From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 165 The following year
The following year arrived in the blink of an eye, and it was time for Ma Shujie to give birth.

The outer layer of Baihe Mountain.

Fish swam nimbly in the clear pond, and flowers and grasses grew all around the pond.

Several teenagers were playing nearby.

Apart from six-year-old Xu Liyuan, the others were the children of the farmhands.

There are several thousand acres of farmland on the outer layer of Baihe Mountain, as well as farms for feeding pigs, cattle and sheep, so a large number of long-term laborers are employed.

The farmhands lived a stable life in Baihe Mountain, and some even married and had children.

"Let's go catch some crabs by the pond."

Xu Liyuan's voice was still quite young.

"Huh? My dad won't let me go near the pond, he says people will drown."

Some of his companions shook their heads, too afraid to go.

"Drowning? What's there to be afraid of in a pond? Don't worry, come with me."

Xu Liyuan was only six years old and did not understand how terrible drowning was.

As he spoke, he walked towards the pond, taking another, even younger child with him.

He'd only taken two steps when he turned back, made a face at the scared child, and stuck out his tongue: "Coward, you're too scared to go, hee hee hee~~"

Three children went to the pond.

Near the pond, the ground was slippery and muddy, with shrimp, crabs, and loaches hiding in the silt.

Xu Liyuan took off his shoes and went barefoot to catch shrimp and crabs by the pond.

Ripples spread across the water ahead, and something seemed to be swimming beneath the murky surface.

Xu Liyuan walked over step by step, the water reaching above his knees and then his thighs.

Just then, he slipped and slid into the pond. If it were an adult, the pond wouldn't be dangerous.

However, for a six-year-old child, even a depth of just over a meter can be life-threatening.

When Xu Liyuan fell into the water, his two other friends rushed to save him and also fell into the pond.

"Help! Help!"

"Goooooooo~"

Three children were struggling in the water, calling for help.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Li Yuan~!"

A shout rang out from several hundred meters away.

As soon as the sound faded, the man strode quickly to the edge of the pond.

Xu Zhonghuai quickly pulled the three children out of the water and brought them ashore. Fortunately, he arrived in time; the children had only swallowed a few mouthfuls of water and were otherwise unharmed.

His face darkened as he snapped, "Li Yuan, who told you to come to the pond? Didn't I tell you not to get near the water?"

"Father, I..."

Xu Liyuan lowered his head, looked at his companion beside him, and pointed to someone else: "It's Heiwa. He came to the pond to catch crabs, and he brought me here."

what?
The child, nicknamed "Heiwa," was the same age as Xu Liyuan. He was timid and dared not defend himself in front of the Xu father and son.

Xu Zhonghuai, however, did not believe Li Yuan's lie: "You still dare to lie? Besides you, who else is so playful? I'll teach you a lesson when we get back."

After saying that, he looked at the two children and said, "Go back now, and don't go near the water again!"

Drowning is a common occurrence for children of this age.

Two years ago, a farmhand's four-year-old child drowned in this pond.

Xu Zhonghuai looked around, feeling dissatisfied: the person guarding the pond was not there.

This is a fishpond; it should at least have someone watching over it, but there's no one there right now. If someone were watching over it, this wouldn't have happened.

"Go back and tell Fifth Uncle that the person guarding the pond should get out of here."

With these thoughts in mind, he grabbed his son Liyuan with one hand and headed towards the Baiheshan residential area.

His son, Xu Liyuan, was playful and daring. He often ran around, climbing trees, crawling through holes, going up mountains and down rivers—there was nothing he wouldn't dare to do.

Li Yuan had run away once before, and it took a lot of people searching for most of the day before they finally found him in an inconspicuous cave.

If Xu Zhonghuai hadn't arrived in time, Li Yuan would have been in mortal danger, and would have also implicated someone else's child.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A solitary house, about 30 feet long and wide, sits on a hillside.

in the room.

Xu Zhongchao sat upright at his desk, holding a brush and writing the "Hundred Character Classic" on a piece of paper.

"Filial piety, loyalty, propriety, righteousness, benevolence, wisdom, virtue, and caution in speech and action..."

May your family prosper, enjoy lasting peace, maintain an orderly lineage, and flourish for eternity.

He used to hate reading and writing, but now he has written the Hundred Character Classic more than 20,000 times and developed a neat and beautiful regular script.

After writing it once, he skillfully took out a new sheet of paper and started writing again.

Two hours later, he put down his brush, twisted his neck, and moved his aching wrists.

He neatly arranged the stack of papers filled with the Hundred Character Classic and put them into the suitcase.

"It's full again."

A full suitcase was filled with five thousand sheets of Xuan paper, all of which were his hundred-character essays.

He walked to the window and shouted outside, "Someone come here!"

A young man, around twenty years old, jogged over and respectfully greeted, "Lord Zhongchao."

He was a servant of the Xu family, and today it was his turn to serve Xu Zhongchao.

