“Because Lu Haici is my good friend, he invited me over to his house for a meal,” Qin Ming said confidently.

Being a child, he naturally didn’t know that the Lu family was hosting guests, so he thought Lu Haici’s invitation was just because they were friends.

Zhang Hongping thought for a moment and asked, “Did Lu Haici invite any other kids?”

“Yes, there’s Ji Yang…” Qin Ming rattled off five names. “Oh, Grandma, I have to go to Ji Yang’s house now!” Saying that, he dashed out the door.

Not feeling entirely reassured, Zhang Hongping thought for a moment, picked up a basket, and packed half a pound of rice and some vegetables, then followed after him.

Her reasoning was that if her grandson went to the Lu family and wasn’t fed, showing up with his own food would embarrass the Lu family.

But if he was indeed going to eat there, bringing his own provisions would be polite.

Deep down, Zhang Hongping hoped he wouldn’t actually get to eat there.

When Qin Ming arrived at the Lu family’s house, the other children were already there.

“Hello, Auntie.” Qin Ming, seeing Lin Qingqing, looked a bit shy, but as kids do, he quickly put it aside. “Auntie, Lu Haici invited me over for a meal.”

You could tell by his words that he truly thought it was a simple invitation.

Lin Qingqing hadn’t expected Lu Haici and Qin Ming to become friends, but she welcomed all of Lu Haici’s friends warmly. “Hello! Come on in. Lu Haici and the other kids are inside. Let me take you in.”

Qin Ming blushed. “Thank you, Auntie.”

The table in the empty room was already set with dishes: ten dishes in all, plus pumpkin pancakes, sweet potato mash, and cabbage-and-corn dumplings.

Lin Qingqing hadn’t prepared rice for the kids, since the pancakes, sweet potato mash, and dumplings were already quite filling as staple foods.

Adding rice would probably make them too full.

“Lu Haici, I’m here!” Qin Ming shouted as he approached the room.

Before Lu Haici could respond, Ji Yang called out, “Hurry up! If you don’t get here soon, we’ll start eating without you.” Auntie Lu had said that they couldn’t eat until all the kids had arrived, so Ji Yang, who had been there the earliest, was starving by now.

As Qin Ming entered and saw all the food, his eyes lit up. “Wow! There’s so much to eat, even more than at my house.”

Hearing his innocent remark, Lin Qingqing couldn’t help but laugh. “Then eat as much as you like!”

“Oh, I will!” Qin Ming replied. “I need to eat a lot and grow up strong. My grandpa says I need to be big and strong so I can become a soldier…”

The soldiers went to battle and drove away all the bad guys.

“Qingqing…,” Yu Xiuyao’s voice called from outside. “We have guests. Come out for a moment.”

“I’m coming.” Lin Qingqing told the children to help themselves and went out to see who had arrived.

It turned out to be…

“Ah, it’s Lu Cheng’s wife,” Zhang Hongping murmured, somewhat surprised to find that the gathering was indeed a formal dinner and even more surprised by the number of people there.

Standing in the yard and peeking into the room, she saw her grandson sitting with several other children and noted the abundance of dishes. “Little Ming can be troublesome, I’m sorry to impose. Here’s some food for him.”

Luckily, she had brought half a pound of rice; otherwise, if she had brought sweet potatoes, she would have lost face.

With such a well-prepared meal, bringing sweet potatoes would have been embarrassing.

Lin Qingqing also hadn’t expected Zhang Hongping to show up.

Seeing the awkward look on her face, Lin Qingqing immediately smiled warmly. “Welcome, welcome! Auntie, please come in and take a seat.”

Regardless of the previous issues, things hadn’t gotten too ugly, and since Zhang Hongping had come, Lin Qingqing wanted to give her an easy out.

Besides, Zhang Hongping was older and the wife of Commander Qin, and with Qin Ming now a friend of Lu Haici, it was essential to handle this well.

From the incident between Qin Ming and Lu Haici, Zhang Hongping knew that, despite her young age, Lin Qingqing was not as thoughtless as Yang Mailian; she was sharp.

Now that Qin Ming and Lu Haici were on good terms, Zhang Hongping couldn’t afford to fall out with Lin Qingqing.

Moreover, the situation with Yang Mailian had shown her that children imitate what they hear—what Yang Mailian said in front of her grandson was repeated by him later.

As a result, Zhang Hongping was now careful not to speak ill of others in front of her grandson.

“Lu Cheng’s wife, no need to be so polite.” Zhang Hongping smiled as well. “This is the food I brought for little Ming. He left in a rush and forgot to bring it, so I came to deliver it.”

“Oh, that’s really thoughtful of you, Auntie. No wonder Qin Ming is so well-mannered! This morning, he treated my son, Lu Haici, to a little cake, so tonight Lu Haici wanted to invite him to dinner. If you leave his meal with us, doesn’t that mean I’d owe you for the cake?” Lin Qingqing joked.

Zhang Hongping knew about the cake; her grandson had traded it with Lu Haici.

