According to Shuzhen, this is her fourth pregnancy. She’s in good health, and the children have been doing well, the fetal position is all good, so she could definitely give birth at home. There’s no need to bother going to the hospital, wasting money and effort. Not to mention nowadays, but even around the year 2000, it wasn’t uncommon for rural women to give birth at home. Out of thousands, you might not even find one or two that run into problems, how could we be so unlucky? But while she is relaxed about it, Lianshan couldn’t be more worried! In Lianshan’s eyes, childbirth is like taking a walk in front of the gates of hell. The thought of his wife possibly brushing with death made him unable to stay calm. He always wanted to be more prepared, even more prepared, wishing he could have an emergency plan for every possible scenario. Knowing that the city hospital now has ultrasound technology, a newly built blood bank, and excellent doctors who can perform C-sections. If a newborn is weak, it can directly go into an incubator to increase survival chances, and so on. Lianshan, who strives for 100% safety, began to persuade Shuzhen to start staying in the hospital a few days before the due date, to avoid the scare they had last time with the twins when she went into labor right after getting off the bus. "Honey, I really don’t think we need to bother going to the hospital. Didn’t the doctor say during the check-up that the baby’s position is perfect? I’m an experienced mother, finding a skilled midwife will surely be foolproof. Why persevere with the hospital, paying money to invite trouble!" The noisy environment and the pungent smell of disinfectant, those are things she would rather never experience in this lifetime. Just thinking about being stuck in the hospital for five to seven or eight days makes Shuzhen feel full of resistance. For other matters, Lianshan would surely spoil Shuzhen, but when it comes to her safety, he adamantly holds his ground without giving in. No matter how much Shuzhen acted spoiled, Lianshan gritted his teeth without budging. When Shuzhen said she was afraid of the trouble, he brought up his worries with melancholy: "When it’s close to your due date, I can’t sleep well throughout the night. I’m so worried something might go wrong, and being at home would be too far from the hospital. Honey, could you just compromise a little bit for your husband’s peace of mind? Let’s go to the hospital, okay? Don’t worry about the money, compared to your safety, money is zero importance! Our salaries have been rising continuously, and you have those magical hands. Our family is really not short of money!" Shuzhen, who always cherished her husband and couldn’t bear to see him distressed or anxious, couldn’t stand this? Seeing Lianshan almost twist his eyebrows into a pretzel, she relented: "Okay, if going to the hospital will buy you peace, then what is there to say? We’ll pack up a few days before the due date and go! It’s just a hospital stay, isn’t it?" Hearing her say that, Lianshan finally smiled with relief. Because hearing from the second aunt that as women have more children, the labor tends to start sooner and progresses faster. That means this baby might come a week before the due date in a rush. It’s precisely because of this reason Xinyue was born before they got to the hospital. To avoid a repeat of that, Lianshan started making arrangements and tried to convince Shuzhen to go in early, eight or nine days before the due date. If you really can’t stand the smell of disinfectant in the hospital, and can’t handle the noise, we can stay across the street at a guesthouse, so it’s convenient to go to the hospital directly when labor starts. It would cost a bit more, but it’s very convenient and safe! Shuzhen was speechless, quite puzzled as to why Lianshan was so scared when her pregnancy was going smoothly? Lian En shrugged: He heard from the village’s elder women claiming that childbirth is like stepping one foot into the gates of hell. Many women lost their lives due to minor mishaps during delivery, gone in their youth. So concerned that his mother might have an accident, he pretended he had a bad dream, hoping the father would take the mother to the hospital to have his baby brother. No one thought the father’s imagination was so good, that he got so terrified at one fell swoop! Whenever it concerned mom and the other children, the otherwise brave and fearless dad became cautious. He’d rather be over-prepared than under-prepared. However, Lian En thought this kind of dad was better and more lovable! Unable to stand the stubbornness of this man, Shuzhen had no choice but to make sure everything at home was well arranged. Five days before the due date, she and Lianshan, along with the half-truckload of blankets packed by Lian Hai, took the tractor that drove as slowly as an old ox-cart to the city. They stayed at the guesthouse across the hospital for two days. On the morning of the third day, just at dawn, Shuzhen began to feel contractions. With Lianshan’s support, they slowly walked into the hospital, and shortly thereafter, their third son was born smoothly. Outside, the sky was just showing the light of dawn. The labor was quick and everything went more smoothly than expected. So, when Shuzhen was wheeled out of the delivery room, Lianshan noticed she appeared only slightly tired. Not at all like after delivering Lian En, the twins, and Xinyue when she was so weak as if carved out from sweat. Ah, the third is good, the third son is a dutiful one who doesn’t give his mother much trouble! Lianshan nodded, decisively and resolutely concluded his newborn third son as dutiful and sensible. "When our third son was just born, I turned to see the horizon at the very moment the sun was about to rise, with the first light breaking. How about we name him Lian Xi? It implies brightness, rise, and joy, and in ancient meanings, it’s associated with happiness, fortune, and auspiciousness." Looking at the little one’s apricot eyes resembling his mother’s, Lianshan was filled with joy, naturally adding three more portions. Offering up, he selected the most fitting name from the names he had been pondering for a long time, then looked at Shuzhen, fully inquiring. Although she felt that it was exactly like in a past life and growing up, the little guy might not necessarily like the character Xi, which has many strokes and is quite complex. Shuzhen still nodded joyously, as it was agreed that Lianshan would name this child, and indeed, the meanings behind the name were quite auspicious! With a nod and a smile, the little one’s name was settled. For this, Lianshan didn’t escape his third son’s sulking. Since he himself enjoyed the benefit of having a simple and easy-to-write name, how come he didn’t extend this to his descendants? The meanings behind it, compared to the real convenience of a simple name, aren’t worth a single zero, are they!