Chapter 865: It's Up to Fate

Older brother? Everyone looked toward Lin Jiang in unison.

Lin Jiang nodded: "This is my younger sister Lin Xi and my niece A Dai."

Only then did everyone realize that the one who had helped them at the market that day was actually Lin Jiang's family.

Lin Jiang looked at his sister, astonished: "How do you know them?"

Lin Xi smiled: "Older brother, they're the ones I told you about, the few outsiders who helped me and A Dai at the market."

Seeing her mother arrive, A Dai plucked up courage: "Those red-haired barbarians drank the sugarcane juice and didn't pay; it was this sister who gave me a silver coin."

Lin Jiang stared at Tuan Tuan, then at the others.

He opened his mouth, and after a long while said: "So it's you……"

Xiao Ningyuan waved his hand: "Elder Lin, no need to be polite, it was just a small effort."

Tuan Tuan ran over with two bowls of water to Luo Zhenjiang and Lu Qi: "Uncle Luo, Uncle Qi! You're thirsty too, right? Drink up!"

Luo Zhenjiang set the hen down on the ground, took the bowl, drank it dry, wiped his mouth: "Only Tuan Tuan cares about me."

Lu Qi carefully placed the vegetable basket and eggs on the table, picked up the bowl and drank it all in one go, smiling: "The water Miss poured is sweet!"

Tuan Tuan smiled sweetly.

Lin Xi pointed at the things on the table and said: "Older brother, how's your wife? Is she about to give birth? This old hen was specially brought to nourish her; stewed and eaten, it's best for milk."

"Soon," Lin Jiang's face flushed as he said: "The doctor said it would be these two days."

Hearing that, everyone looked at Lin Jiang with some doubt.

"He must be about fifty, right? Just had a child?"

Cai Tong coughed lightly: "Elder Lin's beloved wife died young; he remained unmarried, only taking a new wife two years ago."

Everyone suddenly understood, and Xiao Ningyuan was the first to clasp his fists: "Congratulations, Elder Lin!"

The others also offered congratulations one after another.

Lin Jiang's face showed a smile for the first time, and he repeatedly clasped his hands: "Thank you, everyone."

No sooner had his words fallen than a half-grown boy came stumbling up the dirt road, shouting loudly: "Uncle Lin! Uncle Lin! Hurry home and have a look!"

He ran so fast that in an instant he was right there, leaning on his knees, panting heavily, his face flushed red.

Lin Jiang stepped forward: "What's wrong?"

"Auntie, the aunt's water broke!" the boy gasped, "But, but her belly doesn't hurt!"

"We fetched a doctor to look, and the labor-inducing medicine has already been taken."

"The, the doctor said, if the belly still doesn't hurt, both adult and child might not be saved!"

Lin Jiang's face turned white in an instant: "Where's the midwife? Has the midwife gone?"

"She's gone!"

Lin Jiang snatched a short knife and tucked it at his waist, then lifted his leg to run.

"Elder Lin!" Xiao Ningxun grabbed him: "Get on our horse!"

Having said that, he ran to the horse, mounted, and reached out his hand to Lin Jiang: "Quick!"

Lin Jiang didn't dare delay, ran over, grabbed his wrist, leapt onto the horse's back and sat behind him.

Xiao Ze scooped up A Dai and put her on Cai Tong's horse, while Lin Xi was pulled onto his own horse by him.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi grabbed the things on the table, Luo Zhenjiang held Tuan Tuan, and everyone hastily mounted their horses,

Xiao Ningxun tilted his head toward Lin Jiang: "Elder Lin, show the way."

"Go out ahead, turn right at the fork!" Lin Jiang gripped Xiao Ningxun's waistband and pointed ahead.

Several fine horses galloped off.

In less than the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, everyone rushed into a village.

Several stray dogs loitering at the village entrance were frightened by the scene, tucking their tails and scattering in all directions.

Lin Jiang raised his hand and pointed to a house ahead: "That courtyard is the one!"

Xiao Ningxun looked and saw the courtyard already filled with people.

He sharply reined in the horse, its hooves gouging two deep ruts in the dirt road.

Before the horse had fully stopped, Lin Jiang leapt off, staggered two steps, and charged into the courtyard.

Seeing Lin Jiang, everyone immediately swarmed around him.

"Elder! You've finally come back!"

"The doctor's still inside; hurry in and have a look!"

Lin Jiang didn't even have time to reply, he pushed through the crowd and strode into the house.

Everyone reined in, dismounted, tied up the reins, and followed him inside.

The people in the courtyard only then noticed this group of unfamiliar faces, eyeing them curiously.

Inside the house, Lin Xi told her daughter: "A Dai, stay outside; Mother, go in and have a look." Having said that, she went into the inner room.

Lin Jiang was gripping an old man's arm: "Doctor Sun, what's going on?"

Doctor Sun wore a worried look: "Elder, I'm afraid it's not good."

"The amniotic fluid broke first; with the fluid gone, the blood dries, the womb palace becomes arid, and the fetus has difficulty descending."

Lin Jiang, sweating profusely from anxiety: "We took the labor-inducing medicine, didn't we? Why isn't it working? How can childbirth happen without belly pain?"

He shouted toward the inner room: "Lin Xi, how's your sister-in-law?"

Lin Xi called back loudly: "Your sister-in-law says her belly still doesn't hurt, not a twitch."

Doctor Sun furrowed his brows and shouted toward the inside: "Midwife! Come check quickly!"

Everyone held their breath, waiting.

After a moment, the midwife cried out: "Not good! It's a debt-collecting ghost!"

Everyone in the house turned pale in an instant.

Lin Jiang shivered all over, and the color in his face vanished at once.

Doctor Sun closed his eyes.

Having practiced medicine for years, what he feared most was this: the fetus in the wrong position, the buttocks sinking, and the amniotic fluid already broken.

If it drags on, the child will die in the womb and the mother will also perish because of it.

Tuan Tuan hugged Luo Zhenjiang's neck and asked in a low voice, "Uncle Luo, why do you call the little brother a debt‑collecting ghost? That sounds so harsh!"

Luo Zhenjiang scratched the back of his head, racked his brain for a while, and finally managed to say, "It's not an insult; when a child is conceived, it has to be head‑down."

"If a hand or any other part is underneath, it's hard for the child to emerge, and the mother has to suffer, which is why it's called that."

Tuan Tuan listened, half‑understanding, tilted her little head and thought for a moment before asking, "Then why does the belly have to hurt before a baby can be born?"

Luo Zhenjiang was completely at a loss.

He glanced at the others.

Xiao Ze stood behind Doctor Sun, not paying attention here, and the three brothers all turned their heads at the words.

He then looked at Xiao Er, Lu Qi and Feng Zhou, and they all shook their heads.

Luo Zhenjiang sighed; no one could answer that question.

He reached out and gently rubbed Tuan Tuan's little head, saying, "Because… giving birth is always like that."

"When your mother gave birth to you, her belly hurt for a long time, too."

Tuan Tuan let out an "oh," hugged Luo Zhenjiang's neck, pressed her small face into his shoulder hollow, and whispered, "Being a mother is really hard."

Lin Jiang fell silent for a moment and could only plead, "Doctor Sun, is there any other way?"

Doctor Sun sighed, "In any case like this, even if the fetus is in the correct position, it still takes at least one or two days of struggling on the delivery bed."

"If the amniotic fluid were still present, it could hold on, but now most of the fluid is gone, the uterus is dry, and this child really won't come down easily."

He paused, gave a gentle shake of his head, and said, "Jia Chief, it's a matter of fate now."

Lin Jiang's shoulders slumped.