Chapter 100 Picking Up People
The day Li Xingfang arrived happened to be a Sunday. Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei both had the day off, so after breakfast, they set off to the train station to pick her up.
Because they weren't sure when Li Xingfang would arrive, they left early, arriving at the train station before 10 a.m. They waited for almost two hours before finally seeing Li Xingfang carrying large bags and small packages, following the flow of passengers out.
Lin Qingqing saw the person first, called out "Mother," and waved her hand.
Hearing the noise, Li Xingfang looked over. Her eyes lit up at first, then she grabbed her bags and ran out. Xie Wei spoke to the ticket inspector at the entrance, and he and Lin Qingqing went against the flow of people inside. He walked up to Li Xingfang and asked, "Why are you carrying so much stuff?"
"It's getting colder, so I packed two extra bags of clothes," Li Xingfang said, pointing to the two large bags. She figured she would stay until Lin Qingqing finished giving birth and completing her postpartum confinement before going back, which would be next summer, so she needed to bring plenty of clothes. That's why she packed two big bags of clothes.
Xie Wei pointed to the bags of urea next to him and asked, "What's this?"
"We raised chickens at home, and before coming here, I also brought a duck from the village to stew for Qingqing to help her recover," Li Xingfang said with a smile. Seeing Lin Qingqing about to get the urea bag, she quickly took the bag from her and said, "You're pregnant, I'll carry it."
Seeing this, Xie Wei switched the two large bags of clothes that Li Xingfang was carrying with one hand, and reached for the urea bag, saying, "Let me carry it."
Li Xingfang's hand fell empty, and just as she was about to speak, Lin Qingqing said, "Mother, where's your train ticket?"
"Ticket? What for?"
Lin Qingqing pointed to the ticket inspector at the door and said, "We need to have our tickets checked to go out."
It was Li Xingfang's first time taking a train, and she didn't know that she needed to have her ticket checked when she got off. However, she had habitually put her ticket in the pocket inside her coat after entering the station, so she quickly found it and handed it to the ticket inspector.
After checking their tickets and leaving, Lin Qingqing asked Li Xingfang if she had eaten breakfast.
"Not yet," Li Xingfang replied. There was food on the train, and Xie Baoshan had prepared nationally valid food coupons for her before she left, but she felt the food on the train was too expensive and couldn't bear to buy it.
Hearing that she hadn't eaten breakfast, Xie Wei said, "Then let's find a restaurant to eat first."
Upon hearing that they were going to a restaurant, Li Xingfang was startled and said, "I'm not hungry. Why would I go to a state-run restaurant? Aren't your troops not far away? We can just go home and cook our own lunch."
Lin Qingqing thought that Li Xingfang was used to being frugal and probably wouldn't eat well at a state-run restaurant, so she suggested, "Let's go home to the canteen of the affiliated hospital and eat there, so we don't waste time cooking ourselves."
During busy farming seasons, the production brigade would also open a large canteen, and eating there was more cost-effective than eating at home. She was indeed hungry, so she nodded in agreement and said, "Let's go to the canteen. Why go to a state-run restaurant? That would be such a waste."
Seeing that they all said so, Xie Wei stopped insisting on going to the state-run restaurant, and the three of them went to the station to catch a bus.
As they boarded the bus, they ran into Li Chunying. Seeing the three of them, she guessed and asked, "Is this your auntie?"
Li Xingfang didn't recognize Li Chunying, so she turned to Lin Qingqing and asked, "Who is this?"
"Hello, Auntie, my name is Li Chunying, and I also live in the military family compound," Li Chunying introduced herself.
In Li Xingfang's view, living in the same compound means being neighbors. And since Li Chunying is also a military family member, she also put on a smile and said, "We are from the same family. I also have the surname Li and the name Xingfang. This is my son."
Li Chunying laughed as she listened, "Oh my, what a coincidence!" She offered her seat, the first one she had taken upon entering, to Li Xingfang, saying, "Please sit here." She then sat down on the extra bench that had been added in front of her.
Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei remained in their usual seats.
After sitting down, Li Chunying asked, "Your stomach wasn't feeling well a while ago. Are you feeling any better recently? What did the doctor say?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xingfang was shocked. She turned to look at her and said, "Is your stomach upset? What happened? You too, why did you send your wife here if she's not feeling well?"
"I also told her to rest at home, but I just wanted to see you as soon as possible," Xie Wei said helplessly.
Lin Qingqing said, "I just feel a little nauseous when I'm in the car, but it's not serious. The doctor said it will probably get better in a while."
When Li Xingfang heard the doctor say it would get better in a while, she understood that it was probably pregnancy symptoms. Li Chunying, though unsure of the situation, trusted the doctor and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "It's good that the tests are normal."
...
Xie Wei had served in the army for over ten years, but because he spent several of those years on the battlefield and transportation was inconvenient, this was Li Xingfang's first time visiting Jin City, so she was quite excited on the way.
But she wasn't the type to jump to conclusions easily, and she remained relatively composed while seated. However, when the bus pulled up outside the military camp and she saw the wide gate and the soldiers standing ramrod straight at the entrance, Li Xingfang couldn't hold back any longer. Pointing at the camp, she turned to Xie Wei and asked, "Is that your military camp?"
