Chapter 715: Ugly Little Brother

At the town health clinic, Lana Steiner was still screaming in agony. She had been in labor since the middle of the night, and it looked like she still had a few more hours to go. Frederick Thorne was so anxious he could only pace in circles. He had been walking back and forth in the hallway outside the delivery room ever since Lana went in, continuing for hours on end like a tireless mule.

Frederick wasn’t tired, but Felix Thorne and the others were tired of watching him. Unable to stand it any longer, Felix snapped, "Go pace outside! Stop circling in front of me!"

"No."

Frederick refused. If he went outside, he wouldn’t be able to hear Lana’s screams. Her cries were heart-wrenching, but not hearing them at all would be even worse. ’If only I could go through this for her,’ he thought.

"Then sit down. Plenty of people have kids. You’re the only one making such a fuss."

Felix shot his brother a contemptuous look. He already had four children and had never been as pathetic as Frederick. ’Isn’t this how it always is for women giving birth?’ he thought. ’What’s there to panic about?’

Phoebe Thorne also chimed in with a few words of persuasion, and Frederick finally, reluctantly, sat down. But he couldn’t sit still, his eyes fixed on the delivery room door as if he were carved from stone.

When Goldie Thorne arrived, he saw his brother Frederick sitting there as still as a wooden statue. From inside the delivery room, his sister-in-law’s screams were louder than a pig being slaughtered. The sound made Goldie’s own heart tremble and sent a chill down his spine.

After three more agonizing hours, just before noon, the little guy finally made his debut. He was a boy, weighing four jin and eight liang, and was as wrinkled as a little old man. The doctor brought the baby out, handed him to an ecstatic Frederick Thorne, and said with a smile, "It’s a boy, four jin and eight liang. Congratulations!"

"Thank you, thank you so much! We really appreciate all your hard work, Doctor!"

Frederick was so moved he was on the verge of tears, thanking her profusely. Felix Thorne produced two lunch tins filled with dumplings, still steaming hot. He offered them to the doctor, insisting she eat while they were warm. She’d been busy since last night; she must be exhausted.

The little guy’s cries weren’t very loud; after a few whimpers, he fell asleep. His face was flushed red, and his eyes were squeezed shut. Goldie Thorne leaned in for a closer look and blurted out, "Why is he so ugly?"

He couldn’t remember what Howard Thorne and his two brothers looked like at birth, but he’d been present for the birth of his niece, Tang Xiaoniu. She had been a big one—eight jin and eight liang—a fair, chubby little girl. She was born with her eyes wide open, dark and perfectly round, and her cries could be heard throughout the entire clinic.

Back then, before the doctor even brought the baby out, Byron Thorne had been waiting outside. Hearing such lusty cries, he assumed it was another grandson. When it turned out to be a girl, the Thorne family was even more ecstatic. After three grandsons, a chubby little granddaughter was the best gift of all!

With the precedent set by the jewel that was Tang Xiaoniu, Goldie couldn’t help but feel a little ’disappointed’ upon suddenly seeing his wrinkled little nephew. Frederick shot him a glare and retorted unhappily, "You looked just like this when you were born, and you turned out looking human enough!"

’The nerve of him, insulting my son.’

Goldie gave an awkward laugh, then pulled a thick red envelope he’d prepared from his pocket. He tucked it into his little nephew’s swaddling clothes and said, trying to get back on Frederick’s good side, "A little something to welcome my nephew."

Frederick rolled his eyes. ’At least he has some sense,’ he thought. Just then, Lana Steiner was wheeled out. Her face was pale and her hair was matted with sweat as she slept in a state of utter exhaustion. The doctor assured them she was just tired and there was nothing to worry about, which finally allowed Frederick to breathe a sigh of relief.

"So, brother, what’s my nephew’s name?" Goldie asked.

"We’ll ask Sixth Uncle to choose a name when we get back."

Frederick had already made up his mind. He wanted Shane Thorne, the most educated man they knew, to choose the name. Shane had named many of the children in their village. Of course, Howard and his brothers had been named by Byron Thorne himself, as had Felix and his three siblings. Shane Thorne thoroughly disapproved of those names, but Byron had his own logic: country folk didn’t need overly elegant names; simple and easy to understand was best.