But Lin Qingqing’s praise for her grandson still made her happy.

This young woman was sharp-witted but also knew how to say things gracefully. “Then I won’t be shy. Old Qin will be back soon, and I still have food on the stove, so I’ll head home now.”

“Auntie, have a cup of tea before you go.” Lin Qingqing warmly offered.

“Next time,” Zhang Hongping said politely with a smile.

After that, she left.

The Lu family had many people present, all of whom she recognized.

She had seen them visiting yesterday, and she felt too embarrassed to stay there any longer.

Once Zhang Hongping left, Lin Qingqing continued to entertain the guests.

However, the military wives in attendance couldn’t help but think about Lin Qingqing’s demeanor.

The argument had happened yesterday, yet today, Lin Qingqing was polite to Zhang Hongping as if nothing had happened.

The wife of Deputy Lu was clearly a clever person.

The Lu household was very lively that evening, especially with the presence of many children.

It started with six kids, but then, as the other kids returned home from school, they arrived one after another, and the number of children grew.

Those kids were all arranged at Lu Haici’s table, which was just right since the six little ones could hardly finish all the food.

The kids were having a lively time at their table, while the men in the hall were also enjoying themselves, drinking and boasting.

In contrast, the women in the yard were much more harmonious.

This was also why Lin Qingqing had arranged for the women to be outside; if the men had been placed in the yard, their voices would have carried for miles!

The meal started around 5:30 PM and wrapped up by about 7:30 PM.

Afterward, the military wives helped Lin Qingqing wash the dishes, and then Lu Cheng and the men returned the tables and chairs to the dining hall.

By the time the Lu household was completely quiet, it was already 8 PM.

The little kids were all sent back home by Xu Yaoyao’s son, who was the first to mention Big Wang’s family arrangements.

Although the residential area was safe, who knew if the little ones would run around when heading back? It was reassuring to have a teenager escorting them.

“It feels a bit strange now that it’s suddenly so quiet,” Lin Qingqing remarked, looking at the empty yard.

Lu Cheng replied, “You’ll get used to it.”

Lu Haici added, “Mom, today all the kids said my mom is amazing! They all said they want a mom just like you!”

He stood beside Lin Qingqing, tugging at her clothes, his eyes filled with admiration, excitement, and happiness.

At that moment, he completely let himself go in front of Lin Qingqing, just as he did with Lu Cheng.

The envy he felt today was something he had never experienced in the past five years combined.

From today onward, he could proudly say he was a kid with a mom who loved him very much.

“Oh really? That’s such a pity,” Lin Qingqing said, ruffling his hair. “There’s only one person like me—unique and unprecedented.”

“Hehehe…” Lu Haici let out a clear, ringing laugh. “Ji Yang said he wants his dad to marry another stepmother for him.”

Lin Qingqing thought ‘…… Oh my gosh, little male lead, at such a young age, you’re already thinking about getting your dad two wives? Are you planning to send him off to re-education in 67 years?’

“So what did you say?” Lin Qingqing asked curiously.

Lu Haici replied, “I said, what if Ji Yang’s dad marries someone who isn’t as good as my mom? Ji Yang said then his dad should marry another wife.”

Lin Qingqing: “…… So should we let your dad marry another wife to be your mom?”

Hearing this juicy gossip, Lu Cheng nearly choked.

He quickly walked into the small room, worried that if he listened any longer, he would get into trouble.

“No way,” Lu Haici quickly replied. “I only need one mom; I don’t want my dad to marry another mom!”

“What if your dad insists on marrying another mom?” Lin Qingqing teased him.

“Um…” Lu Haici suddenly thought of an idea. “Then mom, I’ll marry you! I definitely won’t marry another wife.”

“Shut up!” Lu Cheng came out of the small room, unable to bear his son’s silly words any longer. “That’s your mom; you can’t marry your mom. You can only marry a girl your age, understand?”

Lu Haici pouted and retorted, “But I’ll grow up, and I’ll be as big as mom.”

“By then, your mom will be old,” Lu Cheng said.

“What are you talking about? You’re the one getting old,” Lin Qingqing said displeased.

Just because Lu Haici grows up doesn’t mean she’ll get old!

Lu Cheng: “……”

Lu Haici chimed in, “Yeah, mom won’t get old; only you will, dad.”

This struck Lu Cheng hard.

He was twenty-eight this year, while Lin Qingqing was only nineteen, making him nine years older.

So… maybe when he got old, she really wouldn’t be old at all.

Suddenly, Lu Cheng fell silent and walked back into the small room, then jumped into the pit.

Curious, Lin Qingqing followed him inside and saw that the squat toilet pit had been dug quite large, with the excavated dirt outside.

Lu Haici also came in and, seeing the situation inside, looked on with curiosity. “What is dad doing in here? Is he making a cellar?”

He had seen a cellar at his great-uncle’s home, which prompted his question.

Meanwhile, next door, Ji Yang was also discussing the idea of getting a stepmother with his dad.