His own wife was heavily pregnant, yet he was carrying on ambiguously with another woman.
What a slut!
“What?”
Gu Niancheng was first stunned, then delighted.
“What did you say? Lin Qingyue has gone into labor?”
It seemed his mother had succeeded—she was actually quite reliable.
Now that Lin Qingyue had gone to the town hospital, he could bring Hongyan over too, which would make things much more convenient.
“That’s right, she just left on the ox cart. Oh, your wife is really pitiful, giving birth with no one by her side.”
Auntie Liu deliberately raised her voice as she spoke:
“By the way, Gu Niancheng, what exactly is your relationship with the young widow? Your wife is giving birth and you don’t care, but you’re holding the young widow instead? Anyone would think you and the young widow are the married couple!”
By now, it was almost time to start work, and quite a few people were passing by the village entrance.
Especially the women—when they heard Auntie Liu’s shout, everyone passing by crowded over.
“I… I just felt sorry for Hongyan…”
“Oh my, ‘Hongyan’ is it? Listen to how sweetly you say her name. Could it be that Hongyan is actually your wife?”
Gu Niancheng’s ears turned red from embarrassment—it was shame.
He usually went to Hongyan’s place in secret.
The villagers at most turned a blind eye; who would gossip to his face? Today, for some reason, Auntie Liu just wouldn’t let him go.
“I… Hongyan has no man at home, and she and Qingyue are good sisters…”
Before Gu Niancheng could finish, Auntie Liu spat disdainfully:
“Oh, good sisters indeed! Good sisters don’t hog another woman’s man!”
“Gu Niancheng, Yao Hongyan, you two really have no shame, hugging and carrying on in broad daylight like adulterers…”
“You say this shameless young widow has no man at home so you go help her out, but Qingyue has a man at home—and it’s worse than having none!”
The crowd looked at the young widow tightly held in Gu Niancheng’s arms, all with faces full of contempt.
“Oh, my stomach hurts…”
The young widow had been too ashamed to lift her head, but the pain was too much—her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and she couldn’t hold back her cries any longer.
“This… Gu Niancheng, where’s the ox cart? She’s having a difficult labor. If she doesn’t get to the hospital soon, it’ll be two lives lost.”
Granny Wang came running over on her bound feet. Gu Niancheng had no time to argue anymore, frantic as an ant on a hot pan: “But the ox cart already left, it’s not…”
“Then use the big wooden cart.”
The big wooden cart in the countryside was used for hauling manure and crops. It had a protruding frame in the middle, and both sides needed to be roughly equal in weight to keep it balanced.
Gu Niancheng carefully placed the young widow on the left side, and the midwife Granny Wang on the right.
“Second Uncle, could you…”
Gu Niancheng had never pushed a big wooden cart before, so he looked for help to his Second Uncle from the clan in the crowd.
“I’ve got a lot to do this afternoon.”
The man held his tobacco pipe, not angry at being called out, and even took the time to lift his foot and tap the pipe head against his shoe sole:
“Niancheng, if this were your wife, as your Second Uncle, I’d help you no matter what. But this one here…”
Auntie Liu sneered: “Gu Niancheng, if you feel sorry for the young widow, take her to the hospital yourself.”
“I… I’ve never pushed a wooden cart before.”
“Auntie, I’m an educated man. This kind of heavy manual labor…”
They came to ask for help yet still looked down on others? Gu Niancheng really had no shame.
The crowd dispersed in a flurry. In the end, it was Mother Gu who had Gu Yunyun tag along, and the siblings pushed the wooden cart down the road together.
The two of them, plus the weight of the cart itself, added up to nearly three hundred jin. How could Gu Niancheng, who had never done hard labor in his life, possibly endure this?
He hadn’t even walked a hundred meters before he was panting heavily, his lungs feeling like they were about to burst.
“Brother, it’s all Lin Qingyue’s fault. If she hadn’t used the ox cart, we wouldn’t have to push the cart to take Sister Hongyan to town.”
From Niulan Village to town took nearly two hours, and now with the cart to push, their pace would only be slower.
“Yunyun, you push for a while.” Gu Niancheng was gasping for air, completely out of breath. He needed to rest.
“Huh? Switch so soon?” Gu Yunyun naturally didn’t want to—she had never done heavy work either.
But seeing her eldest brother drenched in sweat, his face flushed red, she could only reluctantly walk over, bend down, and squat.
Grabbing the cart handles with both hands, she heaved upward with all her strength!
“Ah…” A miserable shriek, and the cart tilted over, sending Yao Hongyan and Granny Wang tumbling to the ground.
Yao Hongyan ended up at the bottom again, writhing in pain and crying out “Ouch, ouch”!
“My waist…” The moment the cart tipped, Granny Wang had also slammed her waist hard against the ground. She was already old, and now the pain was so severe she couldn’t straighten up!
The siblings wanted to rescue Yao Hongyan, but Granny Wang and the cart were still pressing down on top of her. They had no choice but to help Granny Wang up first.
“I… I can’t. I can’t move anymore.”
After being helped up, Granny Wang clutched her waist and cried out in pain.
But the siblings had no mind to tend to her—Yao Hongyan was still screaming in agony.
After great effort, they finally managed to lift the cart off and help Yao Hongyan up.
“Niancheng ge, my stomach…”
Yao Hongyan’s stomach had already been hurting, and after the fall, the pain had intensified. She looked down at her belly—just now she’d felt a warmth down below, as if she’d wet herself.
Now the wetness clung to her clothes, extremely uncomfortable.
“Granny Wang…”
Yao Hongyan looked at Granny Wang with difficulty and hastily asked, “I… I think I just wet my pants.”
Granny Wang was still gasping from the pain, but upon hearing this, her old face changed expression:
“What? You wet yourself? That’s your water breaking! You need to get to the hospital quickly. If all the amniotic fluid drains out, the baby won’t be able to come out, and the mother will have no way to survive either.”
“Besides, the baby isn’t in the right position.”
“Then hurry!” Hearing that both mother and child were in danger, Gu Niancheng forgot his exhaustion. He quickly righted the cart and picked up Yao Hongyan, intending to place her on it.
“Yunyun, quickly help Granny Wang sit down.”
This kind of cart required someone to sit on each side!
“No way! I don’t dare sit on it again!” The moment Granny Wang heard she’d have to ride the wooden cart again, she turned and fled in terror!
“Hey, Granny Wang, don’t run! You need to help with the delivery—I already paid you!”
Gu Niancheng shouted urgently and tried to go after her, but his clothes were grabbed tightly.
It was Yao Hongyan. Her face was pale from the pain, and sweat beads the size of beans rolled down her face.
“Hongyan, I…”
“Niancheng ge, take me to the hospital now!” Yao Hongyan spoke with almost all the strength she had left.
“I… alright, I’ll take you there right now!”
After barely managing to soothe Yao Hongyan, Gu Niancheng turned back—but Granny Wang was nowhere to be seen.
With no other choice, he had his sister sit on the other side, and Gu Niancheng pushed the cart with great difficulty.
In less than ten minutes, he was so exhausted he couldn’t catch his breath and had to stop to rest.
Half an hour later, Yao Hongyan could no longer bear the pain. Her cries grew even more miserable, and the area beneath her was already soaked. Fortunately, she was wearing dark-colored pants, or else…
“Niancheng, I can’t take it anymore… ah, I can’t give birth anymore…”
Yao Hongyan screamed in agony, her hands clutching the car frame with all her might.
“Hongyan, hang in there, we’re almost there!”
Gu Niancheng was anxious too, but they had only covered less than half the distance! In all his years, this was the first time he had exerted such tremendous effort!