"Xiao Li, come inside and take this suitcase to my grandfather's place."

Xu Zhongchao pointed to the leather suitcase on his table.

"okay."

The servant, Xiao Li, skillfully took out his key from his waist, unlocked the brass lock on the door, went inside, and picked up the leather suitcase that weighed at least thirty or forty pounds.

He left the room and locked the door again.

The "study" where Xu Zhongchao was trapped was not well-defended. If Xu Zhongchao wanted, he could easily open the door or window and leave the study. But he never did.

The saying goes, "You can guard against honest people, but not against scoundrels."

Xu Zhongchao knew this was punishment for him and dared not make things worse.

"wait a moment."

As the servant was about to leave, he spoke up: "I've done the math, my wife is due to give birth soon. Could you find out for me when she'll give birth, and whether it's a boy or a girl..."

“Lord Zhongchao, I understand.”

After the servants left, Xu Zhongchao walked to the other window.

Looking out the window, he could see the house where Ma Shujie lived on the opposite mountain.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At this time, this is Ma Shujie's residence.

In the bedroom, she was about to give birth.

Two days ago, Xu Xiaoyun invited the best midwife from the city, known as "Grandma Liu".

Grandma Liu is in her fifties. She started working as a midwife for her grandmother when she was a teenager, and by her twenties she was able to do it all herself. She has been a midwife for decades.

She has some medical knowledge and is experienced enough to handle various problems encountered during production.

The probability of complications during childbirth is lowest for pregnant women who have undergone her care.

After her reputation spread, more and more people sought her out as a midwife. At her busiest, she would deliver one baby in the morning and another in the evening, or she would be called in to save the day if a pregnant woman was having a difficult labor and other midwives couldn't handle it.

Over the years, she has delivered more than 10,000 babies.

Granny Liu and her helpers were busy in the bedroom. She wiped the sweat from Ma Shujie's forehead and comforted her, "Don't worry, Madam. Your child is very lively, and you have a good constitution. Everything will go smoothly."

"Ah."

Ma Shujie gritted her teeth and endured the contractions. After all, it was such a major event as childbirth, and she was extremely nervous and uneasy.

"Do you remember the breathing technique I taught you...?"

Granny Liu estimated that the baby would be born soon and made preparations.

Outside the bedroom door.

Yingzi and Xu Xiaoyun waited anxiously.

Since Xu Zhongchao, the father, couldn't come, Xu Xiaoyun and Zhang Caixia, the grandparents, stayed to wait for him.

The desperate cries of pain kept coming from inside the room, making the people present feel anxious.

Fortunately, it didn't last long. With a clear and loud cry, the baby was born.

The door opened quickly, and Granny Liu's helper said, "Mother and child are safe; it's a boy."

The door closed again, and they still had some work to do.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that "mother and child are safe."

"Great, great, that's wonderful!"

Xu Xiaoyun was overjoyed to have another grandson.

This grandson was hard-won; it took a great deal of effort to save him.

He did not forget Xu Zhongchao and immediately sent a servant to deliver a message to Xu Zhongchao.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

in the room.

Granny Liu carried the freshly washed, naked baby in her hands and weighed it.

"Seven pounds and six ounces, what a sturdy child."

She handled the baby, examining every part of its body. Her movements seemed rough, but she was actually very measured.

"This child is so beautiful. Look at those big eyes, she'll be the envy of countless girls when she grows up."

She has seen countless children.

Newborn babies aren't pretty; their skin is wrinkled, and their eyes are slits. Only as they grow older do their adorable features become apparent.

The baby in her arms was beautiful, with smooth skin that seemed to glow, and big, bright eyes like black grapes.

"what?"

Granny Liu suddenly sensed something was amiss.

"Something's wrong."

She frowned and carefully examined the baby in her arms.

During her career as a midwife, it was not uncommon for her to see newborns born with disabilities or who were weak and sick.

But the baby in her arms was clearly healthy and very lively.

She stretched out a hand, snapped her fingers next to the baby's ears, and then waved her hand in front of the baby.

"..."

Upon discovering the problem, her heart skipped a beat, her smile froze, and her expression turned serious.

"how come?"

She refused to believe it and tried a few more times. The people helping her noticed something was wrong and gathered around.

Ma Shujie lay in bed. She had taken a "Qi and Blood Pill" shortly after giving birth, and it was not an ordinary Qi and Blood Pill, but a semi-spiritual Qi and Blood Pill refined by Xu Zhongche.

Her lost energy and blood were restored, her complexion gradually became rosy, and strength surged through her body.

"Let me see the child."

She sat up, overjoyed.

"Eh~"

Granny Liu responded and brought the baby to Ma Shujie.

Ma Shujie was immediately smitten when she saw the child: "My son is so handsome, how much does he weigh?"

"Seven catties and six taels."

"It's a chubby little boy."

Ma Shujie said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)