Chapter 93: The Pretty Military Wife of the Seventies 16

What could Su Huandan say?

Perhaps that wicked people have their own ways of tormenting one another?

That Xu Chunxia, who had major character flaws, was finally dealt with by Chen Li, who had equally problematic morals?

Su Huandan only wanted to say one thing: the wheel of karma turns, and the heavens spare no one.

Truly, one isn’t required to constantly perform great acts of charity, but surely it is reasonable to expect someone to control themselves and ensure their words and actions don’t harm others?

Yet, looking at the world at large, how many people could actually achieve that?

“Why worry about it so much? Anyway, I’ve explained everything clearly. It’s useless for them to try and drag me into it. Why overthink something that has nothing to do with our family?” Su Huandan felt that she would rather spend the time sleeping. She had used the Spiritual Spring Water during this pregnancy, but her primary pregnancy symptom was extreme lethargy.

She didn’t know if the little one reincarnated into her womb this time was the god of sleep himself, but lately, she had been feeling exhausted to death.

Seeing his wife dozing off even while sitting at the dining table, Zhan Hongjun felt a bit worried. This wouldn’t do.

If she was this sleepy, could she still do her job? Was her health really alright?

Yet when she was at work, even if she was dying of exhaustion, his wife never once nodded off. She was forcing herself to endure it. Was that really good for her body?

“Go to sleep quickly, I’ll clear the table.” After Zhan Hongjun finished cleaning up and saw that his wife was sound asleep, he locked the door and went to find the Regimental Commander to borrow the telephone.

He called home to explain Su Huandan’s situation. Mother Zhan and Sister-in-law Zhan both said to observe her for a while, as some pregnant women simply have stronger reactions during the early stages, and she might get better after a while.

They advised him to keep a close eye on her. If things really didn’t improve, she should stop working. If it got even worse, they would find a way to bring her back to Beijing to give birth, where there were more family members to take care of her and the medical conditions were better.

After he hung up the phone, the Regimental Commander asked, “Is the situation very bad?”

This Regimental Commander Wang used to be a battalion commander under Zhan Hongjun’s father.

“It seems okay for now, but she can fall asleep just sitting at home, and even while eating. I’m a bit worried.” There wasn’t much else to report. To an outsider, it might seem like he was making a mountain out of a molehill, but Zhan Hongjun just felt that her state of mind wasn’t right.

After he left, Regimental Commander Wang muttered to himself, “It’s indeed not easy to have a child for the first time in your early thirties. He’s just overthinking things out of nervousness.”

Wasn’t pregnancy and childbirth the same for all women?

There was no need to be so delicate. While it wasn’t quite as easy as a hen laying an egg, he hadn’t seen many cases that were excessively difficult.

In their unit, many military wives got pregnant and gave birth. He hadn’t heard of anyone having an exceptionally hard time during pregnancy, nor had he heard of anyone having a difficult labor at the clinic.

Regimental Commander Wang felt that Zhan Hongjun was simply worrying too much.

He would later be proven wrong.

When Su Huandan reached her third month of pregnancy, her lethargy became even more severe. One day, while working in the Finance Section office, she suddenly fell asleep and slid right off her chair.

She slept for three whole days.

The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with her. Once she had slept enough, she woke up and was perfectly fine.

That sleep had been incredibly sweet. When Su Huandan woke up, she felt exceptionally refreshed and showed no signs of sleepiness during the day anymore.

Not only did Zhan Hongjun breathe a sigh of relief, but even Regimental Commander Wang felt relieved.

The old commander’s family only had one little granddaughter so far and no grandson yet.

If something happened to this younger daughter-in-law while she was under his care, how could he possibly explain it?

He immediately granted Su Huandan leave.

She could return to work after the baby was born.

Su Huandan was quite happy to have the time off, but there wasn’t much entertainment at home. Being idle and bored was also a form of suffering.

A person really couldn’t stay too idle.

Su Huandan asked Zhan Hongjun to nail some wooden boxes for her. They were long and rectangular, placed against the wall. Then, she had him find a way to dig up some soil and bring it back.

Su Huandan began growing vegetables in the long wooden boxes.

