The wedding ceremony was held in the factory canteen. Guests who had to work left after a short visit, and by lunchtime, the people who stayed moved to the textile factory. Zheng Jinrui hosted the wedding, which lasted only half an hour, and then everyone ate in the canteen.
The radiant Shen Feihong specially opened some bottles of wine to cheer everyone up.
Throughout, Feng Qingxue never saw Wang Fengmei.
Chen Xueniang, who had worked her usual half day, prepared a dish of steamed eggs with minced meat for Xibao, which made Little Fatty give her sweet smiles every now and then.
Chen Xueniang’s heart turned as soft as cotton.
"You are going to visit the army, be careful on the road, and take good care of Xibao," Chen Xueniang couldn’t help but remind her, "Money and possessions are not important, what’s most important is Xibao. He’s the precious gift you’re taking to Lu Jiang."
Feng Qingxue smiled and said, "Don’t worry, it’s not like I haven’t traveled far. I can’t afford to lose anything, especially him!"
As she spoke, she pointed her chin towards Xibao.
To them, Xibao was the most precious of all.
"Mama!" Xibao happily lifted his spoon and then bent over to diligently scrape off the meat from the bottom of his bowl.
Chen Xueniang was still worried. She was concerned that Feng Qingxue wasn’t taking enough provisions along and that the two would have a tough time eating and sleeping well on the train, which could cause Xibao to lose weight. After work in the evening, Chen Xueniang went to the grocery store and bought a lot of egg cakes, walnut cookies, and high-quality milk candies. These items were purchased by spending much of her money and various tickets, like grain tickets, egg tickets, sugar tickets, etc. She also purchased couple pounds of cooked pig’s head and two marinated pig’s feet from their neighbor. Then she hung them by the window to freeze overnight and in the morning when saying goodbye to Feng Qingxue, she put these into the bag that contained food.
"The weather is cold so it can last for a while. You can eat it on the way, just warm it with hot water, or buy a bowl of noodles and put the pig’s head meat, which I specially asked someone to cut, into the soup. This should do for a meal." She then gave her the thirty pounds of national grain tickets and a stack of Big Unity tickets she had specially exchanged, "We may be poor, but don’t be frugal when traveling."
Feng Qingxue was deeply touched, "Sister Xueniang... we’ve brought everything."
Cheng Baoguo, Wang Cuilan, Zhao Anbang, and everyone else also prepared lots of food and tickets. Even the materials sent by Lu Jiang’s comrades were almost all packed. They even packed a quilt in case they would feel cold on the train.
Chen Xueniang nonchalantly said, "What you have brought is yours. What I gave is from my heart. Just take it, don’t be polite!"
So, Feng Qingxue boarded the train with bags of all sizes.
Carrying Xibao who was still sleeping deeply with a small quilt wrapped around him, carrying a quilt and a wolf-fur mat on her back, holding large bags in both hands, dressed in a military coat and wearing a lei feng hat, she was as bulky as a bear. Without the help of the two car attendants who brought her to a sleeper compartment that was only for two people, she would have never been able to board the train on her own.
Being a military dependent with an introduction letter, she was allowed some privileges, such as boarding the train early.
After untying Xibao and settling him on the lower bunk, covering him with a quilt, Feng Qingxue rubbed her back and took a breather.
The fare of this sleeper compartment was a lot higher than the regular compartments. Considering that she was a female comrade with a child, the conductor didn’t arrange anyone else into the compartment, "I’ve arranged the passengers who bought the compartment sleeper tickets in other compartments. So don’t worry, if you need anything, just tell me. I patrol several times a day!"
"Thank you, thank you, comrade!" Feng Qingxue was very grateful. It’s true what they say, there are always more good people in the world.
It seemed that Cheng Baoguo had arranged something, as the train captain made a special trip to tell them to rest assured.