Even though Cheng Su was reluctant, she knew everyone had their own fate and times. Hualing was leaving, and there was nothing to be done about it, so she decided to make the most of these last days together.
It happened to be the weekend. Because Hualing was leaving in a few days, the neighbors were quite reluctant to part with her, so they all gathered in her room to drink tea and chat.
"...Hualing, when you leave, who knows when weâll see each other again?" Chunhua sighed. "Among the four families on our floor, you were the last to move in, and paradoxically, the first to move out."
Indeed, Hualing and Chen Shouwang had been married for some time, but since they lived apart, Hualing moved here later on. Unexpectedly, a few years later, she was the first to leave.
"Yes! Just as weâve gotten to know each other, youâre leaving. We wonât even know who will live in this room next or what kind of people theyâll be!" Guiying said with great reluctance.
Listening to everyone, Hualing glanced around the room, her eyes dimming slightly. Who would have thought a mere platoon leader like Chen Shouwang would end up like this?
She never imagined that one day she would no longer be a military wife.
Fate truly plays tricks!
"The barracks stay, and soldiers come and go. Why are you all so sentimental about my retirement and career shift? Itâs a common thing," Hualing said, pretending to be nonchalant.
"Everyone is just reluctant," Cheng Su teased.
"Just because I leave, does that mean we wonât stay in touch? Even if we meet less often, we can still have meals and tea together when thereâs a chance!" Hualing declared, pretending to be bold.
Everyone laughed, acknowledging that while that was true in words, since they werenât relatives or extremely close friends, they might keep in touch initially, but over time, how warm could it actually get?
After all, life goes on. Everyone is busy with their lives, bustling for a living, and gatherings for meals and tea might become quite rare.
However, knowing this reality was one thing, and whether to expose it was another. No one would speak of it now, only going along with her words as if it were only right.
"Actually, Cheng Su, among us here, youâre doing the best, the most prosperous. Youâve even become a bit famous, hitting the papers. You might become even more successful in the future â you wonât forget about me, will you?" Hualing joked, looking at Cheng Su.
Cheng Su said, "Forget? As you said, letâs just have tea when thereâs time!"
Knowing when to stop, Hualing didnât pursue that topic, instead looking at her belly, saying, "Itâs good that I wonât officially return to work over there until August. I can help arrange things for when you give birth this time."
"Thatâs very kind of you!" Cheng Su responded immediately. "Arrange a nicer hospital room for me; money is not an issue."
Cheng Su had already inquired and learned that the hospital didnât have individual delivery rooms, only shared rooms with three or four beds, at best a double room.
In truth, it wasnât stinginess on the hospitalâs part. To be honest, even in the city, babies were born in hospitals; in the countryside, they were often born at home, with just a midwife.
And in hospitals, there werenât individual inpatient rooms for deliveries. If it was a natural birth, typically, youâd be discharged the day after giving birth. Why? To avoid high costs!
All things considered, even if the hospital had rooms, they wouldnât allocate many resources to this area at present.
"Look at you, speaking with such wealth and power, really enviable," Hualing laughed and pointed at her. "There arenât private rooms, but I can get you a double, which should be peaceful."
Cheng Su smiled and thanked her.