Chapter 113 Chapter One Hundred Thirteen

On the first day of the last week of August, Philip took up his duties as a midwife in his section.This job is not light, with an average of three mothers caring for each day.The mother receives a "card" from the hospital in advance, and when she is about to give birth, she calls someone—usually a little girl Send the "card" to the hospital reception room, and then the messenger will come to Philip who lives across the road with the messenger.If it is late at night, the hospital messenger will cross the road alone to wake Philip, because he has a key to open Philip's door with him.Then Philip got up and dressed in the dark, and walked hurriedly through the deserted streets on the South Bank of the Thames; Philip was always full of mystery all the while.Those who came to deliver "cards" in the middle of the night were usually the husbands themselves.If the husband has given birth several times before, then the husband who comes to deliver the letter will appear indifferent; but if it is a newlywed, the husband is like an ant on a hot pot, anxious, and sometimes he even borrows alcohol. To quench my anxiety.He often walked a mile, sometimes more.So along the way, Philip chatted with the reporter about trifles such as working conditions and living expenses, and learned a lot about the various industries on the other side of the Thames.He instils confidence in those who come into contact with him.He waited for a long time in the stuffy room, the mother was lying on a big bed, but this bed took up half of the room; during this period, the mother of the mother and the nurse who took care of the mother talked freely, and sometimes their attitudes were extremely serious. Talk to him naturally.The experiences of his first two years had taught him a great deal about the lives of poor families, and they were intuitively amazed at how well he understood their conditions.He also impressed them by not being fooled by them.Philip was good-natured, always light in his dealings, and never lost his temper.They all liked him because he was never ashamed to drink tea with them.If it was daylight and they were still waiting for the mother to give birth, they offered him a piece of bread and a drink of water.He is never a picky eater and can eat with relish most of the time.Philip had been in many houses, some of which were huddled in dirty yards in dirty streets, and were so dark and stagnant that one could hardly put one's feet in them.But surprisingly, some of the rooms, in spite of their dilapidated appearance, with moth-eaten floors and cracked roofs, were impressive: the oak balustrades were intricately carved, and the walls were still paneled.This kind of house is often very crowded, and each family only lives in one room.During the day, the children were drinking and making noise in the yard.The old walls were a breeding ground for vermin of every kind; and the stench was so revolting that Philip was obliged to light his pipe.The people living here lead a half-starved life, and Tim is naturally unpopular. Fathers always greet the newborn with a tigerish face, while mothers look desperately at the dead bodies falling from themselves. Meat.Now there is one more mouth to eat, but there is not enough food to cover the current mouths.Philip often noticed that people wished that the child was born stillborn, or that if it was born, the child would die quickly.Once, Philip delivered a woman who gave birth to twins.After the mother learned about it, she burst into tears and burst into tears.The pregnant mother immediately said:

"I don't know what they can do to feed these two children." "Maybe God thinks it's time to call them both to him," went on the attendant. Philip was startled to catch a glimpse of the man's murderous, cold gaze on the pair of little ones lying side by side.He felt that the family present had a deep hostility towards these two poor little guys who suddenly came to this world, and he suspected that if he hadn't taken care of them firmly in advance, any "accident" might happen of.Unexpected accidents often happen.The mother "presses" the child while sleeping, and feeds the wrong food to the child. This phenomenon of eating by mistake may not be all caused by carelessness.

