The Stunningly Beautiful and Delicate Darling in the 1980s Military Compound - Chapter 103

Song Mingyue opened her eyes, feeling the pain in her body and the exhaustion brought on by the mixture of sweat and rainwater. As she regained consciousness, her memories flooded back. A villager who had been looking after her noticed and cried out happily, “Comrade, you’re awake!” She then called out to the tent, “Doctor! Doctor, the comrade inside has woken up!”

Song Mingyue touched her stomach and realized the baby had been born. The process hadn’t been as painful as she had imagined, likely because her mind had been entirely occupied by another anxiety. Outside the tent, it was pitch black; she had no idea what time it was or what the situation outside was like.

Wang Yufen was the first to rush in. “Yueyue, my girl, you’re finally awake!” Behind her followed a doctor in a white coat, holding Song Mingyue’s newborn. It was a baby girl. She had been crying earlier, but was now fast asleep.

Song Mingyue’s eyes were hazy. She stared at the entrance and asked, her voice trembling, “Mom, is there any news about Chen Che?”

“Oh, you’ve been asleep for hours! Xiao Che was here with you the whole time; he was just called away by the village secretary. Don’t worry—I heard the landslide has been cleared.”

This news was as surprising as it was delightful. It meant Chen Che was safe. She didn’t dare let herself be too happy yet, but at least the crisis of the night had passed. She had just given birth, and though she was weak, she was in relatively good health.

When Song Mingyue woke up again after another nap, her mind was much clearer. She twitched her fingers and saw someone slumped over her arm, sleeping lightly. Outside, the sun had finally broken through the clouds. Song Mingyue didn’t dare move; she didn’t know if he had slept at all the night before, so she wanted him to get as much rest as possible. Yet, the joy in her heart was so overwhelming it made her forget the pain of childbirth.

A while later, Chen Che jolted awake. Seeing that she was already watching him, he looked worried that he might have startled her.

Chen Che was exhausted. The situation the previous night had been dire; he had been called out for emergency duty and only finished clearing the landslide area about an hour earlier. He had been awake all night, compounded by his worry for Mingyue. Even a man with a will of steel felt the weariness. Seeing that she was awake, he was moved and asked gently, “Are you feeling better?”

“I am. How about you? Was anyone on your team hurt yesterday?”

Chen Che shook his head and kissed the back of her hand. The survival of his entire team the previous night was, in many ways, thanks to Song Mingyue. When news of her labor had arrived, his comrades had insisted he go to her.

“Battalion Commander Chen, if the person isn’t here, forget it, but she is right in front of you! In these conditions, your wife must be suffering—go and check on her, we’ve got things covered here!”

Initially, he had refused; duty was duty, and he didn’t want to handle personal matters on the job. It wasn’t until his superior officer personally ordered him to go that he rushed over. Because one of their core men was missing, the team had been forced to start clearing a different section of the debris. About twenty minutes after Chen Che left, a massive secondary landslide hit the exact spot they had been working on. If he hadn’t left, the entire team would likely have been buried.

The men had turned pale, realizing that the Battalion Commander’s baby had saved their lives.

Originally, Chen Che hadn’t planned on telling Mingyue about this. But when she returned home for her confinement, the men came to visit and pooled their money to buy a solid gold necklace for the baby—a significant expense for them. When Song Mingyue tried to return it, the leader of the group said, “Sister-in-law, please accept it. If it weren’t for this baby, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Song Mingyue was stunned. “You mean you were nearly caught in a landslide?”

“Close enough,” he replied.

Song Mingyue was ecstatic. “That’s wonderful! That’s just wonderful!”

In the original story, Chen Che had almost certainly died in that exact disaster. Not only he, but all these men standing before her would have been in danger. Now, the threat was gone. She truly had to thank the heavens.

The onlookers were confused—why would she be so happy that they had almost died? Song Mingyue quickly composed herself, settling back into bed and acting like a woman recovering from childbirth. “Don’t misunderstand! I’m just happy for you all. You’ve survived a great disaster and will surely have good fortune.”

