Looking at the rice in the field that was about to sprout its ears, it had been over a month since heaven had graced them with rain.
How could they endure if this continued?!
Engulfed in worry, Ma Xiulian drifted into a dreamland.
In her dream, she saw a golden light shining down directly onto her third son's house, followed by the echo of thunder and lightning with storm clouds gathering in the sky, foretelling a downpour.
The rain is coming from heaven!!
Before she could exclaim her surprise, a thunderclap resonated through the skies, waking her from her dream.
She sat up abruptly and slapped her sleeping husband, "Old man, I dreamt of a golden light falling on our third son's house."
The pained Chen replied faintly, "I dreamt the same."
At that moment, their eldest daughter-in-law, Zhao Mei, knocked on the door calling out, "Mother, it is time for your third daughter-in-law."
Both of them were taken aback, exchanged glances and then Ma Xiulian immediately got out of bed, putting her shoes on, "It's time, it's time!"
Suppressing her inexplicable excitement, she quickly walks into the third son's room to check on the birthing woman, "There's still time, eldest daughter-in-law, get the hot water started."
"Oh!" The eldest daughter-in-law did as she was asked, and turned towards the stove.
All the grandchildren of Chen's family were delivered by Ma Xiulian.
Li Chunhua, who was lying on the bed trying to keep quiet so as not to trouble her mother-in-law, asked through gritted teeth, "Mother, can I have a bowl of brown sugar water?"
During this pregnancy, her stomach had been round, and she had craved spicy foods - signs that it would be a worthless girl. Hence, she dared not ask for brown sugar eggs.
Looking at the thin woman on the bed, with just a round belly, Ma Xiulian remembered the dream she had just woken from and said, "Second daughter-in-law, you watch her here, I'll go and make some noodles."
Noodles?!
Zhou Zhaodi and Li Chunhua both thought they had heard wrong.
However, Ma Xiulian had already rushed to the kitchen, quickly preparing a large bowl of noodles with fried crumbs, and even adding four eggs.
With the bowl in one hand, she helped a pale Li Chunhua sit up with the other and urged her, "Eat quickly, eat it all."
Li Chunhua, smelling the enticing aroma of the fried food, didn't question her mother-in-law's sudden kindness towards her and began to eat heartily.
Zhou Zhaodi, who stood to the side swallowing saliva, couldn't understand the sudden change in her mother-in-law's behavior.
Having eggs on the birth of a child was a given; all the daughters-in-law of the Chen Family had them.
But these noodles were refined grain brought back by their brother-in-law!
The mother-in-law had carefully stored them, not eating them casually, and now she was willing to cook such a large bowl?!
And that thick layer of fried crumbs, the family's entire allowance for the next half year was based on it.
Even if the daughter-in-law was carrying a son, the mother-in-law's favoritism was outrageous!
Even she, who had borne two grandsons for the Chen family, hadn't received such treatment!!
She cursed inwardly: The third sister-in-law must give birth to a girl!
After finishing the noodles, Li Chunhua felt slightly stronger and the labor began.
Wearing a worried expression, Ma Xiulian guided her, "Third daughter-in-law, concentrate, and breathe deeply with me..."
It had taken a long time for her previous two children to be born – especially Xiaobao, who was almost not born at all – this worried her.
"It's coming! The head's out!" Zhao Mei shouted excitedly.
Hearing these words, Ma Xiulian instantly cheered, "Third daughter-in-law, push a little harder and I'll make you sugar water and eggs every day after the birth."
Hearing such a generous reward, Li Chunhua gritted her teeth and pushed harder...
Outside the room, Chen Family's three sons were listlessly waiting by the door.
Seeing their father, Old Chen, squatting on the threshold smoking a pipe, they asked, "Father, why have you come out?"
Previously, whenever their daughters-in-law gave birth, their father never came out to wait by the door.
He only came to see if the child was a plump boy. If it was a girl, he wouldn't bother looking at all.