This day was an auspicious day specially chosen by Lady Wang for the house-building ceremony. The ceremony was held in the morning, and in the afternoon, the entire village was invited to a banquet.
Although the new house is still unfinished, the round house banquet will still be held in the new house.
As the owner of the new house, Shen Wuqiu naturally had to attend such an occasion.
Who knew that as soon as the firecrackers were set off during the housewarming ceremony, Shen Wuqiu felt a heat in her lower body, and warm liquid flowed down her inner thighs.
Without any warning, Shen Wuqiu's first reaction was not that she was about to give birth, but that she had suddenly lost control of her bladder. However, she quickly realized that something was wrong, and the fleeting sense of shame was instantly replaced by anxiety.
On the other side, Gu Lingyu, who was greeting guests with Zhao Jiujiu, seemed to sense something and suddenly rushed over to Shen Wuqiu.
"Lingyu, where are you going?" Zhao Jiujiu called out to her.
Shen Wuqiu's belly grew as big as an inflating balloon this month. Although the babies inside her were quiet and didn't bother her, the people around her were afraid of her big belly and didn't dare to let her do anything. So, on occasions like today, entertaining guests was originally her job, but considering her health, Zhao Jiujiu and Gu Lingyu did it for her, letting her rest in a room in the new house.
"I'm going to check on Qiuqiu." Gu Lingyu ran straight to Shen Wuqiu's room.
In the room, Shen Wuqiu stood there blankly, staring at the warm liquid flowing down her thighs. When she saw her come in, she said calmly, "It seems like my water broke..." After saying that, she asked in confusion, "But why don't I feel any pain at all? Isn't childbirth supposed to be very painful?"
Gu Lingyu was also a new mother. Although she had been looking forward to having a baby, she was a little stunned when the moment actually arrived. She was stunned for several seconds before she picked her up and comforted her, "Qiuqiu, don't be afraid, I'm here."
"I'm fine now, don't be nervous." Shen Wuqiu held her collar tightly. Although the person in her arms was holding her very easily, she still habitually thought that the other person couldn't lift her, especially since she had gained 20 pounds in the past few months from being waited on hand and foot.
"I'm not nervous, I'll take you to the hospital now."
Upon hearing that they were going to the hospital, Shen Wuqiu became anxious, gripping the door frame tightly. "Where's Aunt Dai? What if the kittens I give birth to are cats?"
“Mother said that with us here, this won’t happen,” Gu Lingyu comforted her.
Shen Wuqiu was still worried. The thought of being born as a cat terrified her, and she still refused to let go.
Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, Daiying and Gu Junshan, sensing something amiss, rushed over.
Seeing them, Shen Wuqiu's tense heart relaxed a little. "Aunt Dai..."
Daiying was also very nervous, even more so than when she gave birth herself. She stepped forward and touched her hair, "Is anything bothering you?"
"No," Shen Wuqiu shook her head, "I just felt my water break."
Daiying raised her hand and stroked around Gu Lingyu's belly, then looked up at Gu Lingyu and said, "The babies are eager to come out, we need to get to the hospital as soon as possible."
Shen Wuqiu grabbed the doorframe again, "Can we not go to the hospital?"
Daiying asked, puzzled, "Why?"
What if my baby turns into a cat right after being born?
This was the first time Daiying had seen her so apprehensive, and she couldn't help but smile. "Silly child, with us here, what are you worried about?"
Shen Wuqiu still clung to the door frame, refusing to let go.
Daiying sighed softly, "I assure you, this will never happen."
Shen Wuqiu still believed in her, so she slowly let go and allowed Gu Lingyu to carry her out.
Zhao Jiujiu was greeting guests in the lobby when she saw this and immediately asked loudly, "Qiuqiu, Lingyu, where are you going?"
Gu Lingyu casually replied, "Qiuqiu is about to give birth, let's go to the hospital now."
Instantly, chaos erupted, and no one cared about the guests anymore.
