“My feet are coming out first!”
Mother-in-law Wang’s desperate cry instantly made the entire delivery room feel as cold as ice.
Sister-in-law Li, who had just wrapped the chubby baby boy in fine cotton cloth, felt her legs go weak with fright.
The newborn seemed to sense the danger and began crying at the top of his lungs.
“Second sister-in-law! Hold the baby properly!”
Lu Yuan suddenly snapped back to his senses and shouted sternly.
Outside, after hearing the second scream from inside the room, the four Lin men were completely panicked.
“What happened?! Didn’t we already hear the baby crying?”
“Why is Qingyue still screaming?!” Lin Sanniu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan and was about to rush inside.
“Stop!”
Father-in-law Lin Dashan, his eyes red, grabbed his youngest son and forced himself to remain calm.
“Giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell. It’s chaotic in there. We men shouldn’t go inside and make things worse!”
Lin Dashan took a deep breath and quickly gave his orders. “Daniu, Erniu, go find some good pieces of wood and quickly make a baby cradle!”
“Sanniu, go to the kitchen and start the fire! Get the heated kang burning hot. We absolutely cannot let my daughter or grandchild catch cold!”
Inside the room, the smell of blood was so strong that it was almost suffocating.
“Husband… am I going to die…?”
Lin Qingyue was in so much pain that she was barely conscious. Tears mixed with sweat and soaked her pillow.
“Don’t talk nonsense! As long as I’m here, even the King of Hell can’t take you away!”
Lu Yuan gritted his teeth, sweat covering his forehead.
He forced himself to forget his fear as his mind rapidly recalled the obstetrics documentaries he had watched in his previous life.
The baby was in the wrong position. They had to perform an external cephalic version!
In ancient times, there was no C-section. If they tried to force the delivery, the baby could become stuck in the birth canal, while the mother could suffer massive bleeding and die.
“Mother! Stop crying and come here!”
Lu Yuan pulled Wang up from the floor. “Get two pillows and put them under Qingyue’s hips! Quickly!”
Although Wang was trembling with fear, when she saw the calm and steady look in her son-in-law’s eyes, she seemed to suddenly have someone to rely on. She hurriedly followed his instructions.
Lu Yuan turned around and immersed his hands in the warm water that had been boiled with wood ash. He carefully scrubbed his hands clean.
His bloodshot eyes were reflected in the basin.
He took a deep breath and walked to the bedside, gently placing his warm hands over Lin Qingyue’s swollen belly.
It was so thin.
This body was far too weak. Through her abdomen, he could almost clearly feel the outline of the baby.
Lu Yuan’s hands trembled uncontrollably.
In modern times, he was merely a materials science researcher, not a real obstetrician!
He was performing this blindly!
If he applied too much pressure, it could cause placental abruption or uterine rupture. Either one would mean certain death!
But he had no way out.
“Qingyue, look at me.”
Lu Yuan gazed deeply at his wife, his voice gentle and filled with reassurance.
“Don’t be afraid. Relax your belly. I’m going to turn the baby around. Do you trust me?”
Lin Qingyue looked at the man before her and managed to force out a weak smile.
“Husband… I trust you.”
Lu Yuan closed his eyes and focused on the movement beneath his palms.
With one hand supporting the baby’s head and the other pressing against the baby’s buttocks, he applied pressure extremely slowly and gently in a specific direction.
One inch, two inches…
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Beads of sweat dripped from Lu Yuan’s forehead onto Qingyue’s clothes.
The room was so quiet that only their heavy breathing could be heard.
Suddenly, the resistance beneath Lu Yuan’s hands disappeared!
“It turned! The baby is in the correct position!”
Wang, who had been watching from the foot of the bed, suddenly let out a cry of joy.
A miracle had happened! The little foot that had been threatening to come out had retracted, and the baby’s head had successfully entered the birth canal.
Lu Yuan let out a long breath, realizing that his clothes were completely soaked with sweat.
