What was there to fear?
Raindrops drummed against the windows of the hospital corridor. The first person to snap back to his senses was Jiang Youliang, who had accompanied them there.
His first reaction was to rush to the window. Seeing that it was indeed raining, and quite heavily at that, Jiang Youliang’s heart immediately swelled with heat.
It was raining!
Finally, it was raining!
The few acres of rice in the fields were finally saved!
The crops for the entire county were saved!
Jiang Youliang was so moved that tears nearly welled in his eyes.
He thought to himself: This child was truly born at the right time.
While he was filled with excitement, Fan Minghua was oblivious to everything else. His heart and mind were entirely focused on his wife, his eyes glued to the operating room.
If he hadn’t been blocked outside by the nurse, he would have wanted to rush in immediately to suffer in his wife’s place.
At this moment, he was enduring an agonizing wait, and only when the cry of an infant reached his ears did his hanging heart finally ease a little.
However, since he had not yet received news of his wife’s safety, he still couldn’t truly let his guard down.
Almost at the same time, the light of the operating room went out.
Fan Minghua rushed to the door instantly, and just as he reached it, the door opened.
A nurse walked out, carrying a tightly wrapped infant in her arms.
The first thing Fan Minghua asked was, “How is my wife?”
The nurse paused for a moment. Having worked at the hospital for so many years, this was the first time she had encountered a family member who asked about the mother first. Her impression of the man in front of her improved immensely, and she smiled, saying, “The mother has finished her surgery. She’s being cleaned up and will be out soon.”
Because of the difficult labor, Ning Zhi had been in critical condition when she arrived at the hospital. The hospital had urgently arranged a Caesarean section. It was a stroke of luck that an expert physician from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Provincial Xiehe Hospital happened to be at the County Hospital for a research visit, and she was the one who performed the surgery.
Fan Minghua asked again, “Was the surgery successful?”
The nurse replied, “Very successful.”
Fan Minghua finally let out a long sigh of relief. Only then did he turn his gaze toward the child in the nurse’s arms.
Was this his and Ning Zhi’s child?
Seeing him look over, the nurse tucked the child into his arms. “Congratulations, you have a daughter.”
Initially, she had been worried the family would despise the baby for being a girl.
But seeing that his first question was about the mother’s condition, he seemed to be a man who loved his wife; surely he wouldn’t mind?
After all, these days, those who favored boys over girls far outnumbered those who liked daughters.
Having spent a long time in the hospital, the nurse had seen many family members who looked concerned before the mother entered the delivery room, only to have their faces change instantly upon learning it was a daughter.
The mother had fought for her life and nearly died. If the family gave her a hard time because she gave birth to a daughter, they would be truly heartless.
Fortunately, this man seemed very happy.
Fan Minghua was indeed happy.
Whether his wife gave birth to a boy or a girl, it was the fruit of their love. He couldn’t be more delighted.
The only problem was that Fan Minghua didn’t know how to hold a baby.
When that tiny, soft little infant was pressed into his arms by the nurse, he was utterly at a loss.
Looking at the red little face of his daughter in the swaddle—though people said newborns were ugly—Fan Minghua didn’t think so. He had never seen a more beautiful baby than his daughter.
The daughter in his arms was exceptionally well-behaved, and Fan Minghua fell in love with her at first sight.
This was the daughter he and his wife shared, the girl his wife had risked her life to bring into the world. The unique blood bond between father and daughter brought a shimmer of tears to Fan Minghua’s eyes.
With the nurse’s help, he finally learned how to hold the baby.
Meanwhile, Ning Zhi wasn’t finished being cleaned up yet.
Fan Minghua held his daughter, looking longingly at the operating room.
Eventually, Ning Zhi was wheeled out.
Ning Zhi had been eight months pregnant when she was pushed to the ground, and she had started bleeding immediately.
If Fan Minghua hadn’t decisively brought her to the County Hospital, he might have been looking at her corpse right now.
