Chapter 148 How Could She Be So Heartless?

Chapter 148 How Could She Be So Heartless?

Childbirth is truly a mystery.

Some women, no matter how many times they've given birth, still experience excruciating pain with each delivery, often lasting most of the day. They're so tormented that they wish they could kick the "culprit" away.

Yet, there are also women who find childbirth particularly easy. Except for the first child, which might have been a bit painful, the others come as effortlessly as a bowel movement. They barely feel anything, and the baby is born just like that.

In rural areas during this era, it wasn't uncommon for pregnant women to simply go to the toilet and end up "pooping" their babies directly into the urine bucket.

Zhang Qi was one of those women who gave birth easily. Except for the pain she endured with her first daughter, the other three daughters came without much difficulty. So, she wasn't afraid of giving birth.

What she feared was that if she didn't give birth to a son this time, she'd have to face her mother-in-law's wrath again.

At this moment, Zhang Qi was lying on the bed, preparing to give birth. The person assisting her was a cousin of Deng Changchun.

In this era, rural women almost always gave birth at home, rarely going to the hospital. The midwives weren't professionals but rather women who had given birth a few times and had some basic knowledge of delivery.

Seeing that her aunt was ready to deliver the baby, Zhang Qi sighed and asked, "Aunt Ba, what should I do if it's another girl?"

Aunt Ba looked at her niece-in-law with sympathy. She could only offer encouragement, "Don't overthink it. This one is definitely a son."

Zhang Qi had been disappointed four times in a row, and each time her hopes had turned to despair. She no longer had the confidence that she'd give birth to a son, so Aunt Ba's words didn't reassure her. She said gloomily, "If it's another daughter, I don't know how my mother-in-law will scold me!"

Over the years, Aunt Ba had seen her niece's wife endure countless scoldings from her mother-in-law. She didn't know how to comfort her and could only say, "Focus on giving birth first. If it's another daughter, then try again. You're still young, so it doesn't matter how many more you have. You'll eventually have a son."

Zhang Qi was also unwilling to give up. She took a deep breath and said, "Aunt Ba is right. No matter how many children I have, I must give birth to a son."

Ten minutes later.

Amidst the cries of a newborn, Zhang Qi's fifth child was born.

As soon as she caught her breath, Zhang Qi anxiously asked, "Aunt Ba, is it a son or a daughter?"

At the same time, Changchun's mother, hearing the baby's cries, came in and asked, "Aunt Ba, is it a boy or a girl?"

Aunt Ba picked up a pair of scissors that had been boiled in water and cut the umbilical cord. She said simply, "Daughter."

Hearing this, Zhang Qi's face turned pale.

Changchun's mother's expression darkened, and she snorted, "She's so useless. She can't even give birth to a son. All she produces are money-losing burdens."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room without another glance.

Seeing this, Aunt Ba shook her head silently. She couldn't stand her cousin's behavior. Though she, too, was influenced by the rural mindset of favoring sons over daughters, she would never treat her daughter-in-law so harshly.

She wrapped the baby in cloth and placed her beside Zhang Qi, comforting her, "Don't take your mother-in-law's attitude to heart. Take good care of yourself, and try again next year."

Having been through this situation several times before, Zhang Qi quickly composed herself. She said to her aunt, "Thank you, Aunt Ba. I'll take care of myself. If you have other things to do, you can go back now."

"Alright, I'll leave first. If you need anything, send one of the children to call me."

"Okay."

After Aunt Ba left, Zhang Qi finally let the tears she'd been holding back flow freely.

"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Zhang Qi gave birth to another daughter."

"Another daughter? That makes five, right?"

"Exactly. Just look at her mother-in-law's temper. When Zhang Qi had her first and second daughters, she wasn't treated too badly. But after the third and fourth, her mother-in-law stood at the door and scolded her for hours. Why didn't she do anything this time?"

"You don't know. Before, even when she scolded her, she'd at least kill a chicken and cook some ginger wine for Zhang Qi. This time, I heard her mother-in-law didn't lift a finger. Zhang Qi didn't even have sweet potatoes to eat at noon, let alone chicken or ginger wine."

"Really? That's going too far!"

"Although Zhang Qi's luck with daughters is unfortunate, her mother-in-law is really crossing the line."

"Thankfully, my first child was a son. If I'd had five daughters in a row like Zhang Qi, my life wouldn't have been much better."

"Alas, such is the fate of us women!"

When Deng Shirong passed by the village gossip spot, he overheard several women discussing the latest news.

Though it's not good to meddle in others' affairs, Deng Shirong couldn't ignore the injustice of a mother-in-law blaming her daughter-in-law for not bearing a son—especially when she refused to even provide food after childbirth.

As a respected elder in the village, Deng Shirong couldn't tolerate such behavior, which would only corrupt the village's morals.

So, after returning home, he cooked a large bowl of brown sugar, longan meat, and boiled eggs—the ideal nourishing food for postpartum women.

Once it was ready, Deng Shirong called his eldest daughter, who was studying under the longan tree, and said, "Ah Zhen, Zhang Qi from Changchun's family has given birth. I've cooked a bowl of brown sugar eggs. Go to the kitchen and bring it with me. Be careful not to burn yourself."

Deng Yunzhen nodded and went to the kitchen to fetch the bowl.

"Ah Ping, you all keep studying. We'll be back soon."

"Alright."

Zhang Qi lay on the bed, her eyes nearly swollen from crying.

Her husband had gone out to work in the morning and hadn't returned yet. Her mother-in-law ignored her, and by noon, she was starving with nothing to eat. This treatment left her feeling deeply wronged.

In truth, her body wasn't as weak as those of postpartum women in later generations. Even after giving birth, she could have gotten up and cooked for herself if she wanted to.

But she didn't move, wanting to see just how heartless her mother-in-law could be—whether she'd truly disregard her well-being after she'd given birth to another daughter.

The longer she waited, the more disappointed she became. Especially when her eldest and second daughters came back, complaining they were hungry, she felt utterly defeated.

Even though she and her husband had separated from her in-laws, even neighbors would help out during childbirth. Yet, her mother-in-law, whom she called "Mom," and whose granddaughter this was, showed no concern.

How could she be so heartless?

(End of this chapter)