Fearing that Third Brother's Wife might overthink things, Qin Sang explained patiently:
"It's not that Mother is worried about you eating too much and bankrupting the family, but it's for your own good. Looking at the shape of your pregnancy, the child is definitely healthy.
A smooth delivery is the top priority. Mother hopes that both mother and child will be safe and sound when the time comes."
In modern times, newborns weighing eight or nine pounds are common because there is advanced medical science to back them up; if a natural birth isn't possible, a C-section can be performed.
But in ancient times, a fetus that was too large could very likely lead to a difficult labor, and at that point, it might result in the loss of both lives.
However, Third Brother's Wife didn't quite believe these words:
"But my mother said that pregnant women must eat more. Only by eating a lot will the child be born with a good constitution and get sick less often."
Qin Sang smiled and said:
"But think about it, what did you used to eat before? And what are you eating now?"
Third Brother's Wife was stunned. It seemed she used to often eat coarse sorghum porridge, and sometimes it was watery at that. She could only taste an egg once every ten days or half a month, and she only ate meat once or twice throughout the entire year. She felt like she had never been full in her life.
And now? Although they lived in the mountains, the food and supplies were much better than before. Just like this morning, she ate two bowls of porridge, three eggs, and four savory meat buns in one go. In the past, that could have sustained a whole family for over ten days.
Not to mention they now had three meals a day, with vegetables, meat, and eggs at every meal. Compared to her previous life, it was simply the difference between heaven and earth.
She remembered her mother once mentioning in casual conversation that when she was pregnant with the four of them, she had only slaughtered a single chicken when she gave birth to the Eldest Brother.
So, her mother's so-called "eating more" was based on the condition of not having enough to eat. Now, she was stuffed at every meal, and her belly was much larger than any pregnant woman she had ever seen. Could it really be as her mother-in-law said—that the child would be too big to be born?
Thinking of this, Third Brother's Wife's face turned pale:
"Then... then from now on, I'll only eat one bowl of rice per meal."
Seeing that she was listening to advice, Qin Sang was also worried about scaring her and comforted her:
"While you shouldn't eat too much, you also shouldn't let yourself get too hungry while carrying a child. It will definitely be a bit uncomfortable at first. I still have some Sesame Balls; keep some snacks with you and eat a little when you're hungry.
Additionally, don't be in such a hurry when you eat. You can chew slowly, which will make your stomach feel full sooner and help reduce your food intake.
Also, you need to move around more. When I'm not around, you can have Eldest Brother's Wife or Er Fu accompany you for walks around the camp. This way, you'll burn off some energy, and you won't have to worry as much even if you eat a bit more."
Hearing Qin Sang's gentle guidance and the solutions she provided, Third Brother's Wife felt much more at ease:
"Yes, I will."
Qin Sang remembered something else:
"Right, I have a set of exercises here that can help the baby in your belly turn head-down to avoid a breech position.
There are also some breathing techniques that can make the contractions during labor less painful. I'll teach them to you now. Practice them so you'll know what to do when the time comes. All of you, come into the room with me; you'll all have a use for these in the future."
The last sentence made both Er Fu and Si Jin blush, but their feet involuntarily followed Qin Sang into the bedroom. Although Eldest Girl didn't understand anything about pregnancy or breech positions, it didn't stop her from thinking it was fun, and she mimicked Qin Sang by sticking her little bottom up high.
...
The Girls' Classroom for Eldest Girl, Si Jin, and Er Fu was even more serious than Wen Mo's classroom for the boys.
These girls all deeply cherished this hard-won opportunity.
Qin Sang also specifically had Er Fu teach them common knowledge regarding pregnancy and childbirth first.
In ancient times, there were very few specialized female doctors. Only wealthy families could afford to hire a midwife for childbirth. For an ordinary peasant woman, giving birth was equivalent to stepping one foot into the gates of hell. The lucky ones might have an experienced elder to help, while the unfortunate ones might have to cut the umbilical cord and deliver the baby themselves with a pair of scissors.
Qin Sang didn't know how long the Girls' Classroom would last, but since this knowledge concerned their very lives, she felt it was better to teach them as early as possible.
According to Er Fu's feedback, although those girls listened with flushed faces, they were all extremely attentive.
Especially with Third Brother's Wife, a woman currently pregnant, sharing her experiences and feelings, she believed this lesson would leave a deep impression on the girls.
Although the villagers didn't have to farm the land, they still had plenty of work to do every day.
The men had built a tall stockade gate at the mountain pass. The gate was over three meters high, providing a direct view of the deep pool by the waterfall.
If one didn't enter the camp through this stockade gate, they would have to spend four to six hours climbing over the entire mountain.
There were many traps set by the Patrol Team on that side of the mountain, and patrol members conducted regular rounds. Its safety level was likely the highest among all refugee camps.
After finishing these defensive fortifications, the villagers still felt unsafe. When they had nothing else to do, they began making wooden armor and shields.
This time, with time and manpower available, everyone consulted Qin Sang and made Scale Armor. Wooden pieces were strung together with rope, making it more flexible and lightweight than armor made from a single solid wooden board.
Every five days, Qin Sang would ride out to collect grain. Though she said she was going out, she was really just hiding on the mountain for a night.
Her family members all thought she had great horsemanship and skills. They were a bit worried at first, but gradually grew accustomed to it.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and there was still no sign of rain in the sky. Qin Sang wondered if the rain was falling elsewhere, just like in later generations where the south flooded while the north suffered from drought.
The only benefit of the lack of rain was that traveling was a bit more convenient; there was no need to worry about the rain soaking the Millet and Medicinal Herbs.
Now, as many as a hundred people came to her every day to exchange for grain, and those hundred people likely represented over a thousand behind them.
From the beginning, when a single mule could carry everything back, she now had to bring the three oxen from the village each time to barely manage to bring back all the Medicinal Herbs.
If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't bundle all these Medicinal Herbs to sell to the Mall, Qin Sang's mall coins balance would have certainly exceeded five hundred thousand.
On this day, Qin Sang led her team as usual to the agreed-upon location to exchange for herbs. The place chosen this time was a cliffside with a dry platform that could accommodate over a hundred people. To leave the platform, there was only one path up the cliff, which met Qin Sang's requirement for mutual safety.
"Here is your one and a half catties of Millet, take it." Qin Sang handed the bag of grain back to him. When the man reached out to take it, Qin Sang's sharp eyes noticed a wound on his arm:
"Are you injured?"
The man hurriedly pulled his hand back. Remembering he hadn't grabbed the grain bag yet, he snatched it away:
"No, it's nothing. I... I fell."
Qin Sang squinted as she watched the man's retreating back.
She remembered that this man's settlement shouldn't be in this direction, yet he was running the opposite way.
Furthermore, the wound Qin Sang had just seen was very clear; it was a distinct blade mark, definitely not an abrasion from a fall.
As Qin Sang paid closer attention, she discovered that among the refugees who came to exchange grain today, there were quite a few injured people.
In the past, they would more or less say thank you after receiving their grain, but today, these injured people were all in a hurry to leave after getting their grain, and not a single one said thanks.
Qin Sang scanned the surrounding mountain forests, and a chill rose in her heart:
"That's all for today. No more exchanges. Everyone, come back tomorrow."
The villagers of Tianjia Village all looked at Qin Sang with some surprise. Qin Sang made a gesture with her hands crossed over her chest, and everyone's hearts skipped a beat.
This was a pre-arranged signal.
It meant DANGER!!!