Lu Cheng didn’t expect her to guess this. He nodded. “Qiu Yi is Haici’s grandmother. Qiu Yi has passed away, but that woman survived. This matter…”

“Let’s just forget about it. After all, Aunt Qiu is dead, and the Zhang family doesn’t want to escalate things. If it becomes a big deal, they would be the ones embarrassed. The Zhang family married a servant’s sister, and they can’t afford to lose face over that.

After Aunt Qiu passed away, her husband took their son back to their hometown, and we lost contact after that. Aunt Qiu had a son named Cao Weitong, who was my playmate since childhood. After he followed his father back home, I lost my companion.

My mother’s health had never been good, and Aunt Qiu’s death was a huge blow to her, so two years later, my mother also passed away. Before she died, she entrusted me to my aunt.

I met Han Tong again in 1952. I was going to military school and passed by Han Tong’s hometown, so I got off the train halfway to visit him. That year, I was 16.

Han Tong, who was two years younger than me, looked even smaller than the ten-year-old boys.

I learned that not long after his father took him back to his hometown, his father also passed away.”

So he grew up eating the food of various families.

However, during that time, every family was struggling, so there wasn’t much food to share with him.

He could never forget how he cried and called me “young master” when he saw me.

A fourteen-year-old boy crying looked even uglier than five-year-old Lu Haici.

“Later on, because I had to report to military school, I couldn’t take him with me. And since he grew up relying on others, he was also smart, so I gave him some money to go to school and told him I would come to pick him up during the holidays.

But little did I know that life in military school was extremely intense. We military students were different from other college students; we had no vacations at all. Even on the short breaks we had, there wasn’t enough time for me to go back and forth.

What surprised me even more was that one day I received a letter from Han Tong. This kid had enlisted in the army,” Lu Cheng said, laughing and crying at the same time.

“He wrote, ‘Brother, you must be going to become an officer after graduating from military school. I’ve joined the army now, and I’ll be one of your soldiers in the future.’”

“What happened next?”

“…Later on, this kid got married, and I even attended his wedding. The next time I received his message was in May 1958. The call came to the unit, saying that Han Tong had sacrificed his life. The farewell letter he wrote before his mission was addressed to me.”

Lin Qingqing understood that Han Tong had no parents, no siblings, and grew up eating the food of various families.

Lu Cheng was like an older brother to him.

“After that, I went to handle Han Tong’s affairs. Since he had no relatives in his hometown, and his wife’s parents had also died early, she lived with her uncle. Therefore, being a widow, her life wasn’t easy, especially since Han Tong’s wife was pregnant.” Before the founding of the country, life was chaotic, and just surviving was hard, so there were many orphans.

“Actually, Han Tong still has grandparents, but due to the incident with Qiu Yi, and since she was sold by the Qiu family, they have long since severed ties.”

“I don’t want Han Tong’s child to grow up in such an environment. I hope he can receive a good education in the future. So, I asked Han Tong’s wife if she would leave with me. My aunt had been pushing for marriage very hard, and I have no intention of getting married in this lifetime, so I asked her. If she was willing to leave with me, I could marry her, but internally, we would still maintain a sibling relationship.” Otherwise, a widow following a single man would attract gossip.

Moreover, a child who grows up without a father would face a lot of disdain along the way; Lu Cheng experienced this firsthand, and he didn’t want Lu Hai Ci to go through similar things.

“So my aunt doesn’t know that Haici is actually Han Tong’s son.” Lin Qingqing didn’t expect Lu Cheng would dare to deceive his aunt.

Lu Cheng replied, “No, she knows.”

He wouldn’t deceive his aunt about such matters; she probably hoped he and Han Tong’s wife would develop feelings for each other over time.

But unexpectedly, Han Tong’s wife was stimulated by Han Tong’s sacrifice, her health had always been poor, and shortly after giving birth, knowing that Haici would have someone to take care of him, she left with peace of mind. “I plan to tell Haici about his background when he grows up and has the capacity to accept it.”

This was indeed the best arrangement for Lu Haici.

Lin Qingqing listened in silence for a long time.

This was a story of three generations, spanning two historical periods.

The time between the Republic of China and the founding of the country wasn’t that long, yet they were completely different in essence.

From Qiu Yi being sold by her family, to Lu Cheng’s mother getting a divorce, and then Lu Cheng marrying Han Tong’s wife—Lin Qingqing, having been born in a later era, having heard and learned about history, still couldn’t imagine what that period was like.

