Chapter 40

August 26, 1958.

Xu Wanchun finally received her long-awaited admission letter from her dream university.

Even though she had been confident all along, it wasn’t until the letter was firmly in her hands that she finally felt truly at ease.

And not just at ease—she was thrilled. So thrilled that she couldn’t help but jump up and down on the spot a few times.

She thought she was already being very expressive.

But she didn’t expect her mother and her master’s wife to be even more over-the-top than she was.

The moment they got the letter, the two of them linked arms and cheerfully set off—carrying the candy they had long prepared—to hand it out door to door in celebration.

Left behind, Xu Wanchun stood there in a daze for quite a while. Thinking of the villagers’ boundless enthusiasm, she ultimately didn’t dare follow after them.

Still, she didn’t idle around. She went back to processing all the herbs she had picked in the past few days.

Now that she had the letter, it meant she would be leaving soon.

Before that, she had to sell off all the family’s medicinal stock for cash.

And many of the things she couldn’t take with her also needed to be sorted and sold.

That process alone took another five days.

When she finally departed, it was September 1st…

That morning, just before dawn.

Xu Wanchun and her small group of four—plus the cat and dog—set off with two large carts loaded full of luggage.

They waved goodbye to tearful family and villagers as they began the long journey to Hu City.

This time, barring matters of life and death, it was unlikely the mother and daughter would return any time soon.

So, whatever could be brought, had to be brought.

Because they had so much baggage—plus the animals—Xu Wanchun had started preparing for the trip two years in advance.

After many comparisons, she decided that although traveling by boat was slower than taking the train, it had a lot of other advantages.

So, the morning after receiving her admission letter, she went to the town post office.

She sent a telegram to the director of the city’s No.1 People’s Hospital, asking him to help buy a second-class cabin ticket.

Although the director hadn’t succeeded in recruiting her as an apprentice doctor back then, over the past two years—thanks to Granny Yu—Xu Wanchun had met him several times.

They’d already agreed long ago that he would help with the ticket.

And she had paid him back generously—by volunteering for half a month as a doctor’s assistant at the hospital during summer break.

Still, as a polite and considerate junior, when she went to pick up the ticket from the hospital, Xu Wanchun brought along half a sack of dried mushrooms as a gift.

The old director was delighted. As he handed over the ticket, he also gave her a sealed letter, saying he was close friends with the ship’s captain—if she encountered any trouble during the journey, she could show the letter for help.

That really solved a big problem for her. Xu Wanchun gave him a warm and heartfelt thanks before happily leaving with both the ticket and the letter of blessing.

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Back when she was in junior high, Xu Wanchun had taken a short boat ride and even tried a speedboat once on a family trip.

But she had never ridden on a steamship of this size—long and wide and truly massive.

Neither had Xu Hehua. She stared in awe for a long time before whispering to her daughter: “Why does the boat… look so old?”

It was old. The whole body of the ship was rusted and worn.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Bottom of Form

However, during her planning phase, Xu Wanchun had also researched the safety of taking a boat.

Despite how shabby and worn these vessels looked—like elderly people at the end of their life—they were mostly warships left behind from the Republic era. Their appearance didn’t affect their ability to sail.

Xu Wanchun quietly explained this to her mother, then led the group to check in their luggage.

Including grains and dried vegetables, the four of them had a total of twenty large bags of luggage.

When the porters helped move the bags into the ship’s hold and learned from her introduction letter that the girl was a university student, the staff’s attitude wasn’t exactly friendly, but it was noticeably better than how they treated the average passenger.

One of them looked at the cat inside a cage, then at the large dog wearing a strange muzzle, and reminded her: “The cat’s fine—it can catch pests. But that dog’s not allowed on board.”

Xu Wanchun had prepared for this. She took a “Police Dog Transport Permit” from her pocket, and beneath it, tucked a pack of cigarettes, which she offered with a smile: “This is a retired police dog. I’ve checked—military and police dogs are allowed on board as long as they wear a muzzle. Don’t worry, comrade, I’ll keep it confined in the cargo area during the trip. It won’t scare other passengers, and I’ll handle its waste properly.”

One of the reasons she started planning two years ago was because of the cat and dog.

