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Chapter 48
Wen Qian did not fully understand the feelings of a pregnant woman, but she could see that the other party seemed anxious.
So she suggested that she prepare some things for the baby. Since she was worried about the environment not being good for the baby after birth, she should try to create a good environment for the little one.
However, Wen Qian first advised her to decide whether to give birth and have her confinement period in her hometown or go to the city.
This decision was up to her, Auntie Chen had no opinion either way. After all, they also hoped that the third generation would be born in a better environment, and she could go to the city to take care of them if needed.
In the end, Fang Ya decided to give birth and have her confinement period in her hometown.
If she could have a natural birth, it would be best to return home early.
So in May, Chen Ming took leave and came back, driving with his family to the town hospital. The baby was born within the expected due date. Fortunately, it was only raining, and the temperature was not low, plus it was a natural birth.
They soon returned home, and Fang Ya began her confinement period in her hometown.
Auntie Chen racked her brains every day to make confinement meals for her, and the chickens at home did not escape unscathed.
Auntie Chen bought chicks and raised them in the cow shed because at this time, if the chicks went out in the rain, they would get sick and die, so they had to be kept indoors.
With a new baby in the family, the mother's milk supply was still sufficient, and they had also stocked up on plenty of infant formula, so there was no worry about the baby not having milk to drink.
During the confinement period, Wen Qian came to take a look at the newborn baby, who was indeed very tiny.
The little girl's nickname was "Tangyuan" (Sweet Rice Ball), because she was the family's first baby in over 20 years, and everyone was very excited.
It rained continuously, and Auntie Chen's cloth diapers were not put to use because she knew they were difficult to wash and dry, and the smell from drying them inside was unpleasant. So she simply bought more disposable diapers and pants to change directly.
Since it was raining, there was little sunshine, and the newborn baby had a slight jaundice.
Many people would sunbathe to treat jaundice, but at this time, even sunlight was scarce, causing Fang Ya some anxiety.
However, the parenting book said that physiological jaundice would subside on its own in a week or ten days. Only pathological jaundice required intervention.
Fortunately, the baby's jaundice subsided naturally, putting her mind at ease.
Wen Qian came to visit and brought some fresh fruits and a red envelope gift.
In this weather, the baby probably wouldn't be able to have any activities, so since Wen Qian had a close relationship with them, she gave the red envelope directly.
Looking at this little one who needed to sleep for most of the day was quite adorable.
However, Fang Ya's concerns were not unfounded. As a mother, she might blame herself for giving birth at the wrong time, but she could not have foreseen these circumstances.
Fortunately, the Chen family treated adults and children well, so Fang Ya's worries did not become more severe.
By June, the temperature rose further. However, the rain did not stop, and the rainfall became even heavier.
Fang Ya had not finished her confinement period when one night, the baby was woken up by the sound of thunder and started crying.
After continuous light rain, it suddenly started pouring heavily. Chen Ming told her that An City was experiencing heavy rain.
In previous years, heavy rain in An City during this period was not unusual, but the problem was that it had rained for half of April, and the entire month of May had seen continuous rainfall.
Now it was June, and it was still raining, which was very strange.
The heavy rain lasted all night, and the next day, Uncle Chen went out to take a look and said that the small river at the bottom had already started to rise, submerging the small bridge.
It was not a big deal if transportation was disrupted, but they were worried about the baby's future vaccinations and check-ups.
Auntie Chen became even more diligent in taking care of the baby, fearing that the baby might fall ill at this time.
Infants often need to go to large hospitals as small clinics generally do not treat or prescribe medicine for infants.
Moreover, people living on the street noticed that the nearby Liu River had started raging.
Some people recorded videos of the rising water levels, and people on the street began to stay with relatives and friends, as weather forecasts showed that it would continue raining for the next few days.
Hence, the people on the street started moving things from the first floor upstairs, as the area had experienced flooding ten years ago, which had submerged and washed away many items.
This time, no one needed to remind them, and they started moving things on their own. After finishing, they began staying with relatives and friends.
In any case, they would not stay on the street anymore. On the other side of the bridge, in the town area, when the water rose previously, due to the town's slightly higher elevation, except for some water accumulation in the houses by the river, the other buildings were still in good condition.
Those who could not stay with relatives or friends went to the public hall on the other side of the town to take shelter and rest.
Indeed, the heavy rain did not subside afterward, and An City also experienced similar heavy downpours.
The continuous rainfall overwhelmed the city's drainage system. It was no longer a matter of whether the sewers had a conscience; the rain was simply too insane, causing the sewers to have a heart attack.
Many residential areas became flooded, with some people dying from electrocution in the water, while others passed away because they could not be reached by ambulances due to illness.
At this point, Fang Ya felt that it did not matter where she had her confinement period, as long as her family members were safe.
Since they lived in a hilly area with a gentle slope, there were no major issues like collapses, landslides, or mudslides.
However, the rain was too heavy, and some of the ridges in the terraced fields below were slightly washed away, but it was not a big deal.
The rain was so heavy that Wen Qian did not go out but stayed at home doing chores or recording white noise videos during the downpour.
However, now that it was raining every day, netizens became sick of this sound.
Previously, the sound of rain was the most soothing for sleep, but now hearing it made them angry and annoyed.
So Wen Qian started recording videos of herself cooking in the kitchen, always making large pots of food.
Because she liked to eat fried dough twists, during this period at home, she experimented with making dough.
After several attempts, she made fried dough twists that she was quite satisfied with.
Then, following this method, she started making fried dough twists and steaming buns.
While white noise was no longer popular, delicious food always had its fans, so Wen Qian regularly converted the extra income into cash for emergencies.
In any case, she would not keep it on cards or her phone.
After several days of heavy rain, the street along the river was once again hit by flooding.
Videos taken by nearby spectators showed the river roaring, and the street had turned into another river.
The houses there were submerged, with conditions worse than ten years ago when the water level reached about 2 meters, but this year it was over 3 meters.
Some people regretted not moving their belongings to the third floor, but with such heavy rain, the water could not drain fast enough, causing leaks in many rooms on the third floor as well.
However, fortunately, there were warnings, so there were no casualties, except for people who drowned while trying to salvage items from the floodwaters.
After the flood, each household was disinfected and given water purification tablets.
This was just the situation on the street. In some flat towns, the losses were even more severe, with some people not even having a chance to escape and drowning in their homes.