Xie Wei looked outside in the direction Li Xingfang pointed and nodded, saying, "Yes."
The shuttle bus stopped outside the military camp, and several people in military uniforms got off. Li Xingfang almost followed, but Xie Wei stopped her and asked, "Don't you live inside?"
“I sometimes stay inside, but the family compound is a bit far from the military camp. We’re going to the family compound now,” Xie Wei explained.
Li Xingfang understood: "The family compound isn't in the military camp?"
Xie Wei nodded: "The family compound is about two miles away from the military camp."
Although Li Xingfang is Xie Wei's mother, she doesn't know much about his life in the military. Before, because she didn't understand, she didn't know how to ask, but now that she does, the questions come one after another: "How do you usually get to the barracks? By walking or by car? Are there many people living in the family compound? Are they all military families?"
A barrage of questions rained down on her, leaving Li Chunying unsure which to answer first. Xie Wei, however, answered them all without batting an eye: "When there's a car, we take it; when there isn't, we walk. It's hard to say how many people live in the family compound, but it's definitely more than our brigade. Only military personnel can apply for housing in the family compound. Apart from the staff of the supply and marketing cooperative's guesthouse, everyone else is a military family member." In fact, the staff of the supply and marketing cooperative's guesthouse were also mostly military dependents.
As they were talking, the bus arrived at its final stop. Xie Wei and his group got off the bus with their things, and they had to register at the entrance before they could go in.
As they went inside, Li Xingfang couldn't help but turn her head to look at the gate. Lin Qingqing noticed her action and asked, "Mother, what's wrong?"
Li Xingfang pointed to the soldiers standing guard at the gate and asked in a low voice, "Are they soldiers? Do they have to stand like this every day?"
“He’s a soldier, but he works shifts, standing for seven or eight hours a day,” Lin Qingqing replied.
"This is so tiring," Li Xingfang asked Xie Wei with concern. "Have you ever stood like this before?"
How could a soldier not stand guard? The first thing in basic training is standing at attention, which is already the easiest thing. But Xie Wei didn't answer Li Xingfang's question directly, he just smiled and said, "You don't have to stand now."
Li Xingfang understood what he meant and said, "Yes, life is getting better and better."
As they arrived at the Xie family's house, Li Xingfang stood at the door, looking at the large courtyard planted with flowers and plants, and the cement-painted walls, and asked in shock, "Is this the house that the army assigned to you?"
“That’s right.” Lin Qingqing helped Li Xingfang inside, saying as they walked, “When we first came here, we lived in those row houses, four households in one courtyard. Last year, Xie Wei’s application to change houses was approved, so we moved to this detached house.”
As she spoke, Lin Qingqing unlocked the door with her key and walked inside, introducing the area to Li Xingfang: "This is the kitchen, and inside is the bathroom, which has a toilet."
"The toilet is inside the house?" Li Xingfang thought to herself, "If the toilet is inside the house, it must smell awful!"
“All the houses in Jinshi are like this. After you finish using the toilet, you flush the water down the drain, and there’s no odor inside.” Lin Qingqing led Li Xingfang to the bathroom, scooped up a ladle of water, and poured it into the toilet. “Look, the water has all flowed down.”
Li Xingfang exclaimed in surprise, "It really went down! That's so convenient!"
After checking the restroom, Lin Qingqing took Li Xingfang to the dining room, living room, and the second bedroom that had been prepared for her. There was no wardrobe in the second bedroom, so clothes had to be stored in wooden chests. Lin Qingqing felt a little apologetic about this and said, "You can put the clothes you don't wear in our room, and the clothes you wear can stay here. Let's see if we can get wardrobe vouchers for the Chinese New Year this year. If we do, we'll buy a wardrobe."
“I don’t have many clothes, one suitcase is enough,” Li Xingfang added, worried that they would waste money. “There’s no need to buy another wardrobe.”
"We'll see when the time comes." Lin Qingqing didn't insist on buying a wardrobe, but she didn't say she wouldn't buy one either.
...
After getting home and tidying up a bit, it was already midnight. Lin Qingqing heard Li Xingfang's stomach growling with hunger, so she said they would tidy up when they got back, and the three of them went to the cafeteria to eat first.
It was Sunday, and many people in the residential compound were resting. Some who didn't want to cook ate in the canteen. On the way, I saw Lin Qingqing and her group with an unfamiliar face, so I asked them a few questions. However, given Li Xingfang's age, everyone could generally guess who she was to Xie Wei; asking was just to confirm.
People were very enthusiastic at this time, and since Xie Wei was of a high rank and Lin Qingqing worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, they could get advance notice of things like new clothes and new food items arriving at the Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Therefore, out of respect for Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei, everyone addressed her affectionately as "Auntie."
Before arriving, Li Xingfang was a little apprehensive, worried that she would be looked down upon because she was from the countryside. This wasn't due to inferiority complex, but rather because she had encountered such neighbors when she was taking care of Xu Lina. Xie Qingshan and his wife lived in the county town, while Xie Wei and his family lived in the city, which made her think twice.
Fortunately, the people I met along the way showed no disdain and their welcoming smiles were genuine.
Li Xingfang gradually relaxed.
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