The doctor had said that Ning Zhi’s case wasn’t just a matter of difficult labor.
If it were only a difficult labor, a direct Caesarean section wouldn’t have been so dangerous. But because of the fall, many complications had arisen—specifically, severe renal hemorrhaging.
When Fan Minghua first heard the doctor say this, he was stunned.
There had been blood transfusions and surgery; she would still need careful recuperation afterward and meticulous care during her postpartum month to recover even a fraction of her vitality.
At the time, the doctor had looked at Fan Minghua with gnashing teeth, assuming that Ning Zhi had been beaten by Fan Minghua into premature labor and renal bleeding.
Fan Minghua didn’t explain much.
But hearing the doctor say the renal bleeding had been life-threatening and that it was fortunate she had been brought in on time, he felt incredibly relieved by his decision to rush her to the County Hospital. At the same time, in his heart, he had already begun to hate his elder sister, Fan Xiaohua, and the old woman at home.
A volcanic rage began to simmer and crackle in his eyes.
Beside him, Jiang Youliang had naturally heard the entire conversation with the doctor.
He was startled, and seeing the fury in Fan Minghua’s eyes, he had a bad premonition. He said, “Iron Head, your sister probably didn’t mean it.”
Whether she meant it or not, no one knew; only the person involved knew for sure.
Jiang Youliang wasn’t actually trying to defend her; he just didn’t want any major trouble to break out. He was afraid that in his rage, Fan Minghua wouldn’t be able to hold back, and if something really happened, it would ruin his bright future.
That was all.
If he could, he would have been the first to drag Fan Xiaohua to the police station. She never did anything productive and spent her days stirring up trouble.
Now that Ning Zhi was out of danger, it wasn’t appropriate for Jiang Youliang to stay at the hospital any longer, especially since he had things to do.
This time, Ning Zhi’s situation had been so precarious that he hadn’t felt right not coming along. He had even paid a fifty-yuan deposit for the hospital fees, with any surplus to be returned or deficit to be covered later. He knew Fan Minghua didn’t have money on him and had specifically asked his own wife for the money before coming.
Fan Minghua didn’t say many superficial words; he simply expressed his gratitude and carved this kindness into his heart.
Jiang Youliang then took the tractor back. Before leaving, he told Fan Minghua that when Ning Zhi was ready to be discharged, he would have the production brigade’s tractor come pick them up. He told him to take good care of Ning Zhi and that he had approved his leave from farm work.
What was Fan Xiaohua doing at this moment?
She was heartlessly eating a meal at her parents’ house, completely devoid of the panic one should feel after pushing a sister-in-law into premature labor.
Was she afraid?
To say she wasn’t would be a lie. After all, before her “cheap” younger brother left, that look in his eyes—as if he wanted to swallow her alive—and his vicious threats had made her worry for a while.
She had never imagined that this brother of hers, who was usually honest to a fault—even when she bullied him, cursed him, or teamed up with others to torment him in the past—wouldn’t say a word, or even spare her a glance…
It was as if she didn’t exist to him.
Naturally, she had assumed he was easy to bully.
Who could have guessed that Fan Minghua would be moved to such rage?
At first, she truly believed he was going to beat her severely.
At the time, she hadn’t truly intended to push Ning Zhi down.
But who told that little minx to stop being as cautious and timid as before, just because she was pregnant? She had actually dared to look her straight in the eye and even pricked her with words.
Having been spoiled by Old Woman Fan since childhood, Fan Xiaohua—who even dared to bully Fan Minghua—grew furious and gave her a push.
Who knew that Ning Zhi would be so weak that a single push would send her to the ground, causing her to bleed immediately?
At that moment, Fan Xiaohua still wasn’t afraid.
In her eyes, even if she caused Ning Zhi to miscarry, the Old Man and Old Woman at home wouldn’t blame her, and even Fan Minghua wouldn’t dare do anything to her.
