Chapter 108 The Republican-Era Young Lady Stops Making a Fuss 19 Sorry, Let Me First

January 1, 1921.

The Workers’ School affiliated with Fenglong Industries was completed.

This school had Ms. Song Xuange serving as its first principal.

The school was not openly recruiting students from society at large, so when it was founded, there was no great fanfare.

Still, they made arrangements for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

As principal, Song Xuange naturally had to attend.

She had not been going out much lately. Her feet were swollen, and even after switching to larger shoes, they still felt uncomfortable.

So she simply stayed home and avoided going out.

But she still wanted to attend this ceremony.

She got up early that morning and even put on makeup, which was rare for her these days.

She found the pair of shoes specially made one size larger and set them on the floor.

Song Xuange bent down, only to realize she could not even reach her shoes.

When He Dusheng came out of the washroom and saw her like that, he laughed in a very unkind way.

“Stop struggling. I’ll do it.”

He crouched in front of Song Xuange. “Do you know what you looked like just now?”

Knowing he was not about to say anything nice, Song Xuange ignored him.

He Dusheng was perfectly capable of carrying on a conversation by himself in front of her, his eyes full of amusement. “You looked exactly like a turtle flipped onto its shell and unable to get back up.”

What kind of thing was that to say?

“If I’m a turtle, then what does that make you, as my husband?” Song Xuange said unhappily, lifting her foot to kick him.

He Dusheng was crouching, much lower than she was.

She was not paying attention to where her foot was going, and with that kick, she actually landed it right on his face. One unattractive swollen foot planted itself squarely against his cheek.

“…”

Maybe she had gone a little too far?

She quickly tried to pull her foot back and withdraw her leg.

But her version of quick now looked more like slow motion to anyone else.

It was easy for He Dusheng to catch her foot. Holding it in his hand, he smiled and said, “If you’re the turtle, then I’m the bastard turtle¹. We’re a perfect match.”

Who talked about themselves like that?

But after hearing him put it that way, Song Xuange could not stay angry, nor did she feel there was anything wrong with him calling her a turtle.

He Dusheng felt her foot, then felt the shoe, and frowned, seemingly dissatisfied.

Then he turned to the cabinet, rummaged out another pair of socks, and without discussion, pulled them onto her feet.

Song Xuange kicked in protest. “I was already wearing socks.”

“Those are too thin. Don’t you know how cold it is outside today?”

When he got stubborn, he was really stubborn. Song Xuange did not argue with him.

She simply waited to see how he planned to get her shoes on over such thick socks.

As expected, it turned awkward.

Those leather shoes could only fit over most of her foot. He could not pull them up over the heel at all.

And at the opening of the shoe, the two layers of socks bunched up under the pressure into an unsightly bulge.

He Dusheng tried for quite a while without success.

He rubbed his nose. “It’s only been half a month, so how did it already…”

Song Xuange stared at him, not allowing him to say that word.

He Dusheng said, “How did these shoes… get this much tighter?”

Back then, Song Xuange had only had one pair of larger shoes made. In any case, after giving birth she would not be able to wear them anymore.

At a time like this, there were no extra shoes to change into.

Still unwilling to give up, He Dusheng even brought over his own shoes and tried them on her feet.

They did fit, but what was the difference between that and having two giant goose feet?

There was no way Song Xuange would agree to go out wearing shoes like that.

He Dusheng still refused to give up on making her wear two layers of socks.

Song Xuange let him fuss over her as much as he wanted.

In the end, he said, “How about this, no leather shoes. What if you just wear the cotton shoes you use at home?”

Did that even go together?

He Dusheng said, “Even with just one pair of socks, those shoes will still pinch your feet. You might as well not wear them.”

He comforted Song Xuange. “You’ve got a long coat on, and the long skirt covers them too. It won’t be that noticeable that you’re wearing cotton shoes.”

He helped Song Xuange change into the cotton shoes and a long skirt.

It really was not very obvious, so it counted as a solution.

Song Xuange agreed to the outfit.

“Hiss…”

“What is it?” He Dusheng asked nervously. “Where are you uncomfortable? Or are the shoes pinching?”

Song Xuange said, “…No. Maybe it’s because I was thinking about having to give a speech later, and I got nervous. My stomach hurts a little from nerves.”

Seeing that He Dusheng still looked worried, she even reassured him. “It’s fine. It only hurt for a moment just now, just that one moment.”

“If you feel uncomfortable, you have to tell me. Don’t keep it to yourself.”