"I come here once a day," urged Philip, "and I remind you that if anything happens to these two children, you will be summoned." The father said nothing, but gave Philip a wicked look.He has ulterior motives. "God bless these two little lives," said the boy's grandmother, "what else could happen to them?" It is the minimum requirement repeatedly insisted on by practicing medicine to ask the mother to lie still on the bed; but it is not easy to achieve this.Housekeeping is a hassle.There is no one to look after the children without paying.Besides, when my husband came back from get off work, he was hungry and tired, and when he saw that tea was not ready, he would keep complaining.Philip had heard people say that the poor helped the poor, but more than one housewife complained to him that if they couldn't tell the money, they couldn't hire someone to help clean and look after the children, but they had two empty bags and couldn't afford the money. cost.Philip listened to the conversations among the women, or heard fragments of conversations which he could guess, though he did not finish.Through these conversations he came to realize that the poor have nothing in common with the upper class.The poor do not envy the rich because of their very different ways of life and, in a typical self-satisfaction, they always find middle-class life full of hypocrisy and unnaturalness.Besides, they look down a little on the rich middle-class folks, who they think are a bunch of idiots who never work with their hands.Those proud rich people just want to be quiet and don't want to be disturbed by others, but the numerous poor people treat them as the objects of profiteering, and know what to say to impress them, so that they will show mercy and spread their wealth at will .This benefit comes from the stupidity of the rich and their own eloquence, which they take for granted.Although they despised and indifferently treated the curate, they tolerated him; but the deacon filled them with resentment.As soon as she entered the house, whether people liked it or not, she opened all the windows, saying "I've got arthritis, I'm cold enough".She was still wandering around the house, looking here and touching there.If she doesn't say the place is filthy, listen to her sharp mouth: "Of course they hire someone. It's easy. If she has four children, she has to cook and sew and wash for the children." , I'd like to see how her room is arranged."

Philip discovered that for the poor, the greatest tragedy in life is not parting, because it is human nature, and a few tears can wash away the sorrow in their hearts; for them, the greatest tragedy in life is unemployment.One afternoon Philip watched a man come home three days after his wife gave birth and tell her he had been fired.The man was a construction worker, and there wasn't much work outside at the time.When he had finished speaking, he sat down to tea. "Ouch, Jim," his wife moaned. The man chewed his food blankly.This food has been simmering in a small pot, waiting for him to eat when he comes back.He stared blankly at the plate in front of him.His wife looked at her man two or three times with her small eyes full of terror, and then began to sob softly.The construction worker was a stocky little man with a rough, weather-beaten face and a long white scar on his forehead.He has big hands like tree stumps.Immediately, he pushed his plate away, as if he was no longer forcing himself to eat, and then turned his face and stared out of the window.Their room was on the top floor of the back room, from which they could see nothing but leaden clouds.A silent silence filled the room.Philip felt that he had nothing to say, but left the room.He walked away listlessly, for he had barely slept that night, and his heart was full of resentment at the cruelty of the world.Philip had known the disappointment of seeking work; and the desolation that followed was worse than hunger.Thank goodness he didn't have to believe in God, otherwise he couldn't bear what he was seeing.The reason why people can feel at ease with this kind of life is precisely because life is meaningless.

Philip thought it was all wrong for some people to spend their time helping the poor, because it never occurred to them that the poor were so used to things that they didn't feel any hindrance, and they tried to correct them.They insisted on correcting it, but in the end they disturbed their peace.Poor people don't need large, ventilated rooms; they feel cold because their food is unnutritive and their blood circulates too slowly.The room is big, but they will feel cold, and want to get some coals to warm up the fire.There is no harm in several beings crowded into one room, they prefer it; they have never lived alone from birth to death, yet their solitude is always overwhelming; There was a constant noise all around, but they were deaf to it.They did not feel it necessary to bathe very often, and Philip often heard them speak, in a somewhat resentful tone, of the mandatory bathing regime in the hospital.They considered the rule both insulting and extremely uncomfortable.They just want to live in peace and security.Back then, if a man had a job all the time, life would be smooth and fun.After a day's work, there is enough time to talk and chat together, and it would be quite refreshing to drink a glass of beer.It's even more fun on the streets.For something to look at, there's Leonard's portrait and News of the World magazine on the street. "But you never know how time goes by. The truth is, when you're a girl, it's rare to read a little, but doing one thing and another doesn't give you any free time, even I can't even read the newspaper."