After learning about the regulations for traveling with animals, she’d asked her master to pull some strings and arranged for Danggui to be trained at a police dog base for half a year.

Just to be extra cautious, she even had Danggui participate in several actual missions with the officers.

After completing all the formalities, she managed to get a medical discharge certificate for the dog.

In short, Xu Wanchun had thought through everything just to make sure she could bring Danggui and Fuling with her.

The staff member smoothly pocketed the cigarette pack, opened the certificate, and said with a smile, “Oh, looks like it even has commendations.”

The commendations were real. Stroking the large dog squatting beside her, Xu Wanchun proudly said, “Yes, Danggui once saved a civilian’s life.”

Whether it was because of the cigarettes or genuine fondness for police dogs, the staff member handed the certificate back with a smile: “Alright. I’ll let the ticket inspector know later.”

This was an unexpected bonus. Xu Wanchun, perceptive as always, took back the certificate and, under the pretense of adjusting it, slipped him another pack of cigarettes.

Unsurprisingly, the man’s attitude grew even more enthusiastic.

Truthfully, sometimes, a little money could solve big problems.

Even though Danggui had all the right documents, someone with a bad attitude could still find fault.

But with two packs of good cigarettes, not only was there no trouble, the staff member even personally escorted them to their cabin.

Along the way, he cheerfully introduced the ship’s public amenities.

Before leaving, he reminded them, “The first-class cabins are for officials and foreign guests. Be sure not to disturb them.”

Naturally, Xu Wanchun thanked him again—though this time, she didn’t offer anything else.

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Second-class cabins were also called technical cabins.

Each room could hold 4 to 6 people.

Inside, aside from iron-framed beds with straw mats, there was only a hot water flask and a kerosene lamp.

Xu Hehua looked around and quickly frowned, complaining, “This room is tiny, and so run-down. How is it worth 30 yuan? And this lamp doesn’t even have oil.”

“You have to bring your own or buy some,” Xu Wanchun replied. She half-closed the cabin door, leaving a narrow gap of a few centimeters for light, then crouched down to remove the restraints from the cat and dog.

Of course, before doing so, she tied ropes around both their necks and fastened them tightly to the bed legs.

“Don’t mind that right now, Hehua. Let’s hurry and wipe the place down before the boat departs.” Su Nan was already exhausted from the long day and just wanted to lie down.

Xu Hehua, strong from a lifetime of farm work, didn’t feel tired at all.

She efficiently rolled up her sleeves, laid a clean coarse cloth over the straw mats, and said, “Sister Nan, Aunt Wu, you two sit and rest. I’ll go fetch some water and clean up.”

Before they could object, she grabbed a basin and rushed off energetically.

Seeing this, Xu Wanchun, who was crouched down calming the animals and teaching them to relieve themselves on oiled paper, laughed and said, “This cabin’s so small that we’d just get in each other’s way if we all moved around. You two rest—my mom and I can handle it.”

Since they were all family, the two women didn’t insist, and relaxed by the iron bed frame.

The cabin truly was tiny, and it only took mother and daughter a little over ten minutes to wipe everything clean.

Once the grime was taken care of, all four lay down on the coarse blankets they’d brought, listening to revolutionary songs playing on the radio, gradually letting their bodies and minds relax.

Just as they were beginning to doze off, a loud, long whistle abruptly jolted all of them awake.

Xu Wanchun quickly pressed down on Danggui’s head, which was resting on the edge of her bed, to prevent him from barking in fright.

“Are we leaving now?” Xu Hehua slipped on her shoes and stepped outside in curiosity.

Su Nan also wanted to stretch her legs, so she followed.

Wu Yuzhen turned to the young girl with a kindly smile and said, “You’ve been so busy lately, Peach Blossom. Go out and relax too. I’ll watch over Danggui and Fuling.”

Though just sixteen, this girl had taken on all the responsibilities of an adult and arranged everything down to the last detail. She must be exhausted.

Seeing the girl hesitate, Wu Yuzhen added cheerfully, “Go take a look—the crowd seeing us off on the dock, the waves churning behind the ship. It’s really beautiful.”

The scene before her eyes was so vivid that even Xu Wanchun, who hadn’t been all that interested, now found herself looking forward to it.

So she thanked the old lady and happily followed after her mother and Master’s wife…