Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 430 Hope
"Xiaoshan's mom, what are you looking at?"

Li Ergou, carrying a bundle in his right hand and holding his wife's arm with his left, carefully stepped through the hospital gate and onto the roadside.

He peered out onto the street while glancing at the baby in the woman's arms, feeling extremely content.

Hey, I finally have a son!

From now on, my Li family will be able to continue on this new continent.

He was feeling quite pleased with himself, but when he glanced at his wife, he noticed that she wasn't paying attention to the baby in her arms, but instead kept looking back in the direction of the hospital.

What's wrong? You've been in the hospital for so many days, are you still reluctant to leave?

“Honey, look over there…” Chunniang tilted her head slightly to the right, gesturing for her husband to look at the hospital entrance.

"What is this?" Li Ergou turned his head and saw a large crowd gathered at the hospital entrance. There were high-ranking military officers in uniform, officials in fine woolen coats, and doctors and nurses standing around, seemingly seeing off some important person.

"Let's go, let's go, what's there to see?" Li Ergou said impatiently, pulling the woman towards the train platform. "That must be some important person like you, who has just had a baby, and a bunch of officials and doctors are rushing over to flatter him!"

“Sigh, we’re all women, so why are some women so lucky? They get to stay in the best wards, enjoy the best treatment, and even after they’re discharged, a bunch of people come to fuss over them.” Chunniang hugged the baby in her arms tighter and pressed her lips against the baby’s little face. “Unlike us, who are so pitiful. We give birth and haven’t even stayed in such a high-class hospital for a few days before we have to rush to leave and go back to our own dilapidated house.”

"Silly woman!" Li Ergou's face darkened upon hearing this. "Such a high-class hospital, staying an extra day will cost a lot of money. With that spare money, I could buy you more meat to nourish your body!"

"How much suffering did I endure to give birth to this son for you! If we had been taken to the hospital any later, it might have been a double tragedy... You heartless wretch, you actually care about a few dollars?" Upon hearing this, Chunniang's face immediately changed. She pulled her hand away and pinched the soft flesh below her husband's waist hard.

"Ouch, ouch..." Li Ergou cried out in pain, but dared not struggle, fearing that his movements would be too rough and he would bump into the baby in the woman's arms. He could only grimace and beg for mercy, "Alright, alright, you gave me a son. Our Li family ancestors for three generations will thank you! No matter how much money we spend on you, it's all worth it... worth a lot!"

"Hmph!" Chunniang's expression softened slightly. She released her left hand and gently stroked the baby's face. "This is it! Compared to spending some money, our lives are more precious. We can't afford to have any mishaps."

"Hey, honey, how much have we spent in these six days?"

"...Nineteen dollars and seventy-four cents," Li Ergou said sullenly.

"So much!" Chunniang's eyes widened in disbelief. "My goodness! We might not even be able to save twenty yuan a year. Honey, did you check with the hospital? They're not taking advantage of your illiteracy and trying to rip us off!"

"Silly woman, keep your voice down!" Li Ergou glared at her and said irritably, "This is a government hospital, the most beneficial to the people. Why would they rip off us common folk? Just think about it, the doctor cuts open your stomach, takes out our son, and then closes your belly like sewing clothes. How dangerous is that!"

"Look at you now, you're jumping around like nothing happened. This money was well spent! The hospital saved your life, so twenty yuan is worth it. Oh, and by the way, our son's life was also saved by the doctor."

"Besides, if we spend the money, we can earn it back. With those few dozen acres of land, we'll definitely be able to dig up another twenty yuan in a few years! You, my husband, have plenty of strength and aren't afraid to spend money."

“But…” Chunniang said with a pained expression, “How long would it take to save up? You have two daughters in your house, and I have four boys and girls on my side. If we add this, I’m afraid we won’t be able to save any money in a year.”

"Why think so much!" Li Ergou said nonchalantly, "No matter how hard things get for us, can it be as difficult as it was in the Ming Dynasty? At least we won't go hungry or freeze, and we still have dozens of acres of land. We can definitely raise these children."

Just then, a public carriage screeched to a halt at the platform in front of the hospital.

Li Ergou, supporting his wife with one hand and protecting the swaddled baby in his arms with the other, carefully climbed into the carriage.

Chunniang's face was still a little pale, but her eyes sparkled with a mother's joy and pride.

"Slow down, slow down." Li Ergou felt nervous when he saw that the carriage was crowded with passengers, and he kept his arm protecting his six-day-old son.

When the couple carrying the baby boarded, the passengers in the front row kindly moved over.

