With the arrival of spring, the group of the seasonal migration came back in early April. This meant that a wedding was about to take place. It was the wedding of Li Weibing and Lin Feng. Actually the moment they arrived, the couple had submitted their marriage request to the company commander and the political instructor. After passing the political vetting, they had no trouble receiving their official marriage certificate officially. Aside from the company commander, the political instructor and Xu Yumei, Li Weibing, of course, had told Li Weiwen as well and no one else knew about it. The couple had originally planned to casually announce their marriage when everyone at the station gathered for New Year. But Instructor Zhang insisted that everyone in this company should witness their wedding. After discussing it with the couple, he decided that the company would host a grand wedding for them once the group came back. This would be the first wedding since the founding of this company with semi-military and semi-civilians. He also decided to build a house for them like his. A small courtyard house was built in less than a day. They were even given special permission to go into town to buy wedding supplies. They came back with the military truck that was bringing back saplings and seeds. Of course, they also bought some dried herbs and the herbal seeds that Li Weiwen had requested. This made Li Weiwen overjoyed and immediately cleared a small patch of land in their courtyard to plant the herbs. She processed the dried ones into pills for easier storage. After the wedding, the whole company threw themselves into spring labor. Saplings were planted. Wheat and potato seeds were sown. With the arrival of the rainy season, the once-dry river began to flow again. No longer did people have to rely on the muddy well water. They could now ride out on horseback and fetch fresh and clean river water whenever they needed. The boys jumped into the river, shivering in the cold but laughing as they washed away the grime of the long winter. The girls weren't far behind. They took turns riding out to fetch water, washing up indoors with cheerful, unbothered by the lingering chill.
One night, as heavy rain lashed down outside, a sudden, frantic pounding erupted on the girl's dormitory door. From outside came Instructor Zhang's urgent voice:
"Liu Yun, Liu Yun, wake up! My wife is in terrible pain. You have to come take a look. Hurry!"
The girls inside were all startled awake. Liu Yun, already scrambling into her clothes, replied quickly:
"Instructor Zhang, don't worry. I'm coming now."
She grabbed her medicine case from the wall, threw on a raincoat and rushed out into the storm. But not long after, a heartrending scream from Xu Yumei pierced the air. Though the sound was partly drowned by the rain, it still cut straight to the bone. Li Weiwen jolted into motion. She quickly got dressed, grabbed her own wooden medicine box and threw on a raincoat before running straight toward the instructor's house. She had only just stepped outside when someone came running toward her from across the way, shouting:
"Xue'er? Is that you?"
Hearing this, Li Weiwen replied:
"Yes. Sister Liu'er, What's going on?"
Li Weibing said breathlessly:
"It looks like she is having a difficult labor but Doctor Liu doesn't know what to do. They are talking about driving Sister Xu to the county hospital. But, honestly, looking at her situation, I don't think she is able to make it that far. That's why I come here for you. I remember you had done this with Aunt Hui before."
"No time to talk. Let's run."
As soon as they entered the room, they saw Guo Yungang, Instructor Zhang and several other men standing tensely in the outer room. Just like what Li Weibing had told her, they were in the middle of a heated discussion about how to drive Xu Yumei to the county hospital despite the heavy rain. At that moment, Li Weibing stepped forward and said:
"Commander Guo, Instructor Zhang, let my sister take a look. She has experience delivering babies."
At her words, all eyes turned instantly to Li Weiwen. Under their sudden gaze, Li Weiwen instinctively stiffened. She pushed her glasses up and quickly lowered her head, hiding behind Li Weibing's back to avoid their stares. But Instructor Zhang wasn't concerned with her shyness so he rushed over, grabbed Li Weiwen by the arm, and urged:
"Good, good! Hurry! Go in, now!"
Then he pushed Li Weiwen toward the inner room. So, with her head bowed and face flushed, Li Weiwen walked quickly past the row of men under their expectant eyes. Just before stepping through the curtain to the inner room, she turned and called back:
"Sister Liu'er, come and help me."
Upon entering the inner room, they saw Xu Yumei lying on bed and Liu Yun was by her side. In fact, she had nothing to do but wiped gently away the sweet and tears streaming down Xu Yumen's face with a damp towel. Li Weiwen rushed to the bedside, felt for Xu Yumei's pulse, then lifted the blanket to check her condition. Her expression turned grave and said calmly but firmly:
"Doc. Liu, please boil more water and sterilize the scissors."