Until Fan Minghua returned, enraged by the scene before him, and vowed to kill her.
She had an intuition that if Ning Zhi and the baby both died, Fan Minghua really would kill her.
Never doubt a man who finally got married at thirty and whose wife had finally conceived.
Even if that man was an “honest man” in everyone else’s eyes.
“What’s there to fear?” Old Woman Fan said with total indifference.
“Mom, aren’t you worried Ning Zhi will really miscarry and our Fan family line will end?” This was what truly baffled Fan Xiaohua.
When she had pushed Ning Zhi, her mother had come out of the kitchen. She thought the old woman would scold her.
Who would have thought that the old woman would just coldly watch Ning Zhi struggling on the ground for help, not even letting Fan Xiaohua lend a hand?
It was only then that Fan Xiaohua realized that perhaps in the old woman’s heart, a grandson or anything else wasn’t as important as her daughter.
It was also because of this that she was so prideful.
Unlike other families who only doted on sons and treated daughters like dirt, the Fan family was an exception.
The Fan family only doted on the daughter and treated the son like dirt.
When Fan Xiaohua got married years ago, she had taken two-thirds of the family’s money as her dowry. She was the only one in Jiangtaiba who had brought the Four Major Items as her dowry.
As for where the coupons came from, she hadn’t known back then, but when the family helped her gather all Four Major Items, she had been incredibly proud.
Especially since all the unmarried young girls in the village looked at her with envy. Whose daughter had a wedding as grand as hers?
Everyone has vanity, and Fan Xiaohua had more than most.
Since childhood, she had always looked down on this “cheap” brother of hers.
Even when he only got married at thirty, and to Ning Zhi—a woman with a terrible background, the daughter of a capitalist who was denounced every day—she had mocked him to his face more than once.
But every time, he acted like he didn’t care.
Because she couldn’t provoke her brother’s anger, she had even turned her bullying toward Ning Zhi after they married.
But that one time, she had encountered an unprecedented blow.
That brother who never took her seriously had exploded in anger for the first time.
To call him a leopard in a frenzy would be an understatement.
Could those fierce, wolf-like eyes really belong to her “cheap” brother, who usually endured any bullying in silence?
But at that moment, he had indeed stared at her with such savage eyes.
She truly had the illusion that if anything happened to Ning Zhi, he really would kill her, regardless of the consequences.
“My Fan family line won’t end,” Old Woman Fan snorted. “Even if other families’ lines end, the Fan family’s won’t.”
Fan Xiaohua was curious, but Old Woman Fan fell silent. No matter how much Fan Xiaohua probed, the old woman wouldn’t utter another word.
This curiosity lasted until Old Woman Fan bought meat, and until Old Man Fan returned from the fields.
In the 1970s, an era where meat was bought with coupons, it was certainly not simple for the Fan family to be able to afford meat.
But in the Fan family’s eyes, this was perfectly normal.
Others couldn’t get coupons, but the Fan family could.
As for how they got them, no one knew—not even Fan Xiaohua.
But she did know one thing: the Old Man and Old Woman had special channels to obtain coupons that people in the countryside couldn’t even dream of.
Old Man Fan wasn’t surprised at all about having meat for dinner, and even the possibility of his daughter-in-law miscarrying didn’t cause him a single moment of worry.
“What’s there to fear?”
“If he dares to lay a hand on you, I’ll break his legs!”
“I’ll send him to the Ideological Revolution Committee to have his thoughts reformed.”
“The daughter of a capitalist—if she dies, she dies. Just put your heart at ease.”
Old Man Fan spoke slowly and calmly while eating his meat.
[Author’s Note]
Old Man Fan: What’s there to fear?
Old Woman Fan: What’s there to fear?
Fan Xiaohua: Oh, right, what am I afraid of? My brother is the son of Gu Shouzhang from Sijiu City.
Red envelopes are available for the first three chapters!