Su Manqing settled into the family quarters.
Although she often received strange looks from military wives when she went out, and some even whispered “lazy woman” behind her back, at least she had a place to stay, right?
On the third day, Wang Xingmei took a day off and brought Su Manqing to the commune to make a phone call.
The entire island was a county town, covering a fairly large area. The distance from the family quarters to the commune was about seven or eight kilometers.
Without a vehicle, they had to rely on their own two legs. Fortunately, having someone to talk to made the journey less boring.
Or rather, Su Manqing had no chance to feel bored at all.
Wang Xingmei brought her two children along—one just over a year old and the other four years old.
She carried the one-year-old daughter on her back, while Su Manqing held the hand of the four-year-old son.
But the little boy was bursting with energy. As soon as they left the family quarters, he broke free from her grip and refused to be held.
He ran and jumped, picked up stones to throw into the woods on either side, and broke off branches to swat at the grass along the path.
Not only that, but he also occasionally grabbed things from the grass to show Su Manqing.
Su Manqing went from being shocked and scared at first to gradually calming down.
She watched as he caught a grasshopper, then a dragonfly, then a lizard, and then…
Suddenly, Su Manqing, who had been relatively composed, froze in place when she saw what was in his hand!
“Mao… Mao Dan! What are you holding?”
Her trembling voice was filled with unmistakable terror as she pointed a shaky finger at the thing in his hand.
Mao Dan, however, was excitedly clutching the long, wriggling creature and running toward her!
Su Manqing felt as if all the blood in her body had frozen. The color drained from her face in an instant.
A moment later, she let out a sharp, piercing scream!
“Don’t come any closer! Aaaaaah!”
Hearing her scream, Wang Xingmei, who had just gone into the woods to gather firewood, was startled!
She dropped the firewood in her hands and, with the baby still strapped to her back, agilely rushed out.
As she ran, she called out, “Manqing, what’s wrong?”
Su Manqing had already jumped several steps back, her voice trembling as she replied, “A snake! It’s a snake!”
Only then did Wang Xingmei notice her mischievous son holding… wasn’t that a snake?
Her face darkened, and she roared angrily!
“Ding Zhiqiang! Are you itching for a beating?”
But Mao Dan seemed long accustomed to his mother’s lion-like roar. Not only was he unafraid, but he even proudly presented the snake to Wang Xingmei!
“Mom! Look! It’s meat! I want to eat meat!”
Mao Dan’s eyes held no fear of the snake—only a deep longing for meat.
And Wang Xingmei, true to being Mao Dan’s mother, after her initial anger, magically produced a… burlap sack from her person?
Then, with practiced ease, she stuffed the snake into the bag.
“Don’t use snakes to scare your auntie anymore, got it?”
It was “don’t use snakes to scare your auntie,” not “don’t catch snakes”!
For a moment, Su Manqing didn’t know how to react.
Her face wooden, she watched as Wang Xingmei happily sealed the burlap sack.
“Manqing, let me tell you, this snake soup is absolutely delicious. When it’s ready, I’ll bring you a bowl to try…”
Wang Xingmei spoke as she walked toward Su Manqing.
But before she could finish her sentence, she saw Su Manqing take a sudden step back, shaking her head vigorously like a rattle-drum.
“No!”
"Oh dear, this snake just looks scary, but it's actually not frightening at all. Once you try snake soup, you'll know—I guarantee you'll want more after tasting it."
Wang Xingmei spoke with the tone of someone who had been through it all.
Su Manqing still firmly refused.
Seeing this, Wang Xingmei could only reluctantly give up, though she couldn't help muttering from time to time.
"Such a waste, such a waste."
Su Manqing: …
The two adults and two children continued walking. Perhaps because he had been thoroughly beaten by Wang Xingmei, Mao Dan behaved much better for the rest of the journey.
He didn't catch any more strange things for her.
The little one, however, kept turning his head to look at her, baring his few tiny teeth at her.
He also mumbled indistinctly, "Zhen."
The journey of about seven or eight kilometers took them over an hour to walk.
This era was already backward, and the island's commune was even less developed compared to the outside world.
On both sides of the simple street stood rows of low, single-story houses, occasionally interspersed with one or two rammed-earth buildings, their roofs covered with gray-black tiles.
They first arrived at the post and telecommunications office.
The post and telecommunications office was a gray-brick single-story building, with a faded wooden sign reading "Post and Telecommunications Station" nailed above the doorframe.
The door was wide open. Inside, the cement counter was polished to a shine, and the walls were adorned with yellowed "People's Post and Telecommunications" propaganda posters and handwritten postage rate charts.
Wooden sorting racks took up half the room, and an old-fashioned hand-cranked telephone sat in the corner.
Su Manqing first placed a letter into an envelope before finding a staff member to make a phone call.
Hearing she wanted to make a call, the female comrade in a green uniform glanced at her and then lazily said, "Phone calls cost twenty cents per minute."
Hearing the rate of twenty cents per minute, Wang Xingmei gasped!
After all, her husband, as a battalion commander, only earned sixty or seventy yuan a month.
"I know. Please dial the number for me."
As she spoke, Su Manqing handed over the phone number.
Seeing that it was a Jingshi area code and what appeared to be a military district phone number, the female staff member's expression changed slightly, and her attitude improved considerably.
"Please wait a moment."
With that, she turned to dial the number.
Communication technology in this era was very backward. After dialing here, there was still an operator in the middle who had to connect the call to the corresponding number before it could go through.
A busy tone of "beep—beep—" came from the phone. After about ten seconds, Miao Qian's familiar loud voice suddenly rang out on the other end: "Hello? Who is this?"
Unexpectedly, it was Miao Qian who answered the phone. Su Manqing was overjoyed.
Suppressing her excitement, she said softly, "Qianqian, it's me."
"Qingqing?!" Hearing her voice, Miao Qian seemed stunned for a moment before raising her voice several notches. "Where have you run off to? Why haven't I seen you for so long!"
Hearing the concerned voice through the receiver, Su Manqing's eyes grew slightly moist. After a pause, she finally spoke: "I've come to the island."
"What?!" Miao Qian was so shocked she nearly dropped the receiver. "Why did you go there?"
Seeing her usual dramatic reaction, Su Manqing felt both amused and helpless.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "I'm accompanying the army."