Chapter 273: Quiet Days at the Base
Zhang Zhaodi’s face flushed a furious mixture of red and white. Hearing Mother Gu brag like that filled her with a bitter, burning envy.
If my husband actually handed his salary over to me instead of his mother, I’d be able to show that kind of filial piety too!
But the moment her own mother-in-law had arrived at the base, the old woman had seized absolute control over her husband’s finances, leaving Zhang Zhaodi without a single copper coin to her name. Besides, what was the big deal about a few luxury imports? There were plenty of perfectly fine clothes at the local supply and marketing cooperatives! It shouldn’t matter what a person wore, but Sheng Wanyan just insisted on indulging in those bourgeois, capitalist vanities.
Having thoroughly enjoyed her moment of triumph, Mother Gu checked her watch and decided it was time to head home and start dinner. She shouldered her hoe and walked away, leaving behind a graceful silhouette and a crowd of neighborhood women who couldn’t snap out of their daze for a long time.
The onlookers could only look at each other in stunned silence. Was it even acceptable to admit how deeply jealous they all were?
Inside her closed apartment, Sheng Wanyan caught the faint click of the front gate through her spatial domain. She immediately exited the space, returning to her bedroom just as Mother Gu walked through the door.
The older woman quickly changed out of her fine clothes and headed straight into the kitchen. She had paid close attention to her daughter-in-law’s habits and knew the girl was a passionate noodle lover; her appetite was always vastly better whenever noodles were on the menu instead of rice.
For dinner, Mother Gu prepared a fresh pot of tomato and egg noodles. She rolled the dough exceptionally thin, ensuring the noodles turned out wonderfully light yet chewy. Sheng Wanyan happily devoured a massive bowlful, and seeing her eat with such a robust appetite finally allowed Mother Gu’s anxieties to settle.
Once the bowls were cleared, Sheng Wanyan returned to the living room sofa to continue knitting for the baby. She had selected several vibrant skeins of wool, carefully using the contrasting colors to outline a delicate little chrysanthemum along the hem of the tiny garment.
Mother Gu walked in and watched her fingers move with practiced ease, a look of surprise crossing her features. It seemed her third daughter-in-law possessed a knack for absolutely everything. Intrigued by the floral pattern, she sat down beside her.
“Are you knitting that for the baby?”
“Yes,” Sheng Wanyan smiled, looping the yarn. “The winters here are notoriously brutal, so I want to make sure we have plenty of thick, warm layers prepared well in advance.”
Mother Gu had never personally experienced an Bing City winter, but she had heard endless warnings from Grandpa Sheng and Auntie Xie about how unforgiving the northern cold could be. If the Capital was already freezing during the peak season, how terrifying must the drop in temperature be at the absolute northernmost tip of the country? Would a newborn infant even be able to endure it?
The most agonizing part of parenting was dealing with a sick infant; since newborns couldn’t safely take harsh medications, they could only suffer through the fever.
“If it’s truly that bitter, why don’t you bring the baby back to the Capital with me for the winter?” Mother Gu suggested softly. She hated the thought of her grandchild suffering, though she knew a child shouldn’t be kept away from its parents. Secretly, she didn’t love the idea of Sheng Wanyan raising the baby so far away from the family’s protective wing either.
“But then wouldn’t Tingxiao be left entirely alone here?” Sheng Wanyan countered gently, looking up from her needles. “Besides, I don’t want our child to be separated from his father.”
In a child’s development, a father’s role was just as critical as a mother’s; a man provided a completely different sense of stability, calmness, and perspective. She had already firmly decided that regardless of whether the baby was a boy or a girl, the child would remain at Gu Tingxiao’s side to be raised under his direct influence.
In truth, Sheng Wanyan vastly preferred the convenience and luxury of life in the Capital, where every amenity was within arm’s reach. But currently, there was no logical emergency forcing them to split the household, and she saw no reason to fracture their small family.
Mother Gu turned the words over in her mind and found herself agreeing. Her third son had finally secured a beautiful wife, a child on the way, and a warm, loving home of his own. How could she selfishly demand he let his wife and child drift away?
Now, her only prayer was for Gu Tingxiao to secure a transfer back to the capital as quickly as possible. Her third son was already twenty-eight years old; it was high time to put his relocation on the administrative agenda. She wasn’t entirely certain what political maneuvers the Old General and Father Gu were orchestrating behind the scenes, but the national climate was shifting rapidly, and the family’s position was stronger than ever. Give it a few years, and the entire country would look completely different.
“You two just make whatever decision feels right for your household,” Mother Gu noted gently.
Sheng Wanyan smiled, her fingers never dropping a stitch. She knew with absolute certainty that the standard college entrance examinations would be officially reinstated in two years. The moment she sat for the exams and secured her placement, she would naturally carry her children right back to the Capital. Paced against that timeline, these next two years in the north were a minor intermission. For a young child, the absolute presence of both parents mattered far more than a prestigious zip code.
She didn’t believe a child’s early years should be squandered memorizing advanced texts or rushed through in a desperate race to grow up. A childhood should be preserved as a sanctuary of pure joy; after all, it was the only carefree, truly happy window a human being ever got in life.
“Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll be returning to the capital sooner or later,” Sheng Wanyan said reassuringly.
Lately, Mother Gu had completely washed her hands of the problematic fourth branch of the family. Since she lived directly with her eldest son’s stable household back in the Capital, she had very little domestic drama to fret over. Consequently, her maternal focus had shifted entirely onto her third son’s branch, hoping with everything she had that their circumstances would flourish and bring them back to her side.
Mother Gu nodded, her heart settling. After all, the Old General and Father Gu would never allow a brilliant officer like Gu Tingxiao to remain stationed in the remote northern base indefinitely. Her third son was a man of exceptional capability; his triumphant return to the capital was purely a matter of time.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted comfortably late into the evening, and under Sheng Wanyan’s swift fingers, the tiny garment was completed before they retired. She had crafted a beautiful goose-yellow sweater, accented by a single, soft-yellow chrysanthemum stitched perfectly into the lower corner. It was tiny, exquisite, and brought an automatic splash of joy to anyone who looked at it.
Mother Gu lifted the finished piece, turning it over to inspect the immaculate stitching with genuine admiration. “Your handiwork is truly magnificent.”
Mother Gu was a skilled knitter herself, but even her best efforts lacked this level of artistic precision.
“I just get restless sitting around all day, so I have to find creative ways to occupy my mind,” Sheng Wanyan murmured modestly.
Mother Gu smiled, thinking her third daughter-in-law was remarkably humble. Given her own high-level administrative position in the Ministry of Finance, it had been incredibly simple for her to look into Wanyan’s professional background. She was fully aware of her daughter-in-law’s brilliant translation work for the state publishing house. However, that intellectual secret was heavily guarded, known only to the family elders, herself, and Father Gu.
What Mother Gu didn’t know was the true extent of Sheng Wanyan’s pharmaceutical achievements—that file was classified under maximum state security to ensure her physical safety. A mind capable of formulating revolutionary medical assets was a priceless treasure to the nation, and the authorities refused to risk a single security breach. After all, Comrade Sheng Wanyan was only twenty-two years old, with an boundless future ahead of her. If she could engineer a miraculous hemostatic powder today, there was no telling what breakthroughs she might achieve tomorrow.
The following morning, Sheng Wanyan slept comfortably until ten o’clock. Mother Gu intentionally avoided waking her for an early breakfast, firmly believing that allowing a pregnant woman to wake up naturally was vital for her health.
When Sheng Wanyan finally emerged from her room, she found the apartment quiet. Noting that one of the wooden utility buckets was missing from the hallway, she figured her mother-in-law had stepped out to water their garden plot.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Mother Gu walked through the gate, carrying a heavy bucket of water. The moment she spotted her daughter-in-law, her first question was to verify if she had eaten.
“Yes, Mom, I’ve already had breakfast,” Sheng Wanyan smiled.
Relieved, Mother Gu set her tools aside. Finding themselves with a completely open schedule, the two women decided to relax in the shade of the wooden pavilion in the courtyard to enjoy the crisp morning air. The May weather in Bing City was spectacular—blessed with a gentle breeze during the afternoon, cooling down into a refreshing chill by nightfall.
They arranged two comfortable reclining chairs side-by-side beneath the canopy. Sheng Wanyan and Mother Gu lounged together, gazing up at the flawless blue sky while Maodou curled up faithfully at their feet, snoring softly. Mother Gu brought out a plate of freshly sliced pears and turned on their desktop radio, filling the yard with a soft broadcast.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law spent a blissfully lazy hour sipping water, nibbling on the crisp fruit, and drifting along with the audio. When the clock struck noon, Mother Gu rose to head into the kitchen to prepare lunch.
Before stepping inside, she turned back, intending to suggest Sheng Wanyan move indoors to avoid catching a chill from the shifting wind. However, she found the young woman had already succumbed to the peaceful atmosphere, her eyes closed as she slept deeply in the recliner.
Mother Gu smiled tenderly. Stepping quietly into the house, she retrieved a soft, lightweight blanket and gently draped it over her daughter-in-law’s shoulders to shield her from the draft. She switched the radio off, then disappeared into the kitchen to start their meal. Sheng Wanyan always preferred resting beneath the outdoor pavilion; the open air felt infinitely more liberating and comfortable than the confines of her bedroom.
Gradually, the domestic routine between the two women fell into a harmonious, smooth track. Aside from managing their daily meals, they spent their time tending to the backyard vegetable plot and watering the rows of green shoots. The vast majority of their afternoons were spent lounging beneath the shade of the pavilion, where Mother Gu would work on her knitting while Sheng Wanyan focused on her technical translations.
One evening, deep in the middle of the night, Mother Gu woke up to use the restroom. As she stepped into the quiet hallway, her sharp ears caught a series of low, tightly restrained whimpers vibrating from Sheng Wanyan’s bedroom.
Alarmed, she pushed the door open and hurried inside, only to find her daughter-in-law curled into a tight knot on the mattress, her face pale as she silently endured a violent, agonizing pregnancy leg cramp.
