Chapter 222 - 87: You Must Call Her Auntie
Granny Yu’s home was a standalone courtyard with three rooms. The courtyard wasn’t large, much smaller than Second Granny’s. Three families lived in Second Granny’s courtyard, but only Granny Yu’s family lived in this one. Comparatively, Qin Mei preferred Granny Yu’s home.
Granny Yu lived in one room, her son and daughter-in-law in another, and her grandson and granddaughter-in-law in the third.
Granny Yu was an impetuous sort. Without even letting Qin Mei take a sip of water, she left Jie Jingshan in the courtyard and took Qin Mei directly to her granddaughter-in-law’s room.
The granddaughter-in-law was lying on the bed. Seeing Granny Yu enter, she sat up and called out, "Grandma, who is she?"
"Yanhong, this is the Fourth Wife of Jing. The very same Fourth Wife of Jing your Second Grandma is always talking about," Granny Yu said.
Qin Mei sized up Granny Yu’s granddaughter-in-law. Her face was rosy, and her long hair was greasy from not being washed. She had a towel wrapped around her head and was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and even socks—the very picture of a woman observing postpartum confinement in this era.
’A whole month without bathing, washing her hair, or even brushing her teeth? Isn’t that miserable?’ She, for one, couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t even last a single day, let alone a whole month.
Yanhong smiled at Qin Mei, then looked at Granny Yu, confused. "Grandma."
"The Fourth Wife of Jing is here to help you lactate. She says a massage is all it takes to make your milk plentiful. I don’t understand it myself, but just do as the Fourth Wife of Jing says," Granny Yu said.
"The Fourth Wife of Jing." A delighted smile spread across Yanhong’s face. Her Second Grandma had said the Fourth Wife of Jing knew traditional Chinese medicine and had exceptional skills. The plaster she made had cured Second Grandma’s chronic leg pain. She had given some to her grandma, too, who also sang its praises.
"You’ve got the generational titles all wrong, Yanhong. The Fourth Wife of Jing is Xiao Ping’s godmother, and you and Xiao Ping are of the same generation. You can’t call her the Fourth Wife of Jing. You have to call her ’Auntie’," Granny Yu corrected.
Qin Mei’s lip twitched. Yanhong was older than her, yet she was supposed to call her ’Auntie’. ’That’s just too...’
"Auntie," Yanhong called out.
Qin Mei fell silent. Yanhong had the guts to say it, but she didn’t have the guts to answer.
"My name is Qin Mei. You can just call me Qin Mei," she said with a smile.
"No. We can’t mess up the generational titles," Granny Yu insisted.
Qin Mei opened her mouth, but then pressed her lips together and said nothing. ’I’m here to do a job, not to become part of the family. As long as they’re happy, they can call me whatever they want.’
"Granny, please step outside for a bit. No matter what sounds you hear from the room, you can’t come in. Otherwise, I won’t do the massage, and your great-grandson won’t have any food," Qin Mei said.
"Is the massage very painful?" Yanhong asked.
"Yes, very painful," Qin Mei replied, nodding gravely.
Yanhong hesitated, but Granny Yu said, "It’s fine. You just go ahead and do the massage. My granddaughter-in-law isn’t afraid of pain."
"Grandma," Yanhong started, wanting to say that she was afraid of pain. Very afraid.
"Yanhong, I know you’re afraid of pain, but for the baby’s sake, I hope you’ll grit your teeth and bear it. The Fourth Wife of Jing said you’ll have plenty of milk after the massage," Granny Yu soothed.
Yanhong gritted her teeth and said to Qin Mei, "I’m not afraid of pain. Go ahead and do the massage."
Seeing Yanhong’s look of grim resignation, as if she were facing death, Qin Mei marveled at the greatness of a mother’s love. "It’s very painful. You’re sure you can bear it."
"I can." Yanhong didn’t hesitate for a second. She thought of her son, wailing with hunger. She herself was getting fatter and fatter from all the nourishing soups, while her son grew thinner. She drank every kind of soup, forcing them down even when she wanted to vomit, but still, no milk came. It was a source of great worry for her and the entire family.
"That’s my girl, Yanhong." Granny Yu patted Yanhong’s shoulder, then said to Qin Mei, "Fourth Wife of Jing, my great-grandson’s food is all up to you now."
Qin Mei looked up at the ceiling. ’I’m not the baby’s mother. His food depends on his mother, not me. I’m just here to help unblock her milk ducts.’
Granny Yu walked out of the room, and Qin Mei heard the sound of the door being locked. She froze, stunned. ’What does she mean by locking the door? If anyone was going to lock it, it should have been me, from the inside.’
