Chen Jingzi's child had already been taken out for over an hour, and her delivery had just finished.
When pushed back into the ward, she was completely exhausted, her eyes blankly shut. Sweat could still be seen on her forehead and eyelashes.
"I'm sorry, sorry," a nurse apologized, having failed to insert the needle correctly and instead broken the skin on the back of her hand. "It won't hurt for long, I promise."
But she wasn't in any state to register pain.
Even if the needle missing its mark might have hurt, it was a minor twinge compared to the pain of childbirth and being stitched up.
Chen Jingzi didn't react at all - she just kept her eyes closed, emitting barely audible sighs.
After hanging a bottle of injection fluid meant to stimulate uterine contraction at the head of her bed, the nurse turned to the family members: