MAC’60s Chapter 30

Wang Ying held the baby up for Qian Juhua to see. Qian Juhua was already too weak—she touched the baby’s face and looked at Wang Ying with hope in her eyes.

Wang Ying said, “It’s a girl.”

The light in Qian Juhua’s eyes instantly went out. Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.

She had endured pain and suffering, and in the end, still hadn’t given birth to a son.

Wang Ying didn’t know what to say. From her perspective, the birth of a daughter was a bit of relief for Da Ya and Er Ya. After all, if they had gotten a younger brother, it was obvious that the rest of their lives would be spent making sacrifices for him. The two girls already lived under difficult conditions—things could very well have become worse.

But having another girl…

Wang Ying didn’t even need to think to know what a huge blow this was to Qian Juhua. From now on, she would continue to live under mocking glances for not having a son, struggling between a weak husband and conniving in-laws.

After a long pause, Wang Ying finally said to Qian Juhua, “Your two daughters are both wonderful, so I’ve always thought you had a bad temper, but I never thought you were a bad person.”

This was the truth. Da Ya and Er Ya were obedient little girls. Part of it, of course, was because of the harsh family environment that forced them to suppress their tempers and lose their innocence. But it also reflected Qian Juhua’s efforts in raising them.

Children are a reflection of their parents. Just like Wang Yongshun’s family—his children had all sorts of problems, just like him and his wife, maybe even worse.

“If others mock you, you fight back. You used to try and win respect by having a son. Now you can win it by being strong yourself. Just like me. My parents are both gone. My mom didn’t have a son either. But she survived…”

“Honestly, it’s because my mom knew some medical skills. Even if people laughed at her, they wouldn’t dare do it to her face.”

“You can do it too. You can be strong on your own. That way, no one will dare look down on you again.”

After Wang Ying finished speaking, Qian Juhua was silent.

Wang Ying didn’t know why—she could only place the baby into her arms.

The midwife also entered. She was clearly more professional—she not only checked Qian Juhua but also examined the baby.

Inside, things were busy. Qian Juhua had already closed her eyes and fallen asleep.

Wang Ying, dirty and exhausted, exchanged a few words with Grandma Tian, then left with her medicine box.

When she got to the courtyard, Tian Dazhu’s eyes were glowing as he stared at Wang Ying intensely.

Wang Ying curled her lip in disdain—she really looked down on men like this.

Qian Juhua was so desperate to be strong, all because her husband was so utterly useless.

Tian Dazhu’s weakness was the root of all the suffering in this family.

Wang Ying was in a foul mood, especially since Da Ya and Er Ya were looking at her with their bright, hopeful eyes—it made her heart ache.

“You have a little sister now,” Wang Ying said, ignoring Tian Dazhu and speaking directly to the two girls.

Da Ya’s gaze instantly dimmed. Even though Er Ya was young, she understood that they were supposed to have had a little brother, not a sister. She grabbed her older sister’s hand, pouting silently.

Xu Shuang, seeing Wang Ying in a bad state, came forward to support her. “The midwife is here. Let’s head back now.”

Xu Shuang held Wang Ying’s hand as they left. Behind them, Tian Dazhu fell to his knees in the snow and began crying.

It was truly a cry of grievance. Tian Dazhu cried, but Da Ya and Er Ya didn’t.

Yes, even when these two little girls cried, it was always in silence.

Xu Shuang held Wang Ying’s hand as they walked through the snow, neither of them speaking. Wang Ying was just too tired. She’d stayed up all night, and there were two dangerously close calls during Qian Juhua’s labor. Thankfully, Wang Ying had quick eyes and steady hands, and nothing went wrong.

After enduring the entire night, only to end up with such an uncertain outcome, Wang Ying felt emotionally and physically drained. She didn’t want to say another word.

When the two of them got home, Xu Shuang helped Wang Ying change her clothes, brought over a basin of water to soak her feet, and even fed her something before tucking her into a thick quilt.

Xu Shuang’s voice was soft and distant: “Sleep for a while.”

Wrapped in the warm quilt, Wang Ying fell asleep. Xu Shuang tidied up the house, then lay down beside her.

By the time Wang Ying woke up again, it was already the afternoon. She felt groggy from sleep. When she reached for her pocket watch, her hand shivered from the cold.

Xu Shuang hugged her from behind and tucked her hand back under the blanket. “It’s only noon. Sleep a bit longer.”

They had returned at around five in the morning, and it had only been seven hours.

But Wang Ying couldn’t fall asleep anymore. Her stomach growled, and she felt she needed some fuel to get moving again.

Xu Shuang had no choice but to get up to cook. Wang Ying tried to get up too, but Xu Shuang firmly ordered her to stay in bed.

He piled two quilts on her and said, “Just sit in bed and eat.”

As he said this, he stuffed two milk candies into her hand as a snack.

Xu Shuang went out and reheated the dishes from the night before. The food, prepared in advance, had congealed with oil, so he had to reboil everything.

Luckily, there was a bowl of freshly steamed buns by the stove, still soft and fluffy—likely sent over by Granny Xu.

Xu Shuang reheated the buns, finished the pork and cabbage stew, and brought it all up together.

Wang Ying devoured the food. The pork was fragrant and crispy—even reheated, it was delicious.

The meat buns were also tasty. Inside one was a whole boiled egg. Wang Ying was puzzled: “Why did you put an egg in the bun?”

Xu Shuang replied, “My mom made these. She likes putting boiled eggs into meat buns. When my brother and I caught bird eggs as kids, she’d prepare them this way.”

When she heard it was from her mother-in-law, Wang Ying thought for a moment and said, “It’s actually pretty good.”

