Chapter 200: Mother Sheng’s Pride
“Besides, my medical breakthrough is going to bring immense prestige and credit to the Gu family,” Wanyan added softly. “They are thrilled.”
“Even so, you should still consider getting yourself a permanent position out here,” Mother Sheng pressed, her maternal anxieties shifting focus. “Only when you have your own career can you truly ensure no one ever looks down on you or bullies you in a high-ranking family like the Gus!”
The more Mother Sheng thought about it, the more she felt it would be best for her daughter to secure a stable job close to the military base.
“And another thing—that massive crate of fine grains you shipped to us last time,” Mother Sheng continued, lowering her voice. “Did Xiao Gu have any objections to you sending so much to your maiden home?”
Thinking of the heavy sacks of premium rice and flour that had arrived on their doorstep, Mother Sheng couldn’t help but worry.
“Not at all. In fact, his family sent along a portion of those supplies themselves,” Wanyan chuckled. “And Mom, I’m the one who developed this groundbreaking formula. Who on earth would dare to bully me?”
Hearing her daughter’s confident, logical response, Mother Sheng finally conceded. What Wanyan said was true; she had achieved something that directly benefited both the state and the people. Her standing was rock-solid.
“Your mother is… deeply proud of you, Wanyan.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Mother Sheng abruptly hung up the receiver. She had always been an incredibly strict, traditional parent, preferring to keep her pride buried deep in her heart rather than voicing it aloud. This was the absolute first time she had ever paid her daughter such high praise, and the uncharacteristic display left her heart pounding and her face flushed bright red.
Over in the Chengdu post office, Father Sheng stared blankly at the disconnected phone. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to speak to his daughter yet! But looking at his wife, he noticed that the severe, worried lines around her eyes had melted away, replaced by an intensely endearing, youthful bashfulness.
Mother Sheng caught him staring and shot him a sharp glare. Chuckling softly, Father Sheng stepped up to pay the clerk for the call, guided his wife outside, and helped her onto the back of his bicycle to ride home.
On the other end of the line, Sheng Wanyan stood holding the receiver, thoroughly stunned. Did Mom really just praise me?
As she walked out of the communications office, a wave of profound emotion swelled in her chest. There was a unique, deeply moving joy in realizing you had become someone your parents were genuinely proud of.
The moment she stepped out into the crisp air, she spotted Gu Tingxiao waiting patiently in the courtyard. When he saw her walk out, his eyes looked a bit heavy and moist, as if he had been gripped by his own quiet worries.
Wanyan immediately squared her shoulders, a touch of anxiety flickering in her eyes as she rushed to his side. “Is something wrong?”
“Everything is fine,” he reassured her softly, offering his good arm. “Let’s go home.”
“Okay.”
Gu Tingxiao kept his eyes locked on her throughout the entire walk back, only truly relaxing when he satisfied himself that she was genuinely unharmed and happy. If his wife chose to keep the details of her conversation private, he had no intention of prying or pressing for answers. Whenever she felt ready to share, he would be right there to listen.
Later that evening, as they lay resting together on the warm brick kang, Wanyan naturally opened up, splitting the day’s events and her mother’s surprising words with him.
Gu Tingxiao listened intently, a tender smile spreading across his face. “Wanyan, I’m incredibly proud of you, too.”
Wanyan let out a bright laugh, assuming he was merely teasing her to lighten the mood. Reaching out a bare, porcelain-white foot beneath the quilt, she gave him a playful nudge. Gu Tingxiao reacted with a soldier’s speed, instantly clamping his legs together to trap her foot before reaching down to wrap his hand securely around her ankle.
“What’s this? A sneak attack?” he joked, his voice dropping into a low, playful register. “Should I deploy a counter-strategy?”
Wanyan shot him a mock glare, trying to tug her leg back. “Let go.”
But Gu Tingxiao’s grip was like iron; she couldn’t budge an inch. In one fluid movement, he shifted his weight, turning over to hover directly over her.
“I don’t think I’ll deploy a counter-strategy,” he murmured, his eyes darkening with sudden, intense heat. “Instead, I think I’ll exploit this vulnerability.”
He had been exercising absolute, agonizing restraint for weeks, but touching the smooth, silky skin of her bare foot shattered the last of his resolve.
Wanyan didn’t offer any resistance. She knew that maintaining such rigid celibacy for too long wasn’t good for a man’s health anyway. Besides, Gu Tingxiao wasn’t the only one aching for intimacy—she had missed him just as fiercely.
Even with only one fully functional hand, Gu Tingxiao was more than capable. By the time he finally let her rest, Wanyan felt a bone-deep, delicious exhaustion that rivaled the frantic passion of their wedding night.
When she finally stirred the next morning, the watch on the nightstand read eleven o’clock. Skipping breakfast entirely, they transitioned straight to lunch.
Gu Tingxiao walked over to the base cafeteria, returning with a container of braised meat, a seasonal vegetable dish, and a container of broth. The only staple option available at the mess hall that day was steamed vegetable buns. Wanyan wasn’t picky at all; she split the fluffy green buns down the center, stuffed them with the savory meat and vegetables, and ate them like sandwiches, thoroughly enjoying the rustic meal.
“I wonder if my translated manuscripts have officially reached the publishing house in the Capital yet,” she mused between bites. A full month had slipped by, meaning the package should have arrived.
“Wanyan, the processing and payroll cycles usually take some time,” Gu Tingxiao replied. “You should expect the translation fees to clear in about half a month. If you’re anxious to check on it, I can take a trip to the central post office in the city tomorrow and make an inquiry on your behalf.”