"Grandma is worried I won’t be able to stand the pain and will give up and run away midway," Yanhong said with a bitter smile.
Qin Mei smiled in understanding. ’Granny Yu really is ruthless, cutting off all avenues of escape.’
"Take off your clothes. Let’s begin." Qin Mei rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt and glanced at an enamel basin on a tripod stand, a towel draped over it. "Are this basin and towel yours?"
Yanhong’s hands, which were unbuttoning her clothes, paused. She followed Qin Mei’s gaze and nodded.
Qin Mei pulled the towel off, placed it in the basin, picked up a thermos from the side, and poured water into the basin. Carrying it to the bedside, she saw Yanhong was still wearing a small undershirt. "The undershirt has to come off, too."
"Ah!" Yanhong cried out, looking at Qin Mei in shock.
"How am I supposed to massage you if you don’t take it off?" Qin Mei frowned. ’We’re both women. I don’t know what she’s so shy about.’
"But..." Yanhong hesitated for a moment, then asked weakly, "Where... where are you going to massage?"
Qin Mei rolled her eyes and pointed to Yanhong’s chest.
Yanhong froze. Following the direction of Qin Mei’s finger, she looked down at her own chest. She was wearing a loose undershirt and deliberately hunching her back, so it was impossible to see the situation clearly.
"Hurry up and take it off. The water’s going to get cold if you keep dawdling," Qin Mei urged.
Yanhong gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and took off the undershirt.
Looking at Yanhong’s heavy breasts, Qin Mei was stunned. ’They’re so... magnificent. How much of the baby’s food is stored in there?’
’Is this enough for one baby? It looks like more than enough for two.’
"Aren’t you uncomfortable from the engorgement?" Qin Mei couldn’t help but ask.
"I am," Yanhong said, her eyes squeezed shut. Her rosy cheeks flushed an even deeper red with shyness. For some reason, she hadn’t felt this shy even in front of her husband, yet here she was, blushing furiously in front of Qin Mei, another woman.
Perhaps it was fear of the impending pain, or perhaps the magnificent sight of her own chest made her feel embarrassed.
Some women are proud of having larger breasts, but Yanhong was clearly not one of them.
Qin Mei placed the hot towel on her chest. Yanhong’s whole body stiffened, and she opened her eyes to look at Qin Mei. "This doesn’t hurt!"
Qin Mei rolled her eyes. "I haven’t started the massage yet."
’Yanhong must have some misunderstanding about what a massage is,’ Qin Mei suspected, ’otherwise she wouldn’t say that.’
Since the expected pain hadn’t come and they were still in the preparation stage, worry crept into Yanhong’s gaze as she stared at Qin Mei. "Auntie, do I have any milk?"
’Auntie?’ Qin Mei paused for a moment. Seeing that Yanhong said it so naturally, she didn’t correct her. Instead of answering, she asked back, "Don’t you have a good idea yourself whether you have milk or not?"
’After drinking so many of those weird lactation soups, it’s impossible for there to be no effect at all. The effect is significant, it’s just that the milk can’t come out. The little guy isn’t helping much either. A baby’s sucking power is very strong, but even he couldn’t clear the blockage, so we have to rely on massage to help.’
"I feel like I do. They’re so engorged it’s unbearable, but the baby just can’t get any milk," Yanhong said, deeply troubled.
"It’s not that there’s no milk, it’s that the little guy can’t get it out," Qin Mei said. After applying the hot compress for a while longer, she removed the towel. Staring at Yanhong’s enormous breasts, she rubbed her palms together. "Are you more comfortable lying down or sitting up?"
Yanhong’s slightly drooping eyelids lifted a little. She thought for a moment and said, "Sitting up is more comfortable."
Qin Mei’s elegant brows furrowed slightly, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing as she said flatly, "Then sit up. I’m going to start the massage."
"Actually, I’ll lie down," Yanhong said, lying back down.
The corner of Qin Mei’s eye twitched. ’Is she testing my patience?’ Yanhong was restless and anxious, first lying down, then sitting up. Qin Mei held onto her patience, waiting for the indecisive woman to make up her mind.
After a few more rounds of this, Qin Mei completely lost her patience. The gentle expression on her face slowly turned to one of indifference. "Are you getting this massage or not?" she asked coldly.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Yanhong said three times. She finally decided to lie down, squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and mentally prepared herself to endure the coming pain.
Qin Mei began the massage. Yanhong shrieked in pain. Worried that Yanhong might bite her own tongue, Qin Mei stuffed the towel in her mouth for her to bite on. Even with the towel, suppressed screams escaped through her gritted teeth, a sound terrifying enough to make one’s blood run cold.