Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Twins of Mixed Sex_1

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Twins of Mixed Sex_1

Cheng Yue cried out, “It hurts so much, I can’t close my legs.”

“If you can’t close your legs then walk bent over. Good child, quickly get on the bed, the baby’s about to come.” Lady Wu helped Cheng Yue onto the bed, then called out loudly, “Husband, Auntie Xia, Yueyue is about to give birth, quickly get up and boil some water.”

She helped Cheng Yue take off her pants, and found the cloth and scissors she had prepared earlier, muttering to herself, “You’re in such a hurry, and I can’t leave. Those two, one weak, one young, how am I supposed to go and fetch the midwife at this dead of night, huh.”

Cheng Yue screamed again, “Mother, it hurts, it hurts so much, um um…”

“Yueyue, don’t be afraid, the child is about to come out, the pain is normal,” Lady Wu said while busying herself and offering reassurance.

Qian Sangui had already gotten up, and despite only being able to hobble a few steps these past few days, he suddenly found some strength. He went out of the room to wake Qian Manxia, and together they went to the kitchen to draw water, helping Lady Wu with the preparations. By the time the water was ready, the child was born—a baby girl.

Lady Wu had given birth to two children herself and had seen other women give birth, so she naturally knew what to do at this time. She took the scissors that had been sterilized with boiling water and cut the baby’s umbilical cord, washed the infant, and wrapped her in a small blanket and placed her on the bed.

Although disappointed that it was a girl, she still smiled and said, “It’s a girl, a girl is good too.” It wasn’t as if there was any choice in the matter—if her son didn’t return, this child would be the only descendant of their family.

The “good too” baby, wrinkled and red-faced, was so small, crying with her eyes closed, her voice like a cat’s meow, clearly not very healthy.

After Lady Wu finished tending to the child, she went to take care of Cheng Yue.

Qian Manxia rushed in to see her little niece, praising how pretty she was, while Qian Sangui, hearing from outside that a little girl was born, also couldn’t hide his disappointment.

Once Lady Wu had settled both mother and child, the night was still deep. She went to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of sweetened water with eggs for her daughter-in-law. The household had been saving a few eggs, not willing to let Cheng Yue eat them, keeping them to help her produce milk and nourish her body after giving birth.

At that moment, Cheng Yue was exhausted and pale in the face. But warm, gentle, and radiating the glow of motherly love, she smiled happily looking at her little baby. Seeing Lady Wu bring in the sweetened water with eggs, she asked, “Mother, why does she keep crying? She won’t even open her eyes.”

“She must be hungry,” Lady Wu laughed. “Eat this egg, then feed her some milk, and she won’t cry anymore.”

Cheng Yue began eating from the bowl.

“I am your auntie, oh, come on, say auntie, hehehe…” Qian Manxia cooed next to the child.

Lady Wu was just thinking of taking the child to the main room to show her husband when she faintly heard the sound of crying and dogs barking from outside the yard. Puzzled, she went outside and sure enough, she heard the crying of a baby and barking of a dog—it was indeed the cry of an infant.

Lady Wu, startled, called out, “Head of the household, am I hearing things, or is there the sound of a baby crying outside too?”

Qian Sangui, sitting restlessly in the main room, was wondering why his wife hadn’t shown him his granddaughter yet. Hearing her, he too was startled, and with the aid of his crutches, came out to listen and exclaimed, “It is indeed the cry of a child, and it sounds even louder than our granddaughter’s.”

Lady Wu opened the main gate and saw that, by the doorstep, there was a red bundle, inside which was a child crying with her mouth open. Next to the bundle there was also a small dog squatting, barking even more joyfully upon seeing someone come out.

Looking around at the entrance, Lady Wu saw that it was quiet without a soul in sight, just the stars in the sky winking. She called out a few times, “Whose child is this? Who left their baby here?”

She waited a while, and there was no reply.

Lady Wu turned back to Qian Sangui and said, “Who would abandon a child at our doorstep? What a sin. Did they intend to leave the child at Luanshi Ridge, but then have a change of heart near our place, deciding to spare the child’s life and thus leaving him at our door?”

