Rich in the 70s: I Made a Rugged Veteran a Millionaire-Chapter 88: Pregnant Woman in the Rain

Jiang Cheng held the little girl’s hand, followed by seven night school students, three men and four women.

The muddy path could no longer be called a road, it’s more like a mire.

One foot lifted high up, only to sink deep upon its descent.

No one cared about the mud on their shoes now; everyone was inching forward with uneven steps.

Ten backs of varying heights moved with difficulty.

"Over there! My mom is over there!"

The little girl tugged at Jiang Cheng’s wrist, Jiang Cheng’s voice drifted through the rain.

"Hurry up!"

The short distance, usually just a one or two-minute walk, took them over ten minutes.

They finally arrived.

Behind a low tree lay a woman dressed in black, sideways.

Her long hair mingled with mud, making it hard to discern if she was still breathing.

With a thud, Jiang Cheng knelt on the ground, fingers searching for the woman’s pulse.

"She’s alive!"

"Let me see first!"

Jiang Cheng knew first aid.

In her past life, as a translator beside a top leader, safety education was frequently undertaken.

Jiang Cheng’s hands gently probed the woman’s body.

When she touched the woman’s abdomen, Jiang Cheng’s pupils suddenly dilated.

She lay down, face pressed against the mud, but that no longer mattered.

"She’s pregnant!"

The declaration of her pregnancy left the night school students at a loss over what to do.

"Uh—help—my child!"

"Lan Hua...eight years old...girl...red ribbon."

The pregnant woman was not fully conscious, but still worried about her eldest daughter.

Seeing this, Jiang Cheng swiftly pulled the little girl over, placing the mother and daughter’s hands together.

She wiped the water off her face, hands gripping the girl’s arms.

"Talk to your mom, tell her you hurt, you’re scared, ask her not to leave!"

"Keep talking, okay?"

The little girl trembled but nodded continuously.

Her mom had said that whenever she was uncertain, she should listen to those with ideas.

The little girl began to cry.

"Mom—I’m scared!"

"Mom—I hurt!"

...

Jiang Cheng turned to the night school students.

"Sun Jiandong, go find Zhou Lan, she’s a nurse, knows what to prepare, call her here to help with the delivery."

"Zhang Aijuan, Wang Xiaohong, you both go find clean cloth or clothing, and call for more people to help, if you can find anything to shield the rain, even better."

"The rest of us will use our bodies to shield her from the rain as much as possible."

Jiang Cheng arranged everything systematically, benefiting from her high status at night school, everyone immediately sprang into action.

The remaining four students formed a circle, bending their bodies halfway, arms together, striving to shield the pregnant woman from wind and rain.

Jiang Cheng kept an eye on the pregnant woman’s condition, her gaze lifted amid the heavy rain, watching the students struggle.

Their physical strength was nearly exhausted.

Jiang Cheng suddenly shouted, "Comrades...ever had lamb hotpot?"

The rain-shielding students were bewildered by this sudden topic.

Jiang Cheng chuckled, "I’ve never had it either! But I’ve heard it’s really delicious. Quality lamb sliced thinly, dipped in boiling water..."

"Mm...dipped in fragrant sesame sauce...that’s pure bliss...."

Jiang Cheng’s enticing words gradually distracted them from physical strain, the mind’s endurance completely occupied by the "fantasy of lamb hotpot."

They beautifully demonstrated the spirit of conquering desires through imagination.

"Someone’s coming back!"

One of the night school students saw someone stumbling back, shouting loudly.

Jiang Cheng stopped her descriptions at the sight.

She shouted at the top of her voice, "I’ll treat everyone to lamb hotpot! We’ll eat when we get back!"

As she finished screaming, many arrived, not just night school students.

Seeing this, Jiang Cheng promptly arranged actions.

"Bring that plank, let’s try getting the pregnant woman on it."

"Rain shelters group together."

.....

One of the night school students sneakily asked, "Why’re you all so happy?"

The remaining night school students smiled widely.

"Just had a lamb hotpot, full of energy!"

The inquiring student: It’s over! Been rained crazy.

In the time of conversation, Sun Jiandong, who went to find the night school nurse, also returned.

He brought two ladies who knew how to deliver babies.

"Sun Jiandong, that’s wonderful!"

Jiang Cheng lauded, Sun Jiandong could only rush to help shield wind and rain.

The two ladies wiped their hands, then squatted to examine the pregnant woman.

"About nine months now."

"Water broke long ago, she must give birth!"

And it had to be now.

Yet, the pregnant woman was unaware of how to push due to her foggy consciousness.

The pregnant woman’s elder daughter could understand speech, suddenly cried louder.

"Mom—save me! Save me!"

"Mom—help!"

The daughter’s cries made the pregnant woman suddenly open her eyes.

Jiang Cheng saw this, ignoring whether it worked or not, sneaked out a handful of goji berry and ginseng slices and fed them into the woman’s mouth.

"Chew! Hard!"

"Fight for this life, or there won’t be anyone who loves your daughter the most in this world!"

Whether Jiang Cheng’s words moved the woman or the ginseng slices worked, the pregnant woman truly became much clearer.

The two birthing ladies knelt down, the night school nurse diligently held clean scissors and cloth.

The rain-shielding outer circle divided into two rings.

The first, facing inside, all women.

The second, taller men, facing outside, arms holding planks dismantled from the train.

Splish splash...

Rumble rumble!

Rain mist, mud.

"Push!"

"Push again!"

"Mom keep going! Don’t leave me!"

...

At some point, everyone started cheering together.

Invisible strength supported the pregnant woman.

Perhaps heaven opened its eyes, perhaps people’s wishes moved heaven.

Waah—

With a baby’s wail, laughs brightened everyone’s faces.

"It’s born!"

"Success!"

"Wonderful!"

Crowds jubilantly blended with rainwater, but no one cared about being soaked.

After the baby was born, surprisingly, the mother became a lot more aware.

With everyone’s effort, they lifted the post-delivery woman with a plank.

The little girl Lan Hua tightly gripped her mom’s hand, her smile radiant and captivating.

The group carried the woman back near the derailed train, coincidentally meeting the conductor inspecting ahead.

Upon seeing the woman’s condition, the conductor immediately arranged her in a sleeper car still usable, bringing clean bedding, someone provided a change of clothes.

Jiang Cheng conversed briefly with train staff to learn this derailment was due to multiple landslides caused by heavy rain.

Currently, people are sent out with messages, but rescue timing is uncertain.

The staff halted abruptly here, saying no more.

But Jiang Cheng understood what he left unsaid.

Terrain.

The train sat in a valley, threatened by mudslides anytime, the optimal solution being passenger evacuation from the train.

Indeed, within ten minutes, the conductor began organizing passengers from cars.

"We’re heading forward, getting out of this mountain valley!"

"No trees up there, rain like this, it’ll be dangerous!"

"Everyone hold onto your comrades closely, count numbers from the car division just set, and we’ll proceed!"

"The sooner we get out, the safer we are!"