According to the usual practice, after the mother gives birth, the doctor has to go to see it three times.One Sunday, just before lunch, Philip went to see a woman in labor.She got out of bed and walked around for the first time postpartum. "I can't stay in bed all the time, I really can't. I'm just a restless person, and I don't do anything all day long, and I'm always lying in bed, and I'm so uneasy. So I said to Erb , I'll get out of bed and come make you lunch." By this time Erb was sitting at the table with a knife and fork in his hand.He is still young, with an honest face and a pair of blue eyes.He made a lot of money, and the young couple lived a moderately well-to-do life according to the circumstances.They'd only been married a few months, and they couldn't be happier with the rose-cheeked boy lying in the cradle beside their bed.The room was filled with the smell of steak, and Philip's eyes could not help looking towards the kitchen.

"I'm going to get the steak out right now," the woman said. "Go ahead," said Philip, "I'll just take one look at your darling son." After hearing what Philip said, they both laughed.Then Erb got up from the table, and walked with Philip to the cradle.He looked at his son with pride. "He seems all right, doesn't he?" said Philip. Philip took up his hat, while Erb's wife had served the steak, and there was a plate of green peas on the table. "You have had a good lunch," said Philip, smiling. "He only comes home on Sundays, and I like to make him something really tasty on that day so he'll be thinking about home when he's out working."

"I suppose you wouldn't object to sitting down and eating with us?" said Erb. "Oh, Erb," exclaimed his wife in surprise. "I'll eat if you buy me," said Philip, with his charming smile. "Hey, that's enough for a friend. I just knew he wouldn't mind, Polly. Quick, get another plate, my dear." Polly looked a little embarrassed, thinking that Erb had always been very cautious in doing things, and I wondered what kind of crazy idea he would come up with.Still, she went for a plate, wiped it briskly on her apron, and took another set of knives and forks from the cupboard.Her best cutlery was in the cupboard, along with her festive attire.There was a jug of stout on the table, and Erb poured Philip a glass from the jug.He wanted to give Philip more than half of the steak, but Philip insisted that everyone eat evenly.There are two floor-to-ceiling windows in the room, which is full of sunlight.This room was originally a guest in the house.At the time the house was decent enough, if not fashionable, and perhaps fifty years ago a wealthy merchant or an officer rented it at half the price.Before getting married, Erb used to be a football player. There are several group photos of the football team hanging on the wall. In the photos, each player has smooth hair and a shy expression on his face. The captain holds the trophy in both hands. , sitting in the middle with great pomp.Also, there are signs of the family's well-being: several photographs of Erb's relatives and a portrait of his wife in festive attire.On the chimney-piece was a small stone on which shells had been carefully glued; on either side of the small stone were two large cups with the inscription "From South End" written in Gothic script, and pictures of the pier and the crowd. painting.Erb was an odd man who didn't belong to a union and was angry at being forced to join one.The unions did him no good, and he never had to worry about finding a job.As long as a person has a long head, and does not pick and choose, and does whatever job is available, then he will not worry about not getting a high salary.Polly she's as timid as a mouse.If she were Erb, she would join the union.The last time there was a factory strike, and every time Erb went out to work, she expected him to be brought home in an ambulance.At that moment Polly turned to face Philip.

"He's just that stubborn, and the strike has nothing to do with him." "Well, what I'm saying is, this is a free country, and I don't want to be at the mercy of others." "What's the point of saying it's a free country," Polly went on, "they'll smash your head in anyway if they get the chance." After lunch Philip handed Erb his pipe, and they both smoked.After a while Philip said that there might be people waiting for him in his room, and he got up and shook hands with them.At this moment, he found that they were very happy that he was eating here and eating well.

"Well, good-bye, sir," said Erb, "I think we'll have a good doctor the next time my wife tries to injure herself." "What nonsense are you talking about, Erb," Polly snapped back, "how do you know there's going to be a second time?"