Chapter 28 You Are Not Human

Chapter 28: Chapter 28 You Are Not HumanAs soon as Cheng Su signed, the nurse took the consent form and left. It was only after the door to the delivery room slammed shut again that everyone reacted, staring at Cheng Su as if they had seen a ghost.

"You, what right do you have to sign? Daughter, come back, we must save the baby," Mother Zhang was the first to jump up, pounding on the door of the delivery room with her hands.

Cheng Su pulled her away and growled lowly, "Shut your mouth, they are performing surgery inside, what are you making such a racket for?"

"What are you to wave your hands and give orders in front of me, who the hell are you, who gave you the gall to make decisions for our Zhang family!" Mother Zhang was so angry that she trembled all over.

"I’m not a thing, I’m Qi Taiguo’s wife, your daughter-in-law’s sister-in-law, what about that? You’re not so old that you’ve gone blind, you just came to my wedding banquet last month!" Cheng Su glared fiercely and coldly glanced at Zhang Jisheng, who was standing there like a fool, then said, "And you, have you forgotten too? Shall I call Qi Taiguo to ask if I’m not his wife?"

The mention of Qi Taiguo made Zhang Jisheng shudder and, holding his mother who was about to curse out loud, he said, "Mom, let it go."

"Let what go? She’s signed now, where does she get the qualification to sign?" Mother Zhang shouted back, looking at Cheng Su and saying, "Even if you’re a sister-in-law, by what right do you sign for us?"

"You are not human, you want to watch my elder sister and the child go to their deaths with your eyes wide open, am I not human either?" Cheng Su scoffed coldly.

"You, who are you cursing!"

"Whoever isn’t human, that’s who I’m cursing," Cheng Su replied with her arms folded.

"Mom, let it go, let’s just leave it," Zhang Jisheng, pulling at his mother who was about to start cursing, tried to soothe her.

"Leave what? Fine, fine. The Qi family has plenty of people and capability, so you all can deal with whether she lives or dies. Jisheng, we’re leaving!" With that, Mother Zhang hurriedly pulled Zhang Jisheng and said, "Let’s go back and get the household register. If my grandson is gone, you divorce her immediately!"

Cheng Su was shocked. She had seen bad and very bad before, but she had never seen someone this awful; it was truly extraordinarily bad!

"Zhang Jisheng, when you were kneeling on the ground begging me and your father-in-law to marry Sister Feng to you, is this how you treat her? She’s still in there, her life hanging by a thread, and you’re talking about divorce? Are you still human!" Mother Qi was also completely shocked.

"Zhang Jisheng, you dare!" Father Qi trembled with anger.

"Marrying Sister Feng to you was truly a mistake," Qi Fengping clenched her fists and said coldly, "If my elder brother comes back, he’ll surely beat to death scum like you!"

Zhang Jisheng and Mother Zhang both shuddered.

"I’ve said it long ago, if it comes to saving the eldest, then forget it, divorce, you brought this upon yourselves!" Mother Zhang stubbornly said, "After all these years, Yayun is already ten, and she’s only just gotten pregnant with a boy, something she finally managed to do. If it weren’t for Jisheng’s protection, she should have been divorced a long time ago!"

"If the grandson is gone, we can have another, but if the adult dies, how can you have another?" Cheng Su was furious at how ignorant some people could be.

"The grandson is a seed of our Old Zhang’s family, women can be found anywhere," Mother Zhang muttered under her breath.

"Mom..." Zhang Jisheng tugged at her, saying, "It’s already signed, let’s just wait a bit longer, maybe everything will turn out fine!"

"You can wait if you want, I certainly won’t," replied Mother Zhang, shaking off his hand and striding away.

Zhang Jisheng chased after her, not caring whether his wife was on the brink of death inside the delivery room!

"This is a sin, such regret, truly regretful, we should never have married Sister Feng into the Zhang family," Mother Qi wailed, beating her chest.

Qi Fengping said, "Mom, if they really dare to divorce my elder sister, let elder brother beat them to death, let’s see if they dare!"

Cheng Su glanced at her and thought, this young girl of fifteen or sixteen sure was bold in speaking!

The waiting always seemed interminable, and Cheng Su also learned about Elder Sister’s story from Mother Qi.

