He Xuezhur’s voice carried a hint of happiness as she said, “Okay, I’ll buy you a few sets of clothes too.”
“I’m fine with just wearing my military uniform; there’s no need to buy anything.”
“You can’t always wear military attire. Look at you; you’ve bought me so many clothes, yet you never think to buy for yourself. Didn’t you say you were saving for a vacation? You can’t wear a uniform on vacation.”
She sweetly complained, “Don’t just focus on me; think about yourself too.”
The man, clearly of regiment-level authority and very imposing in public, chuckled lightly, his magnetic voice dripping with affection. “Alright, alright, I will obey the orders of my superior.”
Zhou Qianqian hid behind the door, listening as their conversation faded away. Her hand unconsciously clutched the doorframe tightly.
She looked down at her own clothes, which had worn pills after a year of use, her face pale with disappointment.
It couldn’t be; there was no way she could be worse off than He Xuezhur.
Miao Xing had told her that He Xuezhur merely relied on that one stomach.
No matter how hard she tried to comfort herself, Zhou Qianqian could not ignore that her husband didn’t even want to accompany her for a check-up when she was feeling ill, while He Xuezhur never complained and Lin Shiheng accompanied her to the hospital every time.
Her husband wouldn’t even buy her a new piece of clothing; even when she craved fruits during her pregnancy, he would complain that they were too expensive and refused to buy them for her.
But He Xuezhur could request whatever she wanted, and Lin Shiheng would buy it for her. Even though Zhou Qianqian never visited He Xuezhur, people in the compound often mentioned how fortunate she was.
She didn’t have to do any chores; even when she wanted to wash clothes, Lin Shiheng would stop her. When he was home, he did the laundry, and when he went on assignments, he would hire someone else to do it. Cooking was no different.
The last time Zhou Qianqian saw He Xuezhur by chance on the street, she noticed her slender, fair fingers, completely different from when they first met and her hands were calloused. It was clear that she had not done any hard work.
Back then, when others envied them, she mocked Lin Shiheng for being unable to manage a household, for spending money on chores despite having a wife.
But now, in her most uncomfortable and distressing moment, she found herself envious of He Xuezhur.
What right did she have?
They both came from rural backgrounds; what gave her the right to live so comfortably?
Why was she liked by everyone in the compound? Why did she and Miao Xing get ignored by that group?
The more Zhou Qianqian thought about it, the more suffocated she felt. It was the most heartbreaking that she lived uncomfortably while the He Xuezhur she once looked down upon sailed through life.
Her face drained of color; her stomach churned again, and she dry-heaved a few times, thinking that if she didn’t leave now, she would miss the cheaper bus. Quickly, she opened the door and stepped outside.
Lin Shiheng, indulgent of his pregnant wife, walked slowly. After just a few steps, Zhou Qianqian saw them coming down the stairs. Two young nurses who were heading upstairs happened to run into them. Having been there often, they knew this affectionate couple quite well and exchanged greetings. The man in military uniform continued to escort his wife carefully downstairs.
Zhou Qianqian couldn’t help but frown. So what if she was pregnant? Why was it necessary to walk so slowly? Was she trying to show off to someone? Just as she was about to step forward, she saw one of the nurses quickly climb the stairs to peek at Lin Shiheng lovingly guiding his wife.
“Lin, the commander, is so good to Xuezhur. If only I could find a man like him… No, even just half as good as Lin, I’d be satisfied.”
She paused, and then another nurse added:
“Why dream about such luck? Just look at us; we’ve been working in obstetrics and gynecology for a year now, and the good men we’ve seen, we can count on one hand. Finding someone as considerate as Commander Lin would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Even the head nurse said she has only seen Lin be so attentive to his wife.”
“True.” The young nurse’s expression visibly drooped.
Nowadays, people generally marry younger; even if they can’t get a marriage certificate due to age, they will still hold celebrations. However, several of the young nurses in obstetrics weren’t married, primarily because they were frightened by the men they encountered in the department.
Wives, heavy with child, came to the hospital ready to deliver but had to run around paying fees themselves. In unbearable pain, their husbands preferred to sleep and wouldn’t even go wake the doctor.
Or it could be that everything was fine, the husbands attentive and caring, until the child was born, and upon discovering it was a girl, they would turn cold, as if the wife had committed some unforgivable crime. They would refuse to do anything, ignoring the child’s cries as if they hadn’t heard, and when the nurses helped, they would act as if the nurses were meddling.
Having seen such things too often, they had completely lost hope in marriage. It wasn’t the old days anymore; the chairman had stated that it didn’t matter whether the child was a boy or a girl, yet those men suddenly claimed they only wanted boys.
Recently, one man brought his wife to the hospital to give birth, only to leave when he found out it was a girl, abandoning the mother and child until the hospital contacted the police to bring him back.
But seeing his dark and unwilling face as he picked up his wife and child, it was clear that their future together would not be any better.
“Do you remember the woman who gave birth yesterday? She was the one hiding under the covers crying when we went in for a dressing change that morning.”
“I remember. Her baby cried the loudest; I could hear it from inside the room.”
Upon hearing this, the young nurse pouted, “I heard the head nurse say the baby cried because of a wet diaper. That child screamed for almost half an hour without anyone changing them; it was only the head nurse who noticed and took care of it.”
“Really?”
Another nurse was shocked. “No one attended to it for half an hour?”
“Who would? You didn’t see it; when her mother-in-law and husband learned it was a girl, their faces darkened immediately. The woman had just given birth; that morning, she cried out in pain so loudly they woke her husband. He slapped her, and of course, she had to hide under the covers to cry.”