Chapter 13

After dinner, the three of them all collapsed on the kang, too stuffed to move for a long time.

The feeling of being overfull was something they hadn’t experienced in a long, long time.

“Mom, can we eat like this tomorrow?” 

Erniu rolled over and lay on Yin Xiaoman’s body.

Yin Xiaoman was about to tug at her little braid to reply when they heard someone shouting outside.

“Qingyun family, Qingyun family, telegram!”

A man slapped the courtyard gate loudly, his voice rough and shouting loudly.

Yin Xiaoman froze for a moment, taking a while to realize that the voice probably belonged to the village clerk.

Whenever something happened in the village, it was usually him who delivered the news.

The clerk’s voice was loud, and before Yin Xiaoman could respond, the people around had already heard.

In those days, unless there was something urgent, no one would send a telegram.

Hearing the noise, the neighbors couldn’t help but stick their heads out.

Affected by the tension in the air, the two children also became anxious.

“Mom!” Erniu grabbed Yin Xiaoman’s clothing tightly, her eyes filled with fear.

Da Bao didn’t speak, he just pressed his lips tightly together and followed closely behind her, step for step.

Yin Xiaoman crouched down and rubbed Erniu’s head. “It’s fine, I’ll go take a look and be back soon.”

After speaking, she turned to Da Bao, placed her hand under his chin, and ordered: “Open your mouth.”

Da Bao instinctively released his lower lip, which was marked with blood from being bitten, and Yin Xiaoman gently brushed it before comforting him with a pat on his little face. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll be back soon.”

At this, Da Bao’s face immediately showed an expression of embarrassment.

After calming the two children, Yin Xiaoman followed the village clerk out of the house.

Although she wore an expression as if nothing was amiss, inside, she didn’t feel as calm as she appeared. She was a bit nervous.

Gao Chong had just come two days ago, saying that he had discussed things with Shen Qingyun, and that once a military approval came through, they would buy the tickets for them.

Under such circumstances, what kind of telegram could this be?

Could it be—was there an issue with the military report?

Yin Xiaoman’s heart was pounding, but her face gave no hint of it.

If she could be easily read by her expression, then all those years in the palace would have been for nothing.

Arriving at the village gate, she bumped into the old village party secretary, who was hurriedly rushing over from the other side.

It was he who had arranged for Yin Xiaoman to marry Shen Qingyun.

Because of this, the old party secretary took on an additional sense of responsibility toward her, always tending to worry a little more.

“Man, I heard Qingyun sent a telegram. Did you see it? What did it say?”

From a distance, the secretary nervously called out to her.

“Not yet, Sire. I haven’t gone in yet. ” Yin Xiaoman said with a slight smile, her tone unusually soft and respectful.

“Right.”

The old party secretary nodded and pointed toward the house. “Come on, let’s go take a look. Don’t tell me there’s been some change in your military matter.”

Gao Chong had come back and forth several times, and Yin Xiaoman had even submitted political review materials to the village as requested. So, her military involvement was already no secret in the village.

It seemed that the old party secretary had come over specifically because he shared Yin Xiaoman’s concern.

Seeing that even the old party secretary was alarmed, the clerk’s attitude immediately became much more favorable than before.

He jogged inside, grabbed a notebook, and had Yin Xiaoman sign her name before handing her a thin envelope.

This was Yin Xiaoman’s first time seeing a telegram, so naturally, she was curious.

Holding the white envelope with transparent paper, she turned it over and over several times. Only after a while did she find a faint opening on the right edge.

The telegram was brief, with only one short line: “Do not bring luggage, all prepared, pay attention to safety.”

There wasn’t even a separator between the words.

Yin Xiaoman furrowed her brow but didn’t speak. Instead, she continued to scrutinize the unfamiliar lead-printed text.

The old party secretary leaned over, reading the line slowly, then immediately smiled with joy, his face lighting up.

“Man, you’re really fortunate! Qingyun knows how to care for people!”

As the matchmaker for the couple, the old party secretary couldn’t help but show off a little.

He pointed at the telegram and proudly flaunted it to the clerk standing beside them.

“Look at this, look at this! When have you ever seen such a considerate person besides Qingyun? This wife hasn’t even gone yet, and he’s already prepared everything for her.

He even specifically sent a telegram to say not to bring luggage!

Tsk, tsk, isn’t this showing concern for Xiaoman, not wanting her to suffer carrying things and dragging children on the road?”

“That’s right!” 

The clerk enthusiastically agreed. 

“That’s why Qingyun can hold such a high position! It’s not just about caring for his wife—look how generous he is!”

“All this for such a small matter, sending a telegram and writing so many words! Each one of these is money!” 

The two of them were talking animatedly, but the center of their conversation, Yin Xiaoman, remained silent.

The things they were saying, she didn’t understand.

She knew sending a telegram cost money, but she didn’t know it was charged by the word.

When she had first seen that line of text, she couldn’t help but think that the person who wrote it must be a rough and uncouth man, not even knowing the proper format for a telegram.

It was just one straight line with no punctuation or breaks.

Now, it seemed, she had wrongly judged him.

In that moment, Yin Xiaoman suddenly felt a surge of curiosity about that man she had never met.