Speaking of Qi Fenglian, it had been eleven years since she married Zhang Jisheng at the age of twenty. She gave birth to their eldest daughter, Zhang Yayun, in the second year of their marriage, which displeased her mother-in-law, Mother Zhang, for being a girl. In the following years, for reasons unknown, Qi Fenglian did not conceive again until Yayun was four years old, but she miscarried at five months during the busy farming season; it was already a fully developed male infant.

A miscarriage is even more damaging to the body than childbirth, and Qi Fenglian, after her miscarriage, had not recovered well. Her health remained poor, compounded by her sharp-tongued mother-in-law’s daily scolding, which deepened her depression. This likely contributed to her inability to conceive for several years.

Only last year did she finally become pregnant again, and at four months, with some difficulty, they gave a hefty red envelope to the hospital for an ultrasound, discovering it was a male infant. The Zhang family was overjoyed, treating Qi Fenglian’s womb like a precious gem, and even she herself was incredibly anxious.

These past few days, as the rice in the fields ripened, Zhang Jisheng and his father were out working, and Mother Zhang sent Qi Fenglian to bring them meals. Unfortunately, Qi Fenglian felt unwell—eight months pregnant, she hardly wanted to go, suggesting that Mother Zhang ask her sister-in-law, Wang Li, to go instead.

Wang Li, the youngest daughter-in-law of the Zhang family, was spoiled and headstrong from a young age, and her sharp tongue paired with slightly better family conditions resulted in Mother Zhang’s favoritism. Whenever she complained of dizziness, Mother Zhang would permit her to rest. She told Qi Fenglian that walking more would make the delivery easier.

Left with no choice, Qi Fenglian went to deliver the meals only to stumble midway, feeling pain and the urge to give birth. She was hurriedly carried home, and they summoned a midwife to assist with the delivery. But after two hours and considerable blood loss, her cervix had still not fully dilated, forcing them to rush her to the county hospital, where they said she might need a cesarean. The Zhang family refused.

When Mother Qi and the others arrived at the Qi family’s home, they were just trying to take Fenglian to the hospital. Upon hearing about the cesarean, they outright refused to sign the consent form.

The Zhang family’s reluctance stemmed from the high cost of a cesarean operation and the belief that women should give birth at home—after all, in those times, who wasn’t up and walking a day after delivering a baby?

But a cesarean was not only expensive in terms of the surgery fee, but it also required a hospital stay, and that meant more money, which they were reluctant to spend.

More importantly, in such a difficult childbirth, signing the consent form for a cesarean meant making a critical decision between saving the mother or the baby if it came down to it, and the Zhang family was even less willing to do that. They prioritized the baby without a second thought.

How could Mother Qi agree to that? That was flesh from her own body. This issue caused quite the uproar, resulting in the Zhang family laying down an ultimatum—if they prioritized the mother, the family would wash their hands of it and consider divorce.

They were complaining about the excessive expense!

Hence, Mother Qi and the others were so infuriated. Even Cheng Su was angry. Was this even human behavior?

"Don’t know if your elder sister can pull through. If she... if anything happens, call Taiguo; they think our Qi family has no one to stand for us," Mother Qi, her eyes red with anger, instructed Cheng Su furiously.

Taiguo, the eldest son of the Qi family, was expected to bring his presence home as support; after all, as a military man imbued with a formidable aura, even evil spirits would stay clear of him, and it would also shake the Zhang family into consideration.

"Let’s wait and see, Taiguo is in the military, he can’t just come back whenever he wants!" Father Qi said gravely, wanting a cigarette but remembering they were in a hospital.

Cheng Su’s temper flared, cursing the ignorance and outrageousness. If she hadn’t hurried over, would the consent form have remained unsigned, leading to Qi Fenglian dying along with her child?

She shuddered at the thought.

She had heard such news stories before and often felt they were just news, but now it was happening right in front of her, it chilled her to the core.

The one who left her the coldest was Zhang Jisheng, Qi Fenglian’s husband, that weak, irresponsible man. His wife was on the brink of life and death indoors, and here he was siding with his mother, agreeing not to sign.

Now, with his mother throwing a tantrum and threatening to leave, was he really ignoring his wife’s struggle in the delivery room, instead of staying here to follow his mother out?

"Damn it all!" Cheng Su cursed as she watched in the direction of Zhang Jisheng and his family’s departure.