He immediately picked up the remaining half-bowl of brown sugar water from the table and fed it to Qingyue.
“Qingyue, one last time! For our baby, push!”
After swallowing the sweet brown sugar water, Lin Qingyue somehow found another burst of strength.
She gripped the edge of the bed tightly, raised her head, and let out a heartbreaking scream!
“Ah——!”
“Wah——!!”
Immediately afterward, a second, even clearer and louder cry from a newborn baby pierced through the snowy night!
“The baby is born! Another baby!”
Wang was so excited that she could barely speak coherently. She quickly cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the tiny body in cloth.
“It’s a girl! A beautiful little girl!”
“Thank the heavens! They’re twins—a boy and a girl! A dragon and a phoenix bringing good fortune!”
In ancient times, twins were already rare, while boy-girl twins were considered an extraordinary omen of prosperity and immense fortune.
Outside the room.
When they heard Wang’s joyful announcement, the four Lin men froze in place.
Then—
Thump! Thump!
Lin Dashan and his three sons all dropped to their knees in the thick snow.
The four burly men wiped away their tears while repeatedly kowtowing toward the heavens beneath the swirling snow.
“Thank you, Heaven! Thank you, ancestors, for protecting us!”
Inside the room, once the unbearable tension finally eased, Lu Yuan’s legs suddenly gave out.
Completely exhausted, he collapsed onto the floor beside the bed, gasping heavily.
On the heated kang, Lin Qingyue was so weak that she no longer even had the strength to open her eyes.
Sister-in-law Li carried the newborn chubby boy into the room. Together with Wang, she placed the two tiny, red-faced babies wrapped in fine cotton cloth side by side beside Qingyue’s pillow.
Lu Yuan raised his head and looked at the three of them.
At that moment, his heart was filled with an unprecedented and deeply comforting warmth.
He was no longer a lonely wandering soul.
Amid the endless snow and wind of this strange world, he had finally put down roots.
This foolish woman who loved him dearly and these two children who carried his blood had become his softest weakness, but also the strongest armor protecting him as he fought to survive in this world.
Wang efficiently cleaned the bloodstains from the bedding and brought over a basin of warm water to wipe Qingyue clean.
Afterward, she used the fine white rice they had bought the previous day to cook a bowl of soft, thick rice porridge.
Lu Yuan forced himself to stand and personally fed the warm porridge to Qingyue.
After eating and drinking her fill, Lin Qingyue looked at the two children nestled beside her. She finally could not stay awake any longer and slowly fell into a deep sleep.
Outside the room, the three Lin brothers had already spent the night making a sturdy crude wooden baby cradle.
Lu Yuan carefully placed the two sleeping little bundles into it.
Looking at the crumbling mud-brick house and at his father-in-law and brothers-in-law, who were willing to protect his family at all costs, Lu Yuan silently swore to himself that he had to make a fortune as quickly as possible!
Now there were two more mouths crying out to be fed. He absolutely could not let his wife and children continue living such a poor life with him!
His father-in-law’s family was willing to exhaust their entire household savings to protect him. He had to repay this kindness a hundredfold.
The next morning.
After the heavy snow had finally stopped, golden sunlight shone across the white snow, reflecting dazzling rays of light.
After a night of rest, Lu Yuan felt that much of his strength had returned.
He carried the dirty basin of water used in the delivery room the previous night, which had been boiled with wood ash, and pushed open the courtyard door to empty it.
There was still a little pig-fat ointment left in the basin from when Wang had washed her hands the night before.
Just as Lu Yuan was about to pour the water out, his movements suddenly froze.
At the bottom of the murky basin, he saw a layer of white, viscous material that looked almost like condensed fat.
Wood-ash water, which contained potassium carbonate, had mixed with grease…
This was a saponification reaction!
The DNA of a modern chemistry researcher inside Lu Yuan was instantly awakened!
His eyes suddenly lit up with astonishing brightness, as if he had just seen a mountain of gold and silver.