Chapter 159

In Dependents Village live only the wives and children of Northwest Army soldiers.

If anyone leaves the village during wartime and is carelessly captured by the enemy, they will surely be taken as a hostage.

They are then bound before the battle lines to force her husband to comply and to throw the army into confusion.

Thus, the women here must learn this rule before moving into the village.

Gu Xixi pondered briefly, then said, "Everyone stay calm, no matter what, let's go take a look first."

On the way to the Zhou family's home, He Jinglan nervously whispered to Gu Xixi, "You said you only studied medicine with your master, not actual medical practice, right?"

Gu Xixi replied with a stern face, "Haven't you heard that medicine and pharmaceutics are inseparable?"

He Jinglan suddenly understood, nodding, "That's true; seeing how calm you are, you must have confidence, right? I feel much more relieved—there'll definitely be no problem, huh!"

Gu Xixi's face showed utter calm, but inside she was tearing up.

What confidence?!'

A woman, in difficult labor, with nowhere to call a doctor.

Isn't this just a complete dead end?!

As the only person in the village at this moment with any connection to medicine, who else could help if she didn't?

Gu Xixi recalled the scene when she had just brought Mu Nan Zhao home and prepared his herbal medicine for him to take.

Everything seemed to be repeating itself here.

Although it's unpleasant to hear, we have no choice but to once again treat a dead horse as if it were alive!

At the Zhou household, as soon as they entered the courtyard, they heard a woman's stifled cries of pain coming from inside.

He Jinglan's face turned pale at once, "Just listening makes it sound painful; she must be suffering terribly."

The woman leading the way sighed, "For us women, giving birth is like passing through the Gates of Hell—those with luck have it smooth and quick, while the unlucky may endure pain for two or three days without delivery."

He Jinglan felt a wave of dizziness and wailed, "Xixi! I don't want to get married—I never want to in this lifetime!"

While they talked, they didn't delay their steps, and in the blink of an eye they entered the main room.

Inside, besides Lin Aunt, there were four other women who had each borne several children and were the most experienced.

They gathered around the bed, each with their backs soaked through with sweat.

Gu Xixi hurried forward, saying, "Let me take a look."

At this critical moment, nobody said much; they quickly made space.

The Zhou family's wife should have just endured the contractions; she lay powerless with eyes closed, her face pallid.

Gu Xixi first called out, "Zhou's wife? Zhou's wife? Can you hear me?"

The Zhou family's wife opened her eyes a slit and weakly nodded.

Gu Xixi thought, "She's conscious—good."

She then raised her hand to feel the pulse on the Zhou family's wife's neck, silently counting.

Hmm, the pulse was slightly fast but still within normal range.

However, she's sweating excessively; she may soon collapse from weakness.

Thus Gu Xixi said, "Do you have any sugar? Honey will do—mix a strong bowl of sugar water and give it to her now to replenish her strength."

Without waiting for others to respond, He Jinglan eagerly agreed and ran out.

Gu Xixi had never studied inspection, listening, questioning, palpation, acupuncture, or scraping therapy from Old Doctor Lang.

She could only rely on the bits of first‑aid knowledge she'd learned in her previous life, and administer temporary aid.

But the problem of the difficult labor remained unsolved; she could only wait for the Zhou wife's next contraction and then observe the situation.

The Zhou family's wife drank half a bowl of sugar water, and her panting grew less heavy.

Before anyone could catch their breath, the Zhou family's wife suddenly clutched the blankets, trembling and letting out a groan.

Lin Aunt said, "It's happening again."

Several women hurriedly lifted the blankets to look, while urging the Zhou family's wife to bear down.

Hearing one painful cry after another, Gu Xixi's heart clenched, her mind racing—what else could she do, what could help her?

Use medicine? No—so‑called labor‑inducing drugs have blood‑activating and stasis‑resolving effects, easily causing postpartum hemorrhage; unless administered by a highly experienced physician, they must not be used.

Apply needles…

At that moment, a woman exclaimed joyfully, "It's coming out—I can see the baby's hair! Hold on, sis, just push a little harder and you'll be fine!"

However, the Zhou family's wife, exhausted from torment, could no longer exert strength; her head lolled to the side and she fainted.

The birthing chamber fell into sudden chaos.

No matter whether people pinched her philtrum or wiped her face with warm water, the Zhou family's wife could not be revived.

Now even Lin Aunt was at a loss, "Oh dear, what can we do? She's stuck at this critical point, unable to exert force—if we delay any longer, neither mother nor child will survive!"

"She was frightened last night; the baby wasn't full term to begin with, and now she's encountered a difficult labor…"

He Jinglan, beside herself with anxiety and fear, cried, "Xixi, what else can we do? You can compound medicines, right? Let's grab some herbs."

Lin Aunt replied, "The village does keep some common medicines, including those for women."

"But in this situation, giving her more medicine would likely cost the mother her life."

The other women also wore grim expressions.

Gu Xixi thought for a moment, then raised her hand and asked, "Do you have an acupuncture kit? The kind a doctor uses for needling?"

Everyone stared, then Lin Aunt said, "We don't have one, but could we use the finest embroidery needle instead?"

Gu Xixi nodded, "Find the longest needle you can, sterilize it in boiling water, and bring it over quickly."

Soon, a few embroidery needles were ready.

Gu Xixi picked up a needle, telling herself to stay calm and recall how her master had done it then.

Try to restore it as closely as possible to the original.

During the festival, someone in Huachi Du Cun had a difficult labor; Gu Xixi sent Lao Langzhong over and personally witnessed him insert just a few needles, after which the midwife in the cotton blanket loudly called out, "It's smooth, it's smooth!"

Indeed, as she helped Lao Langzhong just step out of the house, she heard the infant's cries.

Gu Xixi focused intently, so much that she didn't even notice sweat beading on her forehead.

She had no confidence in remembering correctly, and she completely reproduced the needles Lao Langzhong had inserted that day.

She also had no confidence that these acupoints would be effective for other women in labor, or whether they would work if used on someone else.

But at present there was no other choice; she could only do it with undivided attention.

After the first needle, the Zhou family lady showed no reaction.

When the second needle was withdrawn, the Zhou family lady let out a muffled groan and slowly exhaled.

Everyone was delighted, "She's awake, finally awake!"

Gu Xixi sat upright, unmoving, preparing to continue with the third needle, while saying, "Give her some more sugar water to replenish her strength."

The spoon was brought to her lips, and the Zhou family lady drank it; everyone breathed a sigh of relief again.

The fourth needle, the fifth needle...

Labor pains began again; Lin Aunt, who had been lifting the blanket to observe, exclaimed joyfully, "The head, the head is almost out—just push harder, one more push and it'll be out!"

Amid everyone's encouragement, the Zhou family lady gave a hoarse shout, exerting all her strength.

Lin Aunt lifted a small, soft, reddish bundle from the blanket.

The infant immediately began to cry, while all the adults present were smiling.

At the same time, the Northwest Army's main camp.

Huo Jiang said in a deep voice, "What? The troop that Xiao Meng led out hasn't returned yet?"

An officer reported, "Last night we launched staggered night raids; the troops from each camp returned one after another. As of half an hour ago, the headcount showed no one missing, with twenty lightly wounded and eight seriously wounded."

"Only General Meng's unit has not returned a single person so far..."