Seeing her husband nod, Lady Wu bent down to pick up the bundle and upon opening it, exclaimed, “Head of the household, it’s a boy, with all his parts.”

After a moment’s thought, she hurriedly brought the child inside and closed the front door, not minding the little dog that squeezed through before the door shut. In a hushed voice, she said, “Head of the household, this child might be a gift from Heaven to our family. We’ll announce tomorrow that Manjiang’s wife gave birth to twins of mixed sex during the night.”

Qian Sangui hurriedly said, “Take him inside to check if there are any disabilities, and if he looks to have been born within the last few days, then we’ll stick to that story.”

Hearing this, Lady Wu felt her husband made sense and carried the child inside. They examined the baby boy under the lamplight and found him to be in perfect health, with a fresh scar still on his umbilical cord.

Qian Yixiu had floated over as soon as Lady Wu brought the child back into the main room. She had been watching the child in the house and hadn’t taken note of who had left the child at her doorstep.

The moment she floated in, the child’s eyes fixed on her, stopped crying, and even bubbled at her.

Could it be that children truly do have the Heavenly Eye and can see her? Qian Yixiu wondered, making a few silly faces at him. To her surprise, the baby reacted, pursing his lips and blowing an even bigger bubble at her.

Because Qian Yixiu was floating behind Lady Wu, Lady Wu thought the child was making faces at her and felt even happier, suggesting, “This child must have been born only a few days ago. Let’s keep him. Even if Manjiang doesn’t return, our family will have an heir.”

Qian Sangui meticulously checked the child, pinching here and there. After reflecting for a moment, he said, “Although the child’s clothes are made of finer cloth, this cotton is of the highest quality. The swaddling cloth is also made from damask. This child could not have been born into a poor family.”

Lady Wu, who had previously been entirely focused on adopting the child, hadn’t considered this at all. After hearing Qian Sangui’s words and taking a closer look at the child’s little clothes and swaddling cloth, she also felt that he must not be from a poor household. Confused, she said, “A rich family wouldn’t be unable to support a child, so why would they throw him away? Especially since this baby is a boy and so well-formed.”

Qian Sangui said, “Rich families have more secrets. If he was a poor family’s child, it could be they abandoned him because they couldn’t afford to raise him and might fear the child seeking them out once he’s older. But if a rich family abandoned the child, there must be unspeakable secrets involved, and the chances of them coming to claim the child are much slimmer.”

He paused as he felt the swaddling cloth, mentioning, “There seems to be something inside.” He unraveled the cloth with a few tugs and pulled out six small silver cakes, slightly larger and thicker than a silver coin.

They had struck it rich, both in wealth and a child.

Qian Yixiu quickly floated behind Qian Sangui, careful not to get too close, and eyed the silver cakes greedily. With these assets, the family could afford to raise an extra child.

The infant’s gaze followed Qian Yixiu’s movements and then shifted behind Qian Sangui, letting out a couple of “ah” sounds and blowing a few bubbles.

Qian Sangui thought the child was smiling at him, smiled back at the baby, and then said to Lady Wu, “This child is so young and yet so well-behaved, not even crying in our arms. It seems he’s destined to be with our family; let’s keep him. It would be best if no one comes to claim him; then he will be our Qian family’s child. If someone does come to claim him in the future, the gratitude for his upbringing will outweigh his birth gratitude, and he’ll surely recognize us. We’ll use these silver cakes for now. Take some time to go to the county town to exchange them for copper coins, as raising two children will bring great expenses.”

He had no other choice; his daughter-in-law had given birth to a granddaughter, and if his son didn’t return, their family line would end. Perhaps, as his wife suggested, the child indeed was a blessing from Heaven.

……………………

Didn’t I tell you Qing Quan was her real mother? Do you believe me now? Hehe, now we have twins. I deserve some praise; Qing Quan has been misunderstood for two days and is exhausted.

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