“Yes.” Qiao Nan gave a curt reply. Because of the intermittent cramps in her stomach, Qiao Nan couldn’t even think about the pain in her leg. She had taken a while to realize that the pain in her stomach was intensifying and that her lower body seemed to have lost all sensation.
Zhai Sheng took a deep breath. “Dad, get the doctor over. Nan Nan’s condition doesn’t look good. She might be going into labor.”
Qiao Nan had already bled once, and the doctor had told the Zhai family that bleeding was not a good sign. They had managed to stabilize Qiao Nan’s condition the first time, but they had to keep their eye on Qiao Nan. If Qiao Nan were to bleed again, that might mean that she was going into premature labor.
Zhai Sheng dared not forget even a single word that the doctor had said when Qiao Nan had just been admitted. As such, when Qiao Nan’s pants turned red, Zhai Sheng instinctively knew that the situation that the doctor had described earlier had occurred.
“Oh, oh…” Qiao Dongliang’s eyesight might have deteriorated over the years, but he was neither color-blind nor blind. Qiao Dongliang had spotted that bright red color too! As he walked out to call for the doctors, Qiao Dongliang felt as though his legs were as soft as noodles. “Doctor! Nurse!”
Upon learning of Qiao Nan’s condition, the doctor rushed over. Not only did she check on whether Qiao Nan was bleeding but also Qiao Nan’s heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. “The patient’s condition is not very good. We have to send her in for a cesarean section immediately. Otherwise, both the mother and children will be in danger.” Qiao Nan’s vital signs were obviously out of the normal range.
Qiao Nan bleeding again went to show that the children couldn’t stay in Qiao Nan’s womb any longer.
After confirming Qiao Nan’s condition, the doctor and nurses rushed Qiao Nan into the operating theatre. “You’re the patient’s husband. You have to sign the consent form for the patient to undergo a cesarean section.” This was a standard procedure that everyone was subjected to.
“Alright.” This was the first time Zhai Sheng had written his name so untidily. His strokes were all crooked and twisted like earthworms. “If-if anything goes wrong, please remember to save the adult. The adult is most important.”
Qiao Nan was already bleeding but had not even noticed it. All she had said was that she felt a little numb in her lower body. Zhai Sheng was unsure about how bad Qiao Nan’s situation was. But if he had to choose between the adult and the children, he would much rather pick the adult than the children. After all, he had always felt that his life would be the same with or without children before he had gotten married.
“Alright.” The nurse had heard many families choosing the child over the mother. As such, she was rather touched and envious that Qiao Nan married such a good man when she heard his decision. “Don’t worry. Our doctors will do their best.” Then, the nurse entered the operation theatre holding that consent form.
Qiao Dongliang could hardly support himself and had only prevented himself from falling by leaning against the wall. Seeing Qiao Dongliang in such a state, Zhai Sheng helped Qiao Dongliang take a seat. Qiao Dongliang took a deep breath in, his hand trying to suppress his trembling leg. “Nan Nan is in labor. Should you let your parents know?”
“Let’s wait for a while more.” Zhai Sheng knew how expectant his parents were of the three children. If they had to choose to save the adult instead of the children, he hoped that his parents would only learn of that afterward so that they would be less hurt.
“Then, let’s just wait here.” Without the Zhai family saying a word, Qiao Dongliang knew that he could never let Ding Jiayi or Qiao Zijin know about this situation. As such, he simply sat there, praying silently.
The father-in-law and son-in-law waited outside the operation theatre in silence, not even blinking once.
After some time, or what seemed like an eternity to Qiao Dongliang and Zhai Sheng, they heard a baby’s cry from the operation theatre.
In that moment, Qiao Dongliang could not help but sob along with the child. “How-how about the other two?” It didn’t seem like having more children was truly a blessing at such a time.
“They’ll be fine.” Zhai Sheng comforted Qiao Dongliang, but perhaps, it was also to reassure himself. Even after hearing the first cry, Zhai Sheng couldn’t relax. Unless the doctor personally told him that all four of them were safe, he…
Thankfully, the three children weren’t naughty ones who liked to torture their elders. The moment the first cry subsided, two other tender cries rang out almost simultaneously.
“Nurse, how’s my daughter? How are the children?” Seeing the nurse emerge, Qiao Dongliang rushed forward. Zhai Sheng had not spoken but his concerns were exactly the same.
“Congratulations, all three children were born safely. There aren’t any major problems with the patient, but she’ll be weaker than an average patient. You’ll have to take good care of her from now on. She should be coming out soon.” The nurse could not help but smile upon seeing that all four of them were safe. “Oh right, out of the three children, two of them are boys, and one of them is a girl. Your family has good fortune, indeed. You guys have both sons and a daughter!”
“Thank God!” Qiao Dongliang regained his senses. His entire face was wet with tears. “How are my three grandchildren?” They hadn’t stayed within Qiao Nan’s womb for nine months. As such, Qiao Dongliang had started to worry about them before even Qiao Nan could do so.
“The doctor has already checked on the three children. Their organs are well-developed and I’m sure you heard the cries earlier. Amongst all the multiple births we’ve had, your family’s babies have the loudest cries. They might be a little lighter than average, but they’ll grow up healthily and normally as long as you take good care of them.”
The heaviest among the three children was only 2.4 kilograms, while the others were slightly short of that. They were quite a fair bit lighter than an average baby of 3 kilograms. But that was how it was with multiple births. There usually weren’t any especially heavy ones. 2.4 kilograms was acceptable. After all, the lightest baby the nurse had ever seen had weighed only about 1 kilogram. That tender red ball had resembled a newborn kitten.
“Thank you. Thank you!” Qiao Dongliang wiped away his tears. He had three grandchildren. Three grandchildren!
Zhai Sheng had remained silent all along, not because he didn’t want to say anything but because he didn’t know what to say. There were some things that he wished to only experience once in his life. If he had known that giving birth was such a dangerous event for women, Zhai Sheng would have adopted a child from the orphanage instead of letting Qiao Nan risk her life to give birth to these three children. He would never let this happen again!
