Chapter 1: A Daughter

“Sister-in-law, can you tell Mother to let me drink a bowl of sugar syrup? I really don’t have the strength to give birth anymore…”

On the bed, Madam Zhao was sweating profusely. Her face was pale, and her lips were colorless. Her sweaty hair stuck to her face as she looked pleadingly at the woman standing high and mighty beside her bed.

Madam Zhao’s stomach was bulging as she gave birth. However, she had already been trying to give birth for a day and a night, and her strength had long been exhausted. At this moment, she did not even have the strength to lift her hand. She knew clearly that if she did not eat something, she would not be able to give birth to this child.

“Sister-in-law, aren’t you making things difficult for me? It’s not like you don’t know our mother’s personality. If you can give birth to a boy for Third Brother, would Mother refuse to give you sugar syrup if you wanted it? You should just work harder and give birth as soon as possible. Otherwise, it won’t be good if this continues.”

Madam Li said to Madam Zhao in an awkward manner. If not for the fact that her second sister-in-law, Madam Zhou, had returned to her maiden home, the task of delivering Madam Zhao’s child would not only fall on her. She could not give birth even after trying for a day and night. How unlucky.

The child in her stomach must be a nuisance. It was torturing Madam Zhao to death before she was even born.

It was August, the autumn harvest season, and the entire family had gone to the fields. Her mother-in-law, Madam Wang, was taking an afternoon nap in the main room. She had already said not to disturb her before the birth of the child. Madam Wang was not an easy person to get along with, so Madam Li did not want to see her mother-in-law.

Madam Li’s disdainful gaze made Madam Zhao feel despair.

Madam Zhao swallowed her dry throat and begged, “Sister-in-law, can you pour me a bowl of water? Please.”

Madam Li rolled her eyes and said impatiently, “Fine, wait for a bit. I’ll pour it for you when I go to the toilet.”

With that, Madam Li turned around and left. As she walked, she even fanned her nose with her hand and muttered, “It stinks.”

Madam Li opened the door and slammed it behind her, causing the temporarily bright house to instantly return to darkness.

Madam Zhao lifted her hand and touched her stomach with difficulty, tears flowing out of her eyes.

Madam Li did not return for half an hour.

During this period, Madam Zhao suffered several bouts of contractions, but she did not have any strength left at all. As the movement in her stomach became weaker and weaker, her heart gradually grew cold.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Madam Zhao’s eyes lit up with hope again. She called out with a trembling voice, “Sister-in-law…”

“Mother, it’s me. Are you all right?”

Su Sanmei’s voice was soft as she walked to the bed and looked at Madam Zhao worriedly.

When Madam Zhao heard her daughter’s voice, she felt a little sad. She knew that Madam Li would not come over for at least an hour or two. If she wanted to give birth, she could only rely on herself.

“Sanmei, get me a bowl of water.”

“Don’t be afraid. Mother will be fine.”

Madam Zhao said weakly. She could not collapse. If she did, what would happen to her children?

Su Sanmei’s eyes were filled with worry and fear, but she still ran out obediently. She filled a bowl of cold water for Madam Zhao and carefully helped her to drink it.

After drinking some water, Madam Zhao collected herself and said, “Sanmei, come, press on my stomach. When I ask you to exert force, push down…”

She did not have any strength left. It was impossible for her to give birth to the child on her own. Madam Li, who was supposed to help in delivering the child, was not coming back, and the child in her womb was moving less and less. She knew that she had to give birth immediately in order for the child to survive.

Su Sanmei was only six years old. As she was skinny and weak, she did not have much strength. When she pressed her hand on Madam Zhao’s stomach, her small hand immediately trembled and retracted. She whimpered, “Mother, I dare not.”

Madam Zhao’s tears flowed as she took a deep breath and said firmly, “Samei, you can do it. Only you can save my life. Come on, push down with all your might.”

The contraction came, and Madam Zhao’s body trembled with pain. However, she was afraid that Su Sanmei would not dare to push her, so she endured the pain and said in a trembling voice, “Sanmei, if you don’t dare, I will die…”

“No, I don’t want Mother to die. I want Mother to live…”

Su Sanmei closed her eyes and pushed on Madam Zhao’s stomach.

Madam Zhao also gathered her strength. The excruciating pain in her body made her roar, “Ah—”

As her lower body became lighter, Madam Zhao instantly lost her strength. She panted with difficulty and said, “Sanmei… let’s see if it’s a girl… or a boy…”

Su Sanmei was so frightened that she stood there for a long time without moving.

The door was pushed open and Madam Li rushed in.

“Third Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. My stomach hurt a little just now. I thought you wouldn’t be able to give birth for a while. I didn’t expect you to give birth so soon.”

“Let me see what it is.”

As Madam Li spoke, she walked to the bed and lifted the blanket.

Madam Zhao had her heart in the mouth. Right now, she could not be bothered to blame Madam Li at all. She only wanted to know the gender of the child.

Madam Li turned to look at her with a smile in her eyes. “Third Sister-in-law, congratulations. You’ve got another daughter.”

Madam Zhao’s expectant gaze instantly dimmed as tears welled up in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Madam Li happily picked up the child. She casually cleaned the infant up and cut the umbilical cord. She wrapped her in some old clothes, and slapped the baby girl’s butt.

“Wah—”

The baby girl started crying.

Madam Li put the child down beside Madam Zhao and said with a smile, “Third Sister-in-law, have a good rest. I’ll go ahead and report the good news to Mother.”

With that, Madam Li turned around and left without looking back at Madam Zhao.

Soon, only Madam Zhao and Su Sanmei were left in the room.

Su Sanmei had been standing by the bed. She looked at Madam Zhao with fear in her eyes. She cried, “Mother…”

Madam Zhao did not respond.

Su Sanmei said weakly, “Mother, I’m scared…”

Only then did Madam Zhao hollow eyes regain their luster. Tears fell silently.

“Oh, Sanmei…”

Madam Zhao choked with despair. Since she gave birth to a daughter, her whole family will struggle to make ends meet. Among her four children, the eldest was mentally disabled, and the second eldest son also became retarded after a fever. The two daughters were healthy, but daughters were useless in the eyes of her mother-in-law.

“Mother, don’t cry. Sanmei will take good care of her sister.”

Su Sanmei knelt in front of the bed and hugged Madam Zhao’s hand.

Madam Zhao turned to look at her newborn daughter. Her youngest daughter had calmed down after crying for a while. She was not asleep. Instead, she seemed to be looking at her with her eyes open.

Madam Zhao’s nose stung and tears flowed silently. Her mother-in-law would definitely not like her having a daughter and would not give her anything good to eat. She might not even be able to produce any milk. Her daughter would probably not be able to survive.

Ten months of pregnancy made her heart ache. She must have been a heinous sinner in her previous life, so the heavens were punishing her like this in this life!

“She gave birth to another loser. What a useless thing. If I were her, I’d be so ashamed I’d bang my head against the wall and die…”

“Why did the Su family marry such a jinx who only gives us useless things!”

Madam Wang’s curses came from the main room. It was as unpleasant as it could be.