Wang Guixiang's belly is already as big as a washbasin. From the time of pregnancy to the present, counting her fingers, she will give birth in ten and a half days.Wang Guixiang is no stranger to having children.Eight years ago, when she was twenty-two years old, she gave birth to the eldest Liu Shu, who is now in the first grade of elementary school.Four years ago, she gave birth to a daughter named Liu Cao, who should be playing in her yard at this time. Rural women are stubborn and don't take childbirth seriously. They don't lie down on the kang until their stomach hurts, and rush to bring the midwife home; heat a pot of hot water here, and shout Just waiting to be delivered.Rural women mostly give birth at home, and they cannot afford to go to the hospital because they cannot afford it.Therefore, there are midwives everywhere in the countryside. Those who have a few childbirth experiences, those who are bolder and more careful can make a living.They don't care about remuneration, and when the child delivered is full moon, the child's father wraps a dozen eggs in a towel and delivers it, which is considered a reward.Rural women don't give birth at all grandly, they get pregnant when they are pregnant, and they give birth when they are born.

Although Wang Guixiang said that there were only ten days and a half months left before the expected date of delivery, she did not take childbirth seriously, and started to work and hoe the ground early in the morning.This is the land of the production team, working collectively and earning work points.The male labor force, including Wang Guixiang's husband Liu Erga, was gathered by the brigade to make steel.Steel has been smelted for more than a year, and several steel-making furnaces have been built. There is no black or white. Now every household has only cooking pots that have not been smelted, and the rest that can be smelted are used to make steel. .The smelted lumps of iron lumps were solemnly sent to the commune and then to the county to support national construction.

Chairman Mao called for the Great Leap Forward and self-reliance, and then there was a movement to make steel.After refining and refining, I haven't seen much steel, and I can't get enough to eat. The grain produced is sent to the country to pay off foreign debts. Every household can have a tank of grain, and they are already considered rich. Wang Guixiang's family has been unable to open the pot for a long time. Since she became pregnant, she can eat very well. A bowl of porridge used to last for half a day. Now, within an hour after drinking a bowl of porridge, her stomach is rumbling non-stop.She murmured to the child in her belly, "You debt collector, you are fighting with your mother for food."

Eight-year-old Liu Shu is growing up, and his stomach is like a bottomless pit, which cannot be filled no matter what.The family has already had clear soup and little water. Fortunately, it is summer, and there are some wild vegetables growing in the fields and mountains. We dig some, pick some, and boil half a pot of green vegetable soup. This is what the whole family relies on.Sometimes, Liu Erga sneaked back in the evening, carrying half a cornbread in his arms, and broke it into three pieces to share with his wife and children.Seeing Liu Shu and Liu Cao gobbling it up, Wang Guixiang's eyes turned red, and she quietly stuffed her small piece of pancake into Liu Shu's mouth.Her husband Liu Erga said, "Guixiang, just take a bite! Don't forget, you also have a mouth in your belly!" Wang Guixiang sighed and shook her head. That's the reason, but let her eat that piece of pancake. I can't do it, and I can't bear it.Liu Erga came back just to give the half cornbread, and then left in a hurry.People are inseparable from the steelmaking furnace. If there is no one, the furnace will collapse. It is a political accident, and no one can take responsibility.

Wang Guixiang looked at the back of her husband leaving in a hurry, her heart ached for a moment, and then acheed again.The half pancake was the ration of her husband Liu Erga. After the ration was given to the child, he could only eat wild vegetable soup.She loves her husband and her children.She is often worried, now there are four mouths in the house, if there is another one, there will be another mouth, how will life be in the future!Wang Guixiang, who is about to give birth, is very worried. If she knew that having a child would be so difficult, she might as well not have had the child.Wang Guixiang was already swollen, and when she pressed a dent on her leg, the dent couldn't flatten out for a long time.She knew it was hungry.She needs to earn more work points before giving birth. At the end of the year, the production team distributes rations according to the number of work points.Another reason for her participation in collective labor is that she can find some wild vegetables in the fields, and after work, she can make a whole pot of vegetable soup when she returns home.She can't stay idle even if she doesn't work in the field. She wants to dig wild vegetables all over the world. Without wild vegetables, what's the old snack?

