After drinking a bowl of spiritual spring water, the piglet’s condition visibly improved. Every now and then, it even let out a few little grunts.
It seemed the spiritual spring water really worked!
Although the piglet had regained quite a bit of energy, it still had many wounds. Cuts and scrapes of all sizes covered its body. There was a palm-sized abrasion on its abdomen, where the black blood had already dried, exposing the flesh underneath. It looked quite horrifying.
Shen Qingqing scooped up another bowl of water.
She tore off a palm-sized strip of cloth from the clothes she was wearing, soaked it in the spiritual spring water, and carefully wiped the wounds on the piglet’s body, cleaning away the blood and dirt.
The wounds no longer looked quite so frightening.
Shen Qingqing cleared out a small bamboo basket and lined it with soft leaves before carefully placing the piglet inside.
The little piglet struggled to open its eyes.
Its tiny, bead-like eyes were watery as it looked at Shen Qingqing, almost as if it were thanking her.
A moment later, it slowly closed its eyes again.
Judging by its condition, the piglet probably wouldn’t die now.
Shen Qingqing happily clapped her hands.
Afraid it would be hungry after waking up, she filled a bowl with spiritual spring water and placed it beside the piglet so that it could drink as soon as it woke up.
After finishing everything, Shen Qingqing quickly brushed the dirt and grime off her clothes before leaving the dimensional space.
Meanwhile, the woman who had received the money hurriedly left the black market with her basket, afraid that if she lingered, Shen Qingqing might come looking for her.
She held the money tightly against her chest, grinning from ear to ear.
She had actually met such a fool today!
She didn’t even know which family’s daughter this was. Clearly, she had never done any housework in her life. She had spent 7.50 yuan on a piglet that barely had a couple hundred grams of meat on it.
It was simply hilarious!
City people’s money really was easy to make!
After taking care of all these matters, Shen Qingqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Now she only had to wait until she and Shen Jiaojiao left to join their husbands in the army.
And when they arrived, there would be a good show for her to watch!
The day when Shen Qingqing and Shen Jiaojiao were to leave for their military assignments soon arrived.
Bai Nianyun had made all sorts of nice promises on the surface, saying she would prepare Shen Qingqing’s dowry properly.
In reality, she had barely put any effort into it.
Shen Qingqing looked at the small bundle Bai Nianyun handed her.
Even though she had already prepared herself mentally, she was still shocked by the shamelessness of this mother and daughter.
There were two sets of coarse-cloth clothes, two pairs of cloth shoes, and fifty yuan.
That was all.
Shen Jiaojiao’s situation, however, was completely different.
Bai Nianyun was terrified that her daughter wouldn’t live comfortably after going there.
Not only did she pack everything Shen Qingqing’s mother had left behind into Shen Jiaojiao’s luggage, she even had someone make two cotton quilts for her.
She also took Shen Jiaojiao shopping and bought her several fashionable dresses, along with a pair of women’s leather shoes.
As a result, when the Shen family went together to see them off at the train station, Shen Luanfeng, Bai Nianyun, and Shen Jiaojiao were all struggling under their huge piles of luggage.
Shen Qingqing, on the other hand, had only a simple bundle.
She wore a plain gray coarse-cloth outfit and blue cloth shoes.
She looked extremely modest.
Although her clothes weren’t patched, the contrast between her and Shen Jiaojiao, who was dressed in bright colors from head to toe, was striking.
Shen Luanfeng raised his head and happened to meet the sight of his eldest daughter standing quietly nearby, calmly watching the three of them struggle under their luggage, their foreheads covered in sweat.
For some reason, although his daughter looked indifferent, he felt as though there was a faint trace of mockery in her eyes.
Shen Luanfeng shook his head.
No, that couldn’t be.
His eldest daughter had always been obedient and well-behaved.
How could she possibly look at him like that?
Only then did he notice something.
The luggage belonging to his younger daughter was so heavy that three people were struggling to carry it.
Yet his eldest daughter was carrying only a tiny bundle.
