The next day, Luo Meiyun took Qiaoqiao out for a stroll in town.
At the entrance of the military dependents’ compound, guards stood at attention with rifles.
“Good morning, Director Luo!” The guards snapped to a military salute the moment they saw her.
“Hello, thank you for your hard work.”
Luo Meiyun waved, then suddenly remembered something. She pulled Qiaoqiao forward and introduced her to the guard. “Xiao Wu, this is my daughter-in-law, Yang Qiao. Please look after her.”
The guard immediately saluted. “Hello, Comrade Yang Qiao!”
Qiaoqiao’s face flushed crimson. No one had ever shown her such formal respect before, and she didn’t quite know how to react.
Luo Meiyun took Qiaoqiao’s hand. “Come on, let’s head to the vegetable market first.”
Stepping out of the compound and walking about half a mile to the left brought them to a bustling main street.
Rice shops, vegetable markets, supply and marketing cooperatives, shoe and umbrella repair shops, barbershops, and photo studios lined the street completely.
Qiaoqiao looked around with wide-eyed curiosity. Although the dependents’ compound wasn’t right in the city center, to her, this place felt like a grand and prosperous city.
Luo Meiyun led Qiaoqiao straight into the supply and marketing cooperative. Inside, a row of glass counters and shelves filled the back walls, displaying a dazzling array of everyday goods.
“Qiaoqiao, what do you want most? Mom will buy it for you,” Luo Meiyun asked, holding her hand.
“I… I don’t want anything. We have everything we need at home.”
As Qiaoqiao spoke, her eyes lingered on a thermos flask sitting on the counter. She really wanted it—she wanted to take it back for her mother.
The Zhou family had several military-issue thermoses; if you poured boiling water into them, it would still be hot by nighttime.
In Big Willow Village, there were no thermoses at all. Whenever guests came over, they had to start a fire just to boil water before they could steep tea.
Especially in winter, if they didn’t have time to boil water, taking a sip of cold tea could practically freeze your stomach.
If she had a thermos, her grandmother could have warm water to take her medicine whenever she needed it.
The thermoses at the supply cooperative looked even prettier than the ones at the Zhou house; they must have been very expensive.
Unaware of what Qiaoqiao was thinking, Luo Meiyun steered her straight toward the clothing section.
“Qiaoqiao, the weather is getting warmer. Let’s buy a couple of dresses, shall we?”
Floral summer dresses hung neatly on the racks behind the counter, looking bright and eye-catching.
“No, no, I’ve never worn a dress in my life. Mom packed enough coarse-cloth summer clothes for me; it’s plenty.”
Qiaoqiao waved her hands frantically. Such a gorgeous dress was something she wouldn’t dare wear under any circumstances.
Luo Meiyun thought for a moment. “If you don’t like dresses, let’s buy a blouse, a pair of Dacron trousers, and a pair of genuine leather sandals.”
Qiaoqiao resisted again. “Mom, I don’t need them.”
How on earth was she supposed to do any chores wearing clothes as pretty as that?
Paying no heed to Qiaoqiao’s protests, Luo Meiyun turned directly to the clerk. “Comrade, that floral blouse and those grass-green trousers—get a set in her size. Oh, and those black leather sandals too. Qiaoqiao, what shoe size do you wear?”
“Mom… I really don’t want them…”
Qiaoqiao was extremely nervous. An outfit like that must cost dozens of yuan.
“Size 36, I suppose. Try them on, they should fit,” Luo Meiyun decided on her own.
The supply cooperative didn’t allow people to try on clothes directly, so Luo Meiyun held the blouse up against Qiaoqiao to gauge the fit, then had her slip on the shoes. They fit her feet perfectly.
“Comrade, please wrap these up for me. How much is it?”
“That’ll be forty-eight yuan in total, plus sixteen feet of fabric rationing coupons.”
“Alright, thank you.”
A chill ran down Qiaoqiao’s spine, and she instinctively tugged at the hem of Luo Meiyun’s shirt. It was simply too expensive. Back home, her family wove their own cotton to make clothes; she had never laid eyes on anything so luxurious.
Besides, forty-eight yuan was enough to cover half a year’s living expenses for her entire family back home.
Luo Meiyun patted Qiaoqiao’s hand with a gentle, reassuring smile, as if telling her not to worry.
Holding the package of clothes and shoes felt as heavy as carrying a thousand pounds.
“Come, let’s go buy our vegetable seeds. Next time I go home to visit, I’ll get to taste vegetables straight from our own garden,” Luo Meiyun said, leading Qiaoqiao back outside.