However, the completion of the new house was also a very important matter, and someone still had to be in charge. In the end, Su Yunzhi took care of these things, while everyone else went to the hospital.
"Qiuqiu, is anything bothering you?"
"Sister, does your tummy hurt?"
"Isn't the due date still a while away?"
"What do you know, you grown man? The child can come out whenever he wants. Do you really think it will happen on a set date?"
"..."
"If I had known these kids would be so unreliable, I should have stayed in the hospital to rest with my pregnancy when my belly was so big, instead of rushing around like this..."
Everyone was whispering among themselves about the upcoming babies, feeling both nervous and excited. The thought of going to the hospital in the city for at least an hour made them worry about any unexpected events, and they were all on edge.
Although the town's health center also allows childbirth, its environment and equipment are quite shabby, which makes Mr. Shen and his family uneasy.
After repeatedly confirming that Shen Wuqiu was not in any discomfort, and with Daiying, who had some medical knowledge, also overseeing the process, they finally decided to send her directly to the county hospital.
After deciding to go to the county hospital, the resourceful Daiying immediately used her connections to arrange everything for Shen Wuqiu.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the pre-arranged staff were already waiting in the ward.
At this moment, Shen Wuqiu began to feel a faint pain. The belated pain did not make her feel suffering, but instead relaxed her tense nerves a lot.
This is prenatal anxiety that almost every mother experiences. After feeling fetal movement, every time you touch your belly and can't feel any movement, you worry that something might have happened to the baby inside.
Just like now, her water broke, but she couldn't feel the pain she would experience before giving birth. She felt panicked, afraid that something might have happened to her child.
After a series of examinations, the doctor reassured them: "Although it's not yet full term, the babies are developing very well. Now that the amniotic sac has broken, it means the babies are eager to come out. Everything here is normal, and a normal delivery is fine. However, with four babies, I'm worried that the mother's strength might not be able to keep up later. A cesarean section would be safer. Of course, it also depends on your wishes."
Upon hearing that a C-section would be safer, Gu Lingyu didn't hesitate and said, "Then let's arrange a C-section."
As the contractions struck, Shen Wuqiu instinctively gripped her hand tightly. The thought of the doctor cutting open her belly and pulling the baby out through that opening made her inexplicably resistant: "I don't want a C-section."
Her father glared at her from the side, "When your mother gave birth to you, she was in pain for a whole day and night. You're going to give birth to four. Can you endure that kind of suffering?"
Shen Wuqiu didn't want to argue and stubbornly said, "I want to give birth naturally. I won't have a C-section."
As someone who's been through it all, Zhao Jiujiu advised her, "If you're only going to have one child, then it's up to you. But having four is definitely too much for you. Qiuqiu, listen to me, let's have a C-section."
Despite the contractions, Shen Wuqiu said, "I know my own body well, and I will not choose a C-section."
"Why are you so stubborn, kid?"
Shen Wuqiu simply wouldn't listen; she insisted on choosing natural production.
The hospital naturally followed her wishes.
Although her water broke and she started having contractions, she hadn't started having regular contractions yet, so there was no rush. The whole family stayed with Shen Wuqiu in the ward to rest and recuperate.
After walking around, eating and drinking, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon, and there was still no sign of labor. Shen Wuqiu lay on the bed, feeling drowsy, and actually fell asleep without realizing it.
In her hazy state, it seemed like she was having a dream.
In her dream, four little girls were sitting on a lawn just like the one she dreamed of when she was three years old, arguing about who was the boss.
The little girl in the brown dress said, "My skin is inherited from my ancestors, so I must be the eldest."
The little girl in the white dress immediately jumped up: "Grandma's skin isn't as pretty as Mother's, so I'm definitely the most suitable one to be the eldest."
The little girl in the black and brown dress whispered, "Stop fighting. If you all rush to go out, Mother will suffer a lot during childbirth."