“Okay, okay, I know.”

The two of them got ready to head out, but before they could even get into the car, Song Xuange’s stomach hurt again.

This time it hurt much more than before.

Song Xuange held onto the car door and waited for the pain to pass.

Then she suddenly thought of something.

Her face turned white, and she could barely get the words out.

“Do you think this could be… contractions?”

In an instant, He Dusheng’s face turned even paler than hers.

Helping her into the car, he hurriedly tossed out, “Sit still and don’t move around.”

Then he ran back into the house.

In less than half a minute, Nanny Wen came out behind him.

Nanny Wen asked Song Xuange, “Miss, what kind of pain is it?”

Song Xuange thought back for a moment and described it.

Nanny Wen showed no sign of worry. Instead, her face lit up with joy.

“No mistake, no mistake. The baby’s coming.”

Nanny Wen had given birth to five children in her life. When it came to this sort of thing, she was definitely an authority.

At once, everything turned into a flurry of chaos.

He Dusheng immediately wanted to take her to the hospital.

In such bitterly cold weather, after only this short while, a fine layer of sweat had already broken out on his forehead.

Nanny Wen was experienced and steady, perfectly calm.

Song Xuange felt that she was still doing all right. With Nanny Wen keeping things under control, she quickly calmed down as well.

During her pregnancy, she had studied up quite a bit and asked for a great deal of advice about childbirth.

She knew that from the start of contractions to actual delivery, there was still a very, very long time to go.

So, as long as her body allowed it, she was unwilling to give up attending this school-opening ceremony and spend all that time waiting at the hospital instead.

If she went to the hospital, then with He Dusheng’s temperament, he would certainly abandon the ceremony and stay by her side.

Song Xuange felt that was completely unnecessary.

She looked up at the sky. The weather was nice.

There was even a touch of warm sunlight.

“It’s still early. We’ll go to the ceremony first, then the hospital.”

Those words made everyone present stop talking and freeze in the middle of whatever they were doing as they turned to look at her.

Lu Zhu, who had just come out and witnessed this scene, nearly had her jaw hit the floor.

Even though she herself often said shocking things.

It still took her a long while to find her voice. “Sister Song, are you really this fierce?”

Song Xuange pulled Lu Zhu into the car and shut the door.

Then she said to He Dusheng and A-Xiang, who were still standing in the doorway, “Are you going to drive or do I have to do it myself?”

A-Xiang looked at Song Xuange, then at He Dusheng.

He Dusheng leaned by the window. “Are you really okay?”

“If you keep dragging this out, then I won’t be.”

He Dusheng frowned. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“I’m really fine.” Song Xuange smiled easily. “The ceremony won’t take long anyway.”

He Dusheng looked at her for a long time before finally taking a deep breath and instructing A-Xiang, “Drive. Nanny Wen, pack up everything we’ll need and wait for us at the hospital.”

“This is outrageous.” Nanny Wen cried out again and again. “The young lady is being willful, and sir, you’re not even stopping her. A woman giving birth is no small matter…”

The car drove off into the distance.

Nanny Wen’s voice could no longer be heard.

Song Xuange looked back through the rear window and saw Nanny Wen hurriedly calling for people to go inside. She was probably going to pack their things.

Inside the car, there was only the roar of the engine, and the air seemed almost frozen.

Judging by the looks of it, the other three people in the car were even more nervous than she was.

The ceremony itself was not organized in an especially flashy or ostentatious way, and most of the participants were workers from the factory.

But a number of other guests had come after hearing the news.

For example, the union chairman, the chamber of commerce president, people from the Education Department, some of He Dusheng’s friends, and reporters from several newspapers.

There were many workers.

The crowd was a dark sea of people, and it was clear this was not exactly all that low-key.

Several important guests all gave the usual official speeches of encouragement.

They were all educated people, and they spoke in polished, well-crafted phrases.

Only, the expressions on the workers’ faces shifted from blankness to confusion, as if they did not really understand much of it.

Song Xuange sat on the stage, her fingers gripping the armrests of her chair tightly to fight off the waves of labor pain that came with each contraction.

In front of so many eyes, He Dusheng could not be overly intimate with her, but he kept turning to look at her from time to time.

Song Xuange smiled reassuringly at him, indicating that she was still managing.

But He Dusheng seemed wrapped in a cloud of irritation and anxiety.

He could not sit still in his chair at all.