“Comrade Lin Qingqing…” Lu Cheng suddenly stood up, saluting her. “My name is Lu Cheng, I am twenty-eight years old, I have been married, and I have a five-year-old son. Now, I am attracted to you, and I want to become your revolutionary partner.”

Lin Qingqing was taken aback.

She stared at Lu Cheng, not knowing how to respond.

Seeing her shocked expression, Lu Cheng thought to himself, now you can’t say I don’t like you anymore.

“You…” Lin Qingqing genuinely didn’t know what to say.

She clearly understood that when Lu Cheng said he was attracted to her, he meant her as a person.

But the problem was…

“Alright, your hair is dry now; go to sleep.” Lu Cheng didn’t really expect a response from Lin Qingqing, nor did he need one.

In Lu Cheng’s heart, this was his way of expressing his feelings towards Lin Qingqing.

Lin Qingqing responded lightly.

Lin Qingqing: “……”

She was at a loss for words. Just like that, he didn’t say anything else or ask her if she was willing.

Then Lin Qingqing understood.

Did he really need to ask?

She had gone to great lengths to negotiate marriage terms with him using ginseng, so did Lu Cheng still need to ask?

“Oh.” Lin Qingqing felt a bit flustered as she climbed into bed.

She nestled herself against Lu Haici and hugged him.

She needed some comfort from him because she had really been scared today.

What to do, what to do?

She couldn’t refuse Lu Cheng, nor could she tell him that she wasn’t the original Lin Qingqing.

“Go to sleep,” Lu Cheng said, not having any other thoughts.

At that moment, he had no romantic inclinations.

Seeing her in a daze, he figured it was because of what he had said… or perhaps she was just overly happy.

Lin Qingqing closed her eyes, hugging Lu Haici.

Suddenly, she remembered something. “Lu Cheng, I need to gather at the entrance at five in the morning to go shopping for food with Team Leader Qi, so you guys need to eat breakfast at the cafeteria tomorrow.”

Lu Cheng replied, “I understand.”

Lin Qingqing added, “Tomorrow, I’m not sure if I can wake up before five. If you wake up, please call me. I’ll go buy an alarm clock later.”

Lu Cheng said, “Okay. By the way, the regiment commander and chief of staff might come to the third battalion’s kitchen for lunch tomorrow.”

“What?” Lin Qingqing was taken aback. “Is tomorrow a special day?”

Lu Cheng: “……No, they just know you’re working in the third battalion’s kitchen and want to come see you.”

They were treating everyone to a meal that day.

Lu Cheng didn’t invite the regiment commander and chief of staff because, on one hand, they were his superiors, and it’s not appropriate for a subordinate to treat their superiors.

On the other hand, he had invited a few comrades and subordinates he got along well with after joining the army; their ranks were not high.

If he brought the regiment commander and chief of staff in, those who weren’t from the independent regiment would feel a bit intimidated.

That’s why the regiment commander and chief of staff thought to visit Lin Qingqing for lunch tomorrow.

Lin Qingqing said, “Then I understand. Do I need to prepare special dishes?”

Lu Cheng replied, “No, they will eat the same as everyone else. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. You don’t need to feel pressured or treat them differently. They are just here to eat.”

Lin Qingqing: “……”

The next day

Lu Cheng opened his eyes and looked out the window.

The sky outside was still dark. He got out of bed quietly, went to the living room, turned on the light, and checked the time; it was only three-thirty.

Lu Cheng returned to the room and simply turned on the light.

Lin Qingqing was sleeping soundly when the room suddenly lit up.

She instinctively sensed it.

She opened her eyes wide: “Is it past four? Do I have to get up?”

Seeing her startled expression, Lu Cheng explained, “It’s only three-thirty. You can continue sleeping. I turned on the light to help you adapt.”

Otherwise, when it was time to wake her, she definitely wouldn’t be able to get up.

By getting her accustomed to the light, she would be able to rise when it was time.

As soon as Lin Qingqing heard this, she immediately closed her eyes and lay back down.

Seeing this, Lu Cheng went out. He headed to the kitchen and took out four eggs.

He planned to make boiled eggs, as that was all he could cook.

Since Lin Qingqing was leaving at five to shop for food, she wouldn’t have time to cook or eat before then.

By the time she returned, she would also have no time to prepare a meal, so he boiled a few eggs to fill her stomach.

Before boiling the eggs, Lu Cheng first heated some water.

After the water boiled, he poured it into the thermos and started to boil the eggs.

When it was around four o’clock, he went back to the room to call her: “Qingqing, it’s four o’clock. Are you getting up?”