Ruan Shujin supported the grandmother, who was having trouble controlling her emotions.
“Grandmother, don’t get too worked up. Your daughter-in-law is fine. Quickly wipe your tears and look at the babies.”
The grandmother wiped her tears with her sleeve, then looked at the two babies swaddled in blankets, and caught sight of her eldest granddaughter curled up in the corner.
Reaching out, the child scrambled into the grandmother’s arms.
Ruan Shujin and Li Yinglan were not idle either. They first checked on the laboring woman, then nestled aside to watch the babies.
The babies slept soundly.
Ruan Shujin glanced at them, then looked at Li Yinglan.
“Sister Yinglan, do these babies need to feed?”
Li Yinglan looked at the mother, who had already closed her eyes, hesitating.
In the village, women would often let the newborn suckle immediately to stimulate milk production. But this mother had just delivered twins, unexpectedly, and looked very weak.
Suddenly, a soft voice spoke up.
“Please, could you bring the babies over?”
Ruan Shujin and Li Yinglan worked together quickly.
The colostrum was not much, and with two babies, they both began crying loudly.
Ruan Shujin thought for a moment, then slipped out and caught Ruan Dong’s eye.
“Uncle, go find a train attendant and have them lend us some milk.”
Ruan Dong nodded and hurried off.
Ruan Shujin signaled to the three little ones she had brought, and Ruan Feng and Ruan Yu, with Cheng Minsheng following, came over.
She looked around and placed the three children beside the grandmother.
Glancing down, she noticed blood near the grandmother’s feet.
“Grandmother, what happened to your foot?”
The grandmother tried to brush it off, but the young people acted faster.
“Miss, I-I’m fine.”
“This doesn’t look like ‘fine’ to me.”
Just then, Uncle Ruan Dong came over, saw the grandmother’s injury, and immediately began bandaging it.
Once that was taken care of, Ruan Shujin remembered the two hungry newborns still waiting.
She slipped into the space by the partition, glanced at Li Yinglan, and kept her breathing quiet.
Li Yinglan came closer.
“They drank a little earlier, now they’ve both fallen asleep.”
“That’s good.”
Li Yinglan just glanced outside, and Ruan Shujin understood. She leaned over and lowered her voice, and saw Li Yinglan frown slightly.
Sometimes, misfortunes pile up one after another.
Ruan Shujin didn’t pay attention to how long it took, but eventually she felt the train stop. She crawled out and looked out the window.
Just one glance confirmed it—they had arrived at their destination.
“Uncle, watch the children and luggage carefully.”
Ruan Shujin and Li Yinglan didn’t rush to disembark. There was still a mother who had just given birth, and her family—a mix of old and young—couldn’t help much.
Unable to leave yet, she stayed to assist.
On the train platform, the green-uniformed figure was especially conspicuous.
“Look at yourself!”
Xie Zheng glared at Cheng Xinfeng.
“Acting like you’re not eager? Who has been constantly asking about this train’s stops these past few days?”
Cheng Xinfeng gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, but decided to let it go.
He nudged Xie Zheng, who was still looking around outside.
“Are those not military hospital personnel? How did they get here?”
“You didn’t know? It seems Chief Song’s family came. A mother gave birth on the train, and this info came in as the train neared.”
Cheng Xinfeng nodded.
“Chief Song is stubborn. He wanted to stir things up with the superiors; otherwise, at his age, he could have peacefully spent his later years in Kyoto.”
“Given Chief Song’s background and character, it’s unchangeable. Rather than being a figurehead in Kyoto, he probably prefers to expend his life doing something meaningful for the country.”
“True.”
Cheng Xinfeng frowned, looking somewhat somber.
“Everyone’s off the train, but why haven’t we seen them yet?”
“Be patient a little longer.”
Although he said this, Xie Zheng walked quickly, checking the assigned carriage, but found no family members inside.
Growing anxious, Xie Zheng found colleagues responsible for the Shanghai military families traveling with the troops.
Before he could speak, the person opposite pointed behind him.
“They’re in the last carriage. There’s a mother in labor, and the two unit leaders’ family members are assisting her.”
Xie Zheng and Cheng Xinfeng were stunned. They had no idea their family members had such a skill!
Having an idea now, the two relaxed.
Once most people had disembarked, Xie Zheng and Cheng Xinfeng went to meet them at the hospital transfer point.
Inside the train, Ruan Shujin had Ruan Dong take the children outside, while she and Li Yinglan stayed to help move the mother when the hospital staff arrived.
Once everything was arranged, Ruan Shujin retreated behind the partition.
The mother was awake and dressed.
Li Yinglan pulled Ruan Shujin over.
Ruan Shujin crouched down abruptly, nearly losing balance.
“My name is Tian Maizi. Thank you for saving my children. What are your names? Which units are your husbands in? Once my confinement is over, I will definitely come thank you properly.”
Ruan Shujin held the mother’s hand.
“Sister Maizi, it’s what we were supposed to do. No need to thank us.”
Tian Maizi wanted to say more, but the hospital staff arrived.
She decided not to continue—she trusted these two, but not others.
Tian Xiaomai was carried away on a stretcher. Seeing her go with the hospital staff, Ruan Shujin and Li Yinglan finally relaxed.
“Ruan Shujin.”
Xie Zheng’s voice pierced like an arrow, entering Ruan Shujin’s ears.
She turned and saw Xie Zheng’s worried gaze.
“I’m fine. Do you know? I actually delivered two babies.”
“Two people!”
Xie Zheng held up a hand, gesturing at the objects in Ruan Shujin’s hands.
“You’re amazing!”
Cheng Xinfeng glanced at Li Yinglan. Seeing she was okay, he calmed down.
Sometimes he really wished he could slap himself for his earlier mistakes. The punishment run from leadership was entirely deserved.
Xie Zheng looked at Ruan Shujin and Li Yinglan.
“Let’s go. We’ll exit the station. We still have a way to go to the quarters. But we’re not in a rush—tonight we’ll stay at a nearby inn, and set off tomorrow.”
Ruan Shujin looked at the sky.
“It’s still bright outside.”
“No rush.”
Ruan Shujin nodded.
As they got into the car, a young soldier ran over.
Ruan Shujin didn’t hear clearly, but Xie Zheng gave her a meaningful glance.
“What is it?” she asked tentatively. “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
Xie Zheng smiled.
“Nothing. The people you helped on the train were family members of Chief Song from the Second Division. He wants to personally thank you, so we’ll go to the hospital tomorrow.”
Ruan Shujin and Li Yinglan exchanged glances.
“My goodness, I really didn’t expect this.”