After the ultrasound, the doctor told Xu Yin, “You’d better prepare for a C-section. The foetus isn’t in the right position. If the patient gives birth naturally, it might not go very smoothly.”
Xu Yin’s heart skipped a beat.
She thought about the original plot, in which her sister-in-law had an exceptionally difficult childbirth. Due to inadequate prenatal care and the constant pressure from her mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law, her health was already weak. After giving birth, she suffered from heavy bleeding, and things turned grim.
With this in mind, Xu Yin instinctively grabbed the doctor’s white coat and asked, “In your opinion, is it better to have a C-section right away, or should we try natural birth first and then have a C-section if necessary?”
The doctor sighed. “It’s generally unlikely for the baby’s position to correct itself after the pregnancy has reached full term.”
It was implied in the doctor’s words that if she wanted to minimise her sister-in-law’s suffering, having a C-section operation performed on her was the better option. If she tried natural birth first before having a C-section, that meant she’d have to endure the pain twice.
Xu Yin had heard of many cases like this before. A lot of people would naturally be reluctant to have a C-section. For one, the recovery from a C-section was slower than that from a natural birth. C-sections were also more expensive compared to natural birth.
If the patient was from a rural area, they were much less likely to have a C-section operation without first trying natural birth.
“In that case, we won’t try natural birth. We’ll just choose the C-section right away,” Xu Yin immediately made the decision.
The doctor was taken aback. “Can you make this decision?”
“The patient inside is my sister-in-law, and my brother can’t make it back from the army in time. So, I’m the one who can make this decision on her behalf.” Xu Yin smiled. “I’ll go pay the fees now. Doctor, when do you think it’s best to schedule the C-section?”
“The sooner, the better!”
The surgery was scheduled for 1.30 in the afternoon. Xu Yin’s sister-in-law was wheeled on a bed into the delivery room.
Seeing that she was very nervous, the anaesthetist told her, “You’re lucky. The doctor who will perform your C-section was just brought over from the provincial hospital.”
“Thank you, thank you!”
Xu Yin’s sister-in-law expressed her gratitude to the doctor who was preparing for the surgery.
The doctor smiled gently. “No need to thank me. You should thank your sister. I saw how decisive she was, and that’s why I decided to operate on you.”
Hearing this, X Yinu’s sister-in-law was moved and choked up with emotion. “That’s not my sister; that’s my younger sister-in-law.”
Outside the operating room, Xu Yin was pacing back and forth.
“Yinyin, how is your sister-in-law? Has she given birth already?”
Mother Xu had received a message from her daughter and rushed over right after lunch.
Her daughter was still quite young; what did she know about childbirth?
“Mom, sit down and catch your breath. It’s only been over half an hour since Sister-in-law went in, and there’s been no news yet.”
“Let’s hope everything goes smoothly,” Mother Xu muttered. “May the Bodhisattva bless her.”
Then, she thought of the gossip she had heard at the hospital’s entrance earlier and furrowed her brow. “I heard people say that you can’t have children as you please in the future. Even if you get pregnant, you may have to terminate the pregnancy. Is that true?”
Xu Yin nodded. “The policy was implemented in the city at the beginning of last year. It’s likely to come to our area soon.”
“In that case, your sister-in-law is quite lucky. She managed to give birth before the policy was put in place.”
Mother Xu was relieved. Which family didn’t hope for more children and grandchildren? Since her daughter-in-law wouldn’t be able to have more children in the future, she was even more hopeful for this child to be a little golden grandson.
“Family of Bed 16!
“Family of Bed 16, are you here?”
“We’re here!”
Xu Yin heard the nurse’s call and quickly got up.
“Both the patient and her son are safe. The child is being cleaned and will be brought out soon, and we’ll bring the mother to the ward shortly.”
Upon hearing it was a grandson, Mother Xu was overjoyed. She received the baby with happiness and went back to the ward.
Xu Yin remained outside the operating room, holding back her anxiety. Her heart wouldn’t settle until her sister-in-law came out safely.
Finally, the door of the operating room opened again, and a nurse pushed a hospital bed out while carrying an IV bag.
“Sister-in-law!”
She eagerly stepped forward.
