Chapter 208

They took out the stacks of letters and arranged them neatly, and then Shi Tingyu and the others quickly started eating.

Three months into her pregnancy, Shi Tingyu noticeably felt her appetite increasing, and she couldn’t stand being hungry for long.

Fortunately, now with Lu’s mother around, meals were always timely.

After the three of them finished eating, they began reading the letters.

The words of affection and praise from the readers in each letter brought great joy.

She read through a dozen letters without stopping.

At this moment, Lu’s mother, who was opening letters, exclaimed, “Xiaoyu, why is there money in this letter?”

Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo looked at the envelope in Lu’s mother’s hand and found several “Big Unity” bills inside.

Lu’s mother counted five of them.

This was fifty yuan.

Lu’s mother was stunned, “Which family’s child is this? Even if they have money, they shouldn’t spend it like this.”

Lu Weiguo took the envelope from Lu’s mother and found that the address was actually from their hometown, Qianxi Brigade.

Looking further, he realized the name was familiar.

Xia Jie. (See Chapter 133)

That male educated youth who loved reading comic strips. Back then, when Lu Zhen led Lijian to play, he was one of the educated youths watching.

Lu’s mother also knew about this Xia Jie, but she didn’t expect him to be one of Xiaoyu’s readers.

Shi Tingyu didn’t expect that he would send money in a reader’s letter.

The camp’s address was generally unknown to outsiders except for military families, so it was no wonder he didn’t write directly but sent it to the publisher.

There might be another reason too—it’s easy to misunderstand if a man writes directly to a woman.

Shi Tingyu said to Lu Weiguo, “See what he wrote in the letter.”

Lu Weiguo handed the letter to Shi Tingyu.

Shi Tingyu couldn’t help but chuckle; this man was quite principled.

He read the readers’ letters openly, but since Xia Jie was someone he knew, he hadn’t read it first.

Shi Tingyu took the letter and read it, then handed it back to Lu Weiguo, “Xia Jie said the money is for buying treats for Lijian.”

Seeing that his wife genuinely didn’t mind, Lu Weiguo started reading.

The letter was filled with Xia Jie’s expressions of missing Lijian, and he mentioned his return to the city.

He noted that after returning to the city, he probably wouldn’t have the chance to see Lijian again, so he sent fifty yuan, asking Shi Tingyu to buy more treats for Lijian.

At the end of the letter, after the formal closing, Lu Weiguo found another sheet of paper. When he unfolded it, he saw it was a portrait of Lijian.

“Look, wife.”

Lu Weiguo handed the portrait to Shi Tingyu.

Shi Tingyu then realized she had missed a page.

The portrait of Lijian was a detailed sketch, capturing the texture of Lijian’s fur beautifully, showing the artist’s skill.

It was even comparable to Han Wei’s drawings.

Shi Tingyu felt somewhat moved and said to Lu Weiguo, “Put the drawing away. We’ll frame it and place it in Lijian’s nest.”

She then looked at the fifty yuan again.

Originally, she thought about sending it back through Lu’s mother, but since Xia Jie had already returned to the city, that plan had to be abandoned for now.

They read many more letters, thankfully none with money inside.

Over the next few days, whenever Shi Tingyu had free time, she took out the letters to read. Even so, she hadn’t even finished a fifth of them.

But there was no rush; she would take her time.

It was already the 20th, and there was only a week left until the New Year.

Shi Tingyu’s belly was now six months along. If she took off her outer cotton clothes, one could see a slight bulge. She also felt the baby’s first movements.

In her previous life, Shi Tingyu had only heard of fetal movement. Experiencing it now, she realized how thrilling those two simple words could be.

Other than the emotional roller coaster when she first found out she was pregnant, she hadn’t felt much else.

Oh, right, the only other feeling was the joy of no longer having her period.

Sanitary pads weren’t sold yet.

It wasn’t until 1978 that sanitary pads became known domestically, and in 1982, production lines were introduced from Japan. Before that, Shi Tingyu used menstrual belts.

Menstrual belts were like sumo wrestlers’ loincloths, with grass ash or small cloth strips stuffed in the middle. The better ones used tissue paper.

To someone used to the convenience of modern sanitary pads, dealing with periods in those days was extremely inconvenient.

Fortunately, Lu Weiguo helped her wash them diligently.

She actually wanted to handle it herself, but Lu Weiguo wouldn’t let her touch water during those days.

She found it disgusting, but Lu Weiguo didn’t mind at all.

Now, with no periods, the menstrual belts were unnecessary.

She thought that if her pregnancy and breastfeeding period could last until sanitary pads became available in seven or eight years, that would be great.

This time, the fetal movements made Shi Tingyu truly feel that there was a living being inside her, a life that could move and be touched.

When Lu Weiguo came home that evening, Shi Tingyu told him about the fetal movements. He was so excited that he didn’t sleep well the entire night.

He kept putting his hand on her belly.

Occasionally feeling the fetal movement would make his eyes widen with amazement.

Compared to Lu Weiguo’s reaction, Shi Tingyu felt she was quite composed.

While Shi Tingyu was peacefully nurturing her pregnancy, good news came from the Weapons Research Institute.

The new weapon that Shi’s father and his team had developed had passed all the tests and could now be produced and deployed in large quantities.

This achievement excited everyone at the institute and the camp.

It was obvious that Lu Weiguo had been much busier these past few days.

But no matter how busy he was, he always had a smile on his face.

The successful development of the new weapon not only improved the soldiers’ survival rates but also enhanced the nation’s military strength.

The current situation in China was extremely tough.

There were technological blockades everywhere.

Although the development of the new weapon didn’t compare to the updates of satellites and missiles, it was still a significant achievement.

With the success of the new weapon, interviews and reports followed.

The People’s Daily and the Chinese Military Newspaper both reported on the event.

Recently, many reporters and photographers from various newspapers had been coming in and out of the camp.

As the biggest contributors to this success, although the names of Shi’s father and mother were not disclosed, their treatment had improved significantly.

For a while, they were the center of attention.

China desperately needed achievements to showcase its military strength and deter potential enemies.

Although the results were published and the performance of the weapon was described, the core data was kept strictly confidential.

The military district assigned two more skilled soldiers to protect Shi’s father and mother.

Although the couple could have relaxed for a while, their visits to see Shi Tingyu in the family compound became less frequent due to safety considerations.

However, as Shi’s father and mother’s child, Shi Tingyu was still affected by their success.

Most notably, whenever she went out, everyone around her was exceptionally kind.

People greeted her warmly and offered their best wishes.

Fortunately, Shi Tingyu was level-headed; otherwise, she might have gotten carried away in such an environment.

Not only Shi Tingyu, but Shi Muhuan also genuinely felt the benefits brought by their parents’ success.

His previously stalled path to promotion was finally cleared up.

Previously, due to his parents’ demotion, he struggled to progress in the military and had to work extra hard to secure tasks.

Now, thanks to his parents’ success, he got promoted.