The deputy director of the Education Department, seated beside him, joked, “I had long heard that Mr. He and his wife are deeply devoted to each other. Now that I’ve seen it for myself, it truly is extraordinary.”

He Dusheng forced himself to nod and respond, but his mind was elsewhere.

He only said, “You’re too kind.”

Then it was He Dusheng’s turn to speak.

He could barely even pretend. He wrapped up his remarks with extreme brevity, and that crisp efficiency actually earned him warmer applause than the several speakers before him.

At last, it was Song Xuange’s turn.

The child was considerate and did not make trouble at this moment.

Song Xuange’s speech had been prepared long ago, and she already knew it by heart.

She did not quote classics, nor did she speak of grand ambitions for founding the school.

Her audience was made up of workers. For people to whom even being well-fed and warmly clothed was a luxury, she spoke only of benefits.

She talked about how often the cafeteria would serve meat.

She talked about which positive behaviors would be rewarded with cloth, flour, and rice.

She talked about the benefits and wages after completing the program, and she talked about the new pay system.

Her wording was simple and direct, so that even people who had never been to school could understand her clearly.

As she continued speaking.

The atmosphere gradually grew noisy.

Suddenly, a young worker in the crowd shouted loudly, “If I really study and pass the exam, can my wages really go from three yuan to five?”

“Yes. Not just five. As long as you pass higher-level exams, you can also get seven yuan, nine yuan.” Song Xuange leaned toward the microphone and made the promise with firm conviction.

At once, the venue erupted into even louder discussion.

It was still that same young man. He pushed his way out of the crowd and up to the foot of the stage, ending up only a meter away from Song Xuange.

The moment he approached, several young bodyguards came forward to block him and tried to drag him away.

How could Song Xuange possibly allow that.

She sharply ordered the bodyguards to back off.

And let the young man continue speaking.

The young man wore a thin padded jacket covered in patch upon patch, and the sleeves had already frayed into wads of stuffing.

His hands were also covered in red and purple chilblains².

Tilting his head up and stiffening his neck, he insisted on getting a clear answer. “After I pass the exam, when will my wages go up?”

“The month after you pass the exam.”

The young man pressed on, “How do I know that’s true? What if I pass, but you still mark me as having failed?”

“Yeah, what if the foreman won’t let us pass?” A few people beside him huddled together and voiced their support.

Song Xuange had not yet talked today about reforming the Foreman System.

She still asked the young man in an unhurried tone, “If I set up an exam like this and then deliberately refuse to let you pass, then what would be the point of this school’s land and buildings, the desks and chairs, the rice, flour, grain, and oil in the cafeteria? Am I spending money like water just to deliberately toy with you? Is that what you mean?”

The young man was struck dumb and had nothing left to say in rebuttal.

So Song Xuange asked, “What’s your name?”

“Huang San. My name is Huang San.”

“Good, Huang San. I’ll remember you.”

For a brief instant, Huang San grew tense.

But Song Xuange said with a smile, “I hope to see your name on next quarter’s raise list.”

Huang San froze for a moment, then suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, “You will. My name will definitely be on that raise list.”

“And mine too!”

“And mine too!”

Several people around Huang San all called out their names one after another.

Perhaps they were too loud and disturbed the little one in her belly.

The contraction came even harder than the last one.

Enduring it, she said to the “Huang Sans” below the stage, those filled with both hope and doubt, “I’ll be waiting.”

He Dusheng had long since noticed that something was wrong with her at the end.

The moment Song Xuange finished, he rushed over to support her.

After all, her belly was so large that there was no hiding it.

Although the guests teased them with their eyes, no one said anything more about He Dusheng’s actions.

“Can you still hold on?”

“I’m okay.” After weathering that wave of pain, Song Xuange felt lively and vigorous again. She checked herself. It was only contractions. Her water had not broken.

“I’ll go say a few words to them, then we’ll head to the hospital.”

“Okay.”

But the moment He Dusheng left, Song Xuange was surrounded by several reporters again.

She answered a few formal, boilerplate questions in a proper, measured way.

The reporters were about to keep asking when another fierce wave of labor pain hit her.

The sudden pain made Song Xuange double over.

“Ms. Song, are you okay?”

A female reporter reached out to help her, but another pair of hands got there first.

It was He Dusheng.

Half leaning against He Dusheng’s chest,

she endured the pain and tried her best to make her smile look a little prettier.

“Sorry, everyone. Bad timing today. If you have any other questions, please excuse me while I go have a baby first.”

Translator’s Notes