Chapter 186: Taking Grandpa and Grandma to the City
Early the next morning, Sheng Wanyan took her grandparents into the city. She guided them through the streets, carefully pointing out the locations of the supply and marketing cooperative, the post office, the local school, the scrap yard, the state-owned restaurant, and the regional hospital.
The two elders nodded attentively, committing the landmarks to memory. Although it was a lot to take in at once, they knew that after walking the route a few more times, they would easily learn their way around. And if all else failed, they still had their voices—they could simply ask a local for directions.
“Wanyan, are these your grandparents?”
Aunt Xie, who had also caught the logistics truck to the city that morning, walked over with a curious, welcoming smile.
“Yes, Auntie,” Wanyan smiled. “I brought Grandpa and Grandma to the city to help them memorize the roads. I’ll be relying on all the sisters-in-law to help look out for them in the future.”
Hearing this, Aunt Xie immediately turned toward the other military wives milling nearby, her voice rising in encouragement. “Of course! Every family has elderly members at home. It’s our duty as neighbors to support and look out for one another.”
As the political commissar’s wife, Aunt Xie truly excelled at maintaining harmony and solidarity among the compound families. Everyone within earshot immediately understood her underlying message: the Sheng elders were not to be troubled.
“Grandma, this is Political Commissar Xie’s wife. She lives right across the lane from our courtyard,” Wanyan introduced.
“Uncle, Auntie, please just call me Xiaolin,” Aunt Xie offered warmly. Her given name was Lin Dani, but as she had grown older and her husband’s rank had risen, the entire compound had respectfully adopted the title “Aunt Xie.”
“Oh, wonderful to meet you, Xiaolin,” Grandma Sheng beamed, her face creasing into an enthusiastic smile. “We’ll certainly have to trouble you to keep an eye on us old folks from now on. Here, take these two candies home for your grandchildren to sweeten their mouths.”
She pressed two fruit candies into Aunt Xie’s hand.
“Oh, Auntie, there’s no need to be so formal! Helping one another is only natural,” Aunt Xie insisted politely, though she accepted the gesture. “Captain Sheng is out risking his life on a mission right now. As the women holding down the home front, we absolutely cannot let the soldiers who bleed to defend our country down.”
As she spoke, Aunt Xie cast a deliberate, sweeping glance over the other military wives.
“Yes, yes, Aunt Xie is absolutely right,” the women chorused in agreement.
The group chatted animatedly for the rest of the morning. When it was time to leave, Wanyan jumped out of the supply truck first, turning to carefully help the two elders down to the dirt road.
“Attention, sisters-in-law! Please gather back at this exact spot at three o’clock sharp this afternoon,” the logistics soldier announced loudly from the driver’s seat. With the instructions given, the military wives dispersed to tackle their respective shopping lists.
Wanyan led her grandparents on a slow walk through the commercial district, eventually arriving at the supply and marketing cooperative. She purchased half a kilogram of pork and five kilograms of coarse grains for her own household.
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng bought a significantly larger haul, intent on stockpiling for the brutal winter ahead. Grandma Sheng purchased a kilogram and a half of pork, ten kilograms of coarse grains, a kilogram and a half of white flour, twenty fresh eggs, and a kilogram each of brown and white sugar.
She also requested several yards of dark blue fabric and a kilogram and a half of raw cotton batting. She was eager to begin stitching thick, padded winter clothes for her expected great-grandchild. The baby was due in January, the absolute coldest peak of the northern winter, and she refused to let the infant suffer a chill.
“Alright, that should be enough for today. Let’s head back,” Grandma Sheng decided after reviewing her purchases. She planned to return every week to buy a little more until they had hoarded enough provisions to survive the winter freeze comfortably.
Wanyan took the opportunity to purchase a few yards of fabric and some thick woolen yarn. She intended to sew a warm vest and a fresh set of pajamas for Gu Tingxiao. As for the yarn, she planned to knit him a new winter scarf and a sturdy pair of gloves. The previous year, she had already knitted him a heavy sweater and woolen trousers; after checking his trunk, she found they were still in excellent condition, so there was no need to replace them yet. She would just knit the accessories for Tingxiao this year, and use the remaining yarn to make warm items for her grandparents.
With their shopping complete, the family headed back to the compound.
After returning home and organizing her supplies, Wanyan carried Maodou into her pocket dimension so the puppy could play freely.
At first, Maodou was terrified by the sudden shift in environment, his little head swiveling nervously as he took in the strange surroundings.
“Don’t be scared, it’s alright,” Wanyan murmured, gently stroking his back to soothe his anxiety. Maodou huddled tightly in her arms for several minutes before finally relaxing and accepting the new space.
Wanyan carried him over to the spiritual spring, drawing a small cup of water and carefully adding exactly two drops of the pure, concentrated spring water into his dish.
