TTLJDFL Chapter 3

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Li Jin was completely stunned. As a medical student, he was absolutely certain he could distinguish male and female anatomy.

Whether it was the person who had just taken the chicken soup from him, the two people inside the room accompanying the "mother in labor," or even the pale-faced "mother" lying on the bed, they all clearly looked like young boys.

Facing the door, Li Jin rarely found himself in deep thought.

"I can accept something as mystical as time travel, so why can't I accept men giving birth..."

Li Jin repeated this sentence to himself three times but still felt—damn it, this is really hard to accept!

As a medical student, he might occasionally believe in metaphysical things, but such beliefs definitely did not extend to the human body.

But right now, nothing mattered more than the life of the "mother"—no, the young boy giving birth on the bed.

Li Jin could only rub his face, then fetch a bucket of cold water to wash up and clear his head.

Occasionally, a few painful inhalations could be heard from the room, but they weren’t continuous.

Li Jin knew this was the contractions arriving in waves, allowing the young boy to gradually adjust to the pain. After all, even though childbirth was extremely painful, the body would try to adapt.

It was just like life—falling into a sudden low point was painful, but after falling enough times, one got used to it and could even find humor in misery.

Li Jin felt that he was in that situation now. Back in the real world, setting aside his future prospects, his daily life had been quite comfortable.

He got into university at seventeen, obtained his doctorate at twenty-five (through an eight-year clinical medicine program), and even spent three years in Germany as an exchange student.

After graduation, he stayed at his university’s affiliated hospital. In just four years, by the age of twenty-nine, he had fully paid for his own house and car.

Though he was single, he never felt lonely.

Now, after suddenly time-traveling, he had a house… Well, this broken house still counted as one, right?

There were two small, low adobe houses—one was the kitchen, and the other, which he had glanced into earlier when opening the door, was the bedroom. It wasn’t very big—pushing open the door, there was a bed right in front of him. That was how he had been able to clearly see the Adam’s apple of the person lying on it.

Everything was reminding Li Jin that his "wife" was a man.

Li Jin thought, time travel had not only given this single man a wife but also a child. Sounds like an incredible bonus, huh?

Bonus my ass!

Looking at his current weak body and impoverished state, could he even afford to support a wife and child?

Li Jin felt a sharp pain in his stomach—turns out, the original body’s owner had been drinking on an empty stomach, and now the acid reflux was kicking in.

He had to suppress all his emotions—staying alive was the priority.

In the kitchen, he found a small handful of coarse flour mixed with husks. The rice jar had only a shallow layer of rice left.

Li Jin didn’t touch the rice—his family was too poor, and the rice had to be saved for the young boy in labor.

He scooped out a small portion of flour, cracked an egg into it, added a little oil, salt, and chopped scallions, then mixed it with water to make a batter.

He heated the stove, brushed a layer of oil on the pan, and once the pan was hot, ladled a small amount of batter onto it, spreading it evenly.

In less than a minute, the batter solidified. Though it contained husks, the scallions could mask the slight earthy taste.

Once one side turned golden brown, Li Jin quickly flipped it over—the other side only needed a few seconds before it was ready. A pancake was swiftly done.

Since he had used very little flour—because he didn’t know when he would next be able to earn money—he couldn’t afford to deplete the household’s food supply.

In total, he made five pancakes.

He ate one himself, finally suppressing the acid reflux.

Then he folded three more and placed them on a plate—there were no side dishes at home, so these would have to do for the people helping with the childbirth.

For the last pancake, he cut it into small pieces and soaked them in a bowl of chicken soup, letting the flavors meld for easier consumption.

After ladling out a bowl of soup, he covered the pot with a clean cloth to continue simmering.

Sighing, he carried the steaming food to the bedroom door and knocked again.

This time, no one asked who it was—the door was quickly opened.

The same red-eyed boy from earlier stood there, looking at the food in Li Jin’s hands in a daze—why was there so much?

Li Jin said, "I don’t know if you’ve eaten yet. These are three pancakes—there’s not much food at home, so this is the best I can offer.

"This bowl of chicken soup—if he’s hungry, feed it to him. Childbirth consumes a lot of energy. If it’s not enough, call me—I’ll be in the kitchen."

After saying that, Li Jin handed over the food and silently walked away.

He had noticed that these boys did seem a little different from regular men.

They had Adam’s apples and flat chests, but their frames were smaller, their heights were shorter, and they looked much more delicate.

Most importantly, he had noticed that each of them had a conspicuous red mark somewhere on their body.

Li Jin wasn’t sure if it was a birthmark or something else.

In any case, that red mark seemed to be the key to identifying their identity.