She took out a small porcelain bottle from her wooden box and poured out a single pill. Handing it to Li Weibing, she said:
"Dissolve it in warm water and have Sister Xu drink it." Then she turned to Xu Yumei, her voice steady and composed, she explained, "Sister Xu, the baby is in a malposition and you're showing signs of severe hemorrhage. I'm going to perform acupuncture now to stop the bleeding. The pill I will give you is to induce labor. After that, I will try to reposition the baby. It might be painful so you have to bite down on this towel after taking the medicine and try your best to hold on."
As she spoke, she quickly rolled up a towel and set it aside. Then, with practiced hands, she opened her acupuncture kit and began inserting the needles with precision, deliberate movements. Her expression was grave but focused. As she worked, she watched Li Weibing carefully pour a bowl of medicinal decoction into Xu Yumei's mouth. Without wasting a moment, she place the rolled towel between Xu Yumei's teeth. She began adjusting the baby's position gently ---- as gently as she could to ease the process. But even with the utmost care, the pain was still unbearable for Xu Yumei. She called, her voice taut with urgency:
"Sister Liu'er, press down on Sister Xu's belly. Hold her steady!"
Outside the room, the men could hear what happened inside. Instructor Zhang paced back and forth nervously, his eyes locked on the curtain separating him from the inner room, as if willing himself to see through it to know what was happening to his wife. The others stood frozen, helpless, their faces pale with worry.
The time passed by slowly, each second heavy with dread. Suddenly, a baby's cry pierced the night sky. The sound cut through the tension like a blade, freezing the anxious instructor in place. For a moment, the instructor looked as if he might collapse, but the company commander caught him just in time. Tears were already streaming down the instructor's cheeks as he broke into sobs, deep, raw and full of relief. Around him, the other men also were overcome with joy, smiles breaking across their exhausted faces. A moment later, Liu Yun stepped out, her face alight with joy, holding the newborn swaddled swaddled in a tiny quilt. She beamed and said:
"Instructor Zhang, Congratulations! It is a healthy boy. Come, hold your son."
She handed the baby to the instructor but shot the company commander a lingering sidelong glance. Instructor Zhang cradled the bundle awkwardly, not quite sure how to hold it. But as he looked down at the baby's tiny wrinkled face, he cried one moment and smiled the next, murmuring to himself in disbelief:
"My son... my son... I never thought that my Zhang family would have an heir. My son... my son..."
After a while, Li Weiwen came out carrying her small medical box and said:
"Instructor Zhang, I have cleaned up Sister Xu. You..."
But her words was stopped by Li Weibing's voice coming from the inner room:
"Xue'er, hurry! Sister Xu is bleeding again."
Li Weiwen's face changed instantly. Without hesitation, she lifted the curtain and rushed back into the room. This shouting made the relax situation become the tension again. It wasn't until about half a hour later that Li Weibing came out from the room, her face pale and exhausted. She turned to the instructor and said wearily:
"Instructor Zhang, Sister Xu is okay now. The bleeding has stopped. But my sister wants to stay here and keep watching Sister Xu. She has some herbal pills that might help. She thinks that it is best to send Sister Xu to the hospital for a full examination, just to be safe."
The company commander said:
"I'll go start the jeep now. "
He was about to head out when Li Weiwen came out of the inner room and called after him:
"Wait a moment, Commander. Sister Xu just gave birth and suffered significant blood loss. Her body is extremely weak right now. Honestly, she can't withstand any jolts or be exposed to the wind. But as long as I stay with her and monitor her closely, I'll make sure the bleeding doesn't start again. So there is no need to rush. We can wait till the rain stops and it's light out before we move her. Once she wakes up, she should breastfeed the baby because the first milk is really important for the baby."
That night, Li Weiwen and Li Weibing took turns watching over Xu Yumei. Li Weibing even cooked a pot of porridge and cracked an egg into it. As soon as Xu Yumei woke up, they helped her drink it slowly. The baby struggled to suckle. After a long effort, he only managed to get a few drops of milk and soon started crying incessantly. With no other option, they fed him a bit of porridge water to calm him.
By the next morning, the rain had stopped. The company commander drove the jeep over to pick them up. Liu Yun insisted on following them. Guo Yungang took the driver's seat while the instructor sat in the back, holding his wife, Xu Yumei with Li Weiwen beside them. Li Weiwen had wrapped Xu Yumei tightly, not leaving a single gap for the wind to slip through. Liu Yun should hold the baby sitting in the front seat but both Xu Yumei and the instructor were captivated by their baby. In the end, the baby remained in Xu Yumei's arms while Li Weiwen remained close, carefully watching over mother and child.