“Shh!” The nurse signalled for her to be quiet. “The anaesthesia hasn’t worn off yet, and she hasn’t woken up. Be quiet.”
“Ah, okay. Okay.”
Xu Yin helped lift the IV bag. She asked about when her sister-in-law would wake up, whether she could eat immediately after waking up, and so on.
“Are you sure you’re just her sister-in-law?” the nurse asked. “No blood relation at all?”
Xu Yin: “…”
The nurse chuckled. “It’s rare to see a sister-in-law who cares so much about her sister-in-law. In some families, even biological sisters might not show as much concern as you do.”
“…”
Regardless, with Xu Yin’s ten thousand prayers for safe and smooth delivery, her sister-in-law finally managed to get through childbirth without experiencing the tragic scenes from the original plot.
On the contrary, the C-section operation went exceptionally smoothly. The whole procedure took only an hour and a half, which was faster than the natural births happening in adjacent beds. There were also no signs of postoperative incision infection.
However, this might have been due to the advantage of giving birth in winter. If it had been during the summer, in an era without air conditioning or ceiling fans in the ward, it wouldn’t have been so easy to guarantee that the incision wouldn’t get infected.
In the first two days after the C-section, Xu Yin’s sister-in-law had not yet started producing breast milk. Xu Yin bought a can of infant formula from the hospital store, despite its slightly higher price.
She didn’t consider the cost; the important thing was to secure the formula.
When Mother Xu scooped the formula for the first time, she acted like a cafeteria lady. She shook her hands as she poured the powder, and she only got about half of what she originally had in the scoop.
Xu Yin couldn’t help wanting to cover her face. “Mom, you have to follow the instructions when mixing the formula. It shouldn’t be too diluted, or the baby will get hungry before the next feeding.”
Mother Xu hesitated but seemed to understand. “Just like adults having porridge?”
“Yes! If they don’t eat enough in one serving, they’ll get hungry quickly.”
“Oh.”
After that, she carefully followed her daughter’s advice and scooped the formula correctly.
After two days of formula feeding, Xu Yin’s sister-in-law finally started producing breast milk. Although it wasn’t much, it was enough for the newborn baby during the postpartum period.
C-section patients needed to be observed in the hospital for a few more days than natural birth patients, so they were discharged later. Other patients in Xu Yin’s sister-in-law’s hospital room who had entered after her had already given birth and been discharged, while she was still in the hospital.
Watching the hospital fees rising daily like flowing water, Xu Yin’s sister-in-law felt anxious. Fortunately, ever since Mother Xu learned about the new childbirth policy, her attitude towards her daughter-in-law had improved significantly. She even advised her, “You’ve already given birth, what difference will a few more days make? Just stay in peace. You’re not going to need to pay. Don’t worry.”
Xu Yin would come over as soon as she finished school, and she would always bring a maternity meal from the snack bar outside the hospital. Sometimes it was clear chicken soup with the fat skimmed off, and other times it was pigeon soup. Hospital food tended to be quite bland. Plus, her sister-in-law had started breastfeeding a few days after she gave birth, so she needed a lot of nutrition to nourish her body.
Today, when she came over and was at the staircase, she ran into a scruffy-looking man carrying a bulging military bag on his shoulder. She stepped aside to let him pass but was then stopped by him. He said, “Miss?”
The man scratched his head and grinned, his dark face revealing a set of white teeth. The sight reminded Xu Yin of a toothpaste commercial from the future.
“Brother!”
The original male protagonist of the book—her dear brother—had made his appearance!
It seemed like the plot had progressed much earlier than in the original story. What was more…
“I can celebrate the New Year at home with this trip. Besides, I got promoted. If Cuihua is willing, she can bring Duoduo and Dingding to follow the army after the New Year.”
Was this a confirmation? Had the plot completely deviated from its original track?
Her little nephew had been born healthy. Her sister-in-law didn’t face any difficulties during childbirth. Lastly, her dear brother returned home early for a family visit and even wanted to take his wife and children with him to live in his army residence…
Snowflakes started falling from the sky at some point, and Xu Yin reached out and caught one.
It was a sign of prosperous times ahead.
The Xu family, in the coming year, would surely be filled with peace and blessings.
Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 66.1