Ji Changfeng glanced at his son. “All you think about is food all day. Go help your mom by lighting the fire and serving the dishes.”

Leaning back in his chair, Ji Yang completely disregarded his dad. “Mom said I’m a little kid. Little kids don’t need to go to the kitchen.”

Ji Changfeng chuckled. “I think you’re just asking for a spanking.”

Ji Yang wasn’t afraid.

He tapped the table with his small hands, mimicking Xu Huijuan’s tone: “Old Ji, Ji Yang is still little; you can’t be mean to him, or you’ll scare him into being timid. Old Ji, you have to listen to my mom; you can’t scare me.”

Ji Changfeng didn’t know how to scold him.

He didn’t even know about a plant that could be scolded, but without saying a word, he walked over, ready to pick up his son…

“Mom… Mom…” Ji Yang shouted immediately. “Mom, Old Ji isn’t listening to you! Mom, come save me!”

As soon as Xu Huijuan heard Ji Yang, she hurried to the hall with the dishes.

Seeing that Ji Changfeng was already in front of Ji Yang, she quickly called out to him: “Old Ji, what are you doing? I’ve told you so many times that Ji Yang is still little. You have to teach him gently; you can’t be harsh. Otherwise, when he grows up, he’ll be timid.” In her past life, regardless of whether she treated him fairly, she still secretly gave Old Ji a hard time.

Because of that, Ji Yang wasn’t as lively as he was now when he was little.

“I’m just joking with him, wife,” Ji Changfeng quickly went over to help and sweet-talked her, “Wife, you’ve worked hard managing the house; you should sit down and rest. I’ll serve the dishes.”

Xu Huijuan rolled her eyes at him. “If you know I’ve worked hard, then don’t tease the child.”

After being with Old Ji for a lifetime, she knew his nature well.

Ji Changfeng grinned foolishly. “Wife, you’re the best! Not only are you beautiful, but you also make delicious food. I must have struck gold to marry you.”

Xu Huijuan’s face turned slightly red.

Even at her age, hearing him say that still made her blush. “Just eat; don’t embarrass yourself in front of the child.”

Jiyang’s eyes sparkled. “Dad, who is prettier, my mom or Lu Haici’s mom?”

Just as Ji Changfeng was about to eat the egg and cured meat pancake, he heard his son’s question.

“Don’t talk nonsense! How can you ask such a life-threatening question?” she nearly choked on her words. “Of course, your mom is beautiful; your mom is the most beautiful person in the world.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Xu Huijuan pouted playfully.

Ji Yang said, “I told Lu Haici that my mom is the most beautiful mom, but Lu Hai Ci said his mom is more beautiful than mine. I said my dad is a soldier, and he said his mom is the most beautiful mom, so she must be the prettiest because soldiers don’t lie. But Lu Haici said it’s because you’ve never seen his mom. Dad, have you seen Lu Haici’s mom?”

Ji Changfeng thought it was something serious, only to realize it was just a comparison between two little kids. “No need to see; I know your mom is the most beautiful.”

Although they were neighbors, Ji Changfeng had indeed never seen Lin Qingqing.

When the wake-up call blew, Ji Changfeng went straight to the army; the original owner hadn’t even gotten up at that time.

By the time Ji Changfeng got off work, the original owner was already eating the food that Lu Haici had brought from the canteen.

The original owner hardly went out, let alone Ji Changfeng seeing her; at that time, even Xu Huijuan hadn’t seen her.

“Dad…” Ji Yang was unhappy. “You’ve never seen Lu Haici’s mom; you can’t say that. You must see Lu Hai Ci’s mom before you can say my mom is the most beautiful. All kids know you can’t boast.”

Xu Huijuan felt happy inside.

What woman could be as happy as her, with her husband saying she was the most beautiful and her son defending her?

So, she didn’t care and said, “As long as in your heart, mom is the most beautiful, that’s enough.”

Ji Yang pouted, “No! I want Lu Haici… to acknowledge it. Yes, to acknowledge it.”

He wanted to say he wanted Lu Haici to be convinced, but he struggled to express it without the vocabulary of a preschooler. “Dad, you should go see Lu Haici’s mom and see whose mom is the most, most, most beautiful mom.”

This… Ji Changfeng was at a loss.

Why would a grown man go see someone else’s wife?

Just as he was about to explain to his son, Xu Huijuan said casually, “I also want to hear you say who is prettier between me and Lin Qingqing.”

After all, no woman, even when facing her best friend, doesn’t wish to be prettier in her man’s eyes.

Ji Changfeng paused, momentarily speechless.

Although Ji Changfeng looked simple-minded, he was actually quite clever; otherwise, how could he say sweet words to his wife?

But now that his wife had said that, he couldn’t just brush off his son’s request.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Since Deputy Commander Lu is back, we should pay a visit. I’ve heard that Deputy Commander Lu is about to be promoted to Commander. You and Lu Hai Ci have a good relationship, and it would be nice for you and Comrade Lin Qingqing to get to know each other better.” He knew his wife was a smart woman.

Some things are better left unsaid.

As soon as Xu Huijuan heard about Lu Cheng’s promotion to regiment commander, she wasn’t surprised.

After all, this had happened in her previous life as well.

However, Lu Cheng’s military career had stopped there, because afterward, he was influenced by Lin Qingqing and never rose further.

Wait a minute… the current Lin Qingqing isn’t the same Lin Qingqing from her past life.

