him into the house.

She leaned against the kang (a heated brick bed), her belly bulging like a hill under the lamplight. She looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"Stop spinning, it's making me dizzy."

He Yuzhu sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked at her.

"It's been three days."

"Three days is nothing. Some people are delayed by half a month."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything, but reached out and touched her belly. The little thing inside kicked him, quite forcefully.

Qin Huairu looked at him, her eyes shining under the light.

"When you were on the front lines, I was afraid. I was afraid something would happen to you, and I was afraid the children wouldn't be able to see their father."

He Yuzhu's hand stopped on her stomach.

She continued.

"Now that you're back, I'm not afraid anymore."

He Yuzhu gripped her hand tightly.

She suddenly frowned.

He Yuzhu stood up: "What's wrong?"

She shook her head: "It's nothing, maybe she was kicked."

He Yuzhu sat down again.

She didn't tell him that what happened just now hurt much more than a kick.

He Yuzhu was woken up by being pushed.

Qin Huairu gripped his arm, her nails digging into his flesh. Moonlight streamed in through the window, and he saw that her face was covered in sweat, and her lips were white from biting them.

"You're here?"

She nodded, unable to speak.

He Yuzhu rolled off the kang (a heated brick bed), pulled on his trousers, and grabbed his cotton-padded jacket. Qin Huairu tried to stand up, but her legs gave way, and she almost fell. He rushed over and scooped her up in his arms.

As he rushed out of the house, he heard He Yushui calling from next door, "Brother? What's wrong?"

He ignored her and ran outside with Qin Huairu in his arms.

He slammed the courtyard gate open with a loud crash, causing dust to fall from the walls. He ran into the alley and then onto the main street. The street was deserted, and the streetlights were dim and yellowish, with only one lamp visible every long distance.

Qin Huairu was in his arms, biting her lip, not uttering a sound. But he could feel her trembling, her whole body shaking.

"Almost there, almost there."

He himself didn't know whether he was saying these words to her or to himself.

After running for seven or eight minutes, he saw the hospital door with its lights on. He felt a sense of relief, but then his foot suddenly slipped.

I don't know whose child dug a hole in the road, and the soil they filled in was trampled down, making it hard to see in the dark. He fell forward, landing knee-first on a rock, and the pain made his vision go black.

But he didn't loosen his grip.

He knelt on the ground, panting heavily, and held Qin Huairu firmly in his arms to prevent her from falling.

Qin Huairu was in his arms, and tears streamed down her face.

"Pillar……"

He gritted his teeth and stood up, his knee throbbing with pain, but he didn't stop.

"It's alright, let's go."

He limped and carried her through the hospital door.

The door closed.

He Yuzhu stood in the corridor, the blood on his knees soaking a patch of his trouser leg, but he didn't feel it.

He Yushui ran in, clutching the bundle in her hand, panting and unable to speak. She shoved the bundle into his hands and squatted down, leaning against the wall.

Neither of them spoke; they just stood there, listening to what was happening inside.

Qin Huairu's voice came from inside, muffled and suppressed, like she was biting something.

Then came a shout.

He Yuzhu clenched his fists.

Then, suddenly, it became quiet.

There was not a sound.

He stood there, motionless. He Yushui stood up, grabbed his arm, and held on tightly.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

His mind went blank.

Then--

Wow.

A loud, crisp cry shattered the silence of the corridor.

He Yuzhu's legs went weak, and he leaned against the wall.

He Yushui gripped his arm, her hand still trembling, but she had already started to smile.

"Brother...it's born...it's born..."

He didn't speak.

He stared at the door, his knee throbbing with pain.

The door opened.

A nurse came out carrying a swaddled baby.

Congratulations, it's a son.

He Yuzhu looked at the swaddling clothes and the wrinkled little face.

The little thing was crying, and its face turned red from crying.

He suddenly felt like laughing.

That little bastard almost scared his dad to death in those three seconds.