Wanyan shook her head. It was still early, and she was in no particular rush. “No need to trouble yourself, let’s just wait a bit longer.”
Finishing her last bite, she gathered the lunch boxes and carried them to the sink to wash. With a completely open afternoon ahead of her, she spent the rest of the day curled up on the kang, lose in a book.
Meanwhile, Gu Tingxiao continued walking across the lane to help Sheng Wanze construct their new kitchen extension. Half a month flew by in a blur of domestic routine.
Finally, the day arrived for Gu Tingxiao’s heavy medical bandages to be removed. While his bone had knitted successfully, he still required a brief period of focused rehabilitation before he would be cleared to return to active service with his regiment.
Over in the opposite courtyard, Sheng Wanze’s severe chest wound had closed up nicely, though the doctors emphasized it would take a full three months before he regained his optimal baseline strength.
Sheng Wanze calculated the timeline, realizing he still had two and a half months of mandatory convalescence ahead of him. Staying cooped up inside the quiet military quarters for so long felt like a waste of time, so he broached the idea of escorting Grandpa Sheng, Grandma Sheng, and Pan Yue back to Chengdu for a prolonged family visit.
However, Pan Yue was now five months pregnant. The thought of his wife enduring a grueling, crowded train journey while carrying his children filled him with deep anxiety.
On the other hand, their grandparents were desperate to see their son and daughter-in-law. If they didn’t seize this window to travel now, they would completely miss the opportunity to spend the upcoming Lunar New Year together.
“Your grandfather and I will manage the journey back to Chengdu by ourselves,” Grandma Sheng announced firmly. “You stay right here and focus on your recovery.”
Sheng Wanze rejected the proposal instantly. Leave two elderly citizens to navigate the chaotic railway system alone? “Grandma, absolutely not. If we go, we go together.”
Pan Yue stepped in to support the idea. She was five months along, but her early morning sickness had completely faded. Her appetite had roared back to life, and she had put on a healthy, radiant amount of weight. “I feel perfectly fine, Wanze. I can handle the trip.”
“No, you cannot. Your belly is getting too big for a long-distance train,” Grandma Sheng chided gently, turning back to her grandson. “And stop treating your grandfather and me like we’re fragile porcelain. We are only in our sixties! Plenty of elders back in the village are well past sixty and still pulling full shifts out in the agricultural fields every single day.”
“Besides,” she added reasonably, “we’ll be booking proper sleeper berths. All we’ll be doing is eating and sleeping the entire way down. What could possibly go wrong?”
Grandma Sheng was sixty-four this year, and Grandpa Sheng was sixty-six. In this era, citizens of their age remained a vital part of the active workforce. Furthermore, both grandparents were fully literate and highly experienced travelers, having traversed the country extensively during their youth. Navigating a modern train route was second nature to them.
“Once we reach Chengdu,” Grandma Sheng continued, her eyes softening, “we’ll arrange for your parents to pack up and come back north with us to look after Xiaoyue. That way, they’ll be right here on the base by the time she’s ready to give birth just before the New Year.”
Sheng Wanyan, who had been listening quietly from the side, paused. She had been mentally mapping out a holiday trip back to Chengdu herself, entirely forgetting that Pan Yue’s due date fell right around the turn of the New Year. If her parents were already planning to travel up to the military base to assist with the delivery, it meant she and Gu Tingxiao wouldn’t have to endure the exhausting cross-country transit either. They could easily split their holiday, visiting the Gu family estate in the Capital first and returning early to welcome the new babies.
However, Wanyan could see that her grandparents’ sudden stubborn insistence on traveling wasn’t driven by logistics—they simply deeply missed their son and daughter-in-law. It had been months since they last saw them.
“Grandma, instead of you two exerting yourselves, why don’t we just draft a message asking Mom and Dad to request their leave early?” Wanyan suggested softly. “That way, no one has to run back and forth unnecessarily.”
Grandma Sheng looked up, clearly tempted by the proposition.
“Furthermore,” Wanyan pressed, capitalizing on her hesitation, “Dad was just promoted to deputy director of the entire workshop. He’s bound to be buried under an immense mountain of administrative responsibilities during this transition period. If you two push through a long journey only for him to be stuck at the factory late every night, wouldn’t the trip feel like a bit of a waste?”
Grandma Sheng realized her granddaughter made an excellent point. Her primary motivation was spending quality time with her children; going back to an empty house while they worked overtime defeated the purpose.
“You’re right,” Grandma Sheng agreed, nodding decisively as she stood up. “It’s far better for your parents to put in the extra hours now and travel up here early. I’m going to send a telegram to your father right this instant.”
The old woman bustled toward the door, fully intent on marching into the city to dispatch the message to Chengdu immediately.
Sheng Wanyan quickly lunged forward to catch her arm, hiding an amused smile. Her grandmother had spent so much time in major cities that she occasionally forgot the isolated reality of the frontier base. Back in Chengdu, a post office was always just a short walk down the street. Out here, reaching the city lines required a grueling, half-day trek on foot.
“Grandma, wait until tomorrow,” Wanyan laughed. “Monday morning, the logistics division always dispatches a supply transport vehicle into the city. You can hitch a ride in comfort. For today, why don’t you stay and help me harvest the patch?”
The seasonal vegetables Wanyan had planted upon her arrival had reached peak maturity. After two months of careful tending, the plot was overflowing and ready for harvest.
