Chapter 5: Finally Born

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Liu Meilan glanced disdainfully at Jiumei and said, "Some people lack a high level of ideological consciousness. They clearly see the wrongdoing but choose to cover it up for the sake of face. We're all on the same team, you know."

As she spoke, she winked playfully at Liu Xiujuan, as if joking with her.

However, her words were actually aimed at ridiculing the women's team leader from Longtou Village. She wanted to push the women's team leader into a corner. If the women's team leader couldn't handle the situation, she would have to readdress Peng Yuniang stealing eggs for Liu Xiujuan. And even Liu Xiujuan, as the recipient of the "stolen goods," might also face consequences. Afterward, Liu Meilan could simply claim that she was just joking.

Liu Xiujuan couldn't stand Liu Meilan's words any longer and retorted, "Why do you talk so annoyingly? The women's team leader found that I, a pregnant woman, was malnourished and gave me an egg to supplement my nutrition for the sake of our country's future. Pat Pat and the others misunderstood. You're just trying to tease me, aren't you?"

Introducing her sister, Liu Meilan, she said, "This is my sister, Liu Meilan. We're from the same village. She's married to the Li family village, and her husband is a colleague of my husband, Tang Dalong."

With this introduction, Liu Xiujuan wanted to remind Liu Meilan that they were good sisters. She hoped that Liu Meilan wouldn't dare to harm her reputation. If rumors spread, it would damage Liu Meilan's reputation as well.

Hearing Liu Xiujuan's introduction, Pat Pat and the others breathed a sigh of relief. "Joking like this isn't a good idea. Let's be more careful with our words in the future," they advised.

Liu Meilan, hearing that Liu Xiujuan had only eaten one egg, felt somewhat regretful, as it seemed she couldn't make a big issue out of it now. Since the women's team leader had approved it, there was no grounds for further complaints. She was disappointed with the outcome.

Just then, they heard the sound of a horn in the distance. It was the signal for the cooperative members to finish work and return for lunch.

Longtou Village had many residents, and not everyone could hear the whistle when it was blown. Therefore, they had purchased a horn to signal the start and end of work. When it was time to start work, they would stand in a high place to blow it, and the whole village could hear it. At least when it was time to finish work, they would stand at the edge of the fields to blow the horn.

Pat Pat urged Liu Meilan to leave, saying, "You should head back now. We're going to be busy."

Liu Meilan, feeling somewhat regretful, made funny faces at everyone. "I'm just teasing my sister. I'll be more careful with my words in the future. Sister Xiujuan, I'm planning to visit the factory. Do you want to come along?"

Tang Ailian, now that the situation had calmed down, finally relaxed. However, she had awakened too abruptly and hadn't fully mastered her psychic abilities yet. The energy expenditure had been too high, and she hadn't had the chance to nourish her body with the gathered natural energies or inspect the well in her left hand. She soon fell back into a deep sleep.

When she woke up again, it was due to the sound of an argument.

"Mom, look, little brother stole the leftover oil cake to eat."

"You ate it too, why are you blaming me?"

"I only ate what you dropped on the ground when you were stealing."

"You still ate it."

Tang Ailian recognized the voices of her older sister Aishi and her younger brother Aiwu.

In her previous life, Aiwu had been mischievous, while Aishi had been a tattletale. They often argued like this, even at such a young age. Aishi should be around four years old, and Aiwu only two and a half.

At this point, her second uncle had not yet married, and her younger uncle was probably still studying.

Listening to the siblings' argument, Tang Ailian decided it was best not to eavesdrop any longer and instead focused on examining the well in her left hand.

Even though her mother's womb was enveloped in darkness, Tang Ailian's psychic energy had already exceeded three thousand, allowing her to "see" everything with the power of her mind.

She discovered that there were two square frames in the center of her left palm, one corner of which connected to the lifeline while the other to the love line. In the center of the inner frame, there was a smaller square intersected by the wisdom line. However, the inner frame was only one-tenth the size of the outer frame.

Tang Ailian was excited. Could this be the well she had heard about?

Before, Tang Ailian had never noticed these two square frames on her palm. However, after learning about the concept of the well, she realized that they looked like a well, especially when they were overlaid.

She examined them for a while and then used her psychic energy to explore the smaller square frame.

From her ancient memories, she knew that this well formed its own unique space that the physical body could enter. However, she was still inside her mother's womb, connected by the umbilical cord to her mother's body, so she couldn't physically enter the well. Therefore, she could only explore it with her mental energy.

She felt herself entering a new space. It was about an acre in size and covered with bricks, each with a round hole in the center. There were different colored bricks for each direction: blue for the north, red for the south, green for the east, and gold for the west. The central area around the well was paved with yellow bricks.

There were gaps between the bricks of different colors, and each brick had a hole in the center.

The well had a diameter of about two meters and was surrounded by a half-meter-high railing made of yellow jade stones. Above the well and around the surrounding ground, there was a condensed white mist that couldn't be dispersed.

Tang Ailian was still exploring the well when she suddenly felt her body being forcefully compressed. The water around her began to flow rapidly in one direction.

She realized that something was wrong with her mother; her amniotic sac had ruptured.

She thought in alarm, "My mom's in trouble; her water just broke."

She had to exit the well space immediately. However, as she tried to leave, she heard a commotion outside.

"Xiujuan slipped and fell into the well while fetching water. It seems like she's going into labor!"

"She still had more than ten days left, how..."

"She's in no condition to work with such a big belly. Sending her to fetch water was a mistake; it's like torturing her."

"Second Brother, didn't you go to fetch water? Why did you let your sister-in-law do it? These people are heartless."

"Now is not the time to blame each other. Call the midwife quickly!"

...

Tang Ailian experienced another round of compression and pushing. She was following the lifeline, pushing with all her might. Suddenly, the world became bright as Tang Ailian was born.

She let out a loud cry, announcing her arrival to the world.

"Your child certainly knows how to choose an auspicious day; she was born on the founding day of the People's Liberation Army. And what a strong voice she has! I wonder if she'll become a singer when she grows up," said the midwife with a pure smile.

Tang Ailian opened her pure and unblemished eyes and looked at the midwife, only to be startled. There was a faint yellow glow around the back of the midwife's head.

Could this be the person's sexual aura?

In the memories of ancient witch doctors, an ordinary person's sexual aura was grayish-white. The healthier the person, the brighter and whiter their sexual aura would be. If there were health issues, it would carry some gray. If the sexual aura had black in it, it indicated the person wouldn't live long.

A yellow sexual aura meant the person had accumulated merits. This midwife had a faint yellow glow in her sexual aura. She must have accumulated many merits.

Tang Ailian turned her head and saw her mother lying exhausted on the bed. Her mother was still young, just over twenty-seven years old.

In her previous life, when Tang Ailian was old enough to remember, her mother had looked much older, with her face showing signs of wear and tear. But now, she saw her mother at a much younger age, and she looked beautiful. Her mother's sexual aura was white with a hint of gray, indicating that although she was in good health, giving birth had taken a toll, which was normal.

Tang Ailian felt excited; this was all thanks to the spiritual water!

She marveled at her own soft and flawless skin. Even at nearly forty, the head midwife was amazed. "I've delivered so many babies, but I've never seen one as white and beautiful as this girl. Her skin is flawless."

Even Liu Xiujuan felt proud. She had given birth to three children, and the first two had been born wrinkled. However, this baby girl, just born, had skin as smooth as a full moon.

"She's so beautiful, but beauty alone doesn't make her valuable!" an unpleasant voice interrupted.

Tang Ailian recognized that it was her grandmother's voice.

(End of this chapter)