After Instructor Zhang and the still-pregnant Xu Yumei left with Junjun, a new company commander arrived. His name was Wang Fusheng. It was said that Commander Wang had once served under Wu Wei, the son of Director Wu Yiren from the Revolutionary Committee. Wu Wei had taken a fancy to Wang's girlfriend and soon found this chance to have Wang transferred to this godforsaken outpost ---- "a place so barren even rabbits wouldn't stop to shit," as the soldiers liked to joke. At first, the humiliation weighed on Wang Fusheng's chest. He sulked, brooding over his misfortune. But when he noticed that there were quite a few young women in the company, his anger began to fade away immediately. Before long, his eyes started lingering on Li Weiwen. But when he saw her ---- gaunt and pale, her face drained of life like a piece of driftwood ---- his interest turned into irritation. Then he noticed Liu Yun, who, unlike the others, seemed completed untouched by the recent turmoil. Sharp-tongued and defiant, she always found ways to oppose Li Weiwen at every turn. Somehow, Wang found himself drawn to her. One day, he approached her, wearing an easy smile. He began lightly:
"Comrade Liu, before I came here, Comrade Wu Wei told me to take good care of you."
At these words, a flash of pain crossed Liu Yun's eyes. She looked at him coldly and asked:
"And how exactly do you plan to take care of me?"
Wang chuckled, his tone turning sly.
"I know you don't get along with that green-eyed Li Weiwen. I could help you vent your anger if you like. So, tell me what she have done to you. She is pregnant. Whose child is it? A bastard, maybe?"
Liu Yun shot him a sidelong glance and said quietly:
"She's a bastard herself. Her father is an American and her mother is still in a labour camp. For a mongrel like that, I think you know what to do with her. But there is one thing ----- no matter what you do, you have to keep the baby she's carrying."
Wang Fusheng replied with a grin:
"Don't worry. I will do it for you. But tell me, what's the baby got to do with you?
Liu Yun snapped back, her eyes flashing:
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't. That child might be useful to me."
From that day on, Li Weiwen's background became her greatest crime. Labels were heaped upon her ---- "colluding with foreign elements," "enemy spy" and worse. In addition, she was pregnant without married, which deepened her guilty. People now called her "loose woman" and "stinking whore", and other names that clung to her like shadows. Her belongings, including her medical kit, were destroyed. She was confined to the house where had once belonged to Li Weibing. I there was nothing left but her own bedding and a few clothes. At seven every morning, someone would unlock the door and bring breakfast to her, nothing more than a bowl of thin porridge and a bit of salted vegetable. She had been removed from the kitchen duty and reassigned to clean the stables, the pens and the toilets. She was forbidden to eat with the others. Only after everyone else had finished the dinner could she have whatever leftovers remained. At seven in the evening, the courtyard gate was locked again. Li weiwen said nothing. She accepted it all ---- the humiliation, the hunger, the longeliness. Even the daily struggle sessions. She was always the only one being denounced, standing there with her pregnant belly, a tall paper hat on her head and a pair of torn shoes hanging around her neck. Listening to the voices of her former comrades shouting slogans and condemnations, their chants echoing through the crowd, she endured it all in silence. In truth, she had grown numb to everything around her. Yet sometimes, in the quiet of night, she would find a small cup of goat's milk placed beneath her window ---- a fruit, an egg or sometimes a tiny folded note that read: "Take care of yourself for your baby!" She never knew who left them here but every time she saw those small tokens, tears of gratitude welled in her eyes.
One day, about two months later, Liu Yun suddenly came into her room and said bluntly:
"Li Weiwen, there is an important task for you and you must take it seriously."
Li Weiwen stood there in a daze, her head bowed, saying nothing. Liu Yun shot her a glance and went on:
"Comrade Li Feng's wife is pregnant and can't take care of Li Xinyu. No one is looking after him now. You're his relative so you will be responsible for him. Do you understand?"
At these words, Li Weiwen lifted her head, her voice trembling with excitement:
"Where is he? How is he now?"
"The boy will arrive He is here tomorrow. You will look after her." Then, after a pause, Liu Yun suddenly changed the subject, "Li Weiwen, do you know how to perform an abortion?"
Li Weiwen stared at her in shock, unable to speak. Liu Yun's expression hardened with anger and said:
"What are you looking at? Just answer my question. Do you know or not?"
Li Weiwen replied quietly:
"It is best done in a hospital. Even a small mistake could cause great harm to a woman. I do know how to do but I don't have anything to use. You already smashed my medical kit, didn't you?"
At that, Liu Yun lifted her chin proudly and left without another glance. Just as she had said, the next day Li Xinyu was brought over. The moment Li Weiwen saw the child, tears welled in her eyes. The boy, once a bit chubby, had grown noticeably thinner. His face looked sharp and his chin pointed. He wore an oversized, patch over patch coat, and the same cloth shoes he had worn when he left ---- they were now so small that his big toes stuck out. One look was enough for Li Weiwen to understand what kind of life he had been living with his father. He was the only person left in the world who could still stir her emotion.
She couldn't help but wonder why Liu Yun had asked her about performing an abortion. A few days after Li Xinyu's arrival, she noticed Liu Yun looked unwell ---- her face was notably pale and she was physically exhausted. However, since she never had a chance to examine her closely, she couldn't draw any firm conclusion.
As time went on, half a month passed, she noticed that the things left outside her window had changed too. The small cup of goat's milk had become a large one. Later, she began to find tiny clothes and socks for baby or sometimes some old clothes. She never knew who had left them there, but each time she left a note saying "Thanks!" to express her gratitude. Not wanting to bring trouble upon that person, she never tried to find out who they were.
