The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 350: Midwife Lee Pt. 1

Chapter 350: Midwife Lee Pt. 1

*WARNING NON-CON is mentioned, not described*

A wild midwife has appeared!

Xu Feng really felt his life was turning into a Poke*on game, with new people appearing right and left.

From Doctor Lau who was set up in Budding Courtyard by Bo, to the midwife and his brood. Yes, an actual brood.

The ger was rather yellow looking, very malnourished and tired. There were even premature grey hairs that were visible in the black head of hair. Midwife Lee wasn’t from around here.

The midwife was clearly a Donghua native, but Xuan Jian had gone a long ways away to find this midwife. The Han village that Midwife Lee came from sounded completely foreign to Xu Feng. Even with Xu Zeng’s memories it didn’t ring any bells.

When Midwife Lee and his brood were escorted in, they were all blindfolded, but Xu Feng didn’t have the heart to keep the haggard looking ger and the two very scared and very frail children beside him in this hostage like situation.

In the quiet confines of the small reception room, Xu Feng watched Midwife Lee with a mixture of curiosity and empathy. The midwife’s nervous appearance was evident as he picked at the buns and reheated soup from breakfast, his movements jittery and uncertain.

His brood wasn’t nervous at all as they shoved the oil rich food quickly into their mouths, restraint abandoned for the sake of a full stomach.

Xu Feng couldn’t help but notice the stringy brown hair, laced with scattered strands of grey, framing Midwife Lee’s face.

Despite his outward appearance of weariness, Xu Feng knew that Midwife Lee was barely older than himself, his age contradicted by the weight of his responsibilities that showed on his body.

Briefly introduced during the arrangement of their meal, Midwife Lee appeared to have just reached his early twenties, yet the trials of life had etched lines of hardship on his face.

The revelation of his status as a widowed father of two at the age of twenty-one only added to the somber aura surrounding him.

The elder child, a 5-year-old girl, and her 3-year-old ger sibling showed the marks of a hard life, their frames only slightly less emaciated than that of their ger father or ’dad’.

One could easily tell life hasn’t been the kindest to the dad or his children.

As Xu Feng observed the trio, he made a silent vow to ensure their comfort, at least during this brief adventure in Nanshan Estate. That much he could do. Eating until their bellies were bulging was only just the beginning.

In the quiet reception room, there was only Xu Feng, Xu Si, Xu San, and Midwife Lee’s brood. The bullheaded Xuan Jian and Xuan Yang had made way and allowed them to spend a little time getting to know each other better.

With Xuan Jian and Xuan Yang’s unexpected understanding, the atmosphere was one of quiet company as Midwife Lee and his young children dined together.

Midwife Lee and his children were allowed to indulge until their bellies were satisfyingly full, the soup at the table refilled until they couldn’t eat anymore. Their bodies literally couldn’t accommodate anymore food.

Following the hearty meal, Midwife Lee finally opened up, his gratitude evident in the sharing of his story. Xu Feng listened intently; his heart heavy with the weight of Midwife Lee’s struggles.

The young midwife was the sole ger offspring of a well known central Donghua midwife, his future seemingly bright with promise. However, as Midwife Lee recounted, the transition from famous midwife to the harsh realities of childbirth had proven to be an unexpected challenge.

Childbirth and a run in with a drunk man...

Despite Xu Feng’s initial reluctance to pry, Midwife Lee seemed relieved to have an opportunity to unburden himself. The warmth of the meal had opened the floodgates of conversation, allowing Midwife Lee to confide in Xu Feng about his trials and tribulations.

Midwife Lee’s journey from a promising young midwife to his current state of despair unfolded like a tragic tale, each Chapter marked by hardship and betrayal.

In his younger years, from the tender age of ten to fifteen, Midwife Lee thrived in his chosen profession—he learned from his mother and practiced with local ger midwives until he began getting clients of his own.

Despite his youth, his skillful hands delivered countless eggs, garnering him recognition and demand from neighboring villages to bustling cities. In the heart of his success, offers for marriage came pouring in, but Midwife Lee, deferential to his parents’ wishes, left the decision in their hands.

This was an ancient culture, and Midwife Lee was a product of the culture. He was just happy to help other gers, and bring more healthy eggs into the world.

It was customary for his earnings to be claimed by his parents, a practice he accepted without question, believing it to be the norm. He didn’t need the silver given while living at home with his parents and siblings.

However, the illusion of family support shattered when Midwife Lee overheard a conversation between his parents.

Shocked and confused, he learned of their plan to keep him unmarried until just before the legal age of 18 years old when a groom would be selected for him by the Donghua government.

This he was also okay with, but it was a plot between his own parents to spread a rumor about his infertility that shocked the ger. He could stomach the first part of the plot so he could stay with his family, but his reputation...

He was a ger that could be married out, or could marry someone into their family. Why would they need to go so far?

If they wanted, he could help support the burdens of the family. Instead, it was more important for the family to spread rumors about his infertility, just for a ploy designed to dissuade potential suitors and maintain their grip on his earnings in such a back handed way.

It was also to reduce the number of suitors that came his way. He wasn’t particularly pretty, but he was a good income source for the family who was already well off financially—it was greed.

Despite the betrayal, Midwife Lee remained a filial child, honoring his duty to his family even as the truth gnawed at his soul.

But fate dealt him a cruel blow when he was making his way back from a nearby birth. It should have been a short walk from the head of his village to the back of the village.

He crossed his usual path, but somehow he blacked out during the dark walk home. Thinking back, it was strange to be abducted in his own village, and to not have even one of his older brothers offer to walk him the short distance home.

But because of the lack of a timeframe to give his brothers, all three refused to go with him, and he became a victim of assault by a drunken man.

The drunken man who was subsequently forced into marriage with him to take responsibility for him, the tarnished ger with a bad reputation.

What he initially viewed as a heavenly intervention quickly turned into a nightmare of abuse and suffering. His new "husband" subjected him to frequent beatings, leaving Midwife Lee battered and broken, yet miraculously, he endured, clinging to hope for the child in his belly.

In the confines of his in-laws’ home, Midwife Lee endured further degradation, treated as less than human and denied the opportunity to practice his craft or even engage in farm work.

He was so beaten and broken he was surprised he was able to keep his child. The look in Midwife Lee’s face was raw, and he could barely look his daughter in the face as he told his tale.

The two children were distracted by Xu Si, but they kept looking back at their dad, as if afraid to be too far from him.

With each passing day, the weight of his circumstances pressed down on him, wearing away at his spirit until he was a mere shadow of his former self.

Unable to work outside the home, Midwife Lee was relegated to menial tasks, forced to perform all the most grueling housework in exchange for leftover meals. The once promising midwife now toiled in obscurity taking daily abuse.

His dreams shattered and his spirit broken by the cruelty of fate.

It was truly a reverse Cinde*ella story, but Midwife Lee endured and birthed his daughter. Since it was a shameful marriage, he had never been visited by his family, nor was he able to visit them two villages over.

But after his solitary confinement, he took his egg to visit his family in the dead of night. It wasn’t a long journey, but for his body at the time, it was too taxing.

It wasn’t until near dawn he reached his childhood home. It was a village home, but much more beautiful than the one he now lived in. He was missing his old life, it was full of packed schedules, but it was with its own little freedoms.

But no one had missed him...