Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 1539: The Heart of Comparison 1

Chapter 1539: Chapter 1539: The Heart of Comparison 1

The time between submitting the manuscript and now had stretched so long that Feng Qingxue had almost forgotten about it.

Nevertheless, when she received feedback regarding her submission, she was quite pleased.

The letter and two medical journals had been forwarded from Chen Xueniang’s house in the Capital to the military base in Wucheng. When Feng Qingxue was submitting her manuscripts, she had anticipated the possibility of leaving the Capital after graduation, so she had listed Zheng Jinrui and Chen Xueniang’s addresses as points of contact.

Guo Ming would have been a good choice as well. However, since Guo Ming lived in a compound serving a group of senior officials, sending mail to him would have been more troublesome. Letters sent there first had to arrive at a designated location, be sorted and reviewed by department staff, and only then be delivered to the compound. This was the standard procedure for external mail addressed to senior officials.

Two of Feng Qingxue’s papers had been published in the journals, and the letter also included a foreign exchange slip for the royalties—which were quite substantial.

Feng Qingxue read through the letter. The gist of it was that her papers were highly exceptional, well-grounded, and had caused a minor stir in the local medical community. The remaining papers would be published in succession, and the royalties along with the journals featuring her work would also be sent to her in due course. The letter concluded with an invitation for her to continue submitting and engaging in academic exchanges, and so on.

It was already late October when she received the letter. The weather had turned colder, and autumn was in full swing.

She wasn’t on duty that day. Zu Lei had gone out to buy groceries, so she and Wang Cuilan took the triplets out to play. That’s when she noticed Su Meixiang wearing a brand-new pair of Blue Begonia leather shoes, paired with a new woolen coat and black corduroy pants. Feng Qingxue had seen similar woolen coats at the Capital’s department stores and Friendship Store before. Even the short versions cost 77 yuan, let alone the long ones.

"Sister Qingxue, what do you think of my woolen coat? Doesn’t it look lovely? I made a special trip to the Capital to buy it," Su Meixiang said as she extended her arms and spun around in front of Feng Qingxue, her tone thick with pride.

Feng Qingxue nodded lightly. No wonder she hadn’t seen Su Meixiang in the past few days. "It’s very nice." And the price was just as "nice."

Feng Qingxue herself enjoyed dressing up, but she was constrained by the realities of the current era. With elderly family members and children to care for, expenses were significant, and she didn’t want to appear overly ostentatious. She rarely bought herself new clothes. The quality of goods from this era was durable, and her body size hadn’t changed much over the years. The woolen coat she had made for her wedding was still wearable today.

She didn’t resent Su Meixiang for indulging in luxury, but she did find her actions in demanding exorbitant compensation to be disgraceful.

Shen Qing, being in a deputy regiment-level position, earned a monthly salary of 175 yuan with an additional 25% allowance. Meanwhile, Su Meixiang had no job, yet her outfit easily cost around 150 yuan.

Blue Begonia leather shoes typically cost over 20 yuan a pair, with the expensive ones going up to 30 or 40 yuan. Corduroy, too, was considered a high-end fabric.

It seemed she must have truly been driven mad by a lack of money; otherwise, why would Su Meixiang demand 100 yuan in compensation from Ye Xiangqian?

Beside Su Meixiang stood a round-faced, big-eyed young woman with a pitiful air about her. She chimed in, "Of course it’s beautiful! This woolen coat is worth 100 yuan, and you can’t even find it in Wucheng! Right, Mei Xiang?"

Su Meixiang, brimming with satisfaction, uttered a proud "Mhm" and then turned to Feng Qingxue, saying, "This is Milly, a revolutionary comrade of Zou Battalion Commander."

"Milly?" Feng Qingxue immediately thought of Mi Xiaoli from the Capital’s arts troupe.

"Hello, Sister-in-law. I’ve wanted to visit you for a long time, but housework kept me occupied," Mi Xiaoli said with exaggerated enthusiasm, her eyes shimmering as though holding a pool of autumn water.

Feng Qingxue gave her a slight nod. "Hello, Comrade Milly. You all can chat—I’ll take the kids over there."