Chapter 43: Enduring Humiliation, Suffering at Xifeng Crossing

So, Sheng Zexi did his best to make Gu Jianing comfortable whenever he could.

After helping them put away their things, Zhou Yu was about to leave.

But before he left, Zhou Yu handed them several cans of food. Ignoring Sheng Zexi’s polite refusals, he shoved them into his hands.

“We don’t know when we’ll get to meet again after you leave,” Zhou Yu said.

“We’ll have the chance. Besides, my wife is from around here, so we’ll definitely be back to visit. There’ll be plenty of opportunities to get together,” Sheng Zexi replied.

“You’re right. Take care.”

“You too.”

After Zhou Yu left, Sheng Zexi handed the canned food to Gu Jianing.

Gu Jianing took them and saw there were fruit cans, beef cans, and luncheon meat.

“Do you want to eat something? Should we open one now?” Sheng Zexi asked.

Gu Jianing shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

She’d eaten quite a bit for breakfast and wasn’t hungry now. Plus, the air in the train carriage wasn’t great and there were all sorts of smells, so she didn’t have much appetite.

“Are you feeling a bit unwell? Sorry you have to go through this. Just sit and rest for a while.” Sheng Zexi gently patted her head, feeling a little sorry for the tired-looking girl.

“Mm.” Gu Jianing didn’t protest and sat down to rest.

There were upper and lower berths across from them, and people were sitting there now too.

When Gu Jianing sat down and glanced over, the people across from her looked back.

It was a middle-aged couple, clearly city folks from their clothes. The man wore a Mao suit with a pen clipped to the collar. Though neither of them were particularly striking in appearance, they both had a refined air about them—obviously well-mannered people.

Gu Jianing let out a breath of relief—she’d been worried about running into troublesome types.

“Ningning, have some hot water to warm up.”

“Okay.”

As Gu Jianing took a sip of hot water and lowered her scarf, the couple across from them caught a glimpse of her face and were both visibly stunned by her beauty.

“What a lovely girl,” the middle-aged woman said cheerfully, not hiding her admiration.

Gu Jianing was taken aback, then smiled. “Thank you.”

Who wouldn’t be happy to be complimented on their looks?

That seemed to break the ice between them.

In no time, Gu Jianing learned that the couple were indeed husband and wife. The man was Shen Huaiyuan, and his wife was Bai Juan. Both worked at the Chaoyang City Steel Plant and were on a business trip to Linzi City.

Linzi City was also in the northwest, right next to Yuanshan City, where the Northwest Military District—Gu Jianing and Sheng Zexi’s destination—was located.

After chatting, Shen Huaiyuan and Bai Juan learned that Gu Jianing and Sheng Zexi were newlyweds, and Gu Jianing was accompanying her husband as a military spouse.

After a while, the train’s loudspeaker came on, urging those who hadn’t boarded to hurry up as the train was about to depart.

The carriage became a flurry of activity, with people coming and going until the train finally let out a long whistle and slowly started moving. Only then did things quiet down.

Gu Jianing was grateful she didn’t get motion sickness—otherwise, after three days and two nights on this old green train, she’d be half dead.

At noon, after asking Gu Jianing what she wanted, Sheng Zexi bought two boxed meals.

One was shredded pork with green peppers, the other was braised pork over rice, which also came with some vegetables and half a marinated egg.

Some of the people around them couldn’t help but look on with envy when they saw that both Sheng Zexi and Gu Jianing had meat dishes.

Food on the train wasn’t cheap, especially the meat boxes, so most families would bring their own food to save money.

At mealtime, many people took out steamed buns, flatbreads, or pancakes—some had stuffed buns.

Even those who were better off would usually only buy a vegetarian meal box.

Before they left, her mother had offered to prepare some food for them to take, but Gu Jianing refused.

First, she didn’t want her mother to have to get up early and busy herself. Second, it was simply more convenient to buy meals on the train. As for the money, Gu Jianing didn’t mind spending it—she wasn’t going to skimp on herself or her husband.

Gu Jianing wasn’t picky about food, but she did like meat, could handle spicy food, and was one of those people who never seemed to gain weight no matter how much she ate.

Now, as she and Sheng Zexi ate their boxed meals together, Sheng Zexi picked out all the things she liked and gave them to her.

Gu Jianing thought the train food was actually pretty good.

The braised pork was especially tasty.

Suddenly, she heard a five- or six-year-old boy not far away start crying, “Mom, I want braised pork! I don’t want steamed buns!” He even reached out to hit his mother.

The boy’s mother kept glancing over at Gu Jianing.

Did Gu Jianing know what was going on?

Of course she did.

But she ignored it and pretended not to notice.

She wasn’t the type to sacrifice herself for others or go out of her way to help strangers.

But unexpectedly, even though she didn’t respond, the boy’s mother was still so shameless.

When the boy wouldn’t stop crying, the woman came over to Gu Jianing and Sheng Zexi, and said to Gu Jianing, who was eating braised pork, “Comrade, my son is really craving braised pork. I see you have quite a bit there—could you give him a few pieces?”

Sheng Zexi frowned and was about to speak.

But his little wife looked up, her pretty face bright and lively, and blinked. “If your child wants to eat it, you can buy some.”

“I—I can’t afford it.”

Gu Jianing curled her lips into a smile. She didn’t answer directly, but her meaning was clear: if you can’t afford it, then you don’t get to eat it.

The fact that she had a lot of braised pork was her own business. What did it have to do with this woman? Why should she give it away?

Besides, the little boy had just hit his mother, and the woman didn’t even scold him. Instead, she shamelessly came over to ask for food. Gu Jianing didn’t like this mother and son at all.

It wasn’t that Gu Jianing was especially attached to the braised pork. If she wanted to give it away, she’d do so freely. But if she didn’t want to, even if someone tried to take it by force, she’d fight to get it back.

“I just see you have a lot of meat, and your husband’s a soldier, and you’re a military wife. Aren’t soldiers supposed to help others? How can you have no sense of selflessness at all?”

At this, Gu Jianing was truly angry.

Say what you want about her, but you can’t talk about her husband.

Gu Jianing was fiercely protective of her own.

But this time, instead of confronting the woman head-on, she pouted, her eyes turning red, and spoke in a wronged, aggrieved tone, like a bullied young wife, “So what you’re saying is, soldiers should give up everything selflessly, and hand over whatever they have?”

“So my husband is out there risking his life on the front lines, defending the country, and his wife, holding down the home front, isn’t even allowed a piece of braised pork?”

“Fine, I get it. Here, you can have both our meals. And if there’s anything else in our luggage you want, just take it.”

Gu Jianing put on a perfect act of meekly enduring humiliation, letting others walk all over her."