An old farmer wearing a straw hat patted the empty seat next to him: "Come on, sit here, don't crowd the child."

"Hey, thank you so much, brother!" Li Ergou nodded gratefully, helped Chunniang sit down, and stood to the side, holding the seat armrest with one hand and reaching into his pocket with the other to take out a few coins, which he handed to the ticket seller who came to collect the money.

Chunniang gently lifted a corner of the swaddling clothes, revealing the baby's rosy cheeks. The little guy had been fast asleep since leaving the hospital, his little mouth moving slightly, attracting the attention of the surrounding passengers who craned their necks to look.

"Oh my, it looks so pink and tender, it's really rare!" A middle-aged woman in a blue cotton jacket across from us exclaimed with delight, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ergou's dark face immediately broke into a grin, revealing a row of not-so-perfect teeth: "It's a kid!"

"Congratulations! Congratulations!" A chorus of congratulations immediately erupted in the carriage.

A child of about four or five years old took a lollipop out of his pocket and handed it to Li Ergou: "Here, give it to your little brother!"

"Oh my, what a good child!" Li Ergou waved his hand and said with a smile, "Your little brother is too young to eat this lollipop. You keep it for yourself and enjoy it slowly!"

Suddenly, he remembered that when he was about to come to the city, his two daughters looked at him expectantly, clamoring to buy him some rare treats.

But he was so focused on picking his wife up from the hospital that he didn't even have time to go shopping, and he didn't buy any snacks for the kids.

Oh, right, there are also the children in Chunniang's house. We can't have brought them back empty-handed, can we?
Perhaps later, when we arrive at the carriage station, we'll find a moment to buy some food to take back home.

Sigh, more money to spend.

The carriage slowly started moving and traveled along the wide cement road of Shixing City.

The May sunlight streamed in through the car window, shining on the baby's little face. Chunniang quickly used her sleeve to shield him from the sun.

“Honey,” Chunniang suddenly lowered her voice, “this childbirth cost almost twenty yuan. Can the family… still manage? In two months, it will be harvest season, and we’ll definitely need to spend more money.”

Upon hearing this, Li Ergou smiled mysteriously and pulled out a piece of paper stamped with a red seal from his pocket: "Look what this is?"

Chunniang took a closer look and saw that it was a hospital bill, with various fees written in charcoal pencil. At the bottom, it was written in red pen: "Total: Nineteen dollars and seventy-four cents".

"What's so interesting about this? It'll only make you feel more heartbroken," Chunniang said, pouting.

"Silly woman," Li Ergou said smugly, pointing to a line of small print at the bottom of the form. "See this? 'With this receipt, you can get 30% of your medical expenses reimbursed by the local health department.' That means we can get about six yuan back from the government!"

"Really?" Chunniang's eyes lit up, but she still looked a little doubtful. "How come I didn't know about this? We never saw the government give us money when we gave birth before?"

"When you gave birth before, did you ever go to the hospital?" Li Ergou gave him a disdainful look and put the receipt back into his pocket. "Back then, when it was my due date, the baby just came out with a little effort. Why would I need to cut my belly?"

"Nonsense!" Chunniang rolled her eyes at him. "In your mouth, it's as if childbirth is easy! Do you think it's like a hen laying an egg, where you just put in a little effort and the baby is born? Every time we women give birth, it's like walking through the gates of hell!"

"This time, I almost died on the delivery bed while giving birth to your son! If it weren't for the clinic sending a horse-drawn carriage to get me to the city hospital in time, you could be waiting to collect our corpses!"

"Yes, yes..." Upon hearing this, Li Ergou quickly comforted him, "You have rendered a great service to my Li family. From now on, I will treat you like a Bodhisattva and serve you the best food and drink!"

"It's only right that you be served good food and drink." Chunniang proudly hugged the baby in her arms a little tighter. "By the way, the clinic in Maoxi Township is dilapidated. Will they accept our payment?"

"Don't worry!" Li Ergou patted his chest. "Yesterday, I specifically asked the hospital's accountant. He said this is a policy issued by our government two years ago, and the whole of Dongping County recognizes it."

"That's good, that's good!" Chunniang visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Six yuan can do a lot!
"When we get back, we need to register the child's household registration as soon as possible," Li Ergou said in a low voice. "Otherwise, we won't be able to pay the agricultural tax by the end of the year."

"We can get an extra food subsidy now," Chunniang said with a beaming smile. "By the way, if this is used to offset agricultural taxes, is it for your family or mine?"

"What do you mean, 'your home' or 'my home'?" Li Ergou glared at him disapprovingly. "...They're all ours!"
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(End of this chapter)