This afternoon, Wang Guixiang was exhausted due to hunger and her heavy body. She was dizzy and almost fell into the field several times.Some well-meaning people advised her to go back and take a rest, and they all said that it was not short of half a day's work.It's not that Wang Guixiang doesn't want to go back, but she's worried that the wild vegetables haven't been dug enough.All the people were hoeing the ground, digging some wild vegetables when they saw them.She wanted to hold on for a while longer.Just at this moment, something happened to her stomach. It was tight and painful at first, and she also felt a feeling in her crotch.She has given birth to two children. Based on her experience, she knows that she is about to give birth, but there are still ten days and a half months before the date she calculated, so why is it about to give birth?She threw away the hoe in her hand, grabbed the wild vegetables on the ground, and put them in the basket. She wanted to go home, and then sent Liu Cao to call her husband in front of the steelmaking furnace of the brigade, ready to give birth.

Enduring the labor pains, she walked from the field to the road, walked along the road, and walked back to the village in two miles. At this moment, her unsatisfactory stomach broke out.The pain made Wang Guixiang unable to walk. At first she squatted on the ground, but later she sat and couldn't hold on any longer, so she just lay there.When she left the field, a kind-hearted sister wanted to take her home, but she refused.Based on her experience, the time from stomach ache to childbirth is still early, and it will take two hours at the fastest. If it is slower, it may not be born in one night.I didn't expect this time to be different from the previous two times. I didn't give anyone time to breathe, and it came right away.The weakness and pain made Wang Guixiang sweat profusely, and she murmured to the sky: God, do you want me to give birth to the baby on this road?Her voice was very weak, and she wanted to call for help, but she had no strength.

It was at this time that Wang Guixiang's fate began to change.A green jeep with a military license plate was speeding up with smoke and dust.In the car sat Tian Liaoshen, the head of the 128th Regiment of the Field Army, and his wife, Yang Peipei, a nurse from the division hospital.Tian Liaochen's hometown is more than a hundred kilometers away from here. He took his wife home for the funeral. His mother passed away. He went back to his hometown to handle his mother's funeral.As a result, they found Wang Guixiang who was lying on the road and was about to give birth.The driver found Wang Guixiang half lying on the road from a long distance, he slowed down the speed, and reported to Tian Liaochen in the back seat: Captain, there is someone lying on the road.

Both Tian Liaoshen and Yang Peipei leaned out from the back seat and looked forward.The car was approaching, and Yang Peipei could tell at a glance that Wang Guixiang lying on the ground was a woman who was about to give birth. Her professional sensitivity made her yell, "Stop—the car stopped. After getting out of the car, they walked towards Wang Guixiang together. At this time, Wang Guixiang's consciousness had begun to blur. She half-opened her blurred eyes and saw a few people walking towards her. After a long while, she realized that they were the faces of the People's Liberation Army. There were men and women. She stretched out her hand , Said weakly: PLA, help me... The next thing she passed out.

Yang Peipei simply checked Wang Guixiang and knew that the pregnant woman was very dangerous, not only because she was lying on the road, but also because her body was very weak, and if she failed, the lives of adults and children would be in danger.She raised her head, glanced at her husband and said: "It's too dangerous. If you don't rescue her, this woman may die, and the child will not be saved." Head Tian didn't even think about it, he waved his hand and said, "Why are you still standing there?"Lift her into the car and take her to the hospital. The three of them worked together to lift Wang Guixiang to the car. Yang Peipei was sitting in the back row, and Wang Guixiang was half lying on the back seat, with her head resting on Yang Peipei's arms.Head Tian rushed around and shouted: Is anyone there?

No one answered, and the surrounding area was silent. Yang Peipei said: Stop yelling, or you will die if you wait for someone else. Head Tian got into the car, slammed the door, and said to the driver: "Hurry up, hurry up." The jeep rushed forward with a cloud of smoke and dust, and there were still 70 kilometers to the division hospital from here.The sun was about to set, and the clouds in the west were dyed red by the sun.