She wanted to see what kind of person this praised Shen Qingyun was.

Although Shen Qingyun had specifically sent a telegram saying there was no need to bring anything, that—was impossible.

Besides the bulky furniture and bedding, which were impossible to take, Yin Xiaoman had carefully packed everything else, preparing to take it all with her.

This wasn’t to deliberately compete with anyone, but—

If she didn’t bring everything, how would she explain the food and supplies left in the warehouse and the house later on?

Knowing they were leaving, the Shen family elders had come even more often during this time.

Not only did they bring them food, but Grandma also personally made pickled vegetables and sun-dried greens.

The old couple didn’t know where they had found scraps of cloth again, but they had carefully made several pairs of shoe insoles for her second son.

Yin Xiaoman hadn’t turned down any of it.

Every time, she would solemnly pack it all into the luggage in front of the elderly couple.

Seeing that, both Grandpa and Grandma felt extremely pleased.

The more the elderly couple interacted with their second daughter-in-law, the more they liked her, and the more they felt uneasy about the injustices she had suffered before.

Although Yin Xiaoman had never uttered a single “no” about Liu Chunxia in front of them, in comparison, the couple’s view of their eldest daughter-in-law had become increasingly negative.

Perhaps it was a case of “the grass is always greener on the other side”?

After learning that the second daughter-in-law was willing to follow the military to such a remote and dangerous place for her son, the Shen family was completely satisfied with Yin Xiaoman, to the point that they almost wished they could give her their hearts.

This made them look at Liu Chunxia with even more disdain.

Once they found someone they didn’t like, it seemed they couldn’t tolerate anything they did.

In the past, the elderly couple had tried to avoid trouble and would turn a blind eye as long as Liu Chunxia wasn’t too outrageous.

But now, with Yin Xiaoman as a comparison, they felt that the eldest daughter-in-law needed some discipline.

The first thing they did was that Zhang Jinfeng took back the cooking responsibilities.

In this era, controlling the household’s grain meant holding the family’s authority.

Previously, Zhang Jinfeng had been in poor health, and Liu Chunxia was efficient in her work, so she had been the one to cook every meal after returning from her labor.

Now, however, Zhang Jinfeng simply said: “The eldest daughter-in-law’s cooking is too terrible; the children are getting thin from hunger. ” and took the keys to the kitchen back.

Now, Liu Chunxia no longer had control over the rice, flour, or oil.

As for going to the commune to help collect the money, that was something she didn’t even dare to think about.

Ironically, Liu Chunxia was no longer as bold as she had been before.

The last time Yin Xiaoman had tearfully complained to the Educated Youth, even though no one in the family spoke of it, the words had spread. Not only had it reached the entire village, but even her maternal family’s village, dozens of miles away across mountain roads, had heard about it.

Her reputation for being harsh toward her in-laws and bullying her younger sister-in-law had become well-established.

It didn’t stop there—she was also labeled with the big title of “abusing a military spouse.”

Liu Chunxia kept up a calm front, but deep down, she was still afraid.

In these times, having such a label attached to you was far from a good thing.

She began to worry that if she angered Yin Xiaoman again, and they became at odds, she wouldn’t be able to escape the consequences.

So, when her mother-in-law took the opportunity to strip her of her managerial duties, Liu Chunxia could only grit her teeth and endure it.

Even though it was clear that the elderly couple seemed ready to empty the house, and her heart was nearly breaking, she had no choice but to accept it.

Yin Xiaoman had no idea about Liu Chunxia’s internal struggles, and even if she did, she wouldn’t have cared.

At that moment, Yin Xiaoman was focused on planning what food to bring for the train ride.

She hadn’t paid much attention to it at first, but the constant persuasion from her in-laws and Gao Chong had worn her down—

“They say the train will be packed, and once you sit down, you won’t be able to move!”

“Things on the train are so expensive, a single bun costs so much, you won’t be able to afford it!”

They made her feel that if she didn’t prepare properly, the three of them would surely starve to death on the train.

So, Yin Xiaoman meticulously planned ahead.

Fortunately, these busy days were finally coming to an end, and the moment of departure had arrived.

After bidding farewell to the elderly couple, who were wiping away their tears, Yin Xiaoman, along with her two children, climbed onto the mule cart that the village had specially arranged to take them to the county train station, as planned with Gao Chong.

Since Shen Qingyun was worried that she had never traveled far before, he had somehow worked it out with Gao Chong to end his leave early and return to the military unit with them.

This was also why Yin Xiaoman wasn’t as anxious as the elderly couple.

The mule cart had just stopped at the entrance of the train station when Gao Chong suddenly appeared, running over from somewhere.

“Sister-in-law, here’s your ticket.” He said, handing a train ticket to Yin Xiaoman.

Then, as he reached for the children to carry them off the cart, he smiled and continued: “The train won’t be here for another half an hour. No need to rush. We don’t have much luggage, so no need to hurry, just take your time boarding…”

As he spoke, Da Bao and Erniu had already been carried off the mule cart, and Gao Chong’s gaze finally fell on the luggage that had been pushed to the back of the cart.

He was stunned for a moment, unable to say another word.