“Mom, those clothes cost way too much,” Qiaoqiao hesitated, deeply tempted to go back and return them.
“I don’t have a daughter of my own, and working in the military means I never get to wear anything bright or colorful either. Since you can wear them, you might as well bring a little extra color into our household.”
Luo Meiyun spoke from the heart. Their home had been gloomy and stifling for far too long; beautiful clothes might bring a bit of cheer to everyone’s spirits.
Leaving the supply cooperative, they stepped right into the neighboring vegetable market. There was such a vast abundance of produce!
At home, Qiaoqiao basically subsisted on self-grown cabbage, radishes, and eggplants, but the market here stocked tomatoes, cucumbers, chili peppers, soybeans, peanuts…
Luo Meiyun turned to Qiaoqiao. “What do you like to eat? I can cook noodles, simmer rice porridge, and stir-fry cabbage. When it comes to fancy dishes, though, I’m completely useless.”
With a self-deprecating smile, Luo Meiyun’s expression turned slightly sorrowful. “Ever since Wenhui got hurt, we’ve mostly relied on the mess hall. I’ve only ever cooked porridge for him a handful of times. Qiaoqiao, I’m not a very good mother.”
“You’ve been busy with work, and besides, the food at the compound mess hall is really good too,” Qiaoqiao comforted her.
“On one side is the country, and on the other is the family. With the country unsettled right now, your father and I haven’t been able to give our small family the attention it deserves. A few years from now, once the border is peaceful and I’m able to retire, I’ll learn how to cook properly. I’ll cook for you and Wenhui, and for our future grandchildren.”
“Mom… once you retire, I’ll do the cooking for you.” Qiaoqiao’s face turned completely red. Even though they were married, Zhou Wenhui hadn’t even looked her in the eye once.
“Good, Qiaoqiao can cook for Mama. Today, why don’t you show off your culinary skills so we can see how talented our Qiaoqiao is?” Luo Meiyun smiled, though her heart was a complicated mix of emotions.
Qiaoqiao bought chili peppers, peanuts, tofu, vermicelli noodles, and pork belly.
Her repertoire of dishes was somewhat limited, so she planned to make braised pork belly with vermicelli noodles, alongside a plate of fried peanuts.
With the vegetables bought, they moved on to buy the seeds: cabbage, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, and eggplants.
Luo Meiyun looked like she wanted to buy a little bit of everything, until Qiaoqiao finally stopped her. “That’s enough, Mom. We won’t have enough garden space.”
“No worries, whatever we don’t plant this year, we can plant next year!” Luo Meiyun acted like a young girl experiencing the market for the first time; whatever Qiaoqiao showed interest in, she wanted to buy.
Before long, each of them was carrying two bulging bags—a richly rewarding trip.
“Qiaoqiao, I haven’t stepped foot inside a vegetable market or supply cooperative in at least ten years. Shopping with you today has been so refreshing.”
“So you don’t even buy your own salt and soy sauce?”
“We have Xiao Liu for that! Whenever we need coal briquettes or daily necessities at home, we just tell Xiao Liu, and he brings them over. He’s your father’s orderly. After Wenhui got injured, the military region transferred him to the logistics department to primarily look after a dozen or so wounded soldiers.”
“A dozen or so?”
“Mhm. Some lost their legs, some lost their arms, and some suffered psychological trauma, crying out every single day, ‘Charge, comrades!’ They’re all heroes. Since they can’t take care of themselves, the military logistics department assigns soldiers to assist them.”
“Mom… is war really that cruel?”
In Qiaoqiao’s world, the harshest thing she had ever known was her grandfather being called away to attend local committee meetings.
“The peaceful life we have didn’t come easily; there are people quietly standing guard at the border every single day. The country needs to develop and establish diplomatic relations with other nations, and there are many things that can’t be spoken of openly. My son, and the soldiers who gave their lives at their posts, are all people who sacrificed in silence. Someday, everyone will remember their names.”
Luo Meiyun’s eyes reddened, but she smiled bravely. “Qiaoqiao, our country is going to grow stronger and stronger.”
“So all our peace and stability was bought with the blood of soldiers… and here I was, constantly complaining when I spent all day toiling in the fields and couldn’t even get enough to eat.”
Qiaoqiao murmured softly, feeling a wave of sorrow for her own past ignorance.
“It’s true—so many people still don’t even have enough to eat. Once the fighting settles, the state will focus on developing production. When that day comes, our family will have a big bowl of braised pork every single day. How does that sound?”
“No, that’s too extravagant, even every day.”
Even in her wildest fantasies, Qiaoqiao wouldn’t dare dream of eating braised pork every single day.