—

Inside the room, the red-eyed boy picked up the pancakes and distributed them among the others.

Li Jin had seen correctly—they were all "ge’er."

And they were all "concubines" married into village families.

Except for the one on the bed giving birth—he was the only one who was actually Li Jin’s husband.

In this world, ge’er were a gender that existed between men and women. They weren’t as physically strong as men, nor were they as fertile as women.

It was already difficult for ge’er to conceive, but giving birth was even more life-threatening.

That was why, in poor families, if a ge’er was born, they were often sold off early in life to the town markets.

The village where Li Jin lived was a mixed-surname village, but the Li family, including Li Daniu’s clan, was the majority.

They farmed the land, raised some chickens and ducks, and even if the harvest wasn’t great every year, it was enough to support their families. Not to mention, these people occasionally went hunting in the mountains.

Because the Li family had the most people, they were considered the wealthiest in the village.

As the villagers became more affluent, they married wives and raised children, then began to imitate the gentry in town…

As the saying goes, they didn’t learn the good habits but picked up the bad ones fast.

For example, taking concubines or mistresses.

As the Li family prospered, they started thinking about taking more partners into their households.

But which respectable young woman would willingly marry into a village as a concubine? So, these men went to town and bought "ge'ers" instead.

After all, once the lights were out at night, it all felt the same.

If you counted, there were at least seven or eight "ge'ers" bought into the village.

When these boys first arrived, they actually envied Li Jin’s spouse. After all, they were mere concubines, but Li Jin’s husband was a legal spouse.

However, Li Jin’s behavior was so unbearable that over time, these "ge'ers" felt nothing but pity for his husband.

Take Li Jin’s husband, for example—since they married, Li Jin never even asked for his name. Whenever he needed something, he would just say, “Go get me that” or “Bring that here.”

Now, even with a child on the way, Li Jin, that bastard, still didn’t know his spouse’s name.

Even the other "ge'ers" who pitied him never asked for it.

They were all sold off anyway—probably not valued much at home, and some didn’t even have proper names.

At most, they were just called by birth order, like "Little One" or "Little Two."

Now, as Li Jin’s spouse was giving birth, one of the "ge'ers" inside the birthing room, his eyes red from crying, said, “I always thought that bastard Li Jin didn’t care about you or the baby. But I never expected him to prepare egg custard and chicken soup for you…”

“Yeah, yeah, now it seems like he’s not that bad after all. When my husband’s wife was giving birth, all he did was stand there asking whether it was a boy or a girl. I’m really worried that when I get pregnant, I won’t even get a bite to eat.”

Lying in bed was the young man named Qin Muwen. He listened quietly as the others talked.

He felt like he was about to die. His stomach had been in pain for a whole day, yet his so-called husband was nowhere to be found.

In the end, he had to drag himself outside, struggling to find someone to help him.

Luckily, he found some villagers chatting by the roadside and begged them to let their household’s "ge'ers" come to his aid.

But none of these "ge'ers" had ever given birth before—aside from crying, they were completely helpless.

Qin Muwen felt like he was starving to death. He didn’t even know who to ask for food.

For a moment, he thought maybe dying would be easier.

But then, he pitied the baby in his belly—never even getting a chance to see the world before being lost.

Qin Muwen wasn’t someone who gave up easily.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have endured that bastard Li Jin for so long, nor would he have protected the baby inside him despite everything.

Li Jin often came home drunk and beat him.

There were multiple times when Qin Muwen nearly miscarried, but somehow, both he and the baby had survived.

Now, he was starving, but he didn’t have close relationships with the other "ge'ers" in the village.

He had no idea how to ask for help… It was already a great kindness that they had come to assist him at all.

Then, suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Li Jin brought in a bowl of egg custard.

The savory soy sauce blended perfectly with the aroma of the egg. Qin Muwen, leaning weakly against the bed, ate bite after bite, finishing it all.

The young "ge'er" who had been crying the most said, “Maybe Li Jin isn’t that bad after all. Earlier, didn’t he wait outside for a long time? I think he was worried the egg custard would get cold, so he kept warming it with his hands. When I took the bowl from him, his hands were already blistered.”

Qin Muwen stared blankly at the boy.

He couldn’t even picture Li Jin doing such a thing.

That same Li Jin…

Qin Muwen thought for a moment, then shut his eyes.

Back when they first married, Li Jin was still obsessed with his body. Later, after feeling embarrassed about having married a "ge'er" and believing it lowered his status in the village, he started treating Qin Muwen coldly.

Qin Muwen had long since given up hope.

But if he could survive this time…

He swore to himself—he would raise his child properly.

No matter what, he had to.

Tl Notes:

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