So, would Lu Cheng’s military career still be limited to regiment commander?

Xu Huijuan was uncertain.

She thought for a moment and said, “Old Ji, can we move away from here?”

No matter why the current Lin Qingqing was different from the one in her previous life, she didn’t want to live next door to Lin Qingqing, especially since Ji Yang and Lu Haici got along so well.

Even if the two families didn’t socialize, they would inevitably interact.

However, because of Lu Haici, Lin Qingqing had offended Commander Qin’s family, and Zhang Hongping wasn’t an easy person to get along with.

Therefore, Xu Huijuan felt that this matter was still uncertain.

She didn’t want their family to be implicated by the Lu family.

Ji Changfeng was a bit confused. “Why do we need to move? Isn’t living here fine? This little courtyard is hard to apply for; I was lucky to get it in the first place.”

Xu Huijuan had already thought about a countermeasure.

She recounted what had happened yesterday between Lin Qingqing, Zhang Hongping, and Yang Mailian: “… Even though this incident stemmed from Lu Haici, it looks like Lin Qingqing and Aunt Zhang Hongping, Aunt Yang Mailian came out on top in the argument, but they definitely gave people something to talk about. Plus, I think Lin Qingqing is quite formidable; I’m a bit afraid to interact with her. But Ji Yang and Lu Haici get along so well. If we don’t move away, we’ll have to deal with her.”

Ji Changfeng didn’t think it was a big deal. “Kids fighting isn’t a big deal.”

He didn’t think Lin Qingqing had done anything wrong in this matter.

Of course, he understood his wife’s concerns.

She was a gentle and kind person, so it was normal for her to fear arguments.

He thought for a moment and said, “How about this? I’ll first see if there’s a suitable little courtyard available. If there is, we can apply for it. In the meantime, we’ll stay here. Do you think living in an apartment building is okay?”

“An apartment building won’t do; there’s no little courtyard to plant vegetables.” People living in apartment buildings wanted to move to a little courtyard, and Xu Huijuan would be foolish to think about moving to an apartment building. “Then just keep an eye out.”

Ji Changfeng thought the same.

Ji Yang couldn’t understand what his parents were talking about.

He was gobbling down his egg and cured meat pancake.

Once he finished his pancake, he immediately said, “Dad, go to Lu Haici’s house to see his mom!”

Ji Changfeng: “…” Wasn’t this hurdle supposed to be behind them?

At the Lu Family

Lu Haici had received his mother’s approval and happily packed his lunchbox.

He packed everything into his little backpack.

His mom said she liked Ji Yang because he was his friend, and she liked him because he was her little treasure.

So, Lu Haici felt very happy, and all his previous displeasure was gone.

Actually, he had been a bit unhappy yesterday because his mom made tofu pancakes and invited Ji Yang over for dinner.

His mom was also very nice to Ji Yang.

Today, when his mom made wheat rolls and asked him to bring some to share with Ji Yang, he thought his mom liked Ji Yang a lot.

He knew he was being a bad little boy; he didn’t want his mom to like Ji Yang.

He just wanted his mom to be his alone and to like only him.

But now that his mom had said that, he wasn’t sad anymore.

After packing his lunchbox, Lu Haici quickly slung his little backpack over his shoulder. “Mom, I’m going to kindergarten now.”

Lu Cheng said, “Didn’t you just say you were going to help wash the dishes?”

Lu Haici was taken aback; he had forgotten about washing the dishes.

He took off his backpack. “Then I’ll wash the dishes before I go to kindergarten.”

Lin Qingqing said, “No need. Your dad washed the dishes this morning, and you can wash them at noon. You two can split the work.”

Lu Cheng casually said, “…Then you wash them tonight?”

It seemed just right for the three of them to wash their own dishes.

Lin Qingqing shot him a glance.

Lu Cheng felt something was off about that look.

Had he said something wrong?

Lu Haici said, “I’ll help mom wash the dishes at night.”

He thought if he helped his mom, she would like him even more.

Dad was so silly for not helping her.

Lu Cheng: “…”

Lin Qingqing gave Lu Haici a brilliant smile and then lightly said to Lu Cheng, “Tonight, you and Haici can wash the dishes together. I’ll cook, or you can cook, and I’ll wash the dishes.”

She thought it was even better to shift the responsibility of the night’s dishes onto him rather than Lu Haici.

“Don’t worry, Mom. Tonight I’ll wash the dishes with Dad,” Lu Haici promised, puffing up his not-so-rigid little chest.

“Good boy! Our Haici is the best!” Lin Qingqing praised. “Let’s go; I’ll take you to kindergarten.”

“Okay!” Lu Haici held his mom’s hand and marched confidently.

Lu Cheng: “…”

He gathered the dishes from the table and silently walked out of the hall.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Lin Qingqing holding Lu Haici at the gate, and the family next door was also there.

It seemed his son was arguing with the neighbor’s little friend about something.

“Deputy Commander Lu…” Ji Changfeng saw him and awkwardly greeted him.

Lu Cheng nodded.

Just as he was about to head to the kitchen, he heard Lu Haici shout, “Dad, come here quickly!”

“What’s the matter?” Seeing that his little boy sounded anxious, Lu Cheng had no choice but to walk over with the dishes.

Lu Haici, panting with anger, asked, “Dad, you said my mom is the most beautiful mom, right? Isn’t she prettier than Ji Yang’s mom?”