Power and Wealth

Afternoon.

It was past two o'clock.

Dong Xuebing could only be described as impatient in the corridor outside the operating room. He paced back and forth in the hallway with his hands behind his back, sometimes patting his forehead, sometimes pounding his head. He didn't know what to do, feeling anxious and uneasy. He looked at the light on in the operating room, almost wishing to kick the door open and see what was happening inside. Dong Xuebing was like an ant on a hot pan, restless and anxious, not knowing his wife's state.

"Xuebing, sit down for a moment," Xie Guojian said.

Dong Xuebing clenched his fists. "Uncle, how can I sit still?"

Xie Hao also said, "Brother-in-law, stop pacing, I'm getting dizzy."

Dong Xuebing glared at him. "I don't care if you feel dizzy. At least you're sitting still."

Xie Hao laughed, "Hehe, that's a good thing; of course, I'm calm and even happy."

"Yes, Xuebing, it's a good thing. Why are you so anxious? Get ready to be a father," Xie Guojian said.

"I'm just afraid that Huilan will have any problems. Look at how pale she is, how much pain she's in. What if she can't give birth? What should we do?" Dong Xuebing said.

"It won't happen, don't be so pessimistic," Xie Guojian said.

"Oh, why hasn't she cout yet? Why hasn't she cout yet?" Dong Xuebing muttered, his steps getting faster and faster, circling in place.

Ten minutes passed.

Twenty minutes passed.

The operating room door remained closed, but familiar voices cfrom the corridor.

"Brother-in-law, we're here," it was Xie Ran and Xie Jing, two younger relatives. "Where's my sister?"

Dong Xuebing pointed to the operating room. "She's inside. It's been half a day since she was taken in, but there's no news; it's worrying. I suggested going in, but they wouldn't let me."

Xie Ran reassured him, "Brother-in-law, my sister, and the baby must be fine."

"Let's hope so," Dong Xuebing leaned against the operating room door and listened, but the soundproofing was excellent, and he couldn't hear anything.

Xie Jing found it funny to see his brother-in-law, who had faced several warships alone without changing his expression, now in such a hurry. She knew Dong Xuebing genuinely worried about their elder sister and the baby.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded again.

"Guojian."

"Xiao Bing."

Xie Guobang and Han Jing arrived one after another.

Dong Xuebing immediately stepped forward. "Dad, Mom."

"They're all here," Han Jing said urgently. "Where's Huilan?"

Dong Xuebing immediately grabbed his mother-in-law's arm. "She's in the operating room, Mom. Please hurry up and tell them. Letgo in and take a look. I'm so worried."

Han Jing said decisively, "You're not allowed to go in. You'll cause trouble."

Dong Xuebing slapped his thigh. "But it's not a good thing to wait like this. Oh, I'm so anxious."

Han Jing was also anxious, "Huilan spoke tobefore, and I also informed the hospital. Huilan's idea is to give birth herself. If it's a cesarean section, it'll be faster, just one cut, but a natural birth may not be so easy. It takes time, so don't worry."

Dong Xuebing was restless. "Why does she have to give birth naturally? Nowadays, aren't all births cesarean sections? Natural birth is more painful, and it's also dangerous."

Han Jing explained, "There are risks, but natural birth is better for the baby and causes less damage to the mother's body. Recovery is faster."

Dong Xuebing grumbled, "Cesarean section is faster, less suffering."

Xie Jing chuckled beside him, "Brother-in-law, it'll be fine. Just put your mind at ease. My mom gave birth to my sister naturally, and you see how smart my sister is now. They say babies born by cesarean section are not as smart as those born naturally. My eldest sister is preparing for the worst."

Xie Hao raised his arm triumphantly and exclaimed, "I'm going to be an uncle, too!"

Xie Ran smiled, "You don't look like an uncle. Look at me, your brother. This is what being an uncle looks like."

"You're boasting. Keep boasting," Xie Hao chuckled and patted his chest, "Wait and see. See if the child is closer to you, the elder uncle, or to me, the younger uncle."

Xie Jing sighed, "In the blink of an eye, I will be an aunt and an elder. Sigh, I always thought I was still young, but this is a blow."

Xie Hao sniffed, "You're already twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and you're still pretending to be young."

Xie Jing got annoyed and reached out to hit him, "Who's pretending to be young?"

"It's not me, hehe, you're hitting me. Don't mess around," Xie Hao dodged with his head in his hands.

Xie Jing chased after him, "You always make fun of me. I'll teach you a lesson."

As the siblings teased each other, the atmosphere in the corridor relaxed a lot. Soon, Xie Guoliang and Xia Yanzhen, the second brother and his wife, arrived. Seeing them, they also smiled.

"Second brother and sister-in-law are here," Xie Guojian greeted.

Xie Guoliang nodded, "When the old man heard about it, he was as happy as a child. I and the nurse quickly stopped him. We can't let the old man run back and forth from afar."

Xie Guobang didn't say a word, sitting there and watching the operating room, remaining relatively calm.

Xia Yanzhen immediately asked about the situation and waited there with the others upon hearing that Huilan hadn't cout yet.

Almost all the members of the Xie family had arrived. The occasion was quite grand because this was the first boy of the fourth generation. Even Xie Guojian's wife, Cui Lifen, who was inspecting the outskirts, hurriedly dropped her work and drove over. Although the child would take the Dong surname, in the Xie family, where most of the third generation were only children, and being in the capital city, traditional blood ties had long since faded.

It's unclear how much thas passed.

Suddenly, the light outside of the operating room went out.

Dong Xuebing, staring at it, was the first to notice and rushed up immediately.

Xie Guobang's face tightened slightly, and he stood up abruptly. Huilan's father was not as calm as he appeared on the surface.

"The light's gone out."

"She must be coming out soon."

"Why isn't there any sound?"

The eyes of the Xie family members all turned to the operating room. Amid all the anticipation, the operating room door was pushed open from the inside. The female doctor cout; she knew Han Jing. However, seeing the municipal party secretary present, she first nodded respectfully to Xie Guobang before the other doctor, and two nurses behind her also held their breath, looking slightly tense as they glanced at the people in the corridor. Central leaders, ministerial-level cadres, and generals knew what kind of people were before them.

Dong Xuebing was the most anxious. He grabbed the female doctor, "Where's Huilan? Where's Huilan?"

The female doctor didn't mind and smiled, "She's inside. Congratulations, mother, and child are safe; it's a boy."