Life grew harder with each passing day, yet she struggled to survive. She did her best to raise Li Xinyu while taking care of her own frail body. Now she was nine months pregnant and her due date was approaching. Every day she made careful preparations for the delivery, checking and arranging everything she might need. She tried to talk to Liu Yun, hoping she might help her when the time came. But Liu Yun replied coldly:
"Aren't you supposed to be so capable? Now it is time for you to prove this to us. You have delivered baby for the other. Now it is your turn. Why can't you do it yourself?"
Li Weiwen understood that Liu Yun was deliberately making things difficult for her. She realized she could rely on no one but herself. Fortunately, the herbs she had planted in the yard had gone unnoticed, and she had always tended to them carefully. There were still a few left, including some to stop bleeding. Every day, she checked her supplies again and again, preparing as best as she could for what was to come.
That day, while she was cleaning the stable, a sudden, stabbing pain shot through her lower abdomen. She tried to walk back home, but the pain came in powerful waves, each one leaving her weaker then before. Then she felt it clearly ---- her water had broken. Her legs gave way and she slowly slid to the ground, crying out in desperation:
"Help! Please help me! Help!"
Two male comrades came running over. Seeing her collapsed on the ground, they froze, wide-eyed and alarmed. Li Weiwen pleaded weakly, her voice trembling:
"Please... I beg you... help me home. Please!"
The two men exchanged a panicked glance, then carefully lifted her up. One of them asked:
"What's wrong with you?"
She gasped:
"I...I'm giving birth... my baby..."
One of the men shouted loudly:
"Is there any female comrade around? Please come here now. We need help."
His call brought some women rushing out from the dormitory. When they saw the two men struggling to support Li Weiwen, they hurried over. One of them asked:
"What's happened to her?"
"She says she is giving birth."
Someone exclaimed:
"What? Then we must go find Doc. Liu for help."
Another woman replied sharply:
"Are you kidding?" then she shot a meaningful look at the speaker, a look that said everything: You know the reason.
They carried Li Weiwen back to her room. Once she was settled on her bed, the two men left quickly, embarrassed and uneasy. The women stayed behind, crowding around her anxiously. One of them asked in a trembling voice:
"Weiwen... how to do? How can we help you?"
Li Weiwen was in too much pain to speak. At that moment, Li Xinyu, who had been standing quietly in the corner, watching everything, spoke in his soft, childish voice:
"Hot water... scissors or disinfection...towels."
Before anyone could move, a sharp voice cut through the room:
"What are you all doing here? Get out! Isn't she supposed to be so capable? She's good at delivering babies for others, isn't she? So why can't she handle her own? Don't just stand there. Leave!"
One of the women tried to protest:
"Doc. Liu, how can she possibly deliver her own baby? And...."
Liu Yun interrupted coldly:
"Out. All of you."
The women had no choice but to exchange uneasy looks. One by one, they left the room. Liu Yun closed the door behind them, then turned her attention to Li Weiwen. Sweat drenched Li weiwen's face and she had bitten her lip so hard that blood streaked down her chin. Liu Yun hastily rolled up a pillow towel and pushed it between Li Weiwen's teeth to prevent her from biting herself again. Then frowning as she glanced downward, she said:
"The baby is in the wrong position. What do we do?"
Li Weiwen, enduring the unbearable pain, tried to adjust the baby's position herself, massaging gently, but the pain was so unbearable that she simply couldn't go on. Liu Yun suddenly said, her voice low but urgent:
"Tell me how to do it."
Li Weiwen froze for a moment. Liu Yun pulled the towel from her mouth and listened intently as Li Weiwen explained how she planned to adjust the baby's position. When Li Weiwen finished, Liu Yun shoved the towel back between her teeth. Li Weiwen looked at her gratefully, but Liu Yun's expression remained stern. She said softly:
"You don't need to thank me. I'm doing this for Commander Guo and his baby, not for you." Seeing tears streaming down on Li Weiwen's face, Liu Yun felt a sting in her own eyes. Her voice trembled as she continued, revealing a side of herself Li Weiwen had never known:
"I... I truly hate you. I clearly have a better family background and stronger political sense than you. And I'm the doctor here but somehow, you're better than me at everything. That's not even the worst of it. I knew Guo Yungang for a long time, and I liked him... but you stepped in and took his heart from me. Now he passed away, yet I still envy you, Li weiwen. I envy that you have his baby, his only bloodline but what do I have from him? Nothing."
At that moment, tears still streaking her face, Liu Yun noticed the baby's head beginning to crown. Her voice snapped with sudden focus:
"Push hard! Keep going!"
Amidst the pain, Li Weiwen heard Liu Yun's confessions, and a strange, uneasy feeling stirred in her heart. But she had no mind to think about her words now. All she could do was summon every ounce of strength, for Guo Yungang, for their only child. Just as she felt her energy seemed to be spent, a sudden shift of pressure gave her a brief, vital relief. Then she heard Liu Yun's voice, choked with tears, calling out:
"Push! Push the baby out!"
She immediately patted the baby gently on the bottom and a strong, loud cry filled the room. The baby's voice was surprisingly robust. Li Weiwen and Liu Yun exchanged a relieved smile. Liu Yun quickly cleaned the newborn, then took out a small baby jacket from her bag and dressed the child carefully. She wrapped the baby snugly in a little blanket before turning her attention to Li Weiwen, helping her to wash and clean up after the exhausting delivery.