The bundle even looked nearly empty.
For a moment, Shen Luanfeng was stunned.
An inexplicable surge of anger rose in his heart.
Fortunately, Bai Nianyun was quick to block his line of sight toward Shen Qingqing.
“Old Shen, let’s get the children onto the train first. We can’t afford to miss it.”
Shen Luanfeng looked at the approaching train and suppressed his anger.
He put down Shen Jiaojiao’s luggage.
Seeing Shen Qingqing’s pitifully small bundle, Shen Jiaojiao couldn’t help curling the corners of her lips in satisfaction.
She kicked the luggage on the ground slightly toward Shen Qingqing.
“Big Sis, I can’t carry all this stuff. When we get on the train later, can you help me carry it?”
Before Shen Qingqing could react, Shen Jiaojiao affectionately took her hand.
“Big Sis, once you marry into the Zhou family, you’ll officially be the commander’s wife.”
“Although he’s only a deputy commander for now, I believe Brother-in-law is so capable that he’ll definitely get promoted within a few years.”
“Unlike me. Who knows how many more years I’ll have to wait? After all, my husband is only a deputy battalion commander right now.”
There was quite a difference between a deputy regiment commander and a deputy battalion commander.
Shen Jiaojiao was saying this simply to remind her sister that she had willingly given up such an excellent marriage to her.
Shen Qingqing wasn’t angry at all.
She casually picked up most of the bundles from the ground, carrying one on her back as well.
She smiled gently.
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely thank you properly when the time comes.”
The train gradually approached.
Shen Luanfeng and Bai Nianyun held Shen Jiaojiao’s hands and kept giving her endless reminders.
As they spoke, their eyes even became slightly moist.
It was understandable.
Shen Jiaojiao was the daughter they had doted on since childhood.
Now she was going to marry someone thousands of miles away.
After leaving, who knew when they would see her again?
It was only natural that they would be reluctant to part with her.
Even Shen Luanfeng rarely looked directly at Shen Qingqing.
His expression was complicated.
He genuinely didn’t know how to get close to this eldest daughter of his.
Nevertheless, he patiently reminded her,
“Once you get there, behave properly as someone else’s wife. Respect your elders, take good care of your husband, and manage the household well.
“Don’t let other people say that our family failed to raise its daughter properly.”
Shen Qingqing gave a soft laugh.
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of happiness in her eyes.
She simply said,
“The train is here. I’m leaving first, Dad…”
Seeing his eldest daughter remain completely unmoved, Shen Luanfeng inexplicably felt irritated.
When he spoke again, his tone was noticeably stiffer.
“All right, then. Go.
“Remember to take good care of Jiaojiao. She’s younger than you, so you should give in to her.”
Shen Qingqing hoisted Shen Jiaojiao’s bundle onto her shoulder and boarded the train without looking back.
The train was extremely crowded.
It would take several days to reach the place where they would be joining their husbands.
Fortunately, the men they were marrying were soldiers.
The Zhou family had managed to obtain two sleeper-berth authorization letters for them, so they didn’t have to squeeze in with everyone else.
In this era, sleeper tickets on trains weren’t something ordinary people could easily get.
Sometimes sleeper berths would rather remain empty than be sold to the public.
Only a small number of people were able to obtain authorization for sleeper tickets.
Shen Jiaojiao was quite proud of this.
She ordered Shen Qingqing to put all her luggage on the floor, then lay down on the bed herself and began resting.
Shen Qingqing couldn’t be bothered arguing with her.
She placed her pitifully small bundle on the bed.
They had gotten up early that morning to travel, and she had also carried so much luggage through the crowded train cars.
She was exhausted by now.
After taking off her shoes, she lay down on the bed.
Shen Jiaojiao was filled with hope for her future life.
She glanced at Shen Qingqing, who had her eyes closed, and smugly curled her lips upward.
My dear big sister, you probably don’t know yet…
You’re about to become a widow.
I just hope you won’t cry too miserably when the time comes!