The moment Maodou lapped up the spiritual water, his eyes widened with pure, instinctual ecstasy. He immediately tried to hurl his entire body into the main spring pool.
Wanyan gasped, swiftly grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and hauling him back. “No! You absolutely cannot handle that.”
Over-nourishing a body all at once was incredibly dangerous. Forget a tiny puppy—even a full-grown human would suffer severe internal shock if they absorbed too much concentrated spiritual energy at once.
“Awooo~”
“Woof! Woof, woof!”
Maodou barked and kicked his legs, desperate to reach the water. Wanyan merely shook her head firmly. Realizing she wasn’t going to yield, the puppy finally surrendered the idea. He tilted his fluffy head, letting out a series of pitiful, aggrieved whimpers.
Wanyan ignored his dramatics, carrying him inside her modern villa. She sat on the floor to read a book, letting him explore the room. Realizing his tantrums weren’t working—and terrified that she might refuse to bring him back to this magical place—Maodou obediently curled up into a quiet ball at her feet.
For the next week, Wanyan’s life settled into an orderly, peaceful routine. Her days consisted of either slipping out to the river to “fish” or riding her bicycle toward the city to bring back heavy supplies.
She also made a trip to the post office to mail out the monthly pension money to Tingxiao’s parents. When the Gu family had originally divided their assets, it was agreed that Gu Tingxiao would provide twenty yuan in cash and five kilograms of fine grain in alimony every month.
Wanyan packaged five kilograms of premium rice, twenty yuan, and a polite letter addressed to Mother Gu. After a moment of thought, she added two tins of malted milk and three slabs of cured bacon to the parcel. Tingxiao’s parents currently lived with his eldest brother’s family, and both Eldest Brother Gu and his wife were reasonable, sensible people. Since Wanyan and Tingxiao lived too far away to fulfill their filial duties in person, she felt it was important to demonstrate their respect and generosity through their mail.
Next, she sent a separate parcel to her own parents in Chengdu, enclosing one hundred yuan in cash and ten kilograms’ worth of national food ration coupons. The state issued thirty kilograms of food coupons per person each month, so she had plenty to spare.
Knowing Father and Mother Sheng would likely hoard the money rather than spend it on themselves, Wanyan deliberately mentioned her lucrative translation work in the letter, assuring them she had plenty of personal income and urging them to spend the cash without guilt. She instructed them to purchase extra winter supplies, enclosing ten kilograms of fine rice and five kilograms of brown sugar.
When she and Wanze had married back-to-back, it had virtually emptied the Sheng family’s life savings. Although her parents both held stable jobs, they were incredibly frugal when it came to their own comforts, preferring to save everything for their children.
The money she sent was entirely her own; she hadn’t touched a single cent of Gu Tingxiao’s wages to subsidize her maiden family. Furthermore, she possessed her own wealth and refused to rely on her husband’s approval to show filial piety to the people who raised her. Outsiders could call her biased toward her maiden home all they wanted, but in her heart, her biological parents were absolutely irreplaceable. They had sacrificed everything for her, and she refused to let them suffer.
As for the Gu family, she strictly adhered to the exact standard of support agreed upon by Eldest Brother Gu and Fourth Brother Gu. Tingxiao had older siblings, a sister, and younger siblings; it certainly wasn’t her place to aggressively outshine them all in financial contributions and cause unnecessary family friction.
With her parcels dispatched, Wanyan pedaled her bicycle back toward the military region. Before reaching the main gates, she discreetly retrieved a heavy backpack of provisions from her space and strapped it on, ensuring she didn’t return empty-handed.
A full week had passed since Tingxiao’s departure, and she still had no idea how much longer his mission would take.
The moment she walked into the courtyard, Maodou bounded over, practically glued to her ankles. Thanks to the excellent nutrition he had received over the past week, the puppy had visibly grown in size.
Wanyan knew he was hungry. She quickly retrieved a hot bowl of savory lean meat porridge from her space and poured it into his dish. “Here you go, Maodou. Time to eat.”
Maodou trotted over, eagerly taking a bite. The moment the porridge hit his tongue, he froze. Realizing it wasn’t the premium, artificially flavored modern dog kibble he had grown accustomed to, he immediately threw a tantrum. He spat the porridge out, stubbornly pawing at Wanyan’s pant leg and whining for the good stuff.
Wanyan narrowed her eyes. She absolutely refused to spoil him. If he developed a permanent addiction to modern dog kibble, how was she supposed to explain his diet when Gu Tingxiao returned? Was the dog just going to starve to death in protest?
Even though he was just a pet, he needed strict discipline from a young age to prevent disastrous habits.
“This is the only food you’re getting today,” Wanyan stated coldly, crossing her arms.
Seeing the uncompromising, icy glare in her eyes, Maodou realized his protests were futile. With a defeated sigh, he reluctantly wobbled back to the dish on his short, stubby legs and began to eat the porridge.