So that was it. Since it was a gesture of gratitude for a narrow escape, she accepted the gift.

The rain disaster was still ongoing, but Song Mingyue issued an ultimatum to Chen Che: he was forbidden from going to the front lines, or she would divorce him. At first, he thought she was joking; their relationship was so good, and the baby had just been born—how could they divorce? But then he realized she must have been terrified for his life. Chen Che stood in her shoes; if he died, this family would be destroyed. Since the rain was lighter than before, the risk was lower, and he agreed: he would never again run into danger behind her back.

Wang Yufen brought the baby over, a constant smile on her face. Ever since the child was born, she had been in this state, far more excited than the parents themselves. She squeezed between them and looked at the little one. “You two can stop chatting; it’s time to feed our little treasure, right?”

Song Mingyue realized that the most painful part of motherhood was breastfeeding. She truly disliked it—it was painful, and it required a mountain of nutritional supplements. She said helplessly, “Mom, can we not use formula?”

“What are you saying? Every child is raised on mother’s milk! You were raised the same way. Our little treasure is still just a baby; what else would she eat if not milk?”

“We can use formula,” Song Mingyue insisted. “I’ll spend money to buy her the best.”

“That won’t do. Formula is no match for breast milk; the nutrition isn’t the same.” As she put the baby into Song Mingyue’s arms, she added, “Though we will keep some formula on hand. I asked around, and there’s a new brand out that’s high quality. We’ll feed her that.”

“What brand is it?” Song Mingyue asked.

“Sanlu. It just came out, a premium brand.”

Song Mingyue: “…”

Perhaps Sanlu formula had no issues at this point in time, but the mere mention of the name gave Song Mingyue a bad omen. She decided to have someone help her import milk powder from Hong Kong instead. Though delivery would be difficult and might take a month or two, she didn’t care. Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier? She genuinely did not want to breastfeed, and she wasn’t used to it.

Ultimately, it was all Chen Che’s fault. If she hadn’t been so worried about him, she would have been better prepared. He was the culprit!

Aside from that, everything else was fine. She had the best mother in the world, and with Wang Yufen shielding her, Song Mingyue could let down her guard. She had finally compensated for the regret of her fragmented family in her previous life. In this current family, Song Mingyue felt nothing but gratitude. When Wang Yufen handed her the baby, she no longer refused. She didn’t have a deep connection with the child yet, but for Wang Yufen’s sake, she was willing to shoulder the responsibility.

A month later, as summer passed, Song Mingyue suggested, “Mom, when I finish my confinement, let’s go back. This place isn’t as good as our home in Mo City.”

It wasn’t just “not as good”—it was vastly inferior. Everything here was inconvenient, and they were lucky there was a supply and marketing cooperative nearby, or they wouldn’t be able to buy even the simplest things.

Two days later, Chen Che returned in the afternoon carrying a box. Wang Yufen helped him carry it inside and asked, “What did you buy?”

“It’s milk powder that my father had someone buy for us. It was supposed to be sent to Mo City, but I managed to have a contact bring it over.”

It was a box of formula—enough to last over a month. Chen Che consulted Wang Yufen privately: “Mom, if Mingyue doesn’t want to breastfeed, we can use this.”

“If she doesn’t want to, there’s nothing we can do, but a mother has her duties.”

Chen Che persisted: “I’ve looked into it; this is specifically for newborns. Can we try this?”

Since her son-in-law had already decided, Wang Yufen didn’t want to interfere. “Ask Mingyue. I can’t decide for her.”

Chen Che called out to her, “Mom, thank you.”

Wang Yufen paused. A “thank you” from a son-in-law felt very different from one from a daughter. She beamed, happy to be needed. Song Mingyue had suggested many times that they hire someone to help so that Wang Yufen could just relax, but Wang Yufen was a person who couldn’t sit still—her daughter’s daughter was the apple of her eye, after all.

Chen Che and Song Mingyue decided to stop breastfeeding. It was best for her to avoid what she was unwilling to do. Now, the only remaining problem was the baby’s name.