Whether others could grow them or not, Su Huandan wasn’t sure, but if she wanted to grow them, they would definitely grow.

She asked the neighbor, Sister-in-law Niu, for some leek roots and several other types of vegetable seeds.

Sister-in-law Niu thought to herself: These young wives from the city really know how to make work for themselves. Of all the things she could do, she insisted on raising vegetables inside the house?

Without sunlight, it would be a miracle if they grew. However, she did harvest many vegetable seeds every year, so it wasn’t a problem to spare a few.

But a month later, Su Huandan harvested a crop of leeks and brought half of them to Sister-in-law Niu.

Sister-in-law Niu looked at the lush, emerald-green leeks, which were several inches long, and found it hard to believe.

“You actually grew them?” Her skills were quite something.

Su Huandan looked at Sister-in-law Niu curiously. “Didn’t I just bury the roots in the soil and make sure to water them?”

Sister-in-law Niu was speechless.

I’m an expert in this field, don’t try to fool me.

Su Huandan thought to herself that she obviously couldn’t tell her about using the Spiritual Spring Water, so she just kept her explanation vague.

If you don’t believe me, come to my house and see for yourself.

Sister-in-law Niu actually went.

If she could learn this, her own family could occasionally eat fresh vegetables in the winter to improve their lives. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Sister-in-law Niu also tried to grow some, but the result…

She just wasted the seeds!

After one attempt, Sister-in-law Niu didn’t plan to try again. She didn’t intend to keep prying into how Su Huandan grew them either. She had seen it with her own eyes; it was just watering and nothing else.

But the little leeks and bok choy in the other woman’s wooden basins just grew so well that one could only look on with envy.

The New Year festival arrived in the blink of an eye. Preparing the New Year goods¹ was also Zhan Hongjun’s responsibility. Whatever the military logistics had, Su Huandan’s home had as well.

At a time like this, Zhan Hongjun was not stingy with his favors.

Throughout the entire winter, the scent of meat wafted from Su Huandan’s home every day, unlike any other house in the family quarters.

During the Spring Festival, the scent of meat wasn’t limited to Su Huandan’s house. In the entire alleyway, every household would have the aroma of good food drifting out.

Except for two families.

Chen Li’s family was truly out of money. Xu Chunxia was currently desperate for cash; how could she possibly let Chen Li’s family off the hook?

They didn’t have much money to begin with, and after paying Xu Chunxia a hundred yuan in compensation, if the couple didn’t tighten their belts, when would they ever finish paying off their debts?

This year, Chen Li’s family really didn’t dare to prepare anything for the New Year, saving wherever they could.

The second family with no meat to eat was Liu Zhanyuan’s.

He had said he wanted to divorce Xu Chunxia, but in the end, it didn’t happen.

Xu Chunxia was pregnant again. He would have to be crazy to divorce her now.

Xu Chunxia took great care to protect this pregnancy.

Liu Zhanyuan trembled with frustration. Just that one time, and this woman was pregnant?

How could he possibly believe it?

But what did Liu Zhanyuan know?

A woman who has recently given birth has hormone levels that haven’t fully adjusted yet, making it an especially easy stage to conceive. A miscarriage is still a form of labor, and Xu Chunxia was only twenty-five, the prime age for fertility. It wasn’t strange at all that she had conceived.

With this child, Xu Chunxia spent her days pondering how to win back Liu Zhanyuan’s heart.

Once the child was born, she didn’t believe for a second that Liu Zhanyuan wouldn’t like it.

It had to be said that Xu Chunxia was quite calculating; she certainly had a knack for grasping a man’s psychology.

At first, Liu Zhanyuan didn’t believe the child was his, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized Xu Chunxia had no opportunity to have an affair.

That meant there was a high probability the child was his.

So, should they have it?

“Have it. Why wouldn’t you? You aren’t getting any younger, and as long as the child is yours, that’s what matters. Once it’s born, send it back here. Your mother can get out of bed now, and she’s looking forward to raising a grandchild for you. Maybe it’ll even help her recover faster.” This was how Liu Zhanyuan’s father coaxed him.

Translator’s Notes