The little girl in the brown dress glared at the girl in the white dress, "Did you hear that? Stop arguing, or Mother will suffer during childbirth. Let me go out first."
The woman in the white dress huffed, "Why didn't you let me go first?"
The girl in the yellow dress, who hadn't spoken until now, yawned and tugged at the little girl in the black and brown dress. "Alright, stop arguing. Let her go out first."
"On what grounds?"
"You've been fighting over territory all this time, which has made her so small and thin. What's wrong with letting her be the boss?"
Just as the four were arguing fiercely, someone spotted Shen Wuqiu and they all immediately surrounded her, calling out, "Mother..."
"It's perfect that Mother is here. Let Mother decide who should be the eldest son."
Shen Wuqiu looked at the four lively and adorable little girls, touching one after another, each one melting her heart with sweetness. "No matter who is the eldest, they are all my precious darlings..."
"Really?"
"real."
Seeing her nod, the four little girls giggled and spontaneously lined up in front of her. The slender girl in the black-brown dress was in the first position, the girl in the brown dress was in the second, the girl in the white dress was in the third, and the girl in the yellow dress was lazily in the last position.
She heard them say in unison, "Mother, we've come to see you..."
In an instant, the dream vanished.
Instead, a clear and intense pain was felt.
"Ah..." Shen Wuqiu couldn't help but exclaim.
"Qiuqiu..." Gu Lingyu quickly woke her up.
In that short time, fine beads of sweat appeared on Shen Wuqiu's forehead. She gripped her hand tightly, "The children... the children are coming out..."
Chapter 75 So Ugly
Another period of chaos ensued.
Twenty minutes later, Shen Wuqiu was wheeled into the delivery room, and even the doctor was surprised by the rapid rate of her uterine contractions and dilation.
After the cervix is fully dilated, the pain continues to escalate.
The pain comes in waves, sometimes overwhelming and sometimes like a trickle, like a parabola, but the highest point is impossible to predict accurately.
Even someone as reserved as Shen Wuqiu, despite clenching her teeth, still managed to let out a broken cry of pain.
Gu Lingyu held her hand tightly, her heart aching at the sight of her pained expression, yet she felt helpless. All she could do was stay by her side, carefully wiping away her sweat, repeatedly offering the same weak words of comfort: "Qiuqiu, don't be afraid, I'm here..."
Zhao Jiujiu was also in the delivery room. Seeing this, she felt inexplicably irritable. She walked over, pushed Gu Lingyu aside, and touched Shen Wuqiu's face. "Natural childbirth is going to be tough. Don't push yourself. We can still arrange a C-section."
Only a few words occasionally reached Shen Wuqiu's ears. Shen Wuqiu paid no attention to what she said; all her attention was focused on the pain. Her hand remained tightly gripping Gu Lingyu's hand. "Lingyu..."
"I'm here, I'm here." Gu Lingyu took her hand in return and couldn't help but lower his head to kiss her forehead.
Shen Wuqiu gritted her teeth, gripping her hand even tighter. The intense pain caused her mind to go blank for a moment. The doctor's guidance and encouragement seemed to come from a distant horizon. For a fleeting moment, she wanted to give up, but the children's clear voices of their mothers would pull her back to reality, making her tense up and focus all her strength on one thing, following the doctor's instructions...
"ah……"
"The head's out, let's take a deep breath and give it our all..."
After the intense pain subsided, her body was in a state of brief numbness. Shen Wuqiu took a deep breath, followed the doctor's rhythm, and then continued to exert all her strength.
After this happened several times, the doctor's joyful shouts finally came from the delivery room, "It's out! The baby's out..."
"The eldest is a girl..."
"Why doesn't this child cry..."
In the delivery room, various sounds mingled together. Shen Wuqiu, who was in so much pain that she couldn't hear clearly, was still thinking about her child and wanted to say something, but another surge of pain made her unable to speak at all.