She Only Cares About Cultivation-Chapter 873 - 803: Famine Era 44

She’s even been through men, so a sexless marriage isn’t a big deal, as long as he doesn’t become strange and moody.

She can accept everything about him, just not being married to a man who’s fussy like a woman.

Of course, she didn’t dare say this out loud.

...

Walking out of Tong Zhan’s ward, it was already four in the afternoon. She took the clothes he changed out of to the washroom, washed them clean, and hung them outside the dormitory.

At five, she cooked a meal, ate a little herself, and took the leftover fish, tofu, and noodles to Tong Zhan and Wang Tao.

By half-past five, she took another night shift. Later, another wave of people came to see him. By the time she went back at nine, he had already made his decision.

"I chose the military factory. I’m sorry, Ye Huan, but you’ll probably suffer by following me. I don’t want to rely on sympathy to get that position."

This choice didn’t surprise Ye Huan at all. This was Tong Zhan. If he wanted something, he’d fight for it himself. If he didn’t want it, even a high military position meant nothing to him.

"We’ve always been low-key. Holding the position of brigade commander has already made many old folks jealous. If I took the chief of staff position of the division, I fear there’d be no peace in the future. At the military factory, I have to follow the superior’s arrangements. As the factory director, I’ll follow orders and listen to commands. The work is easy, not tiring, allowing me to relax and recover. I haven’t had enough of you yet. Looking at today, I should’ve kept you by my side. Ah, such regrets!"

Seeing him use humor to cope at a time like this, one had to admire his good disposition and strong character.

Just hope that his strategic retreat would allow him to suffer less during the tumultuous decade.

Ye Huan, of course, expressed a hundredfold support: "The most important thing for you now is to recover. Don’t think about anything else."

Even if his military career ends here, he doesn’t regret any step he took before since his wife gave him the strongest support, and he had no doubts.

Actually, understanding sacrifice is the most difficult hurdle in life.

During Tong Zhan’s hospital stay, Ye Huan went back to the military district compound and moved their belongings to the single dormitory at the hospital.

Since they made up their minds, there was no need to occupy a place they weren’t using. That wasn’t their style.

On the day they left, everyone came to see her off, "Tong Zhan won’t be coming to say goodbye to everyone. You’ll all have chances to meet in the future. Everyone..., take care of yourselves. Plus, thanks to all the sisters-in-law for the pickled vegetables. We both bow here to everyone."

After returning to the unit and seeing off the soldiers who helped, Ye Huan put away all the big appliances at home, like the large iron pot that couldn’t be used here due to space limitations. After moving in the wardrobe and cupboard, there was only room for a bed, and it was still the dormitory bunk bed; there was no chance to replace it with a double bed.

Being next to the hospital, most people ate at the cafeteria, with very few cooking their meals and still using coal, since it’s in the city and not as free as the countryside. So she stored everything used for cooking in her space, since these men didn’t worry about such things. Later, she’d buy a small stove and coal balls to make do for cooking.

During the two-day leave, she didn’t return to the hospital. After thoroughly organizing, she handled discharge procedures for Tong Zhan and transferred him to their military hospital for continued rehab, letting him stay in a special care ward. She’d give him a wash and wipe his body before leaving in the evening, returned early morning for seamless care, eliminating the need for a security aide. And since he was no longer a brigade commander, he couldn’t command Wang Tao any longer, so she let him go early.

That kid cried his heart out when he left, taking a scolding from Tong Zhan. He grumbled, yet still wiped tears after the kid left.

Men are something, needing face despite suffering.

After entering November, there had already been two heavy snowfalls, each day colder than the last. Ye Huan had written to her family, letting them know she wouldn’t be returning home for the year.

Aside from sleeping time, she spent all working and resting hours with Tong Zhan in the hospital. The hospital allowed it, permitting her to go to the emergency room when needed, and stay to help him with rehab when there wasn’t. The work at the military factory could wait until fall 1956 to officially start, during which time he was on paid leave with brigade commander-level salary; the pay wouldn’t change even after moving to the military factory.

This was probably the higher-ups’ compensation for him.

Since Tong Zhan needed nutrition, she found all means to hoard and trade for supplies.

Both Tong Zhan and she possessed military IDs, often benefiting the most from supplies, ranging from nutritional products, meat, to cloth and coal—everything needed was stocked.

At this time, it wasn’t just their careers, tickets, or money; even the fruits and vegetables from her space gave some support.

Once transferred to the military hospital, people from his previous brigade visited from time to time, keeping up appearances before everything was forgotten. She made sure not to let them leave empty-handed, repaying their visits with fruits depending on what they brought.

Though buying meat meant getting up early, at least she could do it, managing a few jins each time. Sometimes acquiring fatty meat, other times lean, when five-flower meat and ribs weren’t available, large thigh bones and pig intestines made up for it. Every few days, she improved his meals.