Xu Shuang explained, “My brother didn’t like eating egg yolks when he was little, so my mom would hide the yolk inside the meat bun to get him to eat it.”

Wang Ying, although she had never met this Xu Ming, now understood: “Your brother is a picky eater?”

Two cooks in the family, and he’s still picky?

Xu Shuang nodded. “Very picky. When we were kids, he was always refusing to eat this or that.”

Wang Ying sighed. Genetics really couldn’t explain everything. The difference in personality between the two brothers was just too big.

The two of them finished the pork and cabbage, and each ate two buns before finally feeling full.

Anyway, Tian Youfu knew about what had happened the night before, so he probably wouldn’t come asking them to work or attend any meetings today. The two of them decided to just stay in bed.

Wang Ying played with Xu Shuang’s fingers. Despite being a cook, Xu Shuang’s hands weren’t black or greasy—his fingers were long and slender.

Suddenly, Xu Shuang spoke up, “About Qian Juhua last night…”

Wang Ying sighed. “It was a hard labor for her.”

Actually, she hadn’t yet told Qian Juhua that with this early and difficult labor, her body likely wouldn’t be able to endure another pregnancy.

In other words, the chances of Qian Juhua having a son in the future were now extremely slim—so slim they could basically be ignored.

Wang Ying said, “I just feel it’s a pity for Da Ya and Er Ya.”

The two little girls were clever and sensible. With proper guidance, they might not do any worse than a boy.

Then Xu Shuang suddenly said, “Let’s not have kids for the next few years.”

Wang Ying had been planning to bring that up anyway, but Xu Shuang beat her to it.

She leaned blankly against Xu Shuang’s chest. He said, “Last night you were inside, and I was outside listening the whole time… There were a few moments where I thought, what if it were you in there? What would I do?”

“Then I thought, if it were you, I’d rather not have the child at all.”

Xu Shuang rested his chin on Wang Ying’s shoulder. “Let’s wait a few years. You’re still young, and I worry. We’re in the countryside—just like Qian Juhua—having a child here is too difficult.”

“I’ve already been thinking… maybe in a few years I can find a way to get transferred to the city. Then we can have children there, and I’ll feel more at ease.”

Wang Ying: “But if your mom starts pushing us about it…”

Xu Shuang: “I’ll just say I don’t want kids right now. Everything will go according to what you want. If you feel a few years is still too soon, we can wait even longer.”

Wang Ying: “You really mean that?”

Xu Shuang was firm. “You’re the one who’ll carry the child. Your opinion should come first.”

Wang Ying was deeply touched and threw herself into Xu Shuang’s arms.

Xu Shuang gave a wry smile. “Hey… we just agreed not to have a child, remember…”

Wang Ying was a bit surprised—did Xu Shuang mean…?

Xu Shuang held Wang Ying’s hand down. “Let’s hold back for these next few years. Once we’re in the city, we’ll talk.”

Wang Ying raised an eyebrow, not quite believing Xu Shuang could be so innocent about such things.

Xu Shuang looked troubled. If he’d known it’d be like this, he should’ve talked this through before marriage. That way, if they decided not to “get physical,” at least he would’ve been mentally prepared to endure a few years.

Now…

He really felt like he was making himself suffer.

Wang Ying leaned over and whispered something in Xu Shuang’s ear. His eyes instantly lit up.

“There’s really such a thing?”

Wang Ying: “Why would I lie to you? They even have it in hospitals.”

Wang Ying was a little amazed that Xu Shuang didn’t know about condoms. But thinking about it, it made sense—people in rural areas had lots of children partly because birth control products weren’t widely available, so most folks didn’t even have the concept of contraception.

With that major worry off his chest, Xu Shuang felt much better.

The two of them got out of bed to start prepping dinner. Last night had been Little New Year’s Eve, and they had originally planned to have a nice meal with the family—but that plan had fallen through.

Xu Shuang said they had already prepared everything, so they should celebrate the holiday anyway.

So he asked Wang Ying to go find Grandma Xu.

When Wang Ying arrived, she realized that gossip about the Tian Dazhu family was already flying everywhere.

Grandma Xu was warming herself by a brazier, chatting with others. When she saw Wang Ying arrive, she immediately pulled her to the fire, concerned.

The old ladies were full of admiration—after last night, they truly respected Wang Ying’s skills.

If people had doubted Wang Ying’s medical abilities before, they certainly didn’t anymore.

Compliments poured out like they were free.

“Ying girl, you’re amazing! I heard you managed to adjust Qian Juhua’s baby position!”

“What are you talking about? I heard one needle from you fixed everything!”

“I heard she was supposed to be in labor for over a day, but thanks to one needle, the baby came out smoothly!”

…

Wang Ying quickly explained, “It wasn’t just one needle—there were many. The needles were for treating her legs, and it wasn’t like the baby just popped out—it took all night…”

But the old ladies didn’t care about details. They all spoke with pride, as if they shared in the glory.

Then the topic shifted to Tian Dazhu’s family.

“They really brought this on themselves. That Er Zhuzi’s mother—what a terrible person! How can she push her daughter-in-law to the brink of death just to make the eldest son raise the youngest son? That’s just heartless!”

“Exactly. Her thinking is twisted!”

“Now they’ve got another girl in the Dazhu family. What are they going to do?”

“Didn’t you hear? His mother already made a fuss this morning, saying Qian Juhua has to ask the team leader not to punish her, or else she’ll divorce her!”

I am just a novice translator and Chinese is not my native language. I try my best to translate the chapters as accurate as possible.
If there are any mistakes then kindly comment and remind me. Your support means a lot.