Yang Xi sat down, supporting her belly. On the stone table in the courtyard were wild-collected berries and a pot of boiled water.

Zhou Yu picked up the teapot to make tea, but Liu Lizheng quickly said, “Don’t bother, I don’t drink tea.”

Zhou Yu put the teapot down again and sat down, looking at Liu Lizheng. “You’ve come at this hour; is there something you need?”

It was after lunchtime, and unless there was a reason, few outsiders would come.

There were no secrets in the village. The fact that General Bai’s guards were transporting goods to the Zhou family, even without knowing what they were, was enough to show how much General Bai valued the Zhou family.

Liu Lizheng’s attitude towards Zhou Xiangsheng had completely changed; his tone was cautious. “The changes in the children at the school are obvious to everyone. Some families in the village are afraid to come to the school alone; they’ve come to me asking if we’re still accepting students.”

Zhou Yu shook his head. “We won’t be accepting students for the next six months; we’ll accept them in the second half of the year.”

Accepting students now would be different, making teaching more difficult and affecting the progress of the first batch of students.

Liu Lizheng smiled upon receiving confirmation. “Do you accept children from other villages?”

Zhou Yu asked. “Has anyone inquired about this with you?”

Liu Lizheng nodded. “Yes.”

With many neighbors and relatives visiting, news traveled quickly. The school fees were low, and the curriculum was more comprehensive than private schools, so everyone wanted to send their children there. They all inquired about the school, and he had received quite a few gifts recently.

Zhou Yu had never considered accepting only children from Shanghe Village. “Yes, but as you can see, space at home is limited. Next semester, I won’t accept too many students, at most thirty. I will examine each one.”

Liu Lizheng was relieved that he had sent his grandsons to school but worried that his grandson might not pass the exams. “What do you examine, sir?”

Zhou Yu smiled. “Character. I only examine character.”

Liu Lizheng felt relieved; his grandson was very sensible. He sat for a while longer before getting up to leave.

Days passed. Although the students had only been at the school for less than a semester, they were already proficient in addition and subtraction and were applying what they had learned to their lives.

When a child succeeds, parents like to show off, resulting in more and more people knowing about the school and wanting to send their children there. Thirty places seemed like a lot, but for the several large villages in Yangzhen, thirty places were far too few.

As time went by, the temperature changed noticeably, and the humidity decreased significantly. During the day, it was possible to take off a light cotton-padded jacket, and at night, there was no need to heat the kang (heated brick bed).

That day, Yang Xi had just returned to the east courtyard after lunch and hadn’t even stepped into the main room when her water broke. She gripped Zhou Yu’s hand tightly. “My water broke.”

Zhou Yu was a little stunned. When his wife was giving birth to their son, she was always surrounded by maids and servants. He had rushed back from the front yard, only to find his wife already in the delivery room. This was the first time he had witnessed her water breaking.

Yang Xi remained calm. Having given birth before, she hadn’t felt any pain when her water broke, but she was close to delivery. “Go get the midwife and doctor first.”

Zhou Yu was already composed. He helped his wife to the prepared delivery room. “Sit still; I’ll be back in a bit.”

Yang Xi nodded. “Okay.”

After Zhou Yu left, taking advantage of the still-tolerable pain, she got up and went back to the house, taking out the things she had prepared for the delivery, carrying them with both hands back to the delivery room.

Zhou Yu notified his mother, then asked his younger brother to fetch the doctor and Third Yang to fetch the midwife. Worried about his wife, he rushed back to the courtyard.

He ran fast, leaving his mother and Aunt Miao behind, running all the way back to the courtyard. Entering the delivery room, he saw his wife had everything ready.

Zhou Yu’s heart pounded. “You should have waited for me to come back and get it.”

Yang Xi was extremely calm, even managing a smile. “I know what I’m doing.”

Zhou Yu wasn’t sure. He reached out to support his wife, feeling her grip on him painfully. “What’s wrong?”

Yang Xi took a deep breath. “It hurts.”   

At this moment, Madam Ye and Madam Miao entered and shooed Zhou Yu out. Two of Madam Miao’s experienced servants also arrived; they could assist Yang Xi in giving birth even without a midwife.

One servant checked the situation and said, “She’ll give birth a little longer.”

Madam Miao instructed another servant to boil water, then reassured Yang Xi, “It’s alright.”

Yang Xi, who had given birth before, said, “I’m sorry to have worried you, Auntie.”

Madam Ye took a handkerchief and wiped her daughter-in-law’s sweat, saying, “If it hurts, don’t talk.”

Madam Miao added, “Yes, don’t talk; conserve your strength.”

Zhou Yu helped the servants boil water outside. The sun was shining brightly today, and there wasn’t a breath of wind. The small kitchen was especially hot from the fire, but he didn’t mind the heat and personally watched the basins being sterilized.

The servant didn’t say a word; she had come to the Zhou family with her master and knew how good the young couple’s relationship was.

The midwife arrived quickly. For hygiene reasons, Zhou Yu had thought of everything he could, instructing the midwife to wear a clean protective gown into the delivery room and to wash and sterilize her hands.

For the sake of the money, the midwife complied without complaint.

Zhou Yu did everything he could, standing anxiously in the courtyard. His younger sister, Zhou Xiaomei, felt dizzy watching him. “Brother, don’t turn around!”

His younger brother, Zhou Xiaodi, stood under the eaves. “Brother, don’t stand in the sun; come wait here.”

Zhou Yu looked up at the sky; the bright sun made him dizzy. He pursed his lips and walked into the shade.

Inside the delivery room, Yang Xi was in excruciating pain, but she didn’t cry out. She listened to the midwife’s instructions, taking deep breaths. Her second pregnancy was going more smoothly than her first. An hour later, the midwife said, “You can give birth now. When I tell you to push, you push, madam.”

Yang Xi’s hair was soaked with sweat. Another fifteen minutes passed, and the baby was finally born, crying loudly.

The midwife congratulated her, “It’s a big, healthy boy! Listen to how loud he is!”

Yang Xi was still lucid, thinking that she had lost both a son and a daughter. Seeing the baby crying so loudly, she knew he must be very healthy.

Both midwives were happy; wealthy families give more money for a boy. They quickly cleaned the baby, and one of them took the baby out to show the doctor.

The midwife’s voice was loud, and Zhou Yu, outside, already knew that another son had been born. A moment of disappointment turned to joy; they were both his children.

The doctor gave the baby a quick examination and smiled, saying, “The baby is well cared for.”

Zhou Yu held his younger son, thinking to himself, “My wife has been taking good care of herself; this child has absorbed plenty of nutrients.” He couldn’t help but lean down and kiss his son. The child who couldn’t be born in his previous life in ancient times had been safely delivered this time.

Ziheng was extremely anxious. “Dad, I want to see my little brother too!”

Zhou Yu squatted down to show his son, “Isn’t your little brother handsome?”

Ziheng didn’t think he was handsome, but this was his little brother, so he said, against his will, “Handsome.”

Inside the delivery room, the midwife cleaned the room, and Yang Xi changed her clothes. The smell of blood in the room was too strong; Yang Xi didn’t plan to stay in the delivery room for postpartum confinement and signaled to the two old women to carry her back to her room.

Back in her room, Yang Xi lay down to rest. The doctor came in to take her pulse and prescribed some nourishing tonics to replenish her qi and blood.

Yang Xi was in good health, and the long interval between her second childbirths hadn’t caused her any harm. Plus, she was young, and after resting for a while, her energy recovered quite well.

(End of Chapter)

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