It had only been a little over a month when Tong Zhan discovered he had gained quite a bit of weight. He exclaimed that his wife’s meals were too good and asked for simpler meals, not wanting to eat so well.

She laughed at him, scolding him for not realizing how lucky he was.

Before they knew it, December had arrived. The weather was colder, and the snow was thicker. Ye Huan loved Beijing at this time because it could snow. Snow meant better air quality, even if it was a bit cold. Unlike the later times when snow was rare in the north, which was an abnormal sign, the winters of this era always brought snow.

After the snowfall, the hanging ice stalactites became a dazzling sight. The children would playfully smash them, picking them up and putting them in their mouths. In the absence of industrial pollution, they weren’t actually dirty.

This was also a rare memory from childhood.

When Ye Huan slept, she would sleep in the space, without using the stove, saving quite a bit of coal.

The ward where Tong Zhan stayed had a stove with someone specifically to look after it, so she didn’t have to worry. He had suggested that she sleep in the ward with him at night, but she didn’t directly refuse. Instead, she stayed over every now and then. If it coincided with her period or other reasons, she would make an excuse. This way, she could do more things in the space.

Harvesting fruits and vegetables was one thing, but pickling spicy cabbage and dried radish was a large project as well.

The military wives helped make Northeast-style sour cabbage and sour radish from the leftovers in the family apartment earlier, so she planned to make the other half Korean-style. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

In the past, they planted a lot initially to share with the warriors, but now, without that opportunity, they kept it for themselves. After all, there was no chance to plant vegetables until the autumn of this year, so during famine years, at least there would be something to eat.

In the military factory where Tong Zhan worked, he was the second in command, with the first being the party secretary. Although he hadn’t met him yet, he knew who it was.

The man was more than ten years older than him, a very seasoned member of the Underground D.

The military factories of this era hadn’t yet started researching advanced technologies like aerospace, nuclear weapons, or electronic equipment. They mostly produced military supplies, weapons, ships, and the like. The factory where Tong Zhan worked was located on the outskirts of Hebei and was known as the Third Weapon Industry Department, still rather single-purposed. However, it was one of the ten largest military factories in Hua Country. It couldn’t be said to have no prospects at all; it was merely a shift from the front to the rear lines, where they could still connect with leaders from various units. After all, in the north, aside from Shenyang, Hebei was the largest.

It was close to Beijing, but the inconvenience was that the couple might have to live apart in two places.

Fortunately, there were no spousal obligations now. Tong Zhan could visit Beijing occasionally for short reunions.

As for future plans, Ye Huan hadn’t thought them through yet, as her current task was stockpiling supplies.

This era was all about having something to eat, and she dared not think of anything else. After satisfying hunger, there would be time to consider other matters.

In the insecure 1950s and 60s, only with food at hand could one dare to plan for the future.

In the 1956 Spring Festival, Ye Huan agreed to take shifts for her colleagues in exchange for compensation. It didn’t matter since she would be at the hospital anyway, not going home. Earning that money was better than earning nothing.

She made dumplings in her dormitory—celeriac, radish, chives fillings—the vegetables procured from colleagues with a greenhouse at home, and they turned out exceptionally well. Naturally, Tong Zhan ate well too.

Since December commenced, he had requested that his meals be prepared according to the previous standard, not allowing him to eat well anymore. So, Ye Huan obediently made fish soup and boiled eggs for him, as these could always be bought from fellow villagers, and he didn’t refuse that.

However, she hadn’t stopped buying meat, chicken, fish, and eggs. Every month’s meat tickets and the ones saved from before had been used entirely, and she asked for special favors from her fellow villagers to purchase farm products every now and then, presenting them an apple each time as gratitude.

The chicken, duck, fish, and meat saved in such a manner could supplement nutrition during the famine years.

The quantity wasn’t much at any one time, but the terrifying aspect was how small amounts accumulated to something substantial.

Tong Zhan’s visible wounds had scabbed over, and rehabilitation had begun. Watching him sweat profusely from pain each time was heart-wrenching, but there was no option but to continue down this path; otherwise, the surgery would have been in vain.

Ye Huan’s daily activities became a routine of running between her department, rehabilitation, cooking, and the dormitory. Tong Zhan was growing fatter, but she had lost over three jin.

"You don’t need to work so hard. Take a rest when you need to!"

"It’s nothing. How can this wear me out? Compared to your injuries, mine are no trouble."

She ate and drank well every day, and sleeping in the space provided ample rest, so she didn’t feel tired at all. The weight loss was due to losing fat and gaining more toned muscles.

Moreover, perhaps because she had been eating space-grown vegetables and fruits all year round, Ye Huan’s complexion was particularly good now. Even the freckles